ã€ŠPower Up, Artist Yang!ã€‹


 1 Starry Nights, Dreamy Alcohol, and Lovely Pain

    It was during her sixth-year high school reunion that Yang Yujia realized the true patheticness of her life.

    The reunion was nothing special¡ª nowhere as extravagant as the first few had been¡ª and less and less people were attending each year, leaving there to only be a few individuals that Yujia could recognize in the sparse crowd. People seemed to realize that these reunions were pointless and a waste of time, but for Yujia, it was a different matter.

    The restaurant that the reunion was set to take place didn''t have the best food, but they offered an ''unlimited drinks'' deal that sounded good to Yujia. In fact, anything alcoholic sounded good these days.

    With one of her hands propped up against the bar and the other holding an almost empty bottle of beer, Yujia scanned the crowd with bored eyes.

    There was Lu Xiaocheng on the opposite side of the room, a feminine man who was the youngest among all her classmates. Yujia faintly remembers him being picked on by all the other classmates back when they were in high school, but now he was popular with the girls for his weak, ''flower boy'' appearance. He was even a trainee under MS Entertainment, supposedly planned to be in an upcoming boy group.

    Huang Liyao was near Lu Xiaocheng, and Yujia didn''t have to think much to remember her¡ª Liyao was among the most annoying classmates Yujia had, as far as she could remember. The girl was always showing off and getting on Yujia''s nerves. Such a diva queen. Yet now, Liyao was supposedly a teacher, her personality becoming humble and polite.

    Across from both of them, stuck on his phone, was Wu Luo. Staring at him for a few moments, Yujia recalls that she used to be extremely infatuated with him, much like all the other girls in the grade. He was the prince of their high school, having a good family background as well as being tall and handsome. Now, look at him. The CEO of a large technology company¡ª Yujia had seen an interview with him on the news the other day. To think that she used to believe that Wu Luo and her had a possibility together in the future.

    Foolish teenage thoughts.

    Glancing away from the crowd, Yujia grabs the bottle of beer and tilts it upwards, draining what was left in the bottle. While she sets it down on the table and asks for another one, she carelessly pulls out her phone, hearing the familiar buzz of a notification.

    ''[Miss Yang], thank you for applying to the position of [Associate Art Director].

    However, we are sad to inform that the position has been taken by someone else, and there is no need for you to come to the interview on [Monday].

    ZYX Marketing Co.''

    Staring at the automated email, Yujia winces, muttering a profanity.

    She applied for tens of positions last week, believing that her art degree and talent would win her at least a few jobs to consider. However, everything turned out like usual¡ª she couldn''t even advance to the beginning interview stage for any of them.

    Grabbing the bottle of beer the nearby server just brought her, Yujia slumps against the bar and cautiously places her phone face down. She had to suffer the consequences of breaking the phone screen the last time she received one of those rejection emails and slammed the phone down against the table in anger. Without a job, she had no money, and with no money, she couldn''t replace or fix the smartphone, so now, Yujia was left with a broken phone screen that she didn''t want to break even more.

    While popping the cap of the bottle open, Yujia cursed herself for choosing to take an art major in college instead of a more sensible and logical one like an engineering degree. She hated the thought of any engineering back then, but now thinking about it, being a electrical or civil engineer seemed much better than someone unemployed for two years in a row because the certain someone decided that they wanted to go after an art degree.

    Why was she so stupid as a high schooler?

    If it weren''t for her idiotic decisions back then, she wouldn''t be attending this high school reunion to get a few cheap drinks at a bar because she couldn''t afford them otherwise.

    Pathetic, truly pathetic. Her name would come up in the dictionary right under ''pathetic'' as the definition.

    Taking one last look at the handsome Wu Luo standing in the corner, Yujia couldn''t help but feel jealous of him. Except, truthfully, she was jealous of everyone here.

    Lu Xiaocheng was supposedly to debut as an idol anytime soon. Huang Liyao was an elementary teacher, a financially stable job that would provide for her. Wu Luo¡ª oh, Wu Luo¡ª was a full blown CEO, constantly mentioned as the young and successful executive in countless business magazines.

    And then, there was Yang Yujia. 24, unemployed, and with an art major, instant noodles for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

    Yujia took another sip from the new bottle of beer, finding that it was, like the previous one, empty. How much did she drink from this hour of staying at the reunion? How long did she sit there, bathing in self-pity and self-hatred, using alcohol as her only friend?

    She couldn''t remember, but perhaps it would be better that way.

    ¡­

    The digital clock hung on the wall of Yujia''s kitchen read ''12:00'' when Yujia stumbled in the room, holding a plastic bag filled with freebie takeout that she received from the restaurant when she asked for some. She doesn''t bother to turn on the light, fumbling as she reaches the refrigerator and pulling it open, throwing the box of takeout into it without looking much.

    Her other hand is holding another bottle of beer, the last one that the restaurant was willing to give to her. Although the workers there certainly said that they wouldn''t serve her anymore alcohol because they were afraid of her getting into trouble if she became too drunk, Yujia knew the true reason why¡ª the ''unlimited drinks'' was definitely a lie.

    Continuing on with her slow, sloppy movements, Yujia drags herself out of the kitchen, in the direction of the living room of the small apartment that she converted into an art studio. The wooden floors were covered with newspaper to prevent paint from spilling on it, and the papers crinkled under her feet as Yujia walked through. She ends up slumping in front of one of the canvases, staring at it from the dim lighting of a small lamp that Yujia turned on when she walked in.

    The canvas had a simple, unfinished portrait of a bird, the feathers life-like and almost jumping off the page. Looking at it, Yujia brushed her fingers across the canvas, her face twisting into anger.

    Why wouldn''t anyone buy her work? She was talented! The picture on the canvas was pure talent! Pure skill! She was the top in her college, the favorite of every professor!

    Yet, now¡­

    Angrily, Yujia reaches over, pulling open a bottle of black acrylic and splashing the paint forward at the canvas. The paint satisfyingly spills out of the bottle, dripping over the colorful bird and masking it with the thick darkness of the acrylic. It doesn''t take long for the entire canvas to be invaded by the splash of sloppy, messy paint.

    If Yujia was sane and sober at the moment, she would likely regret her decisions in less than a second. Acrylic was expensive for an unemployed artist like her. Dumping most of the bottle on the canvas was a stupid mistake that she would become upset at later, but for now, as drunk as she was, Yujia could care less.

    Her hands fumble for the bottle of beer, but Yujia finds that she can''t locate it. Perhaps she dropped it on the floor during her rage with the bird and the black acrylic.

    Yujia doesn''t bother to search the floor for long. Instead, to fill her desire to drink more and more and more alcohol to flood all her emotions away, Yujia reaches over to the next best thing¡ª the bottles of acrylic she had by her side.

    With her hazy, unfocused vision, Yujia glances at the acrylic. Some part of her brain tells her that the bottle is paint, not beer, but another part tells her that she ran out of paint months ago, and there was only beautiful, beautiful alcohol resting inside each of the bottles.

    The second part of her thoughts doesn''t make much sense, but at the same time, it does. Why wouldn''t she use paint bottles as containers for beer? It''s only sensible. It saves money.

    At the thought of money, Yujia remembers that her rent is coming up again. Despair and anger rises up inside her once more, controlling over all of her senses. Without another thought, Yujia leans over and pulls a bottle of orange acrylic to her.

    She uncaps the bottle.

 2 Fourth Miss, Who?

    Yujia wakes up with a very irritable headache¡ª the clear signs of a hangover.

    How drunk did she get last night for her to become reduced to such a state? Drowsily, with her eyes still closed, she curls up, holding herself closer. She didn''t want to completely wake up yet and face both the headache and cold, harsh reality. Yujia grabs the blankets around her a little closer, keeping herself war¡ª

    Wait.

    Blankets?

    Her eyes shoot open, and Yujia blinks.

    As far as she can remember, she never woke up in her bed after a night of drinking. Yujia was always in peculiar places, stuck in a closet or underneath a desk¡ª just not in a bed, much less tucked neatly under the blankets.

    Her eyes scan her surroundings, and Yujia deems the place abnormal. For one thing, she did not live in a neat and organized, oriental-style room with beautiful vases and carefully plated wooden floors. She lived in an ugly, cheap apartment, infested with cockroaches and covered with newspapers to prevent floor damage.

    ''Don''t tell me that I''m still¡­ drunk?''

    Perhaps this was the way that her brain dealt with reality¡ª making her reimagine her surroundings. She was certain that a night of sleeping would lead for her to become sober, but maybe she really did drink too much last night? Speaking of which, vague and fuzzy memories of what she did in her studio last night began to drift into her thoughts.

    Before Yujia could think any further, the sharp throbbing headache came back to bother her, sided along with a wave of nausea. Her following movements were instinctual. Yujia scrambled over her bed and grabbed the first thing she saw¡ª a conveniently placed copper basin¡ª vomiting profusely into it.

    Afterwards, she dropped the basin down and leaned up against the bedframe, ignoring the dull clattering noise it made on the elegant, clean wood floor. Yujia clutches her head, attempting to regulate her thoughts, which were now streaming all over the place, lacking any sort of concentration.

    It didn''t make sense. Would she still be hungover if she was still drunk? Though, at the same time, how could this wonderful, heavenly place be reality?

    Her thoughts were disturbed once more when a girl, not older than sixteen or seventeen years old, walked in the room, holding a towel and a copper basin that looked oddly identical to the container that Yujia just threw up in. Yujia stared blankly at the girl, her mind only going into crazier thoughts.

    She must still be drunk. She has to be.

    Why would there be a girl, dressed in a set of ancient, oriental clothes, be in her apartment? Or wherever this place was?

    Yujia moved backwards, distancing herself from the girl. What crazy dream was this? Could her subconscious just not deal with the rent that was due, leading her to simply become¡­ insane? Stuck in this mindset that for some reason, she was now in ancient times?

    "Miss, you''re awake!" The unfamiliar girl sets the basin on a nearby table, dipping a pristine white towel into the water contained in the basin, her slender hands twisting the towel to squeeze the water out. She then proceeds to walk forward, reaching forward with the damp towel to wipe Yujia''s face.

    Flinching, Yujia pulls the blankets closer to her. "Who are you? Where am I? Am I going crazy?"

    "Miss? It''s me, Hui''er." The girl draws her hand back, looking confused. "Are you still¡­ drunk?"

    Hearing those words, Yujia takes them as a sort of assurance. Of course she was still drunk. None of this could be real. For all she knew, this girl was just a figment of her imagination, conjured so that Yujia could have some sort of therapist to talk to.

    Well, if that was the case¡­

    Yujia reaches forward, hugging the girl and sobbing into her shoulders. "Hui''er, is it? Thank you, drunk-self for blessing me with someone to rant to. I''ve been needing this for a while. Hui''er¡ª you don''t understand, rent is coming up for me and I can''t pay it. What if I get evicted from the apartment? I still don''t have a job, and I only have a few dollars from the painting I sold last month. Should I rent a studio? There won''t be a kitchen or bed or anything, but I guess I can sleep on newspaper¡ª I get plenty of that for free. What should I do, Hui''er? No one''s buying my paintings, and I haven''t had a steady job ever since I graduated!"

    Hui''er awkwardly stiffens, appearing unsure of what to do. "Miss, are you alright? I''m sur¡ª"

    "¡ª no, I''m not alright, Hui''er!"

    Ignoring Yujia''s interruption, Hui''er continues. "I''m sure that Old Master wouldn''t say no if you asked for an allowance raise. Though it might take a lot of face to ask him for some. And what do you mean by¡­ ''apartment''? No one is going to evict you from the household, Miss. You wouldn''t need to worry about anything! And what''s ''newspaper'', Miss? Is it more comfortable to stuff beds with than feathers? Even though you''re the Fourth Miss and only get chicken feathers, they''re not much worse than geese feathers or down."

    "Hm?" Yujia blinks twice, drawing herself back.

    Old Master? Fourth Miss? Feathers? Weren''t all mattresses made with memory foam these days? Who would still stuff beds with feathers?

    And Hui''er''s lack of understanding of everything made Yujia even more suspicious. If Hui''er really was a counterpart of her brain created to help her cope with reality, then why would this girl not recognize what ''apartment'' and ''newspapers'' meant?

    "Hui''er¡­ is there a mirror around? Bring me one."

    Nodding, Hui''er set the damp towel on the table and turned around, going out of Yujia''s sight and coming back into the room shortly after, holding a small, circular bronze mirror. "What do you need it for, Miss? You never liked looking in your reflection back then, so you told me to put the mirror up. I had to look for it to find it"

    Yujia waves her hand carelessly, grabbing the mirror and holding it up to herself, not bothering to answer Hui''er''s question.

    The reflection shone in the mirror, although nowhere as clear as the smooth mirrors that Yujia was used to because of the bronze tone, displayed a goddess descended from the heavens. The girl in the reflection was young, perhaps nineteen to twenty, but still beautiful, with flawless skin and dark, sepia brown eyes, the color of the irises hidden under her elongated eyelashes deep like honey. Her lips were dainty and colored like a painted doll, a soft, blushing pink, complimenting her fair complexion.

    By far, this was nowhere near what Yujia looked like as far as she could remember. She was always conflicted with a spray of acne on her forehead, and none of her features could possibly compare with the beauty displayed in the mirror.

    Could it be¡­ that Yujia was actually sober? And¡­? Could it really¡­?

    "Miss?" Hui''er interrupted Yujia''s thoughts once more. "I think you look much nicer than usual. Perhaps last night, after all the drinking, you''ve become more spirited. You look less sickly than before."

    "I''m sickly?" Yujia gives a small, unbelievable laugh.

    She may be living on instant noodles and beer, perhaps having a bit of liver damage from how much she drank, but by all means, but in her memory, she didn''t look too sickly back then. But now that Hui''er pointed it out, the reflection in the mirror did look somewhat frail, like someone who was just getting better from a long period of being ill.

    "Hui''er¡­" Setting the mirror down, Yujia looks the younger girl in the eyes. "What time period is this? Is there a¡­ dynasty? What is my name? How old am I? And, where am I?"

    Hui''er looked concerned, but dutifully, she answered Yujia''s questions. "Miss, you''re Yang Yujia of course¡ª the fourth daughter of the Old Master. You''ll be eighteen this year. As for the dynasty, it''s the Xiang Dynasty, obviously. We''re in your room right now. It''s the Yang Household. You''ve grown up here all your life. Are you really alright, Miss?"

    Xiang Dynasty? What Xiang Dynasty? As far as Yujia could remember in all her history classes, there was never a Xiang Dynasty in China''s history. Was this another world?

    "Hui''er, are you my¡­ maid then?"

    "Yes, your one and only personal maid!" Hui''er smiles cheerfully, but her smile drops quickly. "Miss, how could you not know all of this? Did you drink too much last night?"

    "I was drinking last night?"

    Yujia was about to ask more, but the annoying headache from her hangover came back, and she felt as if something was pounding her head with a large rubber mallet. Instincts took over again, and Yujia grabbed the copper basin she had before, vomiting into it once more. Hui''er stared in worry at the side, quickly patting the back of her mistress.

    When Yujia was finished with her actions, Hui''er handed the basin with water in it, hastily wiping Yujia''s mouth with the towel. "Miss, I think you really drank too much last night! I''ll go ask for some hangover soup from the kitchens."

    With that, Hui''er hurried out of the room, leaving Yujia alone to ponder her thoughts. The pieces of the puzzle seemed to be coming together now, one by one.

    Xiang Dynasty. Fourth Miss. Yang Household. Hui''er. Bronze mirrors. Copper basins.

    The following thoughts seemed more and more ridiculous, but based on those hours that Yujia spent in her free time, reading tens and tens of romance novels about reincarnation and transmigration¡­

    ¡­ could it be that Yang Yujia, 24 years old and a broke, in-debt artist transmigrated to another world, another time, into the body of a 18 year old fourth miss of some rich household?

 3 The Intoxicated and Clearly Hungover Fourth Miss

    During the time that Hui''er was gone, bringing hangover soup from the kitchens, Yujia was miserably lying on the bed, silently pondering the point of her existence.

    Her life was terrible back in the ''modern'' world, where ever after she graduated from college, there was practically no way for her to find a stable job and pay off her student loans with the stupid art degree she worked so hard to get. People were all looking for graphic and digital artists¡ª not oil painters like her. Yujia''s parents decided to let her attempt to support herself and self-live, self-destruct, so there was even less of an option to rely on her parents for money. Long nights of drinking alcohol became Yujia''s sole hobby, her art skills becoming rusty because of her lack of interest to pursue her career when nothing good came out of it.

    Now that she officially considered herself a transmigrator¡ª proven that this entire thing wasn''t just her going insane and trapping herself in a make-believe world¡ª Yujia needed to figure out a plan. Transmigrators, based on her ''experience'', had to have some sort of secret ''cheat'' that supported them. Was the past owner of this body a beloved character? Or betrothed to some other wealthy, young, and handsome young master? Or even better, betrothed to a prince or a king or¡­ the emperor?

    Sadly, Yujia definitely could not consider herself as an assassin or a doctor. Both of those careers seemed to be the most helpful in this ancient-styled world. Yet again, Yujia begins hating herself for picking such an idiotic career to follow.

    An Artist.

    ''Why, past me? Why did you pick being an artist out of all those helpful paths? What''s the point of knowing how to draw? Is it supposed to help with survival? Do they¡­ even have oil and acrylic paints in this world? Pastels? Pencils?''

    Why did Yujia even transmigrate in the first place? From her intense session of thinking, she could only remember drinking after a high school reunion. Surely simply drinking wouldn''t get her transmigrated. If that was the case, she would''ve done so months and months ago.

    A flicker of a memory flashes through Yujia''s mind.

    It is only a brief image, but in the split second, Yujia remembers an awful bottle of orange acrylic. And lots and lots and lots of paint. In her drunken foolishness, did Yang Yujia drink¡­ a bottle of paint while thinking that it was beer?

    The truth dawns on her, making Yujia want to smack herself at her stupidity.

    ''Oh well. What is done is done. Now, let me figure how to navigate this place without dying, at least.''

    ''Not-to-die'' had to be a good goal. However dangerous this place may be, it was certainly better than her dire situation back in her cramped rent-unpaid apartment back in the ''modern'' world. Still, Yujia didn''t know for sure if this dynasty¡ª considering that the Xiang Dynasty never existed in Chinese history and this was likely to be a different world¡ª was filled with martial artists or cultivators. That, she supposed, she had to discover on her own. For now, perhaps it would be better to lie low and figure out how things worked in this world before doing anything risky, such as declaring her love for Prince So-and-So and becoming the Crown Princess of the country¡ª something that Yujia saw frequently in romance novels but didn''t likely seem to be realistic.

    In the midst of her thoughts, Yujia swiftly pushed herself up off the bed and stood, deciding that now was a good moment to explore the room. However, she barely managed to even stand up an inch before teetering to the side of her bed, her head spinning.

    Right.

    Yujia forgot about the idiotic hangover that somehow came over with her to this world.

    Gripping tightly to the bed frame, Yujia forced herself to stand. Her bare feet were cold against the wooden floors. Except, before she could walk a single step, someone walked in, causing Yujia to stop and look up, observing who it was.

    The girl who just walked in the room was not Hui''er¡ª that was for sure. Compared to the simple white sleeping robes Yujia noticed she had on, the girl was wearing a brighter, more vibrant peach, a color quite pretty and suiting to the soft glow of the other girl''s milky white skin. She was charming and attractive, in a way, not quite as beautiful as the cold, goddess-style image Yujia saw in the mirror of herself, but pretty enough with the smile she had on her face and her large, round eyes.

    Seeing her cheerful attitude, Yujia instinctively lowered her guard, sitting back down on her bed to give her irritating headache some relief and peace.

    As the girl walked over, she politely gave a half-bow, grinning at Yujia. "Big sister, morning! Are you feeling well?"

    Sister? So that was their relationship? Yujia''s lips curled upward, and she nodded. "I am doing fine. Thank you for your concern."

    "Ah, hearing that, Xiaoyi is assured." The girl, Xiaoyi, referred to herself in third person, giving Yujia a brief moment of happiness upon learning that there would be no awkward moment of silence where Yujia had to figure out the name of her supposed little sister.

    Xiaoyi continued, her smile still on her face as she sat down next to Yujia, clasping Yujia''s hands. "Big sister, I heard last night that father set your betrothal to the Yu family. I am sorry for you."

    "What?" Yujia blinked. So, she was betrothed to someone, like most female protagonists. Well then, what was there for Xiaoyi to claim that she was ''sorry'' for? Wasn''t that a good thing? She was about to be married to some handsome, wealthy suitor, where they would grow old together and have adorable children together, and fulfil her dreams of a happy, peaceful life¡­

    Even so, Yujia felt the need for clarification. "What for?"

    With a frown, Xiaoyi tightened her grasp on Yujia''s hands. "Isn''t it clearly known that the Yu family''s old master already has two wives and three concubines? Big sister, how could I not feel sorry for you? That man is old enough to be your father!"

    Yujia''s face paled.

    ''Old enough to be your father¡­''

    ''Old enough to be your father¡­''

    ''Old. Enough. To. Be. Your. Father.''

    Yujia felt like crying. The novels were lies! All lies! Why would they write about handsome young masters and heart-warming, soft, blooming romances? Perhaps Yujia did have high expectations, but she didn''t expect them to turn out to be this¡­ low!

    What was this tyranny?

 4 This Fourth Miss Will Not, Can Not, Must Not.

    Yang Yujia still couldn''t get over the fact that she was actually marrying someone old enough to be her father.

    Staring at the younger girl¡ª Xiaoyi¡ª Yujia pulled away, attempting to keep a calm, collected image when in reality, on the inside, she was somewhat hyperventilating and dying on the inside.

    "Xiaoyi," Yujia stated, "I''m feeling a bit tired now and would like to have some time to myself." She rubbed her temples, soothing the headache that was becoming worse by the minute, especially after learning of her engagement to the old master of the Yu family.

    Xiaoyi, with her wide eyes, nodded, standing up. "Alright then, big sister. Do call for me if you need someone to talk to."

    With that, Xiaoyi headed for the exit. At the front of Yujia''s room, she ran into Hui''er, who was walking in with a steaming bowl of hangover soup on a tray. Yujia''s eyes narrowed as she realized that Hui''er instantly stiffened, appearing uncomfortable while greeting Xiaoyi. Xiaoyi, however, didn''t have much change in her expression, nodding at Hui''er before leaving.

    Once Xiaoyi left, Hui''er, who walked next to Yujia, instantly relaxed, taking a deep breath. "Miss, I have your hangover soup!" She smiled at Yujia, carefully setting the tray down and handing it over.

    Gratefully, Yujia took the bowl from her hands, dipping a spoon into the rich broth. As she blew on the soup resting inside the spoon, Yujia asked with a careless attitude, "Hui''er, why do you appear so uncomfortable around Xiaoyi?"

    Hui''er freezes, backing away a step. "Miss, if I were you, I would stay away from her. There''s something off about the Fifth Miss."

    "How so?" Yujia takes a sip of the simmering soup, enjoying the savory taste. "I think that Xiaoyi is actually quite nice."

    "Miss, don''t you understand? You''re the Fourth Miss. Why would anyone treat you with kindness if they didn''t have ulterior motives?"

    This time, it''s Yujia''s turn to freeze. Slowly, she sets the bowl of soup down. "Hui''er, explain yourself."

    "Isn''t it all about your birth, Miss? Everyone in the household looks down on us because your mother¡­ was never¡­ really married with the old master, not even given the title of a concubine."

    Yujia blinks.

    Perhaps it was because of the fact that learning that her engagement with some old man was already too shocking that made this new piece of information she gathered less surprising. She already accepted the fact that her transmigration definitely wasn''t the most ideal, novel-worthy story.

    Nevertheless, how was she supposed to know that the Fourth Miss was stuck in such a position? Again, Yujia held too much trust in these novels where whoever transmigrated always landed in such a positive scenario as a princess or a rich merchant''s actually legitimate daughter. And even if they did land in the body of someone who was negatively viewed by everyone in their society, they always had wonderful skills to aid them in their survival. Why was Yang Yujia the only one to have such terrible luck to not only be a bastard child but also betrothed to some man old enough to be her father?

    Pausing for a few moments, Yujia asks Hui''er to clarify. "Are you saying¡­ that I''m an illegitimate child?"

    Instantly, Hui''er kneels down in fear. "Miss, I''m not trying to offend you. Please don''t get angry. I''m just stating the obvious facts that everyone knows."

    Puzzled at her maid''s behaviors, Yujia rushes over and beckons Hui''er to stand back up. "Silly, why are you acting this way? I''m just asking."

    "Ah, Miss, I always thought you were sensitive about this topic! Whenever I brought it up in the past, you would always become angry. I thought that¡­ you would dislike it if I talked about it again."

    Yujia begins pitying the previous owner of the body. From what she''s seen and heard about this society so far, she assumed that it must''ve been tough for her to keep herself going in this world when she was illegitimate. Still, for the previous Yang Yujia to become so angry that her own personal maid feared her anger¡­

    "Hui''er, am I someone who gets angry so easily?"

    "No, Miss, not at all!" Hui''er widens her eyes and shakes her head rapidly. "Miss, you''re the kindest person in this villa! No one is as tolerant and patient as you. Even when the household would not provide you with medicine when you were the sickest, you warned me not to fight with them and suffered on your own! Miss, I would never think of you as someone who has trouble controlling their anger. But, it''s only this one topic that always irritates you¡­"

    "I see now." Yujia nods knowingly, taking another sip of her hangover soup. Sounds like the previous Yang Yujia was a total pushover, probably a personality trait that developed because of the fact that she was illegitimate. "So, Hui''er¡­about Xiaoyi¡ª we seemed to get a little off track there."

    "Oh, Hui''er just doesn''t understand the purpose of Fifth Miss trying to get so close to you." Hui''er frowns. "None of the other three misses would ever treat you with kindness¡­ and Fifth Miss always ignored you until two years ago. Even you told me before that you wouldn''t ever trust Fifth Miss."

    ''That''s probably just the previous Yujia having trust issues¡­'' Yujia snorts on the inside while she drinks another spoon of soup. Xiaoyi seemed genuine and considerate, as sweet as Hui''er. For now, she''ll just treat Xiaoyi as Xiaoyi treats her.

    "Besides, Fifth Miss is the one who''s courting the Yu family''s young master¡­ I''m sure she''s just trying to rub the fact that she''s getting a better deal than you in your face!"

    Say what?

    In the midst of drinking another spoon of soup, Yujia chokes and soup sprays out of her mouth. Hui''er jumps, quickly grabbing a towel on the side and wiping the sides of Yujia''s mouth.

    "Miss, are you alright? Did Hui''er say something wrong again?" Worriedly, Hui''er blabbers, taking the bowl of soup away from the choking Yang Yujia.

    Yujia keeps coughing, but she shakes her head. "N¡ªno¡­ Hui''er¡ª you''re¡ª fine¡­ I''m just a little shocked to hear that."

    How messed up was this entire situation? Yang Yujia was marrying the old master of the Yu family as a concubine while the same Yu family''s young master was courting her younger sister? If all the marriage ceremonies played out as planned, wouldn''t that make Yujia a generation higher than Xiaoyi? And how disgusting was it for there to be a double marriage within these families?

    ''Perhaps it was normal within these time periods. Right, Yujia, that must be normal in this ''Xiang'' Dynasty!'' Yujia attempted to assure herself while at the same time, she was still somewhat appalled at how unfair the entire situation was. If only she transmigrated into the body of Yang Xiaoyi¡ª that may have made her life much better.

    After Yujia''s coughs subsided, she turns back to Hui''er. "Hui''er, is it true that I''m marrying the old master of the Yu family? My memory is all fuzzy right now from drinking so much last night."

    Hui''er agrees sadly. "Yes, Miss, you are. In fact, the reason why you were drinking in the first place was because you were in despair that the Old Master created such a arrangement for his own business advancement!"

    ''Oh, the previous Yang Yujia, I relate, I relate. If I were to get into a marriage arrangement like this¡ª which I have¡ª I would drink all my worries away as well¡­''

    "Well then, Hui''er," Yujia sat up straighter, sharp determination reflected through her eyes, "I suppose it''s a good time to let my father¡ª the Old Master¡ª know that this Fourth Miss will not, can not, and must not marry into the Yu family."

 5 When Did the Fourth Miss Learn How to Draw?

    Although Yujia was certainly determined enough to talk to the Old Master of the Yang Household about breaking the betrothal between her and the Yu family, things just never played out like how she imagined.

    She didn''t even need to take a step out of her room before she realized that there was virtually no way that she could manage to convince the Old Master to end the engagement. To start things off, if talking would''ve done it, no matter how excellent Yujia was at persuasion, then the old Yang Yujia would''ve likely thought and tried doing it before she decided to resort to alcohol. This was clearly a situation that Yujia couldn''t talk her way out of.

    Secondly, based on what Hui''er said, this marriage was probably what other people considered as acceptable. There were no reasons for Yujia to not marry the old master of the Yu family. She was the fourth illegitimate child in the Yang family, and for someone like her, the best position she could possibly get would be a concubine to some man. Others might even consider her lucky that someone as wealthy as the Yu family''s old master was willing to take Yujia.

    Yujia''s lips twisted at the thought, and she clutched her head in frustration. As someone who transmigrated from a society with much more modern beliefs, Yujia was definitely not willing to marry some old pimp¡ª that was practically molestation to her! She would rather live her life single and independent, but in this time and age, that seemed like a taboo concept.

    Dejectedly, Yujia stops in her steps and turns around. Hui''er looks at Yujia strangely.

    "Miss, are you not going to go talk to Old Master?"

    "What point is there?" Yujia sighs, turning back around to seat herself at a small table. She taps her fingers on the wood, strategizing any possible solutions to get herself out of this betrothal. After a brief moment, she turns her head back to Hui''er, a new thought in mind. "Hui''er, you mentioned before that I received an allowance. How much of an allowance is it?"

    Counting on her fingers for a few moments, Hui''er deducts, "About ten silver taels every half a year, Miss. All your living costs are already covered, so this would count as your extra allowance."

    Only ten taels? Yujia had no idea how currency in this world worked, but ten didn''t seem like a very high number. Perhaps it really was because again, Yang Yujia was an illegitimate child.

    "Hm¡­ then, if I were to¡­ live off of that money without any of the living costs covered, how long would I survive?"

    "Miss, what are you thinking?" The eyebrows of Yujia''s maid fly up. "You would never need to do that."

    Yujia raises a finger. "Hypothetically, Hui''er. Hypothetically."

    Hui''er hesitates for a few seconds before answering. "Then¡­ maybe only three months if you spent the bare minimum every day."

    Three months? That wasn''t enough!

    "But Miss," Hui''er continued, "last night you already spent half a tael to buy wine, and the previous few months, you''ve spent at least three taels buying other things for yourself¡­ like threads and silks to embroider on¡­ don''t you remember? So if you tallied it all up, at most, you only have six taels left, more or less. At most, if you tried to survive on that, you''ll only have two months."

    Two months? Even worse!

    Yujia clenches her fist. Why did the previous Yang Yujia have such trouble managing her money? ''You could''ve at least left me a full ten taels, alright¡­''

    "Alright then, Hui''er, let me tell you what I''m thinking of." Yujia brushes a strand of her behind her ear. "From now on, before the marriage ceremony with the Yu family and whatnot, I''ll be saving up all my money so I can make a break for it before the marriage. Sounds good?"

    Hui''er looks at Yujia with disbelief. Was her Fourth Miss going crazy? Why would she even think of trying to live with the support of her family, however little that was? "But Miss, the marriage date was already decided to be the sixteenth of next month. The calendars say that it''s the most auspicious date to hold the marriage, so that''s why the Old Master decided to hold it there."

    "Next month?" Yujia winces. "Isn''t that too soon?"

    Hui''er shakes her head.

    Taking a deep breath, Yujia bites the inside of her cheek and waves her hand. "Let''s try to make some money then." She looks around the room, searching for familiar materials that may be lying out in the open. "Say, Hui''er, is there any¡­ brushes and ink lying around? Or whatever you people use to draw?"

    Hui''er thinks for a minute. As far as she knew, her Fourth Miss never drew or learned how to¡ª so why would she be interested in such a peculiar request all of a sudden? Ever since the Fourth Miss woke up this morning, she had acted like a different person, completely unaware of anything. Hui''er had accounted it to the fact that her Fourth Miss might''ve just been still recovering from her hangover and becoming sober, but the more she thought about it, the stranger her behavior was.

    Nevertheless, Hui''er obeyed the Fourth Miss''s orders, and headed out of the room to get some scrolls and brushes for her to use.

    Only a few minutes passed before Hui''er returned, holding the supplies in her hand. Carefully, she laid the brushes and inks out, beginning to grind the inkstone and adding in water to create some ink. The ink was by far the cheapest and lowest in quality in the household, but it would work for the time being.

    Seeing the materials, Yujia''s eyes lit up, and she picked up the brush, twirling it in her hands. As far as she remembered, these brushes that Hui''er brought for her appeared quite similar to the Chinese brushes that Yujia used while in art school during a semester where they studied cultural art. Although it seemed like decades ago that Yujia learned how to mimic the styles of old artists, she could still manageably pass off a decent painting, couldn''t she?

    Dipping the brush into the ink, Yujia flicks her wrist and makes the first, bold mark on the thin scroll of paper.

    Hui''er, on the side, watches with both puzzlement and surprise, her mind continuing trying to piece things together. The Fourth Miss looked like such a professional, standing up and leaning over the paper, her movements precise and clean. Even though Hui''er didn''t have any experience with painting, this¡ª this was obvious to anyone that the Fourth Miss''s movements were not that of someone who had never picked up a paintbrush before!

    What was happening? When did the Fourth Miss learn how to draw? Why was she painting in the first place? Weren''t they talking about her allowance just a second ago?

    Hui''er was more confused than ever.

 6 The Fourth Missâ€™s Game Plan To Conquer the Markets

    Slowly, Hui''er watched as a full painting revealed itself in front of her eyes. The painting was a simple piece depicting a pavillion nestled between yards of mountains fading away in the distance, the moon hanging from the skies while the cloud and fog spread over the mountains, setting a mysterious yet familiar impression. Looking at it allowed Hui''er to immerse herself into the little world her Fourth Miss created. She could practically feel the cool breeze and fluttering leaves brushing by her shoulder, hear the crickets chirping in the night, and touch the moon itself, which seemed to be right in her reach.

    "Hui''er?"

    Hearing the voice of her Fourth Miss, Hui''er snapped out of her dazed look, turning her gaze away from the painting. Reality rushed back to her, and once again, she was back into the dull room that she served at.

    "Hui''er, do you like my painting?" The Fourth Miss set her brush down, tapping the table as she stepped away to view it. "I think it looks rather nice. Exceptionally good since I haven''t practiced this stye lately."

    "Miss, when did you learn how to draw?"

    Every brush stroke, the slightest flick of the wrist, worked together perfectly. The painting was so magnificent that Hui''er''s soul was practically captured into the picture!Hui''er served the Fourth Miss for years, yet she only ever saw the Fourth Miss embroider¡ª when did her Fourth Miss turn into a professional painter?

    "Oh, since¡­ forever." Nonchalantly, Yujia waved her hand. "I am omnipotent. Why wouldn''t I be able to?" Sneaking a look at Hui''er, Yujia figured that her maid didn''t look too pleased with her response, but how was Yujia supposed to explain? Tell the girl that she was actually an art major back in the modern world? Yujia doubted that Hui''er even knew what college was. The world would think of her as crazy if Yujia started spreading word that she was actually a different person, if what they perceived of her wasn''t terrible enough.

    Speaking of which, Yujia learned some very interesting things as she chatted with Hui''er while painting.

    Yujia figured that she needed to dig some information about the previous Yang Yujia so that she didn''t make a fool of herself in public. So, she decided to ''subtly'' question her maid about her personality, behavior, and status. Thankfully, Hui''er didn''t ask much on why she needed to know and answered her questions thoroughly.

    From her mini-interrogation-session, Yujia learned again that this was some strange dynasty called ''Xiang'', somewhere between the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Apparently, after the Sui dynasty, history went a little out of order, and instead of the Li family stepping in to create the Tang Dynasty, some Fu family created the Xiang Dynasty, and now, history was nothing the same.

    This didn''t bother Yujia too much though. Her personal family matters were more concerning to her at the moment. As Hui''er revealed, the Yang family was actually nothing close to the ''big, rich merchant'' stereotype Yujia was expecting. Her father was actually a small merchant with a little bit of wealth amassed, enough to call himself a ''merchant''. The Yu family''s old master was actually the more ideal family for Yujia¡ª they were the third biggest merchant in the capital, running both a salt business and a silk business. Likely, the reason why her father was so eager to marry her into the Yu family would be because of this wealth. He was likely looking for both business connections and a ''bride price'' for her to earn some extra cash.

    Yujia learned bits and pieces of who she was before she asked Hui''er about it, but it was only until this conversation that she learned her entire backstory. Her mother, supposedly, embroidered clothes for a living, and somehow, her father spotted her and decided that she was the one. Certainly romantic, but not very much when Yujia was born and her father take his child to be raised in his villa while the mother of the child was abandoned.

    Yujia, from then, supposedly developed a hatred for everyone in the household, mostly because none showed an ounce of kindness to an illegitimate child like her. Her three older sisters apparently picked on the previous Yang Yujia to an extreme, and her younger sister, Yang Xiaoyi, was heavily suspected and disliked simply because she was too nice. Yujia lived a sickly life ever since she turned thirteen, and was confined to her room up until now, at eighteen years old. She never expected much or took much, and quietly lived her life, enduring all the harsh treatment because that was simply her life.

    Truthfully, it sounded like a sob story to Yujia.

    After hearing all this, Yujia realized that she had practically no resemblance to the owner of the body, be it physical appearance or personality. Miraculously, she wasn''t feeling very sick either, so perhaps transmigrating helped her health in some way.

    All in all, the Fourth Miss Yang Yujia was still a new start for her, a blessing of some sort. She would find a way to make a good future for herself, now back to eighteen, and it wouldn''t involve art.

    For now, however, Yujia had no choice but to stick to her only talent.

    Lightly, Yujia blows on the paint, testing to see if it was dry and figuring out that it wasn''t at all. Frowning disappointedly, Yujia points at the painting and nods at Hui''er.

    "Alright, Hui''er, take this out on the market and sell it. See how much you can make, but don''t sell it for less than¡­ hm¡­ fifty taels."

    "Fifty taels? Silver?" Hui''er''s eyes widen in disbelief at her words. Was the Fourth Miss going crazy? Their allowance for half a year was only ten taels! Fifty silver taels could buy a fourth of the entire villa, which was worth only around two hundred taels. She admits that the painting the Fourth Miss just created was above the skill of an average person, but fifty whole taels¡­

    ''Fourth Miss¡­ are you sure that you''re not going crazy¡­?''

    Yujia hummed a little, taking another glance at her painting. Better to go big, right? People would pay more attention for paintings that cost much more than those that cost an average price. Besides, if it couldn''t sell by the end of today, she''ll just sell it at a cheaper price tomorrow. Didn''t hurt to try.

    "Hui''er, listen to me, and go out and sell the painting. Fifty silvers, more or less, is a good price for my artwork. I plan to save up enough money for myself to buy myself out of this marriage. That works, doesn''t it?"

    Not only did Yujia''s plan sound ridiculous to Hui''er¡ª who ever heard of a case of a daughter buying herself free from an engagement?¡ª but the fact that her Fourth Miss was determined for a whole fifty taels¡­ Everything sounded ridiculous.

    "Miss, I don''t know a lot about art, but I''m pretty sure it won''t sell for fifty¡­"

    Frowning at the information, Yujia took another glance at her painting and then back at Hui''er. Was she looking down on Yujia''s art skills? As arrogant as it sounded, Yujia believed in her talent. The only reason why she fared so badly in her previous body was because the market of the future was geared towards digital logos and designs, which Yujia didn''t know much about. She was sure that in this ''Xiang Dynasty'', painting was still a big deal.

    "Why?"

    Hui''er pointed at the corner of the paper. "Because, Miss, all professional painters have an alias seal to mark their paintings. All the paintings the Old Master has all have that. If you don''t have one of those, then buyers might think this was some fraud painting made by a non-professional."

    Oh. A smile resurfaced on Yujia''s face. She just recalled that a seal would''ve been an important way to mark the works in this time period. Back then, she was used to simply signing her paintings, but in this time and age, a red seal-stamp was about the same as a signature.

    "Well then, Hui''er, that is a problem we must fix." Yujia nods thoughtfully, picking the brush lying on the table again. She dips the very tip of it into the ink and carelessly scribbles her name in the right corner, similar to how she would with a fine-tip paintbrush and a bit of acrylic or oil paint. "Good now?"

    Hui''er nervously looks at the corner of the painting. What was her Fourth Miss doing? All she did was to scribble a few illegible lines in the corner¡­ That wasn''t going to fix anything¡­!

    "Fourth Miss¡­ I don''t understand¡­"

    "Silly Hui''er, that''s my signature!"

    "Your what¡­?"

 7 The Fourth Miss is a Fraud?

    Hui''er was nervous as she stood in the marketplace, holding the painting in her hand. While other vendors had an entire rack of paintings hung up behind them or tables filled with scrolls, Hui''er was the only one in this market with nothing besides a thin blanket underneath her feet to signify that yes, this was indeed a stand and that she was selling the painting in her hand.

    Her Fourth Miss rushed her out of the room quickly, not giving much instructions on how to exactly sell the painting besides the fact that the painting had to be sold for fifty silver taels and that Hui''er should have some more confidence. But¡­ how was she supposed to have confidence when she was the only one in the market who was only selling one single painting?

    Anxiously, her eyes scanned the surroundings, settling on one middle-aged man who was carefully examining all the goods at the markets, especially the paintings. Hui''er held the painting a little higher, hoping that the man would lay his eye on the painting. She didn''t want to disappoint her Fourth Miss by returning without selling the painting, so she had to try her hardest to sell it to anyone.

    Sure enough, the middle-aged man stopped by her ''booth'', staring carefully at the painting. His eyebrows raised, and stroking the wisps of his beard, he stared at the scroll intently. After a few moments of intense observation, he looked up at Hui''er, asking, "Say, girl, who painted this?"

    Hui''er didn''t know what to say¡ª surely she couldn''t say that her eighteen year old Fourth Miss painted it? Sh decided to lie for the sake of business. "My¡ª my old master, sir."

    "Why, is your old master a professional? This is not the work of an amateur, and I have viewed many paintings before, girl. If I didn''t know better, perhaps I could compare this with the work of Zhan Ziqian, although their styles are a little too different to say so." The man nodded thoughtfully, his eyes returning back to the painting. "Though, what is the name of your old master? Is he well known as a painter?"

    Hui''er shook her head hastily. "My old master¡ª he wishes to remain¡ª anonymous." Right. That was a good response. "He''s not well known, though. These can be considered as some of the first paintings he''s releasing out to the public."

    "Ah. Sensible." The man pointed at a distant mountain in the painting, and Hui''er''s eyes followed. "See those lines? The perspective? How expressive. Unique. It''s hard to come across those who choose to paint landscape well. These lines are quite precise. A pity that it''s only in black and white¡ª if your old master chose to complement the trees with strokes of green and gold, that would bring the painting to a higher level."

    He sighed.

    "Nevertheless, I will still like to buy this painting. It is hard to come across a good one like this, with such simplicity yet detail. It will look good in my study. Girl, how much is your old master selling for this painting?"

    This man was interested in buying the painting! Hui''er''s eyes lit up, and she put on a smile. "Sir, this painting will sell for¡ª for¡ª fifty silver taels."

    The last part came out awkwardly. She knew that it could not be a reasonable price.

    The middle-aged man seemed to agree, his posture stiffening. "Fifty taels? Unreasonable, unreasonable. This painting is certainly excellent, but for fifty taels, I cannot pay that much." He scrunched his face up, examining the painting again. "Look, there is not even an alias seal! How does your old master expect to sell such a painting if it has no seal? For all we know, your old master may be a fraud!"

    Hui''er shook her head vigorously. "This is not a fraud¡­ my old master signed the painting himself!"

    This was true. Her Fourth Miss did scribble something at the bottom of the page that she referred to as a ''signature''. Hui''er didn''t know what that meant, but she assumed it was something along artists that she didn''t know about.

    "Signed? What do you mean?"

    Hui''er gestured to the corner of the page. "My old master¡­ put his ''signature'' on the bottom."

    Freezing, the middle-aged man looked to see what she was pointing at. When he laid his eyes on it, he couldn''t help but let out a loud laugh. "What is that? When I saw the painting the first time, I thought it was a cockroach drawn in the corner on accident. Who ever heard of something called a¡ª what did you say?¡ª ''signature''?"

    Before Hui''er could reply, another man went up to her, looking at the painting. He seemed to have caught word of the conversation Hui''er was having with the middle-aged man and became interested. "Why, Brother Wang, it''s nice to see you here." He greeted the middle-aged man Hui''er was arguing with.

    "Yes, yes, I am simply looking for paintings." ''Brother Wang'' greeted the other back. "But¡ª can you believe it? This little girl is saying that her old master is selling the painting for fifty taels!"

    "Fifty taels?" The man''s eyes widened. "Why, fifty taels for a work without a seal? This must be a fraud."

    "Of course. I was thinking that as well. Why else would there not be a seal if it wasn''t created by a fraud? Little girl, your old master is a fraud. This painting must be a fraud."

    At that moment, another man walked up, greeting the other two. "Isn''t it Brother Wang and Brother Liu? What are you two looking at?"

    "Brother Li, it''s great to see you! Can you believe that this painting is fifty taels? And without a seal either?"

    "Why, that''s crazy!" The man, ''Brother Li'', looked to the distance, waving at another man to come over. "Zhang Wen! Didn''t you say that you have some knowledge in paintings? You should''ve come over here. This painting is fifty taels!"

    Zhang Wen walked over, nodding at the three men and greeting them by their names. Afterwards, he proceeded to analyze the painting and came out with the same conclusion¡ª "The painting must be fraud for costing so much yet not having an artist''s seal!"

    The ruckus made by the four men seemed to gather the attention of general crowd browsing the markets. More and more people gradually crowded around Hui''er, all of them calling out their opinions, which generally seemed to be that the painting¡ª the Fourth Miss''s painting¡ª was a fraud. The painter was a fraud. Everything was a fraud.

    Of course, Hui''er knew the truth. The painting was not a fraud that copied the work of some other artist! Hui''er witnessed her Fourth Miss painting the picture from start to end. She could not have copied anything.

    Although Hui''er was nervous in the beginning, when no one would stop to take a look at the painting, she was even more nervous now! This large group of men were all unisonly insulting her Fourth Miss! What was she supposed to do? She doubted that she could even squeeze through the crowd to leave¡­ but what if the men became violent? What if they tore the painting in their anger that the painting was a ''fraud''?

    ''Fourth Miss, why did you put Hui''er in such a cruel situation¡­?''

 8 When the Fourth Miss Searches for Alternatives

    While Hui''er was gone, Yujia paced around her room, occasionally opening a few drawers and cabinets to familiarize herself with this place. She noticed that the courtyard she was situated in was not much bigger than her apartment back in the modern world, something that certainly happened because of her status in the household.

    There were not much things in the Fourth Miss''s possession either. Seemingly, the previous Yujia did not care for much clothing or cosmetics. After searching for a full ten minutes, Yujia only found a stack of neatly folded light blue robes similar to the robes she had on¡ª so pale that in the sunlight, it looked nearly white. Cosmetics, on the other hand, were virtually nonexistent. There were no powders or rouge. Even accessories were cut down to the bare minimum, a few bracelets and hairpins being the only things within the numerous drawers.

    While she pushed another empty drawer shut, Yujia sighed. She was relying on the idea of selling a few of the jewelries the Fourth Miss owned so that she could at least get some more spare change, but that was an idiotic idea in retrospect. Even the occasional bracelets she found looked and felt like cheap jade.

    Her eyes flitted back to the painting material Hui''er brought her on the table. Previously, she managed to paint a decent picture, but she still wasn''t sure whether or not it would even sell for fifty silver taels. With the marriage coming up within a month, how much money could she possibly earn? Was her plan even logical?

    Yujia groaned, sitting down at the table and absentmindedly twirling the paintbrush in her fingers. These materials were foreign to her, making it even more difficult for her to express her artistic values. She was used to sketching out idea with a pencil or graphite, and besides painting with oil paints and acrylics, she also enjoyed sketching. It didn''t seem like the Xiang Dynasty would have pencils invented however, if it came before the Tang Dynasty¡­ not that she knew much about how art developed within each dynasty, but Yujia was pretty certain that painting and art flourished in the Tang and Sui Dynasties, not before them.

    With that thought in mind, Yujia pondered how she was going to somehow find a way to either adapt to the already existing media or figure out a way to invent pencils herself.

    Taking a glance at the inkstone and inkstick, Yujia hesitantly pick up the inkstick lying by the side, drying it off and pulling out a clean sheet of paper. Gently, she dragged the stick of ink across the paper, watching as it made a not-so-satisfactory-but-dark rough mark. The stroke was difficult to transfer onto the paper, but if she pressed hard enough, pigment would definitely come off of the stick.

    So, albeit the fact that she managed to mark the paper with this tool, it seemed rudimentary and difficult to master. With a frown, Yujia decided it would be a challenge to find something to replace a pencil. What was even in a pencil? Lead? Couldn''t be, right? That must''ve been changed years ago. Yujia had an intense moment of recalling before she remembered that they must''ve been graphite.

    Her gaze returned to the stick of ink, pondering the question of whether or not the stick would have graphite inside. If so, couldn''t she pound the stick up, add some water and whatnot, then convert it into a pencil? That was somewhat reasonable¡­ right?

    First, then, Yujia had to discover what to use for the pencil mold. Quickly, she rose up, remembering that while she was discovering her environment, there was a nice tree planted in the front. If she could break off a thin branch from the tree and somehow manage to carve a hole inside of it, couldn''t she then fill the stick with graphite powder and water and somehow¡­ make a pencil?

    The idea seemed quite imaginary, but then again, this was a new world, a new life. Yujia had to take a few pointless risks and try out new things before she could get decent results. For the sake of having a pencil to draw with, Yujia was willing to do all of this!

    Good luck, Artist Yang!

    ¡­

    During the moment that Yujia was reaching an epiphany on pencil-making, Hui''er was still struggling to calm the crowd down. The volume of their voices only seemed to increase more and more, to the point that the entire din of the market was overwhelmed by the racket that the men around her were making.

    And they called themselves wise, mature men! To think that these so called sophisticated men would argue so angrily over one single painting! Although Hui''er was scared by the ruckus, she couldn''t help but admit that she looked down on these men who simply wished to tear others down when they didn''t fit the norm.

    Then, all of a sudden, amidst all the shouting, the clear voice of a young male rang out, breaking all the previous noise before.

    "I will pay thirty silver taels."

    The crowd froze, turning around in surprise to see who it was that yelled out such a phrase. Thirty taels? Even though that was less than the original price of fifty, thirty was still a great deal. Who was so idiotic as to pay a total of thirty taels for a fraud?

    Turns out, the buyer was a man who could not be older than twenty-five, his hair neatly tied back and wearing a set of elegant emerald robes. The man was not the most handsome, but his features were above average and in good proportion, having one of those faces that instantly made the other guess that he was a friendly person who enjoyed the company of others. He held a closed paper fan in his left hand, tapping it against his right hand while nodding knowingly as he walked closer to the painting.

    Hui''er stared at him, but he only had eyes for the painting. This was until he looked up, as if just noticing that there was a mass of angry people around him. His expression changed into a confused one.

    "Why are you all arguing over such a good painting. Why, thirty silver taels is far too little¡ª I say I would pay at least forty for a painting like such."

 9 Taels For the Fourth Miss

    The crowd burst into loud words again after hearing the man¡ª or boy¡ª declare that he was willing to pay forty whole taels for the painting.

    "It''s a fraud, boy!"

    "Don''t be foolish; listen to your elders! We''ve been experienced through painting, and plenty of other paintings are worth your silver, not this fraud of a drawing."

    "Your parents must cut you too much slack. How could you be so wasteful?"

    Ignoring the words of the people around him, the man continued to examine the painting carefully, thoroughly admiring it. "I haven''t seen a style like this in ages." He smiled a bit, nodding appreciatively. "A fraud would not be able to mimic such wonderful strokes and balance. And the way the fog and trees are set¡ª they create a beautiful framing effect. This is a true work of art, unlike what others¡ª" he paused, staring at the others, "¡ª who are clearly unexperienced and making fools of themselves, claim."

    The crowd erupted yet again, but he looked up to Hui''er. "You said that your old master painted this? How much is it going to sell for?"

    Hui''er stuttered in her speech a little, shocked by the fact that the painting was going to sell when before, she expected the crowd to tear the work up. "It''ll be¡­ fifty¡ª fifty tales, sir."

    "Hm¡­" He thought about the price, but clearly, it was still difficult for him. "How about this?" Leaning a little closer, the young man whispered to Hui''er, "I actually bluffed about the forty taels¡ª I only have thirty-five on me." He gave an awkward laugh. "Truthfully, I''m looking for someone to paint a unique picture for me¡ª I''m getting married half a year later, and I really want to give a gift to my bride to show my dedication. And, I feel like a special painting may do that. I''m willing to pay up to a hundred taels in total, so how would your old master feel if I bought the painting for the thirty-five on me, and then commissioned him for sixty-five?"

    The proposition was interesting¡ª Hui''er would give him credit for that. Besides, she doubted that her Fourth Miss would get any others buyers if she rejected this young man, so perhaps thirty-five would have to do for now. The other sixty-five taels would not hurt, either, since the Fourth Miss was looking for ways to make money too.

    Without thinking much, Hui''er agreed. The young man seemed content with that, and he quickly handed over a sack of heavy taels. Carefully, Hui''er rolled up the painting, tying it with a silk ribbon, and giving the scroll to him.

    With that, the exchange was completed.

    ¡­

    "Miss, I''m back!"

    Excitedly, Hui''er entered Yujia''s room, but her speech paused when she saw the state that the Fourth Mises was in. She was lying on the floor, attentively holding a thin and long stick of wood, shaving at it with a spare blade, almost as if she was sharpening the point. The Fourth Miss''s appearance was a mess, her hair tangled up from the typically neatly combed state, and her clothes were stained with a bit of dirt while a few leaves clung onto the folds of fabric. The room was in disorder too, drawers all pulled open as if someone was looking through them.

    A million scenarios ran through Hui''er''s head of what exactly happened to her Fourth Miss for her to land in her current state. But, upon seeing Hui''er, Yujia''s eyes lit up, dropping the blade and stick in her hand with a clatter and grinning.

    "Hui''er, do you have the fifty taels?" She brushed a strand of her hair back. "I''ve been waiting for you for forever¡­ what took so long at the market? It''s almost evening already."

    "Ah¡­" Hui''er decided to not question her Fourth Miss''s appearances for now. "Well, there''s a long story¡­"

    She began reciting to Yujia the exact details of what happened, and Yujia listened angrily yet carefully. At the end of the set of events, Yujia exclaimed her thoughts offensively.

    "These men¡ª what fools! Calling me, Yang Yujia, a fraud? What fraud? They are frauds!"

    She had an art degree in college! By all means, she was educated, compared to them! The elements of art, perception, composition, theories¡­. How could they call her work a fraud?

    This was more frustrating than having no one buying her work!

    While Yujia ranted, Hui''er looked nervously at the sharpened spear-esque stick in the corner along with the blade. Was this the reason why her Fourth Miss was sharpening the wood¡­? To avenge those who cursed her work? But how did she know beforehand that this event was going to happen?

    Even more ideas entered Hui''er''s mind.

    After a few more angry sentences, Yujia finally calmed down and patted Hui''er soundly on the shoulder. "Now, say, you mentioned some guy who would pay?"

    "Yes!" Hui''er quickly distracts herself from her thoughts, fishing out the heavy satchel from her side. "Miss, here is thirty-five taels."

    "Thirty-five? Only thirty-five? I thought there was fifty!"

    Hui''er looks apologetic while she explains. "Well, Miss, we came to an agreement that he would pay thirty-five for this painting, and then, he would specially commission you for a sixty-five tael painting as a present for his future bride."

    Yujia takes the satchel from Hui''er''s hands and pulls it open, pulling a few silver taels to make sure that she wasn''t scammed. "You agreed to it?"

    "Of course, Miss!" Hui''er nods earnestly. "I figured that since you were trying to sell your work, and this buyer was willing to give you another opportunity, then it was a good solution! Plus, since he''s paying one hundred taels total, that would be fifty taels per painting¡­ a good deal, isn''t it?"

    Hui''er''s advice goes through Yujia''s mind as she turns around, walking slowly across the room to place the satchel of silver in a safe place. This was certainly a good opportunity, but she originally decided to sell her painting for fifty taels, not thirty-five. If this man wanted to pay only sixty-five for a commissioned painting, that would be no better than her just selling two random paintings for fifty! Surely her work wasn''t worth so little¡­

    After pondering for a moment, Yujia returns to Hui''er''s side, giving her maid an answer. "Hui''er, let''s raise the price by, say, twenty more taels. Eighty-five for the commission, and I''ll agree."

    "Twenty more?" Hui''er was becoming concerned. One hundred taels in total was already a tremendous amount. Wasn''t asking twenty more silvers a little shameless and greedy?"

    "Are you doubting my words, Hui''er?" Yujia raised her eyebrows.

    "No, I don''t doubt what you''re saying, Fourth Miss!" Hui''er quickly shook her head.

    Although she disagreed, on the inside, she was feeling a bit resentful. After all, it was because she didn''t doubt her Fourth Miss''s words that she ended up in such an inconvenient scenario with a bunch of enraged men cursing her. Why shouldn''t she doubt the Fourth Miss''s words now?

    Yujia, nevertheless, was completely unaware of what Hui''er was thinking, satisfied with the idea that Hui''er agreed with her words. "Alright then, Hui''er, go ahead and inform the man. I assume you have an arrangement with him on how to contact each other?"

    "Yes!" The young man and Hui''er decided to meet up this evening by the market again if things went well with informing her ''old master'' about the commission.

    Hearing so, Yujia nodded and waved her hands, squatting back down on the floor and picking up the blade again. Hui''er didn''t move, however, looking puzzlingly at the Fourth Miss, who continued scraping at the stick, the tip becoming sharper and sharper.

    Curiosity forced Hui''er to hastily ask, "Miss, what are you making? I''ve been wondering since I came in."

    Yujia looked up, surprised as if she expected Hui''er to be gone already. She held up the blade in her hand, which Hui''er recognized to be a thin metal piece that her Fourth Miss used to use to slice fabrics and strings, not to¡­ carve wood. "This?" Yujia raised her eyebrows once more. "You''ll see, Hui''er. You''ll see."

    A mischievous smile appeared on the Fourth Miss''s face, and Hui''er shuddered on the inside. She didn''t know what the Fourth Miss was planning to do, but by the look on the Fourth Miss''s face, Hui''er''s suspicions about the spear-for-revenge appeared again.

    It couldn''t be¡­ right?

    If the Fourth Miss was making a weapon, why would she use such a thin stick? Still, Hui''er didn''t linger longer in the room, quickly exiting after hearing the "you''ll see". To Hui''er, her Fourth Miss''s aura was just too intimidating, sort of the kind of feeling that she wasn''t carving a stick but rather sharpening a large kitchen knife! She didn''t want to stay there for a moment longer, and no longer wished to figure out what the threatening stick of wood was for.

 10 More Taels For the Fourth Miss

    The young man waited by the market stall where he agreed to meet up at with the girl who sold the painting. While he waited, he hoped that the agreement worked out with her old master. Although he was not the best at deciphering paintings, his close friend, Yu Zixu, certainly was, and spending enough time with Zixu allowed him to understand some bits and pieces. This, of course, meant that part of the reason why he was willing to pay so much was because he didn''t understand much about paintings in the first place¡ª otherwise, he would surely be one of the people amongst the crowd that called the work a "fraud".

    He was one of those nouveau riche that didn''t understand any true perspectives and instead believed that the more money one spent on an item, the better it must''ve been. Therefore, when he heard that there was a painting in the market sold for fifty taels, regardless of what others told him, he thought that there must''ve been a reason for why it costed so much, secretly thinking that the person who painted this must be a legendary artist living in recluse until now.

    As the young man waited, his fingers tapped against each other until he finally saw the familiar-looking girl who was selling the painting this morning. She looked worried and in a rush, her eyes scattering around the market until they landed on him.

    When she reached him, she brought over an unfortunate piece of news.

    "My old master¡ª he''s a bit¡­ greedy, so do forgive him¡ª but he said that for the commission¡­ eighty-five taels will be the price."

    Hui''er, on the inside, was panicking, expecting the young man to instantly drop the deal. Who ever heard of a painting by an unknown artist to sell for eighty-five, commission or not?

    However, the reaction of the young man made Hui''er doubt her own beliefs. Instead of becoming irritated, his eyes lit up, almost sparkling. "Eighty-five! That is no problem. True art¡ª yes, true art must be paid with a good amount of silver."

    Hui''er blinked.

    Was her opinion wrong this entire time? Was her Fourth Miss''s art really worth near a hundred taels? This¡ª this was utterly unbelievable!

    She didn''t understand that all the young man was thinking in his head right now was that he had truly struck a good deal. He believed that since the man was looking for a price this high, surely this old master was an extremely talented and professional artist! It was just his luck that the man was actually willing to paint specifically for him¡­ today was a lucky day!

    Oh, if Hui''er knew what the young man was thinking in his head, she would burst into tears. This man was certainly too gullible¡­ willing to throw away near ninety taels simply because someone he didn''t know claimed to be a master professional artist.

    Eighty-five taels¡­ that was a tremendous amount! In this day and age, twenty-five silver taels would be the dowry of a common-citizen bride and eighty-five taels could be considered as an extremely good dowry only reserved for good merchants and a few low-tier government officials! Peasants would be satisfied for the rest of their lives with eighty-five, and it would take months and months for a common farmer to earn even ten silver taels, much less a whole eighty-five.

    And, plus the thirty-five taels given for the first painting, the Fourth Miss would have one hundred and twenty taels in her possession! One hundred and twenty whole taels!

    She could certainly buy her way out of the marriage now. Hui''er understood what the Fourth Miss was saying in the morning now, about buying her way out.

    The Old Master only learned fifty taels a month from his busy work, selling his spices and grain. Hui''er wasn''t sure how much the Yu family''s old master earned, but she was sure that it couldn''t be more than one hundred and fifty or two hundred taels a month. For a small concubine like the Yang family''s Fourth Miss, they couldn''t have paid more than a hundred taels as a bride price¡­

    But here, there was a man willing to pay one hundred and twenty silver taels for two paintings, one of them which only took a few hours in the morning and the other which wasn''t even painted yet!

    How much money did this young man actually have?

    ¡­

    Yang Yujia began carving indents into the sharpened stick of wood, trimming the size down until it resembled the length of one of the brushes lying on the table above her.

    She hadn''t carved very much in the past before, so she was surprised at how well things were working out. Humming a small tune, she happily scraped at the stick, wood shavings spread on the floor beneath her messily.

    She was almost complete.

 11 Is the Fourth Miss Getting a Vacation?

    When Hui''er returned once more, she saw that her Fourth Miss looked finished with what she was doing, holding the same thin piece of wood. It was slightly shorter than the paintbrushes still resting on the table and not as wide. The stick was sharpened to a thin point, and the rest of the shape was cylindrical.

    After a few moments of observing, Hui''er still couldn''t figure out what it was, although the idea of a ''weapon'' still remained in her head.

    The Fourth Miss neared her with the sharpened stick, and Hui''er backed away a little. "Hui''er, you''re back again. What did he say?"

    "Um¡ª he''s fine with eighty-five taels¡­" Hui''er reported, "but he wants his commission to be a scene of his fiancee''s home town, near Guilin."

    "Guilin?" Yujia''s lips curled downwards. She knew Guilin¡ª Guilin was a famous tourist site back in the modern world. The scenery of the lands were unbelievably beautiful, and although she never visited the place herself, she witnessed the fascinating scenery on photos that were all over social media. His future wife must be lucky to have grown up from there.

    However, Yujia wasn''t exactly sure how she would paint the scenery if she had only seen a few brief images that were already fading in her mind. That was a problem.

    Hui''er noticed her Fourth Miss''s expression, responding, "I told the commissioner that you haven''t been to Guilin before, so you wouldn''t be able to accurately paint it¡ª"

    "Precisely," agreed Yujia.

    "¡ª but," Hui''er continued, "he said that he was willing to fund us to take a trip to Guilin, and stay there until the painting is completed."

    Yujia''s expression changed at Hui''er''s words, a wide smile appearing on her face.

    A trip to Guilin? Was this a vacation? Yujia would not mind that offer, especially if the fees were covered. Besides, if she managed to make it to Guilin, she might as well stay there for the rest of her life. It was an easy, one-way ticket for her to get out of this marriage! This way, she won''t even have to worry about ''buying'' her way out of the marriage.

    "Hui''er, I do not object to that man''s offer!" Happily, Yujia clasped her hands together. "How do you feel about coming with me to Guilin? We''ll just leave all of this nonsense about Yu family marriages and Fourth Miss struggles behind."

    Why, the heavens were siding with her this time. All her problems were solved with this one easy offer from a stranger she barely knew!

    Life in Guilin would be wonderful, all rivers and lakes and quietly illustrating the natural beauty of the terrain¡­ and, oh, Guilin was known for osmanthus flowers as well! Those were always her favorite flowers. Yujia imagined her future, rowing boats along the rivers and sleeping within the shade of the mountain, smelling the sweet fragrance of osmanthus while slowly living her life.

    "Miss, I don''t think we can do that."

    With those simple eight words from Hui''er, Yujia''s dreams shattered.

    She snapped back to reality, the wooden stick she carried in her hands dropping to the floor with a light clatter. "Why not?" Yujia''s eyebrows knit together, and she frowned at Hui''er.

    "Because¡­ well, what about Madam Liu? We cannot leave her all alone in the city!" explained Hui''er.

    Who in the world was Madam Liu? What relationship did the previous Fourth Miss even have with this random woman? All Yujia cared about was to end her future marriage with some disturbing old man¡­ she did not have time to be caring about her others when her own future happiness was on the line!

    She just wanted to live a peaceful life after being such a failure in her previous life, but all these struggles the previous Yang Yujia left her were tying her down.

    Shaking her head quickly, Yujia shushed Hui''er. "What Madam Liu? I don''t care for any Madam Lius or whatnot. Let''s just leave quickly! Wouldn''t you like to live the rest of your life with me at Guilin? It''s very beautiful there, and I no longer have to fear any marriage arrangements."

    Yujia expected Hui''er to agree with her convincing words, but her expectations were not fulfilled.

    Instead of nodding her head and smiling, Hui''er burst into tears at Yujia''s words!

    Now, that was something Yujia definitely did not expect! Did she say something wrong? All she mentioned was leaving for Guilin¡­ did she unintentionally insult Hui''er in some way?

    Between gasps of breath and lots of flowing tears, Hui''er cried, "M-miss, how could you be so cruel? Madam Liu cannot live without our support¡­ if¡ª if it weren''t for the taels Madam Liu sent to you when you were young to pay for your medicine, how¡ª how would you have survived? And now that her eyes are near blind from sewing and embroidering to earn money for you, and she is sick to the point of not being able to move, you''re saying that you will leave her in Chang''an all alone?"

    Listening to Hui''er explain all of this, Yujia certainly felt a little guilty. This Madam Liu seemed like an important figure in the previous Yang Yujia''s life.

    Hui''er, on the other hand, was not finished, still crying and blaming Yujia. "Miss, why have you become so cruel? She is your mother¡ª your mother by blood! You cannot do this to her!"

    Mother?

    Did Yujia hear right?

    This Madam Liu¡­ did Hui''er just call her Yujia''s mother?

    Both shame and guilt overwhelmed Yujia''s emotions. Although her parents in her previous life refused to support her, claiming that Yujia needed to learn how to be independent on her own and that they could not afford to send her money when they were "barely surviving on their own", she was touched by this Madam Liu''s actions. And now, considering that Yujia inherited the body of the previous Fourth Miss, Madam Liu was her mother by blood. Thinking of all the things Madam Liu did for the previous owner, Yujia figured it landed on her own responsibility to fulfill the task of taking care of her new mother.

    After all, if it really was as Hui''er mentioned, then the Fourth Miss wouldn''t have survived long enough for Yujia to inherit her body¡­

    Sighing deeply, Yujia pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and frowned even more. She originally thought that the heavens were blessing her with an opportunity to leave all her struggles behind, but now thinking about it, Guilin seemed more like a constant reminder of what she could not have.

    Screw the heavens.

    Raising her arm, Yujia tugged at the sleeves of her robes and wiped at Hui''er''s tears. "Stop crying now, silly." She attempted to make her voice somewhat soothing while she dried Hui''er''s face. "I was¡­ joking about before. You''re right¡ª why would I be so cruel to leave my mother behind?"

    Tentatively, she patted at Hui''er''s shoulders after making sure the younger girl was no longer crying. "Now, since I cannot leave my mother behind, let''s bring her with us to Guilin! I''m sure she would appreciate that too."

    Right! While the words exited Yujia''s mouth, she couldn''t help but congratulate herself with her brilliant ideas. If people were tying her down to this place, she''ll just bring them with her! Problem solved.

    "No!"

    Hui''er''s voice shattered Yujia''s dreams again.

    "What now?" Almost exasperatedly, Yujia threw her hands up. No to this, no to that¡­ she just wanted to go to Guilin! Was it really that hard?

    "Miss, we can''t do that! Think of how far Guilin is from here. We are in the capital city, and Guilin is too far south! Even if we take the river routes or travel by horse, it would take months to go from Chang''an to Guilin¡­ And with Madam Liu''s health so terrible that she cannot even exit her house, how will she make it during this long journey?" At the thought, Hui''er''s eyes began to water again. "It''s likely that before¡ª before we even make it to Guilin, Madam Liu would''ve already¡ª already passed away!"

 12 The Fourth Miss Gives Up

    "Passed away?" Yujia looks at Hui''er, her eyes narrowing with frustration.

    She couldn''t go to Guilin, nor could she bring her troubles along with her to Guilin. Why wasn''t anything working?

    Angrily, she bends down and picks up her "masterpiece", a sharpened stick she dropped earlier, not noticing as Hui''er deliberately backed away another step. "You know what, Hui''er? I give up. I give up, alright?"

    "Miss¡­ I''m sorry¡­"

    Yujia looks up at Hui''er''s downcast expression and instinctively reaches forward to pat Hui''er''s head in a sort of comforting manner, thinking of what to say in order to console the young girl. In reality, however, Yujia was thinking more of what she wished someone would encourage her with, repeating the words to herself while pretending like she was assuring Hui''er.

    "Don''t worry, silly. It''s not your fault; why should you be sorry?"

    At those few phrases, Hui''er looks up, her eyes sparkling. Earlier, she thought that the Fourth Miss was acting a bit immature and inconsiderate, constantly bringing up the idea of leaving her mother alone, but now, with her new words, the Fourth Miss somehow appeared to¡­ grow up? Her words were wise and thoughtful, shining new light on Hui''er''s impression on her the other.

    Perhaps the Fourth Miss wasn''t too bad of a person after all¡­

    ¡­ but then, still, what was that threatening-looking sharp wooden stick she was clutching tightly in her right fist?

    Hui''er recalled this morning, where the Fourth Miss responded with a "you''ll see" when she asked what the "sculpture" was for. Yet now, since the "thing" looked finished, surely Hui''er could get a proper answer.

    "Miss, I cannot guess what you are trying to make. What is that piece of wood?"

    "Ah, Hui''er, that''s a pencil." Yujia triumphantly waves her little creation in her hand. "I don''t think you have ever seen one, have you?"

    She looks expectingly at Hui''er, and Hui''er simply shakes her head. How could she have seen something like this? And if she did, she would just treat it as a sharpened stick, nothing much to take note of and definitely not whatever the Fourth Miss was calling it. What did she say again? A¡­ pen-cil?

    As Hui''er thinks, Yujia feels pleased with herself that earlier, she guessed right about the fact that pencils were not a thing yet. She was satisfied with the thought that a morning of learning how to scrape a piece of wood with a thin blade until it resembled something similar to a pencil didn''t go to waste. If she was told that pencils were already a thing, the tragedy of working so hard to carve a model of something already existing coupled with the fact that Guilin was no longer a option would surely be too much for Yujia to take¡­

    "Well then, congrats. It''s your first time seeing a pencil." Yujia presents the pencil on her flat palms. "In fact, this can be considered as my¡­ invention. You are the second person to ever lay your eyes onto something like this. Consider yourself lucky."

    Hui''er was baffled. How could a sharpened piece of wood be considered as an invention? Didn''t ancient cavemen use similar things to spear fish and roast meat? And didn''t some trees just have extremely sharp branches growing on themselves? If anything, it was mother nature who invented a "pencil" first, not her Fourth Miss.

    "What is it for, Miss?"

    A grin stretches on Yujia''s face. This is the question she was waiting for. "Drawing, Hui''er. I am revolutionizing art. Gone are the days of brush and ink! I bring along technology, the modernistic, and contemporary art." She pauses at the last bit, thinking deeply. "Cross out the last part, though. It''s not exactly contemporary¡ª but contemporary enough for this time period, I suppose."

    Hesitancy spreads across Hui''er''s face. Again, it was one of those times where she could barely understand what her Fourth Miss was implying. Was the stress of being unable to go to Guilin too much for the Fourth Miss? Was this her breaking point? Did the Fourth Miss go crazy?

    "Miss, are you¡­ alright?"

    Alright? No, Yujia was not alright! She was ecstatic, enthusiastic, eager, her miniature speech before about revolutions and improvements exciting her more than her target audience, Hui''er, who she was attempting to persuade.

    "Hui''er, I honestly cannot wait." Pure bliss appears on Yujia''s face.

    In contrast, to Hui''er, the smile seems more eerie than pleasant, as her image of the Fourth Miss and her invention was more of a negative sort. She was still unsure what the Fourth Miss meant by "pencil". Instantly, she becomes uncomfortable as she imagines the Fourth Miss and her intentions with the "pencil".

    Yujia, meanwhile, doesn''t sense Hui''er''s discomfort, and instead, reaches over with her free hand to grab Hui''er''s hand. "Come on, Hui''er, let''s get going."

    Hui''er tilts her head. "Where are we going?"

    "To the marketplace." Nonchalantly, Yujia spins the pencil in her hand. "This pencil, as you see here, is not actually a working product. It''s all made of wood. No graphite. You can''t exactly draw with it. I sort of made it¡­ just to have a model to explain with." She smiles a bit. "That''s why, Hui''er, we must go to the market and find someone who has actual tools and skills to create us a few copies of them. And then, I''ll buy some supplies to fill the pencils up with graphite and clay. A pencil will be born that way."

    Hui''er nods despite still being clueless.

    Releasing the other girl''s hand, Yujia rushes to her bedside and reaches under the pillow, where she placed the sack of silvers earlier. "We have our money, don''t we? Now, all we need to do is to exchange it for some¡­ goods." Yujia grins again.

    Although Hui''er is still unsure of the intentions of her Fourth Miss, she decides to go with the Fourth Miss to the market. After all, only a few moments ago, she was extremely distraught over Guilin, and likely still was. Hui''er didn''t want her Fourth Miss to be stuck in that defeated mindset, so distracting her with the marketplace was a good idea as well. Why stop the Fourth Miss when she finally takes interest in something?

    So, as Yujia leaves her room and courtyard, a light skip in every step, Hui''er quickly follows after, hoping that her Fourth Miss will stay this way, carefree and happy.

 13 The Young Master Paints

    Yu Zixu is painting a scene of mountains upon mountains upon mountains.

    It is a simple painting, the strokes of his brush short and swift as he dots the details onto the scroll. Most painters agree that paintings of landscape should be captured with a few brisk marks of his brush to create a blurred, distant appearance, but Zixu disagrees. Perhaps it is his style¡ª a style of detail when there should be none and a style that achieves the effect of being clean and uncluttered from a faraway glance.

    With a few more flicks of his brush, he scatters millions of little raindrops onto the scene. Water droplets seem to almost drip from the top edge of his painting, vanishing as they descend down into the rolling fog between each mountain. He decides that this painting will be a picture of a quiet rainy day, as tranquil and calm as his current mood.

    Zixu is about to create some light jade-blue ink by the side to add a bit of color to accent the mountains when he is interrupted by someone pushing the door open and entering his room, the person''s footsteps loud and familiar.

    He doesn''t need to turn around to know who it is¡ª there was only one person who entered his study without his permission, and that person was Bo Zhiyuan, both his friend as well as the second young master of the very honored Bo family.

    "Zhiyuan, what do you need?" Calmly, Zixu picks up the green inkstick and grinds it against the inkstone, watching as ink slowly emerges.

    Swiftly, Zhiyuan moves so that he''s situated right in front of Zixu, resting his head on the palm of his hand. "Painting mountains again?"

    "Yes."

    Zixu liked painting mountains. There was something about watching his paintbrush add on layers and layers of mountains that always made him go back to painting them.

    Zhiyuan silently watched Zixu paint for a few moments before interrupting again. "So, I bought another painting recently."

    "You did?"

    "Yeah." Zhiyuan traces an imaginary scroll in the air. "I don''t have it with me right now, but it looks really good. Sort of like yours."

    This catches Zixu''s interest. Although his friend certainly wasn''t a professional and enjoyed wasting money, it was rare for him to compare another artist''s work to Zixu''s. Carelessly, Zixu asks, "How much did you pay for it?"

    Zhiyuan answers with an equally carefree tone. "Thirty-five silvers." He pauses a bit, thinking. "Though, if I remember correctly, they were originally selling it for fifty. I got a good deal, didn''t I?"

    Fifty taels? Zixu purses his lips. Thirty-five or fifty, both were still in the mid-to-high range for paintings. Then again, Zhiyuan was someone who didn''t exactly understand how much money that was worth, so that usually explained his actions. He had as much gold and silver as he wished under his fingertips.

    "I''m curious to see the painting of yours now." Zixu smiles lightly.

    "Don''t worry!" Zhiyuan straightens himself. "I already commissioned the same artist to paint me a picture for Luowei, since you know, we''re getting married soon." A soft expression comes across his face, and Zixu is amused of how lovestruck the other was whenever they talked about his fiancee, Zhou Luowei, a daughter from a government official with as much political standing as Bo Zhiyuan''s family.

    "And how much did you pay for that painting?"

    "Eighty-five. I wanted the painter to give me a scene of Guilin, so I''ll probably have to throw in a few extra silvers. Good art comes with a price, right?"

    Even after all these years of being friends with Zhiyuan, Zixu was still amazed at how easily he threw these numbers around. Sure, the Yu family was not poor either, but Zixu at least knew something called wise spending and conservation.

    "Do you even know who the painter is?"

    At Zixu''s question, Zhiyuan shrugs. "Nope. There was sort of this girl, a maid, I guess, selling her old master''s paintings, and I was interested. So, I bought it."

    Sometimes, Zixu doubted how sane his friend was. Why would he spend a total of one hundred and twenty silvers on a painter he didn''t even know the identity of? What if the painter was a fraud?

    Zixu sets the brush in his hand down, looking at Zhiyuan in the eye. "How many times do I have to tell you that you can''t judge the quality of someone''s work by the cost?"

    Holding his hands up in defense, Zhiyuan looks bewildered. "I swear, I have my reasons! Even though I admit I definitely like to buy things¡­ because of how much they cost, I think you would''ve thought the painting was worth that value if you''ve seen it with your own eyes! It''s that good."

    "Aren''t you just thinking of more excuses?" Zixu sighs.

    There are a few moments of brief silence before Zhiyuan breaks it with a groan. "Alright, I admit, I definitely thought more about the price than the quality."

    "You''re going to get scammed a thousand gold taels by someone someday, and you''ll be perfectly fine with it because ''the price over quality'', right?" Zixu casts a pitying gaze towards the other.

    Zhiyuan catches onto the sarcasm and mocking, laughing loudly. "I mean, we all know that if it''s a thousand gold taels, I''m sure that it''s definitely going to be something good." He grins widely. "Well then, you keep painting your mountains and being the perfect young master of the Yu family. I have a wonderful commission I paid for waiting for me to negotiate and discuss."

    Smiling again, Zixu directs his attention back onto his painting. "Go ahead then." He picks the brush back up, dipping it in the settled light blue-green ink and applying a touch of it against the horizon. His movements are steady as he traces the color back onto the mountains, and while he does so, he can''t help his thoughts from going back to Zhiyuan and the commission that would surely turn out to be a waste of money.

    Oh well.

    Zhiyuan would be Zhiyuan, never learning his lessons even if he really did throw away hundreds of siler for no particular reason. For now, Zixu should simply focus on finishing his painting.

    And therefore, he does.

 14 The Fourth Miss Goes On a Shopping Spree

    At the moment, there could be nothing that made Yang Yujia happier than the heavy satchel of thirty-five taels in her hand. She slowly made her way from stall to stall, tossing the bag up and catching it mid-air continuously, earning lots of concerned looks from Hui''er.

    "Miss, you''re going to attracts lots of attention from thieves if you keep doing that."

    "Oh, hush, Hui''er."

    She had lived in one of the biggest cities in the twenty-first century. What sorts of pickpocketing methods had she not seen? Snipping bags from straps, pulling wallets from unaware backpacks, grabbing entire suitcases¡­ Yujia knew all the tricks and trades from the numerous videos online showing the methods of street thieves for entertainment as well as witnessing these methods in person herself.

    Yujia was also not particularly concerned because she doubted that there were many thieves who would dare to steal from her in broad daylight. Besides, most of her concern was finding a vendor who offered custom wood carving, so all her attention was on that.

    "Skewered candied fruit! Hawberry and more!"

    "Fresh steamed buns! Both sweet and savory. Excellently fluffy and tasty!"

    "Trinkets and jewelry! Colors and shapes of all types!"

    As she passed by stall after stall, Yujia had to continuously remind herself that she only had one goal today, and that was finding the proper mold for her pencils. It was almost too tempting to spend all her silver on the millions of interesting things that were being sold in the market.

    After a while of browsing, Yujia''s eyes caught on one particular vendor who displayed brushes and paints. Her gaze made contact with the middle-aged man who was selling the supplies, and with a broad smile, he gestured at her and then at his goods.

    "Young miss, are you interested in the arts?"

    Putting a sweet smile on her face, Yujia nodded, stepping closer to the stand. "Yes. I''ve been running out of supplies lately, so I''ve been looking with different types of ink to experiment with."

    "Oh, then you are definitely at the right place." The smile on the middle-aged man only grew larger. "You see here, although I am only a small merchant, my supplies are definitely top of the class, no less than the things they sell at the art academy."

    Yujia''s eyes widened at his statement. "There''s an art academy?" She didn''t expect there to be things such as academies in this empire.

    "Of course, young miss! Have you not heard of it? You must be a beginner to painting, then." The man nodded thoughtfully, and Yujia didn''t bother to correct him about the fact that she was not a ''beginner'' to painting¡ª she was just a ''beginner'' to this entire world. "All prospecting artists will head over to the art academy¡ª which, Lingxin Pavillion is the greatest one¡ª to learn of painting, and although most will not allow females like you to enter as students, they still sell art supplies to everyone. People generally only buy from them since they''re the most ''trustworthy'', but I doubt that they really have much besides their name."

    As far as Yujia could remember, there was no such thing as an art academy back in history lessons in the modern world. But, according to this man, these academies were actually quite an important thing?

    "Anyways, miss, are you still interested in buying from me? I promise my prices are reasonable and there is nothing flawed about the quality of the materials used to make these."

    With a examining gaze, Yujia picked up a brush and twirled it around in her fingers. She liked the weight of the paintbrush¡ª it was not too heavy or too light¡ª and the simplistic design carved into the wood was quite beautiful too. "I like this brush." She held it for a few more seconds, then picked up another longer brush with fine hairs for the tip. "And this one too."

    "I make them all myself," boasted the vendor.

    Yujia stared for a few more minutes at the materials. It wouldn''t be bad to have a few more painting supplies on hand, would it?

    "Well then, I''ll take these two. And a few sheets of paper for painting, one or two scrolls as well, and one of every inkstick and inkstone you have, except for black ink. Give me two of those" She passed her fingers over the different materials displayed. "Will twenty taels be enough?"

    Hui''er stared with horrified eyes at the Fourth Miss.

    The vendor stared with horrified eyes at his customer.

    Twenty taels? Was she kidding? Even if she was buying a large amount, twenty taels was overpriced. Did she even understand how money worked?

    "Young miss, that is far too much." The merchant quickly backed away, waving his hands. "I cannot take that much. Seven taels will be enough for all these things."

    "Seven?" Yujia frowned, thinking that it was truly litle for all these supplies. "Alright then. If you say so."

    She pulled a few taels out of the satchel and exchanged them with the man while he wrapped up and handed over the items she bought. Yet after she accepted the bag he handed over, Yujia spent a few more moments looking at the items he had on display.

    Originally, she decided to buy these painting materials since she figured that it was still a good idea to have some higher quality supplies on hand. However, her goal for going to the market in the first place was to discover places where she could buy things to make pencils out of, and even though her secondary goal was met, her initial motive was not fulfilled.

    "I have one more question." With a hesitant voice, Yujia picked up another one of the brushes he hand on display, longer than both of the ones she previously bought. "Earlier, did you say that you made all of these yourself?"

    "Yes, I did."

    An uncertain smile traced Yujia''s lips. "I like the things you make. Would it be possible to ask for a custom order?"

    The man looked taken aback, as if he was never asked the question before. Which, considering that he was such a small merchant that he was simply selling at a stall, that was a very likely situation. "Why, young miss, I would be honored to. What sort of brush are you looking for?"

    Now that she received confirmation from the vendor, Yujia became slightly more confident. "Then, here." Quickly, she gestured at Hui''er, who pulled out the pencil model she asked for her maid to carry. "I have this¡­ invention in mind. Something I will call a pencil."

    "A pencil?"

    "Essentially, it''s just something that resembles a brush, but instead of a brush at the top, the handle here is going to be hollow inside, sort of like a¡ª circular hollow center? And inside the center, there is going to be a mixture of, say, graphite and other things that I will pour in. When it solidifies and you sharpen the point," Yujia points at the top of her pencil model, "you will be able to write with it."

    The vendor looked doubtful. "That''s an interesting idea you have, young miss."

    "I don''t need you to do all the graphite and things. I just need you to take one of these brushes you have and remove all the hairs, and then hollow out the center. Would that be a big task?"

    He thought for a moment, then replied, "No, not at all."

    "Good." Yujia grinned cheerfully. "I will need around ten of these."

    "Ten?"

    "Yes. And if you could, have five extra molds that aren''t extremely fancy. I will need to use those to test out the graphite mixture." She paused, then continued, "Could I also get the raw materials you use to make the inksticks? You do use graphite, right?"

    "Well, graphite is a bit rarer now in making inksticks," explained the man, "since they don''t produce the highest quality ink. There are still some sellers who do use it though, so I can ask around and buy some for you."

    "That would be great. Thank you so much for your help." Yujia gratefully pulled out her satchel of silver again. "How much would this commission cost? Will twenty-eight silvers be enough? That''s all I have on me at the moment."

    Hui''er stared with horrified eyes at the Fourth Miss.

    The vendor stared with horrified eyes at his customer.

    Young miss, if you''re going to be buying things, at least understand how currency works! Twenty-eight was not a small sum. In fact, ten would be all that the vendor needed!

    Why did this girl throw around money like it was useless? How wealthy¡ª or idiotic¡ª could she possibly be?

 15 Which Imbecile Dares to Steal From the Fourth Miss?

    Yujia was back to tossing her considerably lighter satchel of coins up and down while her other hand held a fabric bag carrying the art supplies she just bought. Surprisingly, the vendor she bought from earlier had materials on him, and all he had to do was to drill a few holes into the premade brush molds. It only took an hour or so for him to finish, and Yujia could wait that long. She didn''t have anything else to do.

    Now, the pencil molds were inside the bag of supplies with all the other materials she bought, but the graphite Yujia needed would not be here until tomorrow, where Yujia planned to go and pick them up immediately. For now, all she could do was to either browse a little more to find anything she wanted to do with her silver or to return home.

    "It''s late in the afternoon, isn''t it, Hui''er?" Absentmindedly, Yujia spoke while continuously tossing the satchel and walking forward at a leisurely pace.

    "Yes, Miss. In fact, it''s nearing the evening."

    Yujia couldn''t believe that only a little more than half a day has passed since she transmigrated into this world. She was already getting so much things accomplished! She was proud of herself and her productive talent that she didn''t seem to have back in her world.

    Thinking about it, Yujia suddenly straightened herself, turning sharply to look at Hui''er while stopping in her steps. "Hui''er!"

    The younger girl looked bewildered. "Miss, is something wrong?"

    "We haven''t had lunch!" Yujia bit her bottom lip. All she had this morning was hangover soup, and she was very, very hungry. "I was so caught up with making my pencils and everything that I forgot about it. We must go to eat lunch, Hui''er. Do you know any good places?"

    "It''s a little late for lunch, Miss." Hui''er laughed awkwardly. "But don''t you remember Auntie''s pastries you liked to go to? It''s just down the street. We can buy some of those."

    Without a moment of hesitation, Yujia agrees. "Sounds good." The two continued to walk and she resumed to tossing the bag of coins.

    Yujia''s guard was down, not the slightest bit defensive. Everything was perfect today. Her success in all the tasks she chose to take on put her in a good mood.

    Yet something¡ª a flurry of movement¡ª catches Yujia''s eyes. Her reflexes take over, and in the next moment, she swiftly snatches the bag of taels she had just tossed up into of the air, holding it close to her while her head whipped backward to look at who had caused the rapid movement. It was a young man wearing an extremely suspicious hat that shaded half of his face. His clothes were messy and torn, and his entire appearance was very disheveled.

    Instantly, one word appears in Yujia''s thoughts.

    Thief.

    The eyes of the thief met with hers for a brief moment, except in the next, he was gone into the crowd, just a shadow of a blur.

    Exhaling deeply, Yujia held the satchel of silver out, feeling the secure weight of it in her hands. Good thing she caught it quickly; otherwise, someone else would be enjoying her hard-earned eighteen taels today.

    "See, Hui''er?" With a pleased look on her face, Yujia waved the sack of coins. "I told you that you didn''t have to worry about thieves and whatnot. Who am I? Yang Yujia. Why would I let a mere thief steal from me? I would have to be a fool for them to do so."

    Yujia expected Hui''er to nod agreeingly. She didn''t expect to see a look of shock¡ª or was it fear?¡ª to cross Hui''er''s paling face while she stared blankly at her Fourth Miss.

    "Hui''er, what''s wrong?"

    Did Yujia scare the girl with her terrific reflexes and responsive skills? Was she actually that impressive that her maid would be reduced to such a state? No way, right?

    With a shaking finger, Hui''er pointed at Yujia''s left hand. "M-miss¡­!"

    "What?" Yujia looked down at her empty hand. "Is there something wrong?"

    Then, realization came to her.

    In her moment of triumph and victory of saving her silver taels, she entirely forgot about the bag of art supplies she bought from the vendor. Her precious bag that was worth a whole seventeen silver taels, filled with her hope and desire to bring pencils to the world¡­

    ¡­ gone! All of it!

    The thief must''ve taken it from her hand while she was preoccupied with saving her satchel of coins. Why were these thieves so creative? How could they think of such a ridiculous¡ª yet effective¡ª method?

    Her cherished, beloved paintbrushes! And ink! And paper! And most of all, her pencil molds!

    Yujia thought she was so intelligent, so talented¡­ but all along, all she was being was an arrogant fool! She should''ve heeded Hui''er''s warnings. If only she was better at taking advice, at taking criticism, at just simply being a more cautious person¡­

    Yujia wanted to cry.

    Instead, she chose to do the more sensible way of exerting her frustration and anger. Raising her voice, Yujia yelled loudly into the crowd of people.

    "THIEF!" She pointed at the direction the thief headed, shouting, "Catch that thief!"

    Yujia didn''t wait for Hui''er to respond or for own mind to formulate a more logical response. Quickly she patted her maid''s shoulders, giving an assuring smile. "Hui''er, I''ll be back soon."

    And then, she ran after the imbecile who dared to steal her art supplies.

 16 To Suffer the Angry Wrath of the Fourth Miss

    It was only until Yujia began running that she realized she wasn''t exactly sure where she was running at and how far away the thief had made it during the time it took for Yujia to take action. Still, she continued to run, although still unsure of the purpose of running and what she would do once she was reunited with her supplies.

    Back in the modern world, Yujia was not the biggest fan of running¡ª it was too much work and by all means, she was lazy. On the other hand, in this current body, she was still quite incapable of running. Not even five minutes have passed, yet she was already breathing heavily, her heart pounding.

    Perhaps it was because, according to Hui''er, she was only "just starting to recover" from an illness that supposedly stuck with her for years and years. It was reasonable for a patient recently cured to be still physically weak, so how did Yujia expect to catch up with the thief? Even if he was famished and underfed, judging by his appearance, he still seemed more athletic.

    After a few more minutes of very slow running¡ª or more like jogging¡ª Yujia stopped, attempting to catch her breath as she stumbled through the crowd. She looks back and at her surroundings, realizing how far away she was from Hui''er, and instantly begins regretting her decisions.

    This was an unfamiliar world with strangers and a different environment. Making rash decisions like these, such as running after the thief, would only bring her more trouble in the future.

    Yujia added "rash decisions" to her list of things she needed to personally improve on, right next to "heeding other''s warnings".

    While she walked, her eyes looked all around until a set of movements in the corner of an alleyway hidden by shadows of a few tall walls caught her attention. Yujia focuses on the area, seeing a few familiar colors she swore she saw a moment ago on the thief.

    Without another moment of hesitation, she walks in that direction, putting the little voice in her head to "think wisely before doing so" away. She''ll think about those things later. Right now, for the sake of her beautiful pencil molds, she''ll simply have to stick with her favorite rash decisions.

    ¡­

    Fu Yushang swore that he had better things to do, but he could care a little less. It was simply too boring in the palace, so he had to run out and do something productive with his life, whatever that meant.

    At this moment, it meant that he was running to catch thieves and cornering them up against the wall.

    "So," he pressed his elbow up on the wall, flashing a smile at the thief, "how''s the weather?"

    The thief, simply a boy hoping to get some money to buy a few pieces of steamed bread, looked confused. Was this extravagantly dressed man asking him what the weather was like? He decides to stay silent for now.

    Clearly, Fu Yushang was not satisfied with the silence. He sighed deeply, repeating his question, "I asked, how do you feel about the weather?"

    "The weather¡­ is good?" The thief looked up at the sky. The weather was nice, and the sun was out. It definitely was a pleasant day.

    "Exactly. Then, if you have eyes on your head and you can see the sun shining down on your head, then what compels you to steal in broad daylight?" Yushang grabs the arm of the thief, raising it upwards. "And from young girls, much less?"

    He pulls the bag out of the thief''s hand, and although the thief struggles to take it back, Yushang''s strength was simply greater. With his spare hand, he pulls out the contents, which consisted of mostly of art supplies and nothing of much value.

    Yushang looks at the art supplies for a few moments, wondering what the world has become for people to steal paintbrushes and inkstones from young girls on the street. Were people that desperate for anything and everything?

    He looks at Si Shen, his personal ''guard'' of a sort, who was standing quietly behind him, nearly unnoticeable because of his hushed presence, and tosses the bag to him. "Here, keep these away." Then, Yushang looks back at the thief, stepping back and putting his arm on the shoulders of the boy.

    The thief is expecting a violent beating to take place where these so-called righteous people harmed those lower than them for the sake of being righteous and "reducing crime". Instead, the man in front of him seemed more willing to give him some honest advice.

    "Look, I get that you need food or money to buy medicine for your sick baby sister or something¡ª I hear those excuses all the time¡ª but you have to know who to steal from and when the right time is. I suggest nighttime. There''s a reason why all the crimes happen at night. Your best target is drunk, rich men too, not young girls who buy art supplies."

    Yushang gives a kind smile to the thief, expecting a very grateful reaction yet getting none. Did he say something wrong? Or¡­ oh, right. There was always that one phrase he had to include to get a reaction from these thieves.

    "I understand that you''re going through a hard time, so I''m not going to hold you accountable for your actions. I''m trying to do good deeds for society, so I redeem you and will release you. Next time, learn to steal the right way and don''t let me catch you a second time." Yushang takes his hands off of the other boy''s shoulders, continuing on with his smile.

    Unlike the others that Yushang has dealt with, this thief does not act extremely appreciative with the wisdom he was just bestowed with. Skeptically, he moved to the side a step and asks, "Why are you doing this?"

    "For my good deeds." Yushang gives another wide grin. "Plus, I do think that thievery is a needed thing in this world. Who else can we blame when we lose an important object? I just don''t agree that innocent people should be harmed, like girls who buy art supplies or old grandmothers buying things for their grandchildren, and typically rich men are not very innocent, since they''re usually corrupt politicians. So, by giving you what I think is quite a well worded lesson, I believe I am doing good for the world and I like that."

    The thief looks at him for a few more moments. He must think of Yushang as a very peculiar person, but Yushang didn''t mind that too much. It was always fun to mess with the minds of others to make them think that he was a crazy man when even he himself didn''t understand half the things that were coming out of his mouth.

    Yushang gives an encouraging wave towards the exit of the alley, and very, very deliberately, the thief backs away. But then, before he can leave, someone with a look of extreme anger appears in the opening of the alley, her face contorted and red while she breathes heavily, looking as if she just ran miles and miles.

    While she nears Yushang, his eyes widen and he notices that she really was quite a beauty, with dark hair messily hanging down her back and long eyelashes. He always thought hair was the most attractive feature of a woman. In a trance, he stares at her for a few seconds, his mind a little fuzzy until a sudden thought cleared it up.

    Why was such a beautiful¡ª though furious¡ª person walking into such a dark alleyway?

    Was Yushang honestly so attractive that all the beautiful women just came flocking to him? That would explain a lot. Except then, why did she have that outraged look on his face? Was it because she thought that she was the most beautiful individual in the world until she met Yushang and realized she truly wasn''t as excellent compared to his charming and quite handsome features?

    He looks towards the thief he just let go, realizing that the girl had clutched onto the head of the boy, practically dragging him with her. The thief carries a fearful look which makes Yushang confused again.

    When she reaches him in a span of seconds, her voice is cold yet strong.

    "I didn''t know that the thief had accomplices."

 17 To Suffer More of the Angry Wrath of the Fourth Miss

    Yujia glared at the three men in the alley. Sunlight from above was caught among the shadows of the walls boxing them in, but a few strands of the light escaped and glinted off her eyes which were shining with fury.

    No wonder the thief worked so fast! He must''ve had accomplices, with one of them distracting her by snatching her coins while the other grabbed at the package in her other hand. As for the third person¡­ she expected him to be some sort of mastermind of the plan who arranged for them to all meet here once the goods were stolen.

    She looked at the three, noticing that the one she held by the collar of his clothes looked the most rugged, while the one standing in the very back of the alley and mostly concealed by the shadows appeared to be dressed in simple dark clothes.

    The remaining person, a man¡ª or boy, judging by the fact that he didn''t look too much older than everyone around¡ª was the person she currently faced. Lavishly dressed in comparison to the rest of them, the boy wore light colored robes, and a wine red cape lined with fur draped over his shoulders to keep him warm from the early spring weather. His ears were pierced, a small bit of gold embedded into each one. The thread that lined the edges of his robes were also gold, glowing in the sunlight.

    Ah. With his extravagant appearance, he must be the one that was in charge of everything.

    With her glare turning to focus on him, she declares, "I didn''t know that the thief had accomplices."

    He looks at her, his lips parting a bit in disbelief. The thief''s accomplice? Him? He was Fu Yushang, the empire''s one and only cr¡ª

    Yushang decides that now was not the time to bring up his great and almighty status. Instead, he flashes the girl a charming smile. "Miss, I think you''ve confused people like him," he gestures to the thief behind her, "with me. You see here, I am not the thief''s accomplice. In fact, I was the one who captured him. He was the one who stole these things¡ª oh, are these yours?¡ª and I merely confronted him about it. Just now, I was ready to turn him into the officials as well."

    The thief''s jaw dropped as he stared at the other in disbelief. A few seconds ago, he was going on about doing good deeds by letting the thief go, but now that a pretty girl turns up, the attitude of this man seemed to change completely!

    Yujia, meanwhile, casts the seemingly rich boy a judgemental glance. "Don''t even try to lie to me. A few seconds ago, I even saw you letting that thief go after taking the things that I," she emphasizes her tone on the "I", then continues after a brief pause, "spent my preciousmoney on and bought. If you weren''t the thief''s accomplice, then why would you do that?"

    God, people and their excuses. Couldn''t they think of a better one?

    She notices that the boy winces a little. The smile on his face drops and he scowls, turning to the other man who was standing behind him. "Si Shen, go ahead and be my witness. I confronted the thief, didn''t I?''

    The man in the shadows¡ª or Si Shen¡ª steps forward, replying quietly. "Yes."

    Yujia sighs. "It doesn''t work like that. Clearly, he is personally involved with you. How can he be the witness, then, if his statements could be, and definitely are, biased?"

    Si Shen looks a bit confused. The rich boy, on the other hand, continues to scowl, pointing to himself. "Do you even know who I am? How dare you doubt my words?"

    "No, I don''t know who you are." With a scoff, Yujia gives him an exasperated look. "What, are you Jesus Christ or something? Why do I have to believe in every word you say? It''s not like gold spills out of your mouth when you speak or something."

    People were just so arrogant in this time period¡­

    While she rants, multiple thoughts spin around in Yushang''s mind. Who was this ''Jesus Christ'' person she was speaking of? All his life, people were always speaking with a respectful manner to him, no matter what he was doing. Even if at the moment, he was not in the palace where he held superior power, it was still rare to meet a girl with such a disrespectful attitude as her!

    This girl better wait until he gets back to the palace. He will use his power as the crown pr¡ª

    Yushang''s thoughts are once again interrupted when the girl steps closer. Out of pure reflexes, he takes a step back.

    "So, I''ve never met someone who was as shameless as you." Yujia fumes at him angrily. She takes a step closer, and he takes a step back.

    She steps forward again. "How often is it that you catch someone red-handed yet they still have the face to tell you they''re completely innocent?" He takes a step back.

    Once more, she moves closer. "You, sir, have no conscience. Shouldn''t even thieves have a sort of moral conduct? Right now, you''re just stealing from girls like me in the marketplace, but next, who are you going to be stealing from? Families struck in poverty? Women gone homeless when their husbands are dead? Will you stoop so low that you''ll even steal a stray dog''s hard-earned meal? Where is your sense of remorse and guilt?"

    While she moves closer, Yushang is forced to take numerous steps back until he is right next to Si Shen, who seemed as baffled as he was. How were the words of this girl so powerful that both of them were so stunned that they couldn''t think of words to retort back with? Although Si Shen was supposed to be his personal bodyguard and was never shaken up by the most violent of things, at this moment, standing next to him, Yushang notices an awe-struck look on his face.

    Was his personal bodyguard so amazed by this girl''s words that he didn''t even bother to try defending his master, the person he was supposed to protect, at all?

    As Yushang continues to hold anger towards his bodyguard, Si Shen was quietly admiring the fact that this girl had such a strong skill of making his master wordless. He always figured that since his young master grew up surrounded by luxury and flattery, his ego was a little too inflated, so it was a good idea that he received such a scolding from this girl.

    Si Shen''s eyes met with the girl, and she turns her glare onto him. Not wanting her to transfer her anger onto him, he looks at her and gestures to Yushang, who was next to him, then giving the girl an encouraging nod. He hoped that his silent message transferred over¡ª ''I''m not involved, but keep going with berating that man over there. He deserves it.''

    Although the girl seemed to understand his thoughts, she still keeps her eyes on Si Shen. "Don''t think that you can get out of this easily too just because rich kid over here irritates me. Since you three are all equally involved," she casts Si Shen another glare, roughly grabbing her bag of art supplies out of his hands, "you will all come with me to be judged at the court."

    Si Shen looks at her with a pleading gaze. He was definitely not involved in this! His young master just wanted to let go of the thief, but he never had any word in it!

    Fu Yushang looks at her with a grimace. He was definitely not involved in this! He didn''t ever say to the thief that it was alright to steal from young girls, and he was definitely not the thief''s accomplice either!

    The thief looks at her with tears almost springing into his eyes. He was definitely involved in this, but he just wanted to get some extra money on his hands. He didn''t know that the entire situation would spin into some strange circle of misunderstandings like this!

    Seeing all of them look at her with terror, Yujia gives all of them a sweet and triumphant smile. She didn''t think that a girl like her would cause much damage with words alone, so she had to go psychological and exploit the guilt in all of their hearts. Otherwise, why would these three men who would definitely be physically stronger than her even become slightly nervous by her words?

    The more she speaks, the more fun she has with looking at the expressions on their face morph into different variations of each other.

    "What do you all think the punishment is for thievery?" she hums, keeping the smile threaded on her lips. "I''m not good with law, but don''t they chop off your hands for that? Whichever hand stole the things¡­ chop chop!"

 18 The Fourth Miss Pathetically Runs Away

    "Chop¡­ chop?" A hesitant look is cast onto Fu Yushang''s face. Then, since both of his hands touched the bag belonging to this girl, does that mean that he''ll lose both of his hands? He didn''t think that he could do much without hands, so that couldn''t be the case, right? And besides, he didn''t exactly steal the bag¡ª as long as he proved his innocence, he wouldn''t suffer any of this¡­

    ¡­ wait! Why was he even thinking like such? There was no need to even worry about going to court. He was the crown prin¡ª

    And once more, his thoughts were interrupted when he looked back up to see the girl.

    While he was frantically thinking, Yujia was staring at the quietest one out of the three¡ª Si Shen. She was yelling at them a second ago, but then the glint of light reflecting off of a blade caught her eyes. Focusing on the object, she realized that it was a dagger halfway sheathed on the man''s belt, just barely visible in the light. Her eyes widened, and she looked around him, realizing that three more of these were attached to his belt, each one larger than the next until she found that one of them was even a full-length sword.

    Yujia''s eyes then turned to the rich boy, finding that no obvious weapons were on him, but judging by the fact that the other one had four weapons broadly displayed on him, the rich one had to have some sort of weapon concealed to. Perhaps it was that fan he had carelessly dangling off his belt. Maybe, like those wuxia and action novels, it would transform into a weapon when opened. Or, maybe that luxurious fur cape draped over his shoulders was lined with all sorts of daggers on the inside.

    As for the thief who originally stole her bag¡­ she was sure that he must have a weapon on him as well!

    It is at that moment that logic and intelligence finally returns to Yujia, and her anger fueling her boldness vanishes. She realizes that this was a dark alley, and that there were three grown men so close to her that she could reach over and easily touch them. She looks down at the bag of supplies in her hand that she snatched from the quiet one earlier.

    She already got what she came here for in the first place¡ª her art supplies. If any of these people decided to take action and take the art supplies and the taels on her away at the very moment, she would be powerless to respond. Although all three of them look young, Yujia had to remember that she was only eighteen in this body as well, and it was a very weak and fragile body.

    ''Ah, Yujia, what did I tell you? You have to think before you act¡­ acting so recklessly like this will only bring trouble to you in the future¡­!''

    Her inner voice is taunting her again, and Yujia looks back at the bag in her hands. There was no longer any reason to stay here. The saying that people make foolish decisions when guided by their anger was right.

    Putting a shaky smile on her face, Yujia grinned and nodded. "Yes, chop¡­ chop. But since I already have my things returned to me, you three thieves no longer concern me¡­ and my kindness is too great to cause harm to you despite the fact that you harmed me¡­ emotionally. I will leave now. Yes. Goodbye."

    With that, she leaves, quite anticlimactically to all her previous words, but Yujia had to remind herself that now was not the time to be bold and daring¡ª she could save that for later. Yujia didn''t wait a single second before running back to the light shining from the outside of the alley.

    ¡­

    Hui''er was frantic. She didn''t like the fact that her Fourth Miss was always running off without telling her exactly what she was doing. It was dangerous and troublesome.

    Lately, her Fourth Miss was acting different. Too different. She knew how the other girl acted¡ª she had nearly served the Fourth Miss for her entire life. After drinking too much the previous night, her Fourth Miss already had a drastic change in personality. Before, she was a quiet and kind girl who never really saw sunlight or offered to go to the market to buy things¡ª Hui''er was always the one who did so¡ª yet now, she was easily irritable and arrogant, nothing like how she previously was.

    The Fourth Miss also never knew how to paint before. She never had any interest in any arts besides her embroidery. How could someone learn painting within a few seconds? Although this version of her Fourth Miss certainly didn''t know much about the exact economy and details of art, her skill in painting belonged to someone who was not a beginner. So, even though she acted like a beginner with her lack of knowledge, her skill clearly argued otherwise.

    Everything was inexplicably confusing. Hui''er was not dense¡ª she knew that something happened. Her Fourth Miss was practically a different person now.

    While she wandered through the markets, her mind still focused on the issue of the overall personality change of her Fourth Miss, a familiar shade of white cloth appeared in her vision, and she looked up, seeing the smiling face of her Fourth Miss.

    "Hui''er, were you worried?" The Fourth Miss smiled again, grabbing Hui''er''s hands. "I told you I''d be back soon, and guess what, I got the art supplies back from the thief! All good, isn''t it? There''s no way a thief would dare to steal from me and not face the consequences."

    While her Fourth Miss boasted, Hui''er continued thinking, looking very carefully at the face of the woman in front of her. This was all too strange. The girl in front of her clearly looked exactly like the Fourth Miss, but in every other way, she was not the Fourth Miss.

    Hui''er drew her hands out of the grasp of the girl who looked like the Fourth Miss in front of her, her face blank while she slowly asked the question that had been on her mind the entire day.

    "You are not the Fourth Miss. Who are you?"

 19 A Dilemma For the Fourth Miss

    "Who am I?" Yujia pauses, observing Hui''er''s tense expression and pose.

    Of course. Hui''er was not dumb. She didn''t have the mentality of a four year old. Yujia should''ve guessed. Based on how much the maid knew about the previous Yang Yujia''s life, of course she would have her suspicions.

    Maybe Yujia was reckless, and maybe Yujia made brash decisions. But she didn''t know how Hui''er would react if she told her she was from another world, from the future, and that the Xiang Dynasty, to all her knowledge, never existed in Chinese history.

    It would be better to lie than to be honest.

    "Hui''er, what are you saying?" Yujia gives the girl a convincing, relaxed smile. "You''re so silly; if I weren''t the Fourth Miss, who would I be?''

    She could feel Hui''er''s eyes drilling into her, as if the younger girl was staring into her soul.

    With an icy tone, Hui''er lifted her chin up, replying, "If you were the Fourth Miss, then you would know about the Xiang Empire and the situation of the Yang family. You wouldn''t trust Yang Xiaoyi so simply. You would know that your marriage into the Yu household was hopeless, and that you had a mother waiting for you outside of the villa. You would not know how to draw. You would not dare to run after thieves."

    There is a long moment of silence between the two. Hui''er is the one to break it.

    "So, you don''t need to lie to me. If you were the Fourth Miss, you wouldn''t be like this. Tell me the truth¡ª who are you?"

    Yujia looks at Hui''er, taking in every inch of resolve the young girl held. Hui''er was just too smart. Silence once again reigns between them while Yujia hastily attempts to think of a story, an excuse.

    "Alright, alright, you win." Yujia puts on another careless smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Just like you said, I am not the Fourth Miss. What are you going to do about it, though? Your Fourth Miss is gone and never coming back."

    Hui''er takes a cautionary step behind. "Then, who are you? What did you do to her? Where is she?"

    "Your Fourth Miss is on her way to a town in the south where she will live a better life without a marriage she never wanted." Yujia tilts her head, the words of her story coming out slowly. She didn''t think that she could convince Hui''er that she was indeed the Fourth Miss. She didn''t think that Hui''er would believe the soul-exchange transmigration story either. Amnesia was also not a possibility¡ª she didn''t plan that path out when she first began talking to Hui''er. Making up a story that made sense would be her best chance.

    "I don''t think your Fourth Miss ever told you, but Madam Liu¡ª my mother¡ª didn''t give birth to only one daughter. She had twins."

    "Twins?" Hui''er''s cold expression fell off her face, replaced by a puzzled look. "Then¡ª then why didn''t I ever see you when I visited Madam Liu?"

    "Because¡­ my mother had wealthy relatives away from this city. My father didn''t want to care for one extra child, so he decided to leave me with my mother while taking your Fourth Miss with him. My mother didn''t want me to end up in the same state she was in, so she sent me to those relatives, where I learned my artistic skills."

    Yujia paused for a little bit, as if she was reminiscing the past, when in reality, she was still frantically thinking of the next step to her story. She then continued.

    "My mother didn''t want to be too indebted to those relatives. That is why she only sent me and did not go with me. But now, you can see why I wanted to leave her in this city while leaving to Guilin¡ª even though I am thankful for her sending me to those relatives, I left her at such a young age that I barely even recall what she looks like. How can I hold emotional attachment to my mother if she never raised me?"

    Yujia decided to pull out her best card¡ª her skill in acting overly emotion. A few false tears appeared in her watery eyes, and she looked down, averting Hui''er''s gaze.

    "I was still studying painting when I received word¡ª a letter¡ª from my sister, my twin, your Fourth Miss. She told me that she would be married soon to someone she didn''t want to¡­ and she asked me for advice. I told her to run away, but then she responded with the fact that her family would surely chase her down if she tried to run. So, I agreed to coming here to take her place. Since we are twins, we share the same face, so no one would recognize the switch. At the same time, I can also see who the man that is supposedly my father is. I''ve always been curious about that."

    "You would marry the old master of the Yu family for my Fourth Miss¡­?" Skeptically, Hui''er asked.

    "No, no." Yujia laughed a bit. "I''m only staying here so that she can have enough time to leave and hide herself. By the time that the marriage comes, I''ll be far gone."

    Hui''er still seemed unconvinced, wringing her hands together. "Then, why did you say that you wanted to buy your way out of the marriage?"

    "So that it doesn''t get me into an even sticker situation." Flawlessly, Yujia came up with a quick response. "This gives me a reason to leave without people trying to hunt me down, and I can also give your Fourth Miss something to return to if she ever wants to come back to this Yang family."

    Hui''er pauses for a moment, taking in what Yujia just said.

    "I still don''t believe you."

    What? Yujia was sure that the story was impeccably faultless! There was not a single hole that Hui''er could pick out of her story. She was always good at lying, and this wasn''t a story difficult to keep up with. She didn''t plan on staying any longer than needed at the Yang household, and as long as the only person who could expose her¡ª Madam Liu, her "mother"¡ª didn''t hear of the story from Hui''er, her secret would be safely kept.

    Hui''er should believe the story Yujia just made up. In fact, no, she had to believe the story! With that thought in mind, Yujia puts a smug smile on her face.

    "Believe it or not, that''s the truth."

    Her eyes meet once again with Hui''er''s, and it almost seemed like the younger girl was trying to see through any potential lies in Yujia''s words, yet not being able to find any. Finally, with a reluctant look, Hui''er straightens herself and shrugs.

    "Alright then. What should I call you?"

    Yujia is reassured at these words, but how was she supposed to answer that? She never had another name¡ª this entire twin-sent-to-help story was a lie. Quickly, Yujia thinks of a reasonable response.

    "I do have a name, but for you, just treat me like your Fourth Miss. No need to make things complicated. Call me Yang Yujia, if you wish. That will be my name from now on."

 20 The Crown Prince Drinks Tea

    Fu Yushang blames the girl for being too pretty.

    That was his excuse¡ª he wasn''t used to talking to pretty girls very much about anything besides complimenting how nice they looked that day¡ª so he thinks that it''s somewhat reasonable for him to act like such. Besides, although he doubted he would see that girl again, if he did, he would be sure to respond to her in a way to make himself seem more important.

    With a sigh, he runs his fingers through his loose hair. Even now, hours after the incident, he couldn''t stop thinking about it. There was never a time where he was left wordless by anyone. Not even the top government officials could beat him in a debate at times. Yet this girl¡ª

    It was because she was too pretty.

    Pretty girls never talked back to him. They always happily leaned into his flirting. This girl, however¡­ she didn''t even respond to Yushang''s best card, the "charming smile"! That hurt his self-esteem.

    "Si Shen, say, what do you think about what happened this afternoon?" Yushang spins to Si Shen, who was, as always, waiting quietly behind him.

    Si Shen shrugs.

    "I wish you would talk some more sometime." Yushang nonchalantly poured himself a cup of tea. Most times, maids did things like pouring his tea for him, but in moments like this where Yushang only wanted to talk to Si Shen, he chased all the maids away. "The emperor told you to be my personal guard," he flashed a look at the other, "not a mute."

    Si Shen blinks. "I''m sorry that my quiet tendencies upset Your Highness."

    Although his words were certainly respectful enough, his tone wasn''t, but Yushang could care less right now. That was how Si Shen was all the time, careless of the world and how it functioned and only paying attention to his tasks at hand.

    "So, like I asked you before, what do you think about what happened?"

    "I thought it was funny," he replies blankly.

    "Funny? You thought it was funny?"

    Si Shen nods.

    "You thought it was funny." Yushang repeats his words slowly, taking in a deep breath. "... why?"

    "It''s not very frequent to see you act like an idiot."

    With gritted teeth, Yushang pushes his chair back and stands up, turning to face Si Shen completely, the cup of tea he was drinking at a moment ago forgotten. "Moving on to insulting me now, is it?"

    Si Shen shrugs.

    Yushang takes another deep breath, reminding him that this was Si Shen, and of course Si Shen would act like this. He didn''t know why he was getting so irritated by the smallest of words. Si Shen''s speech didn''t bother him like this usually. Was it because he was agitated from what happened this morning?

    Smoothly, Yushang calms himself and informs, "Well, Si Shen, I don''t think that I was idiotic. I just don''t like talking to pretty girls about serious matters." Promptly, afterwards, he sits down and takes another deep drink from his cup.

    The two of them were silent for a few moments. Yushang stares at Si Shen. Si Shen stares back at Yushang.

    "Hey." As usual, it is Yushang to break the silence. "I''m bored. And I''m done with drinking tea. You want to leave the palace again and grab a drink? Just the two of us. I''m thinking classic rice wine."

    Si Shen shakes his head.

    "No? Why?"

    "It''s nearing the evening. The emperor does not enjoy it when you go out so late."

    "Am I five, Si Shen?" Yushang scowls, standing back up. "I''m eighteen already. Why does it matter what time of day it is that I go out?"

    "The emperor said so." Si Shen shrugs once more. "And you have to take on more responsibility as the crown prince. There are some scrolls the emperor would like you to review and discuss tomorrow at court."

    A disgusted look appears on Yushang''s expression while he thinks of the "scrolls" that Si Shen spoke of. They were reports from the lower level government officials that the emperor himself didn''t personally review, leading the task to end up on him. Typically, they were all the same boring material¡ª tax evasion by so and so group of people, proposals of raising positions, new trading alliances between small states¡ª and Yushang hated reading them.

    He enjoyed being crown prince and getting the power that came along with the position, but the fact that half of every day in his life was stuck in a small room, reading scrolls upon scrolls upon scrolls truly tired him out.

    Thinking for a bit, Yushang puts on a grin. "We can care about those scrolls later. Let''s go drinking. I really want rice wine now, especially the jars they sell at¡ª"

    "¡ª Your Highness." Si Shen interrupts him mid-sentence, his eyebrows furrowed while he speaks his words clearly. "If you cannot take on this small responsibility when you are crown prince, how will you be able to inherit the position as emperor after your father?"

    Yushang pauses in his actions, taking in what Si Shen just said.

    For a brief moment, the two of them look each other in the eye, silence once again existing between them. Then, Yushang sits back down at the table, filling his cup up with tea again.

    "Alright. Can you get the scrolls for me? I''ll work right here."

 21 Teaching the Fourth Miss Lessons

    "If you''re going to take the place of the Fourth Miss, you must learn etiquette. Did they not teach you that before?" Hui''er purses her lips while she looks at her new Fourth Miss.

    Yujia looks up at Hui''er, a piece of sweet braised pork stuck between her chopsticks. Slowly, while she raises the piece of meat to her lips, she shakes her head and shrugs. There weren''t too many things like etiquette in the modern world besides basic common knowledge like not speaking while eating, or apologizing if bumping into someone, and other small things like that.

    "They didn''t really care much about that stuff." Yujia laughs awkwardly. Then, she places the sweet braised pork into her mouth, blissfully feeling the tender fat of the meat dissolve on her tongue while the sweetness spreads through her mouth.

    For tonight''s dinner that Hui''er brought from the kitchen, it was a simple meal that the original Fourth Miss had every night¡ª a bowl of plain rice, stir-fried bok choy, and three pieces of glistening sweet braised pork resting on top of the vegetables. Yujia was already finished with two of the small pieces of meat, the last one sitting alone on top of the untouched bok choy.

    Apparently, while the rest of the Yang family ate together during dinner, the Fourth Miss chose to eat alone in her room, resulting in the simplicity of her meals. According to Hui''er, even the braised pork was a novelty, something the Fourth Miss only had once every two weeks.

    Yujia looks sadly at the last piece of pork¡ª it was just too delicious¡ª and reminds herself that unless she manages to get herself in a better situation, for the next two weeks, she would barely have another bite of that meat except for situations where she decided to pay money for some herself.

    Hui''er watches as the new Fourth Miss reaches forward again for the last piece of pork, shaking her head disappointedly. Staring at the girl in front of her, Hui''er couldn''t believe how she couldn''t realize that she wasn''t her real Fourth Miss from the first minute of talking to her. She should''ve known earlier.

    Before the Fourth Miss could even bring her chopsticks up to her mouth, Hui''er stepped forward and stopped the other, grabbing her hand.

    "You can''t be like this."

    With wide eyes, Yujia looked at Hui''er, then back at her pork, then back at Hui''er. "Be like what? I''m just eating. Is there something wrong with that?"

    "Yes!" Hui''er yanked the chopsticks out of the other girl''s hands, setting the braised pork down and holding onto the chopsticks, pointing at the other. "Your posture is terrible. You eat too fast. Your tone is too accusing to be polite, and you are displaying disrespect by eating all the meat first without touching the rice or vegetables."

    "It''s disrespectful to¡­ eat the meat first?" Yujia was in disbelief. How could that be the case? When was eating what she liked to eat first something disrespectful? And how was she being accusing?

    Hui''er set the chopsticks down at the table. "That''s simply the case. The actual Fourth Miss would''ve never acted like such."

    "Well then, tell me about how perfect your Fourth Miss is." Rolling her eyes, Yujia reached forward for her chopsticks again, only to be stopped by Hui''er.

    Sadly, Yujia eyed that last piece of sweet braised pork now sitting back where it came from, imagining the taste of the pork and that she would probably not get to eat it at this rate if Hui''er was going to act like this. She could only imagine the horror displayed on Hui''er''s face if she grabbed the meat with her fingers.

    "Firstly, the Fourth Miss sits straight no matter what she does, be it eating, embroidery, or simply sitting."

    Quickly, Yujia straightens herself. She never thought that her posture was too bad, but then again, she could always make her back a little straighter, so maybe it was?

    "Secondly, the Fourth Miss also talks very softly. She''s reticent, reserved, and she doesn''t speak much if she doesn''t feel like it. Anyone who''s been around her enough will be able to tell that you''re clearly not her just by the way you speak. You have too much energy when you talk, and your tone irritates people easily."

    "Irritates people easily? How so?"

    Hui''er makes a face. "You sound a little condescending. Too arrogant."

    Really? Yujia thinks back to her past actions. Was she arrogant? Overly confident in herself?

    Perhaps so¡­

    With her posture near perfect¡ª or as perfect as Yujia could get herself to be¡ª she softens her expression and lowers her eyes to appear tired. Taking a deep sigh, Yujia looks back up at Hui''er and asks, her voice calm while she speaks, "Hui''er, is this more like it?"

    She expects Hui''er to agree speedily. This, was at least what she expected the previous Fourth Miss to be like, based on the descriptions she received. Someone quiet, exhausted, and quiet boring, to be honest.

    Instead, Hui''er makes a frown. "You sound nothing like her."

    Yujia winces. She thought that she was going to get it right on her first try! How could that be?

    Or, wait¡ª she was getting too ahead of herself again, wasn''t she? This must''ve been the "arrogance" that Hui''er pointed out earlier. She needed to fix that. Definitely.

    Yujia sighed. "Tell me about your Fourth Miss again. Let''s try again."

    Today¡ª or tonight¡ª was going to be a long night.

 22 Master of Imitation: the Fourth Miss

    Yang Yujia was in a tranquil mindset.

    She pictures herself within the painting she created the day before, amidst all the mountains and fog, sitting inside the quaint pavillion, slowly taking a sip from the cup of tea in her hands. Although she was calm, she reminded herself that she was still aware of the world surrounding her, taking note of every cricket chirp and rustle of wind whistling by her ears.

    Yujia took a deep breath, then opened her eyes. The image of the painting vanished, and she was back in her small bedroom with Hui''er looking at her. Without changing her attitude, she moved her hand in slow but steady movements to set the cup of tea that she was previously drinking to the center of the table, next to the teapot and another cup.

    Yujia tilted her head while looking at the tea. "Hui''er, what sort of tea is that?" Every word that came out of her mouth were quiet in volume yet spoken with clarity, lacking even the faintest hint of a mumble or stutter.

    "Fourth Miss, that is Huangshan Maofeng Tea. The tea is just in season, since the leaves are picked by the newly formed buds. Do you like it?"

    "Yes." Yujia reaches forward and takes another small sip. "The tea is very clean and has a bit of a floral fragrance. The flavor is light and enjoyable. For this spring, let''s keep it at this type of tea, as long as it''s in season."

    Hui''er nods, then looks at Yujia. Yujia looks back into her eyes. Silently, she begs that this time, her acting was decent enough for the maid''s standards.

    Putting a wide smile on her face, Hui''er claps her hands. "You''re getting it! You sound just like her. I would''ve thought that you were her if I hadn''t known. Your imitation is perfect!"

    Yujia relaxes, taking another deep breath of relief and letting a smile appear on her face.

    Finally!

    Finally!

    Finally!

    The two of them practiced all night long, going over things that Yujia thought were actually important, such as greetings and societal structures, then going over things that Yujia thought were barely needed, like tea etiquette that she happened to struggle with up until morning came.

    As someone who barely drank tea in the modern world, Yujia had no clue how to differentiate between green tea, white tea, and black tea. The good news was that by this time period, black tea, white tea, and all those other types of tea had not been discovered yet, so it was just green tea. The bad news was that there were millions of types of green tea that Yujia had no clue about, and that Hui''er insisted that she would need to know of in the future.

    Tea etiquette wasn''t just learning how to differentiate the types of green tea either, as Yujia soon discovered. There were so many rules that Yujia had no clue about until last night, such as being limited to taking small, small sips to "sample the true aroma of the tea" instead of gulping it down without tasting it. Drinking tea was also something for leisurely enjoyment, though Yujia was, at the same time, not allowed to doze off while she was drinking it.

    By now, where Yujia was dead tired and in need of sleep, all these rules had already mixed in her head and she could barely separate them into their individual rules. Gaining Hui''er''s recognition was purely coincidental.

    Yujia rubs her eyes and looks out the paper-covered window. Judging by the amount of light that was shining into the room, it would be early in the morning.

    She didn''t transmigrate to stay up all night long to learn about being some Fourth Miss!

    For a split second, Yujia regrets transmigrating. If everyday was going to be like this, learning about green tea and how to be another person, she would rather return to her old life¡­

    ¡­ or would she?

    Yujia reminded herself that there were positives in this life that outweighed her previous one.

    She had Hui''er as a companion. She had knowledge of painting that would be crucial in the world for success. She had a new identity to live by. She had a pretty face to carry for the rest of her life.

    By all means, she was given so much already! All she had to do was to work a little harder, and hard work was something Yujia shouldn''t be afraid of.

    Just a little bit more of hard work, and she could end up with her name in history as the best painter. She had trust in her own skills.

    Right.

    With this goal in mind, Yujia smiled lightly, turning back to Hui''er. "I sound like your Fourth Miss now?"

    "You sound, look, and act exactly like her." Hui''er agreed enthusiastically. "Training last night paid off." Pausing for a moment, Hui''er gestures to the bed in the back of the room. "Since you didn''t sleep last night, would you like to sleep for a few hours now? It''s still early in the morning. People won''t be suspecting."

    With a longing look, Yujia stared at the bed, thinking of how comfortable it would be to bury herself in those blankets and to never get out again.

    Though, then again¡­

    Yujia reminded herself that now was not a time for laziness! She needed to work hard! Things in life were not going to come free! Her previous motivational speech about working hard wasn''t going to actually have a purpose if she didn''t follow suit and work!

    Swiftly, Yujia made her decision and shook her head. "Hui''er, we have too many things to do and too little time. Get me a basin of water and fresh clothes¡ª I want to prepare myself."

    "Are you going outside, Miss?" Hui''er asked with a confused tone.

    "Yes."

    "Where are you going?"

    "Is there¡­ hm¡­ a river nearby? Somewhere I can go by walking?"

    Hui''er shook her head, although she was still slightly confused. "No, although if you go a little south of the marketplace, there is a forest. I''ve never been there myself, but I heard that there is a creek around there that is similar to a river."

    "Ah. Good enough." Thoughtfully, Yujia nods her head.

    Hui''er was becoming worried again. This new Fourth Miss had too many bizarre ideas. First, she wanted to sell her paintings for fifty silver taels. Next, she was carving some wooden stick that she called a "pencil". Now¡­ now she was looking for a river?

    "Fourth Miss¡­ what is this for?"

    Yujia put on a smile. "Do you really want to know?"

    "Yes!"

    "I figured that mixing the graphite powder the vendor promised me yesterday with water won''t solidify it to the hardness I want it at. You need something to bind the two together, you see?" Yujia made strange hand gestures to attempt to convey the "binding" part. "And that is where the river comes in. Does that make sense?"

    Hui''er shook her head. She still didn''t understand where the other girl was going.

    The new Fourth Miss¡­ how many strange ideas are in your head? Why are you such a peculiar and unclear person?

    Hui''er knows that her old Fourth Miss was most likely happier now that she wasn''t stuck in this villa, but why was her twin so eccentric? The two were too way too different. Way too different.

 23 The Fourth Miss Never Liked Walking

    Yujia breathes a sigh of relief while she walks through the forest Hui''er told her about, feeling the cool spring breeze rustling through the leaves. Although she had only been at this world for a day, it felt long. Too long. And during those long hours exploring the world, she had been monitored by Hui''er so carefully that she almost felt trapped.

    Back in the modern world, Yujia considered herself an independent person, so while she did enjoy talking to others, she needed her time alone too. Now that she was in this time period, having Hui''er constantly monitor every move she made was a little excessive and tiring. She appreciated Hui''er''s company, but she needed time to herself as well.

    That was partially the reason why Yujia came up with the idea of task splitting¡ª where she would go venture in the forest alone while Hui''er took care of the two issues of getting the graphite from the vendor and settling the painting commision with the commissioner from yesterday. Hui''er trusted that Yujia would be safe in the forest, considering that many traveled in it on a day-to-day basis and that they made precautions of what to do if Yujia did not return by noon.

    Yujia grins, tossing all thoughts of Hui''er aside.

    It felt wonderful to be free and by herself, enjoying the nature of the forest and admiring the scenery of bamboo and leaves! Yujia hums as she continues walking, a small tune caught on her lips.

    However, her humming eventually dies down and stops when she realizes that she must''ve been walking for half an hour now, and the creek Hui''er spoke of was still not appearing. Perhaps she was walking in the wrong direction¡­

    From the far distance, Yujia notices an old man pushing a cart of vegetables walking closer and closer to her on the other side of the path. Swiftly, Yujia speeds up and waves her hand, putting a polite smile on her face while she greets the old man.

    "Elder, good morning!"

    The old man nods appreciatively at the show of respect, then observes her. "What''s a young girl like you doing in the forest? You don''t look like you''re dressed for traveling out the city¡­"

    Yujia continues smiling, a lie rolling off her tongue easily. "I''m just exploring the forest for fun." It would be too much work to explain exactly what she was looking for and for what purpose. "Though I did hear that there was a creek or stream of some sort in this forest? Elder, do you have any idea about that?"

    "Yes, yes. There is a creek if you walk down this path enough. Just a little more walking and the path will split. The one on the left leads you deeper into the forest and the one on the right leads you out of the city. Go for the left one, and walk some more. The creek is very deep in the forest," explains the man.

    "Alright, thank you!" Yujia gives a quick nod and parts ways with the old man, heading deeper down the path like he instructed.

    Another good ten or so minutes, and she found the split that the man was talking about. Standing at the place where the roads divided, she stared at a minute down the right path. She clearly remembered the old man''s words about the right leading out of the city, so currently, the path on the right looked tempting.

    Yujia could imagine herself walking down the path on the right, eventually out of the city and into the unknown lands of the empire. This was entirely possible, and judging by the fact that it was hardly even noon, she could get a good head start.

    It took a while of debating to convince herself that as tempting as it seemed to leave the city behind, Yujia would most likely die quickly out there. Her taels and supplies were left in the villa, and she didn''t think that a girl like her would survive too long out there without money or people to rely on.

    With a sigh, Yujia turned to the left and headed down the path she knew was the most logical. Still, for future purposes, she saved the knowledge that the old man gave her for later, in case a time ever came where she wanted to leave.

    Soon enough, Yujia also gained a new perspective on things¡ª walking in the forest wasn''t as wonderful as she thought it to be. The more she walked, the more she began to regret things. Why did she have to search for a creek herself? She could''ve likely bought the resource she was looking for in the river at the marketplace, most likely. This idea of being independent and innovative was completely useless when it came to the fact that she had to walk so much just to get to it.

    Yujia finally admits to herself that she was a bit lazy when it came to physical activities.

    Still, the prospect of making a pencil kept her going, and she continued walking with that motivation in her mind. Determination! Hard work! She needed to use these traits to bring her the results she wanted.

    As the morning went on, the sun slowly shone a little brighter, rays of light and heat beating down at Yujia. The coverage from the trees and bamboo bought some shade for her, but not enough, and quickly, Yujia realized that this cool spring day was about to turn warmer and warmer with the arrival of the sun.

    She was now seriously beginning to give up.

    What determination? What hard work? If the sun continued shining down like this, then Yujia would likely be cooked into a fine piece of meat faster than she could make the pencil that she was doing all these things for. The heat was beginning to be too much to bear, considering that the robes she was wearing had layers upon layers and that she was already tired from walking.

    If Yujia didn''t see that cursed creek within a few more steps of walking, she was about to give up. She didn''t care for pencils anymore. She just wanted relief from the sun. What was wrong with the creek? Why must it be so deep in the forest instead of out there in the open? She hated the sun, she hated the forest, she hated the creek¡ª

    And then, Yujia saw it:

    A shining body of water, running down across from the path. It was wide enough for her to lie across without touching both sides, and the reflection of the sky above her told her that the water was deeper than she expected it to be.

    It was the creek! Finally! She found it!

    Her first instinct was to run up to the rippling water and to splash some on her face, but something else caught her eye¡ª the resource she was looking for.

    Clay.

    When she neared the river, staring at the soil by the banks, the dark material didn''t look too much different than dirt, but Yujia recalls taking a pottery class during her second year of college, where the mentor briefly discussed finding clay in nature, mentioning that it was around water banks, such as rivers. The soil should be clay. It had to.

    Yujia bends down at the bank of the creek, prodding at the soil with her fingers. It certainly felt smooth enough. When she dug her fingers deep into the cool soil, scooping a bit up and playing around with it, she found that it was moldable enough to be clay. Besides the occasional pebble stuck in the soil, this clay was perfect. It was as if the heavens were telling her that she was fated to find clay here.

    A satisfied smile on her face, Yujia pulls out a piece of cloth she brought along with her to carry her clay, unfolding the fabric and putting the scoops of soil onto the cloth, not at all concerned with how dirty her fingers were becoming.

    Yet as she dug, Yujia soon discovered another problem: the only place where she found clay was the small spot where she first dug at. Around the spot seemed to be soil that was more average soil than clay, and the soil around her was primarily soil as well. A frown on her face, Yujia looked at the pathetically small amount of clay that she gathered on her cloth and then looked back at the creek.

    She sighs once more¡ª something that she''s been doing the whole day¡ª and stands up, beginning to walk along the banks of the creek and stopping occasionally to test the soil and still finding minimal amounts of clay. At this rate, she was not going to find enough clay to act as a binding agent for her graphite and water, her goal all along.

    Moodily, Yujia continued walking, finding that she already walked enough down the creek to even discover the origin of the creek, a small spring surrounded by cascades and trees for shade. It was slightly oppressing to realize that she already walked far enough to reach the origin of the creek, yet still had less clay than the size of her fist.

    As she stared at the spring with a bit of hatred, Yujia noticed something else that caught her eye¡ª a large dark shadow resting at the bottom of the spring.

    Yujia steps a little closer and looms over the shadow, looking at it with cautious eyes. What was that? The more she looked at it, the more the shape seemed to formulate into something familiar. A round head, two arms¡­

    ¡­ don''t tell her that was¡­ a person?

    Why was a person lying face down in the water without moving an inch? Was he dead? Was he drowning?

    All thoughts of clay aside, Yujia immediately reaches over, grabbing the shadow''s arm. This was not a fun trip in the forest to search for clay anymore. It involved a drowning¡ª or drowned¡ª person!

    Yet, as Yujia discovers within the second, the person didn''t exactly seem to be dead or unconscious. The figure flinches backwards at her touch, yanking Yujia into the spring with him.

    Water instantly rushes into Yujia''s open mouth and seeps into her clothes, the chilling sensation making her shiver. Despite the fact that Yujia couldn''t exactly swim, the waters of the spring were not deep, and with scrambling movements, she pushes herself out of the water, to find¡­

    ¡­ to find¡­

    ¡­ to find a naked man with a very familiar, scowling face glaring back at her.

 24 Lessons of Modesty For the Fourth Miss

    Truthfully, Fu Yushang didn''t expect anything that happened to happen.

    The spring in the forest was his own, private thing¡ª something hidden away by the bamboo and leaves that he didn''t expect anyone except for Si Shen to ever discover, especially not so early in the morning. That was why, after a whole night of reading scrolls written by government officials, he decided to take a shortcut trip from his miniature-palace to the spring so that he could take a cool bath and relieve his stress.

    He didn''t want Si Shen to drag him back to work and give him another speech about responsibility, so he didn''t particularly tell Si Shen that he was going to leave. Even so, he trusted how well Si Shen understood him. He knew that his bodyguard would discover him sooner or later. So, when he heard footsteps nearing the spring, he automatically assumed it to be Si Shen and ducked down low in the water, hoping that Si Shen wouldn''t be able to see him if he laid low enough.

    Fu Yushang never knew that the person who grabbed his arm would end up to not be Si Shen, but rather a familiar girl with a pretty face that he knew and recognized.

    ¡­

    Yujia blinks.

    And then, she stares at the person in front of her, taking in every inch of his skin. Because of the water, all she really truly saw was the top half of his body, but she was certain that the bottom half was likely as bare as his chest was.

    To be honest, she wasn''t particularly flustered by this sight. In college, how many naked men and women did she see through doing studies of the human anatomy? How many photos of the human anatomy did she look up on the internet and books to observe during long hours of perfecting her anatomy skills? Drawing unclothed humans already desensitized her to the topic. All she could see was the shirtless top half of the person before her too. It was nothing too shocking.

    The only thing that truly made the moment a bit awkward was that she knew the person before her from a certain incident yesterday involving stolen art supplies.

    An eyebrow raised, Yujia notices that the individual in front of her seemed to be much more embarrassed than her, his hands instantly flying up to cross over his bareness while he backed away a few steps, sinking down into the water so that only his head was showing above the surface.

    "Woman! How dare you look upon a cr¡ª I mean, a noble person''s body like that?" The boy before her accused, a scowl still plastered on his face which was turning redder by the second. "And how dare you shamelessly portray yourself like that?"

    Shameless? She was shameless? He should be the one who considered himself shameless, bathing himself in a public place and being completely naked. She was fully clothed. How could he call her shameless?

    Yujia wiped the water off her face and looked down at herself, about to retort to his remarks but then noticing something about herself that she didn''t realize before.

    All of the original robes the Fourth Miss owned were pale and light in colored, the set she wore today being simplistically light blue. When the fabric touched the water, it instantly became transparent and stuck to her skin, revealing the darker undergarments that she wore underneath.

    Then again, as Yujia noticed, the undergarments she had on were nowhere as scandalous as the ones that people tended to have in the modern world. Her undergarments were similar to that of a spaghetti-strap tank top, revealing her shoulders, collarbones, and a bit of cleavage but nothing too much and rather modest, in her opinion. She had to remind herself that this world was set in the past for the accusations of the boy in front of her to make sense¡ª people in this time period were certainly much more modest in comparison to the world she came from.

    Raising her head to look back at the person in front of her, Yujia shook her head disappointedly. "Sure, sure. Call me shameless all you want. You''re the one who dragged me in the water in the first place. Otherwise, why would I even look like this right now?"

    The scowl on the boy''s face seemed to grow more at her words, but his eyes were still cast down as if he didn''t want to look at any bit of her at all. "Why is it you, out of all people?" He gives a frustrated sigh, then wades to the other side of the spring, grabbing a wine red piece of fabric which was lying on the top of a heap of clothes, then tossing it over at her.

    Yujia catches it, finding it to be the fur-lined cape that she saw him wear the first time she saw him.

    "Use that to cover yourself," he explains, "As a gentleman, I do not take advantage of women."

    A gentleman? Him? Yujia wanted to laugh at his statement.

    Still, the spring water was chilly and although it was warm outside, the water seemed to become colder by the second. Yujia carefully helped herself out of the spring, draping the cloak around her shoulders and finding it pleasantly dry and warm.

    "Happy now?" Yujia raised her eyebrows at the boy, who was still looking down at the water.

    He looked up, but upon seeing that the cloak still didn''t cover her front, he hastily looked back down with more frustration. "Tie the strings together! I gave it to you to cover yourself, not to just casually wear."

    Slightly unamused, Yujia followed what he said and reluctantly tied the strings of the cloak together, then clutched the top of the cloak to conceal herself completely. Surely, he was satisfied now?

 25 Exchanging Apologies With the Fourth Miss

    Without casting the person before her another glance, Yujia bends down and picks up the fabric holding the clay that she dropped earlier. Observing the amount, she decides that there wasn''t as much clay as she already planned for, but perhaps it would be enough. And if it wasn''t¡­ she still had eighteen taels that would definitely be enough to pay for some more clay in the marketplace.

    With that in mind, Yujia folds up the cloth and turns around, ready to leave.

    "Wait!"

    Upon seeing that she was completely prepared to leave him in the spring, the boy called out, causing Yujia to stop in her tracks.

    "What?" Yujia gives him a tired look. She just wanted to go home and get her pencils finished. It wasn''t that much of a wish, was it? "Oh, is it this?" Looking down at herself, Yujia points at the cloak he gave her a moment ago. "Do you want it back? Here let me just¡ª"

    Panic rises up in his eyes and quickly, he waves his hands. "No! Not that. You can keep that. It''s not too expensive. I don''t care much about that."

    "But¡­ it''s yours?"

    "I have tens of cloaks and capes that look just like it." The boy shrugs. "Losing one doesn''t really matter to me."

    "What do you want, then?"

    "Well¡­" Red flushes up on his cheeks again. "I just wanted to say that¡­ I guess it really was my fault for pulling you in the water."

    Ah. That was the apology Yujia was looking for. Turns out this boy wasn''t that bad of a person like she thought he was.

    "But," the boy quickly adds on after his words, "Yesterday. At the market. I know we''ve had a¡­ disagreement¡­ but I really wasn''t related to the thief." The red vanishes from his face, and a more serious tone settles on his voice. "I don''t appreciate it when people accuse me of things that I haven''t done."

    "Oh." Yujia thinks back to the events that occured yesterday. She truly was a little too reckless, wasn''t she? She didn''t bother to hear what others were saying and went along with what her own mind was telling her. Perhaps if she was in the modern word, where she was her own self, she wouldn''t have acted like that, but since she transmigrated to another world, she seemed to lose her timidness and take on the haughty airs of a strong female protagonist that seemed to always appear in transmigration novels.

    She didn''t like the idea of that. Now that the boy brought it up, if she took a little more time to listen to other people, she wouldn''t have acted like such.

    "Alright. That''s my bad." Yujia bends down and looks at the boy in his eyes. "Sorry about before. I shouldn''t have done what I did. It''s just that in the moment, the things that the thief stole were really important to me, so¡­"

    Triumph settles in the boy''s expression, and he lifts his chin up. "Okay. Except¡­ how old are you, even? You act like I''m a kid. I''m already eighteen."

    "Eighteen?" Yujia scoffs. She was twenty-four already. Of course she would act like he was a kid.

    Yet, before Yujia can reply, Hui''er''s words echo in her brain as a helpful reminder. "Miss, you''re Yang Yujia of course¡ª the fourth daughter of the Old Master. You''ll be eighteen this year."

    At times like these, it was difficult to keep her two lives separate while they blended into one. Even though it was only her second day living as the Fourth Miss, Yujia didn''t exactly like the idea of how she was already mixing everything up. Still, now that she already mocked his age, it wouldn''t make sense to tell him that she was eighteen as well. She had to think of a good response fast.

    "There''s no way that you''re eighteen. I''m eighteen." With wide eyes, Yujia shook her head with disbelief and internally applauded herself at her acting skills. "Stop lying already. You look like you''re thirteen."

    If Yujia were to speak the truth, the boy didn''t look like he was thirteen at all. It''s not that Yujia knew exactly how everyone looked like at certain ages, but she knew that he definitely looked old enough to be eighteen. He could even pass off for nineteen or possibly twenty if he tried hard enough. The only reason why she claimed as such was to back up her previous actions and words.

    "I do not look thirteen," he indignantly responds, "you have no right to say that."

    Yujia shrugs, as if she was just saying the truth. "Oh well. Looks like someone can''t take any other opinion at all."

    The boy gives her a blank, unamused stare. She gives him one back.

    "If you don''t have any more apologies to give or demand for me, I''m going to leave." She gives him a carefree wave after looking up at the sky, determining that noon was going to come soon and that it would be good to go.

    "Sure?"

    ¡­

    Si Shen observes the crown prince, noticing how ever since he returned from the trip to the spring that he thought Si Shen didn''t know about, he seemed to be focused on staring intently at a mirror that he requested to be brought to him.

    "Si Shen¡­ be honest here¡­ how old do I look? Thirteen?"

    Si Shen looks at the expression on the crown prince''s face, noticing that he seemed down. Something must''ve happened at the spring. Maybe he caught a glimpse of his own face that was distorted in the reflection of the spring water and hurt his own self-esteem?

    Plus, after all the years of accompanying the crown prince, he knew that the number one pet peeve the crown prince had was when others called him young and looked down on him for it.

    "No."

    After hearing Si Shen''s reponse, the crown prince seemed a little happier, though he was still staring at his reflection and muttering something under his breath.

    "That''s what I thought¡­ how dare she call me thirteen¡­ I look mature¡­ yes¡­ very mature¡­"

 26 The Fourth Miss Meets Her Dear Family

    Yujia absolutely, positively, one-hundred percent did not expect to see a large group of people waiting for her by the time that she returned to her room¡ª much less a group of very, very angry group of people waiting for her.

    She can feel the judgemental stares of the people bearing down at her, taking in every aspect of her very unkempt appearance. Through the walk back in the forest, her clothes had dried for the most part, so she did take the cloak that the boy in the spring gave her off by the time that she entered the courtyard. Nevertheless, she was sure that she looked like a mess, her hair disheveled and her robes hanging stiffly on her. There was also the fact that her fingers were very obviously stained with mud, the dirt wrapped around her knuckles and caking the edges of her fingernails.

    If she saw herself right now and didn''t know what she just experienced, she didn''t particularly know how she would think about her appearance.

    "Hi."

    Yujia winces while she waves her hand at the unfamiliar people. She takes a quick look at each of them and noticies Hui''er standing behind the group, a regretful look on her face.

    Seeing her maid reminded Yujia that she was supposed to be the Fourth Miss right now, not the Yujia she knew. Raising her chin by an inch, Yujia straightened herself and sighed, her voice instantly turning icy and becoming part of the image she wanted to portray herself as.

    "Hui''er, I thought I reminded you that I wanted some peace and quiet. Why is it that all these people invited themselves in the quarters of the unwelcomed Fourth Miss of the family?"

    Hui''er opened her mouth to answer, yet she was swiftly cut off by a middle-aged man, who stepped forward to look Yujia in the eye. "Child, when have you become so disrespectful to your father?"

    Father? Yujia took another look at the man. He didn''t look particularly similar to her or her father in her old life. Seeing the man before her, she didn''t particularly feel any sudden rush of warm emotions or love radiating off either of them, just cold emptiness.

    Taking a deep breath, Yujia put on a placid, blank smile. "Father, how could I possibly disrespect you? You own the villa, the courtyards, and everything. Of course you are welcome here anytime, as long as you wish to see me. But these others¡ª" she gestures at the group of around four or so others, "¡ª I don''t believe that any of them visit me on a daily basis. What wind blew all of you here to come pay me such a wonderful visit? Or do you all have some other ulterior motives or things that you still wish to exploit from me?"

    A girl who didn''t particularly look much older than Yujia stepped forward. "Little sister, don''t accuse us of things we haven''t done."

    Little sister? So, this girl seemed to be Yujia''s older sister, didn''t she? Once more, Yujia examines her closely upon gaining this new information, finding that this older sister of hers was somewhat pretty as well. The genetics of the Yang family truly were some superior genes.

    Before Yujia could formulate a response for her older sister, another familiar person in the group¡ª Yang Xiaoyi, the Fifth Miss of the family¡ª spoke up for her. "Big sister Yujia did nothing wrong, big sister Qingxia. She''s right. We don''t usually visit the Fourth Miss'' quarters that much, so with her acting this way, it''s just natural."

    Yujia''s older sister, Qingxia, scoffed. "Yiyi, you''re always too nice to her."

    Xiaoyi simply gave Qingxia a smile. "Big sister Yujia is my sister after all. Why shouldn''t I be kind towards her?"

    Yujia blinked, turning back to her father. "So, Father, as I mentioned before, why are there so many people visiting my place? My quarters are naturally small. I''m afraid that if you bring one more person in, the roof and walls will all collapse from being so crowded."

    Instead of her father answering, another woman spoke up. "Is your memory failing, Yujia?" Her voice is sharp when she speaks, similar to her carved features. "Your wedding is coming up on the next month. I thought we already explained to you yesterday that the Old Master of the Yu family wanted you to have a good set of wedding robes, so we''re going to start early and get you your size measured so that in a time like this where weddings are popular, you''ll be able to get your robes on time."

    Measuring her clothing size the day after they announced the marriage? Wasn''t this a little too early? This family was certainly very hasty to marry her out to prevent any mishaps from happening.

    The sharp-faced woman continued speaking. "Plus, you were gone for hours. We thought you ran away¡­ yet now you return, looking like¡­ this!" The woman shakes her head disappointedly. "Explain yourself!"

    Yujia frowns. How was she supposed to explain herself? She wanted to make a pencil so that she went to the river to dig up some clay, yet ended up finding some naked boy bathing who also pulled her down into the water so that now she looked like this mess? Who would ever believe that?

    Thus, Yujia chooses to raise her eyebrows, responding smoothly, "Why should I? It''s not your problem, is it? Mind your own business."

    "You¡ª you¡ª you!" The woman raises a finger towards Yujia and shakes it with ever "you" she stutters. Yujia only gives her vacant look. This woman definitely had problems. To get angry at such small statements¡­ surely her anger management had issues.

    The woman turns to her father, grabbing onto his arms. "Look, look how she''s treating me, her mother! How could she act like this?"

    Yujia''s eyes widen instantaneously. Her mother?

    As far as she could remember, everything Hui''er told her about her mother involved the fact that she was abandoned by her father after she gave birth to Yujia. It was impossible for this sharp-faced woman to be her mother, especially because again, Yujia could not see a single bit of resemblance in the woman''s facial features to her own.

    Why in the world was this woman claiming to be her mother, then? Was she insane? Or was Yujia herself going crazy?

 27 Confrontations From the Fourth Miss

    Yujia thought about it for a moment, staring at the sharp-faced woman. If this woman could not be Madam Liu, then she had to be some sort of concubine or wife of her father. That must be the case. Right.

    Her father flattened his expression and looked at Yujia with a bit of discontent. "So, tell me child, what exactly have you been doing to look like¡ª" he pointed at her, "¡ª this? I am your father, so I have the right to know what my daughter has been doing."

    What was she supposed to say now? Yujia didn''t think that she could avoid answering any further without them being more suspicious than they already were. Denial was not a good sign. Hastily, Yujia''s thoughts gathered together and she thought about an answer for a few seconds, then answered her father''s question.

    "Father, I would not dare to conceal things from you. I was simply visiting my¡ª birthmother¡ª in town." She put emphasis on the "birthmother" part, hoping that the message got across of her opinion towards this woman who claimed to be her mother. "Lately, she has been feeling sick, so I bought some seeds in the marketplace and planted them near her living area so that she can have some fresh vegetables to eat. I haven''t done anything like that before, so I did get a little messy while doing so."

    Yujia waved her hands, showing that the dirt under her fingernails was a solid piece of evidence that she spent the entire morning gardening.

    The sharp-faced woman stared at Yujia, her glower dying down. Still, she seemed upset that she was slowly losing this part of the argument this time.

    No one volunteered to respond to what she said, so Yujia simply continued. "Surely, father, it is not a mistake to visit my own mother? I forgot that today, you were going to bring the tailor over to get my measurements, so I apologize for that part."

    The look of discontent remained on her father''s face. "Of course. Visiting your¡­ birthmother is only a natural instinct of a child trying to pay their respect. Then, if that''s the case, why did you avoid answering with that the first time we asked you?"

    Yujia cursed on the inside for the fact that this man picked up on that fact. He wasn''t as dense as she thought. Still, she was prepared. When Yujia was coming up with the story, she had thought of a response of what to say just in case this occured.

    "Father, that is obviously because I was afraid that mother here," she gestured at the sharp-faced woman and gave her a sweet smile, "would be upset that I was spending more time with my birthmother than with her. I haven''t been visiting Mother very much lately, so that is also entirely my fault. Do forgive me."

    Grudgingly, the woman didn''t seem to be very satisfied with Yujia''s excuse, lifting her chin up and scoffing. Yujia knew that similar to her "mother", no one else in the room could possibly believe what she said, but they had no right to doubt her words. They couldn''t pull out any flaws in her lies without admitting to themselves that the Fourth Miss of the Yang family was never welcomed, and in a time like an important marriage, they couldn''t risk Yujia getting upset and running away.

    That was why Yujia was so confident. She had the upper hand.

    Yujia''s father sighed deeply. "Alright. Continue being the ''respectful'' child that you have always been, then. Seeing that you are in such a state, the tailor here," he nodded at a woman in the back who had not spoken up yet, "clearly can''t work with you. Tomorrow, we will measure you for your robes, and do not go visiting your birthmother again."

    "Yes, Father." Yujia bowed. "Then, if no one else has anything to say, I am feeling fatigued."

    It was an unspoken request for all of them to leave, and the individuals all knew that. Her father took the lead, stepping out the door, and slowly, the rest of them¡ª her "mother", Yang Qingxia, Yang Xiaoyi, and the tailor¡ª followed after. Only Xiaoyi stopped for a few moments, cast Yujia a worried look, and continued on her way.

    Once they were all out of her room, Hui''er stepped forward and closed the doors tightly, exclaiming directly after, "Fourth Miss!"

    "What, Hui''er?"

    "That was perfect!" A beam of smile appeared on Hui''er''s face. "Everything¡ª your acting, words, and even expressions were just like the Fourth Miss. Even I thought that you were her for a few seconds, and that she came back for her wedding," Hui''er joked.

    Instead of being excited like Hui''er, Yujia furrowed her brows and let out a deep sigh. "That was a close call, Hui''er. I nearly slipped up at the very start and towards the end. You''ll have to tell me more about the Yang family so that next time, I''ll know what to say."

 28 The Fourth Miss Learns of the Yang Family

    Hui''er, as Yujia requested, began explaining to her, starting from the most important figure of the family¡ª the old master¡ª all the way down to the Yang Xiaoyi that Yujia knew. Yujia carefully listened, memorizing her every word. She knew that if she wanted to adapt to this new environment, she would have to know her information well.

    The Yang family''s old master, her father, was a man in his mid-fifties and named Yang Chen. He ran numerous small businesses, but they mainly focused on agrarian products, like imported spices and common grain such as rice. All in all, he could only be considered a lower tier merchant amongst the average merchants in the capital city of the Xiang Empire, Chang''an. However, Yang Chen did have three women in his romantic love story, his current wife, Madam Zhang, his former second wife who died after giving birth to the Fifth Miss, Madam Zhen, and Yujia''s mother, Madam Liu. It turned out that even after having so many relationships, he could still not manage to produce a son, so all the children of the Yang family were female.

    Madam Zhang, the main and only remaining wife in the Yang household, was the second ruler of the family. She was a woman in her early-forties, and was the mother of two of the daughters in the Yang family, Yang Qingxia and Yang Wanqing.

    Yang Qingxia, the First Miss of the family and turning twenty-four this year, was infamous in the city, bringing bad reputation to the entire Yang family because of her past, involving a failed marriage, a pregnancy, and a miscarriage. Hui''er didn''t know the details since all the rumors of exactly what happened varied, but all that was certain now was that no man would ever marry Yang Qingxia again, so she was forever stuck in the Yang villa, not even able to step out the front courtyard without being ridiculed by the rest of the world.

    Yang Wanqing, on the other hand, seemed to share a different fate than her sister. She was the Third Miss and married successfully to a small merchant who was the Old Master''s close friend. The marriage was very average, so Yang Wanqing would occasionally visit the villa again, but most of the time, she stayed in the household of the family that she married into, already raising a child of her own.

    When Hui''er moved on to the topic of Madam Zhen and her daughter, she began to spoke with a hushed tone, for according to Hui''er, the woman had died and it would be unlucky to bring her name up very much. Madam Zhen was just a young woman who married into the Yang family from another of the Old Master''s business acquaintances. Although she was just sixteen when she married into the Yang family, she quickly gave birth to Yang Yichen, the Second Miss of the family, but later on, when she was in her twenties, she gave birth to Yang Xiaoyi and sadly died during childbirth.

    Besides these basic facts, Hui''er barely gave any other information to Yujia¡ª the girl wanted to move over the topic quickly, so Yujia let her.

    When Hui''er began talking about the Second Miss of the family, Yang Yichen, though, Yujia noticed that she became much more excited. The stories involving Yang Yichen could not be described as anything less than exciting.

    Yang Yichen, now twenty-four, was born only a month after Yang Qingxia was born, but the girl was much different in terms of personality. Even as a child, she was stronger and bolder than the rest, and by the time that Yichen reached eleven years of age, she ran away from home out of pure recklessness. Madam Zhen and the Old Master were obviously worried and sent out people to search for her, but a few months after, they could not find her and automatically assumed that she likely drowned in a river or died from some other reason, causing the whole household to grieve for her death and even hold a small funeral with an empty casket.

    Her story didn''t turn out like everyone thought, however, and a few years after her "death", Yichen, sixteen years old, came back to the household, stepping across the front door like nothing had changed. Yet things definitely changed with her, and people could tell. It was a shock to see that she was alive, and that, more importantly, she found herself an adoptive father, who happened to be a small captain in the military that would later become an important general of the Xiang Empire.

    Upon seeing that she had changed, the Old Master instantly arranged a marriage for her to attempt to settle her down in hopes that it would change her, but of course, Yang Yichen was utterly against the idea. She ran away yet again, after heavily injuring a few servants who attempted to block her during her escape, demonstrating that during the five years that she was gone, she had also learned a stunning set of martial art skills.

    The entire event angered the Old Master to the point where he refused to call Yang Yichen his daughter anymore, claiming that if he couldn''t control her wild instincts, then there would be no reason to have her as a daughter.

    A couple more years pass, and Yichen was now twenty. Along with her adopted father''s power of rising up in the military to the rank of general, Yichen''s fame seemed to rise too when people began to hear stories of a girl who fought next to the men on the battlefield, to the point where they gave her the honorary title of "lieutenant". A large amount of the feedback given on this idea of women on the battlefield was negative. They couldn''t believe that the emperor even approved of this concept. Nevertheless, there was still a similarly large group of people who found it amusing to see a girl in the military, so Yichen did gather quite a bit of fame.

    By this time, Yujia''s father was not happy with this. He knew that Yichen had greater power than him, so when Yichen decided to step back in the villa to pay respects to her mother, he attempted to reconcile and claim her as his daughter again. Yichen was obviously disgusted by his actions, and on that day, she completely severed all connections with the family and stopped going by "Yang Yichen", choosing to go by the surname of her adoptive father, "Wu".

    And ever since then, Wu Yichen never took a single step back in the household.

    Hui''er seemed extremely satisfied after telling the story, a proud smile on her lips.

    Afterwards, she covered Yang Xiaoyi briefly, but again, like Yang Wanqing, there was not much to tell besides the fact that Yang Xiaoyi was the Fifth Miss and that she lived a relatively simple life in the villa, and recently, was just betrothed to the Yu family which Yujia was also marrying into.

    By the end of Hui''er''s explanation, Yujia seemed to have a new outlook on the Yang family. Things were definitely not as simple as they seemed. Although the Yang family was a small one, they certainly had more drama and interest than Yujia had expected.

    Yujia thought back to Hui''er''s explanation of Wu Yichen''s story. That was certainly very striking, but one detail caught Yujia''s eyes¡ª the fact that her father, the Old Master, became so angry that Yichen refused her marriage.

    It was interesting to wonder what he would think if Yujia handed him one-hundred silver taels and asked for the marriage to be canceled. The more Yujia thought about it, the crazier the idea sounded¡­ but who knew? She didn''t particularly have a better plan as of the moment.

 29 Pencils and the Fourth Miss

    Now that Hui''er was finished with her explanation and Yujia needed to do something more productive with her life, she pulled out a small fabric-fashioned satchel out of her pockets.

    "Hui''er, guess what I have!" Excitedly, Yujia showed the fabric to Hui''er, peeling it open to reveal the clay that she gathered earlier in the forest.

    "Dirt?" A puzzled look appears on Hui''er''s face.

    "No, silly, it''s clay." Yujia rubbed a bit between her fingers. Although there was only a little amount of clay, she didn''t think that she needed too much, and if she did, she would just go to the marketplace and purchase some more, which was likely a smarter and more secure idea than digging up the clay herself. Nevertheless, her journey to the forest did make her smarter with her newly achieved information that a path to the right in the forest would be an excellent escape route for her, so she considered it somewhat of a worthy trip.

    "Now, Hui''er," Yujia hummed, "get me two small bowls, one with a bit of water and one just empty¡­ oh, and the wooden molds and supplies I bought the other day. Something to mix with too¡­ and make that two things. Something thicker and something thinner."

    Hui''er still wasn''t sure what her Fourth Miss was doing¡ª she was never given any details¡ª but she obeyed and went to collect the supplies. A few minutes later, she returned with the equipment and set it down in front of Yujia.

    Giving Hui''er a thankful smile, Yujia organized the equipment on top of a table so that it appeared more orderly. She dumped the entire scoop of clay into the bowl with the shallow amount of water inside, and took the thicker "something to mix with" that she asked from Hui''er¡ª which turned out to be a single chopstick¡ª and combined the clay with the water slowly to create a more watery and moldable mixture.

    Then, Yujia dumped a bit of the mixture out into the clean bowl. She opened the satchel of graphite that Hui''er picked up from the vendor that morning, pinching a bit and scattering it into the mixture. Even though Yujia didn''t know how much she needed, she figured that a decent amount of graphite should have been needed for more pigment, so she went with about two pinches.

    Under Yujia''s eyes, the clay-water-graphite mixture slowly darkened, turning into the shade she wanted. For good measure, though, she added a bit more graphite to darken it just a bit more.

    After that, Yujia pulled out one of the testing pencil molds she asked for. Carefully, she slowly poured the mixture in the mold, using a thin twig that Hui''er brought for the thinner "something to mix with" to push the mixture down.

    Once that was finished, Yujia set the pencil on the windowsill and waved her hands at Hui''er. "We just have to wait for that to set and dry now. Let''s hope that''s a good ratio of clay and water. I think that we probably need more clay to get this thing made, so can you go the market and buy some more for me?"

    Yujia tossed her satchel of taels to Hui''er. She trusted that Hui''er would spend the money wisely, considering that the younger girl knew much more about the world than her, and even if Hui''er wanted to buy a little something for herself with the taels, Yujia wouldn''t mind, considering all that Hui''er already did for her.

    Yujia bit the inside of her cheek, thinking. She needed to find another way to earn some quick money while her pencils were still being made. Then, an idea came to her.

    "Oh, and Hui''er, if you look at the front of the courtyard, there''s a fur cloak draped somewhere around there. That probably costs a decent price, so see if you can sell it for something at the market."

    Hui''er was yet again confused by her Fourth Miss. When did she ever have a fur cloak? Did she buy it at the market? But then, why would she want to sell it? Regardless, Hui''er quickly set those thoughts aside. If she could sell the fur cloak for some extra taels, it wouldn''t hurt.

    After those thoughts, Hui''er turned around, heading out the courtyard and in the direction of the market.

 30 The Crown Prince Finds Something Familiar

    Fu Yushang was in the marketplace again, avoiding his responsibilities. He enjoyed coming to this place, where there were less rules and regulations and he could act however he wished. It was so much more freedom than in the palace.

    Si Shen was by his side, following dutifully behind. Since Yushang had gone through a few more scrolls earlier, after he returned from what happened at some certain spring with some certain girl, Si Shen didn''t complain much¡ª not that Si Shen ever complained more than two sentences at a time¡ª when Yushang said that he wanted to take a break and go out.

    As he walked from stall to stall, a glimmer of maroon fabric threaded with gold caught his eye, and he froze, turning to look at what it was. Maroon was his favorite color, and perhaps he could find a treasure in this sort of marketplace.

    Instantly, upon seeing what it was, Yushang coughed.

    The flash of dark red that he saw was none other than the fabric that made up of some certain fur cloak he gave to some certain girl that morning. He remembered and recognized it immediately. During winter and early spring weather, fur cloaks were his favorite because of the inner fur lining that was always warming. He had specially ordered for the palace''s sewing branch to create three cloaks for him, two wine red and one other navy blue, to wear during the season. Besides, how could he not recognize the clothes he wore just a few hours before?

    Yushang looked up at the vendor who ran the stall, a questioning look on his face.

    "Where did you get this¡ª" he patted the cloak neatly folded at the front of the display section "¡ª from?"

    "Oh, this young master certainly has a good eyesight!" The vendor running the stall, a middle-aged woman gave him a wink and picked the cloak up, unfolding it to show him the true quality of the cloak. "A young girl dropped by just an hour ago and sold it to me."

    A young girl? Could it be¡ª her? Did that girl seriously bring his cloak out on to the marketplace to sell it and get some extra taels? How greedy could she be?

    Yushang raised his eyebrows. "How old did that girl look? Eighteen? Nineteen?"

    The woman shook her head. "No, no. She was only about fifteen. Quite short, and not too well dressed, but decent enough." She paused, then continued with speculation. "Why? It couldn''t be that you were the original owner of the cloak, right?"

    Yushang grimaced. Of course he was. But based on what the woman provided about the girl, it couldn''t have been who he was thinking of. She must''ve sent someone to sell the cloak for her. Still, he reached over, grabbing onto the cloak in the woman''s hands. "Yes, I am the original owner. Now, give that to me."

    The woman gave him a look of horror. "No, no, no. I cannot just let you do that! How am I supposed to know that you are the original owner? And even if you were, I bought the cloak with my own money, so it is mine now. Unless you want to buy it from me, you cannot have it. And besides¡ª just look at the quality. There is quality fur inside the cloak too. Plus this embroidery work¡ª it''s almost good enough to be from the imperial palace! It took me a fortune to buy it. Why would I just give it to you?"

    Groaning with frustration, Yushang was growing increasingly tired at this woman speaking. She did make logical sense, but still¡ª would he really have to pay for his own cloak?

    Yushang turned to Si Shen, who had an amused look on his face. Ignoring the slight smirk, Yushang reached out his hand. "Got any taels on you?"

    "Only gold."

    Gold taels? Gold taels were worth much more than silver taels. It could be compared to around the point where one hundred silver taels were equivalent to one gold tael.

    By all means, Yushang was not about to pay a hundred silver taels just to get his own cloak back, when he could order the seamstresses to make it for him for free.

    So, Yushang gave the woman a shrug, patted Si Shen''s shoulder as a gesture for the other to follow along, and began to walk away. He would not pay for the cloak. They would be insane of him to expect him to do that.

    However, after only a few steps of walking, Yushang''s firm resolution dissolved, and quickly, he headed back to the stall with the woman and his cloak. Swiftly, he grabbed a satchel of taels from Si Shen''s side, pulled out a golden tael, and threw it at the woman, who was looking at it with wide, unbelieving eyes. Then, he took the cloak and left the stall, his mind cursing him with every step he took.

    He could not believe that he just did what he just did.

    Though, while everything told him that the cloak, as wonderful as it was, was not worth a golden tael, another part of himself tried to soothe him with the logic that it would be uncomfortable to imagine someone else wearing his cloaks that were so personal to him.

    With the two opinions in his mind battling, he walked on and attempted to hide his frustration from Si Shen, which he knew that he was absolutely failing at since the other looked so amused. Si Shen was only ever amused when Yushang was frustrated. He knew it. He hated Si Shen for being this way.

    Yushang hated Si Shen for laughing at his misery. Yushang hated himself for spending a whole gold tael on retrieving his cloak. Yushang hated the vendor-woman who would not just give him his own cloak back. Yushang hated that girl for selling the cloak he graciously allowed her to wear to protect her own decency.

    Why was the world so frustrating?

    If Yushang ever saw the girl again, he promised that this time, he would truly give the girl a piece of his mind.

 31 More Pencils and the Fourth Miss

    Quite frankly speaking, Yujia was disappointed.

    Firstly, the experimental pencil took longer to dry than she expected, so she had to wait until the next morning to see how it was. Yet when she woke up that morning, she found that it barely made a mark. The lead in the center was too light. It needed more pigment. Much, much more pigment.

    Secondly, Hui''er apparently couldn''t find clay in the marketplace, so she returned, for the most part, empty handed. This was certainly out of Yujia''s expectations. She planned to send the girl back to the marketplace first thing in the morning to go search some more. Yujia would not be able to make pencils without a clay base.

    Thirdly, and finally, Yujia was disappointed because the tailor was coming around again for robe-fitting, and Yujia didn''t like the terrifying thought that the deadline for her marriage was coming up soon although she only transmigrated into this world two days ago.

    Perhaps the only thing that Yujia was truly happy about was the fact that Hui''er didn''t return completely empty handed yesterday, since she did manage to sell the cloak that Yujia gave her to some merchant for twenty silver taels. Now, instead of eighteen taels in her hand, Yujia had thirty-eight, considerably better of a fortune. The cloak the rich kid gave her turned out to be much higher in quality than she expected, resulting in the price.

    Yujia sighed a bit as she mixed the last of the clay mixture she had with the rest of her graphite pigment. Considering how terrible the pencil she had last time was, she would''ve needed to include so much more graphite. To speed up the time that it took for the pencil core to harden, Yujia also decreased the amount of water she added into the paste. After all that, she picked up another pencil mold and filled the center in.

    It was a learning process. Yujia was certain to fail a couple of times before she got the result she wanted. With that encouraging thought in mind, she didn''t feel as bad about the pencil as she had before.

    Seeing that her Fourth Miss was finished with what she was doing, Hui''er stepped up and asked, "Miss, the tailor should be coming soon."

    Yujia nodded. "I know. Should I do anything to prepare?"

    "No. As long as you remember who you''re supposed to be."

    Yujia nodded again. "I''ll make sure that I am the most perfect Fourth Miss you''ll ever see." She gave Hui''er a little smile. "Then, Hui''er, can you help me clean up a little? I suppose the Fourth Miss would look neater than how she does here."

    Of course, Hui''er agreed and retrieved a small bronze mirror as well as a thin box holding a wooden comb and a simplistic silver hairpin. While Yujia cleaned her fingers and nails from the excess clay mixture that clung to her hands, Hui''er set the mirror down in front of Yujia and combed her hair.

    It was relaxing, almost, to have someone do these things for her. Yujia liked the feeling of having someone like Hui''er to rely on.

    The single window in Yujia''s room was propped open to allow more air circulation so that the pencil molds dried faster. A relaxing spring breeze traveled into the room, carrying the sing-song voices of birds and the rustling of the leaves along with it. Hui''er, while she went through Yujia''s long hair, hummed a small tune.

    Despite the occasional times that Yujia was stressed over, moments like these made Yujia decide that transmigrating here was not a bad twist of fate. Life was simple, calm, and Yujia was happy.

    Finally, after a few minutes or so, Hui''er''s humming stopped, and Yujia could feel Hui''er''s hands leaving her hair. She stepped back a little. Yujia looked into the mirror, seeing that Hui''er was finished. The front strands of her hair were neatly combed back and threaded through by the silver hairpin while the rest of Yujia''s hair ran down her back. It was a plain hairstyle, but Yujia thought that it suited her well. It finished the look of the Fourth Miss.

    Hui''er''s voice was light as she spoke, repeating the same phrase she spoke of before. "The tailor should be coming soon."

 32 Fitting Wedding Robes For the Fourth Miss

    Just as Hui''er said, the tailor arrived soon, lead over to Yujia''s courtyard by Madam Zhang.

    It was not difficult to for the tailor to receive her measurements, and afterwards, Yujia had spent the entire morning looking at different fabrics and styles to pick between what she liked and what she didn''t like, all under the carefully watchful eyes of Madam Zhang.

    Apparently, according to information given from Madam Zhang, all of these options were provided to Yujia through her future-husband-if-she-didn''t-do-something-about-it, the old master of the Yu family. He offered to pay for her entire wedding, from the bridal price to the actual dress itself. Even the tailor was specially selected and hired by him.

    Yujia, of course, found it peculiar that he was planning to pay and care for so much. However, according to Madam Zhang, the old master of the Yu family was a very dedicated man, and, as she told Yujia, would not mistreat her at all when she married over.

    Still, by all means, Yujia didn''t feel any relief from this information. He was the age of her father. How could this be normal to her own perspective?

    Just the thought of marrying someone like that sent chills down Yujia''s spine.

    All opinions put aside, Yujia still found it somewhat engaging to work with the tailor. She would obviously prefer working on her pencils and making money, but getting to observe all the careful embroidery and textures of the fabrics that the tailor provided was entertaining.

    By the time that the morning ended, Yujia was wearing a testing robe in the shape and style she wanted. The tailor brought it over so that she could see what an actual robe felt like, and although it was a little too big for her, the entire appearance of the robe made Yujia smile.

    It really was a beautiful piece of carefully folded and sewn red silk, nearly a piece of artwork of its own. Embroidered with detailed golden threads and pearl beads, Yujia nearly felt royal wearing it.

    If only the wedding robe was for someone other than the old master of the Yu family¡­

    Despite all the fun, it was already noon, and Yujia was starving. It was also a little exhausting being stuck in the same position for hours at a time so that the tailor could make notes and adjustments.

    Yujia needed to get a breath of fresh air, but she was sure that if she ran out of her room at that moment, Madam Zhang would certainly have complaints again. It was also not a very Fourth Miss like behavior to be impatient, but Yujia was definitely an impatient person by heart.

    So, as an excuse, Yujia asked to go to the restroom because despite the fact that there was a chamber pot in her room, she would feel "embarrassed to use it in front of everyone", so she opted to go to a latrine in the back of her courtyard, which was perfectly out of sight from anyone who tried to look for her.

    With that lie, Yujia easily found a reason to run out of the room, not even followed by Hui''er, but that was after she realized she still had the robes the tailor gave for her to try on her body, and that the latrines would be a disgusting place to hide because of both the unpleasant smell and the fact that Yujia didn''t want to ruin the stunning robes.

    That was why Yujia ended up where she was now, wandering the Yang family''s courtyard in order to avoid Madam Zhang and the tailor, who would surely bring her back to even more robe-fitting if they discovered that she wasn''t doing what she said she was doing.

    In order to avoid other people sending her back, Yujia even had an excuse prepared for anyone who asked her why she wasn''t where she was supposed to be¡ª she would simply say that Madam Zhang wanted her to go show her father what she looked like to see if he approved. As long as Yujia didn''t run upon her father, she would be fine.

    It was a good opportunity to get herself familiar with the villa as well. All that Yujia really knew as of that moment was how to enter and exit through the front door because Hui''er took her through there when they went to the marketplace. She knew that she wanted to prepare herself so that she knew all the exits of the villa in case an emergency occured and she would have to leave for some particular reason.

    Yujia hummed a little as she walked, recalling the tune that Hui''er was humming that morning. It was a nice song.

    Eventually, after a few twist and turns, each one being carefully noted in her mind so that she would not get lost, Yujia discovered herself standing in the opening of a fairly large courtyard compared to all the other ones she stumbled upon. There was a lovely, medium-sized pond right in the center of the courtyard, and the sides of the courtyard walls were dotted with flowers and greenery that framed the pond.

    It was a tranquil sight, but the image was distorted when Yujia heard a splashing sound.

    Glancing over in the direction of the sound, Yujia noticed a figure sitting at the corner of the pond. It was a girl wearing a set of light green robes that complimented her surroundings and holding a handful of pebbles in her hand which she was tossing out into the pond. Her back was turned away from Yujia, so Yujia couldn''t determine if she was someone that she knew, and the girl could not see anyone approaching the opening of the courtyard either.

    Curiously, Yujia stood where she was, observing the girl. She seemed almost melancholic the way she tossed the pebbles, each one skipping further than the last one.

    While Yujia watched, things all seemed normal until the girl suddenly stood up in rapid movements, the handful of pebbles in her hand spilling out. She leaned forwards towards the pond, her back arching over the water. One of her feet took a step closer to the pond, her body tilting more and more towards the surface.

    Yujia''s eyes instantly widened.

    Was the girl¡­ going to jump in the water?

    Don''t tell her that this girl was going to¡­ suicide?

    Whatever this girl was doing, normal people did not jump into cold pond water in the early spring unless there was one goal!

    Yujia could not simply stand there and watch the girl jump. She had to stop the girl. She had to!

 33 The Fourth Miss Realizes the Truth

    Yujia rushed forward, her arms instinctively reaching out to grab the girl. It only took a few seconds for her to reach her, and seemingly, the girl heard her running as well, freezing and spinning around right when Yujia grabbed onto her shoulder.

    Both of them stiffened up when they looked at each other''s faces.

    The girl recognized Yujia, and she pushed Yujia to the side. Yujia recognized the girl, and she stepped back two steps as well.

    It was Yang Qingxia, the First Miss of the Yang family.

    Qingxia was the first to speak, her voice cold and icy.

    "What are you doing here, Fourth Miss?" Her gaze traveled to Yujia''s clothes, and she tensed up even more. "Today is your robe-fitting day, isn''t it? Shouldn''t you be with the tailor?"

    Stiffly, Yujia took another step back, recalling the excuse that she thought of earlier. "Madam Zh¡ª Mother¡ª wanted me to go show Father to see if he liked it."

    "Or is it because you want everyone in the household that you are getting married soon?" It was a simple statement, but coming out of Yang Qingxia''s mouth, it sounded almost accusatory. "If so, I''m very happy for your engagement, little sister." A smile spread out on her expression, but there was not an ounce of warmth within it. After saying so, Qingxia turned back to the pond and sat down again, picking up the scattered pebbles and resuming the pebble-tossing that she had going on before.

    It was an awkward moment. Yujia didn''t know what she should do. Surely, Qingxia needed an explanation for what happened before.

    "Big sister¡­" Yujia began, "I''m going to leave now, but I just want you to know that whatever it is that bothers you, it''s not worth giving up. Hang on in there."

    Surely that was good enough for words of consolation.

    After speaking, Yujia turned back around and began to head out, but she was stopped by Qingxia''s voice.

    "What are you speaking of?"

    Yujia spun back around, seeing that Qingxia was looking at her with suspicion. "Weren''t you trying to¡­ throw yourself in the pond? I just want you to know that I support you."

    Upon hearing her words, Yang Qingxia let out a laugh of unbelief. "Fourth Miss, what nonsense are you on about now?"

    Yujia paused. Could it be that she interpreted the situation wrong?

    Her question was answered when the other girl continued talking.

    "I was merely taking a closer look at one of the carp in the lake. Father bought another species yesterday, so I was admiring the fish. Did you really think that I.. was going to jump? I''m not that foolish, am I? Is that why you grabbed onto me like that?" Qingxia raised an eyebrow.

    "Ah." Mentally, Yujia chastised herself for overthinking."It''s my fault, big sister. I was just too concerned for what you could possibly do¡­ so that was why I acted like that."

    Qingxia didn''t appear very satisfied with what Yujia said, scoffing under her breath. "In the future, I do not need your false concern."

    Yujia''s fingers tightened at her side. False concern? She was actually worried. Yujia admitted that she shouldn''t have acted so recklessly without learning the full story, but she would''ve rather saved someone from jumping in the water than to watch them fall and then dive down in the water to save them herself. She just didn''t want to take any risks.

    Yang Qingxia should''ve been more grateful to her that she was actually trying to help. And perhaps, Yujia should just stay away from people like Yang Qingxia who didn''t deserve concern at all. Kindness should not be given to those who did not deserve it.

    Before Yujia could retort back to Qingxia''s accusations, her words were stopped when another voice traveled close to her.

    "Miss! What are you doing here? Madam Zhang and the tailor are looking for you!"

    Spinning around, Yujia came face-to-face with Hui''er, whose face was turning slightly red as she spoke out of breath.

    "Hui''er?" Yujia tilted her head in surprise.

    Hui''er must have ran her way to where Yujia was at now. The matter seemed urgent.

    Behind her, Yujia noticed Hui''er arching her neck to see who else was in the courtyard with her. Upon spotting Yang Qingxia, Hui''er straightened her back and grabbed Yujia''s arm. "Miss, we should be heading back now."

    Narrowing her eyes, Yujia stared at Hui''er. What was wrong with Yang Qingxia that caused Hui''er to suddenly tense up? Nevertheless, Yujia reluctantly nodded her head politely at Yang Qingxia, whose back was already turned away.

    Then, tugging her arm gently away from Hui''er''s grasp, Yujia spun around and exited the courtyard.

    ¡­

    As the footsteps of the two girls slowly distanted, Qingxia finally turned back around, deliberately, staring into the opening of the courtyard. In her mind, the image of the Fourth Miss and her red wedding robes reappeared, followed along by her own memories of wearing a robe similar to the one the Fourth Miss had on today.

    It was a delicate memory. They did say that women were the most beautiful on the day of their wedding for a reason, after all.

    Shifting her gaze back towards the pond, Qingxia blinked away a few rising tears.

    The past and the memories, however lovely they may be, would be best to keep buried deep, deep down.

 34 Dinner and Pencils For the Fourth Miss

    It was evening once more, and both Madam Zhang and the tailor were gone, leaving Yujia alone with Hui''er in the dim candlelight of the room.

    Yujia carefully examined the pencil she held in her hand, the top of the pencil shaved off so that it resembled one and would function just like one. With the pencil, she pulled over a piece of paper and drew a slanted mark down the paper, finding that it was at the darkness that she desired.

    Pouring all that graphite into the mixture did some good, after all.

    Hui''er watched as her Fourth Miss continued working with the "pencil" she had in her hand. It was puzzling to see the wooden stick that the Fourth Miss held in her hand slowly create a drawing on the paper, the lines resulting from the stick coming together to resemble a flower.

    Everything was certainly puzzling. Traditionally, art was always created with water, an inkstone, and a brush. How could the Fourth Miss use such a primitive looking tool to scratch on the paper? And how come the picture that was slowly being formed on the paper transforming into something so wonderful?

    Triumphantly, Yujia watched as the pencil in her hand proved to work like the ones she used back in the modern world. The darkness was about as similar as a 2B pencil, and this also proved to Yujia that by adding different amounts of graphite, different pencil values could be created.

    Quickly, the flower she was drawing as a test was finished, and Yujia set the pencil down carefully on the table.

    "Hui''er, we succeeded!"

    Turning to her maid, Yujia raised her arms up excitedly in a cheer, proud of her creation and the pencil in her hand. She was one step closer to her goal.

    Although Hui''er still didn''t particularly understand, she gave a cheerful smile. "Miss, now that you''re finished with all this, would you like dinner? I''m sure you''re hungry from all the robe fitting all day long."

    Yujia nodded. "That would be excellent." She really was hungry. Leave it to Hui''er to understand when she needed things and what she needed.

    While Hui''er went out of the room to go to the kitchens and pick up dinner, Yujia stood up from the chair and table she was sitting at, going across the room and grabbing the pencil-making materials that Hui''er decided to store in a small cabinet against the wall so that she could retrieve the materials easily. During the day, while Yujia was with the tailor, Hui''er had also gone to the market to ask a pottery artisan for some clay, spending only three taels to get a whole block of the material as well as some extra graphite.

    Now, Yujia peeled off half of the clay block, tossing it in a basin with only a little bit of water and mixing it well. After that, she separated the portion of clay and water into smaller sections, adding in different amounts of graphite to each portion so that the darkness values would be different. Yujia placed each mixture in the different molds, and by the time that she was finished, she used up nearly all her molds to make twelve pencils, all of different darkness so she could shade with different values easily.

    By the time that Hui''er came back, holding the usual plate of rice, vegetables, and three pieces of pork, Yujia was finished with what she was doing, going forward to excitedly take the food from Hui''er but then recalling that she was supposed to get used to her "Fourth Miss" persona more. Yujia slowed down in movements and sat back down, waiting for Hui''er to set the table for her.

    While Hui''er did her task, Yujia asked a question that had been resting in her mind for a while.

    "Hui''er, what exactly is going on with Yang Qingxia?"

    Once the question slipped out, Hui''er seemed to freeze for just a moment, the briefest of a second, before returning back to normal. Yujia noticed it.

    "Oh, Miss." Hui''er gave Yujia a relaxed smile. "I did tell you before that the First Miss didn''t have a good past? The First Miss¡­ she had a miscarriage on this day, four years ago. I forgot about it, but since you reminded me, today is the date. Surely, today, when she saw you wearing the wedding robes, she must''ve remembered her own past and her child."

    Thoughtfully, Yujia nodded. So, that was the case.

    A miscarriage? Although Yujia was not informed of the entire story, she knew that the death of the unborn child certainly had a lasting impact on Yang Qingxia. Her cold, constrained attitude towards Yujia made sense now. In fact, Yujia almost felt guilty for being so insensitive of the topic.

    "Are you sure you know nothing more about this, Hui''er?" While picking up a piece of sweet pork between her chopsticks, Yujia asked again.

    "No, I really don''t, Miss." Quickly, Hui''er shook her head. "But¡ª oh¡ª Miss, did you hear of what happened? I''m sure you haven''t because you were stuck with the tailor all day. One of the Old Master''s antiques were stolen. One of the expensive ones too. I heard from the other servants that he was truly furious over it¡­"

    As Hui''er continued on with her story, Yujia listened half-heartedly and ate her meal slowly. Her thoughts were still focused on Yang Qingxia.

    She didn''t want to have a bad relationship with this new sister of hers just because of what occured today. Sometime soon, she would have to think of a way to make up for what happened earlier¡­

 35 When the Fourth Miss Visits the Kitchens In the Middle of the Nigh

    Despite being buried in numerous layers of cotton sheets, Yujia couldn''t fall asleep for some reason.

    She knew that it was a terrible idea to create bad relationships between the people in the household and herself. The last thing she wanted was for Yang Qingxia to think that she was mocking her by showing up with her wedding robes on.

    Before she knew it, she was climbing out of bed, startling Hui''er, who was sleeping in a bed behind Yujia''s.

    "Miss, what are you doing?" Sleepily, Hui''er rubbed her eyes and clutched her blankets around her.

    "Hui''er. Can you take me to the kitchens?"

    "Kitchens?" Hui''er frowned. "Miss, what are you going to do in the kitchen?"

    "I have an idea." In a rushed voice, Yujia began to dress herself with her daily wear. Seeing that Yujia was doing so, Hui''er walked a bit closer, assisting her Fourth Miss. "I want to do something for Yang Qingxia. As an apology gift."

    "Miss¡­" Hui''er froze and warned, "I don''t know how well the First Miss will take that."

    "Well, it''s worth a try."

    Once the robes were on, Yujia headed out her room and away from the courtyard. If Hui''er wouldn''t follow, then she would have to find the kitchens on her own, but she doubted that it would be too difficult. After all, when she was wandering around the previous morning, she did discover where the main servant''s area was, and the kitchens couldn''t be far from that.

    However, Hui''er did decide to come, speeding up to Yujia and taking her to the kitchens, saving Yujia from walking any extra steps if she had to find the kitchens on her own.

    By the time that they arrived, Yujia had what she wanted to do mostly planned out in her head.

    Tang Yuan.

    That was what she wanted to make, a traditional dessert that she thought had to be invented by this time period. The dessert could serve as both a breakfast and comfort food. And although Yujia barely knew how to cook, this was amongst the only recipes she knew how to make, right besides egg fried rice and spicing up her boringly packaged instant noodles.

    Making Tang Yuan was one of Yujia''s fonder memories of being taught how to by her mother, and having her fingers become sticky from rolling the small chunks of dough into balls and wrapping it around a filling of sesame paste. She always felt better after eating the food, and she hoped that it would be the same if she made some for the First Miss.

    Truthfully, Yujia didn''t even know if she was allowed in the kitchens, but she was certain that no one was about to enter the kitchens in the middle of the night. That was why she was fully confident that she could use all the supplies around her.

    "Hui''er, can you help me find some rice flour?"

    "Rice flour?" Hui''er widened her eyes. "Miss, rice flour is such a luxurious item¡­ how would they just have it lying around in the kitchen?"

    "Luxurious?" Yujia widened her eyes in disbelief as well. Back in the modern world, rice flour was not "luxurious" in any manner. It only cost a few dollars to buy a large sack. She didn''t expect it to be considered a luxury in this time period, but perhaps that was reasonable as well, considering that it would be difficult to make it without machines.

    "Miss, what are you even planning to make?"

    "Tang Yuan, of course, Hui''er. What else can you make with rice flour?"

    "Tang Yuan?" Hui''er looked at Yujia puzzledly. "What''s that?"

    How could Hui''er not know what Tang Yuan was? Yujia raised her hands to gesture the shape of a small ball. "Oh, you know. That sticky ball of rice, sometimes filled with sesame or bean paste, and served along with sweet soup¡­"

    "Ah, Miss, do you mean Yuan Xiao?" Hui''er tilted her head.

    Yuan Xiao? Right. That was another name for the dessert. Yujia was so used to calling it Tang Yuan that she forgot it had another name. Perhaps Yuan Xiao was the name they used for the time period. Yujia nodded a bit.

    "Well, Miss, making that for the First Miss might be a little improper."

    "How so?"

    "Yuan Xiao is only served during the holidays. Perhaps that''s different from where you came from¡­ but in the capital, we only eat it during the Spring Festival. First Miss might think that you''re making fun of her again if you serve that to her," Hui''er explained.

    "Really?" Yujia''s smile dropped. "Then, Hui''er¡­ I don''t know what I should do. How else am I supposed to show her that I''m sincere? I thought that making food for her would be a good idea, since food always cheers me up when I''m down, and the only thing I know how to make is¡­"

    Yujia''s voice trailed off. Surely serving egg fried rice would be not be a good idea. Painting the First Miss a nice painting of mountains didn''t seem to be very comforting either. She needed something that she could make quickly.

    Hui''er grabbed onto Yujia''s hands in a comforting manner. "Miss, I get what you''re trying to do. How about you let Hui''er help you? I have a good idea."

 36 The Fourth Miss Learns Under Huiâ€™er

    Yujia carefully watched as Hui''er went around the kitchen, grabbing tools and ingredients from their proper places and putting them on the table in front of Yujia. The ingredients looked simple enough: soaked red beans, flour, and sugar.

    While Hui''er prepared everything, she explained, "Miss, I was going to make red bean cakes for you this morning, so that is why the beans are soaked. I didn''t really get the opportunity though, as you can see, though you can see that it comes handy now."

    "Red bean cakes, hm?" Yujia mused, thinking of the dessert. She had tasted it once in college, where one of her classmates brought it over for the holidays, but the taste didn''t seem to extraordinary. So, her impression of the dessert was rather faded. "But Hui''er," Yujia proposed another issue, "I don''t know how to make this. I want the dish to be something that I made¡­ so it seems a little more sincere, right?"

    Hui''er gave Yujia a small smile. "Then, I''ll just teach you to. Are you sure you want to do this, though? Making these cakes do take a while. We might be here all night."

    "It''s okay." Yujia waved her hands carefreely. How many all nighters did she pull in her previous life? Staying up all night was not a big issue.

    And so, Hui''er began to explain to Yujia how to make the tiny pastries, displaying and explaining very step. Half of the red beans were first boiled in hot water for ten or so minutes, and afterwards, Hui''er meticulously mashed the beans into a fine paste, quoting that although the folk method of making these cakes would not require too much mashing, making a fine paste out of the red beans would create a more visually pleasing product.

    Next, Hui''er combined the sugar, flour and bean paste, kneading it into a blushing light maroon dough that she would fit into a set of cake molds that she found in one of the cabinets. After thumping the cake molds a few times, three perfectly detailed red bean cakes came out, the designs on the top elaborately depicting blooming flowers. Hui''er repeated the process again so that all the dough was used up, and then she moved onto steaming the cakes in a casket until they were ready.

    When Hui''er lifted the lid of the casket to reveal six perfectly molded red bean cakes, Yujia couldn''t help but look in awe. They looked so dainty, and the sweet aroma wafting off of the steaming surface could only be described as heavenly.

    "Now, your turn." Hui''er picked each cake out from the casket with a chopstick and set it out on a plate that Yujia brought her. "Did you get it?"

    "Somewhat." Yujia tilted her head warily. "Will you still guide me through it?"

    "Of course." A small giggle escaped Hui''er. "But Fourth Miss, it''s not difficult."

    "Well, I have no experience of cooking." Casting the other girl a stern look as a joke, Yujia only caused Hui''er to laugh even more.

    "Then, Miss, let''s start with straining and boiling the beans." Hui''er grabbed half of the soaked red beans and placed them in front of Yujia, who rolled up her sleeves and began to get to work.

    While Yujia went through each step of making the cakes, she was learning more and more from Hui''er. It was wonderful to cook again after six years of her previous life eating the same, repetitive, and unhealthy foods because she was attempting to save money. And despite the fact that Yujia certainly had plenty of time on her hands after she graduated from college to cook, she always convinced herself that buying fresh ingredients was too costly, so fresh food barely happened.

    Under the dim candlelight illuminating the kitchens, Yujia found it almost therapeutic to cook.

    Halfway through mashing up the red beans¡ª the most time consuming aspect of it all¡ª Yujia decided to ask Hui''er a question. "Hui''er, where did you learn making red bean cakes from?"

    The encouraging expression on Hui''er''s face dropped, and Yujia felt like she crossed some unspoken line or uncovered a sorrowful part of Hui''er''s past.

    Shifting her body slightly away from her Fourth Miss, Hui''er began to organize some of the mess that she left over from the first batch of cakes while she replied quietly, "Before I was brought to the Yang Household, I used to live in Hangzhou. I don''t think I remember much about the past¡ª I left that place when I was eight¡ª but one of my only memories was watching my mother create these cakes."

    "Oh." Yujia stopped mashing the red beans under her hands. "I''m¡ª sorry if you didn''t want to talk about this."

    "It''s okay." Hui''er turned her face back to Yujia, putting on a smile that didn''t seem as sincere as the one she had on before. "I just really miss my family. I used to have a younger brother too, but I guess that today, it would be about seven years since I last saw him. But these are all old memories now, and nothing much of value."

    The two were silent while Yujia kept turning the red beans into a fine paste. Although she only spent three or so days with Hui''er, she already took the other girl for just a cheerful, bright person who was just there to assist her in adapting to this new world. As ignorant as it seemed, she didn''t really even think that Hui''er had a past.

    Yujia truly needed to think a little more in the perspective of others.

 37 The Fourth Miss Finishes Her Gif

    When the beginning morning rays of sunlight began to shine in from the window of the kitchen, a plate of steaming red bean cakes rested in front of Yujia''s eyes.

    A total of six bean cakes were the result of all her hard work through last night. Although she did finish earlier with another batch, when she tested it, the taste was a little too sweet because she seemed to add in too much sugar. That was why she had to restart and remake them, the two batches combined taking up so much time that it was already almost morning when she finished.

    While Hui''er aided Yujia in placing the cakes on a clean plate, Yujia took one and sampled it for herself. Five should be enough of a number to give Yang Qingxia.

    The freshly made red bean cake crumbled under her bite and dissolved on her tongue. This time, unlike before, the cake was not overly sweet or too bland, and although the cake was moist, it was dense as well. Yujia could proudly say that she enjoyed the taste despite the burning sensation of her tongue from being burnt by the dessert that just came out of the casket.

    Quickly, Yujia finished the small pastry and stretched, her mouth opening up into a yawn. She turned her head towards Hui''er, informing, "I''m going to go back now¡­ and get some sleep. Can you take care of sending the cakes?"

    Hui''er nodded. "Yes, I can do that."

    "Alright then." Yujia nodded as well and began to head out of the kitchen. She trusted that Hui''er would deliver the cakes to the right person.

    For now, all Yujia really had to worry about was getting to her bed and taking a quick nap before the sun fully rose up.

    ¡­

    Hui''er stood alone in the empty kitchen, packing the cakes into a box that she would carry and deliver to the First Miss as her Fourth Miss asked her to.

    When she placed the plate into the box and carefully closed the lid on them, Hui''er hesitated to lift the box and exit the kitchen.

    Was really it a good decision to send the cakes to the First Miss?

    Based on Hui''er''s calculations, the First Miss was not a person to be easily won over like that. A few simple pastries would not contribute much to her impression of the Fourth Miss. Perhaps it would even cause the First Miss to be a little suspicious of what the intentions of the Fourth Miss were. Even though Hui''er knew that the Fourth Miss was truly trying to be a kind individual, that didn''t necessarily mean that the First Miss would think the same.

    Besides, Hui''er preferred to avoid the First Miss as much as possible, considering what had happened between the two of them in the past.

    Hui''er''s eyes drifted over in the direction of the fire pit that the two of them steamed the cakes over. In the pit, the fire was crackling, parts of the vibrant orange flames snapping upwards and twisting around.

    It would be easy to toss the plate of cakes in the fire. It would be easy to let the flames consume the five little desserts and to transform them into nothing but ashes. All it took was a quick toss, and then the cakes would be gone.

    Hui''er blinked, reaching forward to the flames, but then, she remembered.

    Her mind went back to the entire night of teaching the Fourth Miss how to make the red bean cakes. She recalled the moment where the Fourth Miss added too much sugar. She recalled the moment where a blissful, joyous look appeared on the Fourth Miss''s face when she realized that the second batch was perfectly made. She recalled how much the Fourth Miss wanted to improve her relationship with the First Miss.

    Hui''er froze in her movements and set the box of cakes down. She reached over the table for a bucket of fresh water, dumped the water on the fire, and began to clean the kitchen.

    It would be good to make the kitchen spotless before the first servant entered to begin the process of their work this morning. And as for the red bean cakes¡­ Hui''er supposed that she would just have to send them over to the First Miss when she was finished with what she was doing.

 38 Huiâ€™er Meets the First Miss Again

    By the time that Hui''er reached the courtyard of the First Miss, she was hesitant again. However, she still continued to force herself to step into the courtyard and continue on in the direction of the First Miss''s room.

    The Yang family''s household had a total of three courtyards¡ª one to the North, one to the South, and one to the East. The East Courtyard was the largest one in the villa, holding the most plants and even a small pond that the Old Master added in a few years back, and the Old Master, Madam Zhang, and the First Miss resided in the courtyard.

    The North Courtyard was the second largest. It used to be the residence of the Old Master''s mother, but after she passed away, only the Fifth Miss lived in that courtyard. It was also the area for any guests that may visit the Yang household.

    Lastly, the South Courtyard was the courtyard that the Fourth Miss and all the servants were given a spot at. It was the smallest courtyard out of all of them, only a fraction of the size of the North Courtyard. The fact that most of the servants took up space in the South Courtyard meant that the Fourth Miss was barely given any space for her room. Besides a crooked tree in the front of the courtyard and a few broken grasses growing in between, there was barely any other nature in the space.

    Hui''er straightened herself and raised her hand up, knocking briefly at the door she was at which led to the Fourth Miss''s room.

    She walked all the way here already. It would be pointless to return now.

    Although there were a few moments before the door was opened, Hui''er didn''t doubt that the First Miss was awake. After leaving the cleaned kitchens with the box of cakes, she hadn''t gone directly to the East Courtyard and instead chose to return to the Fourth Miss''s room to clean up some more and to organize the mess the Fourth Miss made with her inventions, purposely delaying the moment where she would have to see the First Miss.

    Plus, the First Miss was always an early waker, based on the time that Hui''er knew her, though it was also possible that her habit changed over the course of the years.

    When the door opened, Hui''er was greeted by the face of an unfamiliar servant who was likely the personal maid of the First Miss.

    "Who are you?" The maid looked at Hui''er with narrow eyes.

    Hui''er exhaled and put on a gentle smile, softening her presence so that she didn''t give off any sort of a hostile appearance. Since the Fourth Miss asked her to do this favor for her, she might as well perform it as well as she could.

    "I serve the Fourth Miss." Hui''er raised the box containing the red bean cakes in her hands. "The Fourth Miss wanted me to deliver this to the First Miss."

    The maid blinked, then took a closer step, looking at the box. "Alright, thanks." She reached forward, took the box, and began to close the door on Hui''er.

    Swiftly, Hui''er shot her hands out and stopped the door, saying, "The Fourth Miss wanted me to give the First Miss the gift myself, as well as a few extra words."

    Unimpressed, the maid shook her head. "My First Miss is resting. She does not have time for this nonsense. Now, why don''t you leave¡ª"

    Before the maid could continue on with her words, a voice traveled out from inside the room, stopping her.

    "Lingsu, let her come in. I want to see what she has to say."

    The maid, Lingsu, cast Hui''er an apprehensive look, but she listened to what the other said and stepped aside, letting Hui''er walk in.

    Upon entering the room, Hui''er observed her surroundings and noticed that little had changed from when she last entered it, four years ago. The room was in good condition, but it was almost as simplistic as the Fourth Miss''s room, without any decorations or plants to help the environment. All the servants gossiped that the lack of vases or potted plants were because of the fact that Madam Zhang was afraid of the First Miss''s terrible habit of breaking them in anger, so even so many years later, they had kept her room without the items.

    So, the first word that came to mind when Hui''er entered the room was "empty".

    Across the spacious room was a bed with dark blue canopy drapes, and in front of the bed sat Yang Qingxia, the First Miss, perfectly dressed in a set of apricot orange robes and the complete opposite of what Lingsu was saying with the "still resting".

    The First Miss did not appear surprised to see Hui''er, merely tilting her head by a slight degree. "Li Huiyu, what are you doing here?"

    Hui''er went forward and bowed, as expected of her status, but she didn''t hesitate to reply. "First Miss, I do not go by that name anymore. They call me ''Hui''er''."

    "Hui''er¡­ that does sound more kind and compassionate now, doesn''t it?" The First Miss smiles, and her voice sounds lacking in something that Hui''er couldn''t quite put her finger on. "Now tell me, what is this gift and message that your Fourth Miss brought me?"

    Handing the box over, Hui''er didn''t hesitate to distance herself from the other by an extra step when she returned to her old position. Truthfully, the Fourth Miss never said to add in an extra message, but Hui''er figured that it would help.

    "She just wanted you to know that she wasn''t sure if yesterday made you upset or not, and if it did, she would like to apologize like so. She didn''t mean for it to be perceived that way." That wasn''t a lie. "So, she wanted to make up for it by making you some red bean cakes." That wasn''t a lie either.

    "Red bean cakes?" The First Miss repeated and opened the lid, looking at the cakes inside.

    Hui''er hastily added in, "First Miss¡­ the Fourth Miss didn''t want me to tell you this, but she stayed up all night to perfect these since she''s terrible at cooking. I hope that you at least try them out."

    Perhaps that would add in a little more of an emotional aspect to the persuasion of the First Miss.

    "I will," Casting her eyes back up, the First Miss set the opened box on the bed beside her and continued, "but do tell your Fourth Miss that it''s not so easy to buy me over as well."

    Hui''er furrowed her eyebrows. "First Miss, that was never her intenti¡ª"

    "Lingsu, send her out," interrupted the First Miss midway, waving her hands. "I am not in the mood of talking today."

    Instantly, Lingsu went forward and gestured at the door.

    Hui''er looked slowly at the First Miss. Was it really because of the Fourth Miss''s gift that caused such a suspicious attitude in the First Miss? Or was it Hui''er''s presence that changed it all? Could the First Miss really not let go of the past like that?

    Regardless of what the reason was, Hui''er simply gave a nod at the First Miss and exited the doors. She knew when she was unwanted, and there was no reason to stay any longer if that was the case.

 39 Talking to the Fourth Missâ€™s Commissioner

    Yujia found herself sitting at a inn, looking with awe at the bowl of steaming noodles in front of her. The shop was technically an inn, but there were two floors to the building, and those who wished to stop by for a quick bite of food at the ground floor could also treat it as a restaurant of some sort, in modern terms.

    Hui''er told her that she was going to meet the commissioner here to finally settle some matters of how the commission was about to go. Yujia wanted to follow along, so she found herself sitting inside this building, a few tables away from Hui''er and enjoying the delicious scent radiating off the bowl of noodles in front of her.

    The commissioner seemed to not have arrived yet, but Yujia found it a little strange that Hui''er claimed that Yujia should be "undercover" in order to watch what would happen just in case something went wrong. Hui''er advised her to not appear unless she had to, and although Yujia was wary, she decided to trust Hui''er and to listen for now.

    She didn''t want to make it too suspicious by being just a girl dubiously watching two people converse either, so she decided to spend some of her money to buy herself a lunch of a wholesome bowl of egg noodles, which was the cheapest thing on the money¡ª only a few copper coins¡ª yet looked more delicious than anything that Yujia had tasted so far in this world.

    Yujia picked up a pair of chopsticks to the right of her, ready to dig into the bowl, but her attention to her food was interrupted when she noticed that a man sat down in front of the table that Hui''er was at. She couldn''t catch a glimpse of his face because he was turned away from her, but based on how Hui''er acted, Yujia assumed that it was her commissioner.

    The environment of the inn was not particularly quiet, but it wasn''t loud either. Yujia only sat a few tables away from them, so if she listened closely, she could hear their conversation quite well.

    For the most part, it consisted of basic greetings and discussion, so Yujia zoned out after a while of listening to them, beginning to eat her bowl of noodles. Even though she did remind herself that the point of visiting this place was to settle the issue of the commission, the noodles just seemed like more of a priority as of right now. The last time she had non-instant noodles seemed like decades ago.

    Besides, Yujia did tell Hui''er what she was supposed to say¡ª about how she couldn''t do the Guilin painting, but she would be more than happy to paint something else¡ª and she trusted that Hui''er would bring her point across.

    As Yujia ate her noodles, a blissful smile appeared on her lips. The texture and taste of the dish was wonderful, noodles being neither undercooked or overcooked, and the eggs adding a wonderful aroma into the dish. The dish was simplistic, but it couldn''t be more tasty. Yujia could eat it for¡ª

    "Then, I guess, if your Old Master can''t paint Guilin, then I''ll have to cancel the commission."

    Upon hearing those words, Yujia almost choked.

    Cancel the commission?

    Cancel the commission?

    Cancel the commission?

    How could that be? He couldn''t cancel the commission! That was a total of eighty-five taels that Yujia was absolutely unwilling to give up!

    Yujia quickly swallowed down the noodles that were in her mouth and looked up at Hui''er, seeing what she was going to say. However, the other girl didn''t seem to know how to respond, looking back at Yujia with a frantic expression.

    Did this mean that she had to step up and talk to the man herself? She couldn''t lose this customer. He was her only hope to get a lot of taels fast, and if she lost the opportunity, then she would have to figure out some other way¡­

    With those thoughts echoing through her mind, Yujia decided on her final choice.

    She set the half-finished bowl of noodles down at the table and stood up, walking next to Hui''er and turning to the man, finally getting a first look at his face. He was not as average or as old as she thought he would look, but rather a fairly young man that Yujia would even dare to call handsome. The proportion of his facial features seemed so standard that Yujia considered him to look like someone that came out of one of those "basic human anatomy" books that she used to own in college.

    When the young man saw her approach, the look on his face could only be described as confusion at what she was doing and who she was.

    "Hello," Yujia greeted, "I''m the¡­ Old Master of this girl." The title seemed awkward to give herself, but she supposed that it would clear a little more confusion. Yujia pointed at Hui''er, and then at herself. "Can I convince you to¡­ not cancel the commission?"

    The young man blinked. "What?"

 40 The Fourth Miss Begins Her Persuasion

    "Right." Straightening herself a little, Yujia figured that it would be better to adapt the personality of the actual Fourth Miss since that seemed to command a little more respect and confidence. "As I said before, I am the ''Old Master'' of this maid. This was simply the title I told her to tell others just so people didn''t judge my artwork by my age or gender."

    The young man gave her a long stare. Yujia figured that he was definitely doubting his choice of paying the amount of taels he gave for the painting.

    "But," he spoke up, "you''re¡ª you''re¡ª you can''t be older than twenty years?"

    Yujia sighed. "Precisely. I''m eighteen, if you want the specifics."

    "How can that be¡­?" The young man looked down and muttered to himself. Then, after a few moments, he stood up, shaking his head. "I''m sorry. If this is the case, then I guess I really have to cancel it."

    He reached into the navy blue sleeves of his robe, pulling out a single silver tael and placing it on the table. "I apologize for taking up your time. Here¡ª have this tael¡ª and I''ll be going now."

    With that, he turned around and made motions to leave. A servant that seemed to be following behind him turned around too.

    Despite the fact that on the outside, Yujia appeared to be calm and collected, she was panicking on the inside. This couldn''t be the case. She was so close to getting those eight-five taels¡­ if she let the perfect opportunity slip out of her hands, how would she feel about herself in the future?

    "People like you disgust me."

    That was the sentence that Yujia settled on saying. It would be her last hook¡ª if she couldn''t catch the attention of the young man who was walking away, then everything would be hopeless.

    However, like she predicted, the five simplistic words worked.

    Slowly, the young man turned his head around, walking back to the table. Quietly, he asked, "What did you say?"

    Yujia raised her eyebrows, repeating, "I said that people like you disgust me. It''s people like you who only see value in age and gender, who believe that just because I''m a young female, I can''t do anything that old, pathetic men can do, that disgust me. So what if I''m not the person you expected that I would be? You still bought my painting for some reason, and at that time, I suppose you weren''t thinking of who the painter was, were you?"

    Her voice was gentle, but her words were anything but.

    The young man looked at her wordlessly. Hui''er gave a nervous tug on Yujia''s sleeve, as if she was reminding her to not anger the other. But now that Yujia was already starting on her speech, she didn''t feel like stopping either.

    "If in the past, you saw my painting as a work of art, how does it change in value now that you know who I am? Is this really how you judge people?Is the value of a person determined by their wealth, their appearance, and their age?" Yujia sighed once more, folding her hands on the table. "If that is the case, then I suppose you should just leave. I have no need to do business with disgusting, biased individuals like you."

    Her miniature speech that she gave was something she came up with at the spur of the moment because she guessed that the young man was the type who would respond more to something like that if he had the wealth to pay so much for her paintings, but at the same time, they weren''t completely words that she didn''t believe in her own heart.

    Back in her old world, selling art was a struggle precisely because of the reasons she listed above. No one wanted to buy art from a freshly graduated, young artist like her. They didn''t particularly care about what the art was, but who was painting it.

    If one of those incredibly famous artists drew a single line across a paper and sold it for millions, people would throw their money at it wholeheartedly, but if Yujia spent weeks working on a single painting, making sure that every stroke of her brush was flawless, she would gain nearly nothing for her work.

    In her old world, it was all about connections. If you did not have previous connections or fame to your name, you were nothing in the vast sea of people just like you. That was just the world that she lived in, and now, looking at it, Yujia realized that although the time period may have changed, the world and the people in it were still the same.

    Yujia pressed her lips in a thin line and looked up, seeing that the young man was still standing at the table in front of her. "Why are you still here?" she asked.

    The young man opened his lips. "Because¡ª because¡ª I''m sorry about what I said before. It was unintended." He wrung his hands together. "If you are still willing¡­ can we talk about the commission again?"

    A small, sly smile appeared on Yujia''s face.

    Her plan worked.

 41 The Commissioner and His Thoughts

    Bo Zhiyuan admitted that he was a hypocrite.

    From the start, when he first bought the painting in the market, he certainly did judge it based on the assumptions that the painter was someone who was an wise, respectable master at painting, leaving that to be the reason for the insane price on the painting itself. He did admire the piece of art, but it didn''t contribute as much to his decision to purchase it in comparison to the automatic assumptions he made.

    Truthfully, the words of the girl didn''t mean much to him until she came to the end, where she asked, "Is the value of a person determined by their wealth, their appearance, and their age?"

    That was what changed his mind.

    He recalled the days where, as the second young master of the Bo family, he was never given as much credit as his older brother despite the fact that he was smarter. He worked harder. He exceeded his brother in every single way, yet his brother was still the one looked up to in the family, the one who was supposed to succeed the Bo family''s fortune.

    That was what instilled the belief that money determined the value of someone or something inside of him, yet at the same time, even though he believed the same thing, he still hated it when people held him at a lower position simply because he was born younger and that he would never be the one who would lead the Bo family.

    So now, reflecting over it all, didn''t that make him a hypocrite for judging the girl the same way?

    Besides, who decided in the first place that skill in art could be determined by age? Prodigies did exist as well. His closest friend, Yu Zixu¡ª wasn''t he a prodigy at painting as well? Zhiyuan witnessed Zixu''s painting skills in the first place, and he admitted that his friend could compare to the old masters in terms of skill.

    That was why Zhiyuan decided to give the girl a chance. She was young and didn''t appear too impressive at all, but who knew? Perhaps he misjudged her.

    Wringing his hands together, Zhiyuan asked, "If you are still willing¡­ can we talk about the commission again?"

    He looked up at the girl, and saw that a smile appeared on her face, but it vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by a cold expression in her eyes.

    "Then, what do you want now?" She tapped her fingers on the table. "I clearly cannot do the painting of Guilin. You do not trust my skill either."

    Zhiyuan bit the inside of his lip. "Since that''s the case¡­ just so I know for sure¡­ would it be too much to ask for you to demonstrate your painting skills here?"

    "Understandable." The girl nodded. "I don''t happen to have supplies on me, so if that is what you want, you''ll have to provide me with some."

    That was a reasonable request.

    Zhiyuan turned to look at the servant that followed behind him, then tossed a satchel of taels at the servant. "You heard her. Go buy some paper, ink, and brush."

    The servant nodded obediently, accepting the taels and backing away.

    While the servant was out, Zhiyuan observed the girl and watched as she used the tael that he had handed her earlier to buy herself a jug of fine wine and a full roasted chicken, then pocketing the change in her own satchel of coins. She seemed absorbed in her own world, not in the mood to strike up any conversation or to offer him any wine or meat while she slowly worked through it all, taking a sip of wine after every bite of chicken.

    The maid beside her looked at him apologetically, and Zhiyuan''s stomach growled a little while he watched her devor the chicken. He forgot that he hadn''t had lunch until now, but it didn''t seem proper to order some himself. He didn''t want to belittle himself to the point where he would ask her for some either.

    Still, he couldn''t help but think that it was his money that he gave her in the first place. Wouldn''t it be common courtesy for her to offer some for him?

    Zhiyuan decided to ignore his unsettled thoughts until the servant came back with the supplies after what seemed like an eternity. The servant, moving aside the girl''s jug of wine and dish of near-finished chicken, rolled out a scroll of clean paper and laid the brushes and inkstone by the side.

    The girl cast a wary look at the supplies, almost as if she had never seen anything of the sort before. Zhiyuan caught the look, and instantly, he began to doubt his choice of trusting this girl.

    What if she didn''t actually know how to paint? It was possible that the entire thing was just a long winded scam, and painting was a completely foreign subject to this girl. If that was the case¡­

    Zhiyuan gave an unsatisfactory glance at the girl, but she seemed preoccupied with her wine and chicken again by the side of the paper while her maid grinded the inkstick against the stone to create ink.

    Was the girl serious?

    He understood if she ate to pass the time while the servant was gone¡­ but now, when the painting supplies were all brought to her, shouldn''t she be more worried about the painting itself? She was supposed to try to impress him, wasn''t she?

    Yet all that seemed to go on in the mind of the girl was finishing the roasted chicken and the jug of wine that she ordered¡­

    The more Bo Zhiyuan watched the girl eat, the more he regretted his past decisions.

 42 The Fourth Miss Picks Up Painting Again

    When Yujia saw the art supplies that the servant brought over, she could only say that she was beyond surprised.

    A quick look at the supplies revealed to Yujia that they were not the ordinary ones she used back when she made her first painting in this world. The scroll of paper that the servant rolled out was noticeably thicker and a flawless pale shade that could nearly compare to the quality of the paper she used back in the modern world. The inkstick and stone in front of her both had fine details carved into the black and red surfaces, and the paintbrushes¡­ were they lined with actual silver?

    After a few moments of staring with shock, Yujia noticed the surprised look she had displayed on her face and quickly masked it while she watched the servant return to the commissioner a bulging satchel of taels.

    How many taels would be in the satchel for the servant to be able to purchase such fine art supplies? How rich was this commissioner in the first place to be able to afford such things for just a simple demonstration?

    Yujia''s fingers traced the paper lovingly, and then, she turned back to the chicken and wine.

    The food and drink was something she ordered to pass the time, but now, she was about to use it as an excuse so that she could take time to think of what exactly she was to draw. Certainly, the artwork had to impress the commissioner if she wanted to keep him, but last time, she already painted mountains. Yujia wanted to do something else for a change.

    So, Yujia tore off a strip of chicken and bit into it, slowly chewing as she thought about it.

    ¡­

    By the time that Yujia was completely finished with the chicken and nearly emptied the jug of wine by her side, both the commissioner and Hui''er looked exceptionally concerned.

    The young man noted that she was finished and hesitatingly asked, "Will you start now?"

    "Of course." Yujia wiped a bit of the grease on her fingers on a handkerchief that was handed to her by Hui''er. "I merely needed to finish my meal."

    She waved her hands and a waiter rushed over, taking her empty plate away from her. He was about to grab her almost empty jug of wine as well, but Yujia stopped him, taking one last sip and handing it over. She wasn''t completely drunk¡ª it was just a small jug of wine¡ª but the alcohol helped calm her nerves.

    Taking a long look at the commissioner before her, she asked the young man, "Just to make it clear, if my painting impresses you, we''ll continue on with the commision, won''t we?"

    "Yes. Certainly," he agreed.

    "Good."

    Yujia reached over to the side, picking up the long brush and attempting to hide her excitement. As an artist, receiving quality art supplies was always so thrilling, a habit that was never taken away from her even after all her failure in the past.

    She dipped the very tip of the brush in black ink, beginning on her first line.

    ¡­

    Bo Zhiyuan watched as the painting came together, line by line.

    He wasn''t sure what she was about to paint in the beginning¡ª perhaps some flowers or scenery¡ª but as she progressed, he found that what he thought were long leaves were feathers, and the things he took for thin branches were legs and claws.

    The strokes of her brush were meticulous in some areas while in others, they were bold and saturated. She didn''t seem to hesitate at all, every flick of her wrist precise and filled with confidence.

    Zhiyuan was not a professional, but just by watching her, he knew that he was wrong to doubt her in the first place. The amount of certainty she held while painting proved that she wasn''t as clueless or a beginner as he thought she would be.

    When the girl painted, she moved fast, but her strokes were not at random either, each one calculated to fit together in a cohesive piece. Her style of painting was largely unlike the slow, detailed movements that Yu Zixu, his close friend who he learned bits and pieces of the art of painting from, painted at. Her method of painting made it look like painting was an instinctual action to her.

    This girl¡ª as unimpressive as she looked¡ª had to have years and years of experience to paint like this.

    Finally, when the girl finished, she spun the scroll of paper around to face him, and he could finally have a full, complete view of the finished painting.

    The ink on the paper depicted two roosters standing in the shade of a blossoming tree. One rooster, with a dramatic flair of the tail, was simply staring to the left, while the second one, much lighter in color, was bent downwards, pecking at something within the deep grasses. Both of them had bright red ink to highlight their heads

    Energy seemed to flow through the painting now that Zhiyuan was able to take a closer look. He could almost see the two roosters leap off of the page, surrounding him in a scene of a calm spring day with the chirping and clucking of chickens in the distance while the two roosters busied themselves.

    The background did not take away from the focus of the roosters, only framing and complimenting them. Red was only sparingly used to draw attention to the roosters themselves. Everything came together to create a stunning piece, and it only seemed to increase in value due to the fact that Zhiyuan saw the entire process of the painting itself.

    He looked up from the painting, noticing that a few other individuals in the inn had their attentions captured by the girl painting as well, standing around the table to look at the painting like he was.

    Zhiyuan then moved his gaze to the girl, who was looking at him expectantly.

    "Roosters," she began, "for symbolizing courage and loyalty. Chickens for symbolizing luck."

    He didn''t know how to respond. The painting was good. Too good. Excellent. Astonishing. Marvelous. "That''s¡ª that''s¡ª" he stuttered.

    A small smile finally appeared on her face, and she set the twirling brush between her fingers down.

    "I am simply inspired by what I eat."

 43 Fourth Miss, Whatâ€™s a Portrait?

    Yujia looked at the commission with a smug look on her face, knowing that she had won this time around.

    She admitted that it was a lie when she claimed that she was inspired by what she ate, because truthfully, she painted roosters because she created a concentration of bird paintings when she was in college. Due to the amount of time she spent observing birds and painting them, she considered herself quite skilled at it, and roosters also happened to be one of the birds she did paint since they were very auspicious birds.

    So, she figured that it would be good to play to her strengths, though it would likely add a little mystery and awe if she said the sentence of how her food inspired her, since, by coincidence, she ate some chicken previously as well.

    Looking at the commissioner, Yujia assumed that he was left left quite wordless by her actions and phrases, so she decided to continue on with her speech.

    "I don''t have any need for this painting, so I suppose I''ll sell it." She turned to look at the few people who gathered around her during the time it took for her to paint the picture. "Would anyone like to buy it?"

    Instantly, a young man who was about as young as the commissioner himself raised his hand, shouting out, "I don''t have much on me, but I do have five taels. Would that be enough?"

    An older man stepped out, shaking his head. "Five taels? You fool, that is too little. Look at the flow of the painting¡ª incredible, incredible. I would pay twenty-five."

    Yujia nodded thoughtfully at that. She wasn''t very sure on how the currency conversion worked in this world when she first came, but it seemed like a single silver tael was worth quite a lot. Twenty-five was a good price. She might as well accept it. It would boost her total wealth to sixty-three taels.

    Before she could accept it, another voice traveled over from the side. "I''ll pay forty."

    "Forty?" A delighted smile appeared on Yujia''s face, and she turned to look. It was the commissioner himself, holding out the satchel of taels he gave the servant to buy art supplies before.

    He truly was impressed by her work, wasn''t he?

    Rich people like him were truly lucky¡­ to be able to spend forty taels with a single wave of his hand¡­ Yujia was almost a little jealous.

    "Then, the painting is yours once the ink dries." Yujia held out her hands while Hui''er gawked a little at the side.

    The young man placed the heavy satchel into her palm while smiling back. He seemed to be glad that he was able to buy the painting. Yujia was also glad to pocket a couple extra taels.

    "Alright then." Yujia waited until the crowd, seeing that there was nothing interesting going on now, dispersed, then clapped her hands, moving on. "The commission. Let''s talk about that."

    Nodding, the young man sat down and poured himself a cup of tea. "Yes. I wanted you to paint Guilin''s scenery, but you can''t. I don''t doubt your art skill anymore, but all I truly wanted was a picture of Guilin to make my fianc¨¦e happy."

    "That''s a reasonable request." Her eyebrows tightened a bit as she thought of it.

    Along with the forty taels, she would now have a total of seventy-eight taels. The number she had in mind to save up was one-hundred taels, something that she suspected would be enough to buy her out because there was no way the bride price that the old master of the Yu family paid was more than that number. Therefore, Yujia would only need twenty-two more taels to achieve that number, nowhere as more as the original eighty-five she wanted to get.

    She didn''t want to go through the hassle of selling more paintings at the market, and she didn''t want to lose this commissioner either¡­ was it possible for her to bargain? Certainly, right? Bargaining was always a nice trick she learned back in the modern world, where she would haggle all the time for simple groceries or art supplies.

    The more she thought about it, the more Yujia was convinced that she had a solid plan to win the commission at the cost of losing a few taels.

    Sighing a bit, Yujia began, "Here''s the thing¡­ I have an¡ª invention¡ª if you want to call it that, and the problem is that I haven''t had an actual reason to test it out yet." She caught a glimpse of the skeptical look on the young man''s face, so quickly, she cut in, "Though it''s legendary. I promise. It really is. It can change the scope of the concept of art itself."

    "That grand?" He raised his eyebrows.

    "Yes. I call it a¡­ ''pencil''. It''s an incredible way of not needing ink or water or anything. It''s a brush that paints on its own. All you need is the pencil and an occasional knife to shave it."

    "And what will you do with this¡­ ''pencil''?"

    Yujia folded her hands together. "I want to draw a portrait of your wife."

    Instantly, a peculiar look appeared on his face. "What? A portrait?"

    "Yes. A portrait."

    As far as Yujia knew, portraits were something that did exist back in the ancient times, but they were in a much different style than the black and white shaded portraits that she was thinking of since they were created with detailed painting. However, she was pretty sure that portraits were only used in paintings of the imperial royaltyor for honoring dead ancestors.

    That was why Yujia didn''t think it was too surprising that the commissioner was taken aback by this idea. Portraits were not usually painted for citizens unless they were about to die, and their families wanted to remember them in some way.

    "You see here," Yujia explained, "My portraits are different than anything you''ve ever encountered. When you see them, it will be like seeing the actual person in person yourself. So, if you are ever going on a trip and won''t be able to take your wife with you, looking at the portrait that I drew will allow you to be with her anytime you wish. Genius, isn''t it?"

    She thought it sounded romantic enough.

    "Well¡­" The young man still looked uncertain. "I don''t really¡­ know¡­ how I feel about that?"

    Swiftly, Yujia raised her hands up. "Don''t worry! Since an opportunity like this is helping me as well, I will not charge as much for it. Fifty taels for the portrait. "

    "Fifty taels?" A frown could only appear on the young man''s face again.

    Yujia returned the look disappointedly. "If that''s¡­ too much, I suppose I''m feeling generous today. How about twenty-five? You''re my most valued customer, and since you''ve already bought two other paintings, I''ll give you a discount. Plus, I''ll throw in a bonus mountain painting as well. How is that?"

    A sly smile appeared on Yujia''s face after she said the words.

    She knew that fifty taels would be an enormous price for something that the young man wasn''t even sure about how it would turn out. That was why she brought it up in the first place. So now, offering her other deal of twenty-five, which was the original price she was going for, along with an extra bonus painting, she thought that the deal was too good of a one to not take.

    The young man had to be convinced to accept it.

    He had to.

    And certainly, as Yujia predicted, he did. The frown on his face vanished. "Sure. That sounds good to me." He thought a bit, staring at the painting of the rooster by the side. "I guess I''ve never made a proper introduction. I''m Bo Zhiyuan, from the Bo family¡­ which, I''m sure you''ve heard about if you live in the capital?"

    Yujia blanked for a moment. The Bo family? She had only been in the world for a few days¡­ the only two families she knew were the Yang and Yu families¡­

    Still, she nodded enthusiastically as if she knew what he was talking about.

    "Three days from now, you can come to paint the portrait," he explained, "Just ask for the second young master at the doors, and they will let you in. Does that work for you?"

    "Yes. Definitely." Yujia stood up, gesturing for Hui''er to come along as well. "I still have things to do, so I''ll be going now. See you three days later."

    She spun around, ready to leave, but a few words from the young man¡ª Bo Zhiyuan¡ª stopped her.

    "Wait. You haven''t told me your name yet."

    Yujia paused. Should she be honest? Or should she make up a name? Or should she keep it a secret? Was there anything to lose from telling him her real name? Surely, he didn''t know a small family like the Yang family well, and Yang was such a common surname that she was sure that there were other families that shared the surname¡­

    Turning to face him, Yujia shrugged. She had nothing to lose.

    "Yang Yujia. That''s my name."

 44 A Simple Evening for the Fourth Miss

    Back in her room, Yujia couldn''t hold back the beaming smile on her face while she organized the pencils he had made in a neat box. She was absolutely exhilarated.

    After she finished the commission, she would have perfectly enough taels to attempt to end the marriage. Although things started off rocky, she was finally getting a grip on this world and had an idea of what to do. Everything was going to work out.

    As Yujia layered the finished pencils on top of each other, she made sure to carve little letters in the side of the pencil, raging from "9H" to "F" to "6B". This was the graphite grading scale she was used to in the modern world, and even though the letters and numbers would look like nonsense to everyone else since they were words that didn''t exist in this time period, they would make it easier for her to organize and use the pencils.

    Within only a few more moments, Yujia was finished with organizing the pencils. Evening was close, but not yet there, so she didn''t know what she was to do.

    Looking over to Hui''er standing at the side, a sudden idea sparked into her head.

    "Hui''er!" She called over, gesturing at a stool next to her. "Come. Sit down."

    Her maid seemed wary, but she listened and sat down, asking, "For what reason, miss?"

    Yujia picked up a pencil labeled with "4H", then grabbed a piece of loose paper from the shelf and helped herself to a seat a few spaces apart. "I need to practice my portraits."

    She hadn''t drawn portraits in a while. The last time she did a live portrait was in college, where they would practice with live models every day. Yujia was confident that she would be able to draw a decent one, but she first wanted to make sure that her skills hadn''t rusted over the years.

    "You''re going to¡­ draw me?" Hui''er raised her eyebrows and pointed at herself.

    "Why not? Unless you want me to call over Madam Zhang?"

    A slight giggle escaped from Hui''er while she imagined the horror that would be displayed on Madam Zhang''s face if the Fourth Miss asked to draw her. "No, no. She would be terrified." Hui''er straightened herself. "How long will this take?"

    "Not long." Yujia paused a bit, trying to recall her previous experiences. "It should only take two or so hours. No longer than three. And you can move a little too, so you don''t have to be stuck in stone for so long."

    Hui''er nodded a little, showing that she understood.

    With the confirmation, Yujia tilted her paper forward a little and began to sketch, beginning to illustrate the outline of the soft feature of the other girl''s face.

    Things were going pretty well, as Yujia continued on, lost in the rhythmic movements of drawing.

    Or¡ª things were going pretty well until Yujia looked up at Hui''er''s face for another time and noticed that the nose that she drew for Hui''er wasn''t quite as sharp or high up as she thought it would be. The closer she looked, the more she realized that the nose she was drawing and shading in was too high in comparison to the rest of her features, destroying the accuracy of the portrait.

    Yujia''s lips flattened into a thin line when she realized the next problem.

    She didn''t have an eraser.

    How did she forget about that?

    It should''ve been common sense for her to know that if she wanted to draw with pencils, then an eraser was also just as necessary. Sketching was not the same as painting. She couldn''t just use water and wipe her mistakes away.

    Rubber didn''t exist in this time period, did it? But then¡­ how was she supposed to erase her mistakes?

    Exhaling deeply, Yujia set the pencil in her hand down and looked at Hui''er, shaking her head.

    "We''ll have to stop here for now."

    Hui''er tilted her head. "Why?"

    "I made a mistake," Yujia clenched her fingers into her palm, then relaxed them as she explained, "and I suppose I''ll have to make a new invention."

    ¡­

    It took at least an hour of experimenting with all sorts of different materials until Yujia found something that worked fairly well as an eraser.

    A chunk of steamed white bread.

    The fact that bread acted as an eraser substitute was insane to Yujia. She tried everything¡ª paper, fabrics, leaves, brush hairs, rice, gritty sand¡ª testing all of the materials out on scrap pieces of paper, and steamed bread was the last thing that she thought would work.

    Yet still, the pencil marks transferred off considerably well onto the round steamed bread, leaving Yujia to be in a state of complete shock.

    Yujia gripped the chunk of steamed bread in her hand and moved onto the final test, the actual portrait of Hui''er. She tore off a thin layer and rubbed it against the nose of the portrait, watching with amazement as the bread actually took off most of the graphite marks.

    A smile slowly spread across her face and she gestured at Hui''er, who was watching with just as much astonishment from the side. Hui''er brought her the steamed bread from the kitchens out of pure random choice, so it was all bewildering on how accidental discoveries worked so well.

    Clapping with delight, Yujia asked, "Hui''er, quick, can you get me a whole bowl of this?"

    With a terse nod, Hui''er turned and exited the room, leaving Yujia alone to marvel in her own breakthrough.

    Steamed bread. One of the cheapest, most common foods in this world.

    Who knew that it would work so well as an eraser?

    ¡­

    When Hui''er entered the kitchens, there were many servants bustling around, getting the dinner for the household ready. Today, bean sprouts, thin-sliced lotus roots, and fish soup seemed to be on the menu while separately, for the Fourth Miss, a plate of bok choy was prepared as usual.

    Hui''er navigated through the kitchen, heading in towards the very back where racks of white bread would be steamed for the servants and their meals. Other households may have been able to afford to give their servants more variety, but in the Yang Household, with the exception of personal servants like Hui''er, all servants had to eat were the steamed bread and any leftovers from the family''s meal.

    There were always more than enough portions of steamed bread though, so Hui''er didn''t think that anyone would miss any if she took a few extra.

    As Hui''er reached forward, taking a piece of soft steamed bread in her hands and placing it in a shallow but wide wooden bowl, she felt someone tap on her shoulder. Without much surprise, Hui''er turned around and saw the beaming face of a maid who was quite close with her, Manyu.

    Manyu and her were always quite close from the first time that Hui''er entered the Yang Household, both of them finding with interest that their names shared the "Yu" character that stood for jade. And although they had grown slightly distant due to the fact that Hui''er was chosen as a personal maid while Manyu wasn''t, the two still had a decent relationship.

    "What is it, Manyu?" Hui''er smiled a bit and continued to take another steamed bread to put in the bowl.

    Manyu kept her hands held behind her back while she arched her neck to look at what Hui''er was doing. "What''s that for? I don''t think you can eat that much steamed bread, can you?"

    "The Fourth Miss asked for it," replied Hui''er, taking one last piece and setting the bowl she carried on the counter. "Do you need anything?"

    "Oh!" With a bright grin, Manyu took her hand out from behind her back, showing that she was carrying a familiar dark blue plate with one red bean cake resting on the top. "I don''t know what occasion it is, but Lingsu¡ª you know, the First Miss''s maid¡ª dropped this off at the kitchen this morning. I remember you liking to eat these, didn''t you? So I saved you one. It was such a struggle as well! You should''ve seen how many servants fought to steal one, since there were only six!"

    The smile on Hui''er''s lips dropped, her eyes focusing on the single red bean cake. The plate and cake both looked familiar, and she knew exactly the reason why.

    They were the cakes that the Fourth Miss spent the previous night working on just to perfect, the cakes that the First Miss were supposed to accept and enjoy.

    So, was that what the First Miss did with them? Not even taking a single bite of it and throwing it to the servants?

    Hui''er stared at the bean cake on the plate, recalling all the effort the Fourth Miss put into making each one of them. Yet, look at where they were now. Given to the servants without a single blink from the First Miss. It would''ve been no different than throwing them away.

    Why did the First Miss do this? In Hui''er''s memories, back in the past, she knew that the First Miss enjoyed the cakes. She used to have Hui''er make a plate of them every day.

    Could it be that her taste buds changed? Or¡­

    It was Hui''er''s fault, wasn''t it?

    If she wasn''t the one who delivered the cakes, then it would''ve been likely that the First Miss would accept it and form a positive relationship with the Fourth Miss. But simply because of Hui''er''s presence, all of the Fourth Miss''s work was tossed away.

    All of the things that happened between Hui''er and the First Miss were already memories of the past. They were actions that happened four years ago. The First Miss should''ve let go of it already by now.

    But she didn''t, and that made all the difference.

    Manyu looked with a little worry in her gaze upon seeing Hui''er stare at the red bean cake so intently. She nudged the plate a little closer to Hui''er. "Are you not going to eat it?"

    Hui''er snapped her head up, coming out of her thoughts. She put on a smile again and shook her head, pushing the plate back to Manyu. "You can have it. My stomach isn''t feeling very good today, so I don''t have any appetite to eat anything."

    "Alright." Manyu continued looking at Hui''er with worry. "If there''s any fish soup left, I''ll have someone send it over to you to help you with your stomach. Everyone''s getting sick these days, and fish soup will help your health."

    "Thank you." Hui''er shifted her face away, hastily replying.

    She picked up the bowl of steamed bread and nodded at Manyu, then turned herself and left through the back doors of the kitchen, thoughts racing through her head once more.

    Was this something that she should tell the Fourth Miss? The girl deserved to know, didn''t she? Except, at the same time, Hui''er was a little worried that the Fourth Miss might be upset upon finding out, and she didn''t want that¡­

    Oh well.

    Hui''er would make the decision to tell her or not when the time came.

 45 The Fourth Miss Seeks for a Reason

    Yujia was shading the nose of the portrait again when Hui''er returned, holding a bowl of steamed bread just like Yujia asked.

    Quickly, Yujia gave her a nod of thanks and took a piece of bread from the bowl, breaking it into smaller parts to erase with. Hui''er sat back down across from her as usual, but when Yujia looked up at the girl''s face to see exactly how the nose worked, she couldn''t help but notice that something seemed different about Hui''er than usual.

    The girl was still trying to keep a gentle expression on her face, but she seemed uncomfortable, as if something distressing occured while she was at the kitchens. A frown appeared on Yujia''s face and she set the pencil in her hand down.

    "Did something bad happen?"

    Hui''er glance downwards, shying away from eye contact. "No, not really."

    "Stop it." Yujia bit her bottom lip, moving her chair a bit forward so that she was closer to Hui''er. "Something had to have happened. You''re not usually like this."

    "Well¡­ well¡­" Hui''er spoke with hesitation and kept her eyes cast down. "I went to the kitchens like you asked¡­ and while I was there¡­ I found out that the First Miss didn''t eat any of the cakes you asked me to send. She gave them all to the servants."

    "What?"

    Yujia stood up, the chair that she was sitting on scraping against the floor loudly.

    She gave the cakes to the servants? Why would Yang Qingxia do that?

    The cakes were her own genuine gift. At the very most, she could''ve tried a bit of Yujia''s hard work and accepted it. Throwing the cakes to the servants was like a slap in Yujia''s face. She spent an entire night working on making the cakes, yet in the end, it all went to waste.

    With gritted teeth, Yujia stepped a bit closer to Hui''er, attempting to keep her voice calm while she asked, "Did you find any reason for her actions? Why would she do that?"

    "I¡ª I don''t know."

    Yujia''s eyebrows knitted together even deeper after hearing Hui''er''s response, turning herself and heading towards the door of her room, the portrait forgotten.

    "Miss¡ª where are you going?" Hui''er stood up as well, calling after her.

    "I''m going to go ask Yang Qingxia myself." Yujia pushed the door open, striding out to the deserted courtyard.

    Hui''er quickly caught up to her, grabbing onto her sleeve. "No¡ª you shouldn''t¡ª Miss, there''s no need to¡ª they''re just some cakes¡ª besides, the First Miss probably won''t even see you¡­"

    Yujia spun around to face Hui''er, stopping in her steps. "Why are you making all these excuses? I put hard work into making the cakes. I wanted to apologize to the First Miss. But now, after knowing that she threw all of my work away, isn''t it natural for me to want to know the reason why?"

    "Miss¡­"

    "Don''t worry." She resumed walking again. "It''s probably not a big deal. Maybe she just didn''t like the taste of them."

    Hui''er didn''t seem to have anything to say after that, following behind silently.

    ¡­

    Soon enough, Yujia reached the familiar courtyard that she last saw Yang Qingxia at, passing by the pond quickly before stopping to ask Hui''er which room of the three rooms in the courtyard belonged to the First Miss.

    Hui''er answered a room to the left, and Yujia headed there, knocking at the doors and answered by a maid she had never seen before. The maid looked at her for a few seconds, then looked behind her at Hui''er, sighing a bit.

    A voice that Yujia recognized as the First Miss''s traveled out from inside the room. "Lingsu, who is it?"

    Lingsu turned around, answering, "It''s the Fourth Miss and her maid."

    Yang Qingxia paused a bit, then replied, "Alright, let them in."

    Her maid, Lingsu, turned back to Yujia and Hui''er, looking at them with aversion and opening the doors to let them enter.

    When Yujia entered, she was almost a little surprised to find that the room was almost as simplistic as her own. The room was certainly larger, but in terms of content, the little amount of furnishing made the room look too empty to be comfortable.

    Sitting at a table at the right was Yang Qingxia, her left hand holding a pair of chopsticks that was picking up a single bean sprout from a plate across from her bowl of rice. She placed the sprout in her mouth, slowly chewing and swallowing it before looking up at Yujia, asking, "What do you need, Fourth Miss?"

    Yujia straightened herself, taking on the personality of the Fourth Miss. "This morning, I sent Hui''er to drop off a gift of mine. I was later told by Hui''er that you gave them to the servants, so I was wondering if the red bean cakes did not suit your taste, or if you were feeling sick so you didn''t have an appetite to eat them. Clearly, that isn''t the case," she gestured at the meal in front of Qingxia, "so I am glad that you are doing well."

    The First Miss looked up through her half-closed eyelids, giving Yujia an empty smile. "How wonderful to know that my younger sister is so caring."

    "Then," Yujia continued, "if that was not the case, then why did you give them out?"

    "I just didn''t want to eat them. Simple as that." Yang Qingxia folded her hands together. "Upon seeing your wonderful maid here, I just lost all of my appetite. She¡ª I suppose you could say¡ª disgusts me a little."

    Yujia took a step back, taking a sideway glance at Hui''er.

    What did Hui''er ever do to her? What did Yang Qingxia even mean by her words?

    Yang Qingxia seemed to notice Yujia''s puzzlement. "What?" She looked towards Hui''er, then back at Yujia, her eyes shifting between the two of them. Then, she let out a loud, unbelieving laugh, completely out of the expectations of Yujia.

    "You''re not telling me¡ª that¡ª that¡ª" Yang Qingxia laughed again, tilting her chin upwards. "Could it be that your precious little Hui''er didn''t tell you what happened before?"

    "What¡­ happened before?" Yujia echoed after her, her eyebrows tightening.

    Qingxia stood up from her seat, walking up to Hui''er. "Why don''t you tell her, Hui''er? Or¡­ should I say¡­ Li Huiyu?"

    Hui''er¡ª or Huiyu¡ª took a few uncertain steps back, keeping her eyes fixed away from the gaze of the First Miss.

    "Alright then." Yang Qingxia took a deep breath. "It seems that she doesn''t want to." She spun back to Yujia. "I suppose I''ll have to tell you myself, don''t I?"

 46 Revealing the Truth to the Fourth Miss

    Yujia grabbed Hui''er by her shoulders. "Hui''er, what is she saying? Tell me. What exactly happened?"

    Hui''er shook her head, keeping her silence and peeling Yujia''s hands off.

    "It''s no use," Qingxia sighed with a soft laugh, "She''s too ashamed to speak, isn''t she?"

    Yujia''s eyes flitted quickly between the two, trying to piece together her suspicions yet not getting a proper answer. She didn''t know if she wanted to trust Qingxia''s story. She didn''t know if Yang Qingxia was going to lie about it. It would be better to get an explanation from Hui''er, but it seemed like at this point, she would have to listen to what the First Miss had to say.

    Yang Qingxia began, speaking slowly, her breath calming down. "Seven years ago, I went on a trip to Hangzhou, along with Father. You might remember, right, Fourth Miss? After all, you were eleven at the time, so you were old enough, even if you were not brought along for the trip."

    Remember? How was Yujia supposed to remember? Seven years ago, she was nearly finishing high school in the modern world.

    "At Hangzhou, although there were many nice sights to see, we stumbled on a woman selling servants by accident. That was where I saw your Hui''er, your Huiyu, standing in the middle of the servants, looking terrified. So, I helped her. I bought her, despite the fact that our household didn''t need more servants."

    Yujia took another sideway glance at Hui''er. She didn''t seem to object to anything that Yang Qingxia said.

    "Huiyu was a good servant. She was young, but fast at learning. I could already tell that she was much smarter than any of the servants here. Quickly enough, she became a personal servant of mine, more like a friend or a younger sister than a maid. I shared everything I had with her¡ª silks and fabrics, desserts and delicacies, all the newest good on the market¡­ things were well. They were the days where we had no worry for a thing in the world."

    She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

    "Then, three years later, I received an offer to be married to Huang family''s young master, and because our families have always been on good terms, we were married. Yet¡ª yet¡ª"

    At this part, she started choking up, her eyes narrowing and her voice catching.

    "How was I supposed to know that the Huang family''s wonderful, talented, wealthy young master was ill? He fell ill weeks before the marriage, but because the Huang family wanted descendants, they purposely covered up the fact to get me to marry him. Not even a month in the marriage, he died."

    After hearing that, emotions of pity began to sprout within Yujia. Yang Qingxia was involved in so much deception at such a young age that it was certainly tragic. Pitiful.

    "Once a woman is married, they no longer belong to their own family. But¡ª mother always treasured me, and she argued that since the marriage lasted for such a brief time, I should have the right to return to the Yang family. She gave me a decision between returning to the Yang family or staying with the Huang family, and I chose the Yang."

    She paused, as if reminiscing the past.

    "It was as if the marriage had never happened. Everything reverted back to normal. But then¡­ I began to notice that my monthly moon cycle did not come on time. I waited a month, and it still had not come. And then, one morning, I woke up feeling nauseous at the sheer sight or smell of food."

    Was this what Yujia thought that it was? Yang Qingxia straightened herself, closing her eyes.

    "I heard stories about these things before, but I wanted to make certain of what I was suspecting. I snuck out of the villa and visited a doctor, who, upon feeling my pulse, confirmed my suspicions. I bore a dead man''s child."

    Her eyes flung open. She took a closer step at Hui''er''s direction, smiling with a hint of a bitter emotion.

    "It didn''t take long for people to find out. I hadn''t told a single person besides my most trusted maid at the time, the Huiyu that you call your Hui''er. But as time went on, certain things could not be concealed. People noticed my stomach. They noticed my vomiting. They noticed my weight gain. Rumors spread."

    Yang Qingxia spun back to Yujia, her eyes widening as her story continued.

    "You should''ve seen how people looked at me. You should''ve heard the whispers. Those expressions they cast at me¡ª some of pity, some of revulsion. And the words exchanged behind my back that they thought I couldn''t hear. I hated them. I hated them all. I couldn''t stand any of it."

    She placed her hand over her flat stomach, as if envisioning the child she once had.

    "But despite all of that, I endured it. I thought that even if my own mother looked at me with repulse, and if the whole world turned their backs on me, I would still have my child. After all, he would be of my blood. He would not leave me. Yet¡ª"

    Immediately, her calm demeanor vanished, replaced by one of fury as she whipped around and grabbed Hui''er by the shoulder. Yujia could see a complex mixture of emotions held in her eyes as she stared at Hui''er''s, holding onto the girl to make sure that she could not avoid her. Her voice came out in a low growl.

    "Li Huiyu. The one who ruined it all. I trusted her. I confided in her. I believed that she would be one of the only ones who would not abandon me." Yang Qingxia tightened her grip around Hui''er''s arms, directing her words to Hui''er, not Yujia. "Though perhaps my trust was one-sided. During my times where I was at my weakest, where were you? Slipping pills into my cup? Lacing poison in my food?

    She let go of Hui''er and turned back to Yujia.

    "Those weeks and weeks of being drugged led to my child dying in my wound. You should''ve seen what he looked like when he came out, a bloody, red mess. He had a face, but the features were not given enough time to develop. His limbs were thin. So thin."

    A few tears begin to spot at the corners of her eyes.

    "And there it was, a life I carried for so long, faded, vanished, destroyed in a matter of seconds. At that time, I did not know of Huiyu''s actions. I thought that perhaps it was just fate. Fate took away my child, and no matter how hard I fought to get him back, he would be gone for good. So, I lived like that. For a whole two months, I lived in blindness, not knowing the true reason for his death."

    Yujia took a look at Hui''er, who instead of avoiding the gaze of either of them like she did before, stared blankly forward while Yang Qingxia continued on, directing her words back at Hui''er.

    "Was it guilt that caught on to you? Was that the final reason for why you decided to tell me that all along, my child would''ve been born healthily if it weren''t for the poison you silently fed me? How did you think that I would respond? Did you think that I was supposed to gratefully accept the truth and thank you for it? Did you think that this was all something that we can put in the past, forgotten and forgiven?"

    She extended her arm, pointing a long, thin finger at Hui''er. Tears were no longer present on her face, the anguish and sorrow replaced by pure malice.

    "You killed my child. You killed him. You took his life away from me. You stole him from me."

    Yang Qingxia took a step closer again. Hui''er took a step back. Qingxia took another step forward. And Hui''er retreated another step back.

    "And now, you ask me to be over with it? When the blood of my child stains your hands? How can you demand these things of me, Li Huiyu? How can you?"

    The hatred in her gaze vanished, taken over by grief once more. Her words became choked, her eyes turning a blurry red.

    "Give¡ª me¡ª my child¡ª back. Give him back to me. Give him back, and perhaps I''ll forgive you. Give him back, and perhaps I''ll let go of the past."

    Finally, a phrase came out of Hui''er''s mouth, the first thing she had said since they entered the room.

    "That''s impossible."

    "Yes." Yang Qingxia smiled bitterly, her cheeks stained wet. "And I know that too, don''t I?"

    She paused to collect herself, wiping her tears from her cheeks while she straightened her posture. The emotions vanished in a matter of seconds, replaced by a mask of blank coldness, the only sign of anything that happened before being the hint of red in her eyes.

    "So, Li Huiyu, I believe that our relationship is already over. You chose to break it the moment you began to poison me. There is no longer any reason to make up for the past, be it persuading your Fourth Miss to make me little desserts or convincing me that you''re still the same girl I knew so many years back."

    Qingxia looked over at Yujia. "Fourth Miss. Do you see now? This is the reason for why, as long as Li Huiyu is your maid, I will never accept anything from you. I cannot allow her to have a chance of hurting me more than I already have been."

    Yujia could only vacantly stare back at Qingxia. The two looked at each other for a few moments in pure silence.

    And then, Yujia spun around, pushing the doors to the room open and running out.

 47 Announcement 04/03/2019

    @@

    Hi, everyone.

    This is somewhat of a serious topic since a severe family issue occured in my personal life, so I will be unable to update on schedule with my original one update per three days plan. That is why the update has been so late.

    I don''t know how long this issue will keep going, but it''s preventing me from writing as much as I would like to. I hate to do this especially because we''re at such a crucial point of the story, but I hope you all will understand. I will try to update as soon as I can. I really will.

    But, until then, there will probably be no updates until around the weekend/next week. Hope you all are alright with that. I am not putting Power Up, Artist Yang! on hiatus or dropping the story-- I really just need some time to myself to sort out some things so there will be no scheduled updates.

    Meanwhile, my other new side story, Xue Yao: The Fox Immortal, is going to have on-schedule updates since I have stocked up on some chapters for that story already. If you want to check it out, here is the link!

    https://www.webnovel.com/book/13348558606569705/

    Other than that, I really have nothing else that I can do about this.

    I''m so sorry.

    --Yueyi@@

 47 The Fourth Miss Learns Both Sides of the Story

    This was a moment where Yujia wasn''t sure how she was supposed to feel.

    She wasn''t sure if she was supposed to trust that what Yang Qingxia said was accurate, except at the same time, Hui''er¡ª or if she should say now, Huiyu¡ª didn''t particularly object either. It was almost surreal to hear the story. Yujia didn''t think that something like this would ever occur in real life. It seemed like a complex plan of sabotaging that only happened in novels and movies.

    Yet here she was now, running back to her own courtyard, attempting to drown out her own mess of thoughts with her heartbeat.

    Yujia never thought that Hui''er would be someone like the person that Yang Qingxia described. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she found out that all she knew about the maid she trusted so easily were superficial qualities.

    She knew that Hui''er was kind. Hui''er was obedient. Hui''er was understanding.

    Li Huiyu, on the other hand, was someone that Yang Qingxia described as a betrayer, a murderer. Huiyu was calculating. Huiyu was cruel.

    Who was the girl that Yujia knew¡ª Hui''er or Huiyu?

    To think that Yujia trusted the girl so easily upon first meeting her was almost terrifying to her. Transmigrating wasn''t as carefree, relaxed, and thoughtless as she thought it would be. This was a world as real as the world that she used to be in. She couldn''t just treat everyone and the people around it as a game, doing things as recklessly as she used to.

    She wasn''t quite sure how she was supposed to act anymore. She wasn''t sure who she was supposed to trust anymore.

    Though¡ª what made her trust Yang Qingxia''s words more than Hui''er''s?

    Yujia''s footsteps ceased. She slowed down to a complete pause, slowly turning around to face the girl who was chasing after her, Li Huiyu. Hui''er.

    "Miss¡ª" Hui''er looked at Yujia in the eyes. "I¡ª"

    Her voice caught midway. Yujia stared back at her, straightening herself. She knew what she should say. She knew what she should do.

    "I''ll give you one chance," Yujia cut in. Her voice came out as a whisper, softer than she expected. "Explain yourself, and I will listen."

    Hui''er took in a breath of air and swallowed. She nodded, and then, with both of them standing in the middle of the villa, she began her story.

    ¡­

    Years back, there was a young girl who lived with her family in Hangzhou. She had a mother, a father, and a baby brother. They were a good family. Her father was a small government official serving the province, and she grew up without any worries. People looked at the family and saw an ideal, perfect picture.

    However, these people did not look beneath the surface.

    Her father was a gambler. He gambled during his spare time in all sorts of illegal settlements, gambling away the little fortune he owned. Because of his spending habits, the family eventually soon fell into deep, deep debt.

    The head of the province found out about her father''s addiction to gambling. Government officials were not supposed to gamble. And thus, at the same time of bringing debt into the family, her father lost his job as well.

    Yet still, his gambling addiction continued.

    He believed that if perhaps, he just played one more game, he might win a larger fortune for his family. He began to sell everything within the villa he lived in, from the family antiques to servants within. As time went on, his luck did not improve, forcing him to sell the villa itself. His family moved into a small straw hut, and although he promised them that he would win soon, he never did.

    On one sleepless night, he looked towards his sleeping daughter and an idea came to mind.

    Daughters were not worth much. They could not carry on his descendants or earn much with their work. He could not gain a good bridal price by selling her. She was still too young, and besides, with the current state of their family, who would want to marry her?

    Although she was his daughter, for now, she was useless.

    Now, if he sold her for money¡­ wouldn''t that make the situation different? Wouldn''t that give her a purpose?

    She had a fairly pretty face too. If he found the right person, bargained a bit, he could sell her for a different price. And this didn''t have to be a permanent arrangement either. As soon as he won a game¡ª which he knew he had to¡ª he could buy her right back. It wouldn''t hurt.

    So, the next morning, against the pleas of her mother, he grabbed her by the hand and sold her. With the new silver in his hand, he went to the nearest gambling house and played with luck again, losing as usual.

    The girl, his daughter, the one without a family anymore, was terrified. She was young. She didn''t know where she was, why she was where she was, and who the people around her were. There was a sour-faced woman who watched over her and a few other girls who were stuck in a dimly lit room, and soon after that, during one sunny day, a buyer entered the room and bought her.

    She was another woman with a pinched mouth, bringing her and another girl into an unknown courtyard and telling them that this was their new household. She would have to work there as a servant, sweeping floors and clearing chamber pots, doing the toughest work of all.

    The girl was not adjusted to any of this. She was the young miss of a bigger, better household, yet now, she was reduced to the state of a mere maidservant.

    This could not be, though at the same time, it was exactly how it was. It was reality.

    The girl learned quickly, keeping low and not drawing attention to herself. While she swept the floors, she observed the exits and entrances. While she cleared the chamber pots, she observed the dark alleys and streets.

    On one night, when the rest of the household slept in their beds, the girl crept out under the light of the crescent moon, running out of the villa.

    She ran and ran, looking for the direction of her home, the straw hut that they once lived in. She was lucky that the buyer lived in the same area. It wouldn''t take long to find her home, and once she was reunited with her family, she would not have to worry about being a maid anymore.

    Fate was a funny thing though.

    Despite all her hard work, fate decided that this was not to be. When she arrived at the front of her home, or what was left of her home, all she saw were burnt ashes. The girl would not have even recognized her home if it weren''t for the large, barren tree at the front of the yard, blackened by the ashes with a few broken strings hanging down from the thickest branch.

    This was the tree that she used to swing on with her mother pushing her from behind.

    Tears rose up within her eyes. A lonely watchman carrying a yellow lantern by a stick passed by her, and upon seeing her, he stopped. He asked her what she was doing this late in the night. She did not answer, but with a shaking voice, she asked him what happened to the straw hut that was there.

    The watchman told her that just two days ago, a fire caught on from inside the house, most likely because of a knocked over candle out of carelessness. The straw hut caught on fire quickly because of the dry material, and the entire house burnt down within the blink of an eye before anyone could think to do anything. When those living around them put out the fire, all they saw were ashes, without the hint of a single person.

    They suspected that the family, from seeing the house burn down, were quick enough to escape. They did not leave any last messages with their neighbors and simply left the area, perhaps moving to another town to seek their luck for a new home.

    After hearing this, the girl was wordless.

    How could her family do this to her? How could they leave her this town, all by herself?

    Soon enough, with nowhere to go, the girl found herself stuck with the same seller from before who first sold her to the family who bought her. She was young and without a family. Like many of the other girls in the place, her only option for ever finding a place in life would be to work for a bigger household.

    No one was willing to buy someone like her who had the history of running away from her previous household, so the girl spent her days waiting in the dark room, waiting for someone to buy her. With every passing buyer, her fear only increased. If no one was willing to, then she would be soon sold to a lower place, such as some of the dirtier brothels, or even cast out by the seller, left to be homeless in the world.

    A few more weeks passed, and finally, fate decided to be merciful to the girl. A buyer, a young girl, chose her out of the crowd of other servants for no particular reason, and brought her along to a new home, one in the capital, far, far away from the city of Hangzhou.

    The girl finally had a place to be. She was grateful to the other girl, the First Miss of the Yang household, for buying her, so she swore to serve her dutifully. She learned the rules of the household quickly, earned the favor of the older maids and servants, and established her own place as the personal servant of the First Miss despite her young age.

    More time passed, and by then, the First Miss was set to marry a young man from the Huang household. The girl was happy for her young miss, but the marriage turned out to be a failure when the young man died only a few weeks after the marriage.

    It was tragic, but the First Miss was given a chance to return to her household, which she accepted. Things all worked out well until the First Miss began to show signs of pregnancy.

    The girl noticed it first, after her First Miss continued on vomiting every morning and her stomach grew wider and wider. People soon noticed. Rumors soon started.

    The rumors built up more and more until even Madam Zhang, the mother of the First Miss and the first wife of the Old Master heard of the rumors. She looked for herself, saw that they were true, and then the next day, called for the girl to come to her.

    The girl didn''t know what she wanted, but she listened as Madam Zhang pulled out a bottle with its opening stuffed with red cloth. She put it in the girl''s hand, told her to put one droplet of the poison in the water in the First Miss''s food or drink every day, and the child would soon be gone.

    From hearing this, the girl was horrified. She could not do such a thing. She would not do such a thing. The First Miss saved her. She brought her to a new place that the girl could now call her home. Their relationship was nearly as close as true sisters. The girl would never betray her.

    But then, Madam Zhang told her that she had news of her family. She revealed to the girl that she knew where her family was, and that as long as she did as she was told, she would be reunited with her mother, father, and brother in no time.

    When Madam Zhang finished with her words, she patted the bottle of poison into the girl''s hands and told her to think of her decision carefully. She reminded the girl that it would be a disgrace if the child was born. She said that the future of the First Miss would be ruined, and that the Huang household would be relentless to get the child back no matter what. It would cause the First Miss more pain to birth the child than if it disappeared wordlessly.

    The girl returned to the First Miss''s room that night. She thought slowly and carefully about Madam Zhang''s words, keeping herself awake to wonder what decision to make. By the end of the night, she made her choice.

    The next morning, when she fetched the First Miss''s breakfast from the kitchen, she slipped one tiny drop of the "medicine" into the layers of fluffy eggs laying innocently on the porcelain plate.

 48 A Final Decision From the Fourth Miss

    Hui''er''s story ended like that, a plain ending that foretold the past before everything all went downhill. Yujia stayed silent the entire time, blankly staring out to the distant and trying to comprehend the story she heard.

    The silence of words after the story finished brought Yujia back to reality. The chirping of a few crickets echoed against the light of the faint moonlight cast down on both of them.

    "Hui''er¡ª I¡ª" Yujia''s voice was completely uncertain. She didn''t know what words she was supposed to say or how she was supposed to react after hearing all of that. She originally wanted to hear the girl''s side of the story so that she could have a clear culprit and a clear victim. A clear protagonist and antagonist. A clear right and wrong. A clear good and bad.

    But there was none of that.

    It was all a blurry mess of actions and choices, clouding together to form a story with no definite start or end.

    She couldn''t say that Yang Qingxia, the First Miss, was the victim. Li Huiyu was one as well. She couldn''t say that Li Huiyu was the villain either. Madam Zhang was one as well.

    And Madam Zhang¡ª how could Yujia decide if she was completely the villain too without knowing her side of the story?

    Yujia was lost. Confused. She didn''t like this indefinite situation at all. She just wanted a clear cut answer, but that didn''t exist.

    When she looked up to see the messy tears pouring out of Huiyu''s eyes and pooling at her chin, she realized that this was simply how the world worked. There was never a clear distinguishment between the good and bad.

    Hui''er was crying.

    It wasn''t a pretty, dainty, and delicate sort of crying that poets and authors described. It was a sloppy sort of crying, the one that came with ugly choked back sobs and frequent loud sniffles. The tears came spilling out of her eyes, streaking over her normally calm face and blurring her red eyes. Her nose was running, and she kept using her sleeves to stop the tears.

    They only kept coming.

    Yujia never was good at condolences. She didn''t know how to console others. She was never good at advice. She wasn''t sure that with the newfound distance between the two if any sort of warm gesture or hug would be welcomed or wanted.

    So, Yujia just grabbed onto Hui''er''s hand, wrapping around it and giving her some warmth to heat up her ice cold hands.

    "Don''t cry," Yujia whispered, her voice barely audible despite the still environment. "It''s all over now. It''s just the past."

    To her surprise, Hui''er leaned forward and sunk her head in Yujia''s shoulders, sobbing into them with broken words.

    "I¡ª I¡ª miss them. My family. My mother. My brother. Even¡ª even¡ª my father. And the First Miss. I miss her too. It''s so strange¡ª so strange¡ª thinking about what I did to her¡ª but I still miss her so, so much. I miss being her friend. I miss talking to her. I miss all of it."

    Yujia closed her eyes. She put an arm around Hui''er gently, patting her shoulder in slow motions.

    Hui''er seemed like a child again. She was a child all along, one that was never given a chance to fully grow up under the warmth and love of her parents, hastily attempting to fit herself in the grown up world of adults while burying her childhood away.

    How could Yujia blame her? How could she blame anyone involved?

    Regardless of her past, at that moment, Yujia forgave Hui''er for her actions. She knew that she didn''t have the right to forgive Hui''er¡ª only Yang Qingxia truly did¡ª but Yujia would not hold what the girl did against her.

    That would be her ultimate, final decision.

    ¡­

    The two of them were back in Yujia''s room, returned to the same position that they were only in a few hours ago, with Hui''er sitting as Yujia''s model and Yujia continuing on with her portrait sketching in the dim candlelight.

    It was almost unbelievable to Yujia how much had happened during the past few hours that stretched out to seem like an eternity. She also didn''t imagine herself to be still working on her portrait after everything that happened, yet here she was, working on the strands of hair on her maid''s head.

    She forgot how much drawing was a calming process to her, one that let her gather her thoughts. It gave her the relaxation that she needed, a sort of peace and quiet that let her mind travel far away.

    Hui''er was not crying anymore, though her eyes were still stained red and puffy. That was alright¡ª Yujia would just work on her face another day. She was surprisingly compliant to continue modelling for Yujia as well.

    Yujia was the first one to break the silence between them.

    "Did¡­ Madam Zhang never reunite you with your family?"

    It took Hui''er a few moments to respond. "No." She exhaled deeply. "At some point in my life, when I didn''t hear from her anymore, I think I realized that all along, she might''ve never had the intention of letting me go. Or that she didn''t even hear word of my family either in the first place, and that the whole thing was just an elaborate plan to get me to do as she said. I was irrational to believe that she really intended to act on her word."

    Yujia bit her bottom lip. "Then, why did you take so long to tell the First Miss that you were the one who caused her miscarriage? Why didn''t you tell her that her mother was the one who forced you to?"

    "I was afraid that she would hate me." The answer that came out of Hui''er''s mouth was straightforward. "I¡ª don''t even know how my brain worked back then. I didn''t think of the consequences once I started feeding her the poison, but when all of it finally gathered together and ended the life of her child, that was when I began to comprehend that the cost of my actions was the life of one and the hatred of another."

    She paused again, taking in a deep breath and exhaling like she did before.

    "And once the secret was out, I couldn''t bear myself to tell the First Miss that it was her mother who was the true cause behind everything. At least now, she can put her all her hatred and blame on me. She could still feel some love towards someone else. I¡ª I don''t know how she would react if I told her the truth. I don''t want her to go through the pain that she already did four years ago again."

    A small snapping sound came from Yujia''s pencil when Hui''er finished with her words. Yujia realized that she pressed down a little too hard. The lead of the pencil broke.

    Yujia reached over to the small knife at the side which she used to sharpen the pencils. Her words were quiet again when she asked her last question.

    "What if everything happened all over again? What if the same thing repeated, but I was the First Miss instead? Would you¡ª would you do the same thing to me?"

    Her eyes flitted upwards, cautiously looking at Hui''er to see her response.

    Hui''er instantly blinked, straightening herself. "No, Miss. I''ve learnt from all of this. It is my duty as your maid to serve you. To keep you safe and well. No matter what happens, I would not do the same thing that I did in the past."

    Yujia was careful when she picked her words. "Then, what if you could truly, actually reunite with your mother, father, and brother, and the price of meeting them would be to betray me? What would be your response then?"

    "I would choose to stay with you, Miss." Hui''er''s eyes reflected resolve when she spoke.

    "Good. Good." Yujia placed the newly sharpened pencil back on the strand of hair she was working on. "I hope that this is the case if something like this comes to arrive. I am putting my trust in you, Hui''er. Don''t make me regret it."

 49 The Fourth Miss Ponders Over Life

    The rest of the evening was spent with Yujia continuing on with her portrait. Things were fairly quiet and peaceful.

    However, the next morning, when Yujia woke up and looked at herself in the mirror, she instantly winced.

    A gigantic pimple appeared out of nowhere beneath her lips, in the bottom right corner. The red mound destroyed the flawless skin she used to have, standing out against the normally smooth skin.

    Yujia struggled with keeping her skin acne-free back in the modern world. Even though there were plenty of skincare products, those became overly expensive later on in her career and she couldn''t afford the better ones, sticking with only a normal acne wash. That was why it was normal for her to be accustomed to seeing a couple of pimples on her face.

    Now, after transmigrating, she quickly got used to have pretty and smooth skin, completely oil-free yet still very moisturized at the same time.

    She didn''t expect that she would wake up to see such a large pimple on her face.

    Yujia tilted the circular bronze mirror she held in her hand, observing the pimple. It didn''t look like it would go away until a week or so later, and from her previous experience, she knew that no matter how tempting it might be, popping it would not be the best choice.

    Giving a weary look at Hui''er, Yujia requested, "Can you bring me some cream? Ointment? Something of that sort to get rid of¡­ this?" She pointed at her pimple and frowned.

    Hui''er folded her hands together. "The Fourth Miss never cared for those since she never needed them. There''s none in the room, and only the other young misses in the household might have some¡­"

    "She didn''t use any products?" Yujia''s eyes widened incredulously. How was it then that her skin was so perfect?

    "The Fourth Miss always ate simply. She never ate anything greasy, so things like this never happened."

    Yujia thought back to the entire greasy chicken she ate yesterday while talking to her commissioner. She didn''t think much of it at the time¡ª there was no way that it was as greasy as fried chicken they served in fast food places of the modern world¡ª but she supposed that compared to the lacking meals that the owner of the body used to eat, it must''ve been too much.

    As delicious as the chicken was, she shouldn''t have eaten it.

    Yujia thought back to what Hui''er said about the fact that the Fourth Miss never owned any skincare products. That just added on to the list of things she had to do. Once she had enough money, she wanted to spend some to make her living standards slightly better. Besides creams and good food, she always wanted to buy more clothes and art supplies.

    There were so many things she wanted to do, but that all depended on how well she could sell her art.

    With that thought in mind, Yujia set the mirror down and turned to Hui''er. "For now, can you get me a piece of fabric to cover up my bottom half of the face?"

    Based on her previous knowledge¡ª or at least of what she learned from watching historical period dramas¡ª these face scarfs were fairly common, a semi-sheer piece of fabric that could be tied around the lower half of her face. They were commonly used for young misses of important households to protect their status. Yujia planned that if she was going out, surely she had to wear it to hide her pimple.

    Hui''er obediently nodded and went off.

    Once that Hui''er was out of the room, Yujia exhaled and relaxed.

    No matter what she thought yesterday, things did not pass as easily as she expected them to. She could not look at Hui''er the same way that she used to¡ª or anyone else, for that fact. She guessed that it was likely just something she had to get used to. There weren''t many people that Yujia was close to, and she still had to rely on Hui''er for adapting to this world. For now, she would just have to deal with her own feelings on her own.

    Yujia reached over to the side of the table, directing her attention to a scroll with the sketch that she had worked on. Slowly, she unfurled the piece, staring at it.

    She only finished lightly shading half of the picture, which was the face and head. The clothing was only a brief outline. Still, she got the most time consuming part finished, which was figuring out how everything was positioned. She could add in the darker values later, as well as any touching up she might need, and clothing shouldn''t be too difficult to draw without a model too.

    The only thing she was slightly unpleased with was the fact that the steamed bread eraser wasn''t perfect. It didn''t erase quite as well as a rubber eraser, but she didn''t have any alternatives. She would have to make do with it for now. Maybe she could just be more careful.

    Yujia looked at the unfinished portrait for a few more moments.

    At most, she only spent a little more than two hours sketching and lightly shading. She could also do most of the darker shades without referencing Hui''er too much.

    This was good.

    If she only spent so much time working on the basics, then she could get the subject of her portrait commission to only model for a while.

    Her commission would occur two days from now. Until then, she would just work on improving her skills. Drawing portraits weren''t her strongest suit. She was better at painting landscape or birds. Still, nevertheless, she liked to draw people, so it didn''t hurt to work on it more. Because in one of her studio classes focused on portraits that she took for two semesters, she had a decent amount of experience and skill. It was just more practice that she needed.

    Yujia sighed deeply and picked up one of the darker pencils again.

    It was almost funny to think how she expected to not have to draw or paint again after coming to this world, but here she was, relying on the only true skill she had: art.

 50 To Go Commission-Painting With the Fourth Miss

    Two days passed by like a breeze.

    Yujia spent most of her time sketching away, as well as investing some time on figuring out how to improve her art supplies. She finished her portrait of Hui''er and began to work on a quick self-portrait by referencing how she looked in the bronze mirror. Her other main art project was a painting of mountains that she promised the commissioner. That was an easy project that was finished in barely any time.

    At the same time, Yujia also gave Hui''er the task of using some taels to buy a high quality cream so that she could try to get rid of her pimple within those two days. Considering that now she knew that taels were worth quite a lot, she only gave Hui''er five taels and expected the girl to only use one or two taels to buy the cream. She didn''t expect that Hui''er would come back with a small canister of cream and all five of the taels gone.

    The can of cream was so small that she could circle her index finger and thumb around the circumference completely. It was a rather shallow pan too, no longer than two centimeters.

    Apparently, according to Hui''er, she sought after the best brand like Yujia asked for her to. The brand she came upon was highly demanded in the capital, supposedly being used by even the concubines and consorts within the imperial palace itself. That explained the overly high cost, and the reason why such a small pan would cost an entire five silver taels.

    Yujia sighed upon hearing that. Even in the past, skincare products were still so costly.

    Her heart ached a little from hearing the loss of five taels. Beauty truly had its price.

    Even though the cream costed so much, it wasn''t as effective as Yujia expected either. She used it every morning and night before she went to sleep, but at the end of the two days, the pimple at the bottom of her mouth still looked the same¡ª bulging and hideous. It was only a little less redder but still mostly red.

    Thus, on the morning where Yujia woke up to go to finish her commission, her only choice was to tie the sheer fabric that Hui''er gave her around her head, covering up the lower half of her face. She didn''t want to do this, but she felt like it seemed more like the Fourth Miss to do something like this. Based on her impression of the Fourth Miss, she definitely did not seem like someone to go out with such a large pimple on her face for the public to view.

    After tying on the sash, she rolled up her paper and other supplies, then left her courtyard. Hui''er followed behind, taking the paper and box of pencils from Yujia so that she didn''t have to carry too much.

    This was the day that she had been practicing for, the day where she would draw the portrait of the commissioner''s wife. She would reach her goal of one hundred taels quickly, if everything went well.

    ,,,

    It did not take too long for Yujia to get to her destination. The commissioner did say that his identity was the second young master of the Bo family, so all she had to do was to ask around to get to the villa he lived in. The Bo family was rather well known in the capital, but that wasn''t surprising to Yujia either. She asked about who he was to Hui''er, getting a decent amount of information.

    In the society of merchants, the Bo family was the richest in the capital. Their business spanned over everything, including the major categories of salt, grains, silks, precious metals, porcelain, and ivory. Despite the fact that merchants weren''t a very high social class, the Bo family still made their name known through their vast wealth and long connections with the families of government officials. They also owned vast pieces of land and had a history of scholars coming from their family.

    Overall, it made sense for why the Bo family was so well known and for why the commissioner¡ª Bo Zhiyuan¡ª had so much money to spend. In comparison to the small Yang family, the Bo family seemed to be on a whole other level.

    That was why when Yujia arrived at the villa labeled with "Bo", she expected to see an impressive building and was not disappointed.

    Compared to the dusty outer walls of the Yang villa, the Bo villa carried a grand outer appearance. The walls were lined with columns, and the brightly painted shingles on the rooftops glimmered in the sunlight.Large statues stood at the two sides, and a set of smoothly carved steps led to the entrance of the villa. Two guards even stood at the front.

    If it wasn''t for the fact that she knew what the Bo family did, she definitely would''ve thought of the villa as the possession of some highly ranked government official.

    Cautiously, Yujia walked upwards to the top of the villa.

    At the front, she was stopped by the guards. The two of them looked at her, then at each other, and back at her again with a judging gaze. They seemed rather skeptical for a few seconds.

    Gruffly, one of the guards sneered, "State your name and purpose of coming here."

    Yujia looked down at herself. When seeing how she was dressed and then looking at the grandness of the Bo villa, she could see why the guards had such an attitude.

    Her clothes were quite plain, being a simplistic light blue silk barely embroidered with even lighter threads. They were not dyed vibrantly like the expensive robes she saw a couple of times in the market. Unlike the fancy young misses of bigger households with their elaborate hair pieces, all she had was a thin ivory hairpin that threaded through a loop of hair.

    This was the reason for why she wanted to spend some more taels on improving what the Fourth Miss had. She didn''t blame the guards for acting this way, but she still didn''t like being judged by her physical appearance. The old Fourth Miss lived too simply, without any extravagance at all, and this wasn''t exactly the best way to live as content as she may have been with it. Other people were always keen on judgement.

    For now, though, she would just have to deal with the looks that she was being given from mere guards.

    Yujia folded her hands together. She raised her eyebrows and coldly stated, "I have an appointment with your second young master. My name is Yang Yujia."

    The guards reacted instantly.

    Upon hearing her say the words of "Yang Yujia", the two of them dropped down on their knees, bowing deeply.

    "We apologize, Miss Yang. The second young master is currently in his study. If you will, follow me and I can lead you there," one of them responded, the slightest bit of a tremble in his voice.

    Yujia was about as stunned as the two of the guards were. Her eyes widened, and her expression changed to one of shock.

    The change of attitude from before to now was too drastic. Way too drastic. Before, they seemed like they were looking down on her, but now, how were the two of them so respectful? They even seemed a little¡­ fearful?

    What exactly did Bo Zhiyuan tell the two guards about her appointment with him today to make the two of them act like this?

    Yujia''s eyebrows pinched in thought, but after just a brief moment, she gestured for the guard who spoke to stand up and lead her while waving to Hui''er to follow behind her. Whatever he said was not important. She could just ask him about it later.

 51 The Fourth Miss Starts Her Commission

    With Hui''er following behind her and the guard leading her in front, Yujia slowly walked through the entrance of the Bo villa. Just like the outer appearance, the inside of the villa was extravagant as well. A large pond with carp swimming inside was placed right at the entrance, surrounded by other plants. A carefully planked bridge arched over the pond. Two other paths curved around the sides of the pond, paved with detailed stone.

    The guard led her through the path to the right, then turned another left to the entrance of a large courtyard. When Yujia entered through that, the guard politely gestured towards the room at the front, then spun and left without leaving another word.

    Yujia''s lips pursed and she looked in the direction of the room. She took a deep breath, then walked forward, going up the steps that lead to the entrance. The two doors to the room were left open, so very hesitantly, she took a step in.

    The front of the room, right at the entrance, was already decorated with numerous paintings hanging on the wall and a cabinet displaying all sorts of elegant vases and jade carvings. When Yujia admired the pieces of art for a few brief moments, she noticed that amongst the few paintings hanging on the wall, the first one she painted with the mountains was hung up as well, right next to her second painting of the roosters.

    She looked towards the right and was greeted with high bookshelves filled with scrolls and booklets. There didn''t seem to be anyone present there, so she turned her head towards the direction of the voices, and saw the person she was looking for.

    Her commissioner, Bo Zhiyuan, was sitting at a low table, writing out calligraphy. To his side, an attractive girl was grinding his inkstone, slowly pouring a bit of water in it and mixing it to create a deep black ink.

    As Yujia looked at her, she found that this girl could not be a maid in any way. She was dressed in a set of blushing pink robes embroidered with golden butterflies and blooming lotuses. The pink robes were layered over a set of pale green ones, giving her the appearance of an actual lotus flower, petals and leaves and all. Even the golden hair pins threaded through her hair resembled the inside yellow buds of a lotus.

    Her beauty was undeniable as well, further confirming the fact that there wasn''t any possibility that she was a servant. A set of thin, willow-leaf shaped brows rested gently over her large eyes. Her nose was small and sloped, while her lips were parted slightly, the color of a newly blossomed flower. With her softly blushing cheeks, she truly mirrored a flower in every way.

    If Yujia had to guess, the girl who was assisting Bo Zhiyuan could only be the subject of her portrait today, his fianc¨¦e.

    Zhiyuan was the first to notice her presence. He set his brush down, and smiled. "Miss Yang, you''ve arrived."

    His fianc¨¦e next to him looked at her, her eyes widening. Then, shly, she dipped her head down. Zhiyuan wasn''t quite as shy, waving for her to come over.

    "I expected that you would be coming sometime around now," he continued, "the guards didn''t give you any trouble at the front, did they?"

    Yujia shook her head. "They were quite¡­ polite? What did you tell them?"

    "Nothing much." He chuckled slightly. "Something along the lines that you were a wise shamen who lived in seclusion for decades, and that I specially invited you over here to the villa so that you could predict my future for me and to bring me good luck. Also that if they angered you in any way, you could bring upon years of misfortune and disaster to them, so it would be better to treat you with as much respect as they could."

    After hearing that, Yujia blinked. "You¡ª what?"

    Was this man crazy? Why would he make up such an unbelievable story? What was the point of doing so? It would be more suiting to just tell the truth. Besides, did she even look like someone who could pass off for someone older than twenty, much less many decades of age?

    "The guards are quite gullible. I like to make a good joke to scare them sometimes." He shrugged as he explained.

    There were a few brief moments of silence before he sat a little straighter. "Right. Let me introduce you¡ª this is Zhou Luowei, my fianc¨¦e. Luowei, this is the painter I was talking about."

    Luowei looked up through her long eyelashes, her voice reticent as she replied, "Luowei greets this master painter."

    Master painter? Yujia smiled a little under her veil. "I am not a master painter, just someone who paints and draws a bit as a hobby. If it is alright, may I ask for your age?"

    The girl dipped her head down again. "I am twenty."

    "Twenty?" Yujia smiled some more. "Then, I would have to call you ''older sister''! There is no need to act so humble around me."

    Luowei looked up in surprise, while Zhiyuan laughed again. "Luowei has always been a little shy around strangers. Hope you don''t mind that."

    Yujia kept her smile on as she took the art supplies that Hui''er was holding. "Let''s begin with the commission then, shall we?"

    "Of course." Zhiyuan stood up, gesturing to another table to his side, next to a set of open windows, sunlight streaking all over the desk. "Would this be alright of an area?"

    "That''s fine." Yujia headed over, sitting down and placing out her paper and pencils in front of her. Hui''er helped in organizing the table, placing two steamed bread wrapped in fabric to her side.

    Luowei followed suit, sitting across from her. She curiously looked at the pencils that were resting on the table, her head tilting a slight angle as she observed them. That was when Yujia realized how peculiar the entire situation might be for the girl in her perspective. She was being drawn by another individual who would be paid to do so, and the artist was drawing her with odd sticks that made dark marks on paper and steamed bread to take away the marks.

    Oh well.

    There was no need to worry about how strange things were. Yujia just needed to get her taels, so to her, it didn''t particularly matter how her subject of portrait felt about modeling.

    She began by sketching out the general shape of Luowei''s oval face. Following that, she dragged her hand across the paper, drawing out thin guidelines for the proportions of her face. Luowei''s eyes were a bit lower and larger than generic proportions, and her lips and nose were both thinner. Once the guidelines were set out, Yujia only had to move on to drawing the details. Things were going well.

    While Yujia sketched quickly, Bo Zhiyuan was observing her with an interested gaze. He focused on the pencils in her hand, which Yujia noticed.

    "This is what you were talking about the other day?" he asked.

    Yujia raised her eyebrows and agreed briefly, her focus still on getting the shape of Luowei''s eyes corect.

    "What did you call it again?"

    "A pencil." She moved onto the eyelashes and a bit of the eyebrows as she explained. "It is like a brush with a solid center of graphite."

    "And you''re the inventor?"

    On the inside, Yujia laughed. She was certainly not the inventor of a pencil, but in this location and time period, she assumed that she could be considered as one. Besides, it wasn''t that she completely stole the idea of a pencil from someone else¡ª she had to figure out how to make it by herself as well. It was only right that she could take credit for this tool.

    "Yes." Yujia stopped for a short time on her sketch, picking up a pencil she labeled with "2B". She wasn''t at the point of doing any shading yet, so she shouldn''t need it for some time. This was also a pencil that she had two of, so even if she did need it, she could always use the second one. "You can try it out, if you would like."

    Zhiyuan took the pencil from her hands, getting up from his seat next to Luowei and bringing the pencil to his table at the front. He moved his calligraphy to the side, and very hesitantly, he picked up another piece of new paper.

    His eyes moved towards what Yujia was doing, observing her. A few moments passed where he looked like he was trying to get a grasp of how to hold on to the pencil. Once he seemed to understand, he drew a shaky line down the page. A marveled expression appeared on his face.

    Seeing that he was surprised by how the pencil worked, Yujia smiled a little on the inside and continued on with her sketch. To the side, Bo Zhiyuan continued drawing with the pencil, his lines becoming more confident. When Yujia looked over again, she noticed that he was holding the pencil wrong¡ª he held it completely vertically like a calligraphy brush¡ª which caused his lines to be very light and shaky, but she didn''t feel the need to correct him.

    Let him be amazed with what he was doing right now.

 52 The Fourth Miss Remembers Old Memories

    The morning slowly passed by with Yujia sketching away, focusing on getting the essential parts finished. Zhou Luowei was a good model. Hui''er was alright at it too, but Luowei was just more still. She sat without moving a single centimeter, only blinking once in a while to prove that she was

    still a living, breathing person instead of a statue.

    Thus, even though she only just met Luowei, Yujia already had a decent impression of her face from observing it up close. She was confident that she could finish her portrait smoothly without Luowei modeling for her.

    It was close to noon when Yujia completed the most that she needed to do. The portrait was halfway completed with all the basic shading to show the elevation of Luowei''s features.

    When Yujia set her pencil down, leaning back from the table, Zhiyuan walked over, noticing her movement. He leaned over the uncompleted drawing, a puzzled look appearing on his face.

    Yujia took note of his expression and hastily explained, "It''s not completed yet. That''s why it looks like that."

    "Ah." Zhiyuan stood straighter. "Well then, it''s almost time for lunch. Will you be interested in staying over for lunch, Miss Yang, then continuing after that?"

    Yujia shook her head and began to roll up her portrait. "No need. I still have some matters I need to attend to, and it isn''t necessary for Miss Zhou to continue modelling for me. I can finish the portrait in my own time."

    Zhiyuan nodded thoughtfully. "That sounds good. Thank you."

    "No¡ª thank you," Yujia responded, "If you didn''t let me have a chance to practice with the lovely Miss Zhou, then I wouldn''t know how well my pencils truly worked."

    And, there was also the fact that he was paying for all the money she would use to attempt to buy her way out of her marriage. He was her number one buyer¡ª and her only buyer.

    Yujia didn''t mention that though.

    With that, Yujia picked up the rest of her supplies, handed them to Hui''er, and bowed a few more times towards the two of them. After that, she turned around and swiftly left the room.

    It wasn''t just the fact that she didn''t want to inconvenience Zhou Luowei by making her model for a few more hours to finish her drawing. Yujia also didn''t want to raise any suspicions in the Yang Household. If she was gone for just the morning, she could give an explanation that she was browsing the markets and having fun. If she was out for the whole day, that would raise suspicions that she wouldn''t be able to formulate any excuses for.

    That was why she needed to return as quickly as possible before anyone noticed her absence. She thought about that last night and realized that avoiding suspicions would be the best way.

    In her haste to go home and being deep in ideas of possible scenarios that she may face when she returned home, Yujia kept her head down, not upwards. This was clearly a mistake, for a few moments later, she felt a jolting sensation of someone bumping into her.

    This made Yujia look up, to see that the person she bumped into halted in his steps, looking at her. When she stared back at the face of the person who she bumped into, only one name rose up in her head.

    Wu Hao.

    Wu Hao¡ª that was the name of her old high school classmate. Her old crush.

    There was no mistake that this person was Wu Hao. Their faces were exact copies. His eyes, his nose, his lips, and even his eyebrows looked the same as the Wu Hao she knew.

    In her muddled mind, Yujia recalled the last time she saw him. It was during the reunion that occured the night she drank paint and transmigrated.

    He was clearly from the modern world. So, how was it possible that he was here now? It was too good of a coincidence for her to meet someone who shared the same face of someone she used to know, someone she used to admire and fawn and dream over. Could it be¡­ could it be that he transmigrated over as well?

    Seeing him here was almost emotional to Yujia. They never had that deep of a relationship, but here he was, someone who she knew from her previous life, the only familiar thing she had in this whole new world. How could she not be emotional about it?

    Hesitatingly, Yujia opened her lips, his name tumbling off of her tongue in a faint whisper. "Wu¡­ Hao?"

    The man only looked at her strangely, his eyes looking at her with a foreign gaze.

    "Sorry, what?"

    It was that moment that Yujia came to the understanding that the young man in front of her was not Wu Hao.

    The Wu Hao she knew was much colder, his voice strong and certain, and while this person had a steady voice as well, his voice held warmer tones.

    Yujia looked down in embarrassment, bowing deeply as she did so. "My bad. I mistook you for¡­ someone else."

    After saying that, she shut her eyes tightly and walked past him, her emotions more confused than ever. How could there be someone who looked so much like the man she used to know in this world?

    To her side, Hui''er asked with a confused tone, "Miss, are you alright?"

    Yujia gave a silent nod. "I''m fine. He just¡ª really did look like someone I used to know."

    ¡­

    Yu Zixu was slightly puzzled by the girl he just ran across. It was odd to see a girl like that walking out of Zhiyuan''s courtyard in the first place¡ª Zhiyuan didn''t associate himself with too many girls after finding Luowei¡ª but her confusing actions were what distracted him a little.

    She called out a peculiar name¡ª Wu Hao¡ª after seeing him, mistaking him for someone else, but it wasn''t really that part that bothered Zixu a little. It was the fact that the rest of her features were covered so that he only had a clear view of her eyes, and in her eyes, he witnessed deep emotions surfacing. They were emotions of such nostalgia and sentiment that made him truly curious.

    He didn''t even know the girl, but he was curious about this "Wu Hao" she called out. He must have been someone that meant a lot to her.

    Zixu put the thought of that girl to the side when he walked into Zhiyuan''s room, seeing his friend and Luowei together, calmly chatting. There was clear love between the two of them, with the shared affectionate gaze they gave each other.

    When Zixu neared them, Zhiyuan noticed his presence and grinned. "Zixu! What wind blows you over to come and visit me today?"

    "Is it wrong for me to visit you?" Zixu smiled lightly. He then turned to Luowei, bowing politely and acknowledging her presence. "Miss Zhou."

    Zhiyuan struck up a conversation between the three of them, asking Zixu how his father was with the newest import of salt he bought from a new area. Zixu answered, and while the conversation went on, he looked over at the unfinished calligraphy that Zhiyuan had not finished.

    Zhiyuan was always good at calligraphy, something that Zixu was not as talented in, so it was always enlightening to look at his newest works. His eyes then flitted towards the brush that laid on its rest, and next to it, an odd little stick that had a black sharpened point.

    Zixu picked it up without thinking much, turning it around in his hands. The stick was mostly undecorated except for some odd etchings to the side that looked like a strange loop with a straight line and another line with two loops lying vertically on it.

    "What''s this?" he asked.

    When Zhiyuan saw what he was holding, his eyes instantly widened. "Oh no."

    "What''s wrong?"

    Luowei looked over, seeing the pencil. Quietly, she responded, "Isn''t that Miss Yang''s?"

    Zhiyuan agreed, "Yes, that''s her''s. I borrowed it from her while she was over here, and I forgot to return it. I hope it''s not too important, since I can always give it back to her the next time she drops off her commission."

    Zixu set the pencil down on the table. "I bumped into a girl when I came over here. I suppose that''s her?"

    "Yes. I had her over for just a quick commission. Her works are very nice, Zixu. It''s really stunning for her age. And I talked about purchasing her painting before, don''t you remember?"

    To prove his point, Zhiyuan stood up and led Zixu over to the front of his room, pointing at two of the paintings hanging on the wall. One was of a delicate scenery composed of mountains and a pavillion, and the other was a scene of two lifelike roosters.

    Zixu had to admit that the art looked decent. The style wasn''t similar to that of other famous painters, being something that he had never seen before, but they were good pieces overall.

    "Who was it again? Was it Miss Yang?"

    Zhiyuan nodded, making Zixu ponder for a few seconds.

    He only knew of one Yang family in the capital¡ª the family of a small merchant who his father was on good terms with. He did not know much about the exact details of their relationship, but it seemed like the history between the two were long since the Yu family treated the Yangs so well.

    In fact, the connections between the two families were so well that there were two marriages planned out between them. Zixu didn''t know the name of the illegitimate Fourth Miss who his father planned to take in as a concubine, but he did know of the Fifth Miss, Yang Xiaoyi, who he was engaged to.

    Zixu never met Yang Xiaoyi in person before, but he had definitely heard of her. Despite the lack of wealth behind her name, Yang Xiaoyi apparently was skilled in the four arts: the zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting. That made his father decide that Xiaoyi would make a good wife for him, telling him that she was fond of painting too, and that meant that their interests would match up.

    With that thought in mind, Zixu looked back at the two paintings on the wall, observing them carefully. Was it possible that the painter¡ª Miss Yang¡ª who Zhiyuan bought from, was the Yang Xiaoyi that he was engaged to?

    He considered asking Zhiyuan for further information, but there was no need. The engagement was only set a week ago, so the matter was not public yet to outsiders of the two families. When the time was right, Zixu could just tell his friend then.

    Zixu focused on the two roosters on one of the paintings. A light smile appeared on his lips.

 53 A Miserable Fourth Miss

    Nothing much occured after Yujia went home. As she expected, no one particularly noticed her absence, so she didn''t have to even use her prepared excuse¡ª not that she was complaining about that either.

    Yang Yujia just felt absolutely miserable.

    These were the emotions that she was feeling for the first time since she arrived in this new world. She supposed that during the first few days of arriving, transmigrating still seemed like such a fun and entertaining event to happen. She was unbelievably excited when she first arrived, her decisions and rational-thinking-skills affected by that a little, and she believed that no matter how dire her situation was in this world, she could make her life better than her life in her old world. Her excitement and anticipation for a new life fed her much more energy than she would expect herself to have.

    But now, after seeing Wu Hao¡ª or, not Wu Hao, but rather someone who looked identical to him¡ª Yujia became miserable.

    It wasn''t seeing someone looking like Wu Hao that truly bothered her, and rather what he represented. It was as if after seeing him, all of her old memories and habits of her previous life just came rushing back to her.

    There were many things in the modern world that she despised, but there were just as many of them that she enjoyed and almost took for granted, thus ignoring them and focusing on all of the negativity in her life.

    Oil paints. Actual graphite pencils and erasers. Entire sketchbooks of high quality paper. Photographs to help her capture and draw a moment in time. Microwaves. Refrigerators. Washing machines. Toilets that flush. Taking showers. Digital clocks. Smart phones. Cars, buses, and trains. Air conditioning and heating. Television.

    The list could go on forever.

    As much as she disliked her status in the past, Yujia suddenly felt so¡­ limited.

    She knew that she found this world interesting for now, but later on, in the future, she wasn''t sure if she would feel the same. After all, she came from a world where she had so much stimuli. If she was bored, she would just go on her phone. If she felt limited with her art, she would just go watch some television. If she wanted an ice cold beverage in the middle of the summer, it was as easy as reaching over to open her fridge.

    What could she do now? She could only paint and sketch for most of the time. Besides that, she could go to the market, but certainly she would get bored of seeing the same stalls and vendors every day. Food and drink was routinely the same, and if she diverted any way from her current diet, she would break out in a face of acne.

    There was always something new to do, something new to watch, and something new to listen to in the modern world. How could she guarantee that months from now, she would feel the same about this new environment?

    Yujia shook her head, muttering a "no" to herself.

    This was a bad mindset to keep herself in. Technology may be limited in this time period, but there were millions of other things that she could surround herself with. With no technology, she could focus more on things more important to her, such as relationship building, her art skill, and appreciating nature for what it is.

    Keeping those thoughts in her mind, she picked up her pencil again and began working on finishing the commission. She should keep her ideas more focused on the situation she was in right now¡ª the undesirable marriage she had coming up¡ª and think a little less about her future. She could deal with that when the time came.

    Yet still, only an hour later, Yujia began lamenting over having a Wi-Fi connection once more.

    First world problems were indeed severe.

    She didn''t know why she was so emotional today. Sensitive, even. Normally, she could not remember herself acting like such. As far as she could remember, there was nothing too traumatizing that occured today either. Seeing someone that looked like her old classmate shouldn''t have meant that much to her on a typically normal day.

    A few more hours passed, and little progress was seen on her portrait. Yujia found that she couldn''t concentrate as much as she wanted for it. Perhaps it was just a difficult case of artist''s block.

    For now, the best option that she could do would be to get a good night''s sleep and think about this problem the next day. It was barely near the evening, and she hadn''t had dinner yet. Yujia wasn''t really in the mood to eat though, so hunger wasn''t a present problem.

    She set her pencil down and gestured at Hui''er, telling her that she wanted to sleep early and to get preparations for that earlier. Once she washed her face and cleaned her teeth, she would just sleep and try to sleep all her worries away.

    ¡­

    The next morning, when Yujia woke up, she realized the true reason for her moodiness the day before. At the same time, she also realized the reason for why a pimple appeared on her face, besides the fact that she ate an entire greasy chicken.

    When she woke up and got out of bed in the morning, she found a large red stain lying on the mattress and blankets she slept in.

    Her first reaction upon seeing that was instantly a frustrated groan.

    The excitement of transmigrating also made her forget an important fact: she was still a female, and all females experienced a menstrual cycle every month.

    For a few seconds, Yujia stood still, unsure of what she was supposed to do. How did women in the ancient times even treat this? They certainly did not have the convenient sanitary napkins that she was accustomed to.

    Hui''er soon saw the scene too, and her eyes instantly widened. "Oh, Miss," she explained a little apologetically, "usually I remember when the other Fourth Miss has her moon cycle, but I didn''t know that you would have the same schedule as her. I''ll get the suited materials as soon as possible."

    Before Yujia could say anything, Hui''er quickly went to a cabinet that held the basin and other objects Yujia used for hygiene purposes, taking out a folded and sewn cloth that looked like a pad that Yujia was used to, just made out of fabric. She stuffed it into Yujia''s hand, and expected her to know how to use it.

    Yujia examined the folded cloth for a few seconds. It seemed fairly self explanatory. After Hui''er handed her a new set of clothes, Yujia went behind her bed, where the chamber pot was, and sorted things out herself.

    She thought that this ordeal was over. Hui''er changed her blankets and mattress, and reminded her that as long as she changed her folded cloth three times a day, she would be fine.

    Except, things didn''t particularly end as simple as that, to Yujia''s displeasure.

    Yujia was just carefreely chatting with Hui''er about the portrait commission when she mentioned her thoughts. "As soon as I''m finished, I think I''ll just go over and trade it for the taels. What do you think?"

    Almost immediately, Hui''er jumped up and shook her head. "Miss, you can''t do that!"

    "Why?"

    "Because¡ª your body is weak right now," Hui''er stared at her disappointedly, as if she expected Yujia to know this, "You''re not supposed to even exit your room, much less take such a long trip to the Bo villa."

    Yujia stared back at Hui''er with disbelief. Her body was weak? She couldn''t even go the short distance to the villa of her commissioner? What nonsense was this? What did Hui''er even expect her to do¡­ just to stay in her room all day and continue on being miserable? Could she not even exit and go out to her courtyard?

    With an unpleasant frown, Yujia retorted, "What about you, then? When your moon cycle comes, do you just sit around and do nothing as well? No, right?"

    "Well, Miss, we''re different. I''m a servant and you''re a young miss. How could we be compared?" Hui''er replied with an equally justified argument that Yujia didn''t agree with but she was sure that most others in the time period would think the same.

    Seeing that things were going nowhere even if she continued to argue with Hui''er, Yujia decided to give up. "Alright. When the portrait is finished, you''ll have to deliver it for me, then."

    Hui''er nodded, agreeing.

    The matter ended like that, but Yujia was still infuriated. She was definitely bleeding constantly, but that didn''t make her a handicap! She didn''t understand why she didn''t have the right to go outside.

    Currently, after the arrival of this "moon cycle" and learning that she couldn''t even exit her room, Yujia could only say that her mood was even worse than the night before.

    Life was miserable.

 54 The Fourth Miss Counts Her Taels

    Over the course of two more days, Yujia finished her portrait.

    It wasn''t a difficult task for her, only a time consuming one. The hair especially took lots of time, as Yujia struggled to shade every small strand of Zhou Luowei''s long and smooth hair. It reminded her why sketching portraits was never her favorite thing to do, simply because of all the small details and time consuming aspects of it that didn''t appeal as much to her as her paintings.

    That wasn''t to say that Yujia didn''t like the finished product though.

    She was absolutely proud with how it turned out, especially the faint smile that she caught on Luowei''s lips and the quiet emotion displayed in her eyes. Based on her memory, this portrait could be considered as a near replica of the girl herself, as far as Yujia observed and remembered.

    With Hui''er at the side, Yujia carefully placed another piece of paper over the portrait and rolled both of them up in unison. This was to prevent the graphite from smearing and destroying the beauty of the overall work.

    After doing so, she handed it to Hui''er with a calm smile. "Deliver this to Bo Zhiyuan, please."

    Hui''er agreed and took it from her, heading out of the courtyard.

    If it was any other situation, Yujia would go herself, but sadly, Hui''er was still insistent on her staying in her room due to her "weak body". Thus, she could only rely on Hui''er to deliver the drawing while she waited for the taels to roll in.

    Based on their previous agreement, she would receive twenty-five more taels. With the seventy-three taels she had in her possession already, she would only need two more taels to reach her goal of a hundred.

    Things were all about to go well again.

    Having these thoughts in her mind, Yujia instantly cheered up. All she really worked on during the past two days was the portrait, and Hui''er watched over her the entire time. She never truly had the opportunity to go outside and to get a breath of fresh air. While Hui''er was gone, delivering the portrait, it was an excellent time for her to finally go outside and also a good thing to do to pass the time.

    Yujia pushed her chair back and stood up, stretching her arms and neck a bit while she walked out the room.

    ¡­

    Some time later, when Yujia already returned to her room, satisfied with the brief walk she took around her small courtyard, Hui''er returned as well.

    She carried a wooden box in her hand, and her eyes reflected excitement. Hastily, she set the box down in front of her Fourth Miss.

    When Yujia opened the box, she saw that it was halfway full with two layers of taels on the inside, each layer arranged with five by five rows.

    Clearly, this number was not the twenty-five taels that Yujia expected.

    Her eyes widened and she stared at the rows of taels, picking a few up and looking at them. If one layer had twenty-five taels, and there were two layers of them, wouldn''t that mean that there was¡­ a total of fifty taels in this box?

    An excited smile bloomed on her face. She didn''t expect Bo Zhiyuan to be so generous with the money. She wasn''t even too sure if he would like the portrait in the first place, but seeing all these taels reassured her fears.

    "Miss," Hui''er explained, "Young Master Bo really liked the portrait! He wanted me to tell you that it truly was lifelike, and that he wanted to give a little extra because of that, and the extra mountain painting you gifted him! Oh, and you left one of your ''pencil''s over there last time, so he wanted to return that too."

    Hui''er reached in her sleeve and returned the pencil to her.

    "He is indeed benevolent person¡­" Yujia grinned slightly after taking back the pencil, still staring in awe at all of the taels. It wasn''t like she hadn''t ever seen that much money¡ª she had seventy-three herself¡ª but when unexpected surprises occur, the amount just seemed bigger than ever. "I''ll have to go visit and thank him myself some time, don''t I?"

    Hui''er nodded.

    For a few more moments, Yujia admired the rows of silver taels some more, but then she remembered the other taels she had. Swiftly, she stood up and walked to a nearby cabinet, bending down and rummaging through it for a few seconds, then taking a large box from within it.

    Her seventy-three taels were located in the box. Although the number of taels within it was surplus, there was no lock on the box since Hui''er couldn''t find a box like so. Yujia wasn''t too afraid of anyone looking for money from the poor, illegitimate Fourth Miss who lived in the same courtyard as servants, but she was still wary. That was why she put it in the very back of the cabinet and covered the front of the cabinet with all sorts of miscellaneous things. No one should have been suspicious of any taels in her room.

    Upon opening the box, Yujia took the taels that were messily thrown in there and picked each one up, filling in the rest of the elaborate box that Bo Zhiyuan gifted. There was perfectly enough space for fifty more taels to fit in it, yet when she closed the lid on it, it almost seemed like the hundred taels would burst out any minute.

    Yujia pushed down on the lid of the box, closing it with a solid pat.

    She originally thought that she had to do a little more work to earn two more taels. Those worries were unnecessary now. She had exactly one hundred taels to give and twenty-three spare taels left.

    The more she thought about it, the happier she was.

    One hundred and twenty-three taels.

    She was too lucky to be in the possession of so many taels. One hundred taels would soon be used to buy her way out of an engagement, but it still felt good to know that she earned every tael in that box because of her own artwork.

    Hui''er looked cautiously at the box, suggesting, "Miss, now that you have a hundred taels, how about we exchange it at the bank for a gold tael?"

    A gold tael? Yujia never heard of that before.

    Seeing Yujia''s silence, Hui''er continued, "A hundred silver taels is equivalent to one golden tael. I think that it would be much more convenient to exchange it to a gold tael, and it would be safer too."

    Hui''er did make sense. Yujia thought about her proposal for a few moments. If she exchanged this large box for one gold tael, she could keep the tael on her instead of trusting on an unlocked cabinet and an unlocked box to hold so much money until she decided that it would be the right moment to hand the money over to her father.

    She didn''t want to take any risks and planned to hand the taels over as soon as possible, but she still had a few things she wanted to buy with her twenty-three taels before doing so in case her father was against the idea and wanted to take away all of her taels through a room-search.

    The matters she needed to take care of would likely take only a day or two, but what if during those two days, a thieving servant decided to look through her cabinets during the middle of the night and discovered the box of silver? What if a fire broke out to the kitchen and spread to her room, burning everything and not giving her a chance to carry such a large box of silver out?

    A gold tael that she could keep in the fabric pocket at her bosom would be much safer, and there didn''t seem to be any unnecessary risks of exchanging the money. Yujia could just disguise the box by having Hui''er take along a few other fabrics or items that perhaps she wanted to sell at the market. She could have Hui''er take the most secretive route in the villa too. That would avoid any possible suspicion or accidents.

    Thinking that Hui''er had a decent point, Yujia pushed the box across the table to her. At most, it wouldn''t hurt to exchange all of the silver for a gold tael.

    "You''re right. I don''t want to take any risks."

 55 Huiâ€™er and Her Troubles

    Hui''er soon left the room again, carrying a few scrolls of paper and a set of clothes over the box that her Fourth Miss handed her. If anyone saw her right now, she would just look like she was doing her everyday tasks, especially since some servants must''ve already noticed that the Fourth Miss was recently interested in materials involving painting.

    She took the path closest to the courtyard of the Fourth Miss, the one that servants frequented but anyone with any official authority would not. It was a rocky path, very crudely built and with numerous weeds sprouted all over it. Usually, the path was used for supply shipment and nothing else. Shipment only happened once every month, so the path was fairly empty.

    A little while after Hui''er walked along the path, right near the exit to the villa, she saw a cloaked figure rushing inside, keeping their head bent down so that Hui''er couldn''t tell who they were. Even so, Hui''er wanted to avoid any unnecessary situations from happening, so she didn''t stop the questionable person from entering.

    On the other hand, this individual seemed to be in such a rush that they didn''t see where they were going.

    Before Hui''er could step aside, they crashed into her, causing everything in her hands to fall to the floor. The box of silver taels, just like the other objects, landed on the dirt floor with a solid thud, the contents falling out.

    Instantly, Hui''er''s eyes widened. She quickly stepped in front of the silver taels, hiding the scene with her long skirt while looking down with anger at the person she bumped into.

    The person, meanwhile, didn''t look at who they bumped into, but was in fact, hastily picking up some scattered beads that fell onto the floor along with them. She seemed nervous, trembling, her hands shaking as she picked up the beads.

    Hui''er''s gaze fell downwards along with the person, who seemed to be a young girl. The beads that she was picking up were a set of round porcelain beads that were all a deep turquoise shade. A few of them were shattered, but the girl was still focused on picking up the unbroken ones.

    The beads were familiar. Too familiar.

    Hui''er knew them. She racked through her memories, trying to recall when she saw them, and remembered the First Miss and her box of jewelry. Amongst all of them was one of her favorite necklaces, one made with the same beads that the girl was picking up now.

    The First Miss, as far as she knew, would never give the necklace away. It was one of her favorites. So, what was this servant doing with it?

    The girl finished with gathering the beads before Hui''er could say anything. She looked up, finally, and gave Hui''er a full display of a face she knew.

    Manyu.

    Manyu¡ª one of her close servant friends¡ª worked in the kitchens. What would she be doing with such precious jewelry that belonged to the First Miss?

    A look of surprise also passed over Manyu''s face when she saw Hui''er.

    "Hui¡ª hui¡ª Hui''er¡ª" she stuttered, instinctively clutching her handful of beads tighter.

    Numerous thoughts and reasons appeared in Hui''er''s head. Tentatively, she began, "What¡­ what are you doing with the First Miss''s necklace?"

    Manyu didn''t seem to have a response to this. Instead, she looked back at Hui''er quietly, a guilty expression surfacing on her face.

    All of a sudden, Hui''er recalled the rumors she heard floating around the household.

    The Old Master''s antiques were going missing in the household. Numerous pieces of jewelry from various courtyards were going missing as well. The storage room was missing more and more things every month as various food items, supplies, and taels were vanishing without explanation or documentation.

    They said that there was a thief in the Yang Household.

    Could it be that Manyu was the one they were talking of?

    "No¡­" Hui''er shook her head and muttered to herself. She took a hesitant step back, her skirt fluttering a bit in the breeze.

    That was all it took for Manyu''s attention to divert to something else. She caught a glimpse of silver behind the other girl''s skirt.

    Hui''er noticed her gaze and immediately took a few more steps back, attempting to cover the silver. Yet it was already too late. Manyu noticed the behavior and stood up, pushing Hui''er to the side to see what she was trying to hide.

    Her lips parted slightly when she saw the pile of silver spilled out of the box when she viewed the scene. Staring at it incredulously, both of them were now at a loss of words, unsure of what the situation was.

    "Could you be¡ª are you one of them?" Manyu looked at the silver, her expression unreadable.

    "Them?"

    What was Manyu talking about?

    "No. You can''t be." Instantly, Manyu answered her own question, ignoring Hui''er''s confusion. "You serve the Fourth Miss. There''s no way they would let you join them."

    "Who are ''they''?" Hui''er asked. She was shaking her head, utterly incapable of deciphering the situation.

    Manyu opened her mouth, seemingly about to answer her question, but before she could do so, she suddenly moved quickly, dropping the beads she just gathered all over the floor and bowing towards someone behind Hui''er. She began to tremble once more.

    Hui''er spun around to see who it was. Upon seeing the person, she bowed as well.

    "Steward Liu," she acknowledged briefly while struggling to keep her voice steady.

    She didn''t expect the steward of the house, the one who managed all the supplies and servants in the villa, to go through this path, and not at this moment at all. How was she supposed to explain all of this? How could she explain the one hundred silver taels in the box?

    The steward looked at the two of them with narrowed eyes, his gaze scanning over the two of them and the scattered silver on the ground.

    "What is this?"

    Hui''er opened her mouth to speak, but Manyu cut in front of her faster, speaking while trembling continuously, "Stew¡ª Steward Liu¡ª I was just running an errand for the kitchen and accidently bumped into Hui''er. She was the one¡ª the one to drop the box and a necklace in her hand too! I really don''t know what all of this is, Steward, I really don''t."

    "What?" Hui''er stared with disbelief at Manyu. She thought of the girl as one of her closest friends in the household, but here she was, putting all of the blame on her! "Manyu, don''t speak so blindly! Clearly, you were the one who dropped the necklace. I was going to the bank for the Fourth Miss to exchange some silver taels, yet you were the one who was so suspiciously in a rush and holding the necklace too."

    The steward listened to the two of them speak their parts, then held up his hand. Gruffly, he ordered, "Enough. I''m sure that both of you know of the recent¡­ thievery that has been going on in the household. Regardless of what happened, this must be reported to the Old Master."

    Manyu stared at him in fear while Hui''er questioned, "Steward Liu, do you think of me as a thief?"

    The look in his eyes was enough of an answer. Of course¡ª how could he not? She had one hundred silver taels in a box while exiting the villa. Even if she said that this was a belonging of the Fourth Miss, who would believe that a mere Fourth Miss would own twice the amount of what the Old Master would earn in a month?

    Hui''er could only swallow her grievances and follow along with the steward to the Old Master''s courtyard. The only thing that she could do was to wish for her words to be believed then.

 56 Huiser Explains Herself

    News of a potential suspect for the numerous missing items in the villa quickly spread throughout the household, bringing many spectators. Out of all of them, only the main young misses and madam of the household were supposed to be present, so while they were seated along the sides of the Old Master, everyone else only watched from the sidelines, outside of the main room of the household.

    All of this would be excellent gossip amongst all the servants for the following days and weeks.

    The Old Master was seated at the very front of the room, to the left. On his other side sat Madam Zhang, holding herself a cup of steaming tea a servant girl poured for her a few moments ago. The expression on the Old Master''s face was evidently angry¡ª he must''ve lost quite a few valuable things from the incidents. Meanwhile, Madam Zhang''s expression was unreadable, both a mixture of multiple things, and most of all, a curious intent to see how everything would play out.

    At the chairs that were extended out towards the front of the room from the main seat of the Old Master, Yang Xiaoyi and Yang Qingxia sat there. These were usually seats for guests. Both of them chose to sit to the side of Madam Zhang, carefully watching the scenario too.

    To the front of them, both Hui''er and Manyu were bowing on the floor, while Steward Liu was the only one standing, his hands clasped respectfully towards the front.

    The Old Master took a deep breath, struggling to contain his anger.

    For the past two weeks, numerous valuable things began to disappear in the household without explanation. He first noticed the disappearance of an antique vase passed down from generations in the Yang household. At first, since the vase was on public display, he assumed that it was just a one-time thievery from a thief outside the household. He was angry about it then, but nothing much could be done to find it.

    Then, after that, only more and more antiques began to disappear slowly, becoming more and more evident that there was something going on.

    It seemed like every day, they would be missing at least one item from the household, be it a tea set made of delicate jade from his study or a stunning golden bracelet from the madam''s jewelry box.

    He assumed that it was all the work of a reappearing thief, so he ordered for the security in the household to be enforced even more in front of some of the more important places. However, when that didn''t do anything and more and more things began to go missing, he decided that this was something he needed to look further into.

    The Old Master looked into the recorded transactions and the storage count that Steward Liu provided him. After looking at the amount of money he owned along with the amount of storage in the storage room, he discovered that the accounts didn''t match up. Entire sacks of the spices that he had shipped in and were ready to ship out disappeared into thin air. Some silver he owned went missing too, over the span of the previous year,totaling up to a number of exactly one-hundred taels when he counted all of it.

    This put Steward Liu in an unpleasant situation.

    He was the one who was documenting everything, so it was his responsibility if things went missing. Originally, he noticed the disappearance of some items as well, but this sort of thing happened in every household, where mishaps during shipment or other accidents led to small inconsistencies. Because these numbers were very small each time, such as an unexplained decrease of ten taels each month, he didn''t feel the need to report it to the Old Master, thinking that he could solve it by his own.

    Yet now, the Old Master''s number one suspect who caused these vanishing objects was him, decreasing the amount of trust he owned in the household. The Old Master ordered for him to go find the cause for all these disappearances, and if he wasn''t able to, he was told that the culprit would be automatically determined as him.

    Hearing this was obviously not pleasing. It was difficult working his way to steward of the household, and he wanted to keep the power to himself.

    Steward Liu was sure that there was certainly someone doing all of this behind the scenes. He knew that it definitely wasn''t him.

    So, when he discovered Hui''er with a suspicious box of exactly one hundred taels upon walking in on the scene, he determined that luck was finally shining on him, bringing her to the Old Master as soon as possible.

    The Old Master, upon hearing from a servant Steward Liu sent ahead to act as a messenger that a thief was discovered, was undeniably ready to unleash his fury on whoever it was.

    It didn''t matter who it would be. As long as the person was the one behind all the disappearances, he would gladly remove them from the household.

    Before the Old Master jumped to any conclusions though, he carefully examined the servant girl. She looked familiar, but he couldn''t exactly remember her name. For a few moments, he looked at her, and once finished with his first judgement, he directed his attention to Steward Liu.

    "Explain what happened."

    Quickly, Steward Liu answered, "I was investigating the disappearances recently and just came back to the villa. That was when I saw this servant here, Huiyu, a personal maid of the Fourth Miss, with a box of silver taels spilled out. She was with the other servant here, Manyu, but both argue that they were not thieves. Neither of them admit to be behind the crime, but Huiyu says that the silver belonged to the Fourth Miss."

    "Oh? So she does claim to know of the silver?" The Old Master raised an eyebrow.

    He looked at the silver lying on the ground in front of both of them. It wasn''t a shallow box, and there definitely wasn''t a chance that the Fourth Miss would even touch her hands on such a large amount of taels.

    He looked back at Steward Liu. "Then, how many taels are there?"

    "One-hundred."

    Instantly, the Old Master slammed his hand on the table, the noise loud and shocking. Manyu flinched, and Hui''er only continued to keep her eyes cast downward.

    Now was not the time to show fear. Fear meant guilt, and if she knew that she was not a thief, why would she be afraid?

    To the Old Master, on the other hand, with all of this explanation said and done, it was obvious to him that this maid was a thief.

    First of all, it was perfectly impossible for the Fourth Miss to own a hundred taels. She was only given ten taels a month as allowance. It was also impossible for her to save all of it up too to get the number she had now. The Fourth Miss was given barely anything in the household, and if she wanted to do anything to entertain herself, it would have to come from that allowance. The Old Master also heard that going to the market was a frequent event for her. Knowing the filial person she was to her birthmother, whatever taels she had left must''ve been given any leftover taels to that woman too.

    Secondly, the amount of taels he lost was exactly one-hundred taels. The maid carried a box of one-hundred taels. When the two numbers matched up so perfectly, wasn''t it direct evidence that this maid was guilty?

    He didn''t want to think too much about it. All he had in his mind at the moment was to persecute the thief that was behind all of this. After all, the most despicable thing in any household would be a thieving servant.

    Yet before he could say anything to determine the fate of the servant, she spoke up for herself.

    "Old Master, may I explain my perspective?''

    He stared at her for a long moment, then nodded. He still wanted to get rid of her, but he would allow her to try to explain her way out if it, in case there was the rare chance that she truly was innocent."Go ahead."

    Huiyu kept her gaze calm while she explained. The calmer she was, the better. That was something she continuously reminded herself on the inside.

    "Old Master, may I ask when the hundred taels vanished from your account?"

    Steward Liu answered for her. "Over the course of ten months, around ten each month."

    "Then, may I ask, how likely do you think that this servant would steal ten taels every month and keep the evidence on me until I reached such a high number of one hundred? Isn''t that just something that would directly increase the chance of the discovery of my possession of this money?"

    This question struck the Old Master.

    He didn''t think of it like such. Now that the servant mentioned a point like this, he realized that her words did make sense. Besides, her calm demeanor only made him further believe that the quick assumption he made previously was all entirely wrong.

    Madam Zhang cut into the conversation, her eyes slightly narrowed at Hui''er. "Not necessarily. Perhaps a servant like you had a debt to pay off, or perhaps your family may have a debt as well. Or, you were involved in something that required a large amount of money at once. It would make sense for you to only steal ten taels a month to avoid detection, and when you reached the number you needed, you would be able to take it out and pay off anything you may need to at once."

    Hui''er shook her head, looking with caution at Madam Zhang.

    This was the woman that she had a long past with, the woman who caused her to end her relationship with the First Miss. She never acted upon her word, but Hui''er didn''t expect Madam Zhang to speak against her either after owing so much to her.

    A few moments of hesitation passed before Hui''er decided the right thing to say. "As I said before, this money entirely belongs to the Fourth Miss. She will prove my innocence."

    "How so?" The Old Master didn''t wait for her to answer before continuing, "Where is the Fourth Miss in the first place? Such an event has occurred, but is she not even coming to check in on her own maid?"

    Yang Xiaoyi spoke up. "Father, you should send for older sister. I don''t think that she knows of something like this yet, or else she wouldn''t be unpresent."

    The Old Master nodded and waved. "Then call for the Fourth Miss to come here. I want to know what she has to say."

 57 Fourth Miss, Do You Paint?

    Yujia arrived in a rush.

    Once she heard of what happened from a servant sent over by the Old Master, she couldn''t help but almost run over to the location where everyone was.

    How could something like this happen? As many scenarios as she could think of, she definitely could not imagine Hui''er being accused of something ridiculous as thievery when the one-hundred taels were clearly all her own.

    By the time that she arrived, everyone, the servants and masters alike, was completely ready to hear what she had to say. After all, to the maids and other servants, this was an excellent new source of gossip. For the Old Master, madam, and young misses, they wanted to know the truth of what exactly happened so that they could get all of their losses back.

    Once Yujia saw the current scene, with Hui''er and another maid kneeling on the floor, she wasn''t quite sure of how she should behave. The young misses were all seated, but they were not key suspects or witnesses in this case either.

    So, was Yujia supposed to join the maids in the front of the floor or sit next to Yang Qingxia and Yang Xiaoyi by the side?

    She decided to walk a little closer to the front and then stop right next to Hui''er, keeping herself in a standing position instead of a sitting position.

    With a slight bow, Yujia raised her eyebrows as if she knew nothing of the entire situation at all and completely confused over the situation. She purposely scanned her eyes across the entire room, then extended a hand out to Hui''er, offering for her to stand.

    Hui''er looked at her hand with extreme hesitation.

    The Old Master, her father, also looked at the situation, stating, "This maid is possibly a thief. Is it not correct for her to kneel here?"

    "A thief?" Yujia repeated after him, feigning ignorance. "Why, where does that even come from? I simply know of Hui''er as a good¡ª and the only¡ª maid of mine."

    Madam Zhang decided to get to the point and cut in, "Yujia, this maid was discovered with a box of a hundred silver taels. She claims that they belong to you."

    "They do." Swiftly and surely, Yujia admitted to it. She could not afford to display even the slightest bit of hesitation at the moment.

    "Then, where do they come from?" Madam Zhang continued with her interrogation.

    Right now, the best thing to do would be to probably admit to the truth. Yujia wasn''t sure that she could come up with a reasonable lie to cover up what she had been doing to earn this large sum of money. Telling the truth was the best option.

    So, Yujia blinked, answering, "I''ve been interested in painting lately, and I had quite a few spare works that I didn''t have a use for. Because of that, I sold all of them and earned the money through my own work."

    "Painting?"

    Everyone present was slightly surprised at what the Fourth Miss just admitted to.

    Firstly, the Fourth Miss was known for being skilled with embroidery, not painting. The Old Master did allow her to sell some of her embroidery anonymously before, but even so, all she really earned were one or two taels for a complex piece of embroidery. As far as public knowledge went, they didn''t know that she was interested in any of the Four Arts, much less being skilled in such a difficult activity like painting.

    Secondly, paintings were hard to sell for much when the seller and artist were both anonymous. People enjoyed buying paintings by skilled masters who have painted for decades. For anonymous beginner artists, which the Fourth Miss likely was, the most that she could earn would be one to three taels per painting, if it was a lucky day. Therefore, the idea that she earned one hundred taels through only selling paintings was a ridiculous idea.

    How many paintings would the Fourth Miss had to have sold to earn one-hundred silver taels? Thirty? Fourty? Even fifty or more paintings was a believable idea.

    The thought of a young miss of a family busily painting so much that she had "quite a few spare works" lying around to sell was a strange one. Even if the Fourth Miss was illegitimate and that the Yang family wasn''t the richest, why would the Fourth Miss feel so inclined to work so hard to earn so much money, especially when she was about to get married into a family where she wouldn''t have to worry about her financial security for the rest of her life?

    That was why people didn''t quite believe the Fourth Miss when she claimed that she earned so much from painting. Many automatically assumed that she must have been lying to make up some excuse to save her maid.

    "Daughter," the Old Master unconvinced as well, began, "when did you start painting?"

    On the inside, Yujia wanted to answer with six years ago, which was when she entered art school, but she knew that absolutely no one would believe that she started painting when she was twelve in this body. Thus, she chose to answer with the time she began painting in this world, which was pretty much the day of transmigrating over.

    "A week or so ago."

    A week or so ago?

    A week or so?

    A single, short week?

    This response made the crowd speechless. They were already beginning to suspect that what the Fourth Miss said about painting before to be a lie, but they didn''t think that she would follow it up with such an obvious lie.

    How would it be possible for her to earn one-hundred taels over the course of a week? The Old Master barely earned fifty taels a month! If you want to lie, Fourth Miss, at least be a little more reasonable, alright?

    At this point, no one in the room believed in Yujia, and she noticed that. Quickly, she came up with some reasoning that might make the situation better.

    "I''ve embroidered for my entire life, and a week ago, when I suddenly woke up with a desire to paint, I found that embroidery and painting actually share quite a few similar traits. That was why I was able to learn so quickly on how to paint."

    "Yujia¡­" The Old Master shook his head.

    Even if painting and embroidery both required a similar artistic skill, painting really wasn''t something that could be learned in a day or a week. It was something that even those who spent years and years on it were still considered beginners.

    "What?" Yujia raised her eyebrows again. "Do you not believe in the truth that I speak of? Do I need to do a live demonstration to show that I paint?"

    The spectators from the side nodded to themselves.

    Yes, Fourth Miss, we would love to see what you can do with only a week of experience! Perhaps before you even embarrass yourself, the Old Master and Madam would be ashamed of what you do!

 58 In Which the Fourth Miss Demonstrates Her Painting Skills

    The Old Master, interested to see what she was saying, allowed for her to demonstrate. Yujia wanted to use the better-quality art supplies that she bought herself, but the Old Master already ordered for the average-quality art supplies he owned. She didn''t want to demand too much.

    When the art supplies arrived and were laid out on a table in the center of the room, Hui''er, Manyu, and Steward Liu moved to the side to give space to Yujia.

    Yujia began with pouring water in the inkstone, slowly grinding and forming ink with it. There was only simplistic black ink, though simplicity was good sometimes. There was no need to complain about it.

    Once she had ink, she lifted her brush, pausing while hovering the brush over the ink. She turned her head to her father, asking, "Are there any specific things you would like a painting of?"

    He shook his head. It would be better to give her the freedom to display what she was best at.

    So, Yujia settled on her strength, painting scenery.

    Mountains were the number one thing that she painted since she arrived. Although she didn''t necessarily have work skilled enough to be compared to the true professionals who worked on painting them all their life, to people in the Yang household who didn''t understand too much about painting, her ability should be enough to convince them.

    Yujia started by dipping her brush into the ink, diluting the ink with a wash of water. With a sweep of her arm, the paint on the brush transferred onto the paper, creating the blurry shape of a few mountains.

    Her first motion instantly captured the complete attention of everyone around her.

    At first, they all thought that she would be rather hesitant and clumsy, similar to any beginner. That would be her natural behavior.

    What they didn''t expect was her obvious confidence, from the way she held her brush to her first stroke. Even those who didn''t know a thing about painting would''ve been able to tell that this was not the confidence that a beginner should have.

    Nevertheless, this was only the first stroke of her brush. There were many more to come. The watchers began to watch more tentatively, no longer treating this as an occasion to make fun of a beginner.

    Without taking much notice to the attitude change from her audience, Yujia dipped the very tip of her brush in the thick black ink again. She allowed her arms to move naturally, tracing the outline of the mountains with fine lines.

    The approach she chose to go for this time around was a blend of vague shapes and sharp lines, creating a stark contrast between detail and blurs. This would create a new depth to her work, something that she thought would awe her audience enough.

    After using more watered down ink to add in shadows to the mountains, Yujia moved on to add in a river cutting through the mountains. This river would be loud and roaring, a bold river that she depicted through overturning waters swirling and dancing underneath the mountains.

    Once the river was completed, she began to draw in the faint details of trees, from the branches to the budding leaves. The quiet tranquility of the small trees clashed with the loud and lively river, creating a fine balance between the two.

    If she had colored ink now, it would definitely be even better to highlight some of the details in the painting with the trees. Yujia concluded that it was still fine though, without the addition of any color.

    Lastly, once all the details in the front were finished, she faded away some mountains in the distant and the edges of the mountains in the front. This gave the impression of a deep rolling fog, wrapping the mountains in a sense of mystery.

    Yujia stepped back from the painting, exhaling as she took a final look.

    Only just now did she finally get a complete look of her spectators. Previously, she was too absorbed into making the painting a good one to truly notice her surroundings.

    Some looked at her with shock, some looked at her with surprise. And in other eyes, she even saw a little bit of fear along with their disbelief.

    Of course¡ª how could they not be afraid? Who was able to paint this well with only a week of experience? If things were really as what they said, then wouldn''t it mean that she was a genius at the arts? Who would''ve expected that the Fourth Miss who never drew any attention to herself would be so talented at painting?

    The moment after she finished, many who were able to see the painting that she created were too shocked to give a good response. Only Yang Xiaoyi, who had a full view of her entire process stood up, slowly walking up to the painting and observing it with eyes filled with awe. Directly after she did so, many others followed her and approached the painting, getting a better look at it. Servants no longer watched her paint from the side, stepping out of the shadows to view what she created.

    A faint smile surfaced on Yujia''s face.

    "So," she asked, turning herself to the others, "how do you like my painting?"

 59 The Unbelievable Fourth Miss

    Yang Xiaoyi was the first to speak.

    "Big sister¡­ are you really speaking the truth when you say that you only began painting a week ago?"

    Yujia nodded an answer. "Essentially, yes. If you look at the records in the house, there should be a place where it''s noted that I first took some painting supplies from the storage room a week ago."

    Steward Liu, who wanted to certify what she said, waved for a servant behind him to present the storage records of the villa that he brought over to originally prove his point of the missing items. Sure enough, when he flipped to the page documenting the time frame near a week, it was recorded that the personal maid of the Fourth Miss withdrew some paper, brushes, and ink a week ago.

    "She''s telling the truth."

    "How, then¡ª?" Xiaoyi murmured to herself, looking cautiously at the painting, then back at the Fourth Miss.

    She had studied art and painted for years now, and even so, there was no way that she would''ve accomplished any of the things that the Fourth Miss did within the length of an hour.

    All along, Xiaoyi carefully observed the work of great masters known for their painting, mimicking their work in the hopes of improving her skill in art. After all, many were like her and did the same. It was the easiest way to better her abilities.

    Yet now, looking at what the Fourth Miss painted, she couldn''t match up what Yang Yujia painted with a single famed artist''s style. She didn''t share the same regard to dimension as Zhan Ziqian or Li Sixun''s extreme attention to detail. All artists should''ve taken inspiration from some other person during some point and time, but here the Fourth Miss was, painting a work that didn''t seem like it had any connections at all.

    Xiaoyi could only admit that after watching the Fourth Miss paint, she developed a newfound respect for her sister.

    What Xiaoyi didn''t particularly know was that Yujia actually did take a lot of inspiration from quite a few artists, such as Guo Xi, Mi Fu, and Xu Daoning. Truthfully, if Yujia didn''t study a bit of historical art in the past, her current work wouldn''t look as good as it did now. Her luck was in the fact that she studied lots of art from the Song Dynasty of ancient China, and based off of the current time period now, the Song Dynasty had not came to pass yet, so all the artists she learned from were not even born.

    In other terms, Yujia simply earned lots of respect from her younger sister for being original when she wasn''t original at all.

    If Yujia knew of what the Fifth Miss was thinking right now, surely she wouldn''t be able to hold back some laughter.

    Seeing that no one really had anything to say and believing that she proved her point that she was a capable artist, Yujia walked back over to Hui''er, grabbing her arm and pulling her up from her kneeling position.

    "The one-hundred taels are mine." Yujia picked up the box off the floor as well, handing it to Hui''er for her to hold. She then gestured to the painting lying on the table as evidence. "My maid is innocent."

    Her eyes looked across the room, to where the other maid who was kneeling with Hui''er before was standing. Yujia noticed that this maid was looking back at her direction as well, brows furrowed deeply and lips slightly parted with disbelief at the events that just occured. Her hands were constantly unlocking and locking.

    She definitely looked strange, but Yujia didn''t want to concern herself with anymore of the matters. She wasn''t involved in whatever thievery that had been going on, so naturally, even if this maid was suspicious, she didn''t want to say anything.

    Yang Qingxia, on the other hand, seemed to think otherwise. For the first time through all of these events, she spoke up and said, "Little sister, your painting skills truly are incredible," she paused, her eyes landing back at the taels, then continuing "but I can''t help but wonder if that''s truly enough to prove that the one-hundred taels are yours? Just because you can paint doesn''t mean that you own these taels."

    Yujia flicked her eyes up. She didn''t want to bring up some of the more specific details, but she supposed that now others were forcing her to, she had to.

    "The second young master of the Bo family. If you don''t believe me, ask him if he had bought two mountain paintings and one of a rooster recently. He should agree that he paid quite a surmountable number of taels for them."

    The attitude of the crowd changed once more.

    The young master of the Bo family?

    Why, how wealthy and powerful was the Bo family? They were the number one merchant family in the capital, and perhaps in all of Xiang! Of course the Yang household would not dare to send over someone to ask about such a fickle matter of whether or not their second young master bought some paintings recently, but the amount of confidence and detail that the Fourth Miss claimed over this seemed truthful. If she was willing to say these things without fearing the consequences if they were lies, then surely she was telling the truth.

    Yujia noted the silent consensus of belief in the crowd. Now was a good time to deliver her last words before any more troubling questions came up.

    "With that being said, I think it should be fair enough for me to take my leave. I am not involved in any events regarding thievery, and therefore, whatever other matters don''t concern me."

    Yujia spun around, heading towards the door and gesturing for Hui''er to follow her at the same time. Before she could leave, however, the Old Master seemingly found his voice and spoke up.

    "But why? Why painting? Why the hundred taels?"

    He had a point. If an individual did not deliberately wish to earn so much money within such a brief amount of time, then they would not be able to.

    Hearing that question, Yujia paused and thought for a few moments, her back still turned away from the crowd.

    Her original plan was to wait for a day where her father would be in a good mood¡ª or do something for him that would put him in a good mood¡ª and then offer the one-hundred taels as tribute. That would secure her chances of him agreeing with her plans.

    It didn''t seem like she could go on with her original plan though. Things went out of her expectations, and now she had to make quick decisions that would alter her original calculations.

    She could say something along the lines of her birthmother being sick and that she needed to buy precious medicine that would cost a hundred taels. However, that wasn''t too believable. He could likely uncover her lie by visiting her mother, since exactly how sick would that woman have to be for medicine to cost a hundred taels?

    Later on, it would still be suspicious if she offered him the one-hundred taels to buy herself out of the marriage. Once she came up with the lie that her mother was sick, she would have to stick with it. That meant that she would have to convince her father that the one-hundred taels she would offer him were a complete other set of taels than the original hundred. This also meant that she would have to claim that within such a short amount of time, she was able to earn two-hundred taels.

    Her original idea was to explain that it was sheer luck that caused her to meet a wealthy buyer who liked her paintings and gave her all of her money. That was a truthful explanation in the first place¡ª Bo Zhiyuan was certainly exactly like that.

    Except now, if she went with her idea of using the one-hundred taels for something else, it wouldn''t be that believable to say that a wealthy buyer would go to the extent of paying two-hundred taels, buying every painting that she made.

    The less money she claimed that she earned, the more believable everything would be. She didn''t want more suspicion than needed.

    With those thoughts, Yujia spun back around once more, taking the heavy box of taels from Hui''er.

    She walked right to the front of her father and Madam, set the taels down at their feet, and dropped to her knees.

    The Old Master looked at her with confusion. "Daughter, this is¡­?"

    With firm resolve, Yujia looked at him in his eyes and bowed deeply, her head hitting the floor.

    "Father, I want to cancel my engagement."

 60 The Fourth Miss Reveals Her True Feelings

    There was no long moment of silence following her statement. Nearly immediately, the Old Master stood up from his standing position, his hand slamming on the table.

    "Cancel the engagement?" he repeated, staring her down.

    "Yes." Yujia forced her voice to not waver as she opened the box of silver taels again. "I earned all of these taels because I don''t want to marry the Old Master of the Yu family."

    The crowd disappointedly shook their heads upon hearing this.

    The Fourth Miss was a foolish girl.

    If she married the Old Master of the Yu family as a concubine, it would be better than anything else she could possibly accomplish with her status as an illegitimate daughter of such a small family like the Yangs. She couldn''t marry into any big family as a main wife anyways. The Yu family''s offer for her new status was already considered as something extremely gracious because of their good relationship between the families.

    Marriage was the only possible future for women. Marriage meant their new families, their new lives, and anything they could possibly be.

    Although the Old Master''s decision to marry her into the Yu family was partially fueled by the desire to improve the relationship with the other family and the bride price that they would receive, it was also because of his desire to give his daughter the best life that she could have. Being a concubine was nothing glamorous in terms of a title, but it would give her better conditions than what she was experiencing in the villa right now. She would at least have a carefree future without worry about food, shelter, clothes, or any other materialistic needs.

    Seeing the lack of response from her father, Yujia continued on, "I don''t know how much the Old Master of the Yu family gave you for a bride price, but I''ll pay more than that in terms of taels." She looked up at her father. "If he paid you a hundred, I''ll pay you back two-hundred. If he paid you two-hundred, I''ll pay you back three-hundred. These one-hundred taels are just to prove that I am capable of it. Give me the price, give me some time, and I guarantee you that this will not be an unworthy expenditure."

    "Daughter¡ª Yujia¡ª" The Old Master hesitated, shaking his head.

    Madam Zhang cut in, "Yujia, you don''t understand. This is all for your own good."

    The Old Master added in after her, "Yes. What she says is correct. The Yu family will not mistreat you. You may be just a concubine, but you''ll receive nearly the same benefits as the Madam. They have enough resources to give you that. Your life will be better¡ª"

    "Better, but happier?"

    Yujia couldn''t quite keep up the calm demeanor she attempted to maintain anymore. She was angry¡ª not just at her own fate, but the fact that this family of her never asked for or listened to much of her opinion. It was like this now. It was also mostly like this weeks, months, and years ago when the Fourth Miss was still the actual Fourth Miss.

    After all, if they really did listen to her, would they likely come up with this engagement and cause the Fourth Miss to be so disappointed that she put all of her thoughts into deep alcohol?

    They all claimed that it was for her good, but it was only for her good in their eyes.

    Yujia didn''t care much for good conditions to marry into. Conditions could always be changed. She already proved that she could earn money for herself.

    But there were always certain things that couldn''t be changed. Age, for one, was the biggest factor. Perhaps they could argue that love and emotions could be built, but how was Yujia supposed to romantically love a man old enough to be her father? How was she supposed to look at him romantically without feeling disgust in her gut?

    A secured marriage, for another, was something that couldn''t be changed. Marrying the Yu family''s Old Master would destroy her future. She could get divorced, but no one would want to marry a divorced woman. The Old Master could die of old age, but she wouldn''t be able to marry another person either. She would be stuck for the rest of her life in the Yu villa.

    Yujia wasn''t stupid enough to care for all those fluttery romantic endings. She wasn''t trying to find true love. She just wanted to make sure that she could live a future where she was happy, a future that she was gladly secured with.

    It didn''t matter to her if having the status of an illegitimate daughter meant that she had less choices. At the worst, she would just never marry, and perhaps go off to a monastery and become a nun. Even that seemed more appealing than becoming a concubine of such an old man.

    She came into this world to treat it like a new start. She didn''t want to ruin her future with an undesired marriage.

    And so, Yujia decided that she would break this engagement no matter what. It was the only way to guarantee a different path for herself.

    All she needed to do now was to put her thoughts out to words and to hope that a little sympathetic part of the Old Master would understand her.

    "Father, this daughter has never asked for much in my life. I never expected you to treat me as equally as the rest of the young misses or for you to guarantee me an honorable position in the household. Yet now, all I ask of you is to do one thing, to cancel this marriage. I know myself better than you do, Father. I know that you may think of this as a better future for me, but I promise you that it will not be. Your daughter is not living a miserable life right now in the household. It''s a simple one that I can live with. This is a life that I would rather prefer than one as a concubine in the Yu family."

    "But," the Old Master shook his head, "your status will be so much better in the other household. They have the wealth to give you a more fulfilling life."

    "I don''t care for the status, Father!" Yujia''s hands clenched by her sides. Why was he so close-minded? Why couldn''t he see that this wasn''t what she wanted? "I don''t want the status, the wealth, the good silks, the gleaming jewels, the sweet spices¡ª none of that!"

    Her father''s eyes looked back at hers. She couldn''t tell what he was thinking through his expression.

    A long moment passed, with neither side willing to say anything else. Then, Yang Qingxia opened her mouth, giving a rare piece of her input on the situation.

    "Father, you don''t want Yujia to be the next Wu Yichen, do you?"

    Those brief words instantly caused a change of expression on the Old Master''s face. Qingxia put her emphasis on Yichen''s changed surname, and this was enough to cause her father to remember all sorts of things, such as a marriage arrangement for the Second Miss once called Yang Yichen that failed, and most importantly, the daughter that he had lost.

    The Old Master turned his face away, deep in thought. After thinking for a long time, he came to his conclusion and put out his final decision.

    "Yujia, know that I want you to be happy."

    Yujia nodded.

    "Know that this decision is coming from a person that wants for your best."

    Yujia nodded again.

    Her father took a deep breath. "Five-hundred taels. Get five-hundred taels to me before the date of the marriage¡ª excluding the one-hundred you have here¡ª and I''ll cancel it."

    Yujia''s expression faltered. So, this was how it would be. There was no way that the bride price was anything more than two-hundred taels, but here her father was, demanding an amount like five-hundred for him by a month.

    He knew that this was a nearly impossible task for his daughter, but she supposed that it revealed to her what he truly valued as more important: wealth.

    Yujia sighed deeply.

    Five-hundred taels?

    So be it.

    She would get that amount and prove to him that the pathetic Fourth Miss of the Yang family who was never counted for as much was capable of doing something within a month that he was barely capable of doing within a year.

    Yujia no longer displayed any obvious emotions on her face as she gave her father one last long look, then stood up from her kneeling position. She dusted the sides of her skirt off, turned around, and left without looking back.

 61 A New Plan of the Fourth Miss

    When Yujia returned to her room, she sat down without making much noise, pouring herself a cup of tea without drinking it.

    Hui''er looked at her, then said, "Miss¡­"

    "Do you think that it''s that maid next to you who''s guilty?"

    Hui''er was a bit startled at the sudden question, hesitantly replying, "Manyu?"

    "Is that her name?" Yujia set the cup of tea in her hand down. "I thought she looked suspicious, but it was strange that no one questioned her."

    "It''s all because I admitted to knowing of the silver," Hui''er explained, "and she didn''t. Now that the taels are proven to be yours, no one will likely chase after the matter¡ª but I saw that she dropped some beads in her hands that belonged to the First Miss."

    "So, you think that she''s the true thief?"

    Hui''er bit her bottom lip. "I''m not sure. From what I knew of Manyu, she was never someone who really would do something like that on her own. I would never expect her to steal so many antiques or taels. But then again, that was the Manyu I thought I knew. I never guessed that she would try to put all the blame on me either."

    Yujia nodded slowly.

    Like what Hui''er said, she didn''t necessarily think that the situation was as simple as it seemed. Some part of her intuition was telling her that it wasn''t likely just a case of a repetitive thief.Or maybe, instead of her intuition,it was the logical fact that from what she saw from Manyu, she was almost too scared to dare to do something as dramatic as stealing so much wealth from the villa.

    Oh well. Whatever it was, as long as Yujia was not negatively affected by it, she didn''t want to spend too much of her time thinking about it. It didn''t concern her if her father continued to lose wealth. It wasn''t her money, anyways.

    Her eyes looked back at Hui''er, and in that moment, she saw the glimmer of a tear. When Hui''er saw that she was looking at her, her head tilted away, hiding her emotions.

    "Why do you cry?" Yujia asked, wishing to understand what the girl was thinking.

    Hui''er shook her head."I''m just¡­ disappointed. I thought that Manyu was an actual friend of mine, but seeing her accuse me of the crime just to save her own skin was just so¡ª"

    Her voice caught. In slow motion, she looked back up, her eyes still glimmering but filled with a new realization.

    "The First Miss¡ª" she gasped, "this is how she felt, wasn''t it? But she experienced it ten¡ª no, a hundred times, a thousand times worse¡ª"

    Hui''er was right.

    For the first time since what happened, she seemed to finally realize the exact length of what she did wrong. In the past, perhaps she did regret what she did, but she never truly understood the amount of pain she caused the girl who was once her friend. Yet now, after experiencing a similar betrayal involving an old friend who acted for their own benefit, she had a newfound sympathy that she never noticed before.

    "I¡ª" she choked, new tears spilling out.

    Yujia closed her eyes.

    She was glad that her maid finally realized certain things that would definitely benefit her in the future, However, unlike before, where Hui''er likely needed a shoulder to cry on, this was a different situation. It was something where Hui''er needed time to herself to collect her thoughts and to let the new things she learned to truly sink in.

    So, Yujia patted Hui''er''s hands and stood up, stretching as she walked to her bed. "I''m feeling in the mood for a nap. All that drama from before really tired me out."

    Hui''er raised her sleeve and wiped away some of the tears. "Then¡ª"

    "You can go do whatever. Just don''t disturb me in my sleep."

    After saying that, Yujia laid down on her bed and wrapped herself in the blankets, waving her hand while her eyes were closed for Hui''er to leave. Hui''er, seeing that her presence was not requested, and understanding that this was the Fourth Miss''s subtle way of giving her time alone, gratefully bowed and left the room, closing the doors soundly behind her.

    Once Yujia heard the doors close, her eyes flung open.

    Sure, she was somewhat in need of a nap, but time was now precious. She had a month to what she needed to do. In fact, when she recalled the date, the sixteenth, she realized that it was exactly one month from her marriage ceremony.

    Five-hundred taels.

    How was Yujia supposed to accomplish a number to that extreme?

    Five-hundred taels¡­ that was a lot. She didn''t even earn that much easily in the modern world, and Yujia definitely didn''t want to rely on the idea of a lucky buyer like Bo Zhiyuan to help her along her struggles like he did before.

    She still had twenty-three taels left that were extra from the one-hundred taels she lost without purpose to her father. The twenty-three taels made her happy in the past, but now, the number seemed insignificantly small next to a number like five-hundred.

    Yujia needed to find a quick way to earn taels.

    Her thoughts scattered to all sorts of different places on how she could earn these taels fast. One thought in particular ended up being the merchant selling art supplies when she was first introduced to this world.

    He talked about a place called "Lingxin Pavillion", an art academy. Yujia remembered this conversation out of all the other ones she had because of her curiosity with how the world worked, and it stunned her at the time that there were schools for art.

    What stuck out to her the most was that the merchant mentioned that supposedly, art supplies from Lingxin Pavilion were sold at higher prices, yet there were still more people willing to buy them because the academy was more famous. That led to the thought of whether or not art itself coming from a student of the academy would sell quicker and for more as well¡­

    Yujia clapped her hands together.

    That seemed like a good idea. She didn''t know if it would necessarily work or not, but it wouldn''t hurt to ask around and try.

    Now that she had an idea she could carry out, Yujia rolled back over to lie on her side. She might as well catch up on some sleep while she allowed Hui''er to have some time to herself.

 62 The Fourth Miss Asks Her Questions

    By the time that late noon arrived, where only a few more hours would lead to a sun slipping behind mountains, Yujia decided to get up and do something purposeful with her life.

    Hui''er had returned. Yujia didn''t know when she did¡ª she was likely sleeping when her maid came back¡ª but when she woke up, Hui''er was wiping the tables and organizing the cabinets like usual. Hui''er dusted off the tops of the wooden cabinets, then turned to see her Fourth Miss sitting up.

    "Miss, do you have any plans?"

    "Yes," Yujia answered, "I have some. But first, I have to go to the market to answer some of my uncertainties."

    Hui''er wrung the wet towel in her hands into a copper basin, saying as she did so, "Alright. Is there anything you need me to do?"

    "No. Just come along with me."

    Yujia reached to the side, taking out the sheer fabric she previously used to cover half of her face. Surprisingly, last night, the pimple under her mouth went away on its own, a truly magical feat considering that it went away as noticeably as it came. That meant that she didn''t need to wear the sash, but from what she heard from everyone, it was important to keep an anonymous identity in the market.

    It was considered shameful for young misses of merchant families to sell their work to earn money in the first place. If others found out that the Yang family''s Fourth Miss was doing so, surely the Old Master would become the laughingstock of all the merchants. So, what she was informed previously by Hui''er was that the Old Master was alright with her selling her embroidery in the market as long as her identity remained anonymous. The same concept should apply to painting as well.

    That was why Yujia made sure the knot tying the two ends of the fabric together at the back of her head was tight. She didn''t want any identity slips that could potentially harm her ability to sell things to happen.

    ¡­

    As the two went through the market, heading in the direction of Lingxin Pavilion that they learned of from asking passersby, Yujia decided to ask Hui''er some more questions, since questions were always good.

    "Hui''er, I''m sure you know by now that I have no intention of marrying into the Yu family. But say if I failed, and I did, what is the family like?"

    Hui''er thought for a few moments, then responded, "The Yu family''s Old Master controls silks and salts, the two main businesses. So, they''re the third biggest family. His previous main wife died, so his current wife has only been main wife for four or so years. Other than those, he has three concubines, I think?"

    Yujia grimly smiled. She knew of this already from knowledge she learned before, so she posed a more specific question. "What about the rest of his family?"

    Hui''er had to think even more about this, likely because, unlike the Yang family, the Yu family was more foreign to her. "He has two sons, and I can''t remember if it''s his family that has a young miss or if it''s the Bo''s. The Fifth Miss is marrying the First Young Master, and the Second Young Master is bedridden for his entire life, so the public had never seen him before."

    "Really?"

    The news was not what she expected to hear. It was interesting to see how each family''s dynamics were different. The Yang household only had three different wives, yet they had five total young misses. On the other hand, the Yu household had five total wives, yet their children were still so little.

    Though if one were to analyze the two families and decide which family was better, the Yu family would still win. It wasn''t just because of their financial status. In a society like this one where boys were valued over girls, even if the Yang family had fifty young misses, that would not be enough to compare with a single young master of the Yu family.

    The Yang family was truly pitiful for not having any male descendants.

    A few more moments of walking with small conversations passed before the two arrived at the arched gate of Lingxin Pavilion.

    Yujia''s first thought was that the place was stunning.

    When she saw the Bo villa, she thought that it was a grand structure as well. Now, comparing the two together, she could only say that the Bo villa dulled in comparison.

    The arched opening of the academy reached up towards the sky, carved out of white stone that looked as pure as ivory. Walking up to the arch, she noticed the details carved into the stone, picturing mountains and trees, almost like the work of a painting. The walls by the side were made out of similar white stone, though the walls were not solid, but rather a set of connected, overlapping arches, tightly gathered together yet still allowing light to shine through. The path under Yujia''s feet faded from plain dirt to a paved white stone path, occasional stones having the carving of certain names of accomplished artists from the school.

    Once Yujia walked inside, she found herself in a separate little marketplace, one that was much neater and cleaner than the normal civilian marketplace. Each stall matched the ones next to it, having a table covered with white cloth, and a variety of different art related materials lying underneath it. Carefully planted trees created a backdrop behind the grounds. At a closer look, Yujia noticed that the stalls to the left of the path sold art supplies, while the stalls to the right sold paintings and other types of art, such as pottery and statues.

    She decided to explore the tables of art supplies first. It was interesting to see that the tables were all organized as well by types of art supplies. Each table only sold a certain type of supply, and the division made it easier for buyers to find the materials that they wanted quicker.

    One table near the middle with colored ink caught her eye, so Yujia went there first. It was the emptiest table of the lot, with only one other person standing there looking at ink. The rest of the tables had at least three or so people busily analyzing the goods. Once Yujia arrived at the table, it seemed like the person who was there before finished their purchase too, taking their goods and leaving.

    The vendor behind the table, an old man who looked too ancient to fit in with all the middle-aged vendors, looked ecstatic to see her. Business was probably not going that well, so he valued every customer that he could get.

    "Young Miss, are you interested in buying some colored ink? The current trend is to use only black and white, but I promise you that if you use the vibrancy of my colors, any work you create will look beautiful!" He pushed a piece of clean paper and a brush out to her. "If you don''t believe what I say, then try some of these colors for yourself!"

    Yujia picked up the brush and dipped it in the red paint first, swiping it across the paper. The color was indeed brilliantly bright. She proceeded to wash her brush and test the other colors as well, finding that the pigments were all rather excellent except for the purple and yellow which didn''t quite live up to the rest of the colors, but were still decent by themselves. The red was still best though, by far.

    "Good right?" The vendor nodded proudly. "I''ll sell them at a discount to you too, Young Miss. Only six taels for all six colors. Usually, I would sell them for twelve."

    Yujia smiled. "I do like these colors, but I didn''t come to buy things today. I was coming to ask some questions."

    "Oh? What questions?" The merchant leaned against the table. "I might not look like much, but I''ve been here longer than all these others." He gestured at the other stalls and vendors. "I know the school inside out."

    "Well then," Yujia began, glad to find someone that could help her out so quickly, "how does this work?" She pointed at the stalls. "Are you a student of the academy?"

    He really didn''t look like one. The vendor was just too old.

    He laughed when he heard her question. "No, no, I''m just a merchant who has connections with the academy. Most of these people selling art supplies are, but some are just plain merchants who''ve created art supplies and want a better opportunity to sell them. They submit some of their products to Lingxin, and they test out the quality. If it lives up to their standards, they''ll sign a contract and let them sell it, as long as part of their profit goes to the academy. The students are the ones selling the paintings though."

    "So that''s how it works¡­" The academy was actually pretty smart by doing this. It was a good and easy way to earn profits. Yujia had her question of whether or not students could sell art here answered, though she still had one other one. Thus, she continued. "Is the school accepting new students?"

    The vendor looked at her with a strange look. "Yes, there''s a quarterly examination four days from now¡­ but the academy doesn''t take female students."

    "Ah." Yujia waved her hands, quickly lying to solve any suspicion the old man might have. "I''m not asking for myself. My friend wants to pursue the arts, and he''s feeling a bit sick lately, so I came to ask for him."

    "Who is this friend you speak of?" The vendor asked, still slightly skeptical.

    Many fake names ran through her head, but Yujia decided to name a surname that belonged to the family that she would soon belong to if she didn''t succeed in what she planned. She thought that she had the right to at least use it if she was planned to marry into it.

    "His surname is Yu," she answered, an open smile on her face.

    The vendor wasn''t able to see her lips through the veil, but he could tell through the expression in her eyes that she seemed honest enough. He put his suspicions aside.

    "Thank you for answering my questions," Yujia went on, "I didn''t plan on buying anything originally, but your colors are truly of high quality. I''ll take two of each, and one extra red."

    A big smile spread on the old man''s face. "Young Miss, you are too generous!" He went behind to crates of colored inkstones, taking the colors she wanted. "Since I gave you a discount, that would be thirteen taels total."

    Yujia took out her satchel of twenty-three taels and handed over thirteen of them. This meant that she only had ten left, but that wasn''t too bad. She had alternative purposes for the colored ink she bought too, so it wouldn''t be that much of a waste or a bad deal.

    The exchange occurred, and Yujia now held a heavy bag of inkstones and inksticks that she gave for Hui''er to hold. She gave one last word of thanks to the vendor, then left the marketplace and the large arch of the academy, her goal in mind accomplished.

    ¡­

    Evening came, and an old man who others believed to be just a simple vendor packed up the colored ink he sold in his stall, cleaning his station. Then, he left the place, slowly walking his way into the school. While he walked through the academy, many leaving students bowed at his presence, recognizing his true identity. He paid no heed to them, waving and continuing on his way.

    When he entered through a circular arch that led to a picturesque garden with a pond filled with unbloomed lotus plants, he eyed the red pavilion that was at the very center. Inside of it sat a painting figure, illuminated by a newly lit candle.

    In his slow movements, he walked across the bridge strung between land and pavilion.

    The figure who was painting looked up from his work. He was a dashing young man in his late twenties, his features slim and defined. Seeing that it was his master that came, he stood up and clasped his hands, giving a brief bow.

    "Your father let you paint here today?" Gruffly, the old man asked.

    "Yes¡ª I wanted to capture the pond during sunset, so I asked him." The young man answered respectfully, a small smile spreading across his face.

    "Well then, it''s better to see you here than your father anyways. I can''t stand him."

    The young man smiled a little upon hearing that. His master always pretended like he hated his father, but in the end, his master did pass the academy down to his father''s control anyways. He wouldn''t have done that if he didn''t have trust in the other man. That was why he remained wordless about the remark until he remembered something he had been curious about all day.

    "Master, how did the bet with my father go? Did you sell ten sets of colored ink today?"

    A broad grin expanded on the old man''s face when he heard the question. "Ha, your father will definitely be sorry when he says that I wouldn''t be able to sell any ink that I make myself! Not only did I just sell ten, one customer of mine even liked the ink so much that she bought thirteen sets!"

    The young man smiled a little, unsure of how he was supposed to respond to that. He wanted to be happy for his master, since he did win the bet, but he wasn''t sure if that his father would feel the same way. Luckily for him, he didn''t have any time to say anything, since his master continued speaking.

    "Oh, you''re in charge of the exam four days from now, right?"

    The young man nodded. He was.

    The old man tilted his head upwards towards the rising moon. "If you see anyone with the surname of Yu, give them a little bit of advantage."

    "Why?" The young man raised his eyebrows. "Yu? Are you talking about someone from the Yu family? Last time I remember, you had no correlation with them."

    "No¡ª just the female customer I talked about, she mentioned a friend by the surname of Yu that is participating in the exam. I want to do something nice for her by giving her friend an advantage since she gave me such a wonderful event to rub in your father''s face."

    All that the young man did was blink a few times and turn back to his painting. He didn''t see how it was a worthy exchange to give another individual a better chance at passing the exam just because a friend of theirs bought some extra ink, but then again, his master always gave back more than necessary. He would just follow as what his master said.

 63 A Solid Disguise For the Fourth Miss

    For the next three days, Yujia painted.

    She no longer bothered herself with pencils, sketching, or any sort of innovation. All she painted were generic mountain paintings over generic mountain paintings, planning to sell each one for only ten taels. Before she left the market in Lingxin Pavilion, she made sure to take an extra look at the paintings section, finding nothing that made her truly in awe of the school. Many of the paintings there were mediocre quality, yet sold for much more dramatic prices than what she priced her previous work.

    If all things went well, her generic mountain paintings would work out well and should get a decent amount of taels for her considering that she only spent around thirty minutes on each one.

    By the morning of the fourth day, the day of the exam, Yujia had twenty-four generic mountain paintings and an absolute hatred for painting them. The good news was that if she sold all of them at her planned price of ten taels, that would be two-hundred and forty taels. Even if she had to decrease the price to five taels per painting, that was still one-hundred and twenty taels.

    It seemed to be worthy enough.

    Yujia carefully watched as Hui''er brushed her hair backwards, styling it into a top knot and tying a male hairpiece around it. While Hui''er did so, she snipped off some hair from the tips of a few loose strands. Taking a very sticky solution, similar to the modern glue, that Hui''er said was used for attaching paper to scroll, Yujia pasted the small pieces of hair onto her eyebrows, thickening the usually thin ones. She also took one of her darkest pencils, using it as an eyebrow pencil to outline her eyebrows even more, giving the impression that she was more masculine than she appeared to be.

    Besides the eyebrow filling, Yujia also went with Hui''er to buy some darkish rouge from a cosmetics store. They usually didn''t sell rouge of that color, but apparently, they had some from an accidental formula where the wrong pigment was added in during experimenting. They were about to throw it out, so when Yujia asked for it, they were glad to give her a small box for free.

    With the rouge, Yujia took a miniscule amount and smeared it along her cheekbones, then fading it out to make the shadows more natural. From her studies of the difference between men and women when drawing portraits, the sharpness of their cheekbones made a big difference. Men generally had sharper cheekbones, so contouring them helped further change her appearance.

    From the same cosmetics store, Yujia also bought some pale powder that young misses used for their faces, similar to the foundation of the modern world. She used this powder to smear over her lips, paling the naturally pink color to look more sickly.

    Her plan was to take the exam in the identity of the second young master of the Yu family, Yu Ziyang. This name was something she had Hui''er discover for her. Yu Ziyang was supposedly someone who never stepped out the front doors of his villa because of his sickness, so the public never had much of an impression on him. She could probably get away with using his identity as long as no one from the Yu family showed up. Besides, she wasn''t using his identity for a long period of time either, so the risks were small.

    She considered making up an identity as well, but she thought that being such a prestigious academy that was considered the best for art, Lingxin Pavilion must feel somewhat inclined to take in more students that came from known families than a common nobody.

    It was also because of this identity that she took on that she didn''t bother to add a beard or any facial hair of that sort. Yu Ziyang was actually only twenty, and with his sickly temperament, she doubted that he would have any noticeable facial hair.

    The last part to Yujia''s disguise was a set of clothes worthy to be a young master''s. She picked it out herself with Hui''er at the marketplace, and she was rather satisfied with the material and feel of the light blue fabric lined with darker blue on the inside. These robes, along with a set of men''s shoes that she also bought and the pale powder from before, totaled to seven taels, leaving her with only three measly taels left.

    But this was all okay. If she could convince others that she was a fancy¡ª but sickly¡ª young master, then those seven taels were all worth it.

    Yujia took a deep breath and looked one last time at her disguise in the bronze mirror.

    She didn''t look too masculine. The previous owner of this body had too feminine of a face that even after all her efforts, she only barely passed as a man. Whatever those female leads in those dramas and novels did with disguising themselves as a man by simply dressing in men''s clothes and wearing men''s hairstyle were all lies.

    How was it possible to disguise one''s gender so easily? The people around those characters must all be fools for believing that they were men so easily.

    Yujia''s last hope was that she would pass as a sickly, frail, and feminine man. She thought she did pretty good if others were to score her on that.

    With all of her disguise complete and all her worries settled, Yujia pushed back the chair and headed out the room, stopping Hui''er from following her. Young masters didn''t have maids trailing behind them at all times, and Yujia¡ª or, Yu Ziyang, the second young master of the Yu family¡ª couldn''t either.

 64 An Attempt of the Fourth Miss to Enter the Academy

    When Yujia arrived at the front of Lingxin, she found that there was already quite a long line. When she ventured to the academy to find out about the exam, she forgot to ask the vendor she was talking to about when the exam would take place, so she made sure to send Hui''er out to find out about it. According to Hui''er, the exam began at the hour of Chen, so she made sure she came a little earlier than that to not miss out on anything.

    Yet even though she arrived at least an hour earlier, there were already lots of people waiting at the front for enrolling their names. On estimation, she guessed that there were around thirty or so people, so the number wasn''t that great. It was just a bit annoying that she was last in line, as of the moment.

    The line was also moving at a very slow speed, too slow for it to be just a case of people reporting their names to someone for them to record their identity. Attempting to see what it was, Yujia stood on her toes to look over the crowd, yet found that she was too short to see that far ahead of herself.

    Yujia was never a very patient person, so after around twenty minutes of more waiting, she couldn''t help muttering to herself, "What''s taking them so long?"

    The individual who was standing in front of her, dressed in dark blue robes, seemed to hear her complaint. He turned around, and with a friendly smile, answered, "They''re checking the identities of everyone who wants to take the exam and reading through the recommendation credentials. It takes a while for them to confirm that the identity tablets and recommendations are not frauds."

    Yujia looked up at his face once hearing his answer, and instantly, her face paled.

    This man¡ª his face¡ª everything about him¡­

    ¡­ wasn''t he the man she bumped into the other day after going to work on Bo Zhiyuan''s commission? The man that looked so much like her old classmate, Wu Hao?

    Why was he here? Was he an artist too?

    She never expected to see that face again. The world was certainly a small one for her to run into him once more.

    It took her a few brief seconds to catch her voice again, only echoing after him to respond to his answer. "Identity tablets? Recommendations?"

    Her mind switched over to the topic of trying to get into Lingxin again. Right now was not a time for her to reminisce over old memories, but rather to gain her freedom. And thinking about identity tablets and recommendations, from what she knew and what Hui''er told her, she never knew that there was a requirement like such.

    Seeing that she was confused and assuming her distraught expression as a sign that she didn''t know of such a matter, the young man raised his eyebrows. "Did you not bring yours?"

    Yujia shook her head. Of course she didn''t; she didn''t even know that such things existed!

    "Ah, then how are you going to be able to take the exam?" A look of concern appeared on the young man''s face. He thought for a few moments, and came up with a solution. "They''re not going to let you take the exam if you don''t have those items. How about you go home and bring them? You should have enough time. I''ll save your spot in the line."

    Yujia looked backwards, to the direction of the Yang villa. Even if she did have the time to go back and forth, she didn''t have the identity tablet of Yu Ziyang or any recommendation letters. She doubted she had enough time to go forge them, and from what she heard from this young man, the academy was quite careful with making sure things weren''t forged either.

    "My identity tablet is at home, but I don''t have any recommendations since I didn''t know they were needed," Yujia responded. It was enough of a truth as it was a lie, so it was an easy enough to come up with.

    "Then there''s really no way for you. That''s the only method I can think of that would guarantee you an entrance to the academy," the young man sighed.

    "It''s alright," Yujia quickly assured, "Thank you for the help, anyways."

    She looked longingly at the arch. Goodbye to her dreams of entering the school, she supposed. She also looked for a few more seconds at the young man''s face. Now was a good time for her to bid her leave to this man as well, and to hope that she didn''t see him again. He was too distracting for the fact that he resembled Wu Hao so much.

    Yujia didn''t want to concern herself so much with old memories of hers when she had this new life to go through.

    Clasping her hands and sticking them out to mimic the bow of a man, she bowed to the young man. "I suppose there''s no reason for me to stick around here anymore. I wish you luck on your exam."

    Before Yujia could turn to leave, the young man spoke back, "Wait, seeing that you are such a pursuer of art as well and that we ended up next to each other in this line, I suppose we have some level of fate as well. Could you bestow me the knowledge of your name?"

    Why did he want to know her name? Yujia frowned internally. She supposed that the people in the past were all like this, believing in "fate", "destiny", and all that, but she didn''t see why she should leave her name if she really didn''t plan on seeing him again.

    On a second thought, though, it wouldn''t hurt either. It wasn''t like Yujia was going to tell him her actual name, but rather the fake identity she was going to take on.

    With a slight shrug, Yujia responded, "Yu Ziyang."

    Upon hearing what she said, a strange look crossed the young man''s face. Slowly, he repeated after her, "Yu¡­ Ziyang?"

    "Yes," Yujia agreed, not exactly sure of what was strange about her response. "Yu as in Tian Yu, the sky, Zi as in Zi Si, descendants, and Yang as in Tai Yang, the sun."

    A laugh escaped from the young man. "Then, Brother Yu, you and I really are fated. I know a solution to how you can become eligible for the exam now."

    "Really? How?" Yujia''s eyes widened. She didn''t particularly care about her previous thoughts of not wanting to talk to this man now because he resembled Wu Hao. As long as he could get her in the school, she didn''t care about anything concerning who he looked like.

    "I''ll just use my credentials to cover yours. It''ll work out that way."

    Her excitement vanished from hearing that. How was that supposed to work? If the school was taking so long to review every person''s credentials, then how would they allow someone to use someone else''s information to cover their own?

    The young man noticed her uncertainty. "It doesn''t hurt to try, right? Let''s just wait until it''s our turn."

    Yujia pursed her lips. She supposed that she could wait a little longer. Selling things at Lingxin was her best and only method to earn money as of right now. Getting to that conclusion, she gave a nod and waited in line with the young man.

    It seemed like an hour had nearly passed when it was finally the turn of the young man to offer up his information. Yujia watched him carefully as he did so. She wanted to ask him his name, but she figured that she would find out about it sooner or later, so she didn''t bother to.

    A man around thirty or so years old was at the front, regulating the entrance process. Seeing the young man''s approach, he asked directly, "Name?"

    The young man reached in the pocket at his chest, pulling out a rectangular piece of carved wood with rounded corners, what Yujia presumed to be the identity tablet.

    "Yu Zixu."

    It took Yujia three full seconds to process the name he put out.

    Yu Zixu?

    Yu Zixu?

    Yu? Zixu?

    Her mind flashed back to all of the information she heard from Hui''er.

    The Yu family had two young masters, the second young master being the Yu Ziyang she impersonated, and the first young master being¡­

    Yu Zixu.

    A horrified look crossed Yujia''s face as she stared at the young man who she thought was just a simple young man a few moments ago.

    How was she supposed to know that this man who resembled Wu Hao so much was actually the Yu Zixu that was the brother of the person she was pretending to be?

    Yu Zixu looked over at her direction, a smile spread across his lips. Although he didn''t say anything, Yujia knew exactly what he was implying.

    She f***ed up.

 65 Taking the Exam Along the Fourth Miss

    After handing over his identity tablet, Yu Zixu gave a scroll containing his recommendation as well. The man he handed it to read through all of it carefully and slowly, nodding thoughtfully.

    All the while his recommendation was being read, Yujia was internally panicking.

    If he knew that she was impersonating his brother, then why did he act so courteous to her? Why did he suggest to back her up with his credentials? Did he prevent her from leaving just so he could emotionally humiliate her in front of everyone once he exposed her true identity?

    Yujia struggled to think of calmer, happier thoughts. Her entire mind was buzzing with panic and panic and more panic. She couldn''t think of any way to plan ahead.

    The man at the table nodded one last time and handed the contents back to Yu Zixu. He gestured ahead. "You may enter."

    Yu Zixu bowed but didn''t leave. Instead, he turned towards Yujia, and beckoned for her to come forward a little.

    Her mind still filled with alarm, Yujia stumbled forward.

    Oh god.

    It was happening.

    He was going to expose her.

    He was going to reveal who she was and they would never let her in the academy and she would be so embarrassed and how was she going to earn five hundred taels if she couldn''t sell art in the academy and Yujia never felt more panic in her entire life she just really really hated public confrontation and why was the world like this and what was her luck for running into Yu Zixu out of all people?

    "This is my younger brother. He forgot to bring his identity tablet and recommendation letter, but we both learned art from the same master, so I feel like my recommendation letter should cover him as well. As for his identity, I believe that I am equally as qualified to certify that his identity is accurate."

    Yujia couldn''t believe what she heard.

    She looked to Yu Zixu, shocked. She looked back at the man at the table. She looked to Yu Zixu again. And then back at the man at the table.

    The regulating man was looking at her with a judging expression, so she immediately switched her expression to a forced "normal" one.

    Yes. She was totally Yu Ziyang.

    The man gave her a long stare, then picked up his brush on a scroll of paper he was recording names on. "I normally wouldn''t make exceptions for a situation like this, but I was given orders to treat anyone with the surname of Yu with more grace. What''s your name?"

    "Yu¡ª Ziyang."

    Yujia couldn''t believe her luck.

    She thought she was having bad luck before, but whatever orders this man was given was clearly to her favor.

    The man wrote her name down with clean and neat writing, then gestured forward. "The two of you may enter. Next."

    Yujia walked through the front arch of the school in a dreamlike daze.

    She was so sure that she was going to fail terribly, but here she was now. The first step to this long journey was over.

    With a lowered voice, she asked Yu Zixu, "Why would you cover for me?"

    Yu Zixu widened his eyes. "What do you mean, dear little brother? Of course I would cover for you any time!"

    She could hear the sarcasm in his voice. Clearly, he had ulterior motives. It couldn''t be that he was willing to help her out of his free will, or that he actually thought that she was his younger brother. But whatever it was, she was allowed to take the exam now. That was all that mattered as of this moment.

    Ah. The exam.

    Yujia hoped that it would go well.

    ¡­

    The two entered the room where the exam would take place right at the hour of Chen. The examiner at the front seated them at the very back and began to proceed for instructions once he closed the door to the room.

    Yujia pitied a few of the individuals who were behind them in line. They were originally not late to arriving at Lingxin, but because of the long entrance process, their opportunities were cut off until the next quarter.

    In a steady voice, the examiner explained at the front, "The enrollment examination will take place in three stages: art theory, painting evaluation, and live demonstration. In the first two rounds, ten individuals with the lowest scores will be eliminated. At the very end, for the remaining individuals, their scores from each round will be averaged together. If it does not score higher than a seven, they will not be allowed to pass either."

    Hearing this, Yujia was not that worried. After all, she passed college with spectacular grades, so her knowledge in art theory was all fairly well even though a few years had passed since she last learnt it. As for evaluating the paintings of others, she thought that it sounded easy too. Demonstrating her skills live wasn''t of her concern either.

    As far as she predicted, the exam shouldn''t be too troubling.

    Shortly after the general explanation, the examiner began to explain the first part of the exam.

    "In testing your knowledge over the theories, concepts, and history of painting, it will be a written exam from hearing spoken questions. Each question will only be asked once, and you will be given a fair amount of time to record your answer on the paper in front of you. Discussion is not permitted. Is everyone ready?"

    Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

    The examiner looked down on a booklet of questions he had. "Then, to start us off with an easy question, what are the six elements that define a painting?"

    Around the room, people picked up their brush and began writing, the answer coming easily to them.

    On the other hand, Yujia completely blanked out.

    Six elements that defined a painting?

    She faintly remembered hearing about it when she took classes over art history, but it wasn''t required to memorize them too thoroughly since she didn''t specialize in learning Chinese painting. That was why she was unable to recall any specific details about it.

    Yujia racked her mind thoroughly to see if she could remember it, but all she recalled were hazy textbook words that she couldn''t quite define.

    Once she heard the sound of others setting their brush down, finished with their answers, she panicked, quickly scribbling down a few elements of art that were invented from Westerners: line, shape, form, value, space, and color. She was certain that those who would be grading her papers would not have ever heard of these elements, but it was better to put something down than nothing at all. Perhaps they would even feel enlightened by her answer and count it as correct.

    The examiner moved on to the next question. "Name a famous painter."

    Yujia thought about this for a few more moments. She knew that this was a dynasty occuring when the Tang Dynasty once was, so if she were to name a painter, it would have to come from a time period before.

    All she could think of was the painter Zhan Ziqian, so she recorded that down.

    "Now, below the famous painter you named, name one of his most notable works."

    Yujia blinked.

    Zhan Ziqian, Zhan Ziqian, Zhan Ziqian¡­

    What was the name of his artwork again?

    She knew it was a famous piece, one of the oldest landscape paintings in history. The only thing was that like before, she studied all of these things before. It was just too long ago so she couldn''t remember any of it very well.

    Hesitantly, she wrote down "A Journey to Spring."

    In her defense, it did sound like a valid painting name. She just had to hope that it was the right name of the painting.

    "Back to the topic of the six elements," the examiner continued, "elaborate on the meaning of the first one."

    Yujia wanted to cry after hearing the question.

    The six elements? She didn''t even know what the six elements were, so how was she supposed to elaborate on it now?

    She regretted thinking that this first part of the exam would be easy. Very clearly, it was anything but easy. Learning art in the modern world was just nothing similar to learning it in ancient times.

    Her only hope was that she would somehow manage to pass this one and score very well on the other two to get her in the academy.

    With that thought, Yujia wrote down what "line" symbolized. She was positively certain that it would be an incorrect answer, but again, it was better to guess. Hopefully, the next few questions would not ask her to elaborate any more and give her something easier.

    "Now, proceed to elaborate on all the other five elements."

    At this moment, Yujia really hated herself.

    ¡­

    Somehow, Yujia managed to finish the exam without internally dying from her lack of knowledge to all of these answers. Somehow, she managed to hear that all examinees would be given the time of half a stick of incense to relax before the second part of the exam began. Somehow, she managed to walk her way out of the room to a central courtyard where all the other examinees were gathered, conversing with each other about the test.

    Yu Zixu found her standing in the corner. He examined her downcast expression, then said, "How did you feel about the first part? I thought it was pretty easy. All those questions about the six elements¡ª who wouldn''t know the answers to that?"

    "I didn''t."

    Flatly, Yujia replied, looking him in the eye.

    His expression morphed to one of surprise. "How so? Have you never studied under any master or read any of the books?"

    Oh, yes she did study under many teachers. For a whole four years, in fact. Yet it was the sort of studying that had to do with more hands-on applying, critiques, briefly reading over handouts, and Western art styles than learning about six elements of Chinese painting.

    Of course, this wouldn''t be something that she could explain to him, so she just chose not to respond.

    Seeing that she didn''t want to say anything to him, Yu Zixu advised, "Well, I heard that the results will be put out at the end of the resting period."

    "Alright. Thanks for telling me."

    He left after that.

    ¡­

    In a more secluded room, a stack of papers were delivered to three graders, who read through the answers and determined the scores of all the individuals.

    Things seemed pretty typical until one of the graders began reading through a sheet marked with the name of "Yu Ziyang". Quite frankly, what made it stand out from everything else was how wrong all the answers were.

    The grader who was scoring the paper gestured to the other two. "Look at this. This ''Yu Ziyang'' doesn''t even know what the six elements of art are. And, for Zhan Ziqian''s most notable work, he put ''A Journey to Spring'', when it should be ''Spring Excursion''."

    One of the other two graders replied carelessly, "Just mark him with a fail then." He scoffed. "''A Journey to Spring''? Nice try. Who doesn''t know of ''Spring Excursion''?"

    "But haven''t you heard from the orders of the school head''s son?" The third scorer cut in, "He said that anyone with the surname of Yu should be scored easier."

    The second scorer pulled out a sheet that he just graded. "He''s probably talking about this Yu Zixu. I just graded it, and all the answers are perfectly correct. Not a single wrong response."

    "We don''t know for sure though which one he''s talking about."

    "Then," the grader who held Yu Ziyang''s paper remarked, "I''ll just pass him for this round. At most, we''ll just say that we gave him a chance for all the rounds, but we can fail him in the end if he proves to be so unknowledgeable about art. That way, even if the higher ups looked into this matter, we have a solid excuse."

    The other two nodded at his words. This was a wise choice.

    ¡­

    Yujia looked with disbelief at the rankings posted for who failed and passed.

    There were thirty-four names written on a chart and pasted on a board. At the very top of the chart, "Yu Zixu" was written. And at number twenty-three, it was her "name", "Yu Ziyang".

    The words of the examiner came back to her¡ª ten individuals with the lowest scores wouldn''t be allowed to move on to the next stage.

    She was one step away from the cut off mark.

    An excited smile surfaced on her lips. She didn''t know how she managed to pass, but right now, all that mattered was that she did.

    To her side, Yu Zixu commented, "Congrats."

    She smiled back, congratulating him as well. "You''re at first. That''s impressive."

    It was as if all her confidence came back to her.

    She was lucky. Too lucky.

 66 The Fourth Miss Proceeds to the Rest of the Exam

    The second stage of the exam began shortly when those that passed entered the room. Yujia found that at the front of the room, a board was brought in with three mounted paintings.

    The examiner waited for everyone to be seated before starting.

    "In this second part, your ability to evaluate paintings will be tested. Among these three paintings, two were painted by renowned masters of our school, while one was painted by a mere beginner at painting. You must analyze each of the paintings and determine which one is the beginner''s work. Feel free to come up and look closely at all the paintings, but any discussion will automatically disqualify you. Your time limit is one stick of incense. "

    He stepped to a pot of incense, lighting it. Once it began burning, all the examinees rushed towards the front of the room, crowding against each other to have a better look at all three paintings.

    Yujia looked at the crowd from her seat at the very back of the room. She didn''t feel like joining in the mess. She would just go up and look when the crowd was more dispersed.

    Beside her, it seemed like Yu Zixu had the same idea. He didn''t make a move either.

    The crowd finally mostly went back to their seats after a few moments of analyzing. At that moment, Yujia went up and began looking at all of the paintings.

    The first one was one of a bull. It was drawn in a simple method, without any background, but when Yujia looked at it closely, she found that the cow was drawn in a lively manner. The spirit of the cow was brought out with the painting, the gaze through its eyes realistic, and the anatomy of the animal was also drawn rather accurately, proving that whoever painted this had experience in painting bulls.

    Yujia deducted that this one was definitely the work of a professional. A beginner at art would not be so dedicated to draw bulls so much to achieve this effect.

    The second painting was a landscape painting, of a red-roofed pavilion in a pond of unbloomed lotus flowers. The sun was dimming behind distant mountains. Yujia thought that it was a decent painting at first, but the more she looked at it, the more she was reminded of her twenty-four generic mountain paintings that she worked on during the days before the exam. Compared to the first one with such a realistic bull, this painting lacked in spirit. It felt like there was certainly detail and time put into the work, but it didn''t have a style of its own. It was too bland.

    If she had to guess, she would think that the second painting was a beginner''s work. Though, of course, she would have to look at the third painting first.

    Upon seeing the third painting, Yujia was a bit confused. It was even more simple than the bull painting, being some blurry mountains in the distance and some crooked trees at the front. The work was chaotically messy, any sign of organization non-existent, and it just seemed like whoever was working on the painting just hastily threw some black ink diluted in water on the page after messily copying some mountains.

    This seemed like the beginner''s work. Yet the second painting also made Yujia feel that it was the work of a beginner too.

    It wasn''t possible that there were two works from beginners, could there? Or, unless¡­ was the third painting a trick meant to distract the examinees?

    Yujia stared between the second and third works, her brows knitting together tightly.

    It was a trick question. It was definitely a trick question. The more she looked at the third painting, the more things were revealed to her.

    She could imagine a master at painting, one who had painted thousands and thousands of mountains, angrily staring at a blank piece of paper, ready to vent his emotions out. His work would be messy¡ª the sort of disorganization that came from a mind of anger. While the second painting could not invoke any emotions from the viewer, the third painting would make the audience realize the rage of the painter, to experience his fury along with the violent splatters and strokes of his brush.

    That was the answer.

    It all came to Yujia. The first painting was clearly a work of a professional. The second painting was the work of a beginner who mimicked a professional style but wasn''t able to achieve anything to deep in value. And the third painting was the work of a true master at painting.

    She headed back to her seat, realizing that only a fourth of the incense was left after all the time she spent analyzing the paintings. Many were already turning in their answers and leaving.

    She had to keep her answer short. Otherwise, she would run out of time.

    Picking up her brush and dipping it in ink, Yujia wrote, "The first painting encases the liveliness of the bull, proving that a painter who had dedicated much of his life focusing on bulls created it, and therefore makes the painter a master. The second painting, although pretty on the outside, serves no other purpose than being just pretty. The artist did not manage to capture any emotions or value within their painting, making it virtually worthless and no different than a sheet of blank paper. It is the work of a beginner. And despite the fact that the third painting resembles something sloppy and put together in a brief moment of time, it manages to encase intense emotions of outrage within its hidden detail. The painting is from a master."

    The incense just finished burning at her last word.

    Hastily, Yujia stood up and turned in her paper. She felt fairly confident with her answer.

    ¡­

    The three graders were once again looking at the submitted answers of all the examinees. Once again, when they got to Yu Ziyang''s answer, they were disappointed.

    "And he dares to call the painting of the school head''s son worthless?" one of them exclaimed.

    The third scorer grabbed the paper from the first one, reading through it. "How can we pass this one when he clearly answered incorrectly?"

    The second scorer read it too. "At least he did recognize that the painting of a bull is one of a master. Though¡­ saying that the third work of a beginner''s is a master''s because of its ''intense emotion'' is really a far stretch."

    "Does he even know what he''s saying? Is this a joke? How can the lotus pavilion painting from the school head''s son be worth less than blank paper? It would be worth at least a hundred taels if we sold it in the market."

    The first scorer took the paper back. "Should we pass him again?"

    "Yes." The third scorer raised his eyebrows. "Let''s pass him and see what he can create in the third part. I''m intrigued now to see how good his painting skills are that he even dares to take an exam at Lingxin. No matter what though, we must fail him. His results for these two rounds are too pathetic. If the higher ups even ask about it, we''ll just show them his responses and they''ll understand."

    ¡­

    Yujia was ranked right before the cut off mark again.

    There she was, number thirteen. She couldn''t believe her luck, although she wasn''t sure if it was necessarily good or bad.

    How was she passing? And more importantly, was her low score because she didn''t guess correctly? Was it that the second stage was actually not a stage meant to trick the examinees?

    She didn''t know what to think, truthfully.

 67 A Final Score For the Fourth Miss

    At the third part of the exam, all examinees were provided with the same things they were given before, except this time, along the brush, ink, and paper, there were also a few colored inksticks provided for those who wanted to use colored ink.

    "You will be given the time of a stick of incense to complete this part of the exam," the examiner instructed, "As mentioned before, you will be painting for this part of the exam. There are no limits. You may paint anything you want, in color or in black and white. The only rule is that like before, no discussion is permitted. Begin."

    Yujia looked at the stick of burning incense, burning down a little more every second. It looked like she would only have about an hour to finish her painting, so she wouldn''t be able to create something too complex or awe-inspiring. It was a test of pure skill and talent.

    She thought back to her well-received rooster painting that she painted before, and then back to the numerous birds she drew during her bird concentration study in the modern world. Should she paint birds?

    Because of the fact that landscape paintings were the most valued, she knew that it was smart to paint it to appeal to the judges, but she also didn''t want to blend in with everyone else who was surely going to do the same thing.

    Yujia couldn''t waste anymore time thinking. She picked up her brush, dipped it in black ink and washed it across the paper, creating the shadows of a few mountains. This time, she was going to borrow the style of Mi Fu of the Song Dynasty. His technique of using more impressionist brush strokes instead of classic detail meant that it would definitely stand out amongst all the other paintings. Instead of before, where only having knowledge over painters in later dynasties was a disadvantage, it would be an advantage for her this time.

    Yujia used some water and black ink to blur out the bottom of the mountains, similar to what Mi Fu did for may of his paintings to create the false perception of depth with fog and mist. Once she created a few small details in the mountains, she worked on drawing a plum tree at the very bottom of the page.

    Paintings of plum generally had the plum blossoms filled in with red ink, but Yujia chose not to. Color would take away from the center focus of her painting, which she was about to work on next.

    At the very bottom of the lowest branch of plum, she began outlining the wings of a small swallow. The bird suited the general mood of the painting, and she wanted her mountain painting to not be as generic as everyone else''s. If she drew a few birds, it would give the painting a touch of life, while being a small detail as well.

    She also chose to make the background less detailed to bring the viewer''s attention to the detail of the swallow. It was all a matter of contrast, the difference between blurry backgrounds and sharp center focus.

    Her swallows, being rather small, were all drawn quickly. She dotted a few around the plum tree, and then a few more flying off to the distance, behind the mountains, where they would fade into vague mist like everything else.

    The incense stick didn''t even finish burning when she completed her painting. Yujia looked up, seeing that many were still working on their finishing touches.

    Surely, her painting which held more vibrant life than all the other plain mountain paintings would stand out and give her the good score she needed to move on. Based on her calculations, she had to score in the top three for her score to be brought up enough to let her pass.

    Top three¡ª it should be possible for her. She may not be that confident over her theory knowledge or judgement, but the act of painting itself came naturally to her. Top three, top three, top three¡­

    ¡­

    The scorers didn''t know how to respond when they saw Yu Ziyang''s result for the last round.

    Really, was this all an elaborate joke?

    How could it be possible that someone who scored so poorly in the past two rounds do so well for the last test? Just from a single look, they could tell that it was the work of someone who definitely didn''t recently begin painting. It wasn''t the work of a true master, but whoever painted it was gifted with so much talent that he used many techniques that the scorers, each respectively being masters in the school, didn''t even recognize half of them. That was what elevated the painting to a whole new level.

    When the first scorer looked at the painting born from Yu Ziyang, he gained a new sense of enlightenment. He felt like so many new ideas and methods that could be applied to painting were revealed to him, and that by just observing the painting in front of him for ten minutes, he learned more than he could''ve learned by painting for an entire year.

    When the second scorer looked at the painting, he admired the incredible composition of the painting. The blurred background and detailed objects of focus brought much more depth than the other vague paintings he saw with either pure vagueness or too much detail that the entire painting felt crowded and chaotic. It definitely was pure talent that led for Yu Ziyang to think of such an idea for a painting within the small time frame of the exam.

    When the third scorer looked at the painting, he felt a little humiliated at himself for being so against everything that Yu Ziyang did when the boy was able to create a painting of this level. He thought that the boy was a joke in the first two rounds, yet now that he saw the work he created, it was shameful for him to think that he opposed someone who had so much innate talent.

    They all came to a conclusion about the skillset of Yu Ziyang: he was an absolute idiot when it came to knowledge over painting, but at the same time, he was also an absolute genius at painting itself.

    Could it be that this was the reason why orders were given to give anyone with the surname Yu more chances? Was it in fact that this was the individual with the surname of Yu they were talking about, not Yu Zixu?

    The second scorer spoke up first. "What should we do now? We did plan to fail him in the beginning¡­ but if we let such talent leave Lingxin¡­"

    The first scorer replied, "Compared to all the other paintings, his work really does stand above the rest. It''s worthy enough of the first three spots, and if we give him that score, he''ll definitely pass despite his poor results in the past."

    "I think he should pass," the third scorer came up with his conclusion, "I know that I was very against the idea of Yu Ziyang entering Lingxin in the first place. Except now, looking at his painting, even I have to agree that it would be a loss to let him fail."

    All three were silent for a moment, knowing that letting him pass was a good idea. Though¡­

    "What if it''s a fraud?" The first scorer furrowed his eyebrows, coming up with a new conclusion. "It could be a fraud."

    "How so? It''s impossible for him to copy. They were all heavily monitored during the exam, and no one else had a painting similar to this one."

    "Maybe he doesn''t really have talent. Perhaps he copied the work of a master, or¡­" The first scorer''s words fell off halfway, realizing that this argument didn''t logically make sense. He couldn''t think of how someone could demonstrate such skill and talent at the same time yet be a fraud as well.

    Yu Ziyang, no matter how he scored before, really proved himself this round.

    ¡­

    Yujia held her breath, standing completely still while the final results were pasted on the board outside.

    She didn''t want to fail. She really didn''t want to fail. She thought she did good enough in the past two rounds, yet in both times, her confidence was broken down when she realized that she didn''t do as well as she hoped she would.

    She was okay with anything that wasn''t a failing grade. As long as she passed the last round, she didn''t care how if she created the best painting or not.

    Her nails bit into the palm of her hand.

    And then, the results were up and open for everyone to see.

 68 The Fourth Miss Takes a Leisurely Walk

    There were two sheets of paper pasted on the board when the person putting up the results finally stepped aside. One of them were the results to the last round, and one was the list of those who were scored best in all three and were chosen to pass.

    At the first list, Yujia was pleasantly shocked to find that Yu Ziyang''s name was written at the top of the chart, ranked at number one. Yu Zixu''s name was written right below hers, when before, his name was always at the spot she held now.

    Seeing "her" name written at such a high spot, she felt somewhat more relieved. Nevertheless, her heart was still pounding furiously when she looked to the second paper, the final results. It didn''t matter how well she did on the last exam if she didn''t manage to pass overall.

    Her eyes anxiously looked through the rows of names, finding that at the very last tenth slot where the last person who qualified was written, the name there was Yu Ziyang.

    A deep sigh of relief escaped from her.

    She passed the overall exam!

    She, the one who nearly failed the first two, by some extreme, unexplainable miracle, made it on the list of students who passed!

    Yujia couldn''t hold back a exhilarated smile from spreading on her lips.

    Next to her, Yu Zixu clasped his hands and saluted her. "Little brother Ziyang, congratulations for making it in."

    Yujia didn''t particularly care what he thought about her anymore and any previous worries she still had about him exposing her. She bowed back to him and replied, "You scored too well on all the previous exams; of course you would pass too. Congrats."

    He looked up, and she noticed the mixed expression in his eyes while he stared at the name written in the first blank of the first rankings sheet, almost a little bit in disbelief that the person who scored in the lowest ranks would get such a high score, even beating him, for the last exam.

    "You must be a genius at painting," he murmured, his gaze still fixed on one name, Yu Ziyang. A second later, he tore his gaze away and looked back at her, as if silently asking her how she did it.

    "Ah, no, not really," Yujia quickly denied, "Brother Zixu is still the truly talented one at art. This younger brother only had a little more luck."

    She wasn''t about to explain to him how she did it! What was she supposed to say? That she came from the modern world so she was absolutely pathetic at ancient art knowledge but great at copying the future artists that hadn''t yet come to pass in this time period?

    Their "brotherly" conversation was cut short when a declaration was made by the examiner who was testing them a few moments ago, telling all that passed, soon to be accepted as official students of Lingxin Pavilion, were supposed to go to the Ice Lily Pavilion where they were supposed to formally register their names.

    Yujia, walking next to Yu Zixu, followed the directions and headed along with him. She had no idea where the location she was supposed to go to was, but it seemed like he did. Perhaps he had previously visited Lingxin frequently to know his way around the academy so much. He seemed like the kind of person to have connections with the academy in the first place.

    Anyways, besides her high spirits from passing the exam, Yujia was also fairly excited to see the inside of the academy. Surely, it must be very picturesque, and a place called "Ice Lily Pavilion" also sounded rather poetic and pretty.

    Their way to the pavilion was, as Yujia predicted, a wonderful walk. The path that the ten accepted students walked on was decorated with well-trimmed plants on either side, with lots of exotic flowers and small trees that definitely would''ve been rarities in this time period. Along with the sound of a babbling brook in the distance, Yujia would confidently say that compared to what she imagined the palace gardens to look like, the inside of the academy seemed just as excellent. Every plant and grass was planted carefully to compliment the overall scenery.

    She doubted that she would ever get a chance to see what a palace garden looked like in the first place, so she simply admired the greenery of Lingxin while she still could.

    The moment that they arrived to the Ice Lily Pavilion, Yujia wasn''t disappointed either.

    The roof of the pavilion was painted with a pale green shade while the poles that held it up were ivory white, giving the impression of a frosted winter pavilion. Around the pavilion, in the pond, were some carefully planted white water lilies. It was still spring so none of them had bloomed yet, but from the buds and the arrangement of the flowers, Yujia could imagine how beautiful and fragrant it must''ve been when the buds opened up. In the background, decorational rocks framed the pavilion.

    It was somewhat odd to think that a mere art academy was able to afford so much effort and money into making beautiful gardens like these, but Yujia assumed that it must''ve been because they had some sort of backing or supporter behind the scenes. Otherwise, she wouldn''t be able to see such stunning sights today.

    Following the other nine, Yujia stopped admiring and walked into the pavilion. There was a table at the back of the pavilion, with four individuals standing there. Three of them were middle aged men, while one was much younger.

    The ten of them, Yujia included, formed two rows of five in the pavilion. Yujia automatically assumed that this was just for formalities, so she stood next to Yu Zixu and waited for the four of the people in the front to speak.

    The youngest individual looked in her direction. At first, Yujia was a bit confused why he was directing his attention to her, but then he noticed that it was Yu Zixu he was looking at with a bright smile. When all ten were settled down, he was also the one who spoke up, to Yujia''s surprise.

    "I suppose that now would be a good time to give all of you a formal welcome to Lingxin Pavilion. Although right now, we are in the Ice Lily Pavilion, this is the official spot where all new students enter our school, so by tradition, it is good enough of a place to welcome all of you. I," he gestured to himself briefly, "am the son of the school head, Ye Yunhe. Today, the school head will not be greeting all of you, so I was sent to administer and receive you all to Lingxin."

    He then went on to some elaborate speech about how great artists were and how they would be the new future of this generation. Yujia only half listened, more intent on observing everyone around her.

    Besides Yu Zixu who resembled Wu Hao and was obviously visually attractive in her opinion because of his defined features and composed stance, Ye Yunhe wasn''t that bad either. His features were much softer though, making him likely look younger than his age. As Yujia observed everyone else, she discovered that they shared many things alike. All of them were dressed in clothing that looked like decent quality, and they were all average to above average in terms of physical attractiveness.

    It seemed like Lingxin Pavilion really only did accept fancy young masters from big families. Yujia made a good choice by going undercover as Yu Ziyang.

    Eventually, Ye Yunhe''s speech ended with him asking, "Before we begin the induction ceremony, does anyone have any questions?"

    Hearing this, Yujia instantly looked up, finally paying her full attention. She was about to ask when another person from the row behind her stood forward, clasping his hands and asking if besides painting, Lingxin also taught calligraphy. Ye Yunhe responded that yes, they did have calligraphy, but it wasn''t a main focus.

    Mimicking him, Yujia stepped forward following the end of his answer, clasping her hands and asking, "Are we allowed to sell art immediately after registering names?"

    The students and others immediately stilled. Yujia noticed it and wasn''t really sure why.

    It was because no one expected the first question from a student who should be overly grateful to entering Lingxin to want to know about selling art, out of all things. Selling the art was only something created to cause discussion and critique amongst students in the first place, not for profit. When she asked the question, her tone of speaking seemed like she was only in it for monetary gain.

    The nine others who took the exam with her looked at her with a judgemental gaze. Wasn''t this Yang Ziyang? Being in the Yu family, why would he care so much about earning money? The Yu family already had enough. They should''ve been able to sustain him comfortably for the rest of his life.

    Yu Zixu was also looking at her, skepticism in his gaze, his thoughts still unreadable.

    An awkward smile traced Ye Yunhe''s lips while he explained, "Students of Lingxin are only allowed to sell art after six months of studying and improving. After the six months, they must also apply to the head of the school for permission to do so."

    Yujia blinked.

 69 A Struggle of the Fourth Miss To Think of Excuses

    Six months? She had to wait six months before she could sell art?

    She didn''t know about that, but now that she did, Lingxin Pavilion just lost all of its value in her eyes. She didn''t have six months to earn five-hundred taels. She had one.

    For a long moment, Yujia pondered if there really was any benefit in registering herself as the identity of Yu Ziyang into Lingxin. She didn''t think that she needed to learn any more. If she wanted to know more about painting, she would just have some more casual discussion with the art vendors on the streets. She didn''t have time to attend any art classes either. Staying at Lingxin was only more of a risk if people began to wonder if she was a female.

    Meanwhile, Ye Yunhe already moved onto the name registering and induction process, seeing that there were no more questions.

    Yu Zixu was at the front of the line. He stepped forward first, greeting Ye Yunhe and the other three middle aged men calmly. Ye Yunhe responded with, "Brother Yu, it''s good to see you here. Seems that I convinced you to join, didn''t I?"

    "I suppose you could word it like that," he replied while recording his name down on the paper lying on the table, "but I think it''s more of a matter that my father wants me to make good connections."

    "Ah, so it''s like that," Ye Yunhe said, a slight chuckle in his voice.

    And next, once Yu Zixu finished, Yujia found herself, standing second in line, walking up to record her name.

    It was as if all the panic from a few hours ago with Yu Zixu came back to her. She wasn''t sure if she was even allowed to back out of this academy-acceptance matter in the first place. What would everyone in the pavilion think of her then? What if they forced her to sign up for the academy?

    Yet besides all the questions going through her mind, Yujia took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down.

    She had to bring up the fact that she didn''t want to enter the school. It didn''t matter what other people thought about her. She wasn''t the one gaining unpopularity anyways; it was the innocent Yu Ziyang. Quitting was at least better than risking the potential of people finding out her true identity and losing her opportunity of buying her way out of a marriage with an old man.

    Yujia put a forced smile on her face while she bowed to Ye Yunhe. He expected her after the bow to put her name down, but instead, she kept her hands clasped.

    "I''m sorry, but I think I don''t want to enter Lingxin anymore," she stated, masking all the previous fretting from her expression and voice.

    Once she said this, Ye Yunhe''s brows tightened. The others in the room began murmuring. Was Yu Ziyang crazy? Why would he not want to enter Lingxin, the most prestigious academy for painting? Who would give up such an amazing chance after going through all the struggles to enter the academy in the first place?

    "Why?" Ye Yunhe frowned, taken aback, "Or, no¡ª what''s your name?"

    "Yu Ziyang," Yujia answered, noticing that the three middle-aged men behind the table suddenly looking at her with a sharp gaze, "and I just don''t think that I deserve to enter Lingxin. I¡ª I don''t even know what the six principles of painting are. I really don''t deserve to enter."

    Alright. That was a decent response. Yujia somewhat applauded herself. Now, she sounded much more humble than before.

    Upon hearing her name, Ye Yunhe went to look at the scores behind him. First, he noticed that this Yu Ziyang was the younger brother of his good acquaintance, Yu Zixu. Second, he noticed that this was one of the people with the surname of Yu that his master told him to watch out for. And third, he noticed that Yu Ziyang certainly did score very low in the first two exams, but he was first in the last exam!

    A puzzled expression crossing his face, he looked at the three middle-aged men, the ones that were the graders for the exam, behind him. How did they grade this person? Why was his results so out of the ordinary?

    The three scorers gave him an apologetic look, as if saying that they would explain to him later.

    Ye Yunhe turned back around. "It''s alright if you don''t know these basics. You can learn them here." Since he scored so high in the last round, there must be a reason for that, and making him stay at Lingxin was a safer choice.

    Yujia winced. She thought that her excuse was good enough¡ª why would anyone let someone who didn''t know the basics of painting enter Lingxin Pavilion?¡ª but she supposed that this Ye Yunhe was really too gracious.

    "No¡ª" she continued on, fumbling for excuses. "I really don''t deserve to stay. I''m a greedy, horrible person with terrible morals¡ª letting me learn at Lingxin would be hurting the prestige of the school¡ª"

    She was usually so good with coming up for excuses, so why was she suddenly unable to come up with one reasonable one? Yujia wanted to tear her hair out after hearing how bad the things she was saying sounded.

    "So, all in all, I don''t deserve to be at this school, and I will remove myself for the sake of the school and all the students here!" Yujia declared.

    She gave one last embarrassed look at everyone who were all judging her with mixed expression. Yu Zixu looked like he was about to laugh out of disbelief. Ye Yunhe stared at her with so much confusion. The three middle-aged men present were all glaring at her.

    Her hands clenched by her side, Yujia didn''t feel like she was supposed to stay here for any longer. She spun back around and went around the two rows of students, walking out of the pavilion and heading towards the exit of the academy.

 70 The Fourth Miss Has a Nice Conversation

    Before Yujia could even leave the front of Lingxin, she was stopped by Yu Zixu calling out a "Little Brother Ziyang!" from behind her.

    What did he want now?

    She considered not stopping. At the same time though, she thought that it would be considerably rude for her to do so, and she technically did own him a favor for not exposing her in the first place.

    Yujia slowly stopped in her steps, turning around, flatly saying. "You should drop this whole act of "Brother Ziyang" and all that."

    "Why?" he asked, a placid smile on his face like always.

    The more Yujia had to stare at him, the more he reminded her of some alternate dimension version of Wu Hao. He was always just so¡­ calm. Unnaturally calm. The sort of quiet calmness that barely anyone had. Even when he laughed, it was just the short escape of air from his lungs, soft and hushed like how he spoke.

    Only his eyes reflected back a different sort of composure, one that was more analytical, his thoughts forever concealed underneath them.

    Yujia decided, at that moment, seeing his unwavering smile, that she didn''t like this Yu Zixu. She didn''t know what he wanted, and she didn''t appreciate the fact that she could never tell what was going on in his head.

    "I don''t even know you!" Yujia exclaimed, throwing her hands up, palms facing the front. She didn''t particularly care if anyone overheard what she was saying. It didn''t matter now, anyways. "We''re not brothers in any way or form. You''ve helped me way too much. And¡ª and¡ª" She struggled to think of another reason, when there should''ve been many. Perhaps it was because of Yu Zixu''s presence, and the fact that like before, when he was watching her with that serene smile on his face, she couldn''t think properly either.

    He decided to finish her sentence for her. "And, the fact that you''re not even male in the first place?"

    Yujia froze.

    Then gaped.

    "How did you know?" she immediately asked. Was her disguise really that bad? And if Yu Zixu said it with such certainty, did it mean that other people were able to tell just the same?

    "I generally have a good intuition," he answered, "plus a very good memory."

    Memory?

    Yujia thought back to the first time she met Yu Zixu. It was when she was leaving Bo Zhiyuan''s courtyard, and she accidentally bumped into him and mistook him for Wu Hao. Was he talking about then? Back then, she was clearly wearing a veil. So, how could it be that he remembered her so well?

    She thought back to how she reacted when she saw him for the second time, and it all came to her. Wearing the veil or not, he knew her eyes and the expression she held in them every time she saw him. It probably wasn''t very likely that someone looked at him like that. Who else would be from the modern world and have an old highschool crush that looked exactly like him?

    He must''ve remembered both her eyes and expression. That was likely the reasoning why.

    Ah, Yu Zixu, why did you happen to have such a good memory? He was right. His memory was impeccable for him to remember even the slightest of details.

    "And so," he continued, seeing that she realized, "I thought you were interesting enough. Seeing that Bo Zhiyuan, a close friend of mine, spoke so highly of you, I wanted to see what kind of person you really were. It''s only natural that I took the approach that I did." He looked to see her expression, then kept going, "Now, about my younger brother¡­"

    Seeing that he was getting on the most pressing topic, Yujia considered dropping to her knees and begging forgiveness for impersonating as Yu Ziyang. Though, as she thought about it, Yu Zixu certainly couldn''t be too angry with her for doing so, right? She didn''t have any ill intent, and if he truly were angry, then he wouldn''t have helped her along in the first place.

    Yujia decided on an indifferent response, finally masking her emotions. "It was merely a tactic so I could take the exam."

    "My younger brother is a tactic?" Yu Zixu raised his eyebrows.

    She looked him in the eye and shrugged. That statement wasn''t a lie, anyways.

    He stared back at her, the trace of a laugh coming from his mouth. "Alright, if you wish to say it that way." He leaned in a little closer. "Then, since I''m intrigued now, tell me, why are you so desperate to get into Lingxin Pavilion in the first place, to the point of using my younger brother as a tactic? You asked a question about selling art. Is that your true motive?"

    Yujia backed away a step, replying, "You already know; why ask? Yes, it''s to sell art."

    "What for?"

    At this point, Yujia was seriously wondering why Yu Zixu even had so many questions. She casually responded with, "Personal matters. Something to do with marriage, and I don''t want to go too in depth." She shifted to the side. "If you''re done with your questions, I''m going to leave now."

    He stepped a step forward. "Allow me one last question. I asked you before, but you responded with my brother''s name. I think we really do have some sort of fate, so what''s your name?" He paused, his lips parting to ask one name while his eyes shifted to a whole other emotion.

    "Yang Xiaoyi?"

    Yang Xiaoyi?

    Yujia turned to him with a look of disbelief. Yang Xiaoyi? Why Yang Xiaoyi? Why the Fifth Miss?

    That was a very unexpected statement to come from Yu Zixu.

    She thought back to what Hui''er told her about the First Young Master of the Yu Family. Yes, he was engaged with the Fifth Miss, but to come to her name as a conclusion so fast? Was it because she stated marriage as one of her reasons for selling art? Did he talk so much to her in the first place because he had suspicions that she was her sister?

    Slowly, Yujia shook her head. "No," she stated just as deliberately, while on the inside, she was just very confused.

    She really didn''t want to stay anymore longer. Giving him a nod similar to a bow, she left before giving him another opportunity to ask another question.

    She hoped that she didn''t have to see Yu Zixu again.

    ¡­

    Yu Zixu watched as the girl left.

    She was fun to tease.

    When he mentioned the name of Yang Xiaoyi, she did have a very obvious response to it, only making him a little more certain that her identity was Yang Xiaoyi. Still, there was also the chance that she wasn''t, and he kept it in mind, never going too far with what he was doing.

    Usually, he would''ve never spoken with a stranger like that for so long if he didn''t think that she could be Yang Xiaoyi. But since there was the chance that she was¡ª just as there was the chance that she was not¡ª he might as well get to know her a little better to see who this girl that he was engaged to was like.

    He smiled while he turned around, seeing Ye Yunhe walking up to him at a fast speed. When Yunhe got to him, he noticed the obvious smile on Zixu''s face, asking, "What are you smiling like that for?"

    "Oh, nothing," Zixu replied, tilting his head up to look at the clouds in the sky, "I was just having a nice conversation with my fianc¨¦e." Leave Yunhe to think what he wanted. Zixu didn''t particularly care. He looked back at the person next to him, and said, "I thought you promised me that if I ever passed the exam of your school, you would take me to see the grandeur of the actual Lingxin Pavilion?"

    "You want to go now?" Yunhe gestured ahead, ignoring his confusion about Zixu''s previous statement, "I can definitely take you now since exams are over, but it''s the prettiest at sunset. Plus, my master told me to go talk to him once I was finished with the registration and whatnot. I just wanted to see what you were up to since you ran out after your little brother so quickly."

    Zixu waved dismissively in the air. "That''s fine then. Though, since I''m a student of your academy now, do I have to attend lessons?" He forced a sheepish look to slide onto his face. This was the expression that would lower Ye Yuneh''s guard if he predicted, and get him the answer he wanted.

    "You? Taking lessons at this school? That would be a waste of your time, right?" Yunhe laughed, like he expected,"No, you don''t have to. Just take your acceptance to Lingxin as a sort of honorary position. Come and go as you wish and enjoy perks as a student, but going to lessons is not mandatory at all. You''ve already scored perfectly in the exam except for the last one¡­ and speaking about Yu Ziyang, what''s the deal with that?" A puzzled look traced Yunhe''s face again.

    The matter with the fake Yu Ziyang and the potential Yang Xiaoyi wasn''t something Zixu saw as necessary to hide from Yunhe. Yunhe wouldn''t tell it to anyone either, to save the prestige of Lingxin.

    "He wasn''t my brother, just an imposter," Zixu answered, getting another look of shock from Yunhe.

    "Why would you¡ª nevermind," Yunhe said, keeping his question to himself. From what he knew of Yu Zixu, that was how he was, always idiosyncratic with his actions. No one could understand what he was thinking at all times.

    Zixu was getting tired of talking with talking to Yunhe now. He didn''t see any necessary benefit to it, so he saluted and stated, "You should go to your master now."

    Yunhe agreed, responding with the same and a nod and leaving.

    For a few moments, Zixu looked at the lush scenery of the academy, and then left in his own direction as well.

 71 More and More Planning From the Fourth Miss

    Yujia stumbled home nearly in a trance, completely absorbed in her own thoughts.

    Now that the idea of leeching off of Lingxin was out of the question, she needed to think of a new plan quickly. She didn''t want to waste any more time, yet at the same time, it only seemed like there were more and more conflicts rising up. Why couldn''t this just be an easy journey? Why did life have to do her like this?

    By the time she arrived in her courtyard, Hui''er definitely noticed that something was up. Her eyes scanned Yujia''s face as Yujia helped herself with a basin of water and a clean towel, wiping all the makeup and scrubbing at her eyebrows to remove the glue and hair. Once finished with that, undid her hair and took off her men''s clothes, flopping down on her bed and staring at the ceiling.

    What was she supposed to do now? Really, what was she supposed to do?

    She could imagine herself painting five hundred generic mountain paintings and selling all of them for one tael each. She did test her speed before, and she was able to paint twenty-four generic mountain paintings within the time limit of four days. On average, each day, she also spent lots of time relaxing and thinking about what could potentially happen in the future, so she only painted for three hours a day, creating around six paintings daily. This meant that a generic mountain painting only took thirty minutes per painting.

    Yujia calculated how many paintings she could sell within twenty days at that rate, and that was just one-hundred and twenty. Though, if she spent six hours painting a day, she could paint two-hundred forty paintings within twenty days. If she painted just a little more and sold the paintings for two taels each, she could easily make five hundred paintings¡­

    A horrifying image of a high stack of two-hundred fifty paintings appeared in her mind, and Yujia shook her head.

    No¡ª that was a bad idea.

    Even if she didn''t go crazy from spending the majority of her day painting generic mountain paintings, there were too many other factors to account for this idea.

    Firstly, Yujia likely needed to buy supplies. Paper was costly, even the kind on the lower end, and if she were to think about how much ink and paper she had to purchase to paint these things, it would be at least a good amount of taels, which meant even more painting. She didn''t know who she would go find to buy two hundred plus sheets of paper either. They must think of her as crazy if she asked for that.

    Secondly, even though Yujia was pretty sure she could sell ten or twenty generic paintings for two taels, she wasn''t sure if a sudden influx of generic mountain paintings on the market would lower the overall value of paintings on the market. She couldn''t sell them all at once, and if she took her time selling them on different days, that would be cutting down on the little time she had to earn five hundred taels. Selling and painting were both time consuming processes.

    Lastly, there were too many unpredictable factors that came along with this idea. It just wasn''t a very feasible idea to paint two-hundred fifty paintings within a month to earn five hundred taels. If it were as easy as that, she would expect that many artists would already be richer than merchants.

    A dangerous idea of pulling five all-nighters and painting for every hour and slowly selling the paintings came to mind, but Yujia dismissed it just as quickly.

    She came to the simple conclusion that just selling paintings to earn five-hundred taels wasn''t the safest idea. Maybe she would go to it when she had nothing else, but for now, she should spend a little more effort thinking of other ideas.

    Yujia groaned loudly and covered her face with her hands. She really hated this.

    Hui''er called over, "Miss? What happened at Lingxin Pavilion?" She truly didn''t know what caused her Fourth Miss to act this way. "Did things go wrong?"

    "I guess you could word it that way," Yujia mumbled, "Things went wrong. Really, really wrong." She paused, and after a long moment, she admitted, "I met Yu Zixu."

    "Yu Zixu?" Upon hearing that, Hui''er''s eyes widened. "The First Young Master of the Yu Family?"

    "Aren''t I lucky?"

    Hui''er walked closer, frantically asking, "What did he do? Did he¡ª know you were trying to be Yu Ziyang?"

    "Yes, but¡­ I don''t think he cared?" Yujia frowned, realizing how ridiculous that sounded.

    Hui''er was about to reply with something, but someone walked in the room. Yujia sat up, while Hui''er turned to see who it was, her eyebrows flying up.

    It was Yang Xiaoyi, dressed in a shade of soft yellow, a bright smile spread across her face.

    "Big sister, how are you doing?"

 72 The Fourth Miss Becomes a Teacher

    Seeing Xiaoyi, who tended to come visit her every morning to greet her except for this morning, Yujia naturally smiled, replying with a casual, "I''m doing fine."

    Xiaoyi helped herself to a seat by the table across from Yujia, starting, "I was going to visit you this morning, but I got a little busy. Anyways, I¡­ have something to ask of big sister."

    "What is it?"

    Yujia was actually surprised Xiaoyi wanted something from her. Although both were on polite and friendly terms, they weren''t exactly as close as sisters should actually be. Xiaoyi was just warm to everyone, and Yujia treated her as well as she treated Yujia back.

    "Well," Xiaoyi began, "I saw your painting skills the other day. I''ve been meaning to ask about it, but big sister seemed busy on all the other days, so I didn''t until now."

    She was right. On the mornings that Xiaoyi greeted her after the things that went on with her father, Yujia was busily making her generic mountain paintings. Yujia tried to think of where this request was going.

    "I was just wondering since big sister is so talented at painting, could you teach Xiaoyi a thing or two?"

    After speaking her request, Xiaoyi looked at Yujia with a big anticipating smile.

    Teaching Xiaoyi how to paint? Yujia''s own smile faded a little after hearing that. It wasn''t that she wasn''t willing to teach the Fifth Miss¡ª it was just that she didn''t exactly know how.

    All this time, Yujia painted by recalling paintings from the Song and Ming Dynasties. If that was the case, how was she supposed to tell Xiaoyi how to paint? Go copy a bunch of people who will exist centuries after you? She supposed that she could name some techniques, but now she doubted how much she knew about painting after taking the art exam in Lingxin.

    Yujia also wasn''t sure how much time it would take up to teach Xiaoyi, especially since she still didn''t know what sort of plan to take on to solve her current dilemma.

    All in all, teaching Xiaoyi wasn''t something that would benefit her much, so Yujia was reluctant to agree to this request.

    Xiaoyi saw the obvious hesitance displayed on Yujia''s face, so she quickly continued with, "Of course, if it''s very inconvenient for you, you don''t have to! I know that big sister is involved in¡­ personal matters¡­ but I promise I won''t bother you too much! Just showing me some of your paintings and how you did it would be enough¡ª no more than an hour a day and once a week!"

    Now that Xiaoyi worded it like that, Yujia felt particularly inclined to help. She couldn''t say no after hearing all that, and one hour every week wasn''t that much either as long as she wasn''t going to go after the generic mountain painting factory route which she thought of earlier.

    So, Yujia gave a steady nod and smiled once more, standing up from her bed. "Since little sister worded it like such, don''t I as a big sister have the responsibility to do so?"

    She gestured for Hui''er to go get her paintings for her while she put on an outer robe that went over her the white robe she wore under her men''s clothes, then sat down at the table. "I actually don''t know much about painting," she admitted, "It just so happens that I discovered some certain things that others haven''t yet."

    Hui''er brought over her stack of twenty-four generic mountain paintings, clearing the table of the tea set and setting it down. Xiaoyi''s eyes widened like saucers when she saw the twenty-four paintings, her hand reaching towards the pile and shifting through them.

    "Big sister," she said while flipping through them, her head tilting, "what are these?"

    "I call them generic mountain paintings. They may look pretty from a glance, but any who devotes themselves to enough time painting would notice that they lack something very important. Can you tell?"

    Xiaoyi kept her head tilted while she studied two side by side. "Is it¡­ color? No. No, it can''t be color. Maybe the fact that¡­" She bit her bottom lip before admitting with her head cast down, "I can''t tell."

    Yujia smiled softly. "That''s alright. Have you painted before?"

    "I have! Father bought me some books and painting to study, and even asked a master to come teach me a few things, but it''s really been a lot of self-studying and just copying paintings to learn more." Xiaoyi looked back up.

    "Then, that great master must''ve not taught you this. All great paintings are worth nothing unless they have emotion in them. These paintings here," Yujia waved at them, "are called generic exactly because they lack the thing that decides the most in art: the emotion and message behind the painting. Emotion is what brings the viewer into the painting, to transfix them by a single moment." She passed her hand over one of the paintings, tracing the mountains depicted there. "There are many who disagree with this, who ignore the lack of emotion in a painting for the brilliant techniques or the precise style the painter used, and those people are simply ignorant."

    Honestly, Yujia didn''t believe half of what she said. Yes, emotions were important, but back in the modern world, when she painted birds and scenery, she did it without much emotion just so she could earn money for how much she focused on the details. She didn''t have some super deep message behind every little bird. That would''ve been ridiculous.

    She only said what she said because it sounded rather impressive to her, and she was very disappointed with getting nearly last place in the second exam at Lingxin too when she claimed one of the paintings didn''t have emotion.

    Xiaoyi seemed to take her advice rather seriously though, nodding her head slowly and looking back at the paintings. "I see what you''re saying now! These paintings of mountains may be complex and hold great technique, but they lack emotion!"

    "But," Yujia cut in, "for beginners at painting, capturing emotion isn''t the most important step. First, one must learn how to paint properly to be able to convey things through their painting¡­"

    She went on to demonstrate some things she knew how to do with the art supplies Hui''er brought over next, explaining as she did so. Xiaoyi listened and watched attentively, being a good learner who caught on quickly.

    Yujia couldn''t help but smile throughout the lesson. She didn''t realize how soothing it would be to teach someone, but in the calm environment of her room while she enjoyed painting with someone else and forgot about her struggles, it was like a temporary break from the rest of the world. She hadn''t been so relaxed in a long time.

    ¡­

    After around thirty minutes, Xiaoyi left, satisfied with the new knowledge she received. Yujia wasn''t particularly worried if she came back, because now she knew somewhat how to teach and what to teach. She didn''t think that she would run out of content soon either. If she had to, she would just begin teaching Xiaoyi about modern art, which would likely be fun.

    When she left, Hui''er sat down at the spot that Xiaoyi just sat at. "Miss, you know that I still don''t trust the Fifth Miss, right?"

    Yujia pursed her lips, thinking back to what Hui''er told her on the first day of her transmigration. Supposedly, the Fifth Miss ignored Yujia''s presence until two years ago, which was definitely questionable. Yujia recalled dismissing the fact back then, but things had changed since then. She had changed since then.

    She didn''t know if there were any other ways to find out why the Fifth Miss chose to act like such, but through everything that happened with the First Miss and her story, Yujia knew that the best way in these scenarios were facing it directly, not to make rash assumptions based on vague facts.

    Sighing and pouring herself a cup of tea, Yujia said to Hui''er, "I''ll ask the Fifth Miss tomorrow about it. Until then, I don''t want to make any permanent decisions."

 73 A Stressed Out Fourth Miss

    Yujia spent the rest of the day thinking of plans, finding herself disappointed when she couldn''t come up with any good ones at all. Some of them were decent ideas, but the fact that she had to earn an amount as insurmountable as five-hundred taels just ruined most of them.

    When night came and Yujia laid down on her bed, she found herself unable to fall asleep from the ever-growing concern of how she was going to be able to complete her goal.

    It almost seemed impossible now, a terrifying thought that Yujia wanted to dismiss but just couldn''t. Doubt clung onto her every thought, a constant warning echoing back to her.

    Somehow, she managed to fall asleep, but when she woke up in the morning, she looked terrible, frankly.

    Looking in the mirror while Hui''er combed her hair for her, Yujia noticed that all the color she was used to seeing in her skin vanished, and faint dark circles emerged under her eyes. She even had a slight cough, causing her to feel a little breathless, which concerned Yujia a little considering that all of this came from having a slightly below average but still decent amount of sleep.

    Hui''er noticed her cough and said, "Miss, you might be coughing because today''s morning is a bit chilly. The¡­ past Fourth Miss always had a coughing problem whenever the weather changed." She set the comb down and headed towards a small cabinet to Yujia''s left, pulling out a vial of pills. "She always used this medicine. Perhaps taking one would help?"

    Yujia took the vial from her and shook a pill out of it. So that was part of the reason for why these conditions started showing up in her. After all, Yujia still inherited the body of the Fourth Miss. She originally assumed in the start that the poor health that the Fourth Miss used to have just magically disappeared, but in retrospect, that was a stupid assumption to make, just like many of the other ignorant decisions she took in the past.

    In fact, she was rather lucky that her poor health only started catching up with her now. From now on, besides her more important tasks, she also needed to focus on caring for her body too. Self-care would be essential to ensure her success in this world.

    Yujia placed the pill in her mouth and swallowed it dry. It was rather small, so no water was necessary. Hui''er resumed combing her hair, and Yujia''s difficulty breathing slowly became better when she found that her breathing went back to normal a few minutes afterwards.

    Even though this problem seemed to be temporarily solved, Yujia couldn''t help but feel even more upset. First, it was trying to think of a solution to her dilemma of earing money. Now, it was sickness and medical conditions bothering her.

    There were just too many things to be concerned about. Stress was really getting to her.

    ¡­

    Xiaoyi arrived soon enough, bringing her own art supplies with her this time. She set them down on the table and explained, "Big sister, I didn''t want to waste any of your supplies, so I brought my own!"

    Looking at the stacks of paper and ink, Yujia nodded. "I appreciate the sentiment, but you don''t have too much. Keep these for when you''re working by yourself. I have plenty of supplies, and I can teach you on scrap paper too." She gestured to the other end of the table, where Hui''er already set out a lot of the supplies.

    "Oh, okay." Xiaoyi agreed and gestured for her maid to take the supplies away. She then turned her head to look at the supplies Yujia already had, curiously picking up one of the boxes on the table. "I saw this yesterday and didn''t know what it was, but I forgot to ask," she said while tilting the box in her hands, "What is it, big sister?"

    With a small laugh, Yujia reached over and opened the box, showing her the pencils that were in it. She didn''t expect to introduce them to Xiaoyi so soon, but she gussed that now would be a good time too."These are¡­ I suppose¡­ my invention of a sort. I call them ''pencils''. You can draw with them like this, see?"

    Yujia took out one of the pencils and drew a small squiggle on the paper in front of her. A glint of interest flashed in Xiaoyi''s eyes while she took one of the pencils out too, testing it out with amaze on the paper.

    "This¡ª you can draw with it so easily!" She exclaimed, carefully examining the pencil.

    Proudly, Yujia sat a little straighter. "That''s what I wanted when I created it. Drawing with brush and ink gets a little boring at times."

    She stood up and found a few of her pencil sketches that she practiced with, showing it to Xiaoyi and eliciting more amazement from her younger sister.

    "How is that possible? How does it work?" Xiaoyi ran her fingers across the portrait of Hui''er, her lips parting in awe, "I''ve¡ª never really seen anything like this before!" She looked at the flowers that Yujia also sketched, then at the self-portrait, holding it up to compare the person in the portrait and her older sister. "You could sell this ''pencil'' and make so much money off of it! It would revolutionize painting and art!"

    Yujia''s eyebrows flew up. Upon hearing Xiaoyi''s words, it was as if all sorts of new potential was revealed to her. She originally made the pencils with the sole intention of making something that she could draw with something that she was familiar with in this new world.

    But now, with Xiaoyi mentioning that she could sell pencils, it was as if new light was shone on the entire idea of her "invention".

    Selling pencils! How did she not think of that before? If she put enough effort into selling it, her pencils could potentially become one of the most popular art supplies of the century. She just needed some funds which she could accquire through selling her generic mountain paintings to create pencils that were more visually appealing. Her current pencils were a little bit¡­ crude, if one were to describe them.

    Ah¡ª this was by far the best idea that Yujia had come across! She would definitely spend a little more time smoothing out the idea and figuring out what conflicts she would face, but currently it seemed like the best solution she could take.

    Giving a grateful smile to Xiaoyi, Yujia clasped her hands and said, "Little sister, you have helped me out so much with that statement. Thank you."

    Xiaoyi nodded slowly, a little bit taken aback with the sudden grateful attitude Yujia held towards her. "Are you going to start selling the pencils?" she asked.

    "Possibly," Yujia confirmed, then after a few more moments of letting Xiaoyi experiment with the pencils, she moved on to talking and demonstrating a fading ink technique to create a mountain range with drifting fog, which Xiaoyi learned eagerly.

    Towards the end of the lesson, Yujia was still excited with the idea of profiting off her pencils, but then, she suddenly remembered what she promised Hui''er with asking Xiaoyi about the past. When Xiaoyi finished with creating a faded mountain range, Yujia set her elbow on the table and leaned against her hand, asking the question that was on her mind.

    "So, little sister, this might be a sudden question, but why is that you ignored my existence until two years ago?"

 74 When the Fourth Miss Learns of the Past Once More

    Xiaoyi blinked at her question, a flustered smile appearing on her face as she shrank back. "Big sister, what''s with that sudden question?"

    Yujia lifted her chin, replying, "Let''s not pretend like that never happened. I know for sure that for fifteen years of my life, you never made a move to speak or interact with me. So, although since two years ago, you made efforts to get closer to me and now wish to learn about painting from me, it''s understandable that I want to know exactly why you did so, right? I know that being the pathetic, sickly Fourth Miss, there isn''t much that can one can exploit from me, but I still want to know reasons."

    Hearing this, Xiaoyi bit the inside of her cheek. "I¡ª well¡ª it''s a long story."

    "I have time," Yujia smiled, "and I happen to enjoy stories."

    "Then¡­" Clear hesitation displayed on her face, Xiaoyi looked at her hands, as if trying to think of where to start. A few seconds passed, and then she raised her head, her story finally beginning.

    ¡­

    When the Fifth Miss of the Yang Household was born, her mother, Madam Zhen, was already sickly and barely hanging on by a thread. They all thought that it was a miracle that a woman near death was able to give birth to such a healthy child, but it was even more of a miracle that she managed to claw her way out of death''s grasp, staying barely alive for a couple of more years to look after her child.

    But besides all of this, there was nothing else quite exciting about Yang Xiaoyi''s entire childhood. Being the youngest child, she was naturally pampered by her father and lived quite comfortably.

    Sometime throughout all of this, the young Fifth Miss could recall seeing the young Fourth Miss who was only a year older than her, playing all by herself in a poorly built courtyard. Yang Xiaoyi could recall trying to play with her older sister, yet when her mother found her, a cough through her breath, she was dragged away and back to the courtyard that she belonged in. She could remember the moment where her mother told her that the Fourth Miss was the child of someone that the Madam, the main wife of the household, felt intense animosity towards, and that associating herself with people of the Fourth Miss''s kind was only going to harm her.

    So, the Fifth Miss listened to her mother, being the obedient child that she was. She didn''t like to hear her mother speaking to her with that tone of voice, and she didn''t feel that inclined to play with her half-sister anyways when she had her other older sisters who adored her much more.

    It was only that sometimes, the Fourth Miss truly looked a little lonely.

    Another year passed, and then, on the night that Yang Xiaoyi turned eight, her mother died.

    She didn''t expect it to happen. She didn''t want it to happen. On that night, she didn''t even care for any celebration for her birthday or any gifts. As long as her mother would come back, she wouldn''t want anything else in the world.

    But then, her mother was there in one moment, and the next moment, she wasn''t.

    They tried to tell her many things¡ª to say that her mother merely went away or that she was tired and went to take a long sleep¡ª but she was there to witness what happened to her mother herself. She saw life slip away from her mother''s eyes, and how her hand drooped and turned cold while the apologetic smile on her lips fell away. No matter what they said about how her mother passed or fell asleep, Yang Xiaoyi hated the pretty words they used to decorate it.

    It was just death. Cold and hard death.

    Madam Zhen was never the main wife, and the Yang household was small. Her funeral was held discreetly, and then everyone acted like such a woman never existed.

    Yang Xiaoyi, though, never thought of it like that. She held her fragmented memories of her mother closer to her heart as she grew older, replacing the motherly figure in her life with sheer memories, the past things that her mother told her.

    A good young miss should be polite and well-versed in etiquette. A good young miss never started arguments and treated others with warmth and kindness. A good young miss educated herself with the arts to prepare herself to be a more desirable wife.

    And lastly, a good young miss didn''t associate herself with people like the Fourth Miss who was despised by Madam Zhang and would only make her life harder.

    Years passed, and the Fifth Miss grew up. Her sisters did as well, things all happening to them and their lives. The First Miss married and then came back, had a child and then lost it. The Second Miss, her true sister, ran away from the household to seek her own potential. The Third Miss married away, and unlike the First Miss, she never came back for good.

    As for the Fourth Miss and herself, they both lived independent lives of their own.

    Life was simple. The Fifth Miss learned to wash away the grief of losing her mother and chose to look forward, to the ever simple life she could already picture ahead. She would not have the tragedy of the First Miss or the recklessness of the Second Miss, merely following the Third Miss in her example of marrying into a stable family and fulfilling her role from an obedient daughter to an obedient wife.

    Yet on her fifteenth birthday¡ª it seemed like all important events happened on her birthday¡ª Yang Xiaoyi was paid a visit by the Second Miss, Yang Yichen.

    The two of them were always close growing up, despite having completely different personalities and hobbies. Yang Yichen came to her privately, without alerting the attention of anyone else in the household. She gifted her with a few interesting things she found throughout her journey of being in the military, and then, she gave a final question of advice before she left.

    "Xiaoyi," she asked, "are you truly content following what others tell you to?"

    At the time, the Fifth Miss was confused as to what her older sister meant, merely replying by nodding and answering that yes, she was content. Except, when her sister left and the days passed on, the question echoed in her brain.

    Was she content with being the obedient daughter? Was she content with marrying whoever her father arranged her to and becoming that obedient wife that everyone expected? Becoming the woman that her mother expected her to grow into?

    It was in that moment that Yang Xiaoyi realized that no, she wouldn''t be content with that. Despite the fact that she was raised with those words whispered in her ear, she would never be truly happy if she turned into someone like that.

    With the doubt that was fixed in her brain from that one question, she began to doubt other things that her mother told her as well. Was it truly right to work so hard learning how to play the zither and spend days and days memorizing the different strategies of Go when she enjoyed painting much more? Was it truly right to avoid the Fourth Miss, someone who was connected to her by blood, just because everyone else did?

    Slowly, Xiaoyi began to change her ways into things that felt more natural to her, and one of them was reaching out to the Fourth Miss and speaking to her in the first time in fifteen years.

    She knew that what she was doing likely wouldn''t be appreciated, and that an easier life was the one that others had set out for her, but for some reason, something tugged at her heartstrings, telling her to follow what she wished, to seek what would give her true contentment.

    Yang Xiaoyi just wanted to be happy.

 75 Trust Issues and the Fourth Miss

    Once Xiaoyi finished her story, Yujia leaned back in her chair. There were a few moments of silence, and then Yujia simply stated, "Okay. Is there anything else in particular you''re interested in learning about painting today?"

    Xiaoyi stared. "That''s¡­ your response?"

    "Why not?" Yujia nodded and looked up as she thought about it. "You had a rather acceptable explanation, and now my curiosity is solved. I no longer have questions, and it''s obvious that I should move onto the next priority, which is what you came here for: to learn."

    "Ah¡­ then, I guess since you asked me a question, am I allowed to ask you one back?" Xiaoyi proposed.

    "Sure." Yujia sat forward again, interested in seeing what question Xiaoyi had for her.

    "When did you truly learn how to paint?" she asked, quickly following it up with some explanation, "I mean¡ª it''s impossible to be able to know all of this," she waved at the art in front of her, "within a week!"

    At this question, Yujia pursed her lips. A few days ago, where she displayed her painting skills to the household, she did say that she learned how to paint a week ago. But if Xiaoyi was to ask a question like this, it definitely meant that she didn''t believe what Yujia claimed.

    What was she supposed to say though? That she had six years of painting experience from when she went to college to when she transmigrated over? It wouldn''t be believable if she said she started painting since she was twelve and no one in the household knew about it.

    So, Yujia made up a simple lie to respond. "I learned a few things about painting when I was visiting the market around a year ago and met a vendor with interesting art. He taught me a few of his techniques, and that was about it. He claimed that I had talent, but I never really got interested in it until the time that I told the rest of the household."

    At the words of this mysterious vendor, Xiaoyi moved a little closer, her eyes lighting up. "Did you catch the name of the vendor? Who was he?"

    Yujia shook her head. Give her ten seconds to think of a lie, and she could come up with one, but names were trickier. "No; I only met him once or twice, and I never thought to ask his name because of that."

    "Aw." A look of disappointment reflected from Xiaoyi''s face. "So, it''s really talent isn''t it? Some people like you just have more innate talent than people like me."

    "Don''t worry too much about it. Talent doesn''t count for much in the long run; it''s hard work that brings true results. As long as you spend some more time studying and find a good master, I''m sure you''ll get better at painting than me in no time."

    Yujia''s advice was sincere. Xiaoyi wasn''t that bad at learning art herself, so it was really the fact that Yujia came from the future and had so many more years of experience that gave her an upper hand. If she didn''t, she doubted that she would be much better than Xiaoyi was right now.

    Xiaoyi thought about those words for a few more moments, and then she nodded in agreement. "Alright then, big sister, can I test the fading technique again just to make sure I got it down?"

    ¡­

    When Xiaoyi left, Yujia gestured for Hui''er to sit down across from her.

    "What are your thoughts about all of this?" she asked while moving her pencils back into the box, staring at the few fading mountains that Xiaoyi painted a few moments ago.

    "Truthfully¡­ I''m not sure¡­" Hui''er replied, her words slow as she thought about them, "I mean, what''s to stop her from not lying? How do you know that her story is true?"

    Hearing this, Yujia narrowed her eyes. Hui''er had a point. What if the Fifth Miss did lie? Considering the fact that Yang Yichen, the Second Miss, was not in the household, there was no one to confirm her story with. But even so¡­

    "If she did lie," Yujia started, "what motives would she have for doing so? What could she possibly gain from me?" She ran her fingers through a strand of loose hair. "That''s the thing¡ª there''s nothing that I can lose. Nothing eventful happened two years ago, right?"

    Hui''er nodded in agreement.

    "Then, there''s definitely nothing that she could''ve gained through getting closer with me besides just¡­ pure friendship. Can you think of something else?"

    At this question, Hui''er thought for a few moments, then looked up. "You''re right. There''s no logical reason that she would talk to you about anything else."

    "I guess for now then, I should trust her, shouldn''t I?" Yujia rolled up the loose paper scrolls, standing up and carrying them to the cabinets where they belonged. As much as Hui''er was used to always cleaning up after her, it still felt a little weird to not have to do some of the organizing once in a while.

    From behind her, Yujia heard Hui''er point out, "But what if there''s just something that she''s planning, and we just haven''t thought about it yet?"

    Yujia turned, her eyebrows raised. "Hui''er, it really only comes down to the fact that I have nothing to lose. When you have nothing to lose, it''s easy to build trust in others. Besides," she turned back to the cabinets, closing the doors once the papers were in there and continued, "if one day, something really does happen, I''ll just break this temporary trust that I have. That''s not a hard thing to do for anybody, not just the Fifth Miss."

    She intended this as a warning to Hui''er as well, as well as a reminder to herself. The more time she spent in this world, the more she realized the complicated connections that were involved in the Yang household. She placed trust in Hui''er after hearing her story, but it didn''t mean that she should continue to hold absolute trust in her. The same went with Yang Xiaoyi.

    Trust was always needed to some degree for her to continue on in her life, but it didn''t mean that she had to blindly follow it until the end.

    "I understand, Miss," Hui''rer acknowledged, showing that she realized the warning behind Yujia''s words.

    "Good," Yujia smiled, sitting back at the table and pouring both herself and Hui''er a cup of tea. "Then, let''s get back to Yang Xiaoyi''s story. She mentioned before that Madam Zhang didn''t particularly like me or my mother. Why is that? Do you know the details?"

    "It could be just because you''re not her child. Isn''t it normal for women to be jealous about the other women who have relationships with their husband?" Hui''er paused, but quickly changed her mind, saying, "No¡ª wait¡ª that doesn''t make sense. She would dislike the Fifth Miss and the Second Miss more then, wouldn''t she, since they''re the daughters of the Old Master''s official concubine?"

    "Right."

    The two thought about it for a while longer, but neither of them could come up with an answer that made sense. It was yet another loose end that Yujia needed to figure out, adding even more tasks on her list.

    "Whatever." Yujia sighed and dismissed the thought. "It''s not that important anyways whether or not she likes me¡ª let''s just focus on the more important things right now. Pencils."

    Hui''er agreed and the two of them got to planning, putting the irrelevant things to the back of their minds.

 76 The Fourth Miss Explores the Marketplace

    The next day, Yujia found herself in the marketplace, exploring on her own.

    She planned out the entire idea of selling pencils with Hui''er the day before. First, she arranged for Hui''er to go and set up a stall to sell the thirty generic mountain paintings she had on hand, six of which came from yesterday where she painted some more. Each one would go for three taels, but if one wanted to barter, she would be willing to sell them for as low as one tael.

    This guaranteed a minimum of thirty taels to enter her pocket, which meant that Yujia had starting funds for her plan.

    She had around three weeks now to make pencils a big thing in the capital and earn five-hundred taels. It sounded a bit like an impossible task, but Yujia calculated it and if all went well, there was still the slight possible chance that she could make it.

    Once she got the funds for her business, she would go and commission some artisans to craft the pencils for her. Twenty-five taels would hopefully get her at least fifty pencils, and then, the other five would go to setting up a stand that would catch the attention of any potential buyers. This was all, of course, considering that she only received thirty taels from her paintings. If she had more, she would even hire someone to run the stall for her since she needed to keep her identity anonymous, and she wasn''t sure how good Hui''er was with running a business.

    She would sell each pencil for a tael, which would give her fifty taels once the first stock sold out. These fifty taels were going to all go to making more pencils. Her goal was that once some people started using them, others would soon catch on and her business would boom.

    Of course, to make sure people had interest in the first place, Yujia would also dedicate some free time to sketching large attention-catching pictures and set aside a few pencils for potential buyers to test out too.

    The big challenge was really time, but if she spent her time wisely, five-hundred taels still seemed probable. Besides, even if she didn''t reach that goal, as long as her business was going well, she could hopefully convince her father and strike a deal with him so that the engagement would still be canceled. She was sure that people would at least have some interest in this new tool and method of art.

    Things would¡ª hopefully¡ª work out.

    While Hui''er would sell paintings, Yujia took this time to analyze how the marketplace worked. She wanted to see how art supply vendors sold their goods to customers to gain some extra experience, as well as seeing which stores were the most popular to analyze the general interests of the capital.

    When she asked an older woman about it who seemed friendly enough, the old woman pointed out that there were two big stores in the capital that currently had lots of fame amongst young misses and madams. One was a cosmetics shop with rouge and all that while the other was a silk cloth store that had supposedly the best needlework in the capital. There was also a fairly popular restaurant of small pastries and deserts down the street. As for art stores, Lingxin Pavilion obviously sold the most, so it was considered the best place to buy art supplies at.

    Yujia decided to check out the silk store first. She already looked at the cosmetics store a few days ago when trying to disguise herself, and as for the pastry place, she only had three taels on her. She was sure that she was going to waste all three buying little treats to herself if she went there first.

    Her plan was that by checking out the various popular stores, not only could she learn what the public liked, but she could also see any sort of marketing tricks she might not have known before. She needed to do some quality research before starting her own business, and with online searching not being an existing option, she could only rely on looking around on her own.

    Following the extra instructions of the old lady that she asked about the stores, she quickly arrived at the clothing store. From a first look, business was indeed good. Many women were streaming in and out of the small shop, some carrying new bundles of purchases.

    Walking in, Yujia observed that besides the bolts of vividly embroidered silk, the store also sold premade clothing for both men and women, although the majority of the clothing was for women. Yujia didn''t particularly understand silk quality, so she chose to look at the premade robes instead. They all looked like good quality, coming in light shades of every color and having details embroidered along most of the cloth.

    The shopkeeper noticed her interest in the robes, coming over and saying, "Young Miss, this shade of peach pink would look excellent with your skin tone!" She eyed Yujia''s clothes and continued, "Perhaps you should try some brighter colors, especially with the festival happening this evening."

    Yujia observed the color of the robe that the shopkeeper introduced to her. Peach pink would indeed make her look more lively than the dead face paired with the bland robes she seemed to wear today. She admired the delicate cloth for a few moments, then asked, "There''s a festival?"

    "Yes," the shopkeeper nodded, a strange look on her face, "You didn''t know?"

    The shopkeeper didn''t seem like the type who wanted to explain more, so Yujia quickly covered up her blunder with a smile. "Oh, I just been so busy recently that I forgot. Right¡ª the festival¡ª how could I not know about it?"

    Yujia looked a bit longingly at the peach pink robes. Xiaoyi frequently wore this shade, and she looked quite cute and spirited whenever she did. If it weren''t for the fact that the Fourth Miss only owned white and light blue, Yujia would''ve loved to wear these colors.

    "How much would this cost?" she asked after a few moments of thinking. She only had three taels, but who knew? Maybe the shopkeeper would want to give her a good deal.

    "Not much, just eleven taels," the shopkeeper responded.

    Eleven taels? Yujia didn''t have that much. It seemed like a large amount for just a robe, but considering the exquisite embroidery and the quality of the silk, eleven must''ve already been a good deal. Now hearing the price, she didn''t think the shopkeeper would sell the robe for just three taels.

    With a sigh, Yujia shook her head. "I don''t have that much on me as of this moment."

    The shopkeeper gave her a questioning look, as if wondering what person would come to a high-end silk store like this one without at least twenty taels. She turned and went back to her own business and another customer quickly enough after hearing that, losing all her interest in Yujia when other customers definitely were willing to spend more money.

    Yujia spent a few more moments looking longingly at the different silks, as well as observing whatever advertising strategies or attention-grabbing showcases the store had to gain more business, and then she turned around to left.

    Right before she exited the store though, a voice rang out from behind her, yelling, "Wait, stop!"

 77 The Fourth Miss Sees Someone Familiar Again

    Yujia turned at the voice, seeing the face of someone she barely knew but seemed to run into all the time for some particular reason. He wore a very, very familiar wine red cloak draped around his shoulders, and specks of pierced gold glinted in his ears. His dark eyebrows knitted together and for the first time since the past two times she saw him, she noticed that his eyes, in the sunlight, were a surprising light shade of golden hazel, a rare color that she had never seen before. Perhaps it was because during the past two times where she saw him, the situations were all too distracting that she never got a good look at his face.

    Even so, Yujia recognized him very easily. After all, how could she forget the person she mistook for a thief and was dragged into cold water by?

    "Oh, it''s you," she stated with a nonchalant shrug.

    Uninterested to see whatever trouble he wanted to cause her this time, she spun around and continued her way out of the shop and down the street. The boy seemed to have something to say to her though, chasing after her until he was in front of her.

    Yujia stopped in her steps, a very unamused frown appearing on her face, her eyes looking up in frustration. "What do you want now?"

    The boy shot her a glare back, gesturing to the cloak he had on as of the moment. "I gave you my cloak so you didn''t have to go out in public in an indecent manner¡ª but why did you sell it?"

    It took me a few moments of thinking for Yujia to remember how she told Hui''er to sell the cloak he gave her after pulling her into the water. She sold it because she honestly didn''t see any reason to have it around, and if others in the household saw her with a cloak so high quality, they would definitely get suspicious. Besides, she didn''t expect to return it since she didn''t think she would have so much bad luck that she would run into the owner of the cloak again, and extra money was always good.

    How much did she sell it for again? Was it twenty taels? And how did he figure out that she sold the cloak?

    She gave another shrug and answered, "I didn''t really need it. Do I need a reason to sell something that I technically had the possession of?"

    "It was a gift!" he exclaimed, his head shaking in disbelief while his neck shrunk back, "Who sells gifts that other people give them? Do you even know how much I spent to get it back?"

    Her left shoulder half-shrugged, somewhat entertained with the fact that with every shrug she gave, the more anger seemed to erupt out of him. "Why should I care how much money you spent on that? It''s your own decision to buy it in the first place."

    "I spent one. Gold. Tael," he said, the words coming out seethingly.

    Oh god. Yujia remembered when Hui''er offered to exchange the hundred silver taels she had for one gold tael. A gold tael was worth a hundred silver ones.

    Was he saying that he spent a hundred taels on something that she got twenty taels for? Wasn''t that clearly a dumb decision he made on his own? How wealthy was he to be this stupid?

    "That''s still your fault for making that choice," she replied. Yujia stepped aside and resumed walking. She didn''t want to waste any more time talking to this person.

    Seeing that she moved on, the boy hastily followed after her, furious words coming from him as he walked next to her.

    "You don''t understand! Think¡ª if you were to graciously gift someone with something important to you, and then that person goes and sells it right away, would you be completely okay with knowing that some stranger you didn''t even know could be using this important object of yours? Besides, it''s not even like I wanted to spend a gold tael. It was just that at the moment, all I had on me were gold taels, and that irritating vendor woman you sold it to would not listen to any reason at all¡ª"

    "¡ª Consider yourself unlucky for spotting your precious cloak amongst the hundreds of other vendors in the marketplace then," Yujia cut in, a sigh in her voice, "Your logic still doesn''t make sense though. If you didn''t want any stranger to use your cloak, then why did you give it to me in the first place? Am I not just a passing stranger too? What makes me any different from the others, hm?" She stopped and leaned in. "Enlighten me."

    Instead of giving her a long speech of explanation, Yujia could swear that she saw hints of red appearing on his cheeks. "You''re just¡ªI swear¡ª" he faltered, words failing to come to him.

    "Right. I totally understand now." Yujia rolled her eyes.

    But in that moment, perhaps she did reach some sort of enlightenment for a new idea appeared in her brain out of nowhere.

    If the boy was so wealthy that he would be willing to spend a gold tael to get a simple cloak back, then that meant that he had to be some sort of very wealthy individual with a good family background. That meant that he was either some young master of a merchant family or one of a government official. Either way, he had plenty of money, and money was precisely what she needed in this moment.

    Could she¡­ potentially convince him to invest in her pencils?

    Yujia wasn''t sure how she was going to do that, especially if he wasn''t from a merchant family. She didn''t even know this boy that well either, so it would be awkward to ask him about it. If anything, Bo Zhiyuan would be a better person to ask since they have had some sort of history of business together.

    She almost dismissed the idea on the spot, but then she chose not to. With careful thinking, there was still a chance that he would agree to invest in the pencils. Might as well ask him since he was one potential investor than to not ask him and have one less chance.

    She worded her question carefully but in a casual manner. "Say, if you were to have so many taels to waste on a cloak, won''t your family disapprove?" This question was in the hopes that he would reveal what sort of background he had.

    The boy froze. "No," he shook his head while he answered slowly, "they won''t. We happen to have a lot of wealth, so even though a gold tael is a lot for a cloak, it''s only a fraction of what my father earns, so they don''t really care."

    "Why do you care so much about this matter then?" she asked, still probing for the answer she wanted, "If your father earns so much money, it shouldn''t be to the point where you care about the fact that you spent a gold tael."

    "I may be wealthy, but I''m not wasteful," he insisted, his eyebrows gathering even tighter together, "My father is also¡­ a merchant. So, I''ve always¡­ been taught how to spend money wisely. A gold tael may not be much compared to the overall amount of fortune my family has, but its value shouldn''t be ignored, especially when our empire still has so many of those in poverty and would risk their lives for that amount of money."

    In comparison to his previous sentences, the last one seemed much more confident when he said it, drawing Yujia''s attention.

    Though, she also got the answer she was looking for.

    He was from a merchant family!

    And all merchants, as far as she knew, would definitely be interested in investing in a good product. With this confirmation, she just needed to move onto the next step of pitching her product and potentially getting an investment if he was interested.

    Her attitude instantly changed, the flat look on her face being replaced with a brilliant smile. She folded her hands together, suggesting, "Now thinking about it, I suppose that I still have some level of fault for selling the cloak and forcing you to waste such money. To show my true sincerity of apologizing, how about I treat you to a cup of tea in the inn over there?"

    She pointed to the inn and restaurant right next to them, keeping the smile on her face. The boy only looked back at her with a new gaze of confusion, completely baffled on her instant attitude change towards this entire situation.

 78 A Product Pitch From the Fourth Miss

    To Yujia''s delight, the boy agreed. They sat down at a table in the inn, and Yujia ordered the best tea they had in the house, which costed a tael, but it was a tael well spent. She poured a cup of tea for him and for her, then began with, "So, I think it should be very clear that I haven''t invited you for tea just to apologize."

    Truthfully, she still didn''t feel like she should apologize. She didn''t see anything wrong in her previous actions. The only point was that she felt like it would be a bad decision to not apologize when the boy was somewhat upset over this matter, and she didn''t want to anger her potential investor.

    "What else do you need to say?" The boy took a sip of the tea, sampling the taste and setting it down, as if he didn''t appreciate the taste that much even though it was the most expensive tea in the inn.

    "Well¡­" Yujia said, "you mentioned that you have a wealthy merchant family background. And I just so happened to invent a new art supply that I believe will change the entire course of classic painting. If you''re interested in investing in the market of art, I also happen to be in need of some funds to bring this invention to the public. What do you say? Are you interested?"

    The boy''s lips parted a bit in slight shock. He likely didn''t expect this proposal to come up. "You''re¡­ asking me¡­ to invest in your invention as a merchant?"

    Yujia nodded. She thought her words were fairly straightforward and simple.

    "I don''t think that''s a good idea," he replied immediately, shaking his head, "First, you''re a girl. What does your family think about this? How can a girl be doing business?"

    Vexed, Yujia pressed her lips together. "Is that the only reason you have? You only think that women should just spend their time preparing to be a wife and then marrying off to care for her husband and children?"

    "Well, no¡ª I''m also not even¡­ that wealthy. I mean¡­ I''m not the First Young Master or something, so my father doesn''t really expect me to do that much business. He wants me to go¡­ studying to work for the government¡­ instead of inheriting the family business." He scratched his neck.

    "Is that so? What family do you come from in the first place?"

    It took the boy an unnatural, almost suspicious, amount of time to give her an answer, which stood out to Yujia to be interpreted in many ways. Could it be that he didn''t trust her with his identity? Or could it be that he was thinking of some lie to tell her?

    Finally, he replied with slow words, "I''m the Third Young Master of the Bo family."

    Yujia''s eyes lit up. The Bo family? What a coincidence that she ran into someone from the same family as Bo Zhiyuan. Either that, or what a coincidence that he came up with a family she actually had connections to.

    "Ah, really? I just so happen to have a history of business with your older brother, the Second Young Master. If you''re not willing to invest in my product, I''ll just go ask him about it."

    She stood up, but before she could go anywhere, the boy quickly stood up and held a hand out, panic appearing on his face. "Wait¡ª no¡ª don''t go to him¡ª just¡­ tell me about your product right now. I''m interested to see how great this is if it can change everything about art." A shaky smile settled on his lips.

    This nearly confirmed Yujia''s suspicion about the fact that this boy could be very much lying about his identity if he suddenly showed interest in her invention when before, he didn''t care that much at all.

    "I don''t have it on me right now," she admitted, "though I call it a ''pencil''." Her hands gestured as she explained. "It resembles a brush, but instead of a brush, the top is sharpened to a pointy tip. There''s a core of graphite inside of it, and as long as one keeps sharpening them, you won''t have to dip it into ink or anything of that sort to write with it. One pencil lasts for quite a while too. It''s very convenient, and besides art, it can also be used to write letters and notes, so it''s all travel-friendly too if one just wants to slide a pencil in their pocket."

    Hearing her explanation, curiosity began to show in the boy''s face. "You created that? Is it easy to write with?"

    "Fairly easy. I created a rather crude version of it, and it''s already easy to use. If I can employ some artisans to create higher quality pencils, then that''ll be even more effortless to use. That''s why I''m looking for an investor," she explained.

    A few moments passed where the boy thought about her proposal. Then, he set his hands on top of each other on the table and said, "I''m going to be honest here: although I am definitely interested in this¡ª my father always liked art¡ª I don''t think I''m going to invest in this."

    "Why?"

    "I''m very busy. I have other responsibilities, and like I stated before, my father doesn''t want me to spend time learning business," he confessed, "And, I don''t even know you that well. How do I know that your product will succeed in the market? Why should I make an investment in something that no one had ever seen before when it would be much less risky to invest in things that I know will bring me quick profit, like silk? You shouldn''t ask my brother either. Based on what know of him, he wouldn''t be that interested."

    As much as Yujia wanted an investment from him, she agreed that he did have some logic to what he was saying. "Fine," she said, a sigh coming out along with her words.

    Getting an investor sure wasn''t as easy as she thought it would be, especially since she didn''t have any good connections and was, in the end, female. Society was definitely rough to women in this time period. No one expected that the things she could do would succeed simply because of the person she was at birth.

    The boy stood up and saluted politely, then left. It turned out that when it came to less joking matters like business, he still had a genuinely serious side to him. Even though she never managed to get him to invest in her work, in comparison to her previous two encounters with him, this one turned out surprisingly well.

    Yujia remained sitting alone at the table, staring at the nice pot of tea. She wasted a tael for nothing.

    Her mind drifted back to the fact that Hui''er was still selling paintings. Now would be a good time to check out how she was doing.

    Right. Yujia still had her generic mountain paintings to earn money for her! It wasn''t the end of the world when she couldn''t get an investor on her first try. She still had a solution no matter what. Having her own independence to manage her profits was much better than relying on someone else and having to split all her income with them.

    Her expression brightening, Yujia stood up and left the inn too, heading out to check on Hui''er.

 79 The Crown Prince Visits Some Old Acquaintances

    Fu Yushang walked down the streets, deep in thought. As he walked, somewhere along the way, he realized that Si Shen, his personal bodyguard, was following behind him as quiet as always. This was just how Si Shen was, always having a concealed presence and showing an appearance when he felt necessary. He was probably following behind Yushang this entire time, but Yushang just didn''t particularly notice or care.

    He looked behind him at Si Shen, observing the large bundle of wrapped silk he held in one of his arms.

    "You got the silk? Good," he remarked carelessly.

    The Crown Princess, Wen Siying, told him before that she liked purchasing the silk material from the shop that he just visited when she hadn''t entered the palace yet. With her father being the head of the Department of State Affairs, she used to have the freedom to buy the silk she wanted from the shop, but after she married him, she could no longer do so. After all, the Crown Princess wasn''t supposed to exit the palace without permission.

    That was why Yushang thought that for her birthday coming up in a few days, she would find a gift of different silks from the shop she used to visit so much to be a pleasant surprise. He didn''t want to send large amounts of people to buy an exuberant amount from the shop to avoid drawing attention, and he wanted to pick her gift out himself, so he brought Si Shen along with him to go look.

    Who knew that he would run into that girl from before who just kept showing up around him for some reason?

    He originally just wanted to confront her about the fact that she forced him to waste too much money on re-buying his cloak, but then she started going on another tangent about his identity and wanting him to invest in her invention, which, honestly, he wasn''t that interested in.

    In a way, he somewhat regretted saying that he was the son of a merchant. Otherwise, she likely wouldn''t have gotten the entire idea to get him to invest.

    At the moment, he completely made up something along the lines of being the Third Young Master of the Bo family since he knew the Second Young Master, Bo Zhiyuan, fairly well. The two met by accident at a calligraphy and poetry convention, and ever since then, they had been decent friends. That was how he knew that the Bo family never had a Third Young Master, letting him take on the identity.

    He originally came up with this while hoping that she didn''t know the Bo family''s structure very well, but who knew that she would know Bo Zhiyuan? Thankfully, though, she didn''t question the identity he claimed to have, since he wouldn''t have known what to say in that moment.

    Though¡­ thinking about it¡­

    Considering how frequently Yushang went out in the public, he did need some sort of identity to take on. Who knows if he would meet that girl again considering that over the span of a few days he already saw her so many times? If she looked into these matters and found his identity to be false, then that would be very complicated to explain. When dealing with other people, it would be easier to have some sort of identity too.

    Yushang took a sharp left turn at these thoughts, heading in the direction of the Bo villa. Si Shen followed behind, not questioning any of his actions.

    When Yushang arrived, he didn''t bother with concealing his identity. It wouldn''t be necessary since the Bo family had enough political standing so if word traveled out that he visited them, it wouldn''t be damaging to his reputation or anything. He flashed his crown prince emblem at the guards at the front, and didn''t spare them much of a glance when they dropped to their knees and welcomed him in.

    He headed directly to the courtyard he knew Yushang was in, pulling the paper fan he usually carried on him out and fanning himself with it when he walked in. The doors to Zhiyuan''s study was open, so he knocked on the side and walked in.

    Zhiyuan, who was studying a scroll on his table, looked up. Upon seeing Yushang, his eyes widened, and he pushed his chair back as he stood up, saluting.

    "Crown Prince, what brings you to the Bo villa today?" He looked over at Si Shen holding the bundle of silk and joked, "Is that a gift for me?"

    Yushang waved his hand for Zhiyuan to sit, and he took a seat across the table as well. "You wish. That''s for the Crown Princess. I''m here ''cause I just wanted to tell you congrats on getting a baby brother."

    "A baby brother?" Zhiyuan tugged on the collar of his robe, straightening it. "As far as I remember, I never had one, unless this is some joke?" He raised his eyebrows and let out a chuckle.

    "Nope, not a joke. Your baby brother''s me. Starting from today."

    Immediately, Zhiyuan stood up again. "Crown Prince, you can''t be serious. I can''t bear that honor."

    Yushang sighed and reached over, pushing the other to sit back down. "Sit, sit. You''re not the older brother of the Crown Prince, idiot. You''re the older brother of the Third Young Master of the Bo family." Seeing that Zhiyuan still didn''t understand, Yushang explained, "I need an identity to go around and do things with. Your Bo family happened to be on the top of my mind, so I chose that."

    Zhiyuan let out a sigh of relief. It would''ve been too much of an offense if the Crown Prince intended for him to be his older brother. "You need a name then," he said after his sigh.

    "How about¡­" Yushang looked up in thought. "Bo Zhizhong? Your ''Zhi'', and as for ''Zhong'', the ''Zhong'' that means loyalty. Hoping that the Bo family will be loyal to support this new identity of mine. Oh, and tell your father about this too later. I''m too lazy to go tell him myself, and your father is always pressing me to give your brother benefits, which I''m not into."

    Zhiyuan''s polite smile dropped, replaced by a deep frown which barely appeared on his usually cheerful face. "Ah. My brother¡ª I never understood why my father keeps doing that to you. My brother''s already inheriting the business, so why is he still trying to get himself into politics?"

    Yushang knew about this struggle of Zhiyuan. It was one of the only things that bothered him, and it bothered him to an extreme degree.

    It was customary for the First Young Master of the family to inherit the business when that was their father''s decision, but Bo Zhiyuan was always a hundred times more hard working in terms of business despite the carefree, wasteful young master that others seemed to interpret him as. But simply because he wasn''t the First Young Master, his chances of inheriting the business decreased to an unfair degree.

    Running his fingers through his hair, Yushang advised, "Well, hope it makes you feel better that the First Young Master annoys me way too much, so I''ll never do anything in his favor. If he wants to get some sort of government position, he has to work for it himself."

    Zhiyuan smiled again. "So, if anyone asks, I''m supposed to claim that your my brother, Bo Zhizhong?"

    "Yeah. There''s no need to publicly declare that the Bo family now has a Third Young Master though¡ª that would be too suspicious. If anyone who I''ve been in contact with doubts it though, then you can go and tell him that I''m not lying. I won''t be using that identity too much or ruining the reputation of your family, so there''s no need to worry about that either."

    "I won''t worry about that, my honorable Crown Prince," Zhiyuan grinned.

    Now that this matter was settled, Yushang wanted to move onto the next one. He lifted his chin and asked, "Do you know someone who makes this thing called¡­ pen-cils? She claims that she''s made a few paintings for you."

    "Oh, Miss Yang? I do know her, and purchased three paintings from her before."

    Zhiyuan turned and pointed to a few paintings hung on the wall. Yushang looked over. From a glance, they were decent paintings from someone with a good amount of artistic skill, though he was still unsure why Zhiyuan bought them from her considering that most of the paintings being brought in the market were from male painters.

    "What about her?" Zhiyuan continued, "How did you know¡­?"

    "I ran into her in the market today. She wanted to convince me to invest in her invention, but why would I do that? I''m the Crown Prince, even though she thought I was a merchant''s son from your family. I''m sure the whole thing was a hoax."

    "It''s not!"

    Zhiyuan sat up straighter, rummaging in the scrolls by the side of the desk to find a scroll of white paper. He unscrolled it, and Yushang''s jaw instantly dropped.

    On it was a lifelike portrait of Bo Zhiyuan''s fianc¨¦e, Zhou Luowei. It was in black and white, but if it weren''t for that fact, it would''ve been a near replica of her, so lifelike that Yushang doubted that what he was seeing wasn''t a mirror reflection of the girl. She had a faint smile depicted on her face while she looked to the distance, and though Yushang didn''t remember the face of the girl too well, he was sure that this portrait was more than accurate.

    The piece of art was clearly something that couldn''t be created with ink. He had never seen anything like it before. Yushang had to admit that it was good. Too good.

    One could¡­ create such an accurate portrait of someone with this tool called a "pencil"?

    If his father, who was always obsessed with the arts, knew about this new type of art, wouldn''t he invest so many gold taels into it? And didn''t that mean that Yushang was an absolute fool for outright rejecting the girl''s proposal for his investment then? If he invested into it¡­ and showed the invention to his father as a gift or something perhaps¡­ then surely he could win his father''s delight!

    Yushang immediately took back everything bad he thought about the girl and her invention.

    But now, the question was: how was he supposed to track down this girl if he didn''t know her name and didn''t leave any form of contact with her?

 80 A Possible Back-Up Plan For the Fourth Miss

    The statistics that came back from the sales Hui''er made in the market by the end of the day were pretty good. Even though she had to switch locations a few times to sell everything and did quite a bit of negotiation, the total profit ended up at a total of sixty-eight taels. Eleven paintings sold for three taels. Sixteen paintings sold for two taels. Only three paintings sold for just one tael.

    Making the paintings cost three taels each was actually a good idea for earning the maximum profit. If customers didn''t like the cost, which was already pretty low, they could claim something along the lines of buying it for one tael, and Hui''er would just negotiate with them until they were willing to sell it for two. Hui''er also switched locations to right in front of Lingxin Pavilion halfway through the day, drawing more customers as well as making the paintings appeal more to others when they realized that the cost of these paintings were much cheaper than what they sold in Lingxin.

    With her profit being at sixty-eight taels, Yujia was seriously reconsidering her plan.

    Maybe selling generic mountain paintings wasn''t a bad idea¡­? Or at least, it was a good back-up plan!

    Halfway through the day, when Hui''er was still selling, and Yujia could already see results, she went back to her room and started painting more generic mountain paintings. Yang Xiaoyi also appeared in the afternoon, eating lunch with Yujia and getting a few simple pointers for painting while she ate. Besides the art tips, they also talked about a lot of things that they hadn''t before, such as favorite foods, gossip over some of the drama happening in other households, and Yujia''s desperate plan to get out of her engagement.

    Towards the evening, Yujia was in a rather good mood despite everything that happened with that investor she tried to get to support her. She had sixty-eight taels, six more completed paintings, and much more confidence that she could get through all of this.

    Currently, Hui''er and her were back in their courtyard. Yujia was working on yet another painting when she heard the booming sound of fireworks outside.

    Oh¡ªshe forgot that there was a festival this evening. She leaned over to where Hui''er was, asking with a smile on her face, "What festival is it tonight? I''m not from the capital, so I don''t know the traditions you all have."

    "It''s the Returning Festival. I guess it really is only a festival celebrated in the capital," Hui''er replied.

    "What''s it for?"

    Hui''er cleaned the copper basin in her hand and filled it with fresh water. "Since our Xiang Empire was created through conquests during war, the founding Emperor who won through capturing Luoyang moved the capital from Luoyang to Chang''an. When he returned to this city on this date, he was welcomed by the people as a hero. A few years after, there was another large battle, and our empire managed to win. The soldiers and generals returned to the capital on the exact same date by coincidence. Ever since then, on this date, us people in the capital would celebrate the return of the soldiers who protected us and won glory for us. There''s fireworks, parades, floating lanterns, and just lots of fun. Soldiers get to visit home too."

    Seeing Hui''er describe the festival so fondly, Yujia tilted her head. "Have you ever been to one?"

    Hui''er froze in movement. "Well¡ª I guess¡ª" Her hands twisted the towel to squeeze the excess water in them out. "I used to go with the First Miss¡ª when we were still on good terms. The Old Fourth Miss never liked going to these busy festivals though, so I haven''t gone since then. All the traditions should still be the same though."

    "Do you want to go?" Yujia set the brush in her hand down with a faint smile. "We can go if you want."

    "Really?" Hui''er''s eyes widened.

    "Sure. You sold me all those paintings after all. I can afford to use eight of those taels to buy what we want, and it''s a good idea to do something fun and less stressful compared to all the stress I was going through before. It''ll be a good experience"

    Hui''er beamed. "Then, thank you, Miss! I''ll go and tell the kitchen that we''re not eating dinner at home then."

    Yujia waved for her to go, and she hurried out. For a few seconds, Yujia stared at her own reflection in a mirror and the dull clothes she was wearing, recalling what the vendor said about how the soft pink dress would be something much more appropriate to wear to a festival.

    The vendor was right¡ª if she wore clothes that were almost the color of robes that one would wear to a funeral, then surely that would draw negative attention.

    Thinking back to Xiaoyi and her extensive wardrobe of bright colored clothes, Yujia decided to head out to Xiaoyi''s courtyard to borrow one of her robes. Surely, that wouldn''t be too much of an inconvenience.

    When she arrived to Xiaoyi''s room in the North Courtyard, only dim light shone through the paper windows, and the entire courtyard was rather quiet too. Yujia realized that unlike her courtyard where there were servants bustling in and out since that was where the kitchen and their rooms were located, the North Courtyard must''ve been quiet year-round. No wonder Xiaoyi frequently paid visits to other courtyards and had good relationships with others in the family.

    In a way, she must''ve been lonely too.

    Yujia gave a gentle knock on the door to Xiaoyi''s room, being greeted with the face of one of Xiaoyi''s maids who opened the door for her. "Fourth Miss," the maid spoke, "do you need something? My Miss isn''t feeling too well today."

    "Oh, she isn''t? What''s wrong?" Yujia''s eyebrows furrowed. Xiaoyi wasn''t looking that bad during the afternoon.

    "She has a stomach ache¡ª"

    The maid''s words were cut when Xiaoyi called out from inside the room, "If it''s big sister, let her in!"

    Obediently, the maid stepped aside, letting Yujia enter the room.

    For the first time, Yujia had a decent look at the place Xiaoyi lived in. It was definitely more furnished than her room and Yang Qingxia''s room, decorated with a few vases of floral arrangements and lots of paintings on the walls. To the right of the room, there was a zither placed in the corner, which didn''t look that touched, while in the center, there was a table with painting materials laid out on it. At the left was Xiaoyi''s bed, where Xiaoyi was leaning against the pole, half of herself tucked in blankets.

    Yujia walked until she was next to her. She sat down next to her little sister on the bed and asked, "You have a stomach ache? That''s not good."

    "It''s not that bad," Xiaoyi replied with a faint laugh, "I think it might have been the pastries I asked A''ling to get for me after lunch. Maybe something was wrong with them, so now my stomach just hurts a little, and I feel nauseous at the sight or smell of food. I don''t think it''s too serious though¡ª it should be fine after some sleep." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What are you here for, big sister?"

    "I was going to the festival tonight, so I wanted to ask if you wanted to come to. But seeing that you''re sick, I don''t think that would be a good idea." Yujia pressed her lips together.

    "That''s definitely not a good idea. Especially with the festival going on, there''s bound to be so much sights and smells of food out there today. You wouldn''t want me to throw up on you, would you, sister?" Xiaoyi laughed again.

    "Look at you¡ª you''re sick and you still have the strength to make jokes?"

    Xiaoyi shrugged a little. "I don''t want to just mope and act unpleasant, do I? That''s going to make me feel even worse."

    A sigh of resignation came from Yujia. "Alright then¡­ though, I do have another question. I happen to only have plain clothes, so I was wondering if I could borrow one of little sister''s brighter ones for tonight?"

    "Of course!" Xiaoyi answered immediately.

    She gestured for her maid, who Yujia presumed to be A''ling, to the side, where a set of robes of peach blossom pink and embroidered lotuses hung on a rack.

    "I was going to wear this tomorrow," Xiaoyi explained, "but since big sister needs something to wear, you can borrow it for today. It should work for the festival. We should be about the same size, right?" Xiaoyi waved again, and A''ling brought over a few matching hairpins and a light green jade bracelet. "You should wear some matching accessories with this outfit too. It would ruin such a good set of robes if you don''t accentuate it with these."

    Yujia looked at all the things that Xiaoyi was letting her borrow. A grateful smile appeared on her lips while she reached out to clasp Xiaoyi''s hands. "Little sister is too nice to me."

    Xiaoyi grinned even more. "It''s no big deal. We''re sisters after all, and which sisters don''t let each other borrow each other''s things?"

 81 The Fourth Miss Enjoys Herself At the Festival

    Once Yujia returned to her own room and got dressed, she headed out with Hui''er and a satchel of ten taels, eight of which came from her painting-selling profit, while the other two came from the money she had before all the painting sales. It would be best if she didn''t spend all of them, but it was a nice feeling to know that she still had money that she could spend if she really wanted to.

    The moment she stepped out of the front doors of the Yang villa, it was as if she entered a whole new world.

    People bustled up and down the streets, some wearing masks while others carried little trinkets they purchased from vendors lining the sides. Festive music played from every corner. Red and orange round lanterns were strung in rows on strings and hung up between walls and doors, lighting the people below them.

    When Yujia walked a little further, she saw many more peculiar acts of fire-breathers and jugglers, and even further down as she walked through parts of the city, she noticed many people sending lily-shaped lanterns down one of the stream canals that ran through one of the sections of the capital. Even though there were already lots of people going around in the city during the day, the festival during the night revealed so much more people with smiles on their faces and happiness threaded through the air.

    Yujia headed down, exploring all the attractions with Hui''er. With a few copper coins she got from converting a silver tael to change, she bought sticks of candied hawthorns for her and Hui''er, the red fruit glistening with sugar under the moonlight and lanterns.

    She couldn''t help but smile while she enjoyed the festival. Back in the modern world, she had never experienced anything like this before. She didn''t think that she would like loud noises and so many crowds of people.

    Yet now, breathing the fresh night air and sweet aroma of candies, pastries, and wine, surrounded by authentic lights and fires, Yujia decided that there was not another moment where she was happier in this world.

    Perhaps it was the rustling of the wind that carried the laughter of others to her. Or, perhaps it was the energy that connected every individual to each other, letting them share a sort of mutual exhilaration. It was a night where people forgot about all their struggles and simply celebrated to find their own happiness.

    While Yujia set out a lily lantern into the water along with Hui''er, in her heart, she wished that after all the fun and joy finished tonight, she would still be able to find this same happiness in the future.

    After eating candied hawthorn and treats, admiring all the sights, and setting lily lanterns, Yujia and Hui''er passed by a parade travelling throughout the city. Seeing the parade was definitely entertaining too. They were performing theatrical acts while they walked through with loud drum beats and musical instruments trailing behind them. The two paused for a few moments to watch the whole parade pass through, and then they continued walking through the city, their stomachs stuffed with all the little treats that Yujia bought them throughout the festival.

    And then, somehow Yujia found herself standing at the open gates of Lingxin Pavilion, staring at the structure that she had tried so hard to get into yet ended up voluntarily leaving on her own a few days ago.

    "Do you think they''re going to have good deals because of the festival?" Yujia mused to Hui''er.

    Hui''er walked a few steps closer, looking in. "There''s lots of people selling stuff, so maybe."

    "Then let''s go!"

    Yujia didn''t even bother to look at the section with students selling paintings. She was still a little bitter over the fact that she wasn''t one of them today, selling all her great, generic paintings and easily earning five-hundred taels that way.

    Instead, she looked through everyone selling art supplies, purchasing extra paper and black ink for only three taels because there was somewhat of a discount and a buy-one get-one deal. Sales like these would be too good to miss, especially if she was planning on selling paintings as a back-up route.

    She looked through a few more tables at all the art supplies they sold. In the midst of it all, she caught the familiar face of an old man who was still selling colored paints like the last time she saw him.

    Upon seeing her, he burst into his typical sales pitch. "Young Miss, are you interested in some of the finest quality colored ink in the market? Because if you''re looking for them, here''s the spot!"

    "I don''t need colored ink¡ª I already have enough of them!" At her words, the old man''s face dimmed, but Yujia continued, "Remember? I bought thirteen sets of your ink last time. How could you forget such a good customer like me so quickly?"

    The old man raised his eyebrows and leaned in, looking at her face carefully. Yujia watched as recognition passed through his eyes, replacing the foreignity he had before.

    "Ah! Could you be that Young Miss from the other day? Who said she had a friend named Yu and asked questions about the examination!"

    "That''s me," Yujia affirmed.

    "Pardon me¡ª the lighting was simply too dim, so I couldn''t tell that it was you. Plus, last time, you had a veil on," the old man chuckled, "How could I forget my best customer so easily? Even at my age, the things I want to remember stick with me for a while. Though¡­ since you don''t need more ink, is there anything else I can help this Young Miss with? Did your friend pass?"

    Yujia bit her bottom lip. Yu Ziyang¡ª of course "he" passed. But more accurately, "he" refused to stay in the academy since "he" couldn''t benefit off of it.

    "To tell you the truth¡­ he both passed and failed at the same time. In the end, he decided that he didn''t want to stay at Lingxin even though he passed all the exams," she answered.

    "A pity, then."

    "If I were to be completely truthful though, the ''friend'' I was talking about was actually me," Yujia continued.

    "Ah?" The old man tucked his chin in and looked at her with interest. "What are you saying?"

    "Well, I disguised myself as a man, impersonated the Second Young Master of the Yu family, nearly failed the first two exams, somehow got first place on the last exam, passed overall, and ended up dropping out because I thought my disguise was too dangerous. That''s what I''m saying."

    The old man was silent for a few moments. Hui''er tugged at Yujia''s sleeve from behind, as if she was asking why Yujia was saying all of this. Truthfully, though, Yujia didn''t even know why she was saying this herself. Why was she? Was it to have someone who understood art to rant about this topic with?

    To her disbelief, the old man started laughing, his voice loud and gathering some attention from passersby at this sudden eruption of laughter.

    "That¡ª was¡ª you?" he gasped between laughter, "My¡ª disciple¡ª ah, you have no idea¡ª" He took a deep breath, steadying his laughter. "He was so angry because of what the Second Young Master of the Yu family said about his painting in the second portion of the exam. You should''ve seen his face when he read the response! And I was wondering exactly who this Second Young Master was! Yu Ziyang¡ª is that the name of the person you impersonated?"

    "Yes," Yujia nodded, confusion spreading through her brain. "Your disciple? What do you mean by that?"

    The old man clamped a hand over his mouth as if he suddenly realized that he let slip something that he shouldn''t have. His eyes darted around frantically, and then he leaned forward, lowering his voice. "I didn''t mean to say that¡­ but I guess now that I''ve already messed up, I might as well give away my identity. Come a little closer." He beckoned his finger.

    Yujia tilted her head, waiting for his response.

    "I''m the founder of Lingxin Pavillion."

 82 A Master-Teacher for the Fourth Miss

    "You''re¡­ what?" Yujia took a step back, her jaw dropping.

    Did she hear wrong? How could it be that this old man, this simple vendor that she thought he was, actually turned out to be the founderof Lingxin?

    This had to be a joke.

    No way.

    "You heard right," the old man confirmed, "and you should thank me a little too. If I didn''t tell my disciple to cut a little slack on anyone named Yu, perhaps your friend¡ª or you¡ª would not have passed as easily through the exams, though I believe that you do have enough talent considering the response you gave in the second exam and your painting in the third one."

    Yujia thought back to the fact that for the first two exams, she somehow miraculously ended up one step away from failing. She thought it was just pure good luck in the past, but now¡­ it was all because of this old man, this founder of Lingxin, who spoke in her favor? Why did he do so? Was it because she was such a good customer of his ink? And did that mean that if that day, she didn''t buy so much ink, perhaps she would''ve failed already in the first exam?

    Amidst all her questions, Yujia managed to ask, "Your disciple¡­ who''s that?"

    "I think you may have met him in the induction part after the exam, right? Ye Yunhe, that kid?"

    Ye Yunhe? The school head''s son? That was his disciple?

    "Are you the school head?" Yujia blinked.

    "Nah. I passed that role off to an irritating fool many years ago. At some point and time, one just gets tired of managing all that stuff, you know? I''m doing what I like now, which is selling ink without anyone going out of their way to bow and acknowledge me everywhere I go." The old man waved his hand in a dismissive manner.

    "So¡­ you really likes to be a merchant in your spare time?"

    "I guess?" The old man shrugged. "I''m just always looking for new types of art supplies to experiment with. If you''ve noticed, all of my colored ink were made with new methods and pigment instead of the traditional types, which is why the colors are much more vivid than what the typical market ink has. A pity that the current trend is black and white painting¡­"

    A small smile began to spread on Yujia''s face the more she heard him speak.

    If this old man was the school head for Lingxin, then surely he had lots of wealth stocked up. He was interested in innovative art as well, making him a very potential investor. Yujia didn''t come to the festival to think about these matters tonight, but now that she had such a perfect opportunity in front of her for her to take, why wouldn''t she?

    "Elder," Yujia began her persuasion as subtly as possible, "it just so happens that I''m interested in experimenting with new art supplies too!"

    His eyes instantly lit up with interest. "Ah, really? What kind? Ink? Brushes? Paper?"

    "Neither. I''ve invented something completely original, something that''s like a brush but can write and draw smoothly without dipping it in ink."

    "Such a thing is possible?"

    Yujia''s hands folded and she fidgeted with some of her fingers while she cast her eyes down. "Yes. But, well, the thing is¡­ my family doesn''t support me in what I''m doing. I''ve tried having others invest in this invention to bring it out to the public, but just because I''m a girl, no one thinks that I can accomplish anything great¡­"

    Tears began to swell in her eyes when she put on her "sad little lady" look.

    "Nonsense!" the old man snapped, "Those people are idiots. If you can come up with your own invention that''s so powerful, what''s the matter with being male or female? Although I do agree that in one point in time, I believed in those things too, I''ve lived for long enough to change my views and know that they''re wrong views. Besides, back in the day when my wife was still alive, she was the only one who understood art to the same degree that I did, much more than all those ignorant men¡­"

    His eyes glazed, as if reminiscing the past.

    The frown on Yujia''s face transformed into a small smile upon knowing that this truly was a good chance. She continued, "Oh well. In the end, I don''t have that many funds myself. I don''t think that I can possibly share my invention with everyone else because of that."

    "I''ll fund you!"

    "Really?" Yujia''s head looked up. That declaration from the old man was much quicker than she expected.

    "Just bring and show me your invention tomorrow, and I''ll fund you if I like it enough."

    Yujia scratched the side of her face. "But we are nothing more than acquaintances, or vendor and customer. I don''t think that it would be right¡­"

    The old man wrinkled his nose. "Who determines if it''s right or not? Who cares if I''m practically a stranger to you? All I care about are new inventions in the art world. If I said I''ll fund you, I''ll fund you." He stared at her for a second, then said, "Alright, if you''re really unwilling to work with a stranger, just call me your master, and then I''ll be your teacher and we won''t be on terms of strangers anymore."

    "Huh?" Yujia''s eyebrows shot up at the speed of lightning when she heard that.

    What was that sudden suggestion from the old man?

    She was looking for an investor, not a master! She didn''t need anyone to teach her about art at the moment. Originally, she continued to decline his offer since she thought that it would encourage him to give her some money on the spot, but she didn''t expect him to come up with this proposal!

    "What, do you think that you''re not worthy enough to be my student? I''ve seen your response in the second exam and your painting in the third one. You definitely have enough talent to learn under me," the old man stated when she didn''t have a response. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.

    "..."

    Yujia still didn''t know what to say.

    The old man seemed to interpret her shocked silence as a sign of her lack of trust in him. "I get it if you don''t think that I''m trustworthy," he went on, "so how about this? Give me your name, and tomorrow afternoon, come over to Lingxin. There''ll be a guide at the front of the school that divides the section between the market and the academy. Tell him your name, and he''ll lead you to me, where I can prove to you that I''m the founder of the school and you can feel safe with choosing me as your master."

    What was this?

    Really, what was this old man saying?

    Yujia didn''t know how to reject him, but he seemed to have his mind set on taking her in as a disciple for some reason. Was he really just so awed by her painting in the last part of the exam that all along, this funding proposal was just an elaborate trick to just get her to become his disciple? That couldn''t be it, right?

    Why couldn''t she just get an investor without any other strings attached?

 83 Is it Fate, Fourth Miss?

    A few moments later, Yujia left the Lingxin marketplace with a potential new master and investor.

    She didn''t know what to expect anymore. Many things that she never expected happened, leaving her completely clueless.

    Though, she did see quite a bit of potential in getting the old man as her master. If she was his disciple, then she could potentially get the ability to sell art in the Lingxin marketplace, which would save her a lot of worry. This meant that life was going to be easy again, and earning five-hundred taels within a month wouldn''t be a big deal anymore. She could live without stress again.

    But what if something unexpected happened again and ruined her plans once more?

    Yujia was back in deep thought again, going through the festival without making a word. Behind her, Hui''er tugged on her sleeve again, asking, "Miss, are you okay?"

    "I just have a lot of thoughts," Yujia sighed, looking up and forcing a smile on her face.

    She didn''t know why, but she suddenly had a very distinct sense of worry, as if something bad was going to happen soon. It didn''t make sense to her, especially when things were going so well with her money-earning Only one or two things that she didn''t expect to happen happened, so why couldn''t she shake off this feeling of dread?

    A stall of exquisite jade trinkets caught her eye, drawing her attention away from her inner thoughts. There were many things displayed in the stall, all made from green jade and ranging from necklaces, bracelets, pendants, to little statues and figurines. She hadn''t seen anything like this that looked like high quality in the festival yet, so seeing something like this caught her attention.

    Along with Hui''er, she walked to the stall and let Hui''er pick out something that she would buy for her. Meanwhile, Yujia picked out a present for Xiaoyi, as a gift since she missed the festival tonight. A simplistic and classic necklace of woven string and a circular piece of jade shaped like a coin seemed the most fitting as a gift since Yujia wanted to draw from tradition. Hui''er picked out an equally elegant jade bracelet, similar to the one Yujia wore today, but likely cheaper since the quality of jade didn''t seem as good.

    She paid a total of six taels for the two pieces of jewelry, which was somewhat pricey, but understandable since jade was such a precious stone. Besides, Hui''er seemed ecstatic about her new bracelet, and the shining smile on her maid''s face and her continuous words of gratitude were worth spending the six taels.

    Now, along with the three taels she spent on art supplies and the single tael she converted to copper coins, all the taels she had on her were completely used up except for six or so spare coins.

    Prepared to go home, Yujia looked towards the distance in the crowd and caught a familiar flash of wine red.

    She knew that color very well.

    A little too well.

    Hurriedly, she grabbed Hui''er, who was happily admiring her jade bracelet, and took a sharp turn to the side, where there was a vendor selling masks suiting the theme of the festival. Was this person the reason why she had been so worried? It must''ve been her intuition giving her a warning that he would appear again. But then, why was she worried about him? She had nothing to fear about him. It would only be a little awkward to run into him again.

    Except¡­ what else would explain this sense of worry that wasn''t going away?

    Hui''er looked up from her bracelet, asking with a confused tone, "Miss, what''s wrong? You¡­ want to buy a mask?"

    Yujia turned to look at the girl. Hui''er never saw that person before, and Yujia never told her about it either, so of course she wouldn''t understand. "I just¡­ saw someone I wanted to avoid. I think he might spot me if we walked further ahead, so let''s just buy some masks to prevent him from recognizing me."

    Though, with six copper coins, could she even afford a mask?

    Hui''er didn''t ask much about it. She glanced at the masks hanging on a rack, then picked out a simple one with a face of blushing cheeks and painted lips, handing it to Yujia.

    "How''s this one, Miss?"

    Yujia shook her head and waved one of her hands. "If I were to choose, that one is too suitable for those typical young misses. I think this one is much more interesting."

    She picked out a mask with a face of pure rage painted on it with vivid red paint the color of blood. Black paint elongated the sides of her eyes and drew in details like her eyebrows as well. Most importantly, the mouth that was drawn on the mask¡ª one that was curled in a very deep frown¡ª spoke to Yujia on a spiritual level.

    "Good pick, Miss," Hui''er giggled a bit upon seeing the mask. She put the mask she suggested back on the rack while Yujia fished in her satchel for a few copper coins to see if she had enough to pay the vendor.

    "Do you think it suits me well?" Yujia asked in a joking manner, her body turned to Hui''er.

    A voice traveled in from her right side. "I think it suits you very well."

    Yujia flinched. She recognized and anticipated this voice.

    When she turned to look at him and the wine red color she saw on him a few moments ago, she frowned. In return, he gave her a very bright smile. "So we meet again, Miss Yang."

    Miss Yang? How did he know her surname? As far as she remembered, she didn''t tell this investor who rejected her product in the morning her name. Could it be that he was really the younger brother of Bo Zhiyuan like he claimed to be, so he asked the other about her?

    It turned out that Yujia absolutely failed in avoiding him by trying to buy a disguise at this stall. How did he even recognize her figure from so far away? She was even wearing different clothes than usual.

    "Why are you here?" Or, more importantly, Yujia wanted to ask, why did they just keep running into each other? It was almost to the point where it was annoying.

    "Maybe it''s just fate. We must be fated together if we keep running into each other despite being strangers, don''t you think?" The boy continued smiling.

    He was being awfully suspicious. As far as Yujia remembered, all her interactions with this boy were either composed of him scowling, giving her a confused look, or rejecting her offers. There was never a moment where he was smiling so intensely like this for such a long period of time, completely unfazed by what she was saying.

    Yujia thought back to this morning, where she was trying to convince him to go get a cup of tea with her so that she could propose her product for him to invest in her invention. At that time, she was treating him with the exact same brilliant smile.

    This was a smile that she knew. It was a smile that said, "I want something for you, so I will treat you with kindness." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.

    Exhaling deeply, Yujia flicked her gaze up, her expression unchanging from its original flat look. "Alright, you can be honest here. What do you want from me?"

    ¡­

    Yu Zixu was exploring the festival with Ye Yunhe.

    If he was to be completely honest, him and Yunhe were only on good terms when things like art were involved. He didn''t know Yunhe well enough to just interact for the sake of pure entertainment, though he wasn''t sure if that was the same on Yunhe''s side. Someone like Bo Zhiyuan, an actual friend of his, would be much better to go through the festival with. However, Zhiyuan wanted to go with Zhou Luowei to see the fireworks since he thought that was "romantic", so here Zixu was: stuck with Ye Yunhe.

    As he walked down the streets with Yunhe, having a conversation he could honestly care less about, he noticed a familiar face standing at a stall of masks. She was dressed in peach colored robes embroidered with lotuses, and a bland, somewhat frustrated look reflected off her face while she said something to a young man, dressed in a wine red cloak, who was standing across from her.

    Yunhe, noticing that he was staring off to the side, followed his gaze over and asked, "Why are you looking over there? Do you know that girl?"

    For a second, Zixu debated if he was going to tell Yunhe about the fact that the girl he was looking at right now was the exact same person who impersonated Yu Ziyang, but he chose not to.

    Yunhe previously talked about how frustrated he was with that person who pretended to be the Second Young Master of the Yu family because of the fact that in the second part of the exam, "he" critiqued Yunhe''s work and said it was "worth less than a blank sheet of paper" because of its "lack of emotion". When he took the response and showed his master, his master only laughed and said that what "Yu Ziyang" wrote had truth to it, which made Yunhe even more furious that his art was belittled like that.

    If Zixu told Yunhe that the girl he was looking at was the person who wrote such insults to his art, then surely Yunhe would start a ruckus which Zixu wasn''t hoping for. At this point, he was tired of all the crowd, loud music, and talking to Yunhe. He just wanted to get home for peace and quiet, as well as finishing up one of his paintings that he had been working on for a while.

    So, Zixu shook his head and smiled, replying lightly, "I wasn''t looking at her. I was just observing the masks that the vendor was selling. I thought they looked good, but on a second thought, there''s another vendor a few steps away with better ones. Why don''t we both buy a mask there?"

    Yunhe nodded. "Sounds good."

    The two walked on. Zixu passed by the girl without a single word, and she didn''t notice his presence either, continuing on with her conversation with the young man across from her.

 84 Chats and the Such With the Fourth Miss

    It was a bit peculiar for Yujia to find herself sitting at an inn, agreeing to settle the question of an investment with the same individual who declined her offer and refused to invest in her product a few hours ago.

    In fact, coincidentally, it was even the exact same inn that she went to in the morning with this certain individual¡ª only this time, he was the one who was buying her the best tea in the house.

    Yujia picked up the cup, taking a long sip of the warm tea, which was a good drink to have after all the pastries and other snacks she ate along the festival. She reached over for the teapot and poured Hui''er, who was sitting by her side, a cup as well.

    Across from her, the boy introduced himself. "You already know that I''m the Third Young Master of the Bo family, but my name is Bo Zhizhong." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.

    "It really is fate that I keep meeting you, Bo Zhizhong," Yujia said, her eyebrows raised.

    Yeah, it was fate. But a really twisted, aggravating kind of fate that kept bringing her people she didn''t particularly need or want to see. Instead of giving her this Third Young Master of the Bo family, why didn''t fate just drop a sack of five-hundred taels in front of her?

    Though, the bigger question was: would it be common etiquette to share her name right now?

    Yes, it would.

    But didn''t he already know her name, since he referred to her as "Miss Yang"? And was it even correct to give her full name to this person who she didn''t even know that well? She remembered that back then, she told Bo Zhiyuan her full name, but that was because she wasn''t that careful in the past, in comparison to now. What should she say now, then?

    A few moments of hesitation passed, and then Yujia decided with saying, "I''m Yang Yujia."

    Screw this. He probably already knew her name. There was no point in hiding it even further.

    "Miss Yang," Bo Zhizhong gave her a complacent smile and started, "I had a long thought about it, and your so-called pen-cils intrigue me. I''m going to be straightforward here: how many taels would you like for me to invest in them?"

    "Are you joking?" Yujia curled her upper lip. "Just earlier today, you told me something along the lines of¡­ was it¡­''women can''t do business''? ''You''re not wealthy enough?''''Your father doesn''t want you to business?''''There''s no need in taking a risk in such an unknown product?'' What exactly was it that you said? I think I forgot."

    An awkward laugh came from him, but he didn''t waver too much. "Miss Yang, I''m fully aware of what I said before. And¡­ I also know that we didn''t have exactly the ''smoothest'' history together in the past. But my older brother¡ª I believe you said that you once did business with him?¡ª showed me the drawing you did of his fianc¨¦e, and both your skills and originality won me over."

    So, he did know Bo Zhiyuan. The fact that Bo Zhiyuan was so willing to show him the drawing must mean that they were close enough to a certain degree, making Yujia begin to believe that maybe he was telling the truth about his identity as the Third Young Master.

    "I know the struggles that¡­ someone like you may go through to bring an invention to the public, and I''m very willing to help you," Bo Zhizhong continued.

    His words sure were pretty. They were words laced with flattery and kindness, something that Yujia was susceptible to. But in this situation, she would be dumb if she thought that everything he said was genuine and true.

    "How about five-hundred silver taels?" Yujia proposed slowly, the words nothing but a figment of a dream in her thoughts.

    "Deal."

    Immediately, the boy responded, reaching for his satchel and placing it on the table.

    Yujia''s eyebrows flew up at that, unconsciously backing up. She said that as a joke. Who knew that he would take what he was saying so seriously? Wasn''t he afraid that she would just take the five-hundred taels, buy herself out of her engagement, and then just flee? How much¡ª or how little¡ª did that sum of money mean to him?

    "No, no, no," she sputtered, pushing the satchel of taels back towards him. "I don''t need that money. I don''t need any money from you. I already have an investor."

    To be honest, the only reason why she sat down to have a chat with him while knowing that she had the founder of Lingxin now as her backer was that she wanted to amuse herself to see what he would say. She didn''t expect him to be so serious at all.

    "Who?"

    "I found a fairly wealthy and influential painter as my master, and they''re willing to devote some funds to me since they believe in my skills despite the gender I was born with."

    Bo Zhizhong shrank back, obvious disappointment showing on his face. He must''ve thought that she would be easy to win over with a few courteous words and a satchel of taels.

    Seeing his frown and shoulders lowered in defeat, Yujia felt a little sympathetic. Maybe she was a little harsh with her words and tone, but back then, he had been very adamant with his stereotypes and gender roles too. Did he really deserve to get another chance? It didn''t really hurt to have an extra person giving her money, did it?

    Yujia''s mind trailed off to the festival that was going on. It seemed like it would last all night.

    There was a sudden craving in her mind for the thing she was used to at every big event she went to, be it the midnight college parties she went to, art galas, or pathetic high school reunions.

    Alcohol.

    She really wanted a drink right now. Even though she had a bad experience with beer and acrylic paint in the past, she didn''t hold any memories that would ruin a good cup of wine for her. Sadly, however, Yujia already spent most of her money and she doubted six copper coins would get her anymore than a sip of good wine.

    Raising her head and taking a good look at Bo Zhizhong, another idea formulated in her mind.

    He had lots of money. She wanted a good drink.

    Surely, there was some sort of opportunity in those two situations, no?

    A grin spread across her lips. "How about this? I changed my mind about this entire situation a little, but I''m still not convinced. Why don''t we settle this over some jugs of wine? If I get drunk first, then you can invest in my pencils, and if you get drunk first, there aren''t any consequences. Let''s leave it to our alcohol tolerance level to decide for us. And also, you''re paying for the wine."

    Bo Zhizhong''s eyes narrowed, his eyes scanning her as if deciding if there was some sort of scam in this offer. Seeing that there really wasn''t, he nodded. "Alright. Do you have a preference for kind of wine?"

 85 Settling the Fourth Missâ€™s Issue With a Drink

    Yujia smiled at the shallow bowl and a jug of wine next to her. As a sign of respect, she poured a cup for both herself and for him, then raised her bowl, nodding before taking a long sip of the wine.

    The fragrance of the rice wine held a hint of sweetness inside of its light taste, reminding Yujia of the occasions where she had similar wine before. One of her old roommates used to play around with making rice wine herself, and when Yujia sampled it in the past, it tasted rather similar.

    Next to the jug of wine, there were also a few dishes to eat along with the wine that Bo Zhizhong ordered, since just drinking pure wine would be a bit boring.

    Yujia looked to Hui''er, who didn''t seem to have any worry displayed on her face. She would offer her maid some wine, but considering that Hui''er was only fifteen, that might not be the best choice. Leaning to the side, she asked in a hushed voice, "Do you not really care that I''m participating in a contest to see who gets drunk first?''

    Hui''er giggled a little and replied back in a whisper, "Miss, you might not know this, but before the night you came here, the old Fourth Miss had an excellent alcohol tolerance. She spent half a tael buying the cheapest wine she could find, but the only reason why she spent that much money was because it took jugs and jugs of wine before she could fall drunk. So, considering that you two are twins, I''m assuming that you''re just as good as her. You won''t get too drunk easily."

    Oh? So the previous Yang Yujia was so good at drinking? No wonder when she woke up in this new body with such a bad hangover.

    In any way, that made Yujia feel a bit more confident about winning. Though, in the end, she supposed it didn''t matter too much if she won or lost. There wasn''t anything to hurt her in this bet.

    She finished drinking her bowl of wine and set it down. Bo Zhizhong reached over and filled both of their bowls again to ensure fairness.

    Yujia savored the taste of the wine on her tongue, a little put off by the awkward silence between the two of them since neither party was saying anything, simply drinking their wine and nearly ignoring each other''s existence. If other people saw the two of them right now, it would be a strange sight a boy and a girl drinking with each other. The good thing was that their seat was at the very back of the inn, so few people were around. Still though, it would be a good idea to make some conversation¡­

    "So¡ª" both of them said at the same time, their eyes looking up in synchronization at each other.

    Yujia bit her bottom lip and waved. "You go first."

    "No, you go," Bo Zhizhong replied.

    She hated situations like this.

    Yujia forced a smile on her face as she questioned, "So, I''m curious¡­ why exactly did you agree to this entire thing of drinking? I''ll be honest here: I just wanted a free drink since I used up all the money on me. Except as for you¡­ let me rephrase my question: why do you want to invest in my invention all of a sudden? You gave me an explanation before, but it wasn''t that¡­ good."

    Bo Zhizhong rested his chin on a propped up hand, carelessly picking the jug of wine again and refilling both of their empty bowls. "My oldest brother does business, and my second brother does business as well. My father truly does want me to work with more scholarly things, but I guess there was some part of me that wanted to participate in business too like my other brothers. When I heard your proposal at first, I didn''t feel that moved at first, but after a long thought about it, I realized that it would take something new and innovative like your invention to bring my true intentions to my father, not just investing in silk or spices or anything like that. Also, he really does like art, and I think he would be impressed with it."

    Yujia finished her wine and poured both of them more, nodding slowly at his explanation. This one made more sense than his pointless flattery that he said before about her "originality and skills" winning him over.

    "You asked me a question," he continued, "so can I ask you one in return?"

    "Go ahead."

    "What made you begin inventing? Your pencils don''t sound like they''re something created by accident. And, I know this might be a bit judgemental, but you know¡­ normal young misses don''t go inventing and all that?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.

    Yujia sighed. "But, normal young misses do learn painting, don''t they? I happen to have interest in the arts, and the idea came to me to create something that no one had ever seen before. I guess, at one point in time, I got tired of what society expects from me."

    Lies, lies, lies. The lies sounded so natural rolling off her tongue. She only created pencils because she wanted something she was familiar with in this new world, so although she did agree that the current society''s expectation of women was too limiting, she made her purpose behind her invention sound so much better than what it actually was.

    Like before, the empty wine bowls were filled again. Bo Zhizhong said, "I think I haven''t given a proper apology for what I said before with the fact that you were female. I know that you might think that I''m doing this for the sake of being nice, but I''m genuine. I swear. I realized that the words were a bit harsh."

    "It''s fine. Most people are like you too, so I guess I''ve grown used to it." Yujia gulped the wine in her bowl down following that statement. She refilled, then asked, "Really though, thinking back to how many times we''ve ran into each other, why does this keep happening? Just ''fate'' doesn''t explain the fact that everywhere I go, I somehow, magically see you."

    "Fate is a very real thing," he retorted indignantly, "How else would you explain it?"

    People from the ancient times really did hold such high belief in fate, didn''t they? Yujia wasn''t that much of a believer herself, but come to think of, many people in modern times were just as superstitious as people of this time.

    "Well, I don''t know." She picked up her chopsticks and sampled a piece of braised beef. "Don''t you have better things to do all day than running around the city or bathing in springs? Or¡­" a mischievous grin appeared on her face as she suggested in a joking manner, "are you purposefully looking for me because my good looks are just too alluring?"

    Bo Zhizhong instantly flushed red, not from the alcohol both of them had downed so far, but from her sudden statement. His eyes darted downward, avoiding eye contact while he denied, "No way. I''m already married too¡­ why would I just go and look for you purposefully? Stop raising yourself so high."

    He was married already? Yujia''s grin dropped. Teasing him was fun, but she supposed that it wouldn''t be proper to make jokes like this with a married man.

    Yujia''s eyes traveled back over to the plate of braised beef. The meat was tender and melted on her tongue, and the spices were balanced just perfectly as well. Paired with the delicate sweetness of the wine, the two combined to create a delicious balance.

    She thought she was already full, but it didn''t hurt to eat more now with such tasty dishes that were much better than whatever she got at home, right? Bo Zhizhong didn''t seem that into eating anything on the table, so if she didn''t touch them, then the dishes would be wasted.

    With that thought, Yujia reached over for the largest slice of beef she saw. While she placed it in her mouth and enjoyed the flavors dissolving on her tongue, she took an empty bowl on the side and filled it with all sorts of vegetables and meat for Hui''er, who she thought might crave the food as well yet didn''t know if it was proper or not to eat.

    Once the bowl was filled, she slid it over to Hui''er with a clean pair of chopsticks. Yujia didn''t want her maid to starve.

 86 And the Winner of the Fourth Missâ€™s Drinking Competition Isâ€¦

    Silence joined the table once again after Bo Zhizhong said the last phrase about being married. Yujia was quietly eating and drinking, and no one seemed to have the intention to speak up again, which made for a not-so-pleasant mood over the entire table.

    After a few more minutes of this dreaded silence, Yujia decided to start the conversation again. "I didn''t expect that you would be married," she laughed, "The Second Young Master is only engaged, and he''s older than you by how many years?"

    "Seven years," he answered without much thought, "I guess my older brother just cared for finding himself an actual love rather than listening to what my father planned out for him."

    "You don''t love your wife?" The moment after Yujia blurted out the question, she regretted it. That was way too personal of a question. How could she ask something like that to this person who she barely knew? "S-sorry," she stumbled, "that wasn''t a proper question for me to ask."

    Bo Zhizhong leaned his forehead on his fingers, smiling a smile that didn''t quite reach his ears while shaking his head. "It''s alright," he mumbled. Perhaps it was the alcohol encouraging him, or perhaps it was the fact that he never truly told anyone about this that urged him to continue speaking. "What you said has some level of truth to it. I got married only a few months prior, but it was a marriage for political advancement. I treat her kindly, and she returns my kindness, yet at times, I can''t help but question if she truly holds me in her heart or if it''s all just an act so that her family can be raised higher."

    "If it makes you feel better, I''m engaged to someone three times my age, so my situation isn''t much better than yours either." Yujia set the chopsticks in her hand down, looking at him with a serious gaze.

    He glanced up, eyebrows furrowed. "Really? How come?"

    Yujia decided to be completely honest with him. "I''m illegitimate, and I''m not a pampered young miss from a rich household either. Maybe it''s like your situation a little¡ª I exist to bring more business connections to my family."

    "That''s¡ª" He shook his head, a mixed expression surfacing on his face. "When are you getting married?"

    "In less than a month." Yujia couldn''t help but smile.

    She didn''t know why she was smiling. There was nothing celebratory about the fact that she was going to be married to some old man in less than a month. Maybe it was the fact that her situation seemed so dire, and now that she was facing the reality of it all, she didn''t know how to respond, only putting a smile on her face instinctively.

    "But you''re still¡­ inventing and selling art?"

    "That''s the reason why I''m so desperately trying to sell art to earn money. I struck a deal with my father. As long as I can give him five-hundred taels before the wedding, he''ll cancel it all for me." Yujia took a deep breath, straightening her posture. "So, if you were to really think about it, you''re in a better place than I''m at. At least you have a wife who''s around your age¡ª I''m guessing¡ª and you have hope for love. If I fail, and I don''t cancel the wedding in time, do you think that I still have any hope for anything at all?" She wrinkled her nose with a frown. "Just thinking about having to get¡­ involved with a man that old makes me disgusted."

    Bo Zhizhong didn''t say anything after she was finished, only reaching over for the jug of wine and pouring both of them yet another bowl. They drank their wine in silence, the meaning behind Yujia''s words being rather clear.

    Everyone had their own struggles. There was always someone at a worse place.

    In a way, that was the best consoling that Yujia could come up with, both for him and for herself. She needed to take on this positive mindset to get through all of her conflict. Giving up now, when there were so many others in worse situations than her yet still struggling, was not a route that she should allow herself to take.

    After they finished the bowl of wine, the two began chatting again over all sorts of topics just to pass the time and keep away the silence. Jugs and jugs of wine were poured and emptied, replaced by more jugs filled with sweet wine.

    Five large jugs of wine later, Yujia found herself stuck in a situation. Hours should''ve passed by now, yet neither of them looked drunk enough to be named the loser of this drinking competition. The only sign that the two of them even drank anything was a faint blush of red across their faces and necks, but other than that, they both looked sober enough to drink until morning came.

    At this point, Yujia was getting tired of all the alcohol. She wasn''t feeling depressed or in the need of using wine to bury away all her thoughts, so there really wasn''t any point in drinking more. Right now, she would prefer a good long sleep than more bowls of wine. This competition needed to end soon, but how?

    Yujia took one more large gulp of wine, then decided that she didn''t really want to win anymore. From the start, she never cared about what the results of the competition were. If he wanted to fund her pencils, that was only one extra investor. If he lost, then she wouldn''t lose anything either. All along, she just wanted to get a good drink of wine, and now that she had her fill, there was no more need to keep going.

    Pulling up her acting abilities, Yujia set the empty bowl in her hand down with a clatter, then slumped against the table. "I¡ª lose," she said, her speech as slurred as possible.

    "Seriously?" Though her head was on the table, she could hear the faint amusement in Zhizhong''s voice. "You were talking just fine to me about how you had a strong resentment for society a moment ago. Even if your acting skills are so refined, then you need to at least match it up with what you were doing in the past."

    "Ugh, fine." Yujia sat straight up. "I''m not that drunk. But you''re not that drunk either. I don''t know about you, but as fun as it is chatting, I''m starting to get sleepy. Can we just end this competition? I''ll take the spot as loser."

    "You''re the one who started it all, and you''re the one who ends it too?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.

    "Yeah," Yujia waved her hand, "I get if you want to prove to your father that you can do business too through investing in my invention, so I''ll let you invest if you really want."

    Zhizhong''s eyes lit up upon hearing what she said. "Then, considering how late it is, how about tomorrow, on the hour of Wu, I treat you to lunch, and we can talk about this business some more?"

    Yujia thought back to her agreement to meet up with the old man who was the founder of Lingxin. "Sounds good, but I have a meeting with someone in the afternoon, so I don''t think I can. Maybe two hours later?"

    "That''s fine with me."

    Zhizhong stood up and saluted politely. At that, Yujia smiled and saluted back. She took Hui''er''s hand, and after a couple of farewells, she left the inn first.

    Now that she had such a long conversation and drink with Bo Zhizhong, Yujia decided that her opinion of him changed. He wasn''t that annoying of a person.

    ¡­

    Once Miss Yang left the inn, Yushang saw Si Shen appear from a table a few seats away. The two headed out together, with Yushang talking to Si Shen about quite a lot of things, one of them being a new policy he had in his mind.

    "Si Shen," he stated, "I think that once I become Emperor, I''m going to make a new law that bans marriages over an age gap of fifteen years if one party isn''t consenting. What do you think?"

    Si Shen merely shrugged, no comments coming from him as usual, only this time, Yushang didn''t mind so much. Enjoying the last few bursts of fireworks in the sky and the crowds in the street dispersing to head home, Yushang returned in the direction of the palace as well, a simple smile on his lips.

 87 Typical Mornings of the Fourth Miss

    The good news of the next morning was that Yujia didn''t feel any hints of a hangover. The bad news was that she still needed to think of how she was going to face the founder of Lingxin from yesterday.

    Yujia slowly stirred at a bowl of white porridge that she typically had for breakfast along with some pickled vegetables. She knew that Young Master Bo was her new investor, and considering how complicated it would be to split investments between two individuals, she didn''t really need the old man as her investor anymore. Still, though, there were some benefits in going through and calling him her master. She could go and take good use of the Lingxin marketplace.

    With that thought, Yujia decided that Bo Zhizhong would become her investor, and the old man would become her master. One night of the festival created two more new relationships for her.

    She supposed that her situation wasn''t that bad now. Getting five-hundred taels by the end of the month shouldn''t be that difficult.

    Her morning passed uneventfully, with just some painting and conversing with Hui''er, yet on the other side of the villa, without Yujia''s knowledge, a young master decided to pay a visit.

    ¡­

    Yu Zixu walked into the Yang villa with his hands folded behind his back, followed by a few servants carrying presents.

    Today, he decided, would be the day where he would see for sure who he was engaged to, and whether or not the girl he knew was Yang Xiaoyi.

    When the Old Master of the Yang family heard of news that he was paying a visit, he swiftly arranged for them to meet in the front room of the main courtyard. With the Old Master sitting at the front of the room next to the Madam, Zixu sat towards the left and was served a courteous cup of tea.

    Once all formalities were exchanged, the Madam began, "Young Master Yu, what brings you here to Yang villa today?"

    Zixu smiled. People like the Madam were easy to deal with. They liked elaborate words of flattery, and he happened to be quite skilled in anything that involved words. "I simply wanted to visit my future parents-in-law. The Yu Household is still working on the betrothal gifts, but today, I brought a few gifts to show my sincerity. It''s not much, but I hope that it can convey my dedication."

    He waved his hands, and the servants behind him moved forward, presenting their three veiled gifts. One by one, they took off the cloth veil covering each gift and revealed what was hidden inside, presenting the gifts forward. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.

    The first gift, a green vase, drew the attention of everyone in the room. With details carved into the stone to gather together and form a long, slender vase, it was clearly a vase made for arranging the newly bloomed branches of next winter''s plum blossoms or any other branched flowers. It gleamed in the faint sunlight streaming in the room that highlighted the curled details depicted on it.

    The second gift was a valuable painting that Zixu happened to chance upon in the market. It featured a scene of a long, coursing river cutting through layered mountains lined with trees. Anyone, no matter if they understood art or not, would be able to tell that it was a good painting from just one glance.

    The third gift were a pair of rooster statues made of carved red agate, the small statues lifelike and detailed. Each rooster stood facing each other with curled red feathers lining their bodies.

    As each gift was presented, Zixu could see the smiles grow more and more on the Old Master and Madam''s faces. On his own lips, a collected smile remained, unchanging as each gift was revealed.

    To a small family like the Yangs, these three gifts may seem priceless, but it wasn''t that valuable to Zixu. The vase and statues were both gifts he received once from other people, but due to the quality of the stones being not pure enough for the Yu villa standards, they were always kept in the storage room, untouched. For the painting, it was only a painting of a master that Zixu had collected countless works of, and this painting wasn''t even one of the best ones. So, Zixu didn''t feel too heartbroken to give it away either.

    Gifts like these, which seemed nearly worthless to him, were such treasures in the eyes of others. Giving them out actually added more worth to them than if they were just gathering dust in the storage room. As long as he could win over the hearts of the two in front of him, giving them even more gifts like these wouldn''t be any more difficult.

    Though, based on his predictions, three gifts would be enough. And, based on the expression currently displayed on both of their faces, three gifts was more than enough to gain their good opinion. Next time, one would be the right amount to deal with people like them. He didn''t want them to feel like they were indebted to him¡ª he just wanted them to agree with his upcoming demand.

    The Old Master thanked him graciously for the gifts, and the three of them chatted for a while about business, how he was doing with his career, and how the Old Master of the Yu family was doing. The conversation slowly moved to the topic of Zixu''s engagement, which led him to the question that he came here for this entire time.

    "I hope this isn''t too much of an outrageous request," he started, putting on a sheepish smile and scratching the back of his neck to make himself seem more sincere, "but since the Fifth Miss and I will be married within the year, yet we haven''t even met yet, may I have the permission of meeting her, under your supervision?"

    "Of course!" the Old Master answered, "It''s only natural that you would request something like this."

    Zixu thanked him politely after the Old Master sent out a servant to fetch the Fifth Miss. With the Yang villa being rather small, it didn''t take long for the servant to go and for the Fifth Miss to arrive.

    When the Fifth Miss first arrived, Zixu noticed her clothes first. They were a shade of peach and embroidered with lotuses, the exact robes that he saw last night at the festival. So, it really was her?

    But then, his eyes traveled up to her face.

    The girl who was wearing the exact robes wasn''t the person he was expecting at all. In contrast to the face he knew with a slender nose, arched willow brows, and pale lips that curved like a crescent moon, the face that he saw now had a rounder nose, blushing pink skin, and a doe-eyed look on her face. He could still spot a few similarities between the two, such as the curve of their jaw and the long eyelashes over their ink-black irises, but there was no denying that they were two different individuals.

    His guesses were wrong. They were different people.

    Almost instantly, Zixu lost most of the interest he had in the previous girl he thought to be Yang Xiaoyi, turning to analyze his true fianc¨¦e.

    She had a delicate smile on her lips and a faint blush on her cheeks while she walked up, bowing to her parents first, and then turning to Zixu. Her eyes depicted pure curiosity as she observed him for a second before bowing as well. Zixu stood, returning the bow.

    The Madam gestured and said, "Xiaoyi, have a seat to the right!"

    Following her words, Xiaoyi sat down across from Zixu, taking another look at him before their eyes met. Almost embarrassed, she flushed a little redder and darted her eyes away, choosing to look down at her hands.

    Seeing her flustered actions, Zixu couldn''t help but chuckle a little to himself. The Fifth Miss, in comparison to the girl he thought was her, really was much more charming.

    Their small exchange of eye contact seemed to have caught the notice of the Madam. She laughed silently and explained, "Xiaoyi isn''t usually this shy. When she''s with her sisters, you should see how much more lively she is." The Madam tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Oh, and Xiaoyi, haven''t you always liked painting? Young Master Yu does too, right?"

    Zixu kept on his composed smile, replying, "Yes, I''ve always enjoyed painting. May I ask the Fifth Miss, do you have particular masters that you admire?"

    "Yes!" Speaking of the topic of painting, Yang Xiaoyi perked up, though she hastened to cover her enthusiasm. "There''s plenty of masters that I''ve looked up to."

    She went on to list quite a few that Zixu knew of, which he replied to with mild interest. Now that the topic of painting was picked up, they conversed for a while about it, though Zixu found himself gradually losing interest.

    Yang Xiaoyi did know a lot about painting, but there were still more things that Zixu knew of that she didn''t, leading to many moments where he would mention something, and she would follow up with brief silence and an explanation that she wasn''t sure of what he was speaking of. This wasn''t quite out of Zixu''s expectations. Only people like Ye Yunhe knew as much as he did about art.

    Still, though, it didn''t make for a valuable conversation on Zixu''s side. What could he get out of the conversation? Pointless affection that he wasn''t particularly searching for? Now that he found out the identity of his fianc¨¦e, and he no longer had questions, he lost all amusement in the conversation and the presence of the three people around him.

    While he talked with the Fifth Miss about painting theory, not showing a bit of his true thoughts, his mind trailed off to the girl he had mistaken as the Fifth Miss before.

    Somehow, just somehow, she managed to score higher than him by a rank in the third exam of Lingxin Pavilion, which was the only one that mattered. How did she do it? How great did her painting have to be to surpass his despite her poor scores in the past two rounds?

    He knew that her surname was Yang. But which young miss was she?

    Zixu discovered, in the midst of his thoughts, that perhaps, his original question should''ve been who exactly the person who surpassed his work was, not if she was the Fifth Miss that he thought she may have been.

    A calm smile remaining on his face, Zixu waited for the conversation to end already.

 88 The Fourth Miss Begins to Believe in Fate

    When the hour of Wu, or the afternoon, came around, and Yujia didn''t see Xiaoyi coming in for lessons, she automatically assumed that she would be coming later or was too busy to have lessons at all. Either way, it wasn''t that big of a deal. She had things to do too.

    For this two-part trip, she didn''t want Hui''er to come with her. This was mostly due to the fact that last time, when she was talking with the old man and Young Master Bo, she felt like Hui''er was left out a lot. Surely, following her and watching her talk to all these people while being ignored wasn''t a great feeling. So, before she left, Yujia told Hui''er to stay behind.

    Once Yujia was dressed in her nicest robes, a pale blue robe embroidered with dark blue and white thread that was clearly the handiwork of the Fourth Miss, she took her box of pencils and headed out.

    That was when she began to believe in something called fate, because it really was fate that brought people that she didn''t want to meet in front of her eyes.

    Instantly upon stepping out the courtyard doors of the South Courtyard, Yujia caught the face of Yu Zixu as he walked in her direction, followed behind by a couple of servants. For a split second, Yujia considered ducking her head down to avoid meeting his gaze, but it was too late. Their eyes met, and recognition passed through his gaze.

    "Little brother!" he exclaimed, a calm smile on his lips as always.

    Yujia backed up a step. Why was he here? This wasn''t even a public space¡ª it was the Yang villa! She never wanted to run into him again after everything that happened with her impersonation attempt, but here he was, right in her home.

    Was it because of the Fifth Miss who he was engaged to, or was it¡­ fate?

    Yujia began to wonder if what Bo Zhizhong said was correct. Fate really was a thing. Otherwise, what would explain his sudden appearance?

    And, really, why was he still calling her ''little brother''?

    "Young Master Yu¡­" Yujia respectfully replied, straying away from the temptation to reply to him with ''big brother''.

    Yu Zixu continued on, "What a coincidence that you''re here too!" Coincidence? She was in her own villa, and he was saying that it was coincidental that she was here? "Are you heading out as well?"

    "Yes," Yujia answered, "I have places to go."

    "Then let''s walk out together." He smiled a little more.

    "..." Yujia didn''t have anything to say to this, so she began walking her way out of the villa. Her hope was that at one point, they would go their separate paths. Until then, she would just avoid conversation with him, since downright rejecting his invitation to walk together would be rude.

    Yet, as they walked out of the villa together in silence, headed in the same direction together in silence, and walked at the same pace for minutes in silence, Yujia began to wonder if instead of just walking together, he was following her.

    A good fifteen minutes passed, and they were still walking together towards the direction of Lingxin, not a single word exchanged between them. He hadn''t started a single conversation, and she hadn''t either, making for an extremely awkward stroll.

    Another three or so minutes later, where Yujia could even spot Lingxin''s arch not too far in the distance, Yujia couldn''t take it anymore. She stopped in her steps, turning to face him.

    "Young Master Yu, what do you want?"

    "Hm?" Yu Zixu looked at her. "What do you mean?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.

    Yujia pointed to Lingxin''s arch in the distance. "Are you heading to Lingxin Pavilion as well?"

    He shook his head. "I''m returning to my villa."

    "Then, why is it that it''s almost been twenty minutes, and you''re still walking with me?" Yujia narrowed her eyes and scowled.

    "We happened to be walking the same path all this time. Is there anything wrong with that? My villa is right around the corner." He pointed left.

    In disbelief, Yujia spun left and walked down the path. In only a few moments, there was a grand villa labeled with "Yu villa" on a sign at the top that appeared in Yujia''s vision.

    So¡­ all along, he truly was walking on the same path as her and wasn''t following her just to give her anxiety? She was overthinking it this entire time?

    But, to be fair, he really was suspicious in his actions¡­

    Following behind her, Yu Zixu let out a breath of air, similar to a laugh. "What did I say? It''s the Yu villa, isn''t it?"

    "Sorry¡­ about accusing you," Yujia apologized. As much as she didn''t want to apologize to him, she was still in the wrong, so it was only right that she acted this way.

    "It''s not a big deal." He waved his hand, glancing in the direction of the opening of the path that connected back to the main road. "You still have business with Lingxin? Why are you heading there?"

    "After everything that happened a few days ago, I didn''t think that I would," Yujia admitted, "but I happen to like the colored ink that one of the merchants in the marketplace sells, so I visit there once in a while."

    "Ah, so it''s like that." With a nod, Yu Zixu turned to look back at her. "You really could''ve become a student there, though. I didn''t plan on revealing your secret."

    "Considering how quickly you found out about my secret, it''s probably just as easy for someone else to discover it. Sooner or later, someone who''s not so intent on keeping my secret is going to find out, and then the whole school will be in chaos that a girl managed to attend." Yujia sighed.

    He raised his eyebrows. "Your skills have proven that you deserve to attend though, right? Why does it matter if you''re a girl or not? You managed to get first place in the third exam, even ahead of me."

    "Young Master Yu," Yujia asked with a smile, "do you hold your painting skills that high that you find it surprising that someone beat you?"

    "No. I''m simply curious on how good your painting skills are," he answered with a similar smile.

    Yujia blinked. "I''m quite mediocre at painting, to be honest. The only reason I think I managed to win is because I happened to learn quite a few new things that others haven''t."

    "If so¡­" Zixu leaned forward, "there''s a painting convention that''s happening in Lingxin, and all students are allowed to bring a guest if they wish. Would you like to go with me to show everyone the ''few new things'' that others don''t know of and prove to them that even as a female, your skills still soar above them?"

    Yujia paused. A painting convention sounded like a waste of time. But still¡­ a small part of her really wanted to change society''s judgemental view on women somehow, and the painting convention sounded like the perfect start.

    "Tempting offer," she answered, "though I don''t think I''ll go as your guest."

    "Why?"

    Because she would become the disciple of the founder of Lingxin in just a few moments, making her technically a student of Lingxin. She didn''t want to tell him that though, and she didn''t want to give him a definite answer either.

    "I have my own means of getting in if I really wanted to, and if I decided to not attend at the last minute, I wouldn''t want to waste your opportunity of bringing another guest." She set the box of pencils in her hand down, folded her hands in front of herself, and bowed, content with the way she rejected him. "As nice as it was talking to you, I still have my business to attend to. So, allow me to leave."

    Yu Zixu clasped his hands and bowed. "Of course, Young Miss Yang. I hope that I didn''t delay you too much with the conversation."

    "Until next time, then, Young Master Yu."

    Yujia gave him a polite smile, picked up her pencils, and turned, heading back to the main road.

 89 For the Fourth Miss To Meet Her Future Senior Brother

    Just like the old man promised, there was a student of Lingxin waiting at the front to receive her. Yujia gave him her name, and he brought her through a new garden path that she hadn''t gone through before. It seemed just as grand as the one she saw before, so she assumed that there must have been numerous garden paths like these throughout the academy.

    When the two arrived at a lotus pond with a red-roofed pavilion resting in between all the unbloomed lotus leaves, the student respectfully saluted and said, "Here is where I was supposed to take you. I am not allowed to proceed forward, so please go on your own inside the pavilion."

    Yujia frowned a bit. The pavilion did look quite picturesque, but was it really that special that even students of the school weren''t allowed to enter it? Why was she able to, then, considering that she hadn''t even called the old man her master yet?

    Nevertheless, she followed the words of the student and cautiously walked down the circular path surrounding the pond until she saw a bridge that connected the pavilion and land, which she walked on next. The closer she neared the pavilion, the more she heard a conversation travelling into her ear that sounded like a lot of bickering and anger, making her very uncertain on what exactly was going on in the pavilion. The sound of arguing disturbed the natural peace of the pond and nature around it.

    The two that were quarrelling were revealed to her when she got a little closer. It was the founder of Lingxin and Ye Yunhe, his disciple. Both were facing each other and completely absorbed in their argument, not even noticing her presence when she arrived in front of the pavilion opening.

    "But Master, I just don''t get it¡ª why would you¡ª what''s the purpose of getting heras a disciple? Didn''t you say that I was going to be your only disciple?"

    "Huh, kid, are you getting jealous now? Does it concern you who I''m taking as a disciple? That''s my decision, not yours, right?"

    "I''m not jealous! It''s just nice to have some bragging rights by claiming to all the others that I''m your last disciple, okay? What am I supposed to say now? That my spot as last disciple got replaced by some girl?"

    "She has actual talent. More than you, if I were to say, considering how young she looks and how old you''re becoming. I always have my reasons. Besides, who said that she was going to be my last disciple?"

    "What, it''s not like you can get more disciples after you select her since you''re so old that it''s a miracle that you''re still ali¡ª"

    Ye Yunhe''s words froze halfway, as if he realized that he was about to say something extremely disrespectful and against all teachings of filial piety.

    Despite being so old, the old man caught on though, stepping forward and shaking a finger at him. "Brat, what were you going to say just now?"

    "N-nothing¡­ nothing at all¡­"

    It was as if all the rage from before vanished in Ye Yunhe''s voice, replaced by a respectful and attentive attitude of a disciple.

    "I heard what you were going to say! Go ahead. Finish what you were saying."

    "Master, I really wasn''t saying anything¡­ haha, I think I was spouting nonsense¡­ I can''t even remember what I was going to say¡­?"

    "Going to act dumb now? Why don''t you say it? Afraid now? Why are you so terrified when before, you held so much conviction to say what you were going to say? Huh?"Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.

    "Master¡ª"

    "Ahem."

    Yujia coughed, getting attention from both of them right away.

    The scrunched up face of the old man was replaced by an open grin, while Ye Yunhe''s jaw unclenched and he stood taller, straightening his robes.

    "You''re here!" The old man exclaimed, waving for her to come over. "The kid and I were just having a¡­''friendly discussion'' about your arrival."

    Yujia put on a small smile, and saluted. "I see that your ''friendly discussion'' was quite energetic, Elder."

    "Energetic indeed¡­" He chuckled at her words, then pointed at Ye Yunhe. "That''s the disciple I was talking about, and the person who you correctlysaid had worthless art! You''ve seen him before, so now, you can believe that I really am the founder of Lingxin because he calls me ''Master'', right?"

    While Yujia nodded, she could see the corners of Yunhe''s eyelid twitch, but he somehow managed to keep a placid smile on his face while he saluted back to her, greeting, "Miss¡­?"

    "Yang. Yang Yujia."

    "Miss Yang," Ye Yunhe went on, "I believe that you''ve¡­ insulted my work quite thoroughly in the second round of the examination. And then, you''ve also violated the academy''s rules by lying about your identity and fakingyour way into the academy. So, do forgive me for saying this, but I simply can''t stand having someone like you as my¡­ junior sister."

    Yujia was somewhat surprised at how quickly Ye Yunhe''s attitude changed from fighting like a child with his master to using civilized words to convey his enmity to her.

    She didn''t need to say anything though, since his master cut in for her. "Brat, you''re still going on about how she apparently ''insulted'' your work? It''s not called an insult if it''s true! What did she say again? That your work was worth less than a piece of blank paper because of the lack of emotion?"

    Ye Yunhe nodded.

    "Well then, what''s the number one principle of the Six Principles?"

    He gave his answer instantaneously. "Spirit Resonance. The energy of a work."

    "Since you know that, you should now know that what she said was right!" His master hmphed and helped himself down to a seat in the middle of the pavilion. "What is the energy of the work? How is it transferred to the work through an artist, and how does it link the artist, work, and theme? Is it not partially due to the emotion that the artist carries? Your work has barely any Spirit Resonance, thus making it worthless!"

 90 The Fourth Miss Greets Her Master

    Yujia didn''t think that all the nonsense she came up with emotion in work happened to directly correlate with one of the Six Elements that she had no idea about up until now, where she just learned what the first principle was.

    Ye Yunhe was left rather wordless too, only blankly staring down at his feet after hearing his master''s words. He didn''t seem to want to argue anymore, finally realizing the mistakes in his beliefs and knowing when to back down from an argument.

    His master left a few reassuring words to him though. "Don''t worry too much. You''re still young and have plenty of time to learn." His following words came out more like a mutter, "Though, when I was your age, I already comprehended what you''re currently unable to¡­"

    "Master!" Ye Yunhe heard the mutter, his face distorting. The advice would''ve been perfect if his master didn''t add on the other sentence, but because of the disparaging remark, all sense of assurement was taken away from his words.

    "Well, your soon-to-be junior sister has talent that I can recognize, so from now on, I don''t want to hear more of your complaints about getting her as a sister, okay?"

    It seemed like Ye Yunhe wanted to comment on something else¡ª perhaps over the fact that Yujia didn''t even know the basic principles of painting¡ª but he held back his words through biting his lips.

    Seeing that their argument had mostly died down, Yujia started, "So¡­ how does this work? Do I just call Elder as master, and call it a day? Or is there an elaborate ceremony?"

    The old man waved his hand and shook his head. "I''m not into all those complicated altar and ceremony things. Simply kneel and bow three times, and then we''ll be done." He looked around. "Oh, and if you don''t feel like this entire process is sacred right now, the current pavilion you''re in is the Lingxin Pavilion that the school is named after, and it''s the place where I taught the Emperor how to paint, so it''s pretty blessed and sacred enough."

    Yujia''s jaw dropped.

    This was the Lingxin Pavilion? This was where theEmperorlearned how to paint?

    No wonder the student from before was not permitted to enter. It must be that only certain permitted individuals were able to step even nearthe pavilion.

    And then¡­ this person who she was about to call her master was once the teacher of the Emperor?

    A background like his was too epic to be considered normal. But yet, here he was, selling colored ink in the marketplace and trying to get her to become his disciple¡­

    Yujia couldn''t believe that she even met someone like him, much less to say that she was about to become his disciple. After all, if he was also the master of the Emperor and not just his teacher, didn''t that make her and the Emperor senior and junior siblings?

    Relationships like that were too crazy to fathom.

    A few moments of silence passed, and then Yujia shakily began, "Before I call you master and all that though, I think we need to talk about the entire situation with my invention and funding first."

    "Sure. What do you need to say?" The old man pressed his mouth into a straight line.

    "This entire master-disciple idea sprouted because I needed an investor for my invention, right?"

    He nodded.

    "There''s an acquaintance of mine that I met later that night at the festival, and he truly wants to invest too. I agreed to him, but after thinking about it, I really don''t think that my invention needs two investors to put their money into it. So, to help my acquaintance out since he has personal reasons for why he needs to invest, I don''t think that Elder should invest in my pencils anymore."

    "Ah." Hearing that, a downcast expression fell on the old man''s face. "If that''s the case, you don''t need me as a master anymore, do you?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please clickfor visiting.

    "No¡ª no, no," hurriedly, Yujia explained, "I thought long about it, and I truly think that I need a master to help me improve in the arts, since I still don''t know much."

    The lie came out of her mouth so easily.

    She didn''t want to improve in art. She was simply using it as a way to save herself from the entire situation. Thus, she didn''t want the old man as a master either to help her improve either. She just wanted to make strong connections that would surely help her out later in life and also gain access to selling things in the Lingxin marketplace, hopefully, if she begged her master enough. That would make her life very easy.

    "Ha, then all''s good now?"

    "I''m still unsure, though¡­" Yujia cast her eyes down, the bits of confusion in her heart forcing her to ask a question that she didn''t have the answer to. "Why does Elder want me as a disciple so much? Surely, there are so many more talented students in Lingxin, and you already have a very talented disciple!"

    Yujia gestured to Ye Yunhe, whose eyes widened when she said that he was talented. Why would she call him talented when one second ago, she called his work worthless?

    Her question seemed to bring out something from the old man, replacing all his previous faces with a mixed expression. It was nothing like the fury that she had seen when he was arguing with Ye Yunhe, nor was it like his delight that she had seen when talking about the matters of master and disciple with him.

    There was a new emotion surfacing in his eyes, a mixture of some sort of guilt and nostalgia, emotions that shouldn''t have been combined yet managed to blend together in a glossy shade. His eyes reflected so many memories of the past, as if a single question from her managed to uncover decades of his past history.

    "I''ll be honest with you," the old man said, his words slow, "your paintings remind me of the work of my late wife, the one individual who is the most important to me, and the one individual who I foolishly pushed to her limit. Not long before she passed away, we got into a¡­ fight. She burned all of her paintings. I don''t have a single work of hers left. All that remains are blurring pictures in my mind. When I saw the painting you created in the third exam, it made me think of one of her last paintings¡­ and when I saw you again yesterday, I was determined to preserve your work when it reminds me so much of the things she made."

    He took a deep breath. "That is the first reason for why I want you, as my disciple, because surely, as my disciple, you''re willing to let me keep some of your work, right?"

    Upon hearing that, Yujia''s breath caught with emotion. She didn''t expect for someone like this elder to have an explanation with so much history behind it.

    Shaking her head, she replied, "There''s no need for that! I''ll just give you my paintings. For free."

    "I''m grateful that you''re willing to show such kindness, child, but it''s not just that. The second, more important reason, is that my wife had always wanted things that society would never give her. I didn''t understand her, but once she was gone, I began to see what she was talking about. It''s not just your work that reminds me of her, but your dreams too. I don''t want to see you ending up like how she did¡ª with society breaking who she was. If I were your master, then I would have the power to support you, to help you along your way, and to help her fulfill the goals she never managed to."

    "I¡ª" Yujia looked away.

    She began to feel guilt for her previous thoughts about using the old man just so that she could sell things in the marketplace while he had such noble reasons for trying to get her to become his disciple. At that moment, Yujia decided that she would become his disciple, not just because of the benefits it would bring her, but so that she could return the sincerity that he had given her.

    Except, he continued.

    "I can understand if you don''t want to accept me as a master. That''s fine. We barely know each other, and the relationship between master and disciple is not an average one. But here are my reasons¡ª and perhaps that would sway your choice." He sighed and smiled softly.

    Right after his words ended, Yujia set the box of pencils in her hands down to the side and kneeled, her knees thudding against the floor of the pavilion. Then, she folded her hands, bowing.

    Once.

    Twice.

    Thrice.

    She looked up, her hands folded out to him. And solemnly, she called out, "Master."

    Her master smiled and reached over to help her up.

 91 A Nice Portrait From the Fourth Miss

    After the mini-ceremony, and all three of them were seated in the pavilion around a table, Yujia''s master pointed out the box of pencils she brought along. "Child, what''s in that?" he asked.

    Yujia picked it back up from the floor and opened it, revealing her pencils both to her master and Ye Yunhe¡ª or, should she say, Senior Brother Yunhe.

    "Since I have a meeting with my acquaintance over investments, I figured it would be good to bring my invention to show him since he hadn''t seen it in person before," she told her master, extending her arms so that he could have a closer look.

    He picked a pencil out of the box, spinning it in his fingers. "This thin stick? Can it really draw efficiently? What do you call it?"

    Yujia grinned at his uncertainty. "Yes, Master, it can draw very well. I call it a pencil."

    Yunhe raised an eyebrow and pulled over a sheet of paper from the stack of papers at the side of the table. "Can you demonstrate how it works, then?"

    It seemed like all his animosity from before over the matter of her calling his work useless vanished, replaced by sheer curiosity and interest in her art tool. Ye Yunhe didn''t seem like one to hold grudges for very long, and when he realized that he was in the wrong, he quickly forgot about fights too. Yujia predicted in the future, as long as she was polite to him, it wouldn''t be too hard to get along with him despite their rough start.

    "Of course." Yujia tilted her head to the side, taking a good look at her senior brother who was sitting next to her. "Senior Brother, I''ll draw you, then."

    "Hm?" He folded his arms and leaned back. "Do I need to stand up?"

    Typically, portraits of this time period of the upper class were mostly full-body paintings, not portraits cropped at the chest, like Yujia was used to. It seemed like portraits weren''t also the artistic trend in this time, so Yujia could understand how her senior brother was slightly put off by this.

    "No, no; you don''t have to stand," Yujia laughed, gesturing for him to stay seated. "I''ll move across though, so I can have an easier view." She looped around the table to the other side, where her master sat. "Master, you don''t mind if I sit next to you, right?"

    He shook his head. "That''s even better¡ª now I can see what you''re drawing in the right direction!"

    Yujia gave a cheeky smile and set the paper down as she sat in her new spot. She spent a few seconds observing Yunhe''s features, calculating his proportions before starting. The moment she began, though, she shielded her work at the front with her left hand while she created the first initial sketches of the general placement of his features. This way, Yunhe wasn''t able to see what she was creating, and with her right hand sketching and blocking the view of her master, he couldn''t see either. Her work was in complete secrecy.

    A few moments passed, and then her master, truly wanting to see what she was making, leaned over to look. Yujia immediately slammed her hand down on the face that she started to form, blocking his view completely.

    "Master, I have a bad habit where I can''t stand it when people see me draw," Yujia apologized, "If you don''t want Senior Brother turning out like a disfigured monster, I suggest that you don''t look."

    Actually, Hui''er, Xiaoyi, Bo Zhiyuan, and the like have seen her drawing process numerous times. Yujia just wanted to mess with the two, and give them a mysterious big-reveal which was sure to be more astonishing than if she let them see the entire process.

    Her master replied indignantly, "Child, the only reason why I agreed to let you sit here was so that I could see you draw better! If you cover it up, how can I see how you do it?"

    "I''m not purposefully trying to hide it from you¡­ I just really can''t draw when others are watching me! I get nervous easily." Yujia gave a pitiful, teary-eyed look towards her master, then to Yunhe as she slowly dragged her hand down the paper. "Senior Brother, I guess Master really wants you to turn out hideous in this portrait. If you look super grotesque in the end, don''t blame me; blame Master for forcing me to ruin my invention and art skills."

    "Master, come on. Just let her have her privacy," Yunhe requested.

    "Fine," he huffed and relented, turning his head away from her picture.

    Yujia smiled a smile of triumph to herself. These two were too easy to mess with.

    Now that her master wasn''t intent on seeing how she drew, Yujia could pay full attention to her sketching. It would be a rough sketch since she promised to meet up with Zhizhong in less than two hours, but she was confident that she could capture Yunhe''s features quite clearly.

    Yunhe had very gentle features without any sharp lines at all, making him seem a bit feminine and also much younger. With his features so distinctly different than the average man, and the fact that Yujia practiced only female portraits up until now, it made it easy for Yujia capture his appearance under her pencil.

    Even if she really was someone who got nervous when others were watching them, Yujia didn''t think that she would be able to draw someone like Yunhe in a hideous manner. His face was too pretty for her to do so.

    She started with a light sketch of placement with the lightest pencil value she had, then began to define his eyes with a medium shade pencil. In the corner of her vision, she saw someone pass by the pavilion¡ª a servant, maybe?¡ª and they were called over by her master. He said one word to the servant, "lunch", and then the servant ran off.

    By the time that Yujia was finished with the eyes, in not more than ten minutes, the servant came back, bringing a platter of sliced roasted duck drizzled with aromatic sauces and spices and a large jug of wine. Once the dish of duck was delivered right in front of him, her master began eating by himself without saying a word.

    The aroma of freshly roasted duck tickled her senses, and Yujia couldn''t help but gulp as she looked at the juicy platter of duck, glistening from the sauce and oil. It was cooked to a perfect shade of dark red, and the mouth-watering scent of meat floated to her in wave after wave, constantly reminding her that there was a plate of delicious food next to her.

    Then, her master uncorked the jug of wine, pouring a cup for himself. The sweet and delicate aroma of wine combined with the aroma of meat, teasing her even more now.

    It was then that Yujia decided that she couldn''t take it anymore. She flipped her paper over and looked at her master with a wistful gaze.

    Senior Brother Yunhe seemed to have the same thought too, his eyes fixed on the jug of wine that his master repeatedly poured out of.

    "What?" Their master felt the stares of both of his disciples. "Are you hungry?"

    Yuija nodded.

    Her master picked up a duck leg, dangling it in front of her. "Do you want this?"

    Yujia nodded.

    "Well, too bad." A devilish grin spread across his face while he took the leg back, biting a chunk out of it. "This is my lunch, and I happen to not enjoy sharing." He ate another bite of the duck right in front of her. "Ah, this tastes so good! Mmm."

    A horrified look appeared on Yujia''s face. "Master, what''s wrong with you?" she exclaimed loudly in protest.

    Offering her food and taking it away from her had to be some sort of sick, twisted torture!Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    "You don''t like it when people watch you draw, and I don''t like to share my food. It''s as simple as that!" he declared.

    Ah, was her master purposefully irking her just because of the way she teased him earlier? Not showing her drawing process versus denying someone of food was two very different forms of torture on totally different scales, alright?

    Sometimes, this master of hers really was childish even though he was so many decades older than her!

    Across the table, Yunhe started, "Master, can I have a cup of wine? I didn''t anger you in any way, right?"

    "No!" he proclaimed, pouring himself another cup of wine just for good measure. "Don''t think I forgot what you were going to say to me around an hour ago when we were arguing! No meat for her, no wine for you! Let this be a lesson to you disciples to respect your master more!"

    Yujia''s eyes met with the defeated gaze of Yunhe. She was only her master''s disciple for half an hour, but she could already form so many emotional bonds with Ye Yunhe because of the unreasonable attitude of their master.

    She took a deep sigh, and went back to her portrait, determination shining in her eyes. So what if she didn''t get duck now? She was going to have lunch with Bo Zhizhong, and then she could get all the duck she wanted then! But as for this portrait, when she was finished, she would only show her senior brother! Her master didn''t deserve to see it if he was going to deny her food, and then, who was the true winner?

 92 Is the Fourth Missâ€™s Invention Great Enough?

    In a little more than an hour and thirty minutes later of sketching, Yujia was already working on the finishing touches to the sketch. It was a rough sketch, but it took a lot of time since she made the mistake of not bringing her steamed bread to act as an eraser. She had to be extremely careful with all the lines she drew, starting with the lightest pencils and moving on to the darker shades last, when she was finally confident with what she was doing.

    Her lack of an eraser meant that she did make a few mistakes, though. Some things, like the angle of Yunhe''s nose or a stray line of hair on his head that wasn''t supposed to be there, popped up throughout her drawing process. The problems weren''t enough to destroy the overall accuracy of the portrait, and she was sure that her master and senior brother weren''t going to notice either. Despite all that, Yujia knew of the present mistakes and they bothered her. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    As she finished blending the shades of the robe that he was wearing, Yujia decided that the portrait was a pretty good rough sketch. She was impressed by the fact that her portrait drawing skills seemed to be getting better.

    Satisfied with adding in one last touch with the hairpiece that Yunhe wore in his hair, Yujia set the pencil in her hand down and leaned back, handing the portrait to her senior brother.

    For the first time, Ye Yunhe got a good look at what she was working on for the past hour or so. Yujia witnessed how the image of the portrait registered in his eyes, along with the pure shock at what she managed to create.

    "This¡ª I''ve never seen anything like this before!" Yunhe held the painting in his hand closer, observing all the small details that Yujia managed to capture.

    It was as if he was looking into a mirror reflection of himself. The only thing that it lacked was color, but other than that, he had to admit that the portrait was absolutely accurate and on point. He hadn''t seen his reflection too much in the past. Maybe he would catch it in the shining waters of a calm lake or the smooth bottom of a metal basin, but seeing the person on the paper right now, he could still tell that it was on point. It was as if the paper was a bronze mirror, capturing every feature on his face exactly.

    The strangest thing about it wasn''t the accuracy of the work, but rather the media used to create it. His junior sister''s invention was certainly strange and unique enough, and it created something that was completely different than all the other painting portraits he had seen before. There were both harsh lines and smooth blended shadows. All the layering shades made the entire piece realistic and gave it a new sense of depth.

    He didn''t look flat and lifeless in the portrait either. It was as if he could see the person on the paper as another version of himself. In it, his mouth was curved into a faint smile while his eyes looked off in another direction. There wasn''t any teeming, restless energy in the work, but there was definitely a type of calm energy threaded through it.

    For the first time, Ye Yunhe began to view portraits as a sort of true art as well. Previously, he didn''t see how portraits could be actual art. There was definitely skill to it, but the lack of depth and energy in all the illustrations of people made him believe that only nature itself could be considered as a subject of true art. Yet after seeing what this junior sister of his created, he could spot the energy that previously, he was incapable of with his own painting of the lotus pond that he was so proud of.

    At that moment, Yunhe acknowledged that Junior Sister Yujia had skill. Even though she was a girl, he wouldn''t be ashamed to call her his junior sister. From the start, he was always hesitant and skeptical, but now, he could see what his master meant before.

    In the midst of all his analysis, his master leaned forward, trying to take a look at the finished product too.

    At once,Yujia leapt out of her seat pushing the piece of paper forward so that her master couldn''t take a look. "Master!" she asserted, "You can''t look at it!"

    "Why?" he snapped back, "I thought that once you were finished, I could see it!" He paused. Seeing that Yujia didn''t seem to want to relent, he asked, "Is it because of before with the duck? Are you still hung over that? The only reason I acted like that was because you deserved it, making it your fault in the first place. Don''t you have at least basic respect for your master?"

    Yujia bit her lip. She supposed that she had to let her master see, despite her unwillingness after he denied her of meat. Childish fights weren''t supposed to last forever, and in the end, her master showed her plenty of compassion in the past. It was only right to let him see.

    With that thought, she gave up. "Alright then. After Senior Brother finishes looking at it, you can. He''s the subject of the portrait anyways, so he should be able to look at it first." She turned to her senior brother and smiled brightly. "How is it? Do you like it? Is it good?"

    "Yes." Yunhe nodded and smiled back, setting the paper down on the table. "Junior Sister, I apologize for the words I''ve said before. It was impolite for me to say those things to you. Your invention and work are both great."

    He clasped his hands and gave a solid nod of acknowledgement.

    Yujia was happy to hear this. She didn''t want to set off on the wrong foot with her senior brother, so it was nice to personally hear those words from him. She folded her hands and nodded back.

    Once the portrait was set on the table, their master immediately grabbed it and took a long, wordless look at it. Yujia glanced over at him and analyzed his expression, trying to decipher how he felt about it from his face to no avail.

    He was the true master of art, after all. If she could impress him, Yujia would really enjoy a boost of confidence over her work. Even if she didn''t pour her heart and soul into art anymore, it would still be nice to get some confirmation that her work was still decent, since she didn''t like to create and call herself the owner of mediocre and second-rate content.

    A lengthy pause later, her master said, "It''s pretty good. Good job. I haven''t seen anything like this before, but the slant of his nose is slightly off, and next time, give him just a little less volume to his hair and pay more attention to the shading and details there. Oh, also, the shadows underneath his chin are a little too intense, damaging the calm aura of the picture. In fact, if you took away the shadows over there and added more darkness where the eye and nose meet, it would be much better. But overall, it''s not that bad. Not bad at all."

    That was all the confirmation she needed. Her master was truly a master at art to notice the things that she didn''t expect him to notice. He also noticed things that she didn''t think were wrong, like the intensity of the shading. Hearing this, Yujia knew that she had plenty of room to improve, but for a master at art to call her work "not bad", that was good enough of a compliment that Yujia would take.

    She also saw that even with her master being someone who joked around frequently, when it came to matters like art, he was much more serious.

    "Thank you, Master! Next time, I''ll pay more attention to the things you said." Thinking about how much time had passed, Yujia decided that her scheduled meeting with Bo Zhizhong was coming up soon, so she pointed out, "I still have to go talk to my acquaintance, so I think I need to leave now, if that''s alright?"

    "Go ahead." Her master waved his hand. "I still wanted to experiment with your invention myself, but if you have things you need to do, I won''t delay you."

    Yunhe agreed too, but he seemed to have a question. "Junior Sister, who are you meeting up with to get an investment?"

    This wasn''t something that Yujia needed to hide with them. "He''s the Third Young Master of the Bo family, Bo Zhizhong."

    The instant he heard that, Yunhe frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. "Did you just say¡­ the Third Young Master?"

    "Yep." Yujia frowned too. "Third Young Master. Is there something wrong with that?"

    Yunhe pressed his lips together. "The Bo family¡­ has no Third Young Master!"

 93 The Fourth Miss Gets Her Feas

    Yujia was now walking through the streets to the inn she agreed to meet up with Bo Zhizhong at. Or, as it seemed, someone who could possibly be lying to her all along and wasn''t some Bo Zhizhong.

    She didn''t believe what her senior brother said at first, but as he explained, he knew the Bo Family fairly well, and he was perfectly confident that there was no such person as the Third Young Master. Yujia didn''t know why Yunhe would lie to her, considering that they were junior and senior siblings now, but she was still wary since if she trusted one individual, it would be impossible to trust the other individual.

    Originally, Yunhe wanted to go with her to see who this "Bo Zhizhong" was, but Yujia convinced him that it wasn''t necessary. She thought that she was capable of asking Zhizhong herself, and she felt like he might be more inclined to tell her the truth if it was just the two of them without Yunhe.

    If things turned out bad, and he ended up being a fraud, she might as well just cut off relationships with him and ask her master to fund her again. Or, she would just use the money she earned off selling paintings to buy her way out of the marriage, since she was confident that as long as she asked her master, Lingxin''s marketplace would be open to her too.

    In the end, it just didn''t particularly matter to her if Bo Zhizhong was fake. If he was really telling the truth, well then, good for her. If he wasn''t, then she wouldn''t be harmed much either.

    She held the box of pencils in her hand carefully as she walked down the streets, looking for the inn that they agreed to meet at. The moment she found it, she stopped at the entrance and took a deep breath before walking in, looking for Bo Zhizhong. After walking around all the tables and seeing that he wasn''t there, she decided to ask one of the waiters.

    "Waiter," she called out, "have you seen a young man or boy around eighteen years old and wearing expensive clothes, possibly a red cape around here?"

    The waiter stopped at what he was doing, which was wiping an empty table. He slung the towel over his shoulder and shook his head, replying, "No, but if you''re looking for someone of high status, perhaps you should ask the manager. He might have a reservation. Just ask the manager at the front with the name of the person you''re meeting up with, and he should have an answer for you."

    "Alright, thank you." Yujia smiled politely and went to ask the manager for Bo Zhizhong.

    Upon hearing the name, a broad smile lit up on the manager''s face. "Noble Bo? Of course, he''s right upstairs in a private dining area. Follow me up please, Young Miss."

    Yujia walked with the manager up a set of wooden stairs, arriving at an area with many divided rooms. They took a left turn and the manager stopped at one of the doors, opening it and gesturing for Yujia to enter. She gave her thanks and entered the room. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    The moment she entered, she could tell that the environment was completely different than the busy restaurant-style first floor of the inn. It was much more quiet, and Yujia could catch the light scent of incense wafting through the air. It wasn''t a very large room, but the ceiling was high to make it seem more spacious. Besides a large wooden table and a few decorative plants and statues towards the side, there was nothing else. Clearly, it was a room for private dining.

    Zhizhong sat at the table, sipping a cup of tea when Yujia arrived. He grinned and waved her over. "You''re here!"

    Yujia took a seat at the table, marvelling at the numerous dishes on the table. She recognized a few of them from what Zhizhong ordered last night, but besides those plates, there were also many other things present. In the middle of the table was a steaming bowl of thick soup that included finely sliced tofu and fish. Surrounding it included plates of braised beef, fresh and plump bamboo shoots, crisp cucumber mixed with spices, delicate pea sprouts, sweet and sour pork, and most of all, what Yujia was looking for all this time: a plate of glorious roasted duck, looking just as good as the one her master ate.

    Her mouth began to water when Zhizhong started speaking. "I ordered when I arrived because I didn''t want to have you wait too long. There might be another plate on the way, but otherwise, they''re all here. They''re all the best plates in the house this season!"

    "That''s such an impressive feast," Yujia shook her head in disbelief. "How are we even going to eat all of that?"

    "I didn''t know what you would like, so I ordered some of everything. If today, I officially become your investor, I think it''s only right that I treat you to a good meal." He shrugged.

    Yujia imagined herself getting stuffed until she was completely full. By that time, the table will likely still have near-full platters.

    The meal in front of her was a feast for at least six people, not two. There was going to be so much wasted food at the end of this meal. Yujia could already feel her heart hurting even though the meal hadn''t even started yet. All the food smelled heavenly.

    "Was I late?" she asked while sipping at her cup of tea that Zhizhong poured for her, "I hope not."

    He shook his head with a laugh. "Nope, you''re fine. I tend to like to arrive a little bit earlier, so it''s not a big deal."

    "Great. Should we talk about the invention now?" Yujia opened her box of pencils and took out a few. Because the diameter of the table was so wide, she had to stand up and hand it to him.

    Accepting them, his eyes observed the pencil carefully. "So, you just draw with them?"

    "Pretty much. I don''t have paper on me right now, so it''s a bit difficult to demonstrate. Essentially, this is a hollow wooden cylinder that I call a pencil. There''s a tube of graphite and clay mixture inside the hollowed out center. The graphite allows whatever one chooses to draw on the paper to appear. The tip does dull down the more it''s used though, so that''s why a small blade can be used to scrape it back to a sharp tip. This also means that unlike a brush, which can last years, a pencil will wear down over time."

    Zhizhong passed his finger over the lettering at the side of the pencil. "What does this say?"

    The label at the side of the pencil was what Yujia used to differentiate the darkness of the pencils. To anyone but her, it was pure nonsense since they didn''t know the English alphabet or Arabic numerals. She forgot that she might need to explain the symbols to him.

    Exhaling deeply, Yujia took her box of pencils and moved to a seat closer to Zhizhong. She took all ten of the pencils and laid them out on the table, in order from lightest to darkest. There were supposed to be twenty pencils based on the entire scale, but because in the start, she had a limited budget, she only made ten of the pencils she thought might be what she needed more.

    "I invented a sort of organizational system to give each pencil a category," she explained, "It''s a bunch of random characters. The first one is called nine ''H''. This symbol with a little curve and line stands for nine."

    "Ay-cher?" Zhizhong repeated after her, his eyebrows tucked together.

    Yujia smiled a little at his pronunciation. "Yes, ''H''."

    "Ay-ch¡­" he muttered, pointing at the rest of the pencils. "What do those say?"

    Her finger resting on each pencil, Yujia pointed and named all of them. "9H, 5H, 2H, F, HB, B, 2B, 4B, 6B, and 9B."

    "Nine ay-ch, eh-fu, Nine bi¡­" After a long moment of thinking, Zhizhong looked up at her in the eyes and shook his head. "I don''t think this system is going to work. Why didn''t you just stick with traditional numbers?"

    She didn''t stick with them, because who knew that in the future, she would be selling her pencils? It was purely a system made for only her to understand in this time period.

    "Do you want to rename them?"

    "I think it''ll be for the better if they''re renamed. This way, people can understand them better," Zhizhong proposed, "How about we just use normal numbers for each of the pencils? The lightest would be one, and then the darkest would be ten. No need to complicate things. "

    "That works." Yujia nodded without much thought. What Zhizhong proposed was reasonable, and it would be a system that others would be able to understand quicker. For her own pencils, Yujia still wasn''t sure if she wanted to move to simply numbering or to stick to her old system, but she supposed that she could decide in the future.

    With the matter settled, Zhizhong moved onto the next topic. "Let''s talk about investments and keep it simple. I don''t want this to be too complicated. Name me as the inventor of your product¡ª I''ll pay a good amount of a few gold taels¡ª and then most of the profit can go to you. How much of a percentage do you want?"

    "Hold on." Yujia was reaching with her chopsticks for a piece of duck, but she paused, setting her chopsticks down on her bowl. "Did you say that¡­ you want to be called the inventorof myinvention?"

    He nodded. "Yeah."

    Yujia shrunk back. "Why? What''s the point of calling you the inventor?"

    "I have personal reasons." He fiddled with the corner of his sleeve.

    Upon hearing his response, Yujia thought back to what Yunhe said about Bo Zhizhong. The Bo Family has no Third Young Master.

    She had her suspicions over his identity from the start. And now, with him suggesting something like making himself the inventor of her pencils, she was only more suspicious. It would be a good time to confront him about it.

    "I still don''t understand," Yujia spoke, finding her words rushed for some particular reason, "It''s myinvention. Icreated it. Why would you¡ª how would it benefit you¡ª to claim it as yours? ''Personal'' reasons just doesn''t cut it for me. It doesn''t make sense."

    He turned to face her more. "I''m not sure how to explain it. It really is a personal reason."

    "Well then, I have another question that I''m sure you can have an explanation to. If I were to give you the credit of inventing my pencils, then I have to at least trust your identity. So far, I still can''t confirm that you''re who you are. Where''s the solid evidence that you''re really the Third Young Master?"

    Zhizhong tapped his fingers on the table. "You want proof?" He stood up, gesturing for her to follow him. "Come on."

    Yujia remained seated, her eyes glancing to the lovely uneaten duck on the table. "Where are we going? What about the food?"

    "Oh, we can come back if you want." He gave her a look of blatant impatience."Didn''t you say that you wanted proof that I''m really the Third Young Master? Let''s go to the Bo Villa. Surely, there will be plenty of proof there!"

    After a brief moment of hesitation, Yujia stood up. "Alright, let''s go."

 94 Proving Oneâ€™s Identity to the Fourth Miss

    The moment that the two of them arrived at the front entrance of the Bo Villa, the two guards standing at the front clasped their hands and bowed at the sight of Zhizhong. "Y-young Master."

    "See?" Zhizhong pointed them out while they walked through the front doors without any of the guards blocking them. "If I weren''t really the Young Master, do you think they would just let me in?"

    Yujia narrowed her eyes, catching the stutter before the guards'' words. She didn''t know how the guards acted like this, but she was still somewhat suspicious.

    As they walked through the front yard, Zhizhong continued, "You said you knew the Second Young Master, right? Let''s visit him and have him prove some more things to you."

    The two walked together, Zhizhong leading at the front. Although Yujia had been to the villa before, she still wasn''t confident with the layout of it, so if she were to attempt to find the Second Young Master by herself, she would likely get lost. It seemed like Zhizhong was confident about it though.

    When they arrived at the courtyard and room of the Second Young Master, Zhizhong practically burst his way through the door without even asking permission or notifying his arrival with a knock. Yujia looked to the side, and lounged on one of the chairs, lazily reading a book, was Bo Zhiyuan.

    "Third Brother," he acknowledged with barely a glance. Then, he looked behind Zhizhong, and his eyes widened when he saw Yujia. "Miss Yang! You''re here too?"

    Yujia didn''t need to answer, since Zhizhong cut in front of her, saying, "Remember yesterday, we were talking about her portrait? I''m going to be her investor. She wants to check my identity, and she mentioned that she knew you."

    "Oh." Zhiyuan smiled, closing his book and setting it on the table. "Miss Yang, rest assured, my brother is definitely my brother. Unless you would think that I''m lying?"

    Yujia thought back to how Yu Zixu lied and claimed that she was his brother, Yu Ziyang. People could definitely lie, and although Bo Zhiyuan seemed like a fairly open book, there was still the chance that he was lying. She would never be able to know for sure. Lying was easy, and she was the perfect proof of that considering how many lies she had told over the brief time she spent in this world.

    Thus, she had a question that was sure to provide her concrete evidence. "I''m not saying that you''re lying, but if he really is the Third Young Master, then why wouldn''t he just take me to his courtyard and room directly? Wouldn''t that be more of a solid proof than asking you about it?"

    While she asked this question, she kept her gaze fixed on Bo Zhizhong, analyzing his every expression. Zhizhong darted his eyes at Zhiyuan, and the two gazes met for a moment while Zhizhong pinched the hem of his sleeve.

    Then, Zhiyuan laughed heartily, leaning his chin on his hand. "Younger Brother, are you telling me that you were too embarrassed to bring Miss Yang to your courtyard because you were afraid that it would cause misunderstandings with your wife? Or¡­ is it because you didn''t want to cause misunderstandings with Miss Yang?" He raised his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

    As soon as he said that, Zhizhong snapped back, "Stop being so ridiculous. Why would I be afraid of any misunderstandings with Miss Yang? She already knows that I''m married. It''s the other way around."

    "Then, don''t be worried. Luowei went with your wife to look at silks for the upcoming summer. They won''t be back until late noon. You can go and take Miss Yang to briefly check your room without raising anyone''s notice or suspicion." Bo Zhiyuan opened his book again, as if he was ready to get back to it once the two of them left.

    "This¡­" Zhizhong paused.

    "What? I''m not lying to you. Stop being lazy, anyways. Your courtyard is directly to the right of mine. It''s not even that far of a walk. Taking Miss Yang there for evidence won''t even take longer than it takes to drink a cup of tea."

    "Fine then, Second Brother." Zhizhong flung his sleeves back and turned. "Miss Yang, let''s go."

    Bo Zhiyuan stood up, bowing to Yujia. "Miss Yang, I hope you find the answers you look for."

    ¡­

    When the two of them arrived at the courtyard, Yujia noticed that unlike the Second Young Master''s courtyard with only one room right at the front, the courtyard was split into two rooms. She suspected that one was for Zhizhong, and the other was for his wife. One of the rooms was obviously larger though, with more sets of doors and windows lining the walls.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    Zhizhong led her to the larger one, pushing open the doors. Sunlight flushed into the room, illuminating all the objects and parts in it. At the very center, there were two chairs and a small table for two individuals to have tea and discuss at. Towards the right was his bed and personal space, while to the left was a personal study area, lined with books and a single painting hanging on a wall devoid of bookshelves.

    Walking through the room and picking up one of the open books that was left on the table crowded with messy papers and books, Zhizhong showed her the title. "Biography of Sima Xiangru. Was reading it this morning. If you want to test my knowledge over it to find yourself some evidence, feel free."

    Yujia ran her fingers along the edge of the center table and found that there was no dust on it. Everything else looked not too new or too old either, appearing just as if Bo Zhizhong lived here for quite a while and left recently just to meet her. She didn''t need to test him on whatever knowledge he knew from reading. From just how this room looked and how he was able to instantly bring her to a room that he seemed to know well was enough proof that the Third Young Master of the Bo Family truly did exist, and he was standing in front of her right now.

    She gave him a small smile and shook her head. "No, it''s fine. I believe you, now."

    ¡­

    Yushang was too, too grateful for Bo Zhiyuan.

    If it weren''t for Zhiyuan, then he didn''t know how he would possibly have survived. First, Zhiyuan helped him during their conversation with small hints to prod him in a direction that could definitely convince Miss Yang that he truly was the Third Young Master. Second, Zhiyuan seemed to have told all crucial people throughout the household to refer to him as Third Young Master if they saw him, adding to his credibility. Third, somehow, Zhiyuan managed to clean out and organize an entire courtyardwithin a single day of being alerted of this change just to help support Yushang''s fake identity if an event like what just happened came up

    Yushang came to the conclusion that Bo Zhiyuan must''ve been some sort of heavenly deity sent to aid him. There was no way that any other person would put so much thought and effort after receiving a single declaration from a friend that wanted to become his brother as a fake identity.

    After this whole deal was over with Miss Yang, Yushang would definitely go and order some servants to send Zhiyuan a whole lot of precious gifts as a way of expressing his thanks. He would even pick what gifts to send himself.

 95 Negotiations and the Fourth Miss

    Along the way, as the two walked back to the inn, Yujia began conversing with Zhizhong about what he was saying before as a proposal.

    "I''m sorry, but I can''t just claim that you''re the inventor like that," Yujia started, "Even if you have your personal reasons you can''t tell me about, I can''t let you claim the inventing rights."

    The corners of Zhizhong''s lips tipped down. "Why? What''s your reason behind that? How much would it take for you to sell the invention rights to me? Even if it''s ten gold taels, I''ll pay for it."

    Ten gold taels¡­

    For a second, Yujia hesitated. Ten gold taels would make her set for life. It was a tempting offer, and she was sure that Bo Zhizhong knew how convincing that number was.

    But then, her pride reminded her of the reason why she couldn''t just hand over the invention to him. First, she didn''t want to solve all her problems relying on others. She already relied on Bo Zhiyuan to purchase her paintings to earn her first hundred taels. She didn''t want to rely on another Young Master Bo to buy her way out of her marriage. It would make her feel too indebted to the entire Bo Family if the majority of the money she ever earned was from the two young masters.

    And second¡­

    Looking him in the eyes, she replied, "It''s always men who are inventing things. Why not, for once, allow a woman to have her invention? Throughout all this time, people are always telling me that I can''tdo things. I can''t be a student at some posh art school because I''m female. I can''t sell art for good prices because I''m female. I can''t invent things because I''m female. My beliefs conflict with that. Why can''t I be held equally with everyone else? If I just handed the invention to you, that''s another thing that I let another person take the rights of."

    She was fully aware that she wasn''t the actual inventor of the pencil. But some part of her kept nagging at her to want to prove everyone she had met in this time period wrong so far. Wrong, perhaps, so that she could change the course of history itself and pave a path for the other women who had their dreams crushed by society''s expectations. Simple paintings wouldn''t be enough to prove them wrong. She had to use something that was revolutionary, such as the small pencil that she put all her trust on.

    The Second Miss, Yang Yichen, could do it. Why couldn''t she then, as the Fourth Miss?

    The two arrived at the front of their destination. Zhizhong stopped in his steps, and so did she.

    "How do you know then¡­" he said with a careful tone, "... that I''m not going to just run off with your invention and call it mine? You told me what was in it and its structure. With the amount of gold I have on hand, I could put out your ''pencil'' in a large store within two days. Everyone else in the world would believe that I was the inventor of the pencil, and then, who would believe your protests and claims?"

    "I guess I just trust you. I trust that you''re a kind-hearted person. From when you stopped the thief who stole from me to when you gave me the cloak to cover myself at the spring, you never seemed like someone who takes advantage of people." Yujia gave him a soft smile. "Though¡­ if you turned out to be different than how I thought you were, that''s not a big deal either. Who said pencils were the only revolutionary invention I have in mind?"

    She was from the future! There were plenty of things she could create as long as she worked hard enough.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    Zhizhong raised his eyebrows. "You have other inventions? What are they?"

    "Not telling you," she hummed, "How else would I get you back if you betrayed my trust?"

    A grin spread across his face. "Alright then. I''ll make sure that I don''t betray your trust, then, so in the future, we can be good business partners for all your other inventions."

    It was at that moment that she realized that Bo Zhizhong understood her. He didn''t understand her in the past, but now he seemed to have gained a sort of understanding of her goals and beliefs. It was likely that he wouldn''t ever share the exact beliefs that she did, but as long as he understood her purpose, it would be enough. That was all that Yujia asked for.

    She gestured in front of her, to the entrance of the building. "Let''s go and talk some business then, shall we?"

    He nodded with a smile, and the two walked in together.

 96 Results of the Fourth Miss Negotiating

    At the inn, Yujia talked things over with Zhizhong. They decided that instead of being an investor, he would be somewhat of a co-owner of the art store that they planned to set up. They would start off with using fifty silver taels to commission artisans to make pencils, and another fifty taels buying other high quality art supplies. His idea was that since people were more likely to walk into a shop with products that they were familiar with, it would be a good idea to sell other art supplies too. Once they found enough of a customer base, they would be able to slowly allow pencils to dominate the main products of their shop.

    The pencils that they would commission the artisans to create wouldn''t be like the pencils Yujia made at all. They would start off with making two types of pencils. One would only cost fifty copper coins to buy. This pencil would be made of cheap wood, and the formula used for the inside of the pencil wouldn''t be composed of high quality graphite or clay either. With its price being fairly accessible, common people and artists should be able to afford it.

    The other one would cost a tael, and this would be a pencil made of finer materials. Not only would it look nicer than the pencil that cost fifty coins, but the formula of the pencils would make it so that it was smoother on paper too. The price was only the cost of two normal pencils, so more dedicated artists could buy it.

    Zhizhong''s job was both paying all of the funds required to start of the shop, finding a plot of land that was good to start business off at, and hiring workers to run the shop. Yujia, meanwhile, would be creating some decent paintings and sketches to showcase the products of their shop. She also needed to create some rudimentary sketches of what the pencils would look like so the artisans who were creating the pencils had a diagram to follow.

    For contacting each other, they would meet up on the day after the next, during the morning at the same inn, to discuss progress. After all, it wouldn''t be suitable for her to be constantly visiting the Bo Villa, and it wasn''t proper for him to visit the Yang Villa either.

    The mutual goal was that at the end of the week, the pencils would already be in production, and the shop would begin to be built. Hopefully, the shop would finish being built within a few days too¡ª Zhizhong said that he would hire the best workers¡ª so Yujia would have a little more than a week to earn a fortune selling pencils.

    The time frame was a little pinched, but Zhizhong assured her that they would be able to earn five-hundred taels by the sixteenth. He promised her that even if they weren''t, as long as business was good enough, he would lend her five-hundred taels that she could pay back later. Profits would all go to Yujia for now because of her dilemma, though once her marriage dilemma ended, profits would go eighty-twenty, with Zhizhong earning most of it.

    After the discussion they had today, Yujia gained more assurement. She was now almost absolutely convinced that her issue with the marriage could be settled, even if the pencil business didn''t earn her instant profits.

    She also gained the bites of duck that she had looked forward to for so long. That was possibly something that made her much happier than she should''ve. The food may have been somewhat cold, but it was all very delicious nonetheless. Yujia would even dare to call it the best meal she had so far since transmigrating, and even in the past few years of her life before she transmigrated.

    Even though Yujia stuffed herself until she couldn''t take another bite, there was still so much food left at the end of their meeting. Maybe it was because Zhizhong didn''t eat much, something she noticed throughout their discussion. He would only eat a slice of beef or have a sip of soup, but otherwise, it was mostly Yujia doing the eating. Not that she minded, of course, but it was still something peculiar about him that she noticed. His inclination to drink tea and good wine soared over any desire to eat food.

    Once they finished discussing, Yujia stared at all the food left.

    "What are we going to do about this?" she asked.

    He cast the table a glance. "Just leave it there. I''m sure they''ll clean it up."

    "Isn''t that a waste?"

    "What do you suggest about it, then?"

    "Clearly, you''ve been living a luxurious life of waste." Yujia rolled her eyes.

    Did takeout exist in this time period? She didn''t know if that was a thing yet. But for all of the plates of nearly-full dishes to be thrown away, or "cleaned up", truly seemed like a bit of a waste.

    "Can I¡­ package the food and bring it back home?"

    The phrase was a shameless one, but Yujia wasn''t sure how else she would say it.

    "If you want." To her surprise, Zhizhong didn''t judge. "I''ll go call over a waiter."

    Ten or so minutes of intense packaging later, Yujia left the inn with Zhizhong and a wooden box filled with plates and dishes. It cost an extra two taels, and although Zhizhong offered to pay, she really didn''t want to continuously owe him things. She paid out of her own pocket.

    The two were headed in separate directions, so with a few bows and words of farewell, Yujia headed in her own way towards the Yang Villa.

    The moment she arrived in her courtyard and room, she noticed that Xiaoyi seemed to be having a conversation with Hui''er while her maid, A''ling, stood behind them. Seeing that they were absorbed in their own conversation, Yujia gently set the wooden box on top of a cabinet and walked over, leaning in and asking, "What are you all talking about?"

    Xiaoyi''s eyes lit up when she saw Yujia. "Older Sister, I was just asking Hui''er where you went!"

    Hui''er nodded back at Yujia. "I told her I wasn''t sure."

    "I was just meeting up with some acquaintances," Yujia explained. "And speaking of that, have you three had lunch yet? We happened to have a big meal, so I brought some extras back."

    Both of them answered that they ate already, meaning that Yujia was likely going to have the same meal again for dinner, though that wasn''t anything bad.

    Xiaoyi moved a little closer to Yujia and said, "Older Sister, I have a secret to tell you."

    "What secret?" Yujia looked around at the two other present, and waved her hand. Hui''er and A''ling saw this as a moment to leave, giving Yujia and Xiaoyi their privacy. Now that they were alone, Yujia asked again, "What secret?"

    The cheerful smile on Xiaoyi''s face fell into something more serious. She placed her hand over her stomach and said, "I''m pregnant."

    Yujia blinked.

    It took a few seconds for the sentence to register in her mind. The moment she truly comprehended what Xiaoyi said, she stood up, her eyes widening. Behind her, the chair she was sitting on a moment ago scraped loudly against the floor.

    "What? You''re pregnant?"

    Yujia thought back to last night, where Xiaoyi said that she was nauseous. Could it really be that¡­ her younger sister was pregnant?Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    Her eyes met with Xiaoyi''s, and Yujia took in Xiaoyi''s unwavering expression.

    But then, in the next second, Xiaoyi was laughing, clutching her stomach, and laughing so hard that tears were springing to her eyes. When she looked up, and Yujia''s confused eyes met hers again, she only laughed even harder.

    In between laughs, Xiaoyi managed to say, "It''s¡ª a joke¡ª ah, you should''ve seen your expression¡ª"

    "You''re joking?" Yujia took a step back, looking at how much Xiaoyi was laughing.

    Did she really fall for a joke that simple?

    "Yep!" Xiaoyi grinned, casually reaching over for the teapot and pouring herself a cup of tea. "That was the joke part of the secret."

    Yujia shook her head in disbelief while sitting back down. "Still, why would you joke about that?"

    "I thought it might be funny to see your reaction. Your face was funnier than how I imagined it. Though, about the actual secret, it''s actually not much of a secret. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

    "And that is¡­? You were joking about joking, and you''re actually pregnant?"

    "No, no, no." Xiaoyi shook her hands in front of her. "A certain someone saw her fianc¨¦ today!"

    "Oh?" Yujia thought back to who Xiaoyi was engaged to. Yu Zixu''s face appeared in her mind, which caused her to grimace on the inside because of unpleasant memories of extreme panic from the fear of being exposed surfacing in her thoughts. Xiaoyi didn''t know about the history that Yujia shared with him though, so she could only pretend like she didn''t know who the First Young Master was. "How is he? Do you like him?"

    "He seems okay so far." Xiaoyi beamed with happiness. "His looks aren''t bad; his family background is good; he''s very polite¡­ oh, and he likes painting too! Talking to someone who really understands art makes me happy, sort of like when you''re teaching me!"

    "That''s good." Yujia stiffly smiled and folded her hands on her lap.

    Only compliments seemed to come out of Xiaoyi''s mouth about Yu Zixu. On the other hand, to Yujia, she wasn''t sure how Xiaoyi wasn''t put off by the fact that Zixu always had a calm smile on his face and that he never seemed to be expressing his true emotions. In fact, most of the people that she saw interacting with Zixu didn''t seem uncomfortable around him either.

    Maybe Yujia was being a little too cautious, or maybe Zixu was just a very good liar. It had to be one of the two.

    Thinking about it, though, what really mattered was that Xiaoyi liked him. It didn''t matter if Yujia found him off-putting. She wasn''t the person marrying him, anyways.

    With that thought, Yujia smiled more of a genuine smile. Right. As long as Xiaoyi was happy, then all was well.

 97 The Fourth Miss Starts a New Projec

    Xiaoyi and Yujia talked a few more moments, and then, Yujia was left alone with Hui''er. Xiaoyi didn''t want lessons today. It seemed like she just wanted to have someone to talk with about Young Master Yu.

    Once she was gone, Yujia began to think about what she was going to do next. Even though it would be a good idea to start on the sketches for the shop right away, she didn''t need to since the shop wasn''t going to open immediately. She planned to draw one large sketch of scenery to display right at the front of the shop and a few more smaller sketches to display the versatility of the pencil. Overall, all of it wouldn''t take longer than four or five days, so for the rest of the day, she could consider herself as free to have time for herself. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    For once, Yujia could use the newly gained spare time she had to do something that she had put to the back of her mind. While Hui''er worked on a piece of embroidery which she seemed to be interested in perfecting for the past few days whenever she had time, Yujia went to the cabinets and brought out a large package of ink.

    A while back, she bought thirteen colored inksticks from her master, who she didn''t even know the identity of then. Colored ink wasn''t what was currently very popular, but Yujia still bought thirteen sets regardless since she had plans for them. Back then, she didn''t know if she would have time to carry out her plans, but now, she finally could.

    Yujia wanted to make actual paint.

    This was something that she had always wanted since she transmigrated. Oil or acrylic paint were her go-to supplies when painting. Watercolor, to her, was mostly something she avoided up until now since she wanted to be able to control her paint. Even though she did enjoy oil paint more than acrylic because of the slow speed it took to dry and therefore the things she could accomplish with it while the paint was still wet, she ended up working with acrylic just as much when her budget ran low. Eventually, acrylics grew on her just as much as oil paints.

    Yujia wasn''t completely confident on how she would make acrylic paint. With it being a type of plastic in a time period where plastic wasn''t a thing, Yujia figured that it would be fairly impossible to create something like acrylic. Maybe Yujia could make tempera paint out of eggs if she wanted something similar to acrylic, but for now, oil paint seemed like what she should attempt to make if wanted paint.

    Truthfully, Yujia wasn''t sure how she was going to make oil paint either. She didn''t know all the ingredients and process of creating the paints. All she knew was that whatever paint she was going to make, she would definitely need pigments.

    And that was why she conveniently bought thirteen sticks of pigment.

    No matter what paint she decided to make, she would need pigment in some form. Even though there must''ve been other things added in the inksticks to make the pigment stick together in a solid shape, she forgot about this point when she was buying the ink. Now that she had the ink though, she had to figure out a way to use all of it somehow, and what better way than experimenting?

    After a while of searching and Hui''er repeatedly asking if help was needed, Yujia collected all the supplies she needed to begin.

    She had a shallow bowl that she made the graphite-clay mixture in when creating pencils, and in the courtyard, she found a small rock that fit in her hand just right. Picking up a red inkstick, Yujia began her process by breaking apart the red inkstick. Transforming the bowl and rock into something like a mortar, she began to turn the chunks of inkstick into finer powdered pigment.

    It wasn''t difficult breaking the inkstick down, and Yujia estimated that it would take her around an hour to turn all the inksticks into pigment. If the pigment turned out unusable, an hour was time she could afford to waste. She would just go and ask her master for some pure pigments if that was the case.

    While Yujia repeatedly struck and ground the orange pigment in the bowl, Hui''er became curious too. She moved herself and her embroidery closer to Yujia, watching what she was doing with attentive eyes. "Miss," she asked, "what''s this for?"

    "I want to make a new type of ink," Yujia answered. She would say "paint", but in this time period, ink was the correct terminology.

    "Why? Is the ink not good enough?"

    "No, it''s definitely good." Yujia smiled a bit. "It''s just like the pencils though. I want to make something new that no one has seen before."

    Hui''er nodded at that and went back to her embroidery.

    Memories of her first day transmigrating and her pencil carving flashed in Yujia''s mind, making her smile a bit more. So many things had happened since then. And to think how Hui''er used to look at her when she said she was inventing a pencil¡­ Compared to now, where she accepted the concept of her Fourth Miss inventing right away, her reaction back then was completely different.

    "Remember how in the past, when I was sharpening my pencil mold, you looked at me almost like I was crazy?" Yujia brought up.

    "I didthink you were crazy!" Hui''er laughed. "You looked as if you were sharpening a knife."

    "What do you think I look like now?" Yujia showed her bowl of red dust to Hui''er.

    "Not as threatening as you did back then." Then, Hui''er made a face. "Maybe you''re grinding up powdered blood."

    Yujia stopped grinding the inkstick, her eyebrows furrowing. "Powdered blood? Is that a thing?"

    "Probably not, but the color does resemble blood."

    With one look at the red powder, Yujia decided that Hui''er was right. It really did look like the color of blood.

    "Well, I suppose you just have an insane Fourth Miss, then. She sharpened sticks in the past, and now, she''s powdering blood." Yujia shrugged and resumed in her actions.

    Hui''er smiled and replied in a soft voice, "Alright. I have an insane Fourth Miss to serve, and she does things that are peculiar. But no matter what, she is still my Fourth Miss, so as long as what she''s doing makes her happy, then I am well too."

    Yujia froze again, thinking back to what she thought a few moments ago about Xiaoyi. She thought that as long as Xiaoyi was happy, then all was well. Hui''er, on the other hand, told her something just as similar.

    Hui''er thought so highly of her. It seemed like Yujia truly did mean something to her maid. The time they spent together was not long, but somewhere along the time that the two interacted, a bond had formed¡ª a bond that Yujia was grateful for, and a bond she didn''t want to ever break.

    Noticing that Yujia was frozen in thought, Hui''er glanced back over. "Miss?"

    Yujia blinked and looked up, waving her hand. "Oh, it''s nothing. I was just thinking about some things."

    "Ah, okay."

    Hui''er threaded the needle in her hand back through the fabric she worked with. Yujia went back to turning the inksticks into powder.

    Sunlight filtered through the thin paper windows, bringing its warmth into the room. Fresh spring air flowed in from the small cracks beneath windows and walls. Along with it came the sweet melody of birds and the busy sounds of servants in the villa working.

    Today, Yujia decided, she was content.

    If only life could freeze at this one place in time and never move onward.

 98 The School Head and the Fourth Miss

    By the end of the day, Yujia had finished turning around half of each inkstick into pigmented powder. She separated the colors in different bowls. After the grinding, Yujia also worked on the beginning sketches for the shop, getting a few smaller example sketches finished. She needed to go to the market to buy a piece of paper or scroll large enough for the larger display, so for now, she hadn''t started on it yet.

    That evening, she ate the leftover takeout with Hui''er. Despite food being cold, it was still delicious after being warmed up, so both of them enjoyed the meal, which they managed to finish.

    Yujia went to sleep on a full stomach and a simple smile on her face That night, she had a better sleep than all the other nights since she transmigrated.

    The next morning, once she had breakfast and prepared herself, Yujia decided to pay a visit to her master again with her box of pencils. She wanted to talk with him about some certain topics, and she figured that he would want to try using her pencils too. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    Before she left yesterday, he explained the structure of Lingxin to her so that the next time she returned, she would know where to go without needing a student to lead her. Once inside Lingxin and past the marketplace, one could head two directions.

    To the left was the direction to the actual Lingxin Pavilion, and there were normally guards that prevented ordinary people from entering. To the right was a path that lead to the Ice Lily Pavilion and the Half Moon Pavilion, which was open for students. Scattered throughout branches of the same path included classrooms and other rooms that served purposes like examinations. The right path, near the pavilion, also included a few structures that were living quarters for her master, Ye Yunhe, and the head of the school. The center of the school was located there as well, where all important individuals went for business.

    Yujia was instructed that if she wanted to go visit him anytime, she should check Lingxin Pavilion or visit the center. She was also given a white jade pendant that would help her go wherever she really wanted in Lingxin. The pendant appeared to carry a lot of power with it¡ª Yujia saw Yunhe wearing a similar one on his waist¡ª so although she didn''t put it on right away after leaving yesterday, today, she threaded it around the belt of her robes too.

    Without spending much time in the villa, Yujia left for Lingxin.

    The moment she arrived, she went to check the pavilion first. Just like her master said, she was allowed to easily pass by the guards near the pavilion with the pendant. Upon seeing that no one was there, Yujia wandered in the direction of where she believed the center of the school was.

    The thing was, her master never gave her very specific instructions¡ª only general descriptions of where things were. In a few minutes of wandering through the academy, Yujia did stumble upon what she thought might be the central building. It was a structure larger than many things around it, and the material used to build parts of it resembled the front gates of the school, so Yujia assumed that there was nothing else it could be.

    With a little bit of uncertainty, Yujia walked closer to the building, deciding to head inside to see if she could find her master there. She was assured that she could practically go anywhere as long as she was in the possession of the pendant, so she wasn''t too wary, but there was still a part of her that made her wonder if there was a chance that the building was somewhere she wasn''t supposed to go.

    In the end, she decided to go in. She was even allowed to step inside the Lingxin Pavilion that was the namesake of the school. Why wouldn''t she be able to enter this grand building?

    Yet when she entered the open doors of the building, Yujia regretted doing so.

    The interior of the building didn''t seem like what she expected of the school''s center to be like at all. At the very front, on a raised area, was a table where a stern looking man sat. His hair was graying¡ª not to the point where it was as white as her master''s hair, but still having a few strands of white mixed into his dark hair¡ª while his clothes were made of a rich blue, dark black, and emerald green fabric, all detailed with silver embroidery. In front and below him were two columns of students all dressed in varying shades of pale blue and white and sitting at three tables per column. They all listened attentively while the man at the front taught.

    By all means, this place seemed more like a classroom than a school center. Yujia definitely didn''t belong in this place. Except, the moment she wanted to turn to leave, the man who was teaching noticed her presence.

    His speech froze in-between when he saw her. Along with his silence and the direction his eyes pointed, one by one, the students listening turned their heads to look in Yujia''s direction as well, fixing their gaze on her.

    She could read many things in their expressions, but mostly pure confusion at what she was doing here.

    The teacher spoke first. "Who are you, and what business do you have here?" Each word of his was concise and echoed through the quiet room.

    Yujia didn''t know why¡ª was it the man''s domineering presence?¡ª but she immediately kneeled on the floor and set her pencil box down. She folded her hands in front of her and replied, "This one wandered here by accident, and is a disciple of¡­ the founder."

    Ah, she didn''t even know his name! She hoped that using the "founder" got her point across, but her hesitancy was clearly going to be misunderstood as a lie.

    "Yue Ze, that old man? When did he get a girl like you as his disciple?" The man frowned.

    Yue Ze? So that was the name of her master?

    Yujia took note of that.

    She was about to show the pendant on her waist as proof, but that was when Yunhe walked in from a door in the side of the room, holding a book in his hand. He took a look at Yujia kneeling at the back of the room, then at the man who was interrogating her. Taking in the situation quickly, he stepped up front and saluted the man.

    "Father, she''s my junior sister."

    Father? So the man was Ye Yunhe''s father¡­ and therefore the current head of the school? No wonder he was dressed in fine robes and held such an imposing demeanor.

    "Junior sister?" The man¡ª his father¡ª turned his direction to his son. "So, she really is your master''s disciple?"

    Yunhe nodded. "Yes. In fact, she became Master''s disciple just yesterday. She must''ve came in the wrong door accidently since she still doesn''t know the academy well."

    Yujia bowed lower. "I apologize if I disturbed Elder in teaching."

    "Hm." He waved his hand. "Go tell your master that old age must be driving him crazy to take a girl as a disciple."

    And then, as if nothing happened, the school head picked up in his lesson right where he left off. Some students took a look at Yujia one last time, but soon, they were absorbed in their lesson again.

    Yujia was left kneeling at the front of the room, perplexed on if she should continue kneeling or get up and leave. It was only when Yunhe gestured for her to go around behind the students to go through the same door he went through that she rose gingerly and crept across the room after him. She shut the door behind her once she entered, closing out the droning noise of the lesson in the other room.

 99 Senior Brother Chats With Fourth Miss

    Turning her head, Yujia saw what appeared to be a spacious library.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    Dim sunlight illuminated the shelves and shelves of books and scrolls. The library was arranged in a way that there were ten sections divided into two spaces. Each space contained four rows of tall shelves filled with books and one section for a central opening, which was the space for a couple of tables and cushions for a few people to study at. On the only wall in the room that didn''t contain a door or window, there were a couple of large paintings of overlapping mountains that Yujia thought were all excellent works even with only a glance.

    Yunhe, upon seeing the amazed look on Yujia''s face, explained, "This is one of Lingxin''s important treasures. If you want to know anything about painting, here''s the place. There are biographies on artists, books on art theory, other books involving paintings, and also many collected paintings. Many works are even in the form of a scroll instead of paper-bound books since they''re the original works from history."

    He walked a few steps into the library, running a hand along a shelf. Yujia followed after him until he stopped, picking up a book and handing it to Yujia. "This one''s on the Six Elements," he laughed, "Junior Sister should need this."

    Yujia took the book from him with her free hand that wasn''t holding the box and made a face. "Junior thanks Senior Brother for the recommendation," she muttered, flipping through the delicate pages before putting the book back to its old place. "And thank you for saving me before."

    Yunhe waved his hand. "It''s not a big deal."

    A moment of hesitation passed, and then Yujia asked, "Am I¡­ allowed to be here? Why are you here?"

    "This is the school center; why wouldn''t you be allowed here?" His thin eyebrows creased.

    "Really?" Yujia glanced back in the direction of the other room, where the school head was teaching. "I thought it was a personal classroom¡­"

    "No." Yunhe shook his head. "Those six students you saw were merely my father''s disciples. That was why they''re learning here. You''re here early, and you just coincidentally ran into the timing of their morning lesson."

    "I see."

    Yunhe lead the way to one of the seats in the bookshelves. He sat down at one that looked like he was sitting in before he brought Yujia over, and he gestured for Yujia to sit across from him.

    She sat down, then began, "Where''s Master? I came to talk to him."

    A wry smile appeared on Yunhe''s lips. "You should know from now on that Master likes to sleep in. He usually doesn''t wake up until late in the afternoon. It would be a miracle if he was awake this early."

    "Why are you here then?" Yujia tilted her head.

    "I like being in the library." He gave her a light shrug, and continued, "Only disciples of my father or our master are allowed to go in here, so it''s usually a quiet and good place to learn. I¡­ want to improve in painting and have my name in history¡­ so, I want to learn as much as I can to better myself."

    Yujia decided to be frankly honest with him. She thought back to her past experiences in her old life and said, "I wanted that too. When I first started art and painting and all that, I thought it would be easy to get my name held up with the professionals and have my name passed down through generations as a true master at art. But then, I realized, it wasn''t as easy as that."

    "It''s not just difficult for you; it''s¡­ impossible," Yunhe replied, his words slow.

    "Do you think that too, Senior Brother?" She leaned her chin on her hand and sighed.

    He quickly waved his hands in front of him. "No¡ª I don''t mean to discourage you! It''s just that.. How often have you heard of famous painters being women?"

    "Never, as of right now. But that will change." Yujia said with a solid nod. "In the future that I know, there are plenty of female artists. Their names will be known by so many."

    "''The future I know''?" he repeated after her, "How do you know? Junior Sister, are you from the future?" He gave a short laugh along with what he intended as a joke.

    Was she from the future? Yes, she was.

    And in that future, despite having so many more rights as a woman, how much more successful was she, as an artist? If she wanted to take painting seriously in this time period, she could blame her lack of success on the bias towards women of this time. But in modern times, what was she supposed to blame for her failure?

    Could she even blame anything but herself?

    If she wanted to be successful as an artist in her old life, what did she need to change about herself to do so?

    In that moment, Yujia realized that there was absolutely something wrong with her mindset, behavior, personality, or just somethingabout her old self, and perhaps her current self as well. And if she wanted to succeed in this life, she had to change herself to prevent herself from making the same mistakes that she made in the past.

    But what was it? Was it a single trait that she held, or was it a series of mistakes and bad choices that led to her ultimate ending of becoming an alcoholic who had no more hope for her future?

    What was Yujia supposed to do to change herself? Where had it all gone wrong?

    She wanted immediate answers, but sitting there, staring blankly at nothing, Yujia found that she didn''t know. There were too many possibilities, too many wrong decisions, and too many traits she held that she could account for it all.

    She originally thought that being given a new opportunity at everything was a blessing, but how did she know that she wasn''t going to be like before and drag herself down again? If she were to live her old life in the modern world again, what was she supposed to do to prevent life spiraling out of her control again?

    Yunhe seemed to notice her lack of a response, and with worry, he apologized, "Junior Sister, sorry if the joke went too far¡­? Was it perhaps too personal?"

    Yujia blinked all of her messy thoughts away and shook her head with slow movement. "No¡­ no, you''re fine. I just¡­ spaced out a little."

    "Oh, that''s good then. I thought I upset you somehow." He smiled again, then asked, "So, did you meet with the pretend Third Young Master, yesterday? How did that go?"

    She gave him an answer she put little thought into¡ª something along the lines that he must''ve been mistaken¡ª while her thoughts trailed back to her previous state of confusion.

    The conversation went on, but all Yujia could think about was the echoing question in her head.

    What did she need to change about herself?

 100 Inner Thoughts of the Fourth Miss

    Yunhe and her talked for a couple more minutes, and then, Yujia remembered part of the reason of why she went to Lingxin in the first place.

    "Senior Brother, I heard from someone that Lingxin had a painting convention coming up soon. When is that?"

    Yunhe was sketching a line with a pencil that Yujia taught him how to use a few moments ago when he heard the question and replied, "It''s tomorrow morning. Do you want to go?" He looked up from the pencil that he clumsily held in his hand.

    "Morning?" Yujia thought back to her agreement to meet up with Yushang in the morning too, which was at the hour of Chen1. "When exactly in the morning?"

    "Chen."

    Hearing this response, Yujia bit her bottom lip. The two times conflicted with each other.

    "That''s too bad then," she sighed, "I don''t think I can go. I have a meeting at the same time."

    Yunhe stopped sketching his line. "The convention is all the way until almost the hour of Wu2. You could arrive a little later, if you really wanted to go."

    "What do you even do at one of those conventions? Who goes there?" Yujia raised her eyebrows.

    "There''s a lot of young masters and students and Lingxin who attend¡ª maybe around almost one-hundred or so people? Though, the convention is split into two sections, so all normal students gather in a general area while more special individuals get to discuss in the Ice Lily Pavilion. We exchange opinions about painting, calligraphy, poetry, and the like. Usually, we start painting and showing each other recent works too."

    "Special individuals? Are you one of them?"

    Yunhe nodded. "They''re basically the students who are disciples and their guests. Usually, there are only ten or so, making the discussion a lot more personal. You''re one of them." He smiled.

    "And so are you." Yujia looked down at the piece of paper they were both testing pencils on. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    She showed Yunhe how to use pencils after they finished talking about the situation with Bo Zhizhong. He seemed pretty interested in learning how to use it too, and so the two of them sketched for a while on a piece of paper.

    The painting convention would definitely be a good place to advertise her pencils. After seeing Yunhe''s enthusiastic reaction to her pencils, Yujia was sure that the others at the convention would be interested too. Anyone who had a passion for art would take interest. If she wanted to build her first loyal buyers for her shop, the convention seemed like the best place to start.

    She couldn''t reschedule her meeting with Zhizhong, nor was it a good choice to miss the convention. Maybe she would just talk through her meeting with Zhizhong quickly and try to run to the convention before she was too late. That seemed like her only option right now.

    "I''ll try to go," Yujia said after thinking things through.

    "Maybe you could let others try your pencils too," Yunhe suggested with a smile.

    She smiled back. "I was just thinking that."

    Their conversation went back to the topic of how to use pencils, and Yujia slowly taught Yunhe how to shade the proper way with them. By the end of their conversation, he managed to draw and shade the branches of a crooked tree, which he appeared both proud and fascinated by.

    Seeing that more than an hour had passed and her master still wasn''t up, Yujia decided to leave. She would make sure to visit later in the afternoon another day.

    After bidding farewell with her senior brother, Yujia began her walk back home, her previous questions surfacing back to her.

    They still conflicted her, tracing after every single thought she had. She knew she had to change herself. That was a definite answer. Yet everything else was indefinite, a pure mess of blurry answers that meant both everything and nothing.

    When she arrived at her courtyard, she still didn''t know the answer, and she wasn''t sure how long it would take for her to arrive at an answer.

    Seeing Hui''er and the unfinished sketches she left on the table, Yujia decided that it wasn''t necessarily to come to a conclusion right away. It likely wasn''t a conclusion she could come to right away either. A true answer to her question would come slowly and naturally to her one day.

    For now, she had other things to work on.7:00 AM11:00 AM

 101 Bonus: Power Up, Agent Yang!

    [This is a bonus chapter that doesn''t affect the actual plot of the novel and addresses the question "What if Power Up, Artist Yang!was a cliche transmigration novel?" Read it for fun. :)]

    At twenty-four years old, Yang Yujia was already a succeeding military agent of the topmost government division. She was both talented, beautiful, quick-witted, resourceful, and insert a bunch of other positive adjectives here, making her what every man wanted and every woman wanted to be like. With her on the team, every mission would be carried out successfully, and because of that, her name was known by everyone as the one agent who never failed.

    Yet, her reputation fell apart, for on her six-thousandth mission, she failed. Miserably. So terribly that she was blown apart by a bomb into smithereens and no one could recover her corpse.

    Yujia''s last memory included sharp pain attacking every neve in her body before she fell into darkness. At least this method of death was better than that of drinking paint and dying like that last transmigration story she read in her free time when she wasn''t working on missions.

    When she woke up, her eyes were met with a new environment that she had never seen before. There was a fancy oriental room with beautiful vases and wooden floors polished to a brilliant shine.

    "Miss, you''re awake!"

    Upon opening her eyes, she heard the worried cry of a young girl''s voice. Yujia turned her head with difficulty and looked at the young girl. She analyzed all of the girl''s features within an instant, then flinched away from the reach of the girl''s arm.

    "Who are you?" she asked.

    "Miss? Are you okay?" the girl asked with an innocent voice, tilting her head to the side. "It''s me, Hui''er. How could you not recognize me? I''ve served you all of your life even though you''re the Fourth Miss of the Yang villa who is a cripple so therefore cannot cultivate and therefore is discriminated by the family!"

    Yujia thought for a second about the girl¡ª her maid¡ª and the words she just said. She looked down at the room around her and at the oriental clothes she wore.

    Ah.

    So she transmigrated, just like that transmigration story she read a few days ago.

    Yujia gave a solid nod. If she transmigrated, then she should just make the best of her situation and try to do something with her life.

    All of a sudden, before she could do anything else, she felt a sharp throbbing sensation in her head. It felt like her brain was being peeled open. Someone forcefully pushed many memories into it. Her eyes squeezed shut, and Yujia saw flashes of versions of herself going through so many traumatizing events.

    First, she was bullied by her older sister, Yang Qingxia, the First Miss of the family for no reason at all besides the fact that she existed. Then, the other misses followed suit and bullied her sequentially, all bringing misery to her life. The Madam of the household was pointlessly evil too, and didn''t do much to help her situation. Her father was once a brilliant cultivator, but because he was poisoned by so and so family member, his cultivation failed and he became a sick weakling that couldn''t defend her either. He chose to turn a blind eye to her struggles.

    The only person who was nice to her was the Fifth Miss, Yang Xiaoyi, and her maid, Hui''er.

    Life was sad.

    Silently, after receiving all the memories, Yujia swore to avenge for the old owner of this body. She didn''t know how to cultivate, but surely, it wasn''t too difficult. She was such a genius at martial arts and combat, after all her training as a military agent. Oh, and she also knew how to manipulate poison after a brief mission in Siberia in the modern world, so she was sure that she could take advantage of that as well.

    One memory that stood out to Yujia was the one that explained the main reason for why she was bullied and looked down on by everyone. It was all because she was extremely ugly. At birth, even though she had smooth skin as white as snow, big eyes, and red lips, there was an ugly birthmark shaped like a peony blooming at her jawline, rendering her otherwise perfect and classic-beauty appearance to shame.

    Usually, the old Yang Yujia would wear a veil over her ugly birthmark to hide her ugliness and shame, so she managed to catch the attention of the young master of the Yu Family, Yu Zixu. She knew that the two of them had true love, so she put all her trust into him.

    Today, if it weren''t for the First Miss beating her up yesterday until she fell unconscious, she was supposed to meet with Zixu early in the morning to discuss their brilliant love.

    Yujia pushed herself off of the bed as Hui''er, the irrelevant maid, watched.

    Hui''er asked, "What are you doing?"

    Yujia replied, "Just watch. I have a plan."

    Based on her sharp instincts that were refined when she was in the military, something about the crooked tree in the front of her courtyard called out to her. Yujia walked out of the room, and she dug at the roots of the tree. Within a few moments, she found a magical orb.

    "What is this?" Hui''er asked, since she was a dumb and confused maid who didn''t know anything.

    Yujia didn''t bother to answer. She sat right down underneath the tree, followed her instincts, and swallowed the orb. Then she began cultivating, drawing all spiritual energy into her body.

    As she cultivated for the first time in her life, she realized that the Fourth Miss''s body was actually quite suitable for cultivating. It was a Pure Yin Constitution, and she had perfect meridians and whatnot and all that good stuff. The only problem was that she didn''t have that magical orb that Yujia just absorbed, so she wasn''t able to cultivate until now. So, upon cultivating for only half an hour, a sudden collection of BOOMs echoed across the courtyard, startling her useless maid, Hui''er.

    Hui''er shouted with worry, "Miss, what was that?"

    Yujia replied, "I just got to the highest level of cultivation! Now, there is no one in the household that can stop me! In fact, I could even go and become Empress right now, but first, I want to face slap my trash family, teehee."

    Hui''er swooned. "Wow, my Fourth Miss is such a badass girl crush."

    Yujia stood up and stretched, feeling a new sensation in her body as all the spiritual energy flowed as free as the ocean. She could do anything right now and even end the world with a snap of her fingers¡­ except all she really wanted to do was to walk into another courtyard for some reason.

    So she did, and then she saw her precious fiance, Yu Zixu, gently caressing the ear of her younger sister, Yang Xiaoyi.

    Yujia gasped, feeling hurt in her heart. She didn''t know this Zixu well, but all the previous love the old Fourth Miss held in her heart for this man came crashing back to her. What was this feeling? She never felt love in her past life, but now it felt like someone was tearing her heart apart into two.

    Xiaoyi looked up. She gasped upon seeing Yujia standing at the front of the courtyard. "Older sister!"

    Zixu turned around as well, his hand still looped around Xiaoyi''s waist. "Oh, it''s you¡­" he said indifferently.

    Yujia felt tears rising up to her eyes, but she blinked them away. She would not cry for these pathetic people.

    Zixu saw the broken emotions in her eyes and laughed smugly. "Ha, are you wondering why I''m with your younger sister? It''s because you''re UGLY. You can''t cultivate, and my sweet Xiaoyi told me all about how your appearance is actually ugly. I''m too good for you."

    Xiaoyi began to show her true side too. "Older sister, did you really think I was kind to you? No, I just wanted to make sure that you would not beat me at cultivation. So, I stole your magical orb the moment you were born, even though you''re older than me by a year and that''s logically impossible. I buried it under a tree and you will never find it and never be able to cultivate it! So ha! I will steal your man, steal your future, and steal everything your miserable life ever had because I am evil. My sole purpose of existence is to serve conflict to the plot."

    The two lovers expected her to run away with a broken heart right after their words, but instead, they saw a dangerous smile spread across Yujia''s face.

    "What are you laughing at?" Xiaoyi asked, a tremble appearing in her voice because of how threatening Yujia''s smile was.

    "Jokes on you, because I am the strongest cultivator in the world as of two minutes ago!" Yujia declared with a short laugh.

    In the next moment, she moved forward with a speed that neither of the two could catch. She waved her hand and slapped both of them at once in the face.

    The loud sound of a slap echoed across the courtyard.

    Zixu coughed up blood and stumbled back a few yards. Xiaoyi, who was inferior in cultivation than him, promptly died on the spot.

    Throwing Xiaoyi''s dead body to the side, Zixu looked at Yujia with a new shining perspective. "Take me back, Yujia! I regret what I said before. You would do good as my wife. Marry me."

    Yujia shook her head with a cold laugh and utter disgust. "I will never marry a pathetic earthworm like you."

    Somehow, the whole town was present at that very moment in the Yang Villa, and they all laughed at Zixu being shamed.

    Satisfied with what just happened, Yujia cast Zixu aside. She walked away with Hui''er following behind.

    Hui''er thought, "Wow, my Fourth Miss is so cool! She''s nothing like her old self, but because I''m dumb, I''m not going to suspect a thing." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    Unbeknownst to Yujia, a shadow was watching her movements the entire time. The shadow was actually Fu Yushang, the crown prince of the empire. He was actually a few levels stronger than Yujia even though she thought she was the strongest cultivator. The reason for that was because he just had to be stronger than her. If she ever landed herself in a dire situation, he would swoop in and assist her because she was incapable of helping herself as a weak and dependent woman (only when the two of them were together, though).

    Yushang thought to himself, "That woman is mine. She will bear my child."

    Yujia felt a cold chill, and though for the next twenty chapters of the novel, she would feel distaste towards this Fu Yushang, she would end up with him because of his possessive and abusive traits, which were surely charming enough. And also, because romance was required, and something called an independent female lead didn''t exist. The readers would revolt otherwise.

    From this point on, Yujia would go and wreck her evil family and all the pointlessly evil female antagonists that would stand between her grand love with the magic boy Yushang.

    The end.

    (or?)

 102 The Fourth Miss, a Coward

    Until evening came, Yujia worked on finishing all of the sketches. She also had Hui''er buy the largest and highest quality scroll of paper that she could find, which she used to start her largest sketch. Due to the size of the sketch, Yujia only got the basic lines and beginning shading put down on paper, but she decided that her pacing was alright. She could definitely finish by the deadline.

    When evening came, Yujia expected to be given her usual small portion of food for a meal. Except, contrary to her expectations, she was surprised by an invitation to join the main family for a meal together.

    The maid who told Yujia of this invitation left as quickly as she came, simply explaining that they were having a meal in the East Courtyard, and she could come if she wanted to.

    It was obvious that the main family, which was probably her father, Madam Zhang, and Xiaoyi since Qingxia ate separately, ate better food than what Yujia was given every day. So, even though Yujia was unsure of what purpose they were trying to serve by calling her over to eat with them, for the sake of good food, she went with Hui''er to the East Courtyard.

    When they arrived, Yujia wasn''t sure where to go, so Hui''er led her to the center room. The doors were half open, and when they were pushed open, Yujia''s eyes met with a table of three people and lots of food. The people she expected to see sat around a meal of four dishes and one soup. The meal wasn''t as necessarily as lavish as the lunch Yujia had with Zhizhong, but it looked like a decent meal for all of them to be full with. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    Amongst the dishes, there were three dishes of mostly vegetables¡ª a dish of bok choy, a dish of bean sprouts, and a dish of dry tofu stir-fried with ground pork, carrots, and mushrooms¡ª as well as one dish of sweet braised pork. Yujia recognized the bok choy and sweet braised pork of being frequent parts of her dinner, and seeing what the main family had, she realized that this was probably the reason why.

    Thinking back to all the things she learned about etiquette from Hui''er, Yujia stopped in front of the door, folding her hands and bowing to her father, Madam Zhang, then nodding at Xiaoyi.

    "Father," she addressed him first, "why was I called here?"

    He looked at her blandly, then cast a look at Xiaoyi, the corners of his mouth curving up. "You should ask your younger sister about it."

    Xiaoyi grinned and explained, "I thought that Older Sister might want to eat with us, so why don''t we all start eating together as a family starting from today?"

    Yujia hesitated.

    Why call her over now, where for the past eighteen years the Fourth Miss lived through, she didn''t eat with her family even once? She knew that Xiaoyi called her over since their relationship was better now, but if only Xiaoyi wanted to eat with her, what point was there to sit with the other two individuals?

    Madam Zhang was the one to speak up in the midst of Yujia''s silent response. "Do you wish to decline?"

    Yujia looked up, trying to think of what to say. Was it a good thing to eat with them? Or was it a bad thing? Her mind went back to her questions from earlier that day. What if this turned out to be one of those key events in her life, where her decision between "yes" or "no" would map out the rest of her fate? It seemed like a simple question with a simple answer, but what if it just wasn''t?

    Seeing that she was still struggling with a response, Madam Zhang continued, "From the start, you were the one who chose to eat separate from us. If you want to continue doing so, that''s all your choice. No one will stop you."

    Her words echoed in Yujia''s mind when she finished speaking.

    Back in the day, it was the Fourth Misswho separated herself from the family? But all along, hasn''t Hui''er told her that her family was the one who pushed her away?

    This was a new piece of information with too many new possibilities behind it. Looking at how her Father agreed with Madam Zhang''s words, it didn''t seem like she was lying either.

    With this strange thought, Yujia realized that besides all her thoughts about herself and how she needed to grow as a person, there seemed to be some part of history behind the Fourth Miss that she didn''t know about yet. She had blindly accepted the things Hui''er told her about the Fourth Miss and her entire backstory in the villa, but what if Hui''er¡­ was the one that lied?

    Quickly, before she could go too far with these new thoughts, Yujia brought herself back to the moment. Putting a smile on her face and bowing again, she replied, "I was ignorant then. Since I''m given a chance again, why would I not take it?"

    "Have a seat, then." Her father waved to the empty seat across from Madam Zhang and next to him and Xiaoyi.

    Yujia walked over and took a seat, then cast a glance at Hui''er who stood behind her. Servants were not supposed to sit amongst their masters, and they weren''t supposed to be a part of the meal either. Yujia just wanted to see Hui''er''s expression to see if there was anything off about it.

    Nothing seemed to be too different, though. Hui''er looked back at Yujia, her eyes devoid of hidden meaning and her head tilting as if asking Yujia silently if she needed anything.

    Without revealing any of her thoughts, Yujia smiled and shook her head, then looked back to her family who began to eat and chat. Picking up her own chopsticks and attempting to blend in as if she ate with them every day, she reached over to the plate of bean sprouts and listened to their conversation.

    It had been a long time since Yujia sat at a table of people who were related to her by blood, eating together with them. Back in the modern world, besides occasional New Years, she barely saw her parents. Perhaps it could be said that they were never too supportive of her. Her father never wanted her to be an artist, and her mother sided along with her father every time. Ever since Yujia went to college, they never supported her, their relationship distancing.

    It wasn''t filial of her, but Yujia blamed them for many things. It seemed like they made no difference whether or not they were there, and as much as they were disappointed in her, she was disappointed in them too. And maybe, besides being disappointed in them, Yujia was disappointed in herself for never being filial. For never being loving. For never being the child they wanted.

    That, along with many other things in her life, pushed her onto a road of recklessness, arrogance, and having all of her thoughts centered around herself. In her past life, she continued to try to push herself up, to assure herself, and to convince herself that she was better than everything everyone else thought of her as. That instead of hearing what they had to say, the better¡ª and easier¡ª way was to listen to her own self-assurance. It was just easier to believe that she was too good for them to understand.

    If they said her art was bad, they were wrong! They just couldn''t see the beauty and the talent in her work. If they said her paintings were expensive, they were wrong! They just couldn''t see the value behind every stroke. If they said that her mindset was toxic, they were wrong!

    All of them were wrong.

    Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, and wrong.

    She hadto believe in herself. That at least, in art, she could think of herself as the one who was always right. What privilege did they have to criticize her? It was herart. Only she¡ª and all those people who''ve said complimentary things towards her¡ª could understand.

    And so, she needed to continue believing that she was right.

    Yet behind all that high self-esteem she pushed herself to have, all she had was a crumbling image of herself, held together by so much fake overconfidence she forced into her beliefs.

    It didn''t take long for her trembling beliefs to fall apart, for the constant "wrongs" from others to grow into too much doubt.

    That was when alcohol came in and solved so many of her problems, if only temporarily.

    Now, in this whole new world, Yujia looked at the new family in front of her right at this moment, happily eating together as if nothing was wrong.

    In this new place, with new family and new people, she seemed to see a hazy image of her own family reflected back at her.

    From the start, if she had listened even the slightest bit to what others had to say, would she be here, where she was, today?

    Yujia discovered that nearly all her memories of the past were wrong. They were shattering apart at a speed faster than she could catch up with, replaced by the cold, harsh truth that she denied for so long, whether by avoiding her thoughts or drowning her thoughts away with alcohol.

    The truth that she was wrong all along.

    Along with all the compliments she took in with her art, there was the criticism.

    Along with all the support she saw from teachers and friends, there was the true advice of change if she wanted to succeed.

    Along with all the connections she tried to make, there was the fact that her personality was just too ugly for any of them to want connections with her.

    Along with all her talent, hard work, and determination, there was all of her hubris, pride, and vanity.

    Things began to go wrong from the start.

    All from the very start.

    But¡ª

    Yujia didn''t want to face herself with that yet.

    She didn''t want to look at the truth she knew all along. She wanted to keep all of those thoughts pushed deep inside her, to keep herself from meeting just how ugly she was on the inside.

    Yujia thought she wanted to change. She thought that she wanted to improve. She thought that with this new chance at life, she could make herself so much better. Except now, standing in front of the locked door that could lead to her to change, holding the key in her hand, Yujia didn''t want to face this change.

    She thoughtthat she could change¡ª but she couldn''t, and she knew exactly why.

    It was because she was a coward.

    A coward who didn''t have the courage to acknowledge all the fault in herself. A coward who was given so many opportunities but refused to take them. A coward who would be forever stuck in this cycle of running from the truth and ruining herself.

    At that second, Yujia never hated herself more.

    But, nevertheless, she still put a smile on her face, still ate the food in her bowl, still started a conversation with the people next to her, still acted like nothing was wrong, and still ran away from herself.

 103 Yang Villa Upgrades and the Fourth Miss

    Throughout the meal, mostly Xiaoyi was the one talking, but the conversation wasn''t too boring. Halfway through the meal, her father, the Old Master, began talking about new expansions too.

    "The villa may be getting a few upgrades in the next few months," he said in a steady voice, "All outer walls will be knocked down and rebuilt to match the current auspicious and trending styles. Paths between and inside all the courtyards will be repaved to match the walls. The East Courtyard will get a larger central pond. Including this courtyard, all the other courtyards will also have the walls, doors, and windows replaced by newer ones. Servant quarters and the kitchens will be expanded, and I''ll be hiring new servants soon to take better care of the villa."

    Besides the personal servants of everyone, there were only a few spare servants that took care of other chores around the household. Yujia could see why if her father had a few extra taels, he might dedicate that to getting new servants.

    Everything else, though, seemed more like extravagance than practicality.

    Unless her father had a sudden surplus in money, his decisions to go with such a grand expansion didn''t make sense. How could a small merchant like him afford all of these things instantly?

    Xiaoyi seemed to be confused too, asking, "Father, why are there all these expansions?"

    He smiled slyly, replying, "Let''s just say that a few business connections of mine helped me make some other connections with other merchants. I got my hands on helping the shipment of some special goods, and the pay is high too."

    Yujia frowned. His vague wording and the smile on his face made her think of some bad situations. Don''t tell her that her father was¡­ involved in selling drugs? His words in the modern day sounded awfully like he was involved in drug dealing. She wasn''t sure if drugs were a big thing in this time period, but still¡­

    Madam Zhang spoke her words for her. "It''s nothing illegal, right?"

    "Illegal?" He raised an eyebrow, taking a few seconds to respond, "You can rest assured that no negative consequences will come out of this. Even the Yu''s Old Master¡ª he was the one who recommended me¡ª is part of it. Don''t you think our villa would look nice with some new walls?"

    Yujia was more convinced now that her father was involved in selling drugs or some other illegal material. He was just so evasive with his words.

    She wasn''t that emotionally involved with him, but it wasn''t exactly a nice thing to know that her father upgraded from a small merchant to a drug dealer.

    There could be the possibility that he wasn''t doing illegal things, but based on what he said so far, the tone of his words, and the sudden influx of money in his pocket, Yujia doubted it was anything otherwise.

    She picked up a small piece of braised pork and slowly chewed on it. Whatever. She didn''t care what her father did. As long as it didn''t trouble her, she could care less of what he sold and involved himself in. It just bothered her slightly to think that her father might be dealing drugs.

    Because of the mention of the Yu Family, the conversation stilled a little. Up until now, because of Yujia''s presence, they avoided any talk of marriage and engagements, but with the Yu''s Old Master, Yujia expected that this topic was inevitable. She had to talk about it sooner or later.

    Her father was the one who asked the question. "How''s progress going with¡­ your five hundred taels?"

    Yujia stopped chewing the pork in her mouth and swallowed. "Things are going fine, Father."

    She didn''t want to go too in-depth with what she was doing, since it wasn''t clear if the Old Master would appreciate her associating herself with a fancy young master of another family, or that in these brief days, she already found herself a master for painting.

    "How much have you made so far?"Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    "Not much. I''ll get the money by the deadline, though." Yujia called on the nonchalant attitude of the Fourth Miss.

    "If you say so." Her father picked up a piece of dried tofu, then went back to eating. Silence settled across the table, the only sound being the noise of chopsticks clicking against plates and quiet chewing from each person.

    Like Yujia thought, her marriage was definitely a topic to be avoided. No one knew exactly what to say about it.

    Then, Xiaoyi started a random conversation, and chatter spread across the table again.

 104 Meetings and Conventions For the Fourth Miss

    Dinner ended soon, and Yujia went back to her courtyard to sleep, all of her thoughts occupied by the many events and revelations that had happened this day.

    The next morning, when she woke up, after speedily getting ready, she rushed to go meet Zhizhong before the hour of Chen1even came. He did say that he generally liked to arrive a little earlier to things, so she arrived at their meeting destination ten minutes earlier, hoping that he was there so she didn''t have to be too late to the painting convention.

    To her relief, she saw him taking a seat down at one of the front tables of the inn right when she entered through the doors, meaning that they arrived at around the same time. When Zhizhong saw her, he grinned, getting up and bowing.

    "Miss Yang, you''re early."

    "You''re early too," she hastily replied back, sitting down while putting down the few papers she worked on the past few days. "I''m supposed to get to a painting convention in a few minutes, so hopefully we can talk less today, if there''s not too much to discuss?''

    Zhizhong shuffled through the sketches she showed him, a nod of appreciation coming as he looked at each one. Then, he poured both of them a cup of tea and said, "Sure. You''re a pretty busy person."

    "I just have a lot of things I want to accomplish, and not much time to do all of them."

    "Well, I guess highlights of what we need to discuss today is that I''ve settled the spot of where our store will be located. Right in front of Lingxin Pavilion. I believe you may have heard of that¡ª it''s an art academy." Yujia nodded to his words, and he went on, "I had to convince and negotiate with a lot of people to clear the land out, but now we have a good place for a shop. Most artists will notice it when it''s built."

    "That''s good." A spot right in front of Lingxin was the most ideal. She didn''t expect Zhizhong to come up with that, but since he did, then it was even better.

    "I also found the artisans who will create the pencils for us." He pulled out the page with a pencil diagram sketch that Yujia created along with the sample sketches. "So, can I take this paper with me to show them exactly what needs to be made?"

    "Yes. Of course. How many artisans did you contact?"

    He answered, "Only one, but he said that they would get ten or so more people to be making the pencils for us so that we''ll have a stock soon."

    Yujia pursed her lips. She just thought of the issue that the more people that knew about her invention and how to create it, the likelier her design might be stolen. It was inevitable once pencils became a big thing for other people to try to figure out how to make it, but she wanted the advantage of being completely unique to the market from the very start. If one of those artisans who were creating the pencils for her leaked the design, then¡­

    "How can we trust them to not steal the design?" she asked, "Are there any laws that prevent that?"

    Zhizhong thought for a second. "No, not really." He saw the shift on Yujia''s face, then quickly added, "Don''t worry too much about this. This pr¡ª I mean, this young master has his own ways of making sure the design is not stolen."

    "And that is?" Yujia continued, a little unconvinced.

    He scratched his neck, glancing down and looking a little uncomfortable as he told her, "You know¡­ stuff like bribery¡­ and threats¡­" His eyes looked up and his words sped up as he made sure to emphasize, "I''m not the kind of person to really like using these things though! Don''t misunderstand. I''m just suggesting those things since you said you were afraid that they would take your invention."

    So he was concerned with the honor behind his name. It seemed like making himself seem like a decent person meant a lot to Zhizhong.

    Yujia smiled. "I know. You don''t have to explain yourself in the matter. I''m sure you''re not that kind of person."

    "That''s good." He let out a relieved sigh. "I wouldn''t want to be mixed up with those young masters who just boast around with their wealth and pressure people with that."

    "Me either," she joked, and both of them laughed.

    They discussed a few more things for a couple more minutes, and then, Yujia decided it was a good time to leave for the convention. They talked for around fifteen minutes now, and the distance between the inn Yujia was at and Lingxin had to be at least a ten minute walk. This meant that Yujia would be fifteen minutes late to the convention, but she hoped that it was an excusable amount of tardiness. It couldn''t be that bad, right?

    Swiftly bidding farewell and parting with Zhizhong, Yujia rushed down the streets in the direction of Lingxin, praying that when she got there, there wouldn''t be any problems. Even though she tried to convince herself that being a few minutes late wasn''t going to make it the end of the world, she still hated the feeling of being late to something.

    Things were only worse when she arrived at Lingxin and found that the academy was already full of students and other people discussing. Yujia turned to the direction of the Ice Lily Pavilion, straightening her hair and robes as she attempted to make herself look more presentable and less of a hurry when she arrived there. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    Before she even entered the pavilion, she could hear many people discussing in there already. It seemed like they already had a good conversation going on amongst themselves, so it was even more awkward when Yujia stepped inside the pavilion and cut off all conversation. She stopped at the entrance to bow at everyone, then scanned her eyes across the crowd.

    There were many unfamiliar faces staring back at her, but she did recognize a few people out of all the young masters and students. Sitting right at the front of the pavilion was Yunhe, while a few seats to his left was both Yu Zixu and Bo Zhiyuan. Her eyes met with each of theirs. Yunhe''s expression seemed to silently read, "Being late to this is the biggest mistake of your life", while Yu Zixu simply smiled and nodded back. Bo Zhiyuan looked at her with a completely puzzled expression, as if he couldn''t understand what she was doing here. She didn''t know why he was here either¡ª was he accompanying Zixu?

    Yujia silently scurried to Yunhe''s side. There were no empty seats, so she could only stand. "Senior Brother," she quietly muttered, unsure of how she was supposed to acknowledge everyone else.

    "Senior Brother?" Yunhe didn''t even say anything when another person, dressed in orange and white robes and looking not much more than twenty years, asked in a sharp tone. "Noble Ye, when did you have a little junior sister like her?"

    Someone else dressed in dark teal chimed in, "And much less someone coming in so late."

    So late? Yujia only arrived a little later than ten minutes. What did they mean by "so late"?

    She looked down at Yunhe for answers, and he responded while biting the inside of the cheek, "Junior Sister, I may have messed up on the schedule. This year, they started the convention half an hour earlier than usual, and I forgot about it when I told you yesterday. I hope you can forgive me for that."

    Oh.

    It started half an hour earlier? Half an hour earlier?

    No wonder everyone was so absorbed in their conversations already! Yujia arrived more than forty minutes late to this event!

    Upon knowing exactly how late she was too this, Yujia could feel the awkwardness of the entire situation multiplying exponentially, discomfort rising up in the atmosphere of the room.

    What was she supposed to say now? Even if she explained to them that she had the schedule miscommunicated to her, surely their first impressions of her weren''t exactly positive now.7:00 AM

 105 Yes, The Fourth Miss Paints

    Luckily, Yujia didn''t have to say anything, since Yunhe cut in for her. "It''s not her fault. It was my bad for giving her the wrong time to arrive."

    "But even so," the orange-robed person went on, "are you sure she''s your junior sisterand not just some younger sister we never knew you had? Noble Ye, it''s alright if you let your younger sister join in on our conversation if she really wanted to see the painting world."

    The group laughed. Yujia''s fingers dug into her palm, but she kept a steady expression, unwilling to show the person who was just mocking her the satisfaction of seeing any reaction from her.

    Yunhe opened his mouth to say something again, but another person who sat right next to the orange-robed person spoke first. "That''s enough, Cixuan. Since Senior Brother Ye refers to her as junior sister, I''m sure she''s his¡ª and my¡ª junior sister as well. I saw her yesterday, and even the school head acknowledged her. Unless you''re saying that my master is wrong?"

    His words were quiet, but they were enough to make the orange-robed person¡ª Cixuan¡ª shut up.

    Yujia took a look at the person who just spoke. He had a hushed demeanor and a relaxed posture as he looked at Cixuan with half-lidded eyes. It almost seemed like he was tired with the antics of the young man next to him, and the energy that he radiated was the complete opposite of the energy Cixuan gave off.

    Whoever he was, Yujia was grateful that he spoke for her.

    Yunhe added, "Yes, like Junior Brother said, she is my junior sister with no doubt. We share the same master, Master Yue. So, Noble Cao, I''m afraid your words are wrong." He inclined his head and looked at Cao Cixuan with a faint smile.

    Yujia took this time as an opportunity to introduce herself. She stepped a foot forward, clasped her hands and saluted the crowd as if she were a man. "Fellow enthusiasts of painting, hello. I''m the disciple of Master Yue, Yang Yujia."

    "So, it''s Junior Sister Yang," the young man who quieted Cao Cixuan a moment ago nodded at her with a smile.

    "Senior Brother is¡­?" Yujia tilted her head, asking.

    "Jiang Muyun." He clasped his hands.

    Yujia smiled. "Senior Brother Jiang, then."Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    Two others, both of them her senior brothers under Elder Ye who didn''t seem to share the same fiery attitude as Cao Cixuan, introduced themselves to her, giving Yujia a few names and faces to memorize.

    After all of the introductions, Yujia stepped back to her spot. There still wasn''t a seat for her to sit at, so Yujia could only stand. Yunhe noticed this fact and leaned in, saying with a quiet voice, "When a servant comes by, I''ll ask them to bring you a chair. There should be one coming around soon."

    Yujia gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you, Senior Brother."

    There still wasn''t much conversation, so Cao Cixuan, who seemed like the most vocal one in the group, spoke up first. "So, how did you do it? How did you get to become a disciple of Master Yue?"

    His question was clearly directed towards her. It seemed mostly like a very direct question of pure curiosity, so Yujia turned to him with a calm expression and answered, "With my painting skills, of course. My master appreciates talent regardless of things like gender. He saw my work after one of the exams Lingxin held, and since he thought they were decent, he decided to take me in as a disciple."

    "The exam?" Cixuan raised an eyebrow. "Don''t they only allow men to take it?"

    "Ah." Upon hearing the exam mentioned, her eyes instantly darted in the direction of Yu Zixu, who was looking in her direction too. Their gazes met for a second, and then Yujia pulled her eyes away, fixing them back on Cixuan before anyone noticed anything. "I¡ª disguised myself as a man."

    Yujia could see the expressions amongst the crowd shift into incredulity.

    "A man?" Cixuan repeated after her with a screeching laugh. He leaned forward, echoing again, "A man? Now then, Young Miss, that sure is something new. Even if you disguised yourself in the opposite gender, Lingxin still wouldn''t let just anybodyin. What identity did you take on? Or did you sneak in?"

    Yujia looked back at Zixu, searching his face for answers. Would it be wrong for her to admit that she disguised herself as his brother? Would that bring him shame? Even though Yujia didn''t know him well, she knew how anxious she would be if someone publicly embarrassed her, and she wasn''t sure if the things that she knew were things that would embarrass him.

    Zixu only looked at her with a blank expression that morphed into a simple smile, not revealing any of his thoughts.

    "I¡ª" Yujia said, hesitation laced through her words, "I disguised myself as¡ª"

    "¡ª My younger brother."

    Before she could decide on what to say, Yu Zixu answered for her. The heads of the crowd turned to look at him, and he scanned his eyes around the room, noticing that all of their attention was now fixed on him.

    With a slight smile, Zixu elaborated on his previous words. "She disguised herself as my younger brother, the Second Young Master of the Yu Family."

    "Oh?" Cixuan was the first to respond, as always. "Noble Yu, I didn''t think you were involved in all of this too! So you know Miss Yang already, since you knew about her disguise?"

    "I didn''t find out that she chose to disguise herself as my younger brother until I saw her at the exam." He laughed, though Yujia was sure that the laugh sounded empty. "It was an odd coincidence that I met her, and certainly an amusing experience."

    Cao Cixuan grinned and clapped his hands. "Interesting, interesting, interesting." He spun to face Yujia. "This is all too interesting!" Throwing a glance over to Jiang Muyun who was sitting by his side, he exclaimed, "Brother Jiang, you were right! Coming to this convention definitely is a lot more fun than I expected!"

    Muyun looked at Cixuan with a slanted gaze, then sighed. He seemed disappointed that this "Brother Cao" of his was more interested in the convention for the wrong reasons.

    Practically sitting at the edge of his seat now, Cixuan asked Yujia, "Then, last question, I promise! Shouldn''t a pretty young miss like you be home embroidering or something? Why are you stepping into painting, a man''s world?"

    Yujia''s eyelid twitched.

    As much as she hated to admit it, Cao Cixuan had some truth to his words. He did seem a little too eager and personal with his questions, but this was likely the mindset that most, if not all, men had in this time period. The proof included all the conversations she had up until now with other people. Cixuan was just a little more vocal than others in expressing his thoughts.

    "I used to enjoy embroidery," she responded, "but I got bored of it soon. Painting suits my talent more. And so, here I am now."

    "Oh." This seemed like an answer to dry and boring for Cixuan''s taste. He leaned back in his chair, the enthusiastic grin on his face vanishing.

    After Cixuan finished with his questions, no one else had anything to say. The pavilion fell quiet again.

    Or, quiet, that was, until Yujia went to the center of the pavilion where a desk and a few scrolls of paper rested.

    "How about this," she proposed, "since some of you may be curious about why I''m here, why don''t I prove it right now? Do you all want to see me paint?"

 106 Speed Painting and the Fourth Miss

    Cixuan instantly sat back up, yelling, "Yeah!"

    Other people also quietly murmured their assent in varying manners, but like always, Cixuan was the loudest.

    Hearing their agreement, Yujia set her hands on the table, taking a look at all her supplies. Besides the numerous sheets of paper, the long desk also had black ink already grinded from the inkstone and a few different brushes. To the side were more supplies since it was likely a table set up for numerous people to paint at the same time, but Yujia doubted that she needed more than the few items that were right in front of her.

    She picked up the widest brush she could find, dipping it in more diluted black ink and moving it across the page in one bold stroke. Today, she supposed that she would challenge herself by painting as quickly as she could to see what would come out of it.

    Both of her hands moved fast, with one switching between brushes and the other sweeping across the page to outline the branches of a tree against a gray sky. The branches of the tree interlocked between distant mountains, making the perspective of the piece a bit tricky as neither the tree nor the mountains seemed like they belonged in front of one another. No leaves rested on the bare branches of the tree, and a single lonely bird took flight away from it.

    Yujia wanted to make the painting more lively, but she could only muster enough to draw what she did. It wouldn''t feel right to add leaves or more trees, just like how it wouldn''t feel right to draw a couple more birds. They would only take a few extra strokes of her brush, but for some reason, she just couldn''t bring herself to do it.

    Finally, she finished her painting with a few strokes of a brush with only water, diluting the edges of the painting and fading everything to a hazy fog. It only took her eight or ten minutes most to create the piece in front of her.

    As she stepped back to look at her work, Yujia knew that something looked off. The crooked tree depicted as the center focus of her painting barely held any life within it. The single bird taking flight looked like it was ready to jump off a cliff and give up on its right to fly. Even the usual mountains that she thought she knew how to paint lacked their grandeur and mystery, only looking dreary and distant.

    This painting of scenery was nothing like her generic mountain paintings. The lifeless aspect of the painting didn''t come from the fact that she didn''t put thought or emotion into her painting. In fact, Yujia wanted it to look good so that she could impress everyone.

    Except, instead of creating a flourishing painting of nature, Yujia seemed to only capture a crippling sense of melancholy. There was no pattering rain or dark, gloomy colors in her painting, yet it still somehow managed to convey the same sense of wistful sorrow.

    Before she took too long to look at her painting, Yujia noticed the others in the pavilion standing up to take a look at her work too. Many of them made comments as they surrounded the table with observant eyes.

    "Look at how the mountains fade! I saw her paint it in person, but it''s still startling how smooth the transition between ink and blank paper is."

    "How did she manage to create something like this so quickly? I don''t think I like the way the tree is structured, but I wouldn''t be able to create anything like this under ten minutes¡­"

    "The mist and the mountains are a good combination! I''ve always drawn my mountains with the tips in clouds because I was afraid that too much cloud and mist would overwhelm the work, but looking at this, I''m starting to think otherwise. How can one combine all these elements yet prevent each element from overwhelming the other at the same time?"

    While many people made quiet comments, Yujia noticed that Cixuan was silent. She expected him to make some sort of remark on the painting once she finished, but ever since Yujia completed the painting, he hadn''t said a single word. She had no idea what was wrong with him, but he just stood there, amongst the crowd, staring wordlessly at her painting.

    Bo Zhiyuan was one of the many who stood up to look at her work. He had to incline his head since he stood from the opposite side of the table, but after briefly looking at the painting, he said to her, "Miss Yang truly is talented. To create something so magnificent within a brief moment of time is incredible, but then again, I''ve witnessed your speed and skill at painting in person, so this comes as no surprise to me."

    Yujia thought back to the times where she painted him a scene of two roosters just to prove that he should commission her and smiled. "I''m flattered that Young Master Bo still remembers my paintings."

    "Of course I do. I still hang them up on my wall," he nodded. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    After giving Zhiyuan another flattered smile, Yujia looked over in the direction of Yu Zixu. She noticed something interesting about him. When others got up to look at her painting, they mostly stood there and observed it for a while. On the other hand, Zixu simply stood up, took a glance at her painting, then sat back down.

    She wanted to know what he thought. Based on his spectacular results in all three rounds of Lingxin''s examinations, he must''ve known a lot about painting. But since he barely spent more than two seconds looking at her painting, did it mean that her painting was good or bad? Most of the feedback she heard from everyone chattering about her work was positive so far, but she didn''t know if that was accurate or not.

    Their eyes met again, and Zixu nodded in her direction with a smile. Stiffly, Yujia put on another smile, nodding back at him. And then, he turned and took interest in a cup of tea by his side, no longer meeting his eyes to hers.

    Yujia sighed, turning to look back at the other people observing her work, hearing a couple more compliments. Yunhe and Jiang Muyun both talked briefly with her about her painting, giving her their thoughts and opinions which Yujia carefully listened to.

    A few more moments passed, and most of the people sat down after voicing their thoughts. Only a couple of people remained standing there, still having a few things to observe with the painting Yujia briefly came up with in ten minutes. Out of the few, Cao Cixuan was one of them.

    He continued staring at the painting, almost without blinking, before he spun to face Yujia, his eyes shining with excitement.

    "This!" He pointed at her painting, his words frenzied, "It''s the greatest thing I''ve ever seen before! How much will you sell it for?"

    Ah?

    How much would she sellit for?

    That was the one question that Yujia never expected to hear from Cao Cixuan.

 107 Should the Fourth Miss Sell Her Work?

    She looked at Cixuan with a hesitant gaze, then looked back at her painting. In any other situation, she would''ve sold the painting in a heartbeat¡ª money was always good¡ª but for some reason, she didn''t want to sell this simplistic painting she created so quickly. It wasn''t because it was Cao Cixuan who wanted the painting either. Yujia just didn''t feel like it was right to sell this particular painting to anyone.

    Cixuan noticed her lack of response, quickly holding up his fingers and counting. "How much would you want to sell it for? Twenty taels? Thirty? Forty? Sixty? Ninety? Name your price!"

    Yujia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

    Sure, it wouldbe nice to sell something she created in ten minutes for ninety taels. Except, still, she couldn''t shake off the feeling that for some reason, she wanted to keep the painting to herself. She wanted to crumple it up into a ball, tear it into a thousand pieces, set it on fire, or just do anything so that she didn''t have to keep looking at it or have anyone else hold possession of it.

    The thoughts going through her head were some strange thoughts, but in the end, she supposed that they were just some things trying to excuse her unexplained desire to keep the painting to herself. Yujia didn''t allow herself to think much about it.

    "It''s not for sale." Yujia gave an apologetic smile and flipped the painting over, unwilling to look at it for a second longer.

    "Why?" Cixuan held his chin a little higher.

    "It''s only something mediocre I created in a few moments; why do you want it?" She diverted his question with another question.

    "Well¡ª because I think the speed that you created the painting at was interesting. Imagine if I could hang it up, and then someone asks me, ''Wow, that''s a great painting you have there!''¡ª and I reply with, ''Oh, yeah, the painter only created it in ten minutes.''¡ª how fun do you think the expression of that person will be?"

    His answer was oddly childish. Yujia supposed that if she took any longer to create the painting, he wouldn''t have as much interest as he did right now. Cao Cixuan was just one of those people who enjoyed the dramatic and attention-catching side of painting more than the actual artistic value. He also had no shame with his answer, being completely honest with stating the true reason why he wanted his work without being afraid of what other people might perceive of him after his shallow statements.

    Yujia folded her hands in front of her, then proposed, "If that''s the case, then later, I''ll paint you another ten-minute painting, and you can pay me for that. This particular painting, though, is not for sale."

    "Alright! That''s good with me!" He grinned widely and spun back to his seat. By his side, Jiang Muyun gave him a look, but he didn''t seem to notice it.

    Now would be a good time for Yujia to return to her "seat" too, but she wanted to grasp ahold of the temporary spotlight she had while she still could. Besides, now that she painted and received some sort of approval from everyone, the current moment was also a good time for her to act out her plans.

    "I''m going to be completely honest here," she began, addressing everyone seated, "but I didn''t just come here to talk about painting. There''s a new art store that''s opening soon that I''m affiliated with, and they have a new tool that I thought students of Lingxin and others interested in painting would like to know of."

    Those seated began to murmur about the "new store" she was "affiliated" with and the "new tool".

    Yujia decided for now that she wouldn''t refer to herself as the "inventor" of the pencil. After all, with the current standards of society, they wouldn''t be particularly accepting of a female inventor. She didn''t want to call someone else as the inventor, and she couldn''t claim the pencil for her own yet, so she decided to go with keeping the inventor anonymous until the time was right for her to stand up. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    Continuing on, Yujia said, "The new tool is called a pencil. It is a brush that draws without ink."

    More discussion came from the crowd. Recognition appeared on both Yunhe and Zhiyuan''s faces since they had experienced her invention first-hand.

    Due to the meeting that Yujia had before this convention, she had both her pencils and sketches with her. She opened the box of pencils she placed on the table, picking out a pencil and holding it up so that everyone could see it.

    "This is it." The pencil spun slowly in her hand to give everyone a complete view. "It may not look like anything, but it can accomplish a lot. The one I have here is also a rather crude prototype¡ª a more refined version will be sold by the store."

    She set the pencil in her hand down, then placed the example sketches she created for the store in a line across the table as a longer display.

    "If any would like to take a closer look, there are examples on the table."

    Around three-fourths of the present people stood up, gathering around the table again to look at the sketches up close. Yujia listened with a soft smile as the intrigued artists observed her work with hushed silence at first, but then, talking louder and louder about the sketches she managed to create.

    "These portraits and drawings¡ª they''re so realistic!"

    "A small stick like that can create such beautiful work? Is that even possible?"

    "How is this¡ª how does that¡ª I mean¡ª it''s just so strange! You all thought that the painting from before was spectacular; I''d say that it dulls in comparison to these drawings here!"

    The more they spoke, the more Yujia smiled. She found it amusing to see their surprised response to the pencil.

    Although, albeit amusing, their surprise was normal. It was their first time seeing a graphite sketch, and with moth of them being enthusiasts over art, how could they not be amazed?

    Soon enough, most of the unconvinced ones were convinced to stand up and look for themselves. One even asked Yujia if they could try using her pencils for themselves. To that, Yujia of course agreed, and demonstrated to them how to properly hold and use one.

    When one person began to experiment with the pencils on a new piece of paper on the table, more became interested and took a pencil for themselves. Because a few people hogged a couple of pencils to themselves, a few that wanted to try using the pencils couldn''t, and could only watch for an opportunity to grab a pencil out of the hands of someone who set it down.

    The amount of people smiling at the wonders of the pencil, the amount of people actively trying to replicate her sketches, and the amount of people exclaiming their approval and praise¡­

    Yujia felt as if she was watching the painting convention transform into the pencil convention.

 108 The Fourth Miss Blends in the Convention

    Needless to say, only a few minutes after the pencil was introduced, it became a huge hit.

    Yujia only partially expected the warm reception to the pencils. She knew that some people would like it, but not to the degree that she saw right now.

    Word had somehow spread throughout the school that in the Ice Lily Pavilion, there was currently a demonstration of a "celestial art tool" that could draw as smooth as brush and ink even without ink. They said that the "heavenly tool" could capture souls in the drawings and reflect an exact moment in time.

    Because of these clearly over exaggerated rumors, the hundreds of others attending the convention swarmed towards the pavilion. They were not permitted in the pavilion, so they could only watch as afar and catch the exclamations and marvelling of the lucky individuals who had the ability to experience this "tool blessed by the deities of art".

    Yujia slowly faded away into the background, her pencil stealing her spotlight away from her. It wasn''t that she minded much¡ª it was just that now, instead of everyone else being amazed by her pencils, she was the one who was amazed by their reactions.

    She had no idea how things got blown out of proportion so much. Who even spread the word that her pencils were some legendary, godly, invention?

    As great as pencils were in her opinion, those claims were overdoing it a little.

    Though, if Yujia truly thought about it, if a man of this time period went back to the era of cavemen and introduced the current brush and ink techniques of this time, then the cavemen would be in awe of that too, she supposed.

    Since many people were standing up, Yujia finally got a seat next to Yunhe. He surveyed the pavilion and the crowd that was gathering outside of it, then told her with a smile, "I see that your invention is doing well."

    "I''m pretending that it''s not anyone''s invention right now," she replied, "but thank you, Senior Brother. I didn''t expect this much of a reaction, honestly." A nervous laugh escaped out of her.

    He shrugged. "If you showed the pencil to anyone else, there wouldn''t be this much of a reaction. The main reason is that all the present individuals here are some of the most enthusiastic young artists in all of Xiang. Their guests are all fairly involved in art in some way too." His hand casually gestured to Cao Cixuan, who was one of the people that scribbled with a pencil in his hand. "It might not look at it, but even a guest like him does know a few things about art or poetry."

    Yujia laughed again, this time a little less nervously than before. "Aren''t you afraid that this Noble Cao will take offense if he hears your subtle insult?"

    "He''s not going to." Yunhe glanced over at Cixuan, then scoffed, "Listen to all the loud chatter. Who is going to pay attention to our conversation? Besides, he''s the one who''s yelling the most out of all of them. I''m surprised that he doesn''t get tired from talking so much every day."

    Hearing Yunhe''s words, Yujia gasped dramatically and gave him a joking scandalous gaze. "Senior Brother! I never knew that you were one to throw insults like that!"

    His eyes dropped from her gaze, shaking his head as he replied, "I''m usually not. It''s just that people like him are often a little too irritating. Plus, he''s just so unstable with his attitude, and I don''t like people like that. Take for example a few moments ago, when he was insulting you, but now, he''s the person who''s using your pencils the most."

    Even though Yujia appreciated the fact that Yunhe and her shared a mutual disliking for Cao Cixuan, she still felt like there were words that she needed to get off her chest.

    "Hm, Senior Brother, when we first met, weren''t you also insulting to me about my lack of knowledge about the Six Principles? Yet now, we''re such good senior and junior siblings." Yujia leaned forward to rest her chin on her hands, keeping her tone light. "I''d say that your attitude might be a little unstable too."

    Realizing the hypocrisy in his words, Yunhe looked back up, his eyebrows tightening. "Junior Sister, you know that back then, I was just a little bit angry since you were the one who first insulted¡ª I mean, criticized¡ª my work! I was just being the bigger person and deciding to let fickle matters like that go because we''re under the same master now."

    It seemed like bringing up the topic of their past conflict put Yunhe on a defensive edge. Perhaps he just didn''t like to think of the fault in his actions from the past. Yujia was perfectly fine with that, though. If he wanted to push these things behind, she wasn''t going to purposefully keep bringing them up either.

    "I know." Yujia nodded, coming up with a quick response. "I simply think that since Noble Cao doesn''t treat me with a negative approach now, I can be the bigger person too and ignore the things he''s said before."

    "Are you sure?" He raised his eyebrows, and prodded, "Or is Junior Sister only acting this way because he has a lot of wealth and can potentially buy your paintings and pencils in the future?"

    Yujia grinned mischievously. "Since Senior Brother knows me so well already, why ask?"

    She was glad that he diverted this conversation into a more playful tone. This gave both of them an opportunity to move onto something else to talk about.

    Both of them laughed briefly, then moved onto the topic of her pencils again.

    ¡­

    Eventually, the initial interest in the pencils died down. Many still thought it was an interesting product, but they wouldn''t want to spend all day analyzing the invention. The crowd outside the pavilion left quickly too upon realizing that there was no chance of them getting to view the pencil.

    And so, the group moved onto other things within an hour, such as creating paintings and writing poetry to match the paintings.

    It appeared like both pencils and her previous ten-minute-demonstration won over the hearts of the disciples and guests. Seeing that she was a fellow artist like them, they could accept Yujia''s identity as a female a lot easier. There was still a clear divide between her and the others present at the convention, but this didn''t matter too much to Yujia. As long as they were willing to give in a little, eventually, they might be able to accept even more.

    When noon came around, it was time for the convention end.

    Yujia watched as one by one, various individuals left the pavilion after saluting everyone. They trickled out slowly, with some having a few last words to say and others wishing to leave on time. The few familiar faces that she managed to talk a little extra with at the convention, such as Cao Cixuan and Jiang Muyun, both specifically bid farewell to her before they left. Yunhe and Bo Zhiyuan also did the same. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    Yujia was one of the few still left in the pavilion when most had gone. She was busy gathering her pencils and organizing her sketches which were dispersed across the table. As she gathered her belongings and prepared to leave as well, her hands stopped at the piece of turned over paper that contained her ten-minute painting.

    Her hands reached down and turned the thin sheet of paper over. Once more, she had the chance to look at the painting, yet still, she couldn''t understand.

    She thought back to the first of the Six Principles that her master had taught her: Spirit Resonance.

    Was the reason for the sorrow in the painting because of Spirit Resonance? Had she somehow pushed her emotions, energy, and messy thoughts into the painting? It felt like every stroke of her brush carried one of her worries, making all of it weave together to create something that represented the very depths of her thoughts.

    This explained her unwillingness to look at the painting and the wish to keep it close to her at the same time. It was the same with her mindset towards her past and current self too, wasn''t it?

    She heard footsteps approaching her from behind, so she turned away from the painting, glancing over to see who it was.

    The person who walked up to the table, standing next to her as he observed the painting, was Yu Zixu. He looked at it, then looked back at her, the calm smile he always had vanished off of his face.

    "Young Master Yu, is there anything you need?" Yujia mustered up a polite smile.

    "I see now why you ranked in front of me in the exam. Your painting skills are truly admirable." Yujia was about to thank him for the compliment, but he continued. "The only problem is that something''s wrong, isn''t it? Something''s bothering you, and it''s clear from the way you paint."

    She blinked twice, her smile dropping from her face as well. Out of everything she heard today about her painting, no one pointed out the emotions that were going on in her mind while she painted, except for him. Except for Yu Zixu, the one person who only took a glance at her painting before walking away.

    "How did you know? How do you always know everything?" she asked, her words rushed.

    She didn''t know why, but Zixu confused and irritated her more than ever now. She clearly knew that he had no fault, but she couldn''t help but push all her anger at herself that she had hidden away for all this time onto him. She just hated the way that he could read her every thought and crawl into her mind while she couldn''t even decipher a single expression of his. She just hated that he always smiled in his calm, collected way, as if he couldn''t be bothered by any problems in the world.

    "I don''t."

    Yujia blinked again, and there Zixu was once more, standing with a blank gaze. He wasn''t smiling. There was no smile.

    For once, Yu Zixu seemed human.

    "I''m just very observant," he went on, "I pay more attention to most things that others ignore. It''s a skill. It takes a lot of practice. I still don''t know most things about others the majority of the time, but that''s when I guess. In the field of painting though, I think I''m skilled enough to be able to decipher the true emotions of the painter from the art. That''s another skill that I seem to be more adept at."

    She stared at him while he spoke.

    Seeing that she didn''t have anything to say, he kept going with his words. "Another thing about me is that I''m curious. Art and people intrigue me. So, when I''m faced with a puzzle like this painting with unexplained worry portrayed within its lines, I want to know the reason behind it. But¡ª if that was too personal and bothered you, I apologize. I was too forward."

    He clasped his hands and bowed. "I''ll be leaving now, then, Miss Yang." After that, he turned around, heading to the exit of the pavilion.

    Yujia stared at his back silhouette walking away from her. Out of everybody in this world so far, no one fully understood her. Not Hui''er, not Xiaoyi, not Yunhe, not Zhizhong, not anyone. They never noticed whenever things truly distressed her. They never noticed the chaotic mess that went on in her mind, or the cowardice that haunted her after all of her revelations. She never had anyone like that. Not in her past world, and not in this one either.

    Yet why was it that Yu Zixu, someone she barely knew, someone she barely talked to, and someone she usually tried to avoid, noticed these things?

    As she watched him walk away, Yujia realized that she wanted someone to talk to. She wanted someone to express her concerns with.

    Yu ZIxu didn''t seem like the best person, but he was here now, wasn''t he? He was willing to listen, wasn''t he?

    That was what Yujia truly wanted¡ª someone to listen. Someone who she could blurt out all of her problems to without having to care about what they thought of her.

    She wasn''t sure if Zixu was the right person, but it wouldn''t be a mistake to try.

    So, Yujia called out his name. Her voice was quiet, holding the slightest bit of a tremble, but he heard her. And turned around. And walked over.

    And listened to her words.

 109 The Fourth Miss Talks Things Ou

    The two of them were the only ones left in the pavilion. Everyone else had departed, and while Yujia leaned against the table as she spoke, Zixu sat across from her.

    "To make things clear, first," Yujia stated, "I''m the Fourth Miss of the Yang Family. You might know me as the one who''s going to become your father''s concubine."

    Zixu nodded slowly. His expression didn''t change much after this revelation, as if he expected it. "And I think that you may know me as the one who''s going to become your younger sister''s husband." Right. Yujia almost wanted to ask him about Xiaoyi, but now was not the right time. Zixu added on, "But relationships are always bound to change, aren''t they? I think that you don''t seem like one who will gladly become a concubine to my father."Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    "You''re not wrong." Yujia laughed softly while she looked down. "And maybe my painting gives off a depressed feeling because of these things that conflict me. Except, at the same time, it''s also because I found that I don''t want to look at myself and the actions I''ve chosen. Maybe it''s the whole deal with marriages that made me realize this, but lately, I can''t help but think that maybe I''m destined to fail, to have a bad ending, all because of the kind of person I am."

    "Why don''t you change yourself, then?"

    Yujia looked up at him, and Zixu was looking back at her without any waver in his gaze. He made it sound so simple. As if she could just change herself at will. As if she could become someone completely different than who she was now with just a brief decision.

    "It''s not that easy." She bit the inside of her cheek and curled her fingers. "I¡ª I can''t just change myself because I want to."

    His eyes were still focused on hers. "How so?"

    "I''m afraid to." She decided to tell him everything. Since she said so much already, she might as well just say everything. "Because I''m pathetic. Because I''m terrified to face myself. Because I''m terrified to accept change. I''ve lived as the person I am for so long¡ª if I just changed myself now, how could I possibly make up for all the things before? What if the person I change into becomes someone even worse than the way I am now?"

    Zixu sighed. "I don''t know exactly what kind of person you are, but based on what I''ve seen so far, you''re not a terrible person, Miss Yang. Why not just pay heed to what others are saying and suggesting and change yourself based on that? If the change is not the right kind of change, continue correcting yourself until you become someone you can be satisfied with, someone that you can accept."

    There was a brief pause of silence before he continued, "In the end, an attempt to become better is better than no attempt; therefore, change is better than no change. How do you know what sort of future you will have without trying different things out? I am one who doesn''t believe in predestined endings. Every individual is in control of their own life. It''s up to them to decide what sort of choices they make. Would you be satisfied knowing that you chose to let go of the chance to change, or would you prefer to live knowing that you never gave another version of yourself a chance?"

    It took a while for those words to sink in for Yujia. Silence hung in the air, but the silence allowed her to think.

    Zixu''s philosophy wasn''t complicated. It was just as simplistic as his entire perspective, but Yujia hadn''t thought of it before. Perhaps this could be due to the reason that her thoughts were so clouded, or due to the reason that she had pushed all her thoughts away before she could truly think about it. She didn''t like to think about it back then, but now that she could look at the entire situation with his words in mind, everything was clearer.

    Why wasn''t she giving herself another chance, instead of choosing to give up without trying?

    It would likely take her a long time to adjust herself, but Yujia was glad that she talked things out with Zixu. Now, at least, she had a direction to go. She didn''t know how long it would take for her to become a better person, but he was right in the fact that it was better to put in effort than to not try at all.

    "Thank you." She gave him a genuine smile, which he returned with his usual calm smile. "Now that we''ve talked about this though, I''m still not clear on why you''re just willing to listen to me rant. I appreciate that you''re willing to¡ª I just don''t know why¡ª if that makes sense?"

    "I told you before; I''m curious," he answered, "And also, maybe more of an acceptable reason, but it''s a waste to see true artistic skill weighed down by heavy thoughts. I was hoping to see Miss Yang''s true capabilities, but it appears like your demonstration today was weighed down by your doubts. If you''re feeling better now, I hope that you can show me some of your true paintings."

    His smile was a little warmer now.

    Yujia nodded with confirmation. "Alright, if I ever am in the mood to create a better painting, I''ll call Young Master Yu over to watch. I''m honored that you find my humble skills worthy enough."

    "Don''t be so humble. Some of the techniques that you used in your paintings are things I''ve never seen before, and I always want to discover new things about painting." He waved his hand.

    "So, the reason why you talked to me was all for your own benefit?"

    "Of course." His smile transformed into a sly one. "I always act for my own benefit."

    "Then, I''m glad we both benefited from this conversation. I''ll be sure to pay you back by showing you a few new painting techniques in the future, if you want."

    Zixu clasped his hands. "This Young Master is grateful to Miss Yang''s offer." He glanced over to her box of pencils and changed the topic. "Why are you starting up a store to sell your pencils?"

    "How did you know that I''m¡ª ?" Yujia''s eyebrows flew up. She only claimed that she was affiliated with the store, and not that she was starting it up.

    "I''m good friends with the Second Young Master of the Bo Family. I believe that you may have had a commission with him, and accidently left one of your pencils there, meaning that you''ve been in possession of these pencils for a while. Based on the drawings you''ve created with them, you''re also skilled at using them. It wouldn''t make sense for a mere affiliate of the store who was asked to advertise the tool to be given a crude prototype that''s clearly not the work of a skilled artisan. With some simple deduction, I came to the conclusion that your relationship with the store must be more than that of affiliates. Am I wrong?"

    Momentarily stunned by his response and all the thought that went behind his answer, Yujia shook her head and replied, "No¡ª you''re very right. I''m going to be the co-owner of the store that will sell these pencils, which are my invention."

    He didn''t seem like he would be one to instantly turn down the idea of her pencils just because she was female. Zixu clearly displayed his lack of bias towards different genders because of his statements when he was inviting her to join the painting convention at Lingxin. She could trust him with the fact that she invented the pencils, considering that he didn''t seem like the insensitive type who would just blabber this fact around.

    "Who''s the other co-owner?" He tilted his head.

    "The Bo Family''s Third Young Master. Somehow, I got involved in having him invest in my work, and we''ve been good business partners since."

    "Ah." Zixu paused as something unknown passed through his gaze before he returned to normal. Yujia barely caught the shift in his eyes, but because she couldn''t decipher it, she chose to ignore it. "I wish you two luck with your business."

    "Thank you." Yujia glanced at the exit of the pavilion, realizing that she was hungry for lunch. She didn''t have any other need to talk to Zixu, so she said, "I''ll need to get going soon, if Young Master Yu will allow me."

    "Of course."

    Once she bid farewell with him, Yuija picked up all of her belongings and left the pavilion, the corners of her lips turned slightly upwards, and worries finally fleeing her heart. She truly was grateful for their conversation today.

    ¡­

    Zixu watched as she left the pavilion, then stood up, preparing to leave as well. Today, he gained what he came to the convention for: new knowledge in art. The Fourth Miss of the Yang Family did have some interesting techniques that set her work a level higher than most others, but she lacked practice with her work. It was a pity for all the unique techniques to be wasted on her average work, but in the future, when he learned the different styles from her, it wasn''t really a loss either.

    He was also introduced to a new puzzle to which he was slightly intrigued by. She mentioned, before she left, that the co-owner of her new store would be the Third Young Master of the Bo Family. The only problem was that the Bo Family had no Third Young Master. Zixu was absolutely positive with this fact, considering his long relationship with Zhiyuan. He would''ve known if his friend had a younger brother.

    It would be fun to figure out who this "Third Young Master" that Miss Yang was referring to, but it wasn''t high on his priority list. His father still wanted him to work on managing their new trade partnerships, so he was rather occupied with that at the moment.

    He didn''t regret taking time to go to the painting convention though. Miss Yang was an interesting individual with many peculiar things about her, such as her new identity as Master Yue''s disciple and her engagement with his father. It was obvious that she wasn''t going to stick with becoming a concubine to an old man though, so in the future, Zixu guessed that there was going to be a good show for him to watch.

    From all the new things that he learned, Zixu decided that today was a good day.

 110 When the Fourth Miss Decides to Become a Tour Guide

    The moment Yujia returned to the Yang Villa and started her average lunch, Xiaoyi came over to visit. As Yujia ate lunch, Xiaoyi asked, "Older Sister, what were you doing this morning? I came over, but you weren''t here."

    Thinking back to Lingxin, Yujia took a bite of plain rice and responded, "I didn''t tell you this earlier, but I''m now a disciple at Lingxin Pavilion. You know of that place, right?"

    "Lingxin Pavilion?" Xiaoyi''s large eyes widened and her lips parted in awe. "Of course I know of Lingxin! I''ve always wanted to see what the academy is like, but I didn''t think I would be allowed in. I thought they didn''t take female students?"

    "They don''t. I happened to get in with some luck after finding a master who''s pretty important in the school." She held up the white jade pendant she wore on her waist.

    Xiaoyi cupped her face with her hands as she leaned against the table. "Wow, Older Sister sure is impressive. It''s only a dream for me to go inside the academy, but you''re already a disciple!"

    "Do you want to go? I can take you after I finish eating, if you want," Yujia suggested.

    "Really? You would take me?" A smile of disbelief spread across Xiaoyi''s face.

    "Since it''s your dream and an easy task for me, I don''t see why not."

    Xiaoyi clapped her hands together and she stood up. "Older Sister is the best!" She looked down at herself, then back up, her gaze wavering after a thought. "But¡­ I don''t think it''s proper of me to go. You''re the¡­ Fourth Miss, so you have more freedom of movement, but for me, it''s another case¡­ if Father found out that you took me to Lingxin, he might get mad at you¡­"

    There definitely were too many limits on young ladies in ancient times. Yujia could see what Xiaoyi was saying though. The Fourth Miss was illegitimate, so she could go to different places more than a proper young miss since her reputation was already pretty bad. From what she had seen so far of this society, it wasn''t wrong for most young misses to go in public places like stores or marketplaces as long as she wasn''t alone, but Lingxin Pavilion was a place for men and numerous young masters of big families, and Xiaoyi''s reputation might be damaged because of this.

    It still seemed ridiculous to Yujia though.

    "If you think that Father will get mad at a small thing like this, then just dress up in a servant''s clothes and keep you eyes down. I''ll just say that you''re my maid, and I can take you with me then."

    "Oh, that''s a good idea!" Xiaoyi spun to A''ling who stood behind her, asking, "Can you bring me a set of your clothes?"

    Her maid agreed and left the room. Meanwhile, Yujia asked Hui''er, "Do you want to come as well?"

    Hui''er shook her head. "No, Miss, I''m fine staying here. I''m that knowledgeable about art anyways, so there''s no point for me to go."

    "If you say so." She wouldn''t force Hui''er to come if she didn''t want to, anyways.

    A few moments later, Yujia finished her meal, and Xiaoyi changed into the maid''s robes. The two headed off in the direction of Lingxin, exchanging a basic conversation as they walked.

    Right when they were at the front of Lingxin, Xiaoyi seemed undeniably excited.

    "Where do you want to go?" Yujia asked.

    "Where is there to go? I don''t know the place well. How about you take me to wherever is fun?" She grinned.

    "Then, I''ll let you show you around all the different pavilions," Yujia recommended. She still didn''t know the layout of the school well, but she was confident in her knowledge of how to get to the different pavilions. Xiaoyi would definitely enjoy walking around the garden paths too, based on Yujia''s predictions.

    Xiaoyi agreed, and the two headed off towards the direction of the Ice Lily Pavilion first, somewhere Yujia was at only around an hour ago. She didn''t expect that she was going to be returning to Lingxin so soon, but since Xiaoyi wanted to tour the academy, there was nothing wrong with revisiting the place.

    ¡­

    After the convention and everyone dispersed, Ye Yunhe only briefly had a simple meal for lunch before walking around the school. One of his junior brothers, Rong Yuan, wanted to get some critique on his recent painting, so Yunhe headed in the direction of the Half Moon Pavilion, a place where he thought that he might be able to find his junior brother.

    When he arrived, he noticed that the large pavilion had a few students eating lunch in it as well as the person he was looking for. Rong Yuan was talking with Jiang Muyun as they drank tea at a faraway table. Yunhe knew both of them quite well¡ª they were both good junior brothers of his who learnt under his father¡ª so he walked over.

    "Senior Brother Ye!" Both of them stood up and saluted him, which he returned politely, then sat down at the same table.

    "Junior Brother Rong, do you have the painting you wanted me to critique?" Yunhe got to the point of why he was here quickly.

    Rong Yuan shook his head. "No, I left it in the school center. I didn''t think that Senior Brother was going to agree to critique it so easily."

    "I just want to make sure that my junior brothers improve quickly and bring honor to Lingxin''s name." Yunhe smiled gently.

    Junior Brother Rong was an artistic genius who was incredibly skilled at age eighteen, so critiquing his work often benefitedYunhe himself too. Yunhe liked seeing the paintings that Rong Yuan came up with.

    "Ah, well," Rong Yuan leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a hush, "Senior Brother, I do have another request."

    "What is it?"

    "So, you know, at today''s painting convention, we got to meet Junior Sister Yang, right?"

    Yunhe frowned. What was Rong Yuan getting at? He couldn''t help but feel concern for his junior sister after this. Although Rong Yuan was an artistic genius, he wasn''t renown for this but rather his flirty personality. Often times, even though most of the paintings that Rong Yuan came up with were an obvious display of his talent, Yunhe heard criticism from his father that Rong Yuan would be at a better place if he put more effort into painting than chasing after women.

    "Well," Rong Yuan continued, "let''s be honest here that anyone with eyes can tell that she''s quite a beauty. Do you know if Junior Sister Yang is perhaps engaged? And if she''s free¡ª you know¡ª can you maybe arrange it so¡ª"

    Yunhe cut off Rong Yuan before he finished with a solid refusal. "I can just tell you now that I''m not going to play matchmaker between you and her."

    "Oh, come on!" Rong Yuan groaned exasperatedly. "It''s just a small favor!"

    Yunhe shook his head again.

    Rong Yuan paused, then narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Or, is the reason for why you''re unwilling to do this for me because Junior Sister''s beauty has stunned you too, and you want to¡ª" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    "No."

    Blankly, Yunhe rejected Rong Yuan''s words once more. How was his junior brother so ridiculous when it came to women? He couldn''t understand him at all.

    Muyun, from the side, spoke up to Rong Yuan. "Alright, Junior Brother, stop being so ludicrous. Your good looks and family background will get you any woman that you want; why target your innocent Junior Sister?"

    Rong Yuan huffed back, "You know, my criteria is someone smart, beautiful, and talented! Why do you think I haven''t gotten an official wife yet? I have not met anyone who met all three of those to the degree that I''m looking for yet. Junior Sister Yang, however, fits those conditions perfectly! She''s my ideal woman! No one can stop my love for her!"

    "You''ve met her only once and barely know her," Yunhe scorned. "Isn''t it too soon to speak of love?"

    "What does Senior Brother understand? You''re nearly thirty and still unmarried!"

    Muyun pointed out, "That''s only because Senior Brother Ye cares more about his career than getting wives and children. Rong Yuan, I think you can learn from him and put some more effort into your art. Perhaps then, you''ll learn to not throw your emotions around like that."

    Yunhe smiled at Muyun, then gave a snide look at Rong Yuan. "Junior Brother, didn''t you say that your criteria is someone smart, beautiful, and talented? Why don''t you chase after Muyun instead? You''ll have a higher chance of getting with him than Junior Sister Yang."

    Upon hearing his words, both Rong Yuan and Jiang Muyun flushed red. Rong Yuan let out a roar of indignation while Muyun furrowed his brows and chided Yunhe. Yunhe only laughed. His junior brothers were fun to tease.

    Their conversation diverted soon from the topic of Rong Yuan''s instant infatuation, and went on to less romance-based topics. Half an hour later, Yunhe decided to excuse himself to go complete other tasks of his that he wanted to finish by the end of this day, particularly a painting of Lingxin Pavilion that he wanted to recreate, this time with more Spirit Resonance.

    That was when, along his way to Lingxin Pavilion, he ran into Junior Sister Yang and a maid that went along with her.

 111 A Matchmaker Fourth Miss

    Yujia''s original plan was to take Xiaoyi to see Lingxin Pavilion, but because she wasn''t sure if it was allowed for her to let Xiaoyi step into the actual sacred pavilion, she decided to just let Xiaoyi watch from afar.

    Right after arriving at a decent spot where Xiaoyi could see the pavilion in its full view, Yujia saw Yunhe coming towards them from another path.

    Smiling and bowing at him, Yujia called out, "Senior Brother!"

    Yunhe walked up to them, bowing back politely. "Junior Sister. You''re back so quickly. And¡­ who is this behind you?"

    Yujia looked at Yunhe for a few moments, then decided that he was trustworthy. He understood the importance of reputation, and she could trust him, making her honest with her answer. "This is my younger sister. She wanted to see Lingxin, so I took her here secretly. I hope that doesn''t conflict with Senior Brother in any way."

    Xiaoyi glanced at Yujia nervously, then folded her hands and greeted Yunhe wordlessly.

    Yunhe clasped his hands and saluted her back. "It''s nice to meet you, Miss Yang. I''m Ye Yunhe, your older sister''s senior brother."

    "Ah, so it''s Noble Ye." Xiaoyi gave him a brief smile and nodded.

    Yujia found the exchange of greetings between the two amusing. Compared to her normal behavior, Xiaoyi was so much more shy, befitting of her identity as a young miss. Yunhe, on the other hand, was completely normal.

    To let the flow of the conversation continue, Yujia told Yunhe, "I was showing my younger sister around Lingxin, but I didn''t know if it was proper or not to let her step in the actual pavilion. We were just going to watch it from afar."

    "Oh. There is a rule that only direct disciples and the masters can enter the pavilion, as well as Lingxin''s students that are guests of those disciples. But, since no one is around right now, I think we can make an exception to this." Yunhe gestured ahead to the pavilion and said, "Miss Yang, if you would like to, you may enter the pavilion to see what it''s like."

    "Really?" Xiaoyi flushed red and stepped a little closer to Yujia.

    Truthfully, Yujia didn''t see what was so special about the pavilion. It might have been the namesake of the school, but after that shock factor wore out, Lingxin Pavilion was just a normal pavilion. It was even a little smaller than the Half Moon Pavilion.

    She admitted that the first time she heard that the background behind the pavilion, she was a bit stunned and in awe as well, but it didn''t feel that special anymore. It was almost as if she remembered that even though the Emperor once learned how to paint in this pavilion, the Emperor was just another human with a bunch of supporters. The blood that flowed inside of him was still human blood, despite all the claims that he was the son of dragons and the heavens, so Lingxin Pavilion seemed to lose its sacred factor to her.

    Nevertheless, Yujia would still choose to respect the traditions of the place. That was why she didn''t bring Xiaoyi into the pavilion immediately.

    Now that Xiaoyi could go on with permission from Yunhe, Yujia just found it entertaining to watch her flustered experience as she stepped onto the pavilion for the first time.

    Most of everything about the pavilion was the same as the last time Yujia stepped in it. The only difference was that now, on one of the tables in the pavilion facing the side, there was a new, unfinished painting on it.

    While Xiaoyi explored and admired the sights of the pavilion, Yujia looked at the painting instead. The work had a few brief line strokes outlining the tops of unbloomed lotus flowers and leaves, but other than that, there was barely anything to let her judge.

    Yunhe noticed her observations, stepping up to the table as well and explaining, "I only just started on this painting of the same thing as my last painting. This time, I''ll try to pay attention to Junior Sister''s advice and enforce the Spirit Resonance of the painting."

    "That''s nice. Show me when you''re done." Yujia grinned and looked away from the painting.

    It would be a struggle for Yunhe to incorporate a lot of Spirit Resonance. He was painting a scene of lotus leaves and buds, making any strong emotions or energy difficult to weave into the work. She was curious to see how he would execute it.

    Xiaoyi noticed their conversation and walked over, leaning over Yujia''s shoulders to see the painting. She looked at it for a few seconds, then looked at Yunhe, stating, "Noble Ye paints very well."

    "It''s only a few lines; how can you tell?" Yunhe asked, his eyebrows raised and a small smile on his lips.

    Her cheeks turned a faint pink again, and she replied with her eyes cast down, "Even though there are only some starting lines, the lines are precise. Both the placement and darkness of each of the lines show that lots of thought went behind it, and even though there are only a few lines, it''s clear what Noble Ye is trying to depict from the start."

    This seemed to be the assurance that Yunhe needed to give him more confidence for his work. Yujia realized that she probably should''ve said something encouraging when she first saw the painting too, but since Xiaoyi said it, it would be pointless for her to support his work now.

    "Yunhe thanks Miss Yang for the compliments."

    "It''s nothing." Xiaoyi waved her hands.

    When their words exchanged once more, Yujia decided that it still wasn''t right to not have a single compliment towards Yunhe thus far. She realized that ever since they were senior and junior siblings, she hadn''t paid any compliments to his paintings while Yunhe had always been supportive of her work and pencils.

    Yujia decided to talk to Xiaoyi and thread her compliments between her words.

    "My Senior Brother is the son of the school head, Xiaoyi," she informed her younger sister, "so of course he has lots of refined skills in his paintings."

    "I see." Xiaoyi nodded.

    "He knows a lot more than me about painting, so maybe you should stop taking lessons from me and learn under him instead," Yujia teased.

    Upon hearing that, Xiaoyi''s eyes widened. "Older Sister! What sort of suggestion is that?"

    Yunhe joined in on the joke, though he still kept a polite distance. "I would be honored to teach your younger sister, but I''m afraid that you would make a better teacher than me."

    "How so?"

    "Your words are very direct," he pointed out, "While I would be more concerned with carefully expressing my views in a critique, you get straight to the point most of the time. Though your words may be harsh sometimes¡ª such as claiming that¡­ a certain individual''s work is worth less than a sheet of blank paper¡ª a student would benefit more from a teacher like you who helps them realize their mistakes instantly."

    To this, Yujia replied in a courteous manner, "Senior Brother is overexaggerating my skills. Being direct is not always a good thing, too."

    She went on to bring back up the time where she called the first painting she saw by Yunhe worthless, and Xiaoyi listened to their conversation, occasionally joining in. The afternoon passed like that, with the three of them discussing painting related things, similar to the usual conversations Yujia had alone with Yunhe. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    ¡­

    On the way back to the Yang Villa, Yujia couldn''t help but realize Xiaoyi was more giddy than usual. There was a bounce to her step and a small smile blossoming on her face.

    "What''s to be so happy about?" she questioned, though she already had something close to an answer in her head.

    "I¡ª"

    Before Xiaoyi could say anything, Yujia cut in. "I thought you had your Young Master Yu. Why do you like Ye Yunhe, all of a sudden?"

    Anyone with eyes could tell the amount of times Xiaoyi blushed red, smiled nervously, and looked at Yunhe with wide eyes throughout the entire conversation.

    "Older Sister!" Xiaoyi complained, clearly not appreciating where the conversation was heading.

    "I''m being serious, as an older sister caring for her younger sister," Yujia insisted, "A few days ago, you were praising Young Master Yu, but here you are now, blushing at every word that my senior brother says. What''s going on? Do you like Noble Ye or not?"

    Xiaoyi was silent for a few moments, but then she stopped mid-step and faced Yujia. "Okay. So Older Sister obviously knows me well. I¡ª I thought I liked Young Master Yu. But that was because I hadn''t met Noble Ye yet. Noble Ye is just so much¡­ warmer. Friendlier. And he''s good at painting too, and very patient with his words. Plus, his family background is no worse than Young Master Yu''s."

    Yujia could see where Xiaoyi was coming from. Zixu definitely appeared very apathetic on the inside to her most of the time when she first met him. Even if Xiaoyi didn''t get that sort of signal when she first met him, she would''ve been able to tell the clear difference in attitude between Yunhe and Zixu.

    Even so, Yujia decided to be straightforward. "No matter how good Yunhe seems to you, you barely know him just like how you barely know Yu Zixu. Don''t make a permanent decision just yet. Besides, you have an engagement with Young Master Yu, and that''s more solid than whatever instantaneous feelings you have for Ye Yunhe."

    Xiaoyi turned her head down, and she resumed walking again. "You''re right¡­" she muttered. But then, she looked back up, a new light in her eyes. "But! Engagements are not permanent! Isn''t Older Sister proving that right now with your deal with Father?"

    "That''s¡­ a different matter."

    "I don''t see how it''s any different! What if I discover that I like Noble Ye better than Young Master Yu? Do you really want me to marry someone I don''t hold feelings for?"

    Most women in this time period quietly accepted their fate for marriage, but it seemed like Xiaoyi with her advice from the Second Miss of the Yang Family started to have thoughts that deviated from the norm.

    "Again, you still barely know him," Yujia reiterated, "Why are you deciding these things so quickly?"

    "If I barely know him, then I''ll just learn more about him!" Xiaoyi continued to maintain her viewpoint.

    "Your birthdates1match with Young Master Yu, but you don''t know if they match with Noble Ye''s."

    "Then just find out his birthdates for me!"

    "I don''t know if my Senior Brother has a wife or not already. Would you be willing to marry him as a concubine?"

    "Why not? As long as it''s with someone that I like, then everything is fine."

    "He''s a lot of years older than you. Is that really okay?"

    "What''s wrong with that?"

    Ah.

    Xiaoyi truly was relentless. Yujia couldn''t understand her sudden unwavering infatuation with Yunhe, but if her heart really was set straight on this matter, Yujia could only play matchmaker, couldn''t she?

    Yunhe didn''t seem like that bad of a candidate to marry Xiaoyi. Yujia just didn''t think that her younger sister''s infatuation was the healthiest in terms of emotional health. What if she regretted this later on, when the infatuation wore off?

    Except, seeing Xiaoyi''s attitude right now on the entire matter, Yujia guessed that she could only cooperate with her younger sister as of right now. It didn''t seem like Xiaoyi was going to listen to any other advice at the moment.A type of Chinese fortune telling using the "the 8 cyclic characters for year, month, day and hour of birth of a man, which determine his fate" to predict the future of a certain couple. It is important for any couple to have a positive result from the fortune telling before moving on to other customs of the marriage.

 112 A Fourth Miss Searching For Information

    In order to get a few necessary things done, such as completing the large scenery sketch, Yujia worked on them for the rest of the day. Once again, she had dinner with her family, and things passed without many more events.

    When the morning came again, Yujia headed to Lingxin, ready to gather some information on Ye Yunhe. This wasn''t only for Xiaoyi''s sake¡ª Yujia wanted a reason to learn more about her senior brother too. Since they both studied under the same master, it was necessary for her to get to know him better.

    One thing that she noticed as she walked to Lingxin was that near the front of the academy, a few small existing buildings were being torn down. The actions attracted the attention of a few early passersby, but only Yujia knew what it was for. Now, she knew exactly where Zhizhong chose the location of the shop. It was exciting to think that a few days later, a store that partially belonged to her would open in the exact same spot.

    After wandering around the school for a while, Yujia discovered Yunhe at Lingxin Pavilion, working on his painting. He was so absorbed in it that he didn''t even notice her until she called out his name.

    "Senior Brother Ye."

    It was then that Yunhe turned around, setting the brush in his hand down. "Junior Sister," he acknowledged, "You''ve been visiting Lingxin a lot lately. What are you here for today?"

    "I just want to talk, Senior Brother." Yujia beamed and helped herself to a seat next to him. "We''re senior and junior siblings, but I still don''t know much about you, and you still don''t know much about me. Can I ask you a few questions?"

    "You have a point. Go ahead." Yunhe nodded.

    "Well, Senior Brother, let''s start easy. I''m eighteen years old. How old are you?"

    Yunhe raised his eyebrows and answered, "Eighteen? You''re so much younger than me. I''m twenty-eight this year."

    Twenty-eight¡­

    That was a bit old for Xiaoyi. With Xiaoyi being seventeen, that made Yunhe a whole eleven years older than her. Yujia recoiled a bit at the thought of her younger sister marrying someone eleven years older than her, but then again, she was going to marry someone at least forty or so years older than her. In this time period, it likely wasn''t a big deal for Xiaoyi to marry Yunhe, despite their age difference.

    Though, at the same, if Yunhe was twenty-eight already, it meant that he likely already had a wife.

    So, Yujia followed up her question with a natural one, "Then, are you married? I imagine that the woman you marry would be very sophisticated and elegant, like Senior Brother, right?"

    "Ah, no." Yunhe shook his head and laughed lightly. "I''ve been in an engagement before, but that¡­ didn''t work out. I haven''t met any women that match me in terms of personality."

    "Oh? So Senior Brother''s standards are very high?"

    Even though she was a bit put off by the age difference between Xiaoyi and Yunhe, she liked the idea that he didn''t have a bunch of wives yet.

    "No, my standards aren''t that high. Why is Junior Sister asking about this?" Yunhe laughed again, casting his eyes away. He clearly wanted to avoid the topic, but Yujia needed answers.

    "What''s Senior Brother''s ideal woman, then?"

    He answered her question with another question. "Why does Junior Sister want to know?"

    "You can learn a lot about someone based on their ideal type," Yujia replied without hesitation. She couldn''t tell him that her sister liked him, so she thought of this excuse ahead of time.

    "How about Junior Sister tells me about her ideal husband?"

    Yujia thought for a second. It was an intriguing question. She had a faint understanding of her ideal type in the modern world, but because she never had any relationships with anyone, she never truly understood romance and love.

    What was her ideal type, really?

    "I think¡­ I look for someone not too childish," she responded slowly, "I want him to be mature, refined, and responsible. He shouldn''t have an easy temper. He¡­ should be able to compromise and understand me. As for other things, like family background, wealth, and social status, I don''t care. In fact, it''s even better if he''s not someone with much power or responsibilities. I want a simple relationship that doesn''t ask for much. As long as we''re happy together, I am content."

    Yunhe smiled. "Junior Sister response is well-thought out."

    "Not really. What about Senior Brother? You have to tell me now, right?"

    "Alright." Yunhe looked at the lotus pond in front of him, pausing before giving her an answer. "I actually don''t know what I like. Perhaps someone strong. I don''t want¡­ her to be too weak. And someone who doesn''t care about how our relationship is perceived by the public, even if by other''s standards, we are not supposed to be together."

    "I never thought that Senior Brother would be such a romantic person!" Yujia remarked after hearing his response.

    At the same time, this also meant that since Yunhe wanted a strong woman, Xiaoyi didn''t seem like the type to be too physically, mentally, or emotionally strong. This made two things on Yujia''s checklist that decided that Yunhe wasn''t too good of a match with her younger sister.

    Color crept into Yunhe''s face, but he asked, "I do have a question for you. How do you feel about a¡­ hypothetical person? He''s eighteen, like you, and he has a few concubines and bed servants already, just not a formal wife. He does have somewhat of a temper and a bit¡ª actually, very¡ª flirtatious, but he''s extremely talented at painting. ''Prodigy'' wouldn''t be a wrong word to describe him. He cansympathize with others that he cares about, and he canbe refined, like Junior Sister said. It''s just often times, he might not portray these traits that much because he''s very energetic. What are your thoughts about a person like this? Except, again¡­ he''s hypothetical."

    "Hypothetical?" Yujia grinned. "Are you joking? Clearly, someone you can describe so vividly isn''t hypothetical. Who is this person?"

    "Alright, I''ll admit, he''s a real person. But who he is isn''t important. How does Junior Sister feel about someone like him?" Yunhe repeated his question.

    "Well, based on what you said, I don''t like him." Yujia decided to be completely direct, although she wasn''t sure what purpose Yunhe served by asking this question. "He sounds repulsive."

    "Repulsive?" He raised his eyebrows once more.

    "If not repulsive, what other words can be used to describe his actions? Obnoxious? Distasteful? He''s at only eighteen, yet he already has a couple of concubines and bed servants. Is he the Emperor? If at eighteen, he has a couple of servants, then a few years from now, is he going to harem of a few hundred women? You claim that he''s a prodigy at art, but someone who spends all his time flirting and engaging in other activities, I doubt he has time to improve even the slightest."

    Hearing the words that were coming out of her mouth, Yunhe couldn''t help but laugh. His Junior Sister truly was something.

    Meanwhile, Yujia just felt a strong disliking towards this person that Yunhe described simply because of the kind of amorous person he seemed to be like. She could understand someone like Zhizhong, who, at eighteen, was married, but didn''t seem like he had more than one wife. Whoever Yunhe talked about, however, displayed that by having numerous concubines and no wife yet that his intentions were messy. Especially since Yujia didn''t know this individual personally, she didn''t feel the need to be too restrained with her words.

    Yunhe didn''t seem too bothered by her response though, and in fact, even amused. So, nothing seemed to be wrong. Otherwise, Yujia was prepared to apologize the moment she spoke all her thoughts if Yunhe was offended.

    "Thank you for your opinion," Yunhe said between a laugh.

    The half-finished painting on the table drew Yujia''s attention away. She asked Yunhe a question about it, and he gladly responded, making their conversation go to another topic. She finished with asking her interrogation questions, anyways, gathering a decent understanding of Yunhe for her to give her opinions to Xiaoyi.

    The morning passed with their conversation, both of them learning more about the other. Later on, Yujia would attempt to pay a visit to her master too, in the hopes that he was awake, yet finding that he was still sound asleep. She would have to go see him another day.

    ¡­

    Towards noon, Yunhe walked back to Half Moon Pavilion to see Junior Brother Rong. Rong Yuan had his painting this time, so after Yunhe gave a few words of critique, he brought up Junior Sister Yang again.

    "You asked her some things? Wow, Senior Brother really is the best! What did you tell her? What was her response?" Rong Yuan questioned quickly, his attitude becoming instantly more interested.

    "I told her just some normal things. A few compliments about how talented and refined you were, but also that you had a few concubines."

    "That''s no problem! As long as most of your words were complimentary. And then?"

    "And then¡­" Yunhe winced a little, anticipating Rong Yuan''s negative response once he answered. "And then, she called you repulsive, obnoxious, and distasteful."

    Rong Yuan''s beaming grin vanished. His expression blanked.

    "S-Senior Brother, what?" he sputtered, his voice increasing in volume. "How could she say something like that? I''m¡ª this¡ª no¡ª"

    Yunhe patted Rong Yuan''s shoulder assuringly. "Don''t feel too upset about this. Like Muyun said yesterday, there are plenty of other women for you. This is just a sign that you two are not fated to be."

    Rong Yuan was silent for a few seconds. Yunhe mentally prepared himself. Based on what he knew of this Junior Brother, this silence was the calm before the storm. He always had a period of denial before his anger erupted.

    Except, unlike Yunhe expected, Rong Yuan did something completely different.

    He blinked twice, his head sunk down, and he pointed out in a low voice, "Senior Brother¡­ has a point." He backed away a few steps, saluting. "Then, if Senior Brother will excuse me, I''m going to go buy a lot of alcohol and drink my sadness away."

    "...?"

    Was it really necessary for Rong Yuan to be so dramatic over a rejection from a person who probably didn''t even know of his existence? It was the first time for Yunhe to see him act like this, and it was actually quite pitiful to see his Junior Brother''s actions.

    "Junior Brother¡­" Yunhe tried to encourage, "don''t act so depressed. She doesn''t know how great of a person you are. She probably doesn''t even remember meeting with you."

    "Wait!"Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    Right after Yunhe said his words, Rong Yuan''s head instantly snapped back up.

    "Senior Brother, you have a point! She doesn''t remember me! So she doesn''t know what she''s missing! Did you mention my name when you were talking to her?"

    "No."

    "Then, everything is solved!" Rong Yuan exclaimed, "All I need to do is to meet her in person. One meeting, and I can convince her of how great I am! Senior Brother, can you arrange a meeting for us?"

    Yunhe shook his head, now disappointed with how Rong Yuan was taking this. It was good to have hopes, but his hopes weren''t that realistic. Based on what Yunhe knew about his junior sister, she wasn''t someone to fall in love at first sight.

    He began to walk away, but Rong Yuan chased after him.

    "Senior Brother! Please!"

    Yunhe stopped in his tracks and turned to him, giving him a solid refusal. "I said it before, and I''ll say it again. I''m not going to play matchmaker for you. The only reason why I even mentioned you was because we happened to be discussing something similar. Now, I believe that Junior Brother should go back to his wine and mourning. Good day."

    He didn''t want to give his junior brother pointless delusions. Whatever obsession Rong Yuan had right now would die down in the future, and Yunhe would prefer to not have his junior brother act ridiculously when he was going to regret it later. Yunhe wasn''t interested in creating any unnecessary drama when there was no need for that. He knew how dramatic it was to be involved in a relationship where only one individual was chasing after another, and so, based on his own experience, he didn''t want to put Rong Yuan through the same thing when it was highly unlikely for Junior Sister Yang to like him.

    So, despite the fact that Rong Yuan chased and begged after him, Yunhe continued to walk on, and ignored his junior brother until Rong Yuan gave up.

 113 Time Passes For the Fourth Miss

    Two things happened for the rest of the day.

    First, Yujia visited Xiaoyi in her courtyard and explained to her what she found out.

    "He''s eleven years older than you," she said.

    Xiaoyi only poured both of them a cup of tea after hearing that, her expression not changing the slightest. "I''m fine with that."

    "Really?" Yujia frowned. It seemed like she was thinking too modern. "But then, he''s twenty-eight and unmarried. He doesn''t even have a single concubine. Don''t you see something wrong with that?"

    "Not really. Isn''t that a better thing?"

    Yujia thought that it was because Yunhe was so focused on improving in art than his own private matters, but it didn''t make sense by the ideology of this time period. Even if he didn''t want to have a wife, part of his responsibility was still continuing his family bloodline. Yujia wasn''t sure if he had older or younger brothers¡ª if he did, she hadn''t met them¡ª but if Yunhe was an only child, it didn''t make sense for his father to be alright with him of not even showing the slightest interest in these matters. His father seemed like a strict type too who would definitely expect Yunhe to already have children at his age.

    So, what was the exact reason behind Yunhe''s lack of wives? Yujia could only speculate at potential possibilities.

    She continued after a moment of thought, "Well then, I also managed to ask him his ideal sort of woman."

    This statement was what made Xiaoyi''s eyebrows fly up as she exclaimed, "Older Sister, isn''t that too direct?"

    "I managed to ask it in a subtle manner. With smooth transitions. I''m not going to reveal your feelings to him, alright? Trust me on that," Yujia explained, trying to let Xiaoyi relax.

    "Then¡­ what did he say?"

    "He was pretty vague, but he said he wants a strong woman. Are you strong?"

    "How so? In what manner?" Xiaoyi''s eyebrows settled down and furrowed together. "I mean¡­ I can''t lift anything too heavy¡­ but then again, what normal young miss can?"

    "I''m thinking that he doesn''t mean it like that." Yujia shrugged. "You''re right that there are barely young ladies who can lift heavy things. Unless he''s looking for a farmer¡­" She quickly dismissed that thought. It was hard to imagine someone as graceful as Yunhe with a rough aunt who was used to working in the fields. "Maybe he means someone emotionally strong? As in someone who can support him in tough times. So, for example, if one day, Lingxin Pavilion collapsed¡ª which is probably impossible¡ª he''ll want someone who won''t just burst into tears and make him feel worse about himself. He''ll want someone who can endure everything by his side."

    "That''s understandable." Xiaoyi nodded thoughtfully and replied, "I guess I''m not¡­ that strong in that matter. But I can change! I can become better for him, if¡ª"

    "Don''t change yourself for someone else," Yujia cut in, "That''s never a healthy idea. You''re fine just the way you are, unless you yourself agree that you want to change. Don''t let other people and their ideals change you."

    "I¡ª" Xiaoyi bit her lip. "But I agree, I think that¡ª I need to be emotionally stronger too. How can I differentiate if I''m changing for myself or changing for another person?"

    Yujia paused, letting a moment of silence rest for her to think before she answered, "That''s difficult. It''s probably hard to tell when you''re stuck in the midst of the situation. Just, for now, take it slow. Don''t jump to solid decisions yet when you barely know Noble Ye. I know you''re probably caught up in all your emotions right now, but give it some time."

    "Alright." Xiaoyi looked down. "Older Sister has a point."

    Yujia gently smiled, glad to see her younger sister was relenting, even if she was only doing so a little bit.

    ¡­

    The second thing she did that day was working on more art. That seemed to be her only task for now, so besides adding finishing touches to her sketches, she created more both as practice and demonstration. Then, she also painted a few more generic paintings to sell at Lingxin to get some nice pocket cash. Besides buying her way out of her marriage, she also wanted to enjoy the life of a wealthy artist and splurge on some nice things for herself.

    The rest of the week passed in a similar manner. Yujia occasionally visited her master to chat, and she also sold a few of her paintings. All this time, she monitored how the store built. On a few occasions, she even saw Zhizhong at the same spot too, directing a few workers to arrange things in a particular manner that he wanted. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    And then, finally, Yujia witnessed her art supply shop finish in construction. The artisans finished crafting the first stock of pencils.

    Her store could open now.

 114 Shop Opening and the Fourth Miss

    Yujia saw Zhizhong standing in the empty yet well furnished shop when she walked in. He was standing in front of a counter facing the doorway, observing around the room, and his eyes landed on hers.

    "Morning. You can probably tell," he smiled and pointed out, "but the shop is finished."

    As her eyes surveyed the well-built store, Yujia could feel them widen in amazement. The entire structure seemed incredible, the workmanship and construction looking like something that would''ve taken months, not days.

    Zhizhong was the one who took creative liberties with the layout of the shop. Yujia did have a few suggestions, but because she wasn''t well-versed in architecture or design, she left it mostly to him. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    He selected a classy type of wood for the walls and installed a sort of smooth mellow brown panels with a tinge of red along its grains. The same wood was used for creating all the counters, displays, and other furniture in the store, though the floor was created out of a matching paved tile, elevating the building a step above ground level.

    Right when an individual walked in the shop, they would be greeted by the front counter. Behind the front counter was a large section of wall dedicated for Yujia''s paintings and pictures. The counter curved at an angle to give anyone standing behind it access to an abacus and a few booklets of management and transactions. Underneath the counter was a shelf space and a few locked chests to keep any important documents.

    When one walked to the left side of the shop, there was a lot of space for displays of different materials. There were many different types of paper and thin silk scrolls on one side. On the other was an area dedicated to brushes and inks. And at the very center of it all, attracting all the attention of anyone who walked in instantly was a large display of pencils. There was space for Yujia to place her examples, and there were already pencils on display for demonstration. Specific labels on the walls for each section on the spacious left side of the shop designated explained exactly what each area was for.

    Yujia headed towards the opposite right after examining the left side. This section of the shop was divided by an elegant gauzy curtain with beads, which Zhizhong allowed her to enter. The right side was noticeably smaller than the extensive left side, but this fact was probably because it was much more cramped with numerous rows of shelves. Containers were arranged on the shelves in neat manners, and when Yujia pulled one out to see what it was, she was excited to see the entire container filled by rows of pencils labeled by the number six.

    She noticed the pencils before, in the other part of the shop, but she was more interested in observing the architecture than the pencils themselves. Now, though, in the storage room, she wanted to have a good look at how the artisan-crafted pencils turned out.

    With just a glance, Yujia could tell that the pencils created by the artisans were so much more professional than whatever ones she created. It seemed like she grabbed the pencils from the shelf designated for the nicer, more expensive pencils. Each one was made with a light colored wood that stood out from the darker color wood that made up the shop. Intricate details were also carved and painted onto the pencils, next to the labeled numbering.

    An excited smile plastered on her face, Yujia put the pencil in her hand down, then raced to the other side of the shop, where the pencils that the buyers could test out themselves were placed. For a few moments, she just experimented with the pencils by scribbling and adding pressure to create different shades.

    The more she played with them, the more she smiled.

    In comparison to the crude pencils she created herself, these graphite pencils were much better. Not only did the pigment transfer better onto the paper to create solid lines, Yujia also noticed that the lead was a lot stronger than the pencils she made herself. One of her quiet struggles in her own pencils was that if she ever accidently pressed a little too much, the lead would break and she would have to resharpen them. But with these new ones, it would take a lot more force to snap the lead.

    From everything between quality to useability, Yujia deemed these pencils as the closest things to the pencils from the modern world. She was way too impressed with the skills of the artisans to perfect these things within the short time span they had.

    There was no doubt that Yushang spent a lot of resources and effort to create this entire store. Turning to him with a smile, Yujia clasped her hands and bowed deeply, so deep that she was sure that if she wanted to show any more respect, the next step would be kneeling and knocking her head on the floor.

    "Young Master Bo¡ª I really have no words. This entire shop, from the pencils to the building itself¡ª it''s all just perfect. Really, I can''t think of a way to ever repay you."

    "What repayment are you speaking of?" Zhizhong replied with a soft smile and gestured for her to stand straight. "We are co-owners of this business. I am merely completing my responsibilities. Besides, I always like to put in my full effort into anything I take on, and a pencil business is no exception."

    "I¡ª"

    Yujia couldn''t help but feel a little emotional. She never had anything as nice as this art supply shop in her entire life. It was strange to think how much she upgraded from a broken, tiny apartment with newspaper covered floors to such a clean, stylish store that she held partial ownership of within a month of transmigrating to this world.

    Zhizhong played such a big part in this too. Without him and all his work, Yujia didn''t think that the building that she was currently standing in was even a possible task. She would''ve been just selling mediocre pencils in some sad stall. Where would the grandeur that she was standing in now even come from?

    Before she could get too caught up in all her emotions, Zhizhong added on, "When do you want to open this store? I can do it anytime you want to. I''ve hired a person to act as a clerk, but if you want to help in the background for some management things, we can do that as well. The clerk will be arriving in the afternoon, if you want to meet him. He''s experienced in running a clothing shop before, so he''s experienced and will get used to everything in no time."

    "Then¡­ I''ll bring my paintings and sketches, and we can mount them. The earlier we can open the shop, the better. So let''s open it today, in the afternoon. Is that too soon?" Yujia suggested.

    "No, I can work with that." Zhizhong agreed with a carefree grin. "One last thing, though. The shop still doesn''t have a name or sign. I want to give you the honor of naming the shop. You deserve it."

    Yujia took a few long moments to think of a proper name.

    "How about¡­" she proposed with slow words, "Sanmo¡ª Three Inks Shop?"

    "Three Inks?" Zhizhong tilted his head. "That''s interesting. Which three inks, though?"

    "First ink, traditional painting." Yujia held up one finger, then held up another one. "Second ink, my pencils. A brush with ink woven within it. And¡­" She paused, thinking about it before she held up her third finger. "The third ink is a product I''m still working on right now. When I''m finished inventing, we can begin selling it then." She gave Zhizhong a mysterious smile.

    He nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. And it''s a good name to last in the memories of others either. I like it."

    "I like it too." Yujia couldn''t wipe off the smile on her face. Ever since she stepped in the store, she noticed that she couldn''t help but smile foolishly in practically every second.

    Soon enough, Zhizhong was returning her smile, and it was just the two of them, smiling ridiculously as they looked at the grand shop. The sort of happiness threaded between them was the sort of happiness that came out of a grand achievement after a lot of work. It was a smile of accomplishment and pride.

    The silence broke when Zhizhong stated, "I''ll go and hire people to make a store sign for us at the front. This should be finished by noon."

    "I''ll go and fetch my paintings and advertise some too, then." Yujia clasped her hands again and bowed. "See you in a few hours, Young Master Bo."

    Zhizhong bowed back. "See you. Miss Yang."

    ¡­

    Yujia had to admit that when she made that statement of farewell, she didn''t expect that within a few hours, she would be witnessing her shop open with a long spirling line at the front, all of the people waiting to step into the open doors of the Three Inks Shop.

 115 A Crowd Waiting For the Fourth Miss unedited

    Perhaps Yujia should''ve known that she shouldn''t have been so vocal in advertising her pencils if she didn''t want a whole entire line standing outside her shop right when it was opening.

    But then again, crowds were good, weren''t they?

    Based on the thoughts that she needed a few first customers, Yujia had ran into Lingxin since it was only a few steps away from the shop. Then, she went to both Half Moon and Ice Lily Pavilion to advertise her pencils. At first, she only told people she knew about the opening of her store, like Jiang Muyun who she saw in the Ice Lily Pavilion. Except then, the people she told spread her words to other people while she didn''t notice. When others heard that the mystical "pencils" were about to be sold, they all rushed towards the direction of the shop.

    And so, when Three Inks Shop was ready to open with the mounted signs and paintings, Yujia peeked out the front door to see a very loud and chattering crowd waiting outside the shop, all wanting to go inside.

    She could recognize a few of them as students from Lingxin, but strangers composed a lot of the crowd too. They must''ve been normal civilians that were attracted to the loud noise of the crowd and wanted to take a look inside too.

    Yujia realized that as always, the best advertisement was popularity.

    A few moments later, the clerk, a polite middle aged man who looked to be in his late thirties and named Gao Yi, stepped out of the store. Yujia and Zhizhong both exited through the back exit of the shop near the storage room, wanting to see the opening of the shop themselves.

    Gao Yi set the auspicious firecrackers on the store on fire. The string of firecrackers popped in loud noises. Then, he struck the gong in his hand once, proclaimed, "Welcome to the opening of Three Inks Shop! To welcome all of you, there is a fifty percent discount today, but only on the first hundred pencils sold. Come take a step inside and try them out."

    He stepped inside through the open doors, and waited behind the counter for customers to enter.

    In the next moment, Yujia witnessed what her first perception of chaos.

    The crowd that had waited so long for Three Inks to open rushed in, squeezing through the front doors. Yujia expected that their anticipation may have been because of the students who wanted to see what pencils were truly like themselves, not because of the fifty percent discount. After all, most of the had a decent family background.

    When everyone who wanted to enter the shop entered, the interior of the shop was terrifyingly cramped, Yujia couldn''t even see Gao Yi standing behind the counter below. Only the top of his hair showed above all the others trying to test out the pencils. All she could hear was the sound of people chattering, the sounds of scribbling, and the exchange of money.

    Even though it looked cramped from the outside, those inside the shop may not have felt that way. The shop itself wasn''t the largest structure, but the ceilings were very elevated, giving a false sense of spaciousness.

    There were only ten pencils put out for demonstration. Originally, Yujia was a bit concerned with the issue of what if someone stole the demonstrative pencils. But after some thought, she determined that thievery wasn''t that big of a dilemma to the shop though since the price of the pencils were all fairly cheap, so the loss of one wasn''t that terrifying. An individual wouldn''t feel the need to steal something that only costed a couple of coins too.

    Many people entered the shop empty handed and came out with a package of art supplies or a few pencils in their hands. Yujia and Zhizhong watched as this happened and casually chatted while the sun slowly traveled over the sky.

    Thirty minutes or so passed, and Zhizhong said that he needed to return to his villa, leaving Yujia alone to watch her store gain new customers.

    It was nice seeing so many people buy something she worked hard on. Yujia was sure that the chaos on the first day was probably something that wouldn''t be replicated again in the future, once the students of Lingxin realized that albeit the multi-purposeful and flexible aspect of the pencil, it wasn''t any "celestial" tool. She just hoped that the pencils would slowly spread as a product only used by art enthusiasts to the common people, so that they could incorporate it into their daily lives.

    A few moments later of observing the customers by herself, Yujia got bored and returned home.

    ¡­

    Towards the evening, Yujia returned to her store to see the profit of that. Gao Yi was informed of the fact that she was the co-owner, and though he had a bit of skepticality at first, he was polite enough to not show it for too long. In an extremely proud manner, he displayed one of the accounting books to her, showing that he had recorded every single purchase in a neat and organized manner. Her profit by the end of today was one-hundred and forty-one taels. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    This was an impressive number, considering that there was even a discount today. Based on Yujia''s calculations, the pencils would sell at slower rates in the future since the Lingxin students who wanted to use pencils all bought them, but with this number as a baseline, Yujia felt confident that she would reach the five-hundred goal soon.

    While she observed the numbers happily, she noticed Gao Yi cleaning and arranging the shop to prepare for the next day.

    "Do you need help?" she asked out of pure courtesy.

    "No, Young Miss¡ª I mean, Boss¡ª I can handle this myself." He turned to her with a polite smile, then went back to organizing the shelves.

    From today''s performance, Yujia determined that Gao Yi was both extremely polite and hard-working. She could find no faults in the things he did for the shop, and Yujia appreciated his attention to detail a lot.

    "How much does Young Master Bo, Boss Number Two, pay you?"

    Yujia thought that if Gao Yi continued working hard like this, he deserved a raise.

    "Boss Number Two is very generous." Gao Yi scratched the back of his neck, responding, "He pays me a whole seventy silver taels a month."

    Seventy silver taels?

    Zhizhong was paying this man seventy taels for a month of work?

    This fact came as a surprise to Yujia. The Old Master only earned fifty taels as a profit a month. Three Inks Store only earned double that amount on its highest earning day. But here Zhizhong was, paying a mere store clerk seventy taels?

    Heavens, all of the Young Master Bos had too much money on their hands, didn''t they?

    Yujia pushed away all the thoughts of giving Gao Yi a raise. He didn''t need one when his monthly salary was already so high. In fact, she would bet money on the fact that Gao Yi may just be working so hard because of his salary.

    Zhizhong sure knew how to earn the loyalty of other individuals with his money. And considering that he invested so much taels into the business, it was only right that in the future, he earned eighty percent of the profits.

    ¡­

    Yujia didn''t withdraw the taels and chose to lock it in a secure box in the store instead. When she earned the proper amount, she would bring it back home and exchange it for her freedom.

    She had fifty taels from the paintings that she sold at Lingxin a couple days ago. Under the candlelight, Yujia counted the taels again, then parted the taels into two halves, with one half holding thirty taels and the other half holding twenty taels.

    In a cloth satchel, she swept the twenty taels into it and sealed it shut. Then, in a wooden box, she arranged the thirty taels in neat rows.

    "Hui''er," she told her maid sitting next to her, working one embroidery in the dim lighting, "I want to give these thirty taels to my mother."

    The first step to changing for the better was to become more grateful for the things she had. If it weren''t for the Madam Liu that birthed the Fourth Miss, then Yujia would never inherit the body that she had today, giving her an opportunity at a new life. Thus, Yujia wanted to use this chance to meet the mother of her body and to give her a little something out of pure respect. Kind acts like these would always be rewarded, wouldn''t they?

    Yet instead of seeing Hui''er agree, Yujia was met with Hui''er dropping the embroidery on the table. She noticed that her maid''s hands were shaking, oddly, all of a sudden.

    "No¡ª Miss¡ª how about I go and give her the taels instead?" she replied with a shaking voice that she tried to steady.

    Yujia''s eyes narrowed. "What''s wrong?"

    "Nothing¡ª"

    "Something''s wrong."

    "There''s nothing¡ª really¡ª"

    Yujia looked at Hui''er, her jaw tightening. "Hui''er, it''s clear that you''re lying. Now tell me, what''s wrong with me paying a visit to my birthmother and giving her a gift?"

 115 A Crowd Waiting For the Fourth Miss

    Perhaps Yujia should''ve known that she shouldn''t have been so vocal in advertising her pencils if she didn''t want a whole entire line standing outside her shop right when it was opening.

    But then again, crowds were good, weren''t they?

    Based on the idea that she needed a few first customers, Yujia had ran into Lingxin since it was only a few steps away from the shop. Then, she went to both Half Moon and Ice Lily Pavilion to advertise her pencils. At first, she only told people she knew about the opening of her store, like Jiang Muyun who she saw in the Ice Lily Pavilion. Except then, the people she told spread her words to other people while she didn''t notice. When others heard that the mystical "pencils" were about to be sold, they all rushed towards the direction of the shop.

    And so, when Three Inks Shop was ready to open with the mounted signs and paintings, Yujia peeked out the front door to see a very loud and chattering crowd waiting outside the shop, all wanting to go inside.

    She could recognize a few of them as students from Lingxin, but strangers composed a lot of the crowd too. They must''ve been normal civilians that were attracted to the loud noise of the crowd and wanted to take a look inside too.

    Yujia realized that, as always, the best advertisement was popularity.

    A few moments later, the clerk, a polite middle aged man who looked to be in his late thirties and named Gao Yi, stepped out of the store. Yujia and Zhizhong both exited through the back exit of the shop near the storage room, wanting to see the opening of the shop themselves.

    Gao Yi set the auspicious firecrackers on the store on fire. The string of firecrackers popped in loud noises. Then, he struck the gong in his hand once and proclaimed, "Welcome to the opening of Three Inks Shop! To welcome all of you, there is a fifty percent discount today, but only on the first hundred pencils sold. Come take a step inside and try them out."

    He stepped inside through the open doors, and waited behind the counter for customers to enter.

    In the next moment, Yujia witnessed her first perception of chaos.

    The crowd that had waited so long for Three Inks to open rushed in, squeezing through the front doors. Yujia expected that their anticipation may have been because of the students who wanted to see what pencils were truly like themselves, not because of the fifty percent discount. After all, most of them had a decent family background.

    When everyone who wanted to enter the shop entered, the interior of the shop was terrifyingly cramped, Yujia couldn''t even see Gao Yi standing behind the counter below. Only the top of his hair showed above all the others trying to test out the pencils. All she could hear was the voices of people chattering, the sounds of scribbling, and the exchange of money.

    Even though it looked cramped from the outside, those inside the shop may not have felt that way. The shop itself wasn''t the largest structure, but the ceilings were very elevated, giving a false sense of spaciousness.

    There were only ten pencils put out for demonstration. Originally, Yujia was a bit concerned with the issue of what if someone stole the demonstrative pencils. But after some thought, she determined that thievery wasn''t that big of a dilemma to the shop though since the price of the pencils were all fairly cheap, so the loss of one wasn''t that terrifying. An individual wouldn''t feel the need to steal something that only costed a couple of coins either.

    Many people entered the shop empty handed and came out with a package of art supplies or a few pencils in their hands. Yujia and Zhizhong watched as this happened and casually chatted while the sun slowly traveled over the sky.

    Thirty minutes or so passed, and Zhizhong said that he needed to return to his villa, leaving Yujia alone to watch her store gain new customers.

    It was nice seeing so many people buy something she worked hard on. Yujia was sure that the chaos on the first day was probably something that wouldn''t be replicated again in the future, once the students of Lingxin realized that albeit the multi-purposeful and flexible aspect of the pencil, it wasn''t any "celestial" tool. She just hoped that the pencils would slowly spread as a product only used by art enthusiasts to the common people, so that they could incorporate it into their daily lives.

    A few moments later of observing the customers by herself, Yujia got bored and returned home.

    ¡­

    Towards the evening, Yujia returned to her store to see the profit of that day. Gao Yi was informed of the fact that she was the co-owner, and though he had a bit of skepticality at first, he was polite enough to not display it for too long. In an extremely proud manner, he presented one of the accounting books to her, showing that he had recorded every single purchase in a neat and organized manner. Her profit by the end of today was one-hundred and forty-one taels.

    This was an impressive number, considering that there was even a discount today. Based on Yujia''s calculations, the pencils would sell at slower rates in the future since the Lingxin students who wanted to use pencils all bought them, but with this number as a baseline, Yujia felt confident that she would reach the five-hundred goal soon.

    While she observed the numbers happily, she noticed Gao Yi cleaning and arranging the shop to prepare for the next day.

    "Do you need help?" she asked out of pure courtesy.

    "No, Young Miss¡ª I mean, Boss¡ª I can handle this myself." He turned to her with a polite smile, then went back to organizing the shelves.

    From today''s performance, Yujia determined that Gao Yi was both extremely polite and hard-working. She could find no faults in the things he did for the shop, and Yujia appreciated his attention to detail a lot.

    "How much does Young Master Bo, Boss Number Two, pay you?"

    Yujia thought that if Gao Yi continued working hard like this, he deserved a raise. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    "Boss Number Two is very generous." Gao Yi scratched the back of his neck, responding, "He pays me a whole seventy silver taels a month."

    Seventy silver taels?

    Zhizhong was paying this man seventy taels for a month of work?

    This fact came as a surprise to Yujia. The Old Master only earned fifty taels as a profit a month. Three Inks Store only earned double that amount on its highest earning first day. But here Zhizhong was, paying a mere store clerk seventy taels?

    Heavens, all of the Young Master Bos had too much money on their hands, didn''t they?

    Yujia pushed away all the thoughts of giving Gao Yi a raise. He didn''t need one when his monthly salary was already so high. In fact, she would bet money on the fact that Gao Yi may just be working so hard because of his salary.

    Zhizhong sure knew how to earn the loyalty of other individuals with his money. And considering that he invested so much taels into the business, it was only right that in the future, he earned eighty percent of the profits.

    ¡­

    Yujia didn''t withdraw the taels and chose to lock it in a secure box in the store instead. When she earned the proper amount, she would bring it back home and exchange it for her freedom.

    She had fifty taels from the paintings that she sold at Lingxin a couple days ago. Under the candlelight, Yujia counted the taels again, then parted the taels into two halves, with one half holding thirty taels and the other half holding twenty taels.

    In a cloth satchel, she swept the twenty taels into it and sealed it shut. Then, in a wooden box, she arranged the thirty taels in neat rows.

    "Hui''er," she told her maid sitting next to her, working on embroidery in the dim lighting, "I want to give these thirty taels to my mother."

    The first step to changing for the better was to become more grateful for the things she had. If it weren''t for the Madam Liu that birthed the Fourth Miss, then Yujia would never inherit the body that she had today, giving her an opportunity at a new life. Thus, Yujia wanted to use this chance to meet the mother of her body and to give her a little something out of pure respect. Kind acts like these would always be rewarded, wouldn''t they?

    Yet instead of seeing Hui''er agree, Yujia was met with Hui''er dropping the embroidery on the table. She noticed that her maid''s hands were shaking, oddly, all of a sudden.

    "No¡ª Miss¡ª how about I go and give her the taels instead?" she replied with a shaking voice that she tried to steady.

    Yujia''s eyes narrowed. "What''s wrong?"

    "Nothing¡ª"

    "Something''s wrong."

    "There''s nothing¡ª really¡ª"

    Yujia looked at Hui''er, her jaw tightening. "Hui''er, it''s clear that you''re lying. Now tell me, what''s wrong with me paying a visit to my birthmother and giving her a gift?"

 116 The Final Truth For the Fourth Miss

    All of a sudden, Hui''er dropped to her knees, throwing the embroidery she had worked on long on to the table. Her eyes were cast on the floor, while her face was completely drained of color.

    "Miss¡ª I¡ª"

    Seeing Hui''er''s immediate change to everything, Yujia couldn''t help but feel her chest tightening as well. Her thoughts raced in her head, and she couldn''t think straight at all. What could it be that made Hui''er act so different from the norm? Yujia could only compare it to Hui''er''s actions when the First Miss was brought up.

    Could it be that Hui''er¡­

    No.

    Yujia didn''t even let that thought finish. She didn''t know what Hui''er would do against her, but if she did, then she could only have to prepare for the worst.

    "Calm down." Yujia stated, forcing her voice to stay steady as she gave advice to herself as well. "Speak your words slowly."

    Listening to her advice, Hui''er took a deep breath. She looked up into Yujia''s eyes. She steadied her breathing. And then, she began, "Miss¡­ I know you''re not who you say you are."

    This statement came as a heavy blow to Yujia.

    A memory flashed in her mind, one which happened on her first day of transmigration. It was a memory where Yujia walked through the streets to Hui''er, who she barely even knew back then and thought was just a silly little maid.

    At that time, Hui''er had looked her in the eyes as she was doing right now. Her words were as concrete as the ones she spoke now. And her gaze, at the time, held no wavering emotion as she let a set of words similar to the ones she just said spill out of her mouth.

    "You are not the Fourth Miss. Who are you?"

    Back then, Yujia had answered with another question, "Who am I?"

    It was a rhetorical question then, but now, she said the exact same words, just in another sense.

    "Who¡­ am I?"

    Because, in the end, who was she really? Yang Yujia, a starving artist? Yang Yujia, a closed off Fourth Miss? Yang Yujia, a fake twin? Or someone else altogether?

    Hui''er''s next words came out rushed. "I know you''re not the old Fourth Miss. And I know that you''re not the twin that you claimed to be. A few days, right after you claimed to be her twin, I still didn''t believe you. I went to Madam Liu. I asked her if she gave birth to twins or not. Because, if anything else, she would know if she truly was your mother. But, you should know her answer as well as I do, right?"

    Yes.

    Yujia knew the answer.

    Madam Liu, a woman she had never met, a woman who was the mother of her body but not her soul, and a woman who never gave birth to twins, would never give an answer that agreed to the ridiculous lies Yujia made up at a moment of illogical decision.

    Hui''er continued, "So I know now. I know that you''re not my Fourth Miss or her twin. So Madam Liu knows now too. She knows that you''re not her daughter. That''s why I was against it when you wanted to bring taels to her. Because, even if you wear the same face as her daughter, she will never look at you in such a way. She will call you a possessed monster. She will push you away. And because of that, I don''t want to see you go through that without knowing the truth for why she acts that way. It would be better to find out from me, right?"

    At the end of her words, Yujia found the corners of her lips curling up for some unexplained reason. She couldn''t hold back a short laugh. It wasn''t a mocking laugh, but a laugh of defeat. A laugh that meant that she knew she couldn''t talk her way out of everything again.

    She had expected Hui''er to tell her something completely different. She expected Hui''er to act out as the poisoner again, the poisoner who cut away the First Miss and her child, but this time, it was Yujia''s heart that she was poisoning.

    Except, all along, Yujia was the poison.

    She was the poison who built her entire relationship with the girl in front of her with lies. From the very start, she had lied from the beginning to the end. From her true identity, to her true thoughts, to her true behavior¡­ Yujia had hidden so many things from Hui''er. Their entire relationship was one built off of lies on both sides: lies about truths and lies about ignorance of the truth.

    But then, why was it that Hui''er treated her so well? If she had known from nearly day one that Yujia wasn''t who she claimed to be, that she could even be a possessed monster or a Fourth Miss gone insane, then why had she not said anything about it? Why hadn''t she pushed Yujia away just like how she predicted Madam Liu would? Why had she spent so much time caring for Yujia and revealing her deepest past to someone who only told her lies in return?

    Another memory sparked in Yujia''s mind. This time, it was a memory of a warm spring day not too distant from the present. In this memory, Yujia was grinding inksticks into pigment as Hui''er embroidered the fabric she nearly finished now. The two of them chatted as they did so, the faint words of their conversation drifting along the spring breeze.

    When this memory faded to a stop, Yujia found her voice again.

    "Why were you good to me, then?"

    She noticed Hui''er''s fingers curling at her sides. It was then that Yujia realized that Hui''er was still kneeling. Why wasn''t shethe one who was kneeling instead?

    "Because¡ª" Hui''er''s voice caught along with her words, "¡ª because you treated me well in the first place."

    "That doesn''t make sense. How come you were never planning on confronting me with the truth? So¡ª so you were just going to continue pretending like you didn''t know that all my words, all my actions, are false? Did the old Fourth Miss not treat you well too¡ª"

    For the first time in all of their conversations, out of all of the words they exchanged, Hui''er interrupted Yujia''s words with a sharp cut.

    "No. No, the old Fourth Miss did not treat me well." Her voice shook a little, but there was no doubt in her words or her tone.

    Yujia paused. "What¡­ do you mean?"

    "You want to know what I mean?"

    First, it was the interruption. That was something Yujia never saw Hui''er do before. And now, it was the sneer rising up on Hui''er''s face. Her face contorted into an expression Yujia never thought that she would see, a face of tense muscles, a clenched jaw, and a glare. Her tone morphed along with her expression as well, becoming sharp and accusatory.

    "This. This is what I mean."

    Her actions were rigid as she stood up, spun with her back facing Yujia, undid her robes, and let the back drop so that Yujia could see exactly what was underneath all the cloth.

    Hui''er had a skinny figure, nearly made up of all bones, but what stood out to Yujia wasn''t the sharp features of her shoulder and back, but rather the color of the skin. What would''ve been completely pale skin was ruined by large splotches of yellowing bruises. The color nearly faded, but it was still there, ever so present against the unaffected smooth parts of her skin.

    Yujia only had to look at the patterns of color for a few moments. Hui''er gathered her robes back together. She then pulled up the sleeve of her left arm, revealing a much more obvious dark burn scar sunken into her skin. This scar resembled a splash of water, and Yujia could only imagine what happened behind the splotch of color.

    There were no words needed to explain what had happened. Yujia saw, and she knew.

    But Hui''er went on.

    "Do you see now? Now, when you ask me if the Fourth Miss treated me well or not, here is the answer. They are all fading now, but they were once there, deep reds and purples every day on all the hidden parts of my body."

    Yujia thought she found her voice before, but now, all that could come out was a hoarse whisper. "Why? Why did you¡­ let her do that to you?"

    "You seem to not understand many things about this world. I live in a place where my freedom was sold, and I no longer own the right to live as an equal person. Being the maid in a household is already the best it can get. If the household decides to sell me again, then I could go to worse places, where they will brand my body and give it to others to use. After that, there are even worse places to go."

    Yujia noticed that Hui''er''s hands were trembling now, shaking harder than ever.

    "When the Fourth Miss hit me for the first time, it was out of anger for what her family treated her as. I did not think much of it. But once it started, it only went on, more and more. On good days, she would treat me well. Definitely. Yet on those bad days¡ª the rare occurrences where someone, something angered her¡ª she would become the devil. After all the things she did, if it weren''t for the fact that her body was not the strongest and she would get fatigued after a while, I don''t know how I would''ve survived."

    "The worst thing, though, was that I thought that I deserved it. I thought that this was what I received as punishment for my sins of taking the life of an unborn, innocent child. The Fourth Miss knew of the things I did too, and she used it against me, drilling the words that this was what I deserved in my mind. She gave me so many, so many threats besides those, that if I dared to tell anyone, she would just sell me to the worst place she could. That if I dared to run away, my karma would keep returning to haunt me until I completely atoned for my sins by enduring the pain."

    "I began to treat her with a bright smile on my face every day to prevent invoking her anger. I would carry out all the tasks she wanted me to. It worked out, sometimes. But nothing was completely unpreventable."

    "I considered many things. I even¡­ considered poisoning her or killing her myself. Though, if the life of a person already ended on my hands and brought me this hell, then what would happen if I took another life?"

    "So time passed. And then, you arrived. You were so different than how she seemed, and although you had your flaws, you had kindness and compassion that the old Fourth Miss never had for anyone but herself and her mother. You were like a new light, a new hope for me. I couldn''t stand the thought of bringing the old Fourth Miss back, so even though I had my doubts, and even though I found my answers, I wanted to look at this like a new start."

    It seemed like everything made sense now.

    Everything.

    From Hui''er''s overly cheerful attitude that Yujia was greeted with when she first arrived in the world, so different than the patient and gentle girl that she came to know, to Hui''er''s absolute obedience and agreement to all the words that Yujia said, even if they were nonsensical.

    Once more, a memory surfaced in Yujia''s mind. In this one, it was only a few minutes after she transmigrated, but Yujia had asked Hui''er then if she was one who got angry easily. Hui''er had responded immediately that she wasn''t, but along with the question and seemingly normal answer was the fear that reflected in Hui''er''s eyes. It was a fear that Yujia had not forgotten.

    Hui''er, the girl that she had known up until now, the maid that always supported her, the individual who she thought she knew and understood completely, actually held these secrets all along? Yujia thought that Hui''er''s story was over when she ended her relationship with the First Miss, but that turned out to just be the start of Hui''er''s experiences, weren''t they?

    Yujia suddenly felt overwhelming pity. More pity than she ever had before.

    Hui''er''s hands were still shaking. So much that her entire body seemed to shudder with it. Slowly and cautiously, Yujia''s hand reached over in an attempt to comfort the other girl, but Hui''er only flinched herself away.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

 117 The Fourth Miss Admits to the Truth

    As Hui''er looked away, Yujia''s heart felt heavy.

    She glanced down at her own hands, pale and smooth with such elegantly slender fingers. When she first transmigrated, she thought she was lucky to transmigrate into a body like this one. Albeit the health issues that came along with it, the new face she had was beautiful.

    But now that she knew that the body she owned was the one of someone who abused Hui''er, her entire perception changed.

    It sickened her to think about it like that.

    Neither of the two knew what to say anymore.

    After a long moment of silence, Hui''er spoke up. "It''s okay now, though. As long as I don''t¡ª think about it¡ª it''s not that bad. I''m¡ª putting it behind me now."

    Yujia looked down, and her eyes still noticed that Hui''er, despite claiming that she was putting it behind her, still had hands that haven''t stopped trembling ever since she started telling her story. It was clear that the memories of the things that she experienced still haunted her no matter what.

    "I''ve told you everything," Hui''er continued, "so now it''s your turn. What''s the truth? Who are you, really? How can you share the same face, the same body as her? Are you really a spirit?"

    "Spirit?" Yujia pursed her lips. "No. No, I''m not a spirit¡­ though, perhaps¡­ something similar."

    "Something similar?" Hui''er shrunk backwards.

    At that moment, Yujia didn''t want to lie anymore. She was tired of all the lying. It came so naturally to her when facing everyone in this new world, except now, she just realized how much the lies dragged her down. All this time, she was locking herself in a cage of lies.

    She didn''t want to lie anymore. She really didn''t.

    So, she decided to tell the truth.

    "Hui''er, I''m from the future."

    She blinked a couple of times. "The future?"

    "Yes. The future of more than one thousand years later. I don''t know what happened, but I was living in the future before I came here. I was an artist as my profession, but then this one night¡­ I did some really dumb things. The next morning, when I woke up, I found myself here, in the body of your Fourth Miss."

    "That''s¡ª that''s¡ª" The idea that the person standing in front of her right now shared the soul of someone from the future seemed to shock Hui''er, more than the idea of spirits or other superstitious things.

    "I don''t know what I can say to prove this to you," Yujia admitted, "considering that I''ve lied to you for so long. I guess I just didn''t want people to think that I was crazy¡ª no one would really believe me if I told everyone I came from the future¡ª so I decided to go with the lie of a ''twin''. It''s okay if you don''t believe me either. That''s just¡­ the truth."

    Hui''er was silent for a few moments. The two of them only looked at each other, neither of them drawing their eyes away.

    And then, Hui''er said with a soft smile spread across her face, "What''s the future like?"

    With that simple question, Yujia realized that Hui''er didn''t doubt her words anymore. It was a warm feeling, knowing that the two of them shared a newfound mutual trust after this day after all the wrenching emotions brought up.

    Returning her smile, Yujia began, "The future¡­ is a good place. Men and women are closer to equals than they are in this time period. Women can own jobs, property, choose who they want to marry and who to divorce, and determine their own destiny. People are a lot more open-minded than now. There are no servants or slaves. We live in a time of peace. We''re able to fly in the sky."

    "Fly?" Hui''er''s eyes widened.

    "Yes. Fly. There''s something we call ''airplanes'', and when humans ride on it, they can go above the clouds in the sky and move faster than any other creature on Earth. On one of those, you can travel from one corner of the country to another in a few hours. And oh, there are ''cars'', which are like carriages without horses. There are also ''buses'' and ''subways''..."

    Yujia went on, describing the future she knew, reliving all of her experiences and knowledge from the past. Hui''er listened attentively. In a way, Yujia''s stories and words must''ve been a distraction for her, something to draw her thoughts away from all the painful memories. Her hands didn''t shake anymore. So even when Yujia felt her voice getting tired from speaking so much, she continued.

    Towards the end, right where Yujia finished discussing her career as an artist and all the ups and downs of that career, Hui''er asked a question.

    "Would you¡­ go back to the future, if you could?"Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    That was an interesting question that posed Yujia a true dilemma. She thought about it for a long moment, then came up with her final decision.

    "No. I don''t think I would. I¡­ like the person I am right now a lot more than the person I used to be. And there are people and relationships from this place that I don''t want to let go of."

    "The future seems so much more fitting to your personality though. Are you going to change yourself to adapt to this new society?" Hui''er''s brows wrinkled.

    "Definitely not." Yujia let out a small laugh. "Rather it be that I change the world than let the world change me."

    "Then, I can''t wait to see what you do."

    Hui''er gave her a simple smile, and their conversation ended there.

 118 What the Fourth Miss Did For Some Time

    Two more days passed.

    In the past two days, Yujia mainly focused on creating oil paints. She wasn''t sure how to, so everything was very much a trial-and-error experimental process. At first, she went with Hui''er to find and buy all types of oils that there were to act as a base, but after trying to blend the oils and pigments together, she found that it really wasn''t working, no matter what kind of oil she used.

    There were always just some sort of problem with the paint she managed to create, whether the ratio of oil to pigment wasn''t correct or if the paint just didn''t hold up as paint. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    As for Three Inks Shop, although Yujia visited it a few times to check on progress, she no longer had the patience to simply sit and look at people buy the pencils. It was fascinating to see their interest the first time, but soon enough, it got boring. Gao Yi, the store clerk, didn''t seem bored at all though¡ª money motivated him more than anything¡ª so she didn''t have to worry about him slacking off.

    Another thing that Yujia managed to do in the past two days was going shopping with the money she earned selling her paintings. Though what she earned wasn''t too much, she still had a decent amount to buy things with. Some of the money was spent on buying different kinds of oil, which wasn''t that expensive, but Yujia also bought a few pigments after wondering if the pigments she used weren''t proper for mixing oil paint with because of their original form as inksticks.

    She visited the same silk store she visited in the past and bought the prettiest dress they had, in her opinion. The colors were not overly saturated, and the embroidery on the robes were extraordinary too. The dress consisted of two parts, with the top part made of a few layers of thin peach colored fabric, while the bottom half had folds of lightweight white fabric dyed with dark jade greens. The way that the fabric was dyed nearly resembled mountains and trees, which Yujia thought to be fitting since she had worked on so many generic mountain paintings. A matching pale peach sash also went with the robes.

    Along with a couple of accessories, such as hair pins and bracelets, that Yujia bought to match the outfit, everything totaled up to thirty taels. This was rather expensive, but it was worth it considering the quality of the robes and that summer was coming up, where the robes would be perfect to wear.

    She also spent ten more taels buying a blue dress that was slightly more fitting for spring weather. This robe was a set that Yujia planned to wear more often to replace the poor quality robes she usually had. Though the embroidery skills of the old Fourth Miss were exquisite, elevating the level of her clothing, there was a clear difference in fabric quality.

    All in all, Yujia just wanted to have the experience of dressing up a little. She was never able to in her old life or in this one up until now. So, she was finally living out one of her dreams.

    Considering that Hui''er knew about her status as a transmigrator now, life was definitely easier since Hui''er pointed out a lot of things about the market that Yujia didn''t notice before, letting her make wiser decisions when buying things. This saved Yujia a couple of taels, and it increased her understanding of the world.

    For now, besides all the shopping and fun, Yujia didn''t really know what else to do. Because of the fact that all she needed was to just sit back and watch as her pencils sold, she had a lot more free time than usual.

    Thus, for today''s late afternoon, Yujia decided to pay a visit to her master, who she thought would surely be up by now. He would surely provide her some new wisdom, or even entertainment, for that matter.

    She still dressed simply as usual¡ª it would be too jarring of a difference if she wore her peach and green dress now¡ª but with the fine blue robes she just bought and the combination of a more detailed silver hair pin and a jade bracelet, it felt like her entire demeanor and appearance was elevated to a whole other level. No longer did she look like a pitiful illegitimate daughter. She resembled someone worthy of the status of a legitimate daughter at least.

    On her way to Lingxin, to further Xiaoyi''s dreams, she brought her younger sister with her to let Xiaoyi interact with Yunhe more. This, obviously, brought Xiaoyi much happiness.

    When Yujia found that Yunhe wasn''t with his master, she just dropped Xiaoyi off in a subtle manner to let her talk with Yunhe more while leaving to go find her master. At Yujia''s actions, Xiaoyi was a bit flustered at first while she claimed that "It wouldn''t be proper!", but it seemed like Xiaoyi became more lax with all the rules and etiquette, allowing herself a chance to socialize with Yunhe more. Plus, this time, Xiaoyi''s maid, A''ling, came along as well, so she wasn''t completely "unsupervised".

    Following a word of advice from Yunhe who claimed that their master might be surprisingly spreading his "sacred words of wisdom" to students at Half Moon Pavilion, Yujia headed in that direction. Yet when she arrived, to her disappointment, it seemed like her master finished conducting his teachings and left a few minutes right before she arrived.

    This left Yujia a little clueless on where she was supposed to go next to find her master, as well as the problem of if it was really worth it to hunt him down throughout Lingxin just to get someone to talk to.

    That was when Zixu appeared, along with a familiar face that Yujia thought she recognized but couldn''t quite remember the name of.

    He gave her a simple smile, then asked, "Miss Yang, didn''t you promise to teach me a few of your painting techniques the other day?"

 119 The Fourth Miss Teaches Again

    Back when Yujia promised Yu Zixu that she would teach him a few painting techniques, she only said those things in pure courtesy, without the actual intention of teaching him since she didn''t think that he would want to learn whatever random things she managed to come up with. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    It made her slightly nervous to see that he wanted to learn from her. From what she saw of Zixu so far, he was definitely much more knowledgeable about art than the average person. With beginners like Xiaoyi who only had raw talent and not much experience, Yujia could manage to come up with some random things to teach, but she wasn''t sure if she could pull off an attempt to teach someone who was so skilled already like Zixu. Even Yunhe often chided her when she didn''t know things¡ª which, somehow, Yujia still needed to get to learning the other five elements of art, since up to this point, she still only knew of Spirit Resonance.

    She covered up her hesitancy with a civil smile though, nodding and replying back, "Of course. Since I promised you already, it would be bad if I went back on my words, wouldn''t it?"

    The good thing, she supposed, was that being an artist, she was extremely talented in the art of bullsh*ting. If she didn''t know what to say, she would just make some stuff up since she knew how to use flowery language to make herself appear more educated than she actually was.

    Behind Zixu, the individual that Yujia couldn''t really remember the name of spoke up as well. "Miss Yang, would you mind if I came along to learn too? I''ve seen your artwork during the convention, and I think that I would like to see what new things you know about."

    Moving her attention on the person who just spoke, Yujia stared at his face for a few more moments. The young man who just spoke appeared rather young and had a lively complexion, and though she was sure that she recognized him, she just couldn''t remember his name for some reason.

    A few more moments passed where Yujia attempted to recall his name, but in the end, she had to settle with, "Sorry, you are¡­?"

    "Ah, Miss Yang doesn''t remember me?" His face sagged. "I''m your Senior Brother, Rong Yuan, of the Rong Family! I really like the pencils you had at the convention, so I was one of the biggest customers at the store you said you were affiliated with! I bought many sets of the pencils!"

    Upon hearing that he bought many of her pencils, a delighted smile lit up on Yujia''s face. Customers were always good. "Oh, so it''s Senior Brother Rong! It was rude of me to forget about you so quickly¡ª it''s just that for the past few days, I''ve been so busy doing other things that I forgot about a lot of the things that happened in the past. I hope Senior Brother Rong can forgive me."

    Rong Yuan grinned brightly and scratched his neck. "It''s not a problem. It would be my fault if I couldn''t forgive a pretty¡ª"

    Zixu coughed softly, then cut in as if he was completely unaware of the flirtatious words Rong Yuan was about to say. "Miss Yang, about the painting techniques?"

    Yujia nodded, glad that he brought them up. "Where would you like me to demonstrate to you two?"

    Glancing around the pavilion they were in right now, Zixu replied, "How about the Ice Lily Pavilion? Half Moon is a little crowded today."

    The three of them headed towards Ice Lily Pavilion, which was filled with less people since only a few permitted individuals were allowed to enter. Yujia found it a bit peculiar that Zixu was able to¡ª he didn''t seem like a disciple of anyone as far as Yujia could tell. She didn''t question it too much though. Whichever reason for why Zixu was able to enter the pavilion wasn''t too much of her concern.

    Seating themselves at a table with Yujia on one side and the other two on the opposite side, Yujia picked up a sheet of paper and a paintbrush that was already laid out.

    "If you look right here," she explained, "the first technique I want to demonstrate is how to create an almost¡­ mythical, if that''s the right word for it, environment in your paintings. This can be accomplished with blurry yet not too vague lines coupled with a few, very small details. It can elevate the entire energy and elegance of your painting to a whole other level. And this can be accomplished through fading lines like this¡­"

    Her brush dotted across the page with deep ink that she went back and altered with lighter, less concentrated washes of ink, layering them to create a mountainous range enveloped with deep fog and clouds.

    The two across from her followed suit after seeing her demonstration.

    Yujia took note of the fact that Rong Yuan and Yu Zixu all had varying methods of the way they learned and painted. Rong Yuan painted immediately after she drew her first lines, following and mimicking her movements. On the other hand, Zixu took his time. He observed what she did slowly, and with great precision and slow movements, he used his paintbrush to understand what she was doing first, then painted at greater ease and speed once he understood.

    Because of these different styles, while both managed to create an excellent example of the first technique Yujia had in mind by the end of her demonstration, Rong Yuan''s work seemed more of an exact copy of what she did while Zixu''s work held more stylistic elements that he managed to weave in as he experimented with the technique.

    As she went on with painting and demonstrating, there were a few moments where there was no talking. For the sake of conversation, Yujia directed a question towards Zixu first. And this time, since Rong Yuan was present, she decided to go with a more formal "Noble Yu" than a more personal and casual "Young Master Yu" that she was used to calling Zixu by only because he used to call her "younger brother".

    "Noble Yu, are you a disciple of any elders in Lingxin?"

    Zixu, while drawing a slanted line on the page, answered, "No. Unlike many other students at Lingxin, I don''t have much time to devote to just art. I only visit Lingxin on occasion, so I didn''t feel like there was a need to find a master within these brief visits. Besides, I only took the entrance exam as an entertaining challenge, and therefore¡­" His voice trailed off, the thought unfinished.

    Meanwhile, Rong Yuan cut in, "You took the entrance exam for fun? What? Why?"

    "The same reason as to why Noble Rong enjoys chasing after people he can''t get. Challenges are amusing to me." A relaxed smile rested on his lips as he came up with the answer without a single pause, his hands continuing on with the painting all the same even though Rong Yuan had long stopped painting and was more interested in the conversation.

    Yujia''s thoughts clung onto the "chasing after people he can''t get" part that Zixu spoke of. Was this something true about Rong Yuan?

    Her answer arrived when Rong Yuan only shrugged carefreely, without any single attempt at defending himself as if Zixu''s words were completely true. "I guess Noble Yu knows me well."

    Yujia added in, "Are you two close?"

    Zixu finally looked up, shaking his head. "We actually have only met twice before. But I''ve long heard of Noble Rong''s reputation, and it seems like we share a similar interest in painting."

    "I see."

    "Then, are you close with Noble Yu?" Rong Yuan questioned, an eyebrow raised. "What was he talking about with the promise of teaching him painting techniques?"

    "It was just an old agreement we came to a while back. Nothing much." Zixu replied for her.

    The conversation cut short there. A few seconds later though, Rong Yuan spoke up again. "Junior Sister, what do you think of my painting so far? Are the techniques that I used decently executed?"

    Yujia leaned over to look at his work. It was all fairly accurate, and she couldn''t find much fault from it. So, besides for the sake of being polite, she truly spoke her thoughts. "They look quite nice."

    "Quite nice?" A mischievous smile crept up Rong Yuan''s face. "Then, if you think that my paintings look quite nice, what do you think about me as a person? Quite nice as well?"

    "Ah?"

    Yujia doubted that she heard his words correctly. How could someone blatantly flirt like such right when another individual like Yu Zixu was right next to them?

    She looked over at Zixu, who seemed to be ignoring the entire situation again, absorbed in his own work. She was positively sure that he was listening intently though, waiting for her to come up with an answer to amuse him.

    Before she could say anything, Rong Yuan rephrased his question. "What''s Junior Sister''s first impression of me, if that''s more direct? Good, right?" Yujia opened her mouth to speak, but Rong Yuan continued without even noticing, "You know, I talked to Senior Brother Ye the other day, and he was talking about how he actually brought me up in front of you. I don''t think he portrayed me that accurately though, because it seemed like you had a negative impression of me? So I''m happy that fate has played a role in letting us meet today so that I can prove to you that I''m not what you may think of me¡­"

    Yujia''s mind trailed back to her conversations with Yunhe. It was true that he mentioned someone, but it was also true that Yujia criticized the exact person he mentioned by claiming that he was repulsive, obnoxious, and distasteful.

    And if Rong Yuan claimed to be the exact person Yunhe was describing¡­

    Yujia''s expression soured.

 120 Avoidance From the Fourth Miss

    Yujia wanted to be a polite person.

    She really did. While in the past, she might have been more reckless and bold with her actions, her current self wanted to be someone who came off as a very cordial person. It was as if she saw right now that picking up fights for no particular reason was completely pointless.

    Yu Zixu was admirable in that trait¡ª though his constantly calm attitude was a little unsettling, it would be nice to learn a skill like that. Yujia wanted to achieve a sort of inner tranquility, especially after all the conflict that happened in the past and the new things she learned about the world and herself.

    So, with her current mood, she didn''t want to talk or argue with Rong Yuan at all. She felt a little embarrassed, even, that she called him those words in public, though she still saw him that way now that she knew who he was.

    She quickly thought of an excuse and set her paintbrush down. "I just remembered that I needed to return home to take care of some matters. Apologies for the sudden notice, but I think I have to leave now."Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    It was clear to anyone that she was just rejecting all ideas of talking with Rong Yuan, although in a very polite manner.

    Yujia was sure that she could leave now, but Rong Yuan somehow didn''t catch the message. "Wait, Junior Sister, what matters? You still haven''t answered my question yet!"

    How could he not tell from her obvious words that she didn''t want to talk any longer?

    "I really have to go; I apologize¡ª"

    "Junior Sister¡ª" Rong Yuan leaned across the table a little more, his eyes scanning her frantically as if he couldn''t understand why she was leaving all of a sudden.

    Yujia instinctively took a step back, folding her hands in front of her and bowing. "When I have time, I''ll be sure to teach you some more things, Noble Yu."

    She turned to leave, but then, she felt a tight hand grabbing onto her wrist.

    Turning her head with horror, Yujia saw Rong Yuan reaching forward with his hand, holding her wrist tightly. "Junior Sister, I¡ª"

    This was horrendous.

    Though by modern standards, a wrist grab might not have been the biggest problem, it was almost like this Noble Rong forgot about all the ancient rules that Yujia somehow remembered instead.

    For the most honorable young misses, even showing their face in public was considered shameful. Yujia did get more freedom as she was an illegitimate young miss from a merchant family, but skin-to-skin contact with men was still strictly forbidden and frowned upon.

    And the fact that Rong Yuan was acting like this despite the fact that they barely knew each other just revealed his true perspective of her and his intentions.

    Yujia yanked her hand, attempting to get it out of Rong Yuan''s grasp, but his grip was like iron. If Yujia could use her other hand to peel his fingers off, that would definitely make life easier. The only problem was that it meant more contact, which Yujia didn''t want, especially when it was someone like Rong Yuan.

    Struggling to keep her voice calm¡ª it was really tempting to just yell at him¡ª Yujia gritted, "Noble Rong, let go of my hand."

    "Junior Sister¡ª Miss Yang¡ª just hear me out. I really think that you''re incredible. It was like love at first sight for me, and I really think that if you would give me a chance¡ª"

    "Give you a chance?" Yujia yanked her hand again. "You''re making a scene right now, Noble Rong. Let me go this instant."

    Rong Yuan still refused to let go, his mouth blabbering with more words and excuses.

    That was when Zixu, who was still painting and ignoring the events that were happening, stood up and made his way to the two of them. Rong Yuan didn''t even spare him a glance, but Zixu suggested quietly, "Noble Rong, please have some manners."

    Rong Yuan finally cast a look at Zixu. "Noble Yu, this doesn''t concern you!"

    "Doesn''t concern me?" The calm smile on Zixu''s face fell off. "What I''m seeing right now is that you''re harassing my teacher. How does this not concern me?"

    Teacher? Yujia was a bit taken aback by that. When did she evolve from "younger brother" to "Miss Yang" to "teacher"?

    His expression turning ugly, Rong Yuan snapped back, "Noble Yu, leave us alone."

    Yujia was sick of this. She didn''t even care about being polite anymore. Screw all etiquette and manners. She wanted to make herself more nice, but what did that bring her? More annoying people?

    "Why don''t you leave mealone?" Yujia demanded, her voice rising, "I think I''ve made my point clear, Noble Rong! I have no interest in you¡ª and you''re just speaking nonsense¡ª so let my hand go this instant, or don''t blame me if I get you expelled from Lingxin."

    It was a bit excessive of a threat, but with someone as stubborn as Rong Yuan, Yujia didn''t think that anything else would work.

    "You can''t do that!" he exclaimed.

    "Why not? You seem to forget that my master is Master Yue. What do you think he''ll do if I tell him that you harassed me this afternoon? I''m afraid that even if you''re my Senior Brother, your master can''t protect you that much."

    A smug look appeared on Rong Yuan''s face, contrary to what Yujia expected as a reaction. "Why do you think I''ll care? Even if I get removed from Lingxin, I don''t care much about art anyways. If it weren''t for my father''s insistence, then I wouldn''t even be here today."

    "Then what about your reputation? I believe that Noble Rong may already have a deteriorating reputation. What if word got out that the honorable Noble Rong was kicked out of Lingxin Pavilion for harassing a female? I''m afraid that this will do more damage to your reputation than mine, and then, what would your father say?"

    Rong Yuan shut up after hearing that, his hand loosening.

    Yujia immediately pulled her hand back to herself. Bowing to both of them curtly, she spun around and left the pavilion without another word. She didn''t want to stay in that uncomfortable situation for a moment longer.

    ¡­

    Zixu watched her disappearing figure, then turned to Rong Yuan, who was frozen in place. It was as if the latter couldn''t even comprehend what had just happened.

    This was a disappointing turn of events that didn''t amuse Zixu at all. He wanted to learn a couple more methods of painting today, but the irritating Noble Rong just had to step in and mess everything up. Previously, he didn''t think that he had too much negative bias towards this Noble Rong, but now seeing how shameless and aggressive Rong Yuan acted when it came to women, Zixu couldn''t help the disgust rising up in him.

    Without bothering to say any more words, Zixu sat back down at the table, finishing the practice painting he was working on and completely ignoring Noble Rong, who was dejectedly standing to the side.

    It would be a good thing if Rong Yuan just left right now, giving Zixu some time to himself. Zixu decided that there was enough socializing for today, and he didn''t really want to have to still act in front of Rong Yuan.

    Except, disappointment came to Zixu again as Rong Yuan sat across from him, muttering. "I''m an idiot, aren''t I?"

    Idiot? Of course, Rong Yuan was an idiot. People who didn''t understand the boundaries of others and constantly overstepped them belonged in that category.

    But Zixu couldn''t speak his thoughts out loud. Rong Yuan''s father was the commander of the entire military of Xiang, making Rong Yuan''s nobility status extremely high and the only reason why he could go around being as flirtatious as he wanted without too much damage to his reputation. In comparison to the Rong Family, the Yu family was much, much lower on the societal ranks, making it a major offense if Zixu insulted Noble Rong at this current time.

    Because of that, Zixu chose to give him a few courteous words of advice. "Your Junior Sister doesn''t seem to like it when people come off as too forward."

    "Ah¡­" Rong Yuan sighed, then when a few silent moments passed, he suddenly proposed, "Do you think I should apologize to her? Will that give me another chance?"

    Zixu came to the conclusion that Rong Yuan was hopeless.

    "I think you should just let the matter drop," Zixu suggested, his words ending as he tried to focus more on his painting. He really wished that Noble Rong would just leave him alone.

    "No!" Immediately, Rong Yuan proclaimed, "Why is everyone telling me that I should leave this matter alone! You, Senior Brother Yu, Senior Brother Jiang¡­ the more they tell me that I can''t do something, the more I want to do it! The more they tell me I can''t have something, the more I want to have it!"

    Stubborn people like Noble Rong truly irritated Zixu. "They probably have a point," Zixu quietly noted.

    "I''ve decided, I''m going to apologize to Junior Sister Yang!"

    Zixu felt pity towards the fact that Miss Yang had a leech like Rong Yuan clinging on her. But because it really wasn''t part of his matters¡ª as long as he could learn the art techniques without disturbance, he didn''t really mind whatever other people chose to do¡ª he simply replied, "Then do what makes you happy."

    Since discouraging Noble Rong didn''t work, surely encouraging him would force the other to leave?

    Sadly, Rong Yuan only continued, "I don''t think she''ll accept my apology though¡­"

    Finally, Noble Rong was right in one matter. Miss Yang would probably run at the sight of him from now on, avoiding him whenever she could.

    "Noble Yu, will you help me?" All of a sudden, Rong Yuan stood up on the table and clasped his hands together. "If you help me, I''ll be eternally grateful to you!"

    "Help you? What help are you speaking of?" Zixu laughed on the outside, while on the inside, he admitted that if Rong Yuan left him alone, hewould be the one that was eternally grateful.

    "You''re close with my Junior Sister, right? Can you tell me what she likes and dislikes so that I can make my apology better?"

    Where did this foolish boy get the idea that Zixu was close to Miss Yang the slightest?

    "I''m a bit busy these days with preparing for the imperial examinations1," Zixu said. This wasn''t a lie.

    "Imperial examinations? I can help you with that! If you cooperate with me, then I can get my father to get you a few extra connections. That would be good for you, wouldn''t it?" Fervently, Rong Yuan recommended.

    Zixu paused. The Yu Family did have plenty of connections already, but more wouldn''t hurt considering that his status as a merchant''s son still wasn''t superior in comparison to the countless sons of government officials that would surely be taking the exam as well. Besides, there was still some stigma left towards merchant families since historically, merchants were prohibited from taking the exams until Xiang was founded.

    The outcome of whether or not Noble Rong managed to win over Miss Yang''s heart didn''t matter either. The only thing that was asked of Zixu was to find out a few of her interests, and the benefits that came out of accomplishing this simple task were far more valuable.

    In the end, Zixu would only benefit from agreeing to Noble Rong''s demands.

    So, Zixu put on his usual smile again, standing and saluting Rong Yuan as well. "If Noble Rong says it like that, then of course, I have to comply, don''t I?"Examinations used in Ancient China where individuals (scholars) who wanted to gain governmental positions/become civil servants would take.

 121 The Fourth Miss Celebrates Birthdays

    Prior to the next day, Hui''er informed Yujia of a key fact.

    Although a festival ended not too long ago, the Emperor''s birthday was coming up tomorrow, meaning that the whole day would be another festival. And with the Emperor being held as such a holy being, his birthday would definitely be a large celebration.

    The only odd coincidence was that the old Fourth Miss shared the exact same birthday as the Emperor. They were both surprisingly born during the Plum Blossom Month, on the twelfth. Because of that, the Fourth Miss was never given a chance to celebrate her own birthday. She had to honor the Emperor before herself.

    But the current Yujia didn''t see what reason there was to become gloomy because of that. She couldn''t celebrate her own birthday because the world put on an entire festival for the Emperor only? Well then, she would just celebrate the Emperor''s festival by pretending like it was all put on for her! As long as she kept these thoughts inside of her, there weren''t going to be any negative consequences, and she would enjoy herself more too during the festivals put on by the public.

    Because of her positive mindset, when the next day came, Yujia was ready to make her birthday a blast. It wasn''t her true birthday, which was originally in September, but since her body was born on this day and she wanted an excuse to celebrate, why not celebrate now?

    The weather, seemingly appeasing the Emperor as well, turned out bright and full of sunshine. Though the temperature was a little warm, it wasn''t a problem either. Yujia didn''t think that she would be wearing the new pretty robes she bought until the summer, but it didn''t seem right to wear anything else when festive colors were supposed to be present on everyone else.

    Because she wanted to check up on her shop first thing in the morning, she didn''t call over Xiaoyi or Hui''er to come along with her. Yujia also wanted to have some time alone to explore the beginning of the day-long festival that would be set out in honor of the Emperor before she invited others along with her.

    Everything about the shop seemed to be going well, so after Yujia briefly checked up on it, she left. Things were going at a steady rate, and she didn''t doubt that she would reach her goal by the deadline. And though she thought she arrived early enough in the morning to check up on the shop, she heard from Gao Yi that Bo Zhizhong actually stopped by even earlier, and he seemed a little bit anxious at something as he went through the storage room and withdrew a few pencils.

    Yujia thought that this sounded somewhat suspicious, but she couldn''t figure out how to contact Zhizhong, so she decided to bring up the matter tomorrow, or if she managed to see Zhizhong during the festival.

    Walking underneath the morning sunlight, Yujia watched as vendors prepared their stalls for opening while a few others began to set up various attractions that would obviously be present at the festival. She couldn''t wait to see what fun there would be today and tonight.

    ¡­

    Yu Zixu had a habit of waking up early.

    He started off his day with a few simple tasks: rinsing his mouth, washing his face, brushing his hair, dressing in his robes, and taking some time to breathe in the fresh morning air. His schedule during the morning was almost like an exact routine, where he would follow those steps repetitively every morning. When he was by himself, life was rather dull because he knew how everything would turn out. At times, he would prefer to associate himself with other people so that he could entertain himself with predicting their actions, while other times, he would actually prefer to pass some time while knowing exactly what was going to happen because he was alone with himself.

    Mornings just tended to be times that he preferred to spend alone.

    But if it weren''t for his younger brother, then this morning, despite the fact that it was the Emperor''s birthday, was going to be a morning that he spent like every other day.

    Yu Ziyang¡ª his real younger brother who was sickly all the time¡ª actually had an odd occurrence where he was strong enough to get up on his own in the morning. Somehow, his younger brother managed to walk all the way to his courtyard to greet Zixu standing up for the first time in weeks, and asked Zixu of only one task: to buy him some pastries.

    There was one pastry shop by the river that cut through the capital that Ziyang and Zixu used to enjoy as children. Perhaps Ziyang dreamt of an old memory last night, for this morning, when he woke up, that was the only thing he had an appetite for. Ziyang could''ve called any servant to get the pastries for him, but there was something a little bit nostalgic about old memories of the two brothers walking together to get pastries. The thoughts of his younger brother were things Zixu didn''t quite understand.

    Ziyang was always more of the sentimental type.

    Therefore, despite the fact that Zixu was reluctant at first, he still agreed to Ziyang in the end that he would go purchase pastries since his younger brother couldn''t walk the long distance between the villa and pastry shop. He supposed that Ziyang also really wanted Zixu to get the pastries for him not just for nostalgic purposes, but also because Zixu knew his tastes exactly, which were things that mere servants would not know or memorize, even if Ziyang described them to an extreme detail.

    A few moments later, after Ziyang''s request, Zixu found himself walking through the streets and down the riverbank to buy pastries from the one shop that Ziyang wanted pastries from.

    Coincidentally, that was when he saw Miss Yang.

    ¡­

    Yujia heard from Hui''er that there was a decent pastry shop that usually had quite costly pastries. The shop could''ve been the most popular pastry shop in all of Xiang if the pastries were cheaper, but most common people never tasted the quality of the desserts because of the high prices. Being someone who enjoyed good food, Yujia wanted to have a try, except because of her limited budget, she never did until now, where she heard that because of the fact that the Emperor''s birthday was occuring, the shop might have a discount.

    Discounts were always welcome in Yujia''s book, and she decided that if there really was one, there would be fresh pastries for her breakfast this morning.

    Following some directions that Hui''er gave her, Yujia walked along the riverbank of one large river that cut through the capital, passing a few landmarks like the boat-seller to a large pagoda, until she reached the shop that she heard of.

    The pastry shop was smaller than what Yujia expected. If not for the label of "Little River Pastries", Yujia would''ve skipped over the building entirely. Maybe the costs of the pastries were to the extreme, but the outer appearance of the shop didn''t quite match up with the entire luxury theme. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

    Once Yujia stepped into the store, she discovered that the inside was better than the outside. Within the shop, the entire environment was very cozy and warm, with hints of sweetness and glazed bread floating throughout every inch. There were two tables for eating, which only one person occupied, but besides that, the majority of the shop was made up of a main counter and a kitchen behind that where all the cooking took place.

    Someone was standing, his back facing her and at the counter, when Yujia walked in. He seemed to be placing his order at the time, murmuring in a soft voice the things that he wanted. "A thousand-layer cake, three mung bean cakes with a little extra sugar, and two steamed buns with sweet filling. And one sesame cake too."

    The voice seemed familiar. So did the figure of the young man''s back.

    Thus, the moment he turned around, Yujia wasn''t surprised to be greeted with the face of Yu Zixu.

    She smiled politely at him, then stated, "Young Master Yu, you''re buying pastries for breakfast too? I didn''t know you had such a sweet tooth."

 122 Walking By the River With the Fourth Miss

    "No, I never thought that I had too much of a sweet tooth." Zixu turned to see her with a slight smile. When his eyes met with her, he didn''t show any bit of surprise, as if seeing her in this somewhat remote pastry shop was the same as seeing her in Lingxin.

    But then again, perhaps he recognized her voice earlier on just like how she recognized his.

    While the workers in the shop began completing his order by packaging some of the pastries they already premade, Yujia walked to his side and looked towards the counter. He didn''t have a sweet tooth? Based on the amount of sugary things he ordered despite the fact that the shop also sold savory pastries made Yujia find his statement difficult to believe.

    "You seem like you know the pastries of this shop well. It''s my first time here; do you have any recommendations?" she asked, her eyes meeting with his again.

    He tapped his fingers on the counter as he thought about the different things the shop offered. "I only come here because my younger brother enjoys pastries. What I ordered before, such as the thousand layer cake and mung bean pastries, are a few of his favorites."

    Yujia bit her the inside of her cheek as she thought about Zixu''s younger brother, Yu Ziyang. Along with any mention of him came along with some memories of her attempts at impersonating him, which were surely memories that weren''t going to be fading away anytime soon.

    "Are the mung bean pastries better with extra sugar? I noticed that you ordered that."

    "They''re fine on their own," Zixu answered as he shook his head, "but my younger brother is the one with the sweet tooth. He always prefers a little extra sugar."

    Yujia drew her gaze away and leaned towards the counter, giving the individual across from it her order. "I''ll have four mung bean cakes then."

    She didn''t consider herself too much of a lover of things too sweet, so adding extra sugar shouldn''t be a necessity for her.

    A few moments later, Yujia found herself carrying a paper-wrapped package of four small pastries while Zixu held a larger package. The pastries, even with the discount, were indeed pricey, totaling up to four entire silver taels for just four cakes. She had high hopes for the pastries and hoped that she wouldn''t be disappointed by them.

    The two of them walked side by side down the riverbank, heading towards the more central area of the city. Because of the time that it took for some of the pastries to be made, more people were already beginning to populate the area. The river seemed to be a good place for business¡ª Yujia''s perception of the pastry shop being remote turned out to be slightly incorrect¡ª and with the Emperor''s birthday being today, it was inevitable that things were a little busier than usual.

    During the time that Yujia began her walk back, she realized that the river which she thought was a river turned out to not even be one in the first place. It was much narrower than most rivers, and as Yujia observed the pieces of stone enclosing certain areas of it, she came to the conclusion that the "river" was actually a small waterway or canal. A few boats were already beginning to sail on the canal, carrying out their business for the day.

    She looked back to Zixu after a few more moments of watching the boats, asking, "Is Young Master Yu only here to buy pastries this morning?"

    "Yes," he replied, "What about you?"

    "I''m just exploring a bit more of the city today, considering that it''s a festival, and I thought that I might buy some pastries for breakfast." Yujia wrapped her fingers on the mung bean pastries a little tighter.

    "I see." Zixu turned his head to look at her, noticing that she was wearing a new set of robes. "The colors you wear suit you well," he noted.

    Yujia looked down at the outfit she wore with bits of jade green dyed on the white fabric that layered over a light peach shade. She gave him a genuine smile. "Thank you."

    Contrary to the unsettling compliments that Rong Yuan gave her yesterday, Yujia didn''t mind Zixu''s brief compliment. It didn''t seem like he was forcing a compliment, but rather giving one to her in a natural way that seemed to hold no extra meaning besides being a simple statement.

    She glanced over at Zixu''s clothes.

    Zixu always dressed neatly, with his clothes always wrinkle-free and worn neatly. He generally wore robes of lighter shades, with nothing too vibrant or eye-catching. Yet maybe it was the way he carried himself, for no matter how simply Zixu dressed, he always looked like he was standing on an elevated level. Today, for example, he wore a set of teal robes under lighter fabric embroidered with silver threads so thin and faint that they were nearly non-existent. A matching jade pendant hung at his belt, but other than that, there was nothing festive that hinted at a celebratory attitude from him. Although the weather was becoming warm, Zixu still wore a pale teal cloak that draped over his shoulders too.

    To keep the conversation going, Yujia continued, "I wanted to wear something a little more special for today. Young Master, are you going to do anything special or wear anything special?"

    Zixu looked down at himself, then shook his head. "I''m afraid not." His eyes narrowed as if he was thinking of ways to word what he wanted to say. "Crowds aren''t my favorite thing, so I don''t think I''ll be participating long in any of the festivals today. Are you going to go?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Yujia gave a small smile. "Well, I suppose I''m more of the opposite. I think large crowds are exciting, and when the world is willing to put on a fun show for everyone, why not participate in it? Also¡ª"

    Her words cut short along with her steps when she saw a decorated boat drifting in the canal. It was painted with bright colors of red, green, white, and orange, and a small crowd was gathered on the bank near the area where the boat rested.

    "What''s that?" Yujia asked, stepping a little closer to the edge of the water, where the connected stone poles that acted as a fence ended. She leaned on the last pole, observing the boat and how some people were talking, seemingly bartering, with the man who was probably the owner of the boat.

    "Have you never heard of the tradition?" Zixu walked closer too. "Because the Emperor accomplished a miraculous naval battle where he led the ships and armies himself, every year, during his birthday or the Returning Festival, there would be some boat rowing where you can go on some of these festive boats and row. The more you row, the more luck you''re said to gather, but it''s also a way for the boat owners to earn more money when you spend more time on it.

    They must be auctioning the position of the first lead rower of the day, which is said to be the luckiest. "

    "Oh."

    Yujia watched as some money was transferred between a man dressed in dark purple who seemed to win the auction and the boat owner. A bright smile spread across the man''s face as he neared the boat and grabbed a pair of oars from the owner. On the rest of the boat, there were a couple of seats of rowers dressed in clothes that matched the boat, intended to help the lead rower to move the boat faster.

    Once the man seated himself on the small, narrow boat, he began to row as fast as he could along with the rest of the team on the boat. The crowd cheered more the further he got, and it was fairly entertaining to watch him row around this section of the canal.

    Yujia never rowed a boat before¡ª she didn''t even know how to swim¡ª but seeing the excitement of the crowd made her more eager. It seemed fun.

    Zixu gathered the awed expression on Yujia''s face and remarked, "Do you want to try one?"

    "Together?" Yujia raised her eyebrows. Was that what Yu Zixu was implying by asking her?

    "No, no." Quickly Zixu waved his hands to dissolve all those ideas. "I was just asking if you wanted to try rowing one, by yourself."

    Yujia could feel her cheeks burning up a little. She misinterpreted what he was implying. Now it seemed embarrassing to her since it made her sound like the one who was asking him to row with her!

    "Ah, that''s what I thought," she immediately answered, attempting to cover up her flustered thoughts, "It does seem fun, but I''ll probably get tired in just a few moments of rowing. It seems like a¡ª"

    All of a sudden, a shift occurred in the crowd. Someone stepped back. A young child squeezed through, bumping into numerous individuals along the way. Another person swiftly pushed his way to the side of the crowd to get a better look.

    And along all three of these rapid movements that lasted no more than a second, Yujia was pushed over to the side. Her thoughts were so concentrated over the embarrassment of asking Zixu if he intended that they were to row together that she didn''t even realize it was too late.

    Her grip on the stone fence slipped. The package in her other hand dropped to the floor. One of her feet was shoved over the border between water and elevated land.

    Before Yujia could even grab onto something again, she found herself teetering off the edge and splashing into the water.

 123 The Fourth Missâ€™s First Touch of Death

    The moment she splashed into the water, she could feel the cold water immediately greeting her in a wave of shock. The water seeped through the thin layers of her robes and trickled down her throat as she struggled to clear her frenzied thoughts to understand what was happening. Her eyes burned from the water splashing at them.

    Yujia clamped both her mouth and eyes shut.

    She didn''t know how to swim. She didn''t know how to swim. She didn''t know how to swim.

    The waters of the canal were deep and threatened to pull her under, deeper and deeper.

    But it was alright. It wouldn''t be a big deal. Even if she didn''t know how to swim, she had to be still near the edge of the canal after the fall. The ground was slightly elevated, but as long as she could grab onto the edge, it would be alright.

    Yujia''s limbs began to flail as she struggled to bring herself above the surface of the water. When she brought herself back to the air for the first time, she opened her eyes and lurched her head back, inhaling a breath of air deeply to temporarily soothe her burning lungs.

    She wasn''t even underwater for that long. Why were her lungs burning so much?

    It was then that Yujia realized that the body of the Fourth Miss wasn''t exactly in the healthiest condition. Her lungs were always weak when it came to full-body exercises like running or swimming; hence, she was never good at either of them. Yujia in her old self was somewhat similar. She wasn''t too athletic and never bothered to learn how to swim well either.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Right now, she regretted this fact more than anything.

    "Help¡ª" she gasped out. It was already difficult to breathe.

    The one moment of a cry of help made her sink under the water again. Knowing that she didn''t have much time left, Yujia struggled some more to to raise herself and carry herself closer to the edge.

    The second time she bobbed up from the water, she noticed something else, and not just the state that she was in. Despite the fact that her lungs felt weak, she was sure that her cry wasn''t quiet. Everyone should''ve heard her. The splashing of the water around her should''ve caught the attention of everyone present on the banks too.

    Yet, as she looked up at everyone, hoping that someone would help her, she realized that none of the people in the crowd moved an inch.

    They had long stopped discussing the boating that was still happening. Yujia saw all of their eyes glued onto her. Except, instead of stepping forward to save her from drowning, they just stood there. They stood there with their eyes fixed on the scenario while startled whispers traveled between them.

    But none of them made a single move. Not a single bit of assistance came from a single person.

    Yujia''s eyes flinched over to Zixu. They were chatting in a carefree manner only a few seconds ago, but he seemed immeasurably distant now. There was clear hesitation in his gaze while he looked at her, and though she could only measure his expression in the time frame of a second, she noticed that he was just another bystander in the crowd. Though he wasn''t smiling anymore, all signs of recognition were wiped from his gaze.

    He seemed like nothing more than a stranger now.

    How could it be that everyone around her were so indifferent, so apathetic? How could they just witness a person drown and not do anything about it? A few even carried flashes of amusement in their expression, as if seeing her drown was pure entertainment. Those who displayed horror in their faces weren''t much better either¡ª why weren''t they even offering her a hand to grab onto?

    All of her horrific thoughts lasted no longer than a few seconds. Her head was carried under the water again.

    She couldn''t keep splashing in the water for much longer. Every single time she went under, she could feel her lungs burn more in protest. Every single time she went under, she could feel the strength and energy slipping out of her entire body. Every single time she went under, the more numb she felt from the ice cold water.

    It was now or never.

    Yujia''s two hands reached out in a desperate last attempt at saving herself. Her right hand barely scraped against the rough surface that enclosed the canal, but her left hand found something to cling on to. Out of the stone that made up the canal walls, there was a jagged edge in the middle of the border that she could hold on with.

    Light returned to her eyes, a trembling smile of relief beginning to creep on her lips.

    Her left hand clung a little tighter to the walls while she tried to use it to pull herself above the water. When she broke through the surface for what she hoped to be the last time, she caught a flash of light teal and a warm hand being offered to her. With her blurred gaze, she tried to focus a little more at the face of the person who offered it.

    Was it Yu Zixu?

    Hearing his voice, deep and concerned, answered the question for her. "Miss Yang," he asked, "are you alright?"

    She didn''t even have the strength to answer. Raising her right arm, Yujia reached for his extended hand, trying to grasp onto it. There was barely any strength left in any part of her. Her left hand loosened on the edge it was clinging onto. Finally, she could get out of this water. Finally, she received some sort of kindness from somebody. Finally¡ª

    But their hands barely touched.

    For in the next moment, Yujia saw another flash of bright colors that belonged to the boat she was observing when she was still on land.

    The colors¡ª the boat¡ª rammed into her.

    The collision tore her hand from his, dragging the left hand that held onto the broken edge of the wall off as well.

    Yujia''s eyes widened with panic, her head turning in almost slow-motion to see the boat paddle straight over her. The hull of the boat struck right on her. Once more, Yujia found herself being enveloped completely with water as the force of the collision dragged her underneath, pushing her beneath the boat.

    She wanted to move herself, to push herself up, to save herself in some way. Any way.

    It was just too late to do any of that.

    The freezing water stole the last bits of warmth and strength from her. It flowed into her and pulled her deeper and deeper into the depths, where all the darkness lied.

    Yujia couldn''t even lift a single finger now. Even mere thinking seemed difficult. It felt like her mind was being slowly frozen by the water as well.

    Her last thought drifted off to a strange topic that she never thought she would think of, especially not in a moment like this. It was a memory of walking down the streets of the capital that morning, determined to enjoy herself on her birthday. She had such high spirits for the day ahead.

    How did things end up this way?

    Was this¡­ what it felt like to drown to death? What a peculiar way to end the story that she barely began.

    The last breath of air escaped her lips. Yujia''s eyes fluttered shut, sealed down by the weight of the water.

    She surrendered herself to the darkness, and the darkness gladly took her in.

 124 The Young Master, His Thoughts

    When Miss Yang fell into the water, Zixu had blinked. All he knew was that one second, she stood on land, admiring the boat, and the next second, she was splashing in the water.

    He looked at her first, slowly dragging his eyes across the scene as he took in what was happening. Looking at everything, time seemed to flow in slow motion. Or, time wasn''t flowing in slow motion¡ª it seemed to be his thoughts that were suddenly crawling by at the pace of a slug.

    This was a scene that he had not predicted to occur. And when he was unable to predict the results of something or the events that would pass by, he found himself unable to think as fast as before. What was the right choice for him to make? What had happened to lead up to his scene?

    Zixu found that when he didn''t have prepared answers, he was at a complete loss for what to do.

    First, what had happened? He needed time to process the events.

    His eyes scanned over the crowd, taking note of the things that had changed from the moment before he blinked to afterwards, when she was in the water.

    There was a child standing in the outer circle of the crowd that wasn''t there before. One individual dressed in light green was standing a little closer to Zixu than earlier on. Another individual in brown robes was one foot off the edge of the bank too, when before, Zixu recalled that no one stood too close to the edge.

    The wave of motion that these three small adjustments to the crowd caused a map of movement to appear in Zixu''s head. He realized that because of the three seemingly harmless acts of these people, Miss Yang had fallen into the water. She didn''t just jump into there for fun or trip over her own feet.

    Next, Zixu looked back at the girl in the water, noticing how she went under the surface and up a few times.

    He realized that she didn''t know how to swim. It wouldn''t make sense for young misses to know how to swim either. In fact, even his own younger brother and a few young masters that he knew weren''t adept at swimming either. Zixu, for this matter, was only slightly familiar with how to not drown because of a few experiences he had as a child.

    Was he supposed to step in now?

    Zixu''s eyes shifted back towards the crowd. They were all watching intently, but no one stepped forward. If he stepped up right now and dived into the water to save her, all of these people would bear witness to so much close contact between a young man and a young woman. That would surely damage his reputation and Miss Yang''s. He wasn''t that competent at swimming either. He could guarantee that he could save himself through swimming, but bringing another person along with him above water? Zixu was unsure about that.

    His eyes looked down to the package of pastries in his hand. Then, they traveled over to the fallen mung bean pastries that had dropped into the canal as well, right next to the struggling Miss Yang.

    Really, was he supposed to step in? Was he supposed to be a bold and selfless person and just throw apart all of his concerns for a person that he barely knew?

    Perhaps someone like Bo Zhiyuan would''ve. Or Ye Yunhe.

    But Zixu was not one of them.

    He looked back at Miss Yang, taking a step closer to the water and noticing that she managed to reach the edge of the water. Her hands reached out, tightly gripping onto a piece of stone in the wall.

    Their eyes met, but hers were blurry and his were clear.

    Only a little more than a minute had passed since she fell into the water. During that time, she managed to save herself, which was impressive enough. It also only took a minute for Zixu to come to a conclusion to his thoughts and decisions, though if she struggled in the water for any longer than that time frame, his opinion might''ve been swayed.

    Now, since she no longer was at the risk of drowning, there was no need for Zixu to think too much about the topic.

    It would not be wrong for him to offer her a hand in this situation. So, Zixu did that, his hand extending out as he inclined himself.

    She reached out with her own trembling hand, her skin red from being in the chilly water for the short period of time. Her frozen fingertips brushed against his palm.

    Then, before he could pull her up, the boat from before had circled around and slammed directly into her.

    He could nearly count the number of seconds that it took for everything to happen.

    First second, the shock that registered in her face. The next second, the boat passing by while the people onboard morphed from their exhilarated expression to confused ones as they felt the obvious bump when they crashed into her. They were still unaware that she had been underneath, in the water, when it happened. The third second, the way that her hand slipped from his before he could grab onto it, and how she fell back into the water.

    Zixu flinched back, watching as the boat slowed down.

    Ten seconds passed.

    When she first fell into the water, she had thrashed her limbs to keep herself afloat, the water sloshing around her too.

    Except now, after the spray of water coming from the collision of the boat, he hadn''t seen any movement in the water. It almost seemed like she surrendered to the water, abandoning all hope of saving herself.

    Ten more seconds passed.

    Zixu was at a loss again. He didn''t predict this happening. He didn''t predict it at all. He didn''t predict a single thing that would occur today.

    Miss Yang didn''t seem like she was going to surface the water anytime soon either.

    Five more seconds passed.

    For some reason, at this moment, Zixu thought of Noble Rong Yuan. Surely, he was going to be disappointed with Zixu when he found out that the girl he liked had drowned¡ª

    ¡ª drowned. Drowned.

    Drowned.

    The word abruptly clicked in his head.

    Drowned meant death. That was undeniable. Before, Miss Yang was only at a risk of drowning. She still managed to bring herself above water. But right now, with the water so still beneath the boat, she. Was. Drowning. By. The. Second.

    Things truly clicked then.

    No one in the crowd was going to do anything about it. Zixu was the one who had walked her to this waterway. If she was going to drown, he was going to be responsible for her death. He was going to be responsible with the fact that he witnessed her sink under the water and didn''t do anything about it. He was going to be responsible with the guilt that would follow him for the rest of his life.

    Zixu admitted that he didn''t value other human life too much before. He always focused on himself. But right now, knowing that someone was about to die because of him, he comprehended how truly terrifying the value of life was.

    What reputation? When there was death, there was no more need for reputation left.

    Right now, he was the only one who could save her. He was the only one who was willing to save her. He needed to save her.

    Pulling the strings of the cloak he wore loose, Zixu threw it onto the floor, held his breath, and jumped into the water.

    The ice cold temperature hit him in a jolt. It was startling how much colder the water was than the outside weather. As the water traveled through the folds of his clothing instantaneously, every inch of him was screaming at him to get out of the water, but he continued to force himself to sink down, peeling his shut eyelids open with pure willpower.

    He could barely see underwater. Everything was a murky blue. By straining his eyes as much as he could, he swam lower and lower, seeking for any sign of Miss Yang.

    It was difficult to ignore the cold or the desperation for air that began to rise up in him. The thought that the life and death of an individual now depended on the speed of his actions were what kept Zixu going instead of rising up for a breath of air.

    Finally, Zixu caught a piece of sheer fabric floating in the water, drifting along the slight currents.

    He pushed himself lower, swimming towards the hint of fabric until he came face-to-face with Miss Yang.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Her eyes were shut and her pose was relaxed, completely loose as if she wasn''t even drowning but taking a light nap within the water. Zixu grabbed onto her arms, shaking her while he made muffled noises with his closed mouth, but she didn''t respond. Her eyelids didn''t even twitch.

    She couldn''t dead. No. She had to be just unconscious, right? That was it, right?

    Since he couldn''t get her to wake up, Zixu had to wrap one arm around her. He pulled her close to him while he used his free hand and legs to begin his way up.

    The journey up was considerably more difficult than going down. On land, Miss Yang may have looked so light and thin that any light breeze would sweep her away, but underwater, she was like a boulder strapped to him.

    After what seemed like an eternity of struggling upwards, Zixu eventually saw light and pulled himself out of the water.

    The crowd was still there, watching him with wide eyes and dropped jaws as he dragged Miss Yang out of the water too. Water clung to the both of them, dripping from their clothes and hair. Zixu remained in the same position he was in when he crawled out of the water on his hands. He gently adjusted Miss Yang''s position so that she laid on the paved stone floor too.

    There were whispers coming from the crowd that surrounded the two of them.

    Zixu was sure that he looked like a mess, with his hair all messed up and his clothes seeped with water. Never in public had he looked this way. Miss Yang was no better, her delicate features framed with the strands of wet hair sticking to her face. At least under her light colored robes, the inner layer of fabric was a much darker shade of green, preventing the water from turning her clothes see-through and more indecent than it already was for him to save her from drowning.

    At this moment, while he stared at her motionless face, waiting for her eyelashes to flutter upwards, Zixu realized that she still wasn''t moving.

    Why? Why was she not moving? She was above water now, wasn''t she? She had air to breathe now, didn''t she?

    The fear that gnawed at his heart taunted him that he hadn''t saved her fast enough. That she had long drowned underwater, and that it was all because he didn''t do anything from the start.

    This sort of panic, this sort of guilt, this sort of alarm, was worse than before Zixu made the slightest action to help her out. Perhaps it would''ve been better if he left her to drown on her own. Perhaps then, he wouldn''t be feeling this nerve-wrecking dread pounding in his heart.

    It was all a mistake. He shouldn''t have saved her in the first place.

    She was dead now. All because of his terrible attempt at saving her. If he hadn''t made a move, who knew what would''ve happened? Perhaps a kind-hearted stranger who was more competent at saving her would''ve been able to bring her out of the water quicker.

    Yet because Zixu insisted on taking action, she was dead.

    A young girl had lost her life because of him.

    It really would''ve been better if he hadn''t done a thing.

    Miss Yang coughed.

    The cough was soft, but Zixu heard it. He immediately leaned forward, his heart racing against his chest out of pure fear that he had simply misheard the first time.

    He prayed that he hadn''t misheard, and it seemed like the heavens heard his prayers, for she coughed once more.

    She coughed again. And again. Water droplets slid from the corners of her lips. Under the rays of sunlight enveloping the two of them, her eyes opened up gradually beneath her curled eyelashes.

    Zixu had never been more relieved to see a pair of dark irises reflecting back at him.

 125 Fear From the Fourth Miss

    Yujia faintly recalled seeing darkness, then a flood of light. At the time, the darkness seemed like nothing more than a second, but thinking back to it, perhaps it was an eternity.

    When she opened her eyes, she saw Yu Zixu first.

    The first thing she noticed was the raw emotion on his face. No longer did he wear his carefully crafted mask of a calm smile or a blank expression. There was an expression displayed on his face that Yujia had never seen before, one with knotted brows, a tense jaw, and eyes fixed onto hers.

    Once he saw that she opened her eyes, the expression vanished. It disappeared so quickly that Yujia doubted that it was even there in the first place, and that she wasn''t just hallucinating.

    Zixu leaned back. No words were exchanged between the two of them.

    Yujia pushed herself off the ground, her chest heaving as she coughed harder. With one hand clutched on her chest to support her coughs and the other draping over her face to hide her coughs, Yujia could feel the water coming out of her burning lungs.

    She barely had any energy to move. But somehow, she managed to cough until she was sure that she would hack her lungs out if she continued to cough so much.

    That was when she noticed the crowd around her.

    Their eyes were all fixed onto her, tracing her every move. Yujia''s head slowly turned to look at all of them, and out of her muddled thoughts, the memory of all of the present individuals staring at her from before surfaced, only this time, she was on land too, just like them.

    But their gazes were still the same¡ª blank, unsympathetic, emotionless.

    One middle-aged woman from the midst of the crowd stepped forward, her eyebrows knit together and her gaze soft. The woman bent down, rested her arm on Yujia''s, and said, "Are you okay?"

    The voice of the woman was gentle, worry laced through her words. But then, Yujia blinked, and all she saw was a detached woman with a deceiving question. The few faces in the crowd that held something that resembled compassion all vanished as well, replaced by empty masks.

    The woman didn''t care. No. Never. If she cared, why hadn''t she stepped out to help earlier? If any of them cared, then why was it that when she needed help the most, none of them offered any sort of help or sympathy?

    The answer was simple. Not a single person in the crowd cared from the start. They all preferred to watch her drown than to offer her a single hand.

    Yujia''s arm recoiled away, her hands pushing the woman back. She stumbled to her feet. Her head spun around to survey the crowd, watching their expressions shift back and forth. One second, she could see the humanity in their faces, yet the next second, their expression changed to one cold and uncaring. The different faces flashed between the two over and over. Around Yujia, the world began to spin.

    Her heart thudded against her chest. Her eyes darted back and forth. Her hands trembled at her side.

    People seemed to notice that something was wrong. In a faint, blurry part of her mind, Yujia could hear voices saying something vague and incomprehensible. Their voices, soon enough, faded away too, leaving nothing but Yujia standing alone in the midst of flashing faces.

    Yujia''s fingers crept up her face, attempting to shield her eyes from all the flashing faces. Except, even with her eyelids sealed shut and her hands over her eyes, she could still see the faces of all of them appearing in her mind, sweeping back and forth across her vision.

    The faces taunted her. They repeated over and over again like a never-ending film of images.

    She couldn''t breathe. Though a part of her knew that she was on land, that she was safe now, it felt like the rest of her was submerged in ice cold water, cutting into her soul and choking up her lungs. And the faces¡ª they continued to flash in her vision, blinding her.

    She couldn''t breathe. She really couldn''t breathe.

    If she stayed her for a moment longer¡ª

    She couldn''t. She couldn''t stay any longer. The more she stayed in the crowd, the more she couldn''t breathe. At this rate, she was going to suffocate herself.

    Letting out a sharp scream, Yujia pushed her way forward, shoving past all the faces. Some parted their way for her, while others continued with their eyes fixed on her, not moving an inch. Their gazes trapped her, pulling her and dragging her down like the weight of the water rushing over her head, but Yujia kept clawing her way through.

    She had to get out of this place. She had to get out of this place. She had to get out of this place she had to get out of this place she had to get out of this place she had to get out of this place she had to get out of this place she had to get out of this place shehadtogetoutofthisplaceshehadtogetoutofthisplace.

    A moment passed. Or perhaps, eternity passed.

    Yujia found herself free of the faces.

    The gazes were still fixed on her back. She could feel them. But she was out of the crowd.

    And so, Yujia did the only thing she could think of in this situation.

    She ran.

    She ran with all of the strength remaining in her. She ran with her two legs trembling beneath her. She ran with each step that threatened to make her collapse.

    The world faded around her into a pure, blank whiteness, free of noise or faces. All she could hear was the drumming of her heart against her chest and her footsteps striking against the ground at the same pattern of her heartbeat.

    Yujia didn''t have a set direction. She didn''t know where she was headed, or what point there was. All she knew was that she needed to get away from all the faces, from all the people, from everything.

    So she ran until she couldn''t anymore. She ran all the way until her legs gave way under her. She ran until she dropped to the ground, a mess of sweat, burning skin, and a heart that felt like it was going to burst.

    The world slowly faded back into her view.

    Yujia didn''t know where she was at. She was leaning against a wall of an empty gray villa with a willow tree growing over its broken walls. Once her heartbeat calmed and she caught her breath, she could hear faint sounds of a cart rolling and people chattering in the distance, but it was far enough that it seemed like not many people frequented the street Yujia had stopped in.

    What was she going to do now? She had to find her way back to her home eventually, as calming as it was to just lean against the wall and to clear all of her thoughts.

    After a long time of just staring at the dirt floor and her hands that wrapped around her legs, Yujia saw a pair of shoes inching into her field of view. Slowly, she raised her head without much strength and saw Yu Zixu.

    His hair was just as a mess as hers, and his clothes were all saturated with water too. The only thing that was dry on him was a folded cloak that he carried carefully in his arms. His expression, meanwhile, was blank. Blank, not like the blank expression of the crowd without any mercy in their gaze, but blank as if he was just as clueless as her.

    Without exchanging a single word, he lowered his hands and offered the clean, dry cloak to her. Yujia stared at it for a moment, then tentatively took it from him, draping it around herself. Her skin was burning, but she found comfort in wrapping herself with something heavy.

    Neither of them said a word until it began to get uncomfortable.

    Finally, Yujia asked. "How¡­ did you find me?"

    "I asked around," he replied, his words slow, "for a girl who looked like someone who was just doused with a bucket of water. It wasn''t hard to figure out which direction you headed in."

    There was a bit of humor in his words, and although Zixu didn''t smile, Yujia found herself letting out a quiet laugh that was nothing more than a sharp puff of air. Of course. It wasn''t every day that someone saw an individual like her running down the streets.

    "Why did you run away?" This time, it was his turn to ask questions.

    "I couldn''t stay there for any longer. It felt like I was drowning on land." Her voice choked up. "How could they¡ª all of them¡ª just not even¡ª offer a hand? Only you did¡ª but how could the rest of them be so¡­ inhumane?"

    Her eyes began to blur. She tilted her head down and covered her eyes with one hand, stuffing back her desire to cry back inside of her. She didn''t want to cry in front of him.

    He answered softly, "It''s because they didn''t know you. They found it an inconvenience to help a stranger."

    "Really?" Yujia couldn''t stuff back her tears, but she snapped her head up after hearing that. Her tone turned sharp. "Is that what you think?"

    "I''m not saying anything wrong, am I?"

    Yujia''s eyes grew larger with disbelief. "You''re not saying anything wrong? So you''re saying that simply because I''m a stranger to them, that if they see me drowning, than it''s okay to just let me die ? Just because they don''t know me, then it''s justified that they didn''t offer any help?"

    "Well¡ª" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    "Let me tell you something, Young Master Yu," Yujia continued with a cutting laugh, her head shaking slowly, "I don''t know how to swim. And after today, I''m probably going to terrified of water. But if I ever saw a girl in the same circumstance that I was in today, I would not hesitate to step forward and save her, even if no one else in the world was willing to."

    "That sort of kindness is foolish." His jaw set with his reply.

    "Is that what you think? Kindness is foolish, but what exactly is it that makes us human? Is it not the kindness that you called foolish just now?"

    Yujia stood up and yanked off the cloak hung over her shoulders, throwing it back at Zixu.

    And without exchanging another word or a farewell, she left the scene.

 126 A Disappointing Conclusion To the Fourth Missâ€™s Day

    Eventually, Yujia found her way back to the Yang Villa and her courtyard.

    The moment she walked back into her room, she dropped down on her bed and stared at the ceiling for a very, very long time. Hui''er seemed to notice that there was something wrong too.

    Actually, it was obvious that something was wrong. When one''s young miss returned back from a brief morning trip with disheveled hair, wet clothing, and absolute silence, any maid should''ve been able to tell. It was just that Hui''er was thoughtful enough to not mention it upon seeing that her young miss didn''t want to say anything.

    A couple long moments of pure silence passed. When Yujia had enough silence to collect herself, she turned her head to Hui''er, who was embroidering once more. "Hui''er," she spoke up, "I''m scared."

    "Scared?" Hui''er looked over. "How so? What¡­ happened?" While she waited for Yujia''s answer, she stood up and lifted an empty cup and teacup to pour a cup of steaming tea.

    Yujia lifted one of her hands and ran it through her hair, covering her eyes. "I fell into the canal. I nearly drowned."

    "What?"

    The cup in Hui''er''s hand clattered to the table before she could pour any tea into it. Walking closer to her miss and sitting down on the bed with furrowed brows and wide eyes, Hui''er exclaimed, "Miss, why didn''t you tell me this right away? I thought you just accidently got some water on you, or something of that sort." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    "I wish it was as simple as that." She still didn''t lift her hand from her face, but she peeked between her fingers.

    "What exactly happened?"

    Yujia could feel her heartbeat picking up again at the thought of the faces. She blinked all of them away before replying, "I¡­ was walking by the bank after buying pastries. Then, I fell in the water. I didn''t know how to swim. I went under the water, and after that, I can''t remember much. Young Master Yu saved me."

    She didn''t want to recall those horrifying memories to any detail. It would be better to be brief with these things.

    "Young Master Yu?" Hui''er''s brows drew together even more. "As in¡­ the first young master of the Yu Household? Or the second?"

    "First."

    "When did you know him?"

    Right. Yujia forgot that she didn''t tell Hui''er too much about Yu Zixu, and if she mentioned him in the past, it was nothing more than a few vague phrases. "He goes to Lingxin too. We''re barely more than acquaintances." Hui''er went silent after that, so Yujia continued, "I think from now on¡­ I''ll never be able to look at people the same again. Isn''t it funny that although I almost drowned, I''m more afraid of the people who didn''t bother to offer any help to me than the water itself?"

    "Miss¡­ I still don''t know the details of what happened, but I think right now, it would be good for you to just stop thinking about it. The more you think about it, the more you''re going to worry yourself. From¡­ my experience, bury away a little more of it each day until you''re willing to let the matter go."

    "How is that healthy?" Finally, Yujia lifted her hands from her face. "How am I supposed to just ignore everything that''s happened?"

    "If you don''t let it go, then what? It''s not healthy to force yourself to constantly keep it on your mind too, isn''t it? Better to allow it to sink in, then vanish. Or, it won''t be good to forget it completely either¡ª just think of it like this: it''s all a part of the past now. You''re alive. You survived it. That''s all the matters. You''re living in the present; don''t keep yourself intertwined with the past so much," Hui''er advised.

    Yujia didn''t know why, but she couldn''t hold herself back from asking, "What about you? Aren''t you still intertwined with the past as well?"

    Hui''er froze. The encouraging smile on her face instantly dropped. Yujia regretted asking the question, but after a few moments, Hui''er seemed to smile again, only this time, shakily.

    "Of course I am. The process of letting these things go doesn''t happen instantly. You need to give it time. And in the meantime, it''s healthier to focus on other things to keep your mind busy."

    "Sorry," Yujia immediately followed up, "I shouldn''t have asked that. It was insensitive of me."

    "It''s fine." Hui''er paused, then looked at Yujia. "You fell in the water. It''s not good to stay in those wet robes for too long. When you have strength, Miss, get up so I can help you change your robes and get you medicine."

    ¡­

    The rest of Yujia''s day passed with Yujia getting rest. After everything that happened, her mood to celebrate and join in the festival completely vanished. All she wanted to do was sleep.

    It seemed like her day would come to a rather disappointing conclusion when the sun began to set behind the mountains. When the time for dinner came, Yujia didn''t bother eating with the rest of the household either. She was too tired.

    Yujia currently sat at the sole table in her room, slowly chewing on a bite of rice. Hui''er had gone to fetch more tea from the kitchens.

    Yet when Hui''er returned, instead of holding a teapot of newly filled tea like Yujia expected, the young girl held a platter of piled pastries.

    "What''s this?" Yujia looked at the platter and mustered a smile, recognizing the pastries as the red bean cakes that Hui''er was so skilled at making.

    "I''m not really talented at making any other kind of pastry," Hui''er pointed out sheepishly, "but I thought it would be wrong if I didn''t do anything special for your birthday."

    Yujia looked at the plate, realizing that there were exactly nineteen cakes on the plate.

    "Happy nineteenth birthday, Miss."

    Hui''er set the pastries on the table and grinned a grin that went up to her eyes. She picked up a pastry and stuffed it into Yujia''s hands. "They were a bit rushed," she continued, "but I hope that they didn''t turn out bad. Try one. Tell me what you think."

    Carefully, Yujia lifted the still-warm cake to her mouth, biting into it and tasting the sweetness that dissolved on her tongue. She took another bite. And another.

    It was good. Too good.

    And for some reason¡ª perhaps Yujia was just too moved at the simple gesture¡ª she began to feel her eyes water. On her next bite of red bean cake, she tasted salt.

    "Miss!" Hui''er immediately noticed and blurted, "Why are you crying? Is something wrong? Do the cakes taste bad?" Her hands wrung together nervously at the side.

    "No," Yujia shook her head and answered, keeping her smile on her face. "It''s delicious. The best red bean cake I''ve ever tasted. I''m just¡ª" she lifted up a sleeve to wipe her tears, "¡ª moved. Really moved. This is the most that someone had ever done for my birthday."

    "I''m glad you like it." Almost immediately, the worry on Hui''er''s face was dissolved and replaced by a blossoming smile.

    There, under the soft candlelight, Yujia slowly ate as many red bean cakes as she could until she was stuffed. Hui''er had a couple too, but there were still a few left on the platter.

    As they ate through the pastries, Yujia realized that this was all she really needed: a friend to talk to, a simple gift, and a content ending to her day. Although she heard all the fun and cheer from people partaking in the festival outside, she really didn''t require any complex festival or too much excitement for her birthday. A celebration as simple as the one she had this evening, with just Hui''er and her present, eating red bean cakes, would be enough.

    Like that, Yujia finished her nineteenth birthday with a soft smile on her lips.

 127 Gift From the Crown Prince

    Fu Yushang allowed himself to be dressed in robes of pure black embroidered with silver, dark red, and midnight blue threads that formed layered clouds. The robes felt heavy on his shoulders, but perhaps that was just his current emotion piled up within him. He watched as the servants combed his hair to be tied up in a formal hairpiece made of silver that was just for the ceremony tonight.

    As they did so, he began to hear the distant sound of drums beginning to sound in the night. These drums would beat over and over again at intervals all throughout the night, wishing the Emperor hundreds of thousands of years to come. Tonight would not be a quiet one. Besides the drumming, fireworks were also part of the planned spectacles to come.

    Despite the fact that tonight was supposed to be a joyous one¡ª the whole country was celebrating his father''s birth¡ª Yushang couldn''t help but feel the palms of his hands sweating. His eyes trailed over to the table that he sat at while the servants combed his hair, where a box carefully painted with bright red and orange pigment and embedded with curling chips of gold and silver sat.

    The small, slender box would be all he could rely on tonight.

    Once the servants finished with preparing him, Yushang completed the last step of his preparation by reaching to his ears and sliding in a pair of small gold rings. He looked at his reflection in the bronze mirror, making sure that there was not a single part of anything on him out of place, then stood up.

    He bent over to pick up the box on the table too, but a servant quickly rushed over, offering to take the box for him. Yushang merely shook his head at that offer, saying, "I will carry it. It is a gift for my father-emperor; if I were to let anyone to hold a gift of such importance, would that not be damaging the value of the present?"

    Hearing those words, no servants dared to carry the gift for him anymore, which Yushang was relieved at. He couldn''t risk anything wrong happening with the gift tonight. For things like this, he could only trust himself.

    While he headed in the direction of the Taiji Palace, where the celebration was to take place, he conveniently ran into his older brother, the Third Prince named Yuxuan, who had a couple of servants trailing behind him. One servant carried a black wooden tray, and on the tray, there was a fairly large square shaped object covered with black cloth.

    The Third Prince stopped in his tracks when they ran into each other, saluting politely to Yushang. "Younger Brother, Crown Prince," he exclaimed, "I see that we headed out to Father-Emperor''s palace at the same time!"

    "Indeed." Yushang grinned, nodding his head at the mysterious object that Yuxuan carried behind him. "What''s underneath that fabric?"

    Yuxuan''s brows wrinkled as he smiled even more mysteriously. "It wouldn''t be a good surprise if I told you now, Younger Brother. All I can say is that it''s definitely something that Father-Emperor will be delighted about. I spent quite a lot of resources to gain my hands on this item, ever since the end of last year¡­"

    This only sparked Yushang''s curiosity more. He wanted to know what sort of object it might be under the fabric with a shape like it did, but it seemed like he would only find out when everyone else in the palace did. Although Yuxuan was always his favorite older brother and he was likely Yuxuan''s favorite younger brother, Yuxuan still kept his secrets that even Yushang wouldn''t be able to pry out.

    "Let''s not talk about my gift. What do you have?" Yuxuan leaned to the side to see that none of the servants following behind Yushang held anything. His eyes then landed on the slender box held in Yushang''s hands, narrowing as they focused on the box.

    "It wouldn''t be a good surprise if I told you now, Older Brother," Yushang repeated, gaining a chuckle from his older brother when Yuxuan realized that Yushang was treating him with the same exact attitude.

    "Anyways," Yuxuan said after a brief moment, "what do you think the others will get for Father-Emperor tonight? Whatever Second Prince gets is always a surprise, but I can bet my entire property that First Prince is going to bring a vase again."

    "You''re right. He''s always presenting vases as gifts. It''s as if he can''t think of anything else," Yushang added with a shrug.

    The two continued on with their conversation until they arrived at the Taiji Palace. The entire palace was decorated with vivid colors, and instruments were already beginning to play. A few court officials had began to arrive as well, sitting at their respective seats, but the Emperor''s throne was empty. Yushang and Yuxuan sat at seats near the front of the room, with Yushang being the closest to the throne.

    Eventually, once all the seats in the hall were filled, the Emperor arrived. He came in a fashion of loud instruments and black and gold robes with a train that stretched far behind him. On most days, Yushang recalled his father-emperor being quite stern in expression even if he didn''t truly feel that way on the inside, but today, his father looked happier. A smile was drawn out from one side of his face to the other.

    And, like Yushang guessed, the First Prince, Fu Yuchen, who presented his gift first, brought out a vase. It was a shallow yellow jade bowl-like vase, and though it appeared to be an antique and quite beautiful to look at, Yushang could spot the clear disappointment on the Emperor''s face. His father-emperor wanted heartfelt gifts that the First Prince could never think of. Soon enough, without more than a single word of gratitude or praise, the Emperor sent Yuchen back to his seat.

    The Second Prince''s gift, one of a stone carving of a mountain, earned a much more positive reaction from the Emperor. The Emperor gave Yuchen only a brief acknowledgement, but with the Second Prince, Yuhui, the Emperor actually gave out a few words of praise. This was likely because the Emperor enjoyed painting mountains, and the Second Prince brought out this trait of his father through a completely rotatable statue.

    When the Third Prince presented his gift, Yushang wasn''t disappointed by the results either. Yuxuan offered up to his father-emperor a block of dark blue stone with golden webs spread across the rock. On one side of the rock were some intricate carvings of battle scenes, while on the other were golden word carvings that documented the successive conquests led by their father. They were all lines of praise, which based on the personality of his father that he knew, Yushang knew that the stone carving was the best gift as of the three gifts presented up to this point.

    "Wishing Father-Emperor more and more success in the future," Yuxuan said with a smile.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    The Emperor responded with a gleeful clap, "You did not disappoint me today." He then went on a few elaborate words of praise.

    After all three of them, it was finally Yushang''s turn.

    He walked up while steadying his hands as he presented the thin box to a eunuch who brought it up close to the Emperor. All the other princes brought large, splendid gifts, while all Yushang had to offer was a small box that wasn''t even longer than two of his hands pointing together. Polite murmurs rose up within the crowd as they watched his actions.

    Yushang had not said a single word. The Emperor looked him in the eye, without saying anything either, before tearing his gaze away and sweeping his sleeves back to lift the lid of the box.

    In the box, there was one single pencil.

    It was a pencil more intricate and embellished than all the other pencils sold at Three Inks. With painted carvings and golden flecks embedded into the pencil, it was certainly worth ten times the price of a normal pencil, and even more than that, possibly.

    The Emperor picked the pencil up from the box, twirling it between his fingers experimentally. Then, with a solemn voice, he questioned, "Crown Prince, what did you bring me?"

    Yushang drew in a deep breath. This was the moment which would decide his future. Whoever gave his father a good impression during the birthday celebration was sure to receive heavy rewards, which Yushang definitely wouldn''t mind having some at the moment. There was also the one thing Yushang wanted the most out of all of this: his father''s recognition.

    Clasping his two hands together, Yushang exhaled, then explained.

    "It''s something called a pencil, Father-Emperor."

 128 Actions of Others During the Celebration

    The Fourth Miss went to sleep right before the first fireworks of the night were to go off. That was also the time that Hui''er had some time to herself to continue on her embroidery.

    She had been working on embroidery during all of her free time lately to improve her skills. So far, she had embroidered numerous handkerchiefs with pretty little pictures like flowers and butterflies, and she could see her skill improve as she compared the first handkerchief she embroidered with the one she was working on at the moment.

    Because the Fourth Miss went to sleep early, Hui''er finally had some more time to work on embroidery under candlelight. She doubted that she would be able to sleep under the loud noise of the festival anyways.

    Right when Hui''er threaded her embroidery needle with light blue thread, she heard a light knocking on the front doors of the Fourth Miss''s room. At first, she thought that it was perhaps the sound of something else, but when she heard the distinct knock once more, she knew that someone had to be there, purposefully knocking on the doors. But, who could it be that would come visit the Fourth Miss at that hour?

    To not disturb the sleep of the Fourth Miss, Hui''er set the embroidery in her hand down and walked towards the door, slightly pushing it open. Outside of the room, standing with her eyes cast down, was Manyu.

    Unpleasant memories flashed in Hui''er''s mind when she saw the face of this former friend of hers. Although the two had been more than close in the past, ever since the incident where Hui''er caught Manyu stealing the First Miss''s necklace, and Manyu in return accused her of thievery to give herself a chance to slip out of the situation, Hui''er had avoided talking or running into the other girl. The two had a friendship that Hui''er was grateful to in the past, but after everything that happened, it would be impossible to say that Hui''er could treat Manyu the same.

    Why was she here tonight, then?

    "Do you need something?" Hui''er asked with a hushed voice. "My Fourth Miss is sleeping. If you need anything or have to deliver some messages, I suggest that you come tomorrow."

    "N-no," Manyu responded with her words stumbling, "I¡ª I just came here to talk to you."

    Hui''er raised her eyebrows. "With me? What words do you have to say?"

    The next words of the other girl came out rushed. "I just wanted to say that I''m sorry. What I''ve done in the past isn''t forgivable¡ª I can''t even understand why I did that back then. I should''ve never accused you. I should''ve admitted to my own crimes myself. But¡ª I was scared then. I know that you may not forgive me, but I needed to get these words off my chest. I hope you can accept my apology, even if you can''t forgive me." Her next words fell to a whisper. "I¡­ miss having you as a friend too." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Hui''er looked at the girl in front of her, taking in the apology.

    She didn''t know if she was supposed to forgive Manyu or not. It was a terrible feeling in the past to have Manyu betray her like that. If she forgave Manyu and rebuilt their friendship, what if Manyu betrayed her again? How was she supposed to take the situation then?"

    Then, her mind trailed to the words she told the Fourth Miss only a few moments earlier. She was living in the present. What point was there in keeping her attitude towards everything made up of the memories of the past? The Fourth Miss also once said that it didn''t hurt to build relationships; she just shouldn''t put all of her trust into these relationships. Besides, if she were in Manyu''s shoes and was telling an apology to the First Miss¡­

    Hui''er knew what to do now.

    She sighed with a smile, then said, "Alright, let''s go and talk a bit. Do you want to come to the festival with me?"

    ¡­

    Yu Zixu sat at a courtyard in the Bo Villa with Bo Zhiyuan, sipping on a cup of wine. Based on the location of the fireworks tonight, the best place to view them happened to be in the Bo Villa. Hence, Zixu and Zhiyuan decided to celebrate tonight with a jug of good wine, the finest ink he owned, and numerous brushes to keep them company.

    It had been a long time since Zhiyuan last had a drink with him. This friend of Zixu was always too concerned with sorting out his upcoming marriage. So, when Zixu received an invitation from Zhiyuan, he obviously headed over to the Bo Villa.

    While Zixu picked up a brush to illustrate the scene they were in now, he couldn''t stop his thoughts from wandering to other topics. Memories of today''s morning, a splash of water, and a drowning girl surfaced. He kept his mind occupied with these ideas as he painted.

    Zhiyuan was working on poetry. He had only finished writing a line when Zixu suddenly questioned, "Do you think I''m inhumane, Brother Bo?"

    Zhiyuan paused too, his brush hovering over the page. "You want the honest truth?"

    "Always."

    "Then, sometimes, I guess." Zhiyuan shrugged. "You just tend to think of things in your own perspective too much."

    "I don''t see why that''s a problem." Zixu pursed his lips. "Isn''t it normal for everyone to treat themselves as the most important person in their life? Without oneself, what can one accomplish? Nothing. We need to treat ourselves as the most important person in our lives to survive."

    "But you''re not in a life-or-death situation right now, are you, Brother Yu?" Zhiyuan wrote another character down on the page, then continued, "For example, if you were a government minister who only cared for himself, then the people would suffer. And when the people suffer, they revolt. The minister is then beheaded. So, do you see now, Brother Yu? Of course treating oneself well is important, but others around you must be treated equally as well."

    Zixu nodded. Zhiyuan''s words did have some wisdom.

    "And, right now," Zhiyuan added after a moment of thought, "it could be that you just haven''t found an individual that you hold higher than yourself right now. I used to be the same, but then I met Luowei. Now, she is the most important person to me."

    "You''re just blinded by your love," Zixu remarked with a slight smile.

    Zhiyuan grinned, "No. You just haven''t experienced true love to understand. One day, when you finally meet a woman you love, you''ll understand."

    Zixu fell silent after that.

    He didn''t think he would understand the concepts that Zhiyuan spoke so fondly of. Zhiyuan may have been blinded by love, but Zixu, on the other hand, was completely blind at all topics about love.

    What purpose was there in love, really? All marriages were for alliances, partnerships, and gains. He doubted that his love life would be any different than what his father had all planned out for him.

    But maybe Zhiyuan had a point.

    ¡­

    The Old Master of the Yang Family, Yang Chen, sat alone at a tavern, drinking from a jug and bowl of wine. His face was red, and his vision was blurry. The shifting image of a woman sat across from him, morphing between faces before settling on one that haunted all his thoughts when alcohol was brought into the picture.  He knew this face, one of slender features and willow brows, well. After all, she looked so much like her daughter.

    Yang Chen lifted the bowl of wine in his hand, taking another deep gulp. The eyes of the woman stared back at him, fixed permanently onto his.

    "I''m¡ª so happy¡ª" he murmured to the woman across from him, "that at least¡ª I can see you here."

    She didn''t respond.

    He didn''t mind, only bringing another bowl filled to the brim with wine to his lips, drinking all of it down, occasionally murmuring words between gulps of wine.

    Except, as the night went on, and he drank more and more, the image of the woman he wanted to stay vanished. She disappeared with the dizzy effect of the alcohol, leaving him alone in his own drunken sorrow that not even an ocean of wine could satiate.

 129 The Fourth Miss Picks Up the Pas

    The sun hadn''t even rose in the sky when Yujia woke up. Her room was dark. As she stared up at pure darkness, she couldn''t hear anything in particular either.

    Hui''er likely was still asleep in her own room, which was a small room in the same courtyard as Yujia''s. When Yujia walked across her room, pushing open one of the few windows, she caught sight of a darker sky with only a couple of stars. Based on the fact that there was no longer any sound of fireworks or drums, the elaborate festival that Yujia had missed was over. Just like that, the Emperor''s and her birthday had concluded, stepping aside some room for a new day.

    Yujia didn''t know what time it was. She went back to her bed and tried to fall asleep, except that failed after half an hour of restless turning.

    Soon enough, she gave up on the notion of sleep and decided to take a walk in the cool night air before morning came.

    The first thing that Yujia noticed when she stepped out into the courtyard was that the silence of everything was oddly soothing. There was always some sound in the Fourth Miss''s courtyard. Since the servants lived in the same yard, sound came from the kitchens or the chit-chat of servants. Occasionally, Yujia could even overhear some of their conversations as she worked on various things, learning all sorts of pointless gossip. Now, however, there were no voices. Everything was pure silence.

    Yujia walked around the courtyard, but soon found herself bored of that. She headed out into the rest of the villa, finding with comfort that everything was quiet as well. It was as if all the noise in the world had been used up during the festival, leaving pure stillness behind.

    By this time, Yujia already had a decent understanding of the layout of the villa and how the courtyards were organized. She could easily walk anywhere she wanted to without getting lost. Yujia didn''t want to go inside any specific courtyards though, so she merely paced around the different connecting hallways within the villa until she found herself at the front of the villa, where there were two closed doors.

    The front yard wasn''t particularly interesting either. This nighttime stroll turned out much more uneventful for Yujia than she thought. Being stuck in a villa was definitely stuffy¡ª she couldn''t comprehend how so many young misses and concubines stayed in their respective villas all day long, for weeks, for months, for years.

    She was about to turn and head back to try to get sleep again, but that was when there was sound at the two front doors.

    Yujia froze.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Who could be coming to the Yang Villa at this time?

    She didn''t have time to make a speculation, for in the next second, the doors were pushed open. A figure stumbled a few steps forward until he was under the dim light of a paper lantern hung near the doors.

    Yujia paused. She recognized who it was.

    The man who stood in the light was Yang Chen, the old master of the Yang Household, and her father.

    Yujia had no idea why he was here, or what he was doing out of the villa during this time. She didn''t know what she would say if he asked her what she was doing either. But as Yujia turned around to leave, he called out one name.

    "Yuxi?"

    Yuxi? Who was Yuxi? Yujia recognized the "Yu" part of the name¡ª it was the same one her name started with, likely¡ª but her name was Yujia, not Yuxi.

    So, who was this person that he was calling for?

    It was too late to just leave. Yujia turned back around, walking up to the Old Master "Father, you''re mistaken. I''m Yujia, your daughter."

    Up close, she could finally smell the scent of alcohol clinging to his breath and his clothes. She also watched as the tentative smile on his face dropped when he recognized who she really was.

    "Ah. Daughter." His eyes looked down, and he slouched against the wall.

    Yujia was prepared to leave, since he didn''t look like he was going to question her presence, but curiosity got the best of her.

    "Father, who''s the ''Yuxi'' that you called me earlier?"

    He looked back up at her, the light from the lanterns reflecting from his glossy eyes. "Yuxi¡­" he murmured¡­"Liu Yuxi¡­ she''s¡­" The rest of his words were slurred, a pile of incomprehensible mutters.

    Yujia caught the surname of the mysterious person. Liu .

    Madam Liu. That was the name that Hui''er called Yujia''s birthmother by. And with the fact that the two shared the character " Yu ", could it be that the woman the Old Master was referring to was her mother?

    This only intrigued Yujia more. She never knew much about the identity of the mother of the body she owned. All she knew were facts told to her from Hui''er''s perspective, which was surely lacking in comparison to her father''s.

    With a quiet voice, she continued with her questions, "Is Liu Yuxi my mother?"

    Her father paused with his slurred speech. His eyes were surprisingly clear for a moment, his gaze stronger than the previous drunken state they were in. But then, they went glossy again, as he nodded slowly. "Yes¡­ your mother¡­"

    Yujia didn''t have to say anything. In the next second, her father''s face scrunched up. His eyebrows drew together and his lip trembled the slightest as he drew in a shaky breath. One of his arms reached up to cover up his face. He dropped downwards even more, sliding down the wall until he sat, gathering himself together, on the dirt floor.

    "I don''t¡ª I don''t deserve her¡ª I forsake her¡ª I¡ª I regret it. So, so much."

    She had never seen the man before her like this before. He was always stoic, keeping to himself and never revealing much emotion to her.

    "What do you mean?" she snapped, her words coming out sharper than she wanted them to.

    A new mystery seemed to unravel in front of her. All of a sudden, so many unexplained things in the Yang Household that Yujia simply ignored seemed ever so obvious now¡ª from the Fourth Miss and her past actions, to how everyone in the household treated her, to Madam Zhang''s unexplained distaste of Yujia. At the start, Yujia brushed all of those things away, dismissing them under the idea that Yang Yujia was treated that way only because of her illegitimate status. Except, seeing the Old Master act like this in front of her tonight, in a completely vulnerable state, she began to wonder if there was something more to all of this.

    If this father of hers really loved her mother, how could he tolerate such obvious neglect of this woman''s child that he spent so much effort bringing into his household? Why would he leave her mother alone and cut off all ties with that woman? Why even bother taking Yujia away?

    How did Yujia not see any of these obvious glaring issues in the past?

    Yet despite her desire to know, her father didn''t answer her question. He only looked back up at her, both of his glossy eyes shimmering and both of his hands now tucked in the strands of his disheveled hair. The words that came out of him next were nothing more than a whisper, easily carried away by the breeze, so faint that Yujia barely heard the mumble.

    "Happy birthday, dear daughter."

    And then, his eyelids folded, his posture loosening up. His head nodded downwards, and he evidently fell asleep or passed out.

    "Father," Yujia called out, tentatively, to no avail. He didn''t move, deep slumber taking his consciousness away. "Father," she called again, but she knew that he would have no answer.

    She didn''t bother waking him up, or carrying him to the proper courtyard he belonged in. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she never held any strong emotion towards him that she felt oddly detached in this situation. Distant.

    Yujia stared at the man in front of her for a few more seconds. After that, she turned around and returned to her own courtyard, lying down on her bed.

    For the rest of the night, or early morning, Yujia found herself unable to sleep. She could only wonder about what the words of the Old Master implied, and what sort of story there could possibly be behind the Fourth Miss''s complete background.

 130 What Correlation Between Transmigration and the Fourth Miss?

    Yujia discovered that she accepted things far too easily.

    It shocked her how little she considered so many things in the past¡ª how much she ignored them¡ª and how obviously they stood out now.

    First, how did she transmigrate? She dismissed it under the fact that she had been exposed to ideas like transmigration in the past from all those television dramas and novels which constantly reused this trope, but all of this wasn''t a novel or a TV show. It was real life. In reality, how was it possible for an individual to transmigrate, to cross times, and to cross worlds?

    She already knew that the Xiang Empire wasn''t an actual empire in history. Everything she had experienced so far, from the laughter to the conversations to the touch of death, was all too real to be just a dream or a hallucination of her mind. Science couldn''t explain the scenario she was in now. Could it be that fantastical elements like transmigration could truly occur in real life, then? That some sort of magic or god of higher power truly existed in this world?

    Yujia began to piece together the limited facts she did know. In her past life, she had transmigrated after getting drunk and drinking paint¡ª which thinking back to it made her feel very foolish at her actions. In this current life and body she resided in, the previous owner had gotten drunk as well, yet there was no sign that she took any life risking actions. The previous Fourth Miss had the same name as her, but not the same body or mind.

    Now that Yujia began to think carefully about these things, she discovered more and more things that simply couldn''t be possible. How was it that she transmigrated into this body, but didn''t share the same brain as this individual? If she was able to, then why didn''t she have all the memories of the old Fourth Miss? Yujia wasn''t a scientist, but she could definitely see that there was something conflicting in the current situation she was in.

    Through the rest of the night, Yujia could only keep these thoughts looping in her head, trying to make some sense out of this pile of illogical logic. There was only one conclusion she could come up with.

    There was no science to this all. It was pure otherworldly, incomprehensible force that brought her here. She would never be able to truly find out the reason behind it all in this lifetime.

    Her acceptance of the idea that she would never be able to truly understand calmed her a little. Yet still, Yujia wanted to smooth out some of the mysteries in her life, and one of them still remained as the unresolved past of the Fourth Miss. She wanted to be able to know the exact background of the old owner of her body. It seemed like the first step to smooth out some of the problems she knew of.

    The only real issue was that Yujia had no idea how she was going to find out about more of the past. She couldn''t just waltz up to the Old Master, Madam Zhang, Madam Liu, or anyone else and demand for them to tell her anything when there was no reason for her to logically ask about them.

    When early morning came, Yujia felt worse than normal. She didn''t feel extremely down emotionally¡ª though perhaps a little tired¡ª but she felt sick. Very sick.

    Falling into ice cold water was definitely not a good thing to do.

    With tomorrow being the deadline for her payment, as well as the day of her marriage, if things didn''t work out, Yujia could only feel more nervous. She felt extremely dizzy, and her legs were weak underneath her, but she still managed to get up with the aid of Hui''er. Since tomorrow was the deadline, she needed to check on the profits of Three Inks to see how things were going. Based on the progress she saw over the course of the past few days, she expected that she would have just enough taels to pay her father back.

    One of her hands gripped onto Hui''er''s arm to steady herself as she got ready for going outside and left her room. She usually liked to head out on her own when it came to matters like her business, but she wouldn''t be able to take many steps outside if it weren''t for Hui''er''s support. Huie''r even suggested to go for her, but Yujia really wanted to see the money for herself.

    Slowly, the two of them walked out the villa and made their way to the shop. Yujia brought Hui''er to the shop once and discussed some of the matters with the other girl, so Hui''er knew the way there. While they walked, Yujia gripped the fabric cloak she put on this morning closer to herself. She felt oddly chilly outside, though Hui''er said that it was overly humid and hot for typical morning temperatures.

    When they arrived at the shop, Yujia greeted Gao Yi, the clerk, briefly, then immediately went to look at profits. As expected, she ended up with a little more than five hundred taels. Her plan was to withdraw the taels and take them to a bank to convert them to gold taels¡ª it would be safer to carry around five gold taels than a heavy box of five hundred silver ones¡ª so after leaving a brief note with Gao Yi to inform Bo Zhizhong of her actions, she took the large box of taels and left for the bank.

    At this point, Yujia could swear that the world was spinning more and more. Her vision was also blurry, her eyes threatening to close at any moment. It was likely a mistake to go out when her physical condition was at this point, except since she was already out and near the bank, which was a few turns away from Three Inks, Yujia didn''t want to walk all the way back home.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Hui''er carried the taels for her and led her to the bank while Yujia attempted to maintain a blank expression on her face, as if the world around her wasn''t tipping back and forth.

    To her disappointment, the moment they arrived at the bank in a street with very little people due to the early time, Hui''er informed her, "The bank isn''t open yet, Miss."

    Yujia internally groaned. She glanced over at the box of taels, then at the closed doors of the bank. "We have no choice but to return home now, do we?''

    Hui''er nodded, then added, "There''s a medicine shop right next to the bank, though. Miss, do you want to buy some medicine with your extra taels, or should I escort you back home and go buy the medicine myself?"

    The world was becoming a little more still now that she wasn''t walking, and had a chance to stand and rest for a moment to discuss with Hui''er. Yujia blinked twice, then nodded slowly back at Hui''er. "I think¡­ it would be better to buy medicine right now. No need for you to run an extra length just to send me home right now. Plus, it will be easier to diagnose my symptoms here."

    As they began to walk to the medicine shop next door, Yujia instantly regretted her decision of moving any part of herself. All of a sudden, the world began to spin even more than before, completely throwing her off balance. Her eyelids began to droop down as well.

    She was tired. So tired.

    Yujia couldn''t even stop herself as she felt her eyes completely closing shut and her balance toppling over. The last thing she saw before pure darkness was a flash of light blue.

 131 The Fourth Miss is Not a Simple Beauty

    Her eyes opened up to the familiar ceiling of her own bedroom.

    Yujia paused, trying to remember what had exactly happened. A few colors flashed in her mind, with light blue being the one that stood out to her the most.

    Her head flinched to the side when she realized she had passed out while the five hundred taels were in Hui''er''s hands. She saw that Hui''er sat next to her, holding a basin of water and a towel, her eyebrows flying up when she saw that Yujia had woken.

    "Miss!" she exclaimed. "You''re awake quicker than I expected."

    "How¡­ long did I faint for?" Yujia struggled to push herself up as she spoke, but Hui''er quickly pushed her back down.

    "You''re still weak, Miss. You shouldn''t get up¡ª keep lying down."

    Yujia''s eyebrows creased with worry, sharply asking, "What about the taels? Where are the taels? Are they safe?"

    Hui''er nodded, gesturing to a slender wooden box on the table behind her. "Yes, yes. I even exchanged it for five gold taels. And to answer your question from before, you''ve been asleep for¡­ less than an hour?"

    "Then, let me deliver this to my father!"

    Yujia tried to get up again, but Hui''er pushed her down once more, shaking her head. "Get some rest first. Besides, the Old Master¡ª"

    Before she could finish her words, she paused at the sound of someone entering the room. Immediately, both her and Hui''er turned to look at who it was.

    Yu Zixu.

    The moment she saw his face, Yujia blinked a couple times to make sure she was seeing the right face. Yet there was no mistake to what she was seeing¡ª a pair of dark eyes, pale and thin lips, and the sharply defined structure of his face¡ª this was Zixu, no doubt.

    But why was he here?

    Unless¡­ Yujia was hallucinating?

    Hui''er waved away Yujia''s suspicion of hallucinations by calling out, "Young Master Yu! You really didn''t have to."

    She stood up and walked over to Zixu, who handed a tied package of medicine over to her. Quietly, he informed, "The directions for the prescription are with the package."

    Yujia slowly stared at him, taking in the light blue color of his robes. Ah . She pieced two and two together, coming to an understanding of what may have happened for him to be in her room right now. Still, though, it was awkward to see him here. Wasn''t he afraid of damaging both of their reputations?

    Seeing that Yujia had a lack of response, Hui''er apologetically said to Zixu,  "My young miss must be shocked." She swiftly hurried back to Yujia, whispering under her breath, "Miss, Young Master Yu was the one who caught you when you fell and carried you back to the villa! He also went back and bought you medicine at the shop. If it weren''t for him, I really wouldn''t know what to do!"

    Yujia paused, eyeing Zixu with the corner of her eye. "Why would he do that? Isn''t it overstepping his boundaries to do all of that for¡­ me?" If it was Xiaoyi who was in her situation, she would understand, but heavens, she was going to marry his father the very next day if something went wrong.

    Hui''er shook her head. "It''s a hero saving the beauty¡ª the most natural of things!"

    Upon hearing Hui''er say that, Yujia internally regretted some of the past words she told Hui''er. After telling Hui''er that she was from the future, Yujia also told Hui''er many stories from the future, with some of them coming from stories she had read or watched. She specifically mentioned the "hero saving the beauty" trope, and then told Hui''er about how after the hero saved the beauty, the beauty always dedicated her whole life to him.

    Of course, Yujia told this story in a mocking manner. How ridiculous was it for someone to decide the ending of their whole life to someone they barely met just because that certain someone saved them? Even so, Hui''er seemed to be really interested in it and remembered her words. She even brought it up last night when they were talking as they ate the cakes, making fun of how now that Yu Zixu saved her in the water, some things were bound to occur¡­

    Yujia immediately shut down those dangerous ideas.

    Except now, hearing all of this again, Yujia felt her cheeks burning up. It was funny when Hui''er mentioned these things when the two were alone, but not when a certain young master was right next to them, in the same room! Now, it was just pure embarrassment!

    "Remember Miss," Hui''er hummed quietly, "since the hero saved the beauty, then doesn''t the beauty have to¡ª"

    Instantly, Yujia coughed very, very loudly, cutting Hui''er''s words off before she could say anything else. "Hui''er, can you please go¡­ cook my medicine, or something? I have some things I want to discuss with Young Master Yu."

    Hui''er agreed to Yujia''s request with a nod, standing up and spinning around, then headed out the room. She seemed more than willing to leave, but not before giving Yujia another mischievous grin.

    The younger girl liked teasing Yujia a little too much. With the relief that Hui''er wasn''t here to blabber any more nonsense, Yujia shook her head and smiled a little at the thought of some of the things Hui''er said.

    Now that Hui''er was gone, Zixu walked closer and sat down on a stool facing her. They still maintained a respectful distance. Yujia propped herself up against one of the poles of her bed once he sat down.

    "I seem to owe you twice in a row now, don''t I, Young Master Yu?" Yujia tilted her head and sighed.

    Zixu shook his head. "The first time didn''t count. It seemed as if you had no positive emotions after our encounter. The second time¡­ it cannot be counted as saving you either. I was merely doing what any¡­ normal human would do." A wry smile appeared on his face. "Didn''t you say that it was human nature to be kind?"

    Yujia paused, recalling the angry and muddled words she told him yesterday. "But I don''t intend for you to go against your personal ethics just to follow my point."

    "Well then, I''m not following your point just to follow your point," he pointed out, "I gave a lot of thought to it, and I think that your logic made sense. So now, here I am, trying to be a better person. How would you rate my level of good-person-ness? Ten out of ten?"

    Yujia couldn''t hold back a brief laugh. "I didn''t know you had a humorous side to you, Young Master Yu."

    Zixu blinked. "Then Miss Yang, I guess now you do." He glanced down at his hands. "I heard from your maid about details involving my father and your future. Are you¡­ certain that you can succeed in your goal?"

    "There are no certainties to anything, but I''m fairly positive. Things should work out well, and if they don''t¡­ I could say that I don''t have any interest in marrying into the Yu Household. So rest assured, Young Master Yu, I wouldn''t become your father''s concubine and be at a generation higher than you." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    "That''s good to hear." Zixu smiled a little more warmly, now.

    "Though, there is one thing I want to know," Yujia continued, "It''s been on my thoughts for a while. I wish the best for my younger sister, so I hope you understand the reasoning behind my question¡ª what are your true intentions of taking the Fifth Miss as your wife?"

    The smile on Zixu''s face vanished. "What do you mean, Miss Yang?"

    "You don''t seem like the type that''s willing to settle with someone of a lower status than you. It''s clear to the public that the Yu Household is doing the Yangs a large favor, with my family being lower on the ranks of merchants. What point is there in marrying Yang Xiaoyi when I''m sure that you could settle with so many better choices of main wives?" Yujia pressed her lips together. "I don''t want my younger sister to be mistreated."

    Zixu looked her straight in the eye and replied with conviction, "That delves into deeper matters about business, which I believe I cannot explain to you due to confidentiality. However, I can assure you, Miss Yang, that I have no intentions of mistreating your younger sister. The matters of marriage are not set in stone yet¡ª not even the betrothal gifts have been sent¡ª but regardless of whether or not she will become my main wife, her status would not interfere with how I run my future household. You may see me as someone who only looks at power and wealth, but I treat my future partner, who will stay with me until both of our hairs whiten, differently. Business and this are two different matters."

    Yujia still wasn''t completely assured by his answer, but she had to admit that it was somewhat more comforting to know that he didn''t have ill will towards Xiaoyi, at least based on what he said.

    She coughed, and leaned more on the bed post, her eyes closing and her brain wanting to fall asleep. All this talk was making her tired, so she simply let Zixu keep talking.

    "About your illness, I already talked with your maid about your symptoms and discussed them with a doctor, who gave me a prescription to the medicine shop. Make sure you follow your maid''s instructions about when to drink your medicine. And there is no need to worry about my presence here either. I came in through the side door, and it is too early for anyone to notice that I''m here."

    Yujia opened her eyes, smiling a little at Zixu while she felt like tons of iron were being pressed down on her eyelids and telling them to go back to being closed. "You''re¡­ being too kind that I''m almost suspicious."

    "No, like I said before, I''m just trying to become a better person by your standards. It''s the first step to being morally righteous, don''t you think?" He cracked a grin.

    "If you say so¡­ then I''ll be your kind teacher¡­ who tells you about your kindness scale¡­" Yujia''s words mumbled together. She could barely stay awake, much less comprehend the exact words that she was saying. The sudden drowsiness came on too quickly.

    Zixu''s words trailed off to a quiet whisper too, or perhaps Yujia was just too tired to hear properly either. "I''ll be leaving you to rest, then," he seemed to murmur.

    Yujia heard footsteps signifying his departure. She immediately buried her face back into her pillow and welcomed the comfort of sleep.

 132 The Fourth Miss Tries to Get It Over With

    Hui''er returned soon with a steaming bowl of medicine, but of course, this was when Yujia had already fallen asleep. By the time that Yujia opened her eyes again, the medicine had cooled.

    As Hui''er brought the medicine to her, she described some things to Yujia. "I read the prescription that Young Master Yu brought for you, and it''s really a good one. The herbs used are all top-notch and very expensive. They treat symptoms of fever, dizziness, and just the common cold¡ª so Miss, as long as you keep drinking the medicine, you''ll get better soon!" She beamed brightly.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Yujia, who leaned against the pole of her bed, took the bowl of medicine from Hui''er''s hands and brought a wooden spoonful of it to her lips. Upon taking her first mouthful of medicine, she immediately gagged, wanting to spit it out so bad but being unable to since Hui''er''s reminder about the cost of the medicine made the terrible tasting mouthful seem way too precious to spit out.

    The concoction of herbs tasted overwhelmingly bitter, so much that Yujia swore she never had a single drink that was as bitter as what she tasted just now. She took pills frequently from the Fourth Miss''s necessary medicine, but since they were pills, they were nothing compared to the liquid mix of pure pungency that she just tasted. With pills, she could swallow them without tasting much, but since the medicine she took now was like the consistency of soup, there was no way of avoiding the bitter taste.

    Heavens, even the aftertaste was disgusting.

    Yujia made an obvious face of unpleasantness. When Hui''er saw this, she asked, "Miss¡­?"

    As a response, Yujia could only look down at the murky mixture inside the bowl, replying, "You should try how horrible this tastes."

    Hui''er immediately shook her head and raised her hands, pointing out, "Miss, this precious medicine is for you. How could you waste such a valuable thing on a healthy person like me?" She smiled a bit, as if she knew exactly how bitter the medicine would be. "Besides, they do say that the more bitter the medicine, the more nourishing it is. Quick, if you drink it fast, maybe you would taste it less. But if you keep slowly drinking it spoon by soon, you would suffer for longer."

    Yujia nodded slowly. There was some logic to what her maid was saying.

    She stared at the bowl for one more long, drawn out moment, then decided that it would be better to follow what Hui''er said.

    Grabbing the two sides of the bowl and setting the spoon aside, she raised it to her mouth and chugged all of it down, bracing herself for the terrible taste to come.

    Sure enough, the bitterness attacked her like a crashing wave. And it seemed like Hui''er was wrong¡ª though the onset of the bitterness was quick and sudden, it didn''t leave the same way. The aftertaste clung to her taste buds, making Yujia stretch her mouth out wide to try to minimize contact of her tongue with any other part of her mouth.

    Drinking medicine had never seemed so bad before.

    Hui''er noticed Yujia''s lasting discomfort. She reached behind her with a grin that wouldn''t vanish, then pulled out a tied paper package that didn''t look so different from the one that carried the medicine. Yujia eyed the package, her gaze hesitant.

    "What''s that?" she asked.

    She watched as Hui''er unlaced the strings and peeled apart the thin layers of oil paper, revealing a delightful surprise within it, contrary to the herbs that Yujia was expecting to see more of.

    Inside the package were many candied fruits, with there being a variety of kinds. Some were red dates,  some were pear, some were peach, and some were persimmon. The varying shades of dark red, vibrant light yellow, and rich orange were all very visually appealing to see together, especially with the layer of sugar dusted on all of them.

    Hui''er''s smile almost went up to her eyes while she explained, "Eating some candied fruits after drinking bitter medicine is always a good idea!"

    Gratefully, Yujia took a few candied pieces of peach from Hui''er, using it to take away the bitterness of the medicine. The pure sugary sweetness washed down all the bitterness, making Yujia instantly feel a lot better. It had been a while since she had fruit or anything candy-like too. "Thank you," she told Hui''er.

    "Don''t thank me!" Hui''er repackaged the fruits, saving them for later. "This was something that Young Master Yu told me to deliver to you. He said that eating candied fruits might make you feel better about how bitter the medicine was." She played around with the loose string around the package. "You know, Young Master Yu is very considerate. I can''t believe he even paid attention to small details like this."

    "Right." Yujia nodded, agreeing. Yu Zixu always had a sharp eye for detail.

    And thinking about it, when her mind was clearer, she really needed to thank him. Though he said earlier that she didn''t owe him anything, the thought of thanking him completely slipped her mind. The next time she saw him, she would be sure to express her gratitude.

    Yujia waited for the last bitter taste to disappear before bringing up one of unanswered thoughts from before. "Hui''er, like I said before, I want to deliver the taels to my father as soon as I can. I want to get it over with right now."

    Very plainly, Hui''er answered, "I''m afraid you can''t. The Old Master is not in the villa right now."

    "Then, we''ll deliver it to Madam Zhang."

    "Do you¡­ really trust Madam Zhang?" Hui''er said, her gaze slanting. "I¡­ wouldn''t."

    Yujia thought back to the things that Hui''er experienced with Madam Zhang, seeing that there was some logic with Hui''er''s words. The Madam of this household really couldn''t be trusted right now.

    But still, for her father to be out on the day before her marriage and the end of their agreement¡­

    "Can you keep an eye out for me, then? Tell me when he comes back?" she requested to Hui''er.

    Hui''er agreed and assured, "I''ll definitely do so. Miss, you should keep resting for now, though. Even before the marriage, health is the most important. Especially with your body so frail, you should get rest to make sure you don''t get any sicker."

    "I will." Yujia smiled warmly. "Don''t worry."

 133 A Lot of Thoughts From the Fourth Miss

    Evening came, yet the Old Master still hadn''t returned.

    By this time, Yujia was a bit tired of getting rest. She spent a lot of time convincing Hui''er that she really just needed an opportunity to stop lying down and to get out of her bed before her maid finally let her get up and walk a few paces around the room.

    As Yujia paced, worries began to appear in her mind. It was a bit pecuiliar for the Old Master to not return to home for dinner, but when she talked to Xiaoyi, who visited a few moments ago, about it, Xiaoyi assured her that that''s what their father did occasionally, especially when business talk took a while and he needed to eat dinner with his business partners. Even if the Yang Family wasn''t the richest, the Old Master still worked so hard day by day, so coming home in late hours weren''t that uncommon of a thing, especially since he was talking about some new business opportunities recently.

    Still, however, regardless of when he returned home, Yujia was determined to wait. She needed to get this money off her chest and the deal finalized before she could get any rest. And while the sky grew darker and darker outside, more and more worries appeared in her head. She tried to walk each worry away with a step of pacing, but that didn''t seem to work out either¡ª the more she paced, the more worries she had.

    Finally, after a little less than half an hour, she grew tired of pacing and took a seat at the table in her room, nervously tapping her fingers on the box that held the five gold taels and her entire hope for the future.

    She had so many things that she wanted to do. They went from small things, such as creating oil paint, to larger goals, such as exploring the ancient lands to enrich her perspective and experience, an idea that came to her recently.  If she couldn''t buy her way out of the marriage, then she would either have to wipe away all of these ideas of freedom, or resort to her last option: running away.

    Yujia didn''t want to run away for a couple of reasons. The main one was that she still wanted to know the exact history of her body, to try to solve the mystery over her background and perhaps come up with some puzzle pieces over transmigrating. She knew that she liked this current life of hers a lot more, but she also wanted to prepare herself for in case there was a possibility of transmigrating back to her old world. Yujia didn''t want to accidently trigger that transmigration process, so she had to know what it was.

    And therefore, she had to purchase her freedom.

    Hui''er sat down next to her, across the table, looking at the box as well. She looked back up at Yujia''s face, taking in her expression.

    "Miss, don''t worry too much," she assured, "It''s going to work out."

    "I really hope that it does," Yujia said with a cough. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Yujia was about to pick up some sort of conversation to ease her mind¡ª perhaps to ask Hui''er if she would be interested in travelling with her in the far future¡ª but before she could, Hui''er suddenly stood up. The chair behind her scraped loudly against the floor. Yujia looked at the other girl and found that she had her eyes fixed on the paper windows.

    Hui''er pointed at one of the windows, her hand shaking. "I¡­ saw a shadow pass by¡­ just now¡­"

    Yujia immediately sat straight, her posture tensing. "What? Don''t scare me."

    "I''m¡­ not joking."

    That was when they heard a knock at the door.

    Their two eyes met, and silently, they reached the conclusion that Hui''er would go open the door to see who it was. Yujia watched Hui''er walk slowly to the front of the room. She then pulled open the door by just a crack.

    A moment of silence passed, then Hui''er exclaimed, "Oh, it''s just you, Manyu!"

    Upon hearing this, Yujia let out a deep breath of relief. Manyu was one of the maid friends that Hui''er recently made up. They had a confict in the past that broke their relationship to a point that Yujia didn''t think was going to fix, but apparently they did just yesterday.

    This was something that Hui''er told her about as spare conversation, and though Yujia remembered how much Hui''er cried after Manyu framed her of thievery, she only gave a few warnings to the other girl. She couldn''t dictate who Hui''er chose to associate herself with¡ª the only hope she had was that Manyu truly became better to Hui''er and repented for her past actions.

    Yujia heard the two of them talk some more by the door. As Yujia listened to their conversation drone on, she felt her posture relaxing again. She tucked the box underneath her arms and leaned the side of her head against her arms, thinking.

    She thought about many things. Her future. Her friends. Her family.

    Midway through her thoughts, she caught the scent of something sweet in the air for no particular reason. It was a strange sort of sweetness¡ª the kind of sweetness that belonged to not any type of fruit or flower that she knew of. The stranger thing was the sudden emergence of this new scent in the air as well. Where did it come from? What was it?

    Confusedly, Yujia sat straighter, taking another sniff of the air. It really was a confusing scent that she¡ª

    Her thoughts couldn''t even finish, for in the next second, she blacked out.

 134 Dream Fragments of the Fourth Miss

    Yujia was in a land of white fog. Stretching from every corner that she could see was billowing white fog, rising up to her knees and rolling over her bare feet as she walked through it. She looked down and saw herself dressed in not white robes, which she would be familiar with, but a white dress that was almost contemporary. The thin material cut short at her knees and hung from her shoulders in thin straps. Though the blurred air that she touched felt cold to her fingertips, she felt oddly numb from the cold.

    Her thoughts were all muddled. All of her attempts to think clearly fell apart¡ª she didn''t seem to want to think much at all. The only thing she knew was that she wanted to walk through all of the fog, into the endless whiteness. The desire to walk almost felt like an instinct, something she had to do for no particular reason besides the feeling tugging at her heart.

    She walked, and walked, and walked.

    Time flowed by like the slow motion of the fog. Her motions felt fluid, each step that she took feeling quite like she was walking on air. There was a sense of weightlessness enveloping her.

    After much more walking, Yujia finally looked down, noticing that the fog had parted at her feet, revealing a reflective surface, shining like a mirror, beneath her.

    In the mirror, she saw her own face. Not the face that she had gradually grown used to, the face of the Fourth Miss with all her slender and delicate features, but the rough structure of her true face. The face she carried for twenty-four years of her past life.

    It felt like a long time since she saw that face of hers, the one with all the imperfections that she constantly noticed and hated about her past self. Some things about it seemed changed though¡ª maybe it was the remaining bits of fog shifting the appearance of the reflection. The skin on her face looked smoother, free of the blemishes or redness that bothered her so much in the past. Her eyes seemed darker, and the persistent dark circles under them had vanished. Her lips held color to them for once, instead of being pale and colorless.

    Yujia lowered herself to her knees, one of her hands reaching out to brush over the face reflected back at her. She tried to fit herself into the identity of the Fourth Miss so much that she nearly forgot about this face.

    Yet with the thought of the body of the Fourth Miss, the face in the mirror-like floor shifted with rippling motions like water. The eyes of the face grew larger. The nose grew slimmer, and so did the lips. The skin of the face turned even paler and more flawless. The eyebrows became willow-like, and the eyelashes framing the eyes lengthened.

    Just like the previous face that Yujia saw, she knew this face as well. It was the exact face of the Fourth Miss. Yujia stared at the face, her heart racing in her chest with¡­ was it terror? Or no, pure surprise.

    It wasn''t the sudden change that surprised her, or the shocking difference between the two faces. Rather, she was surprised by exactly how much more familiar the face that she saw now was. This was the face that she saw for the past month every single morning while Hui''er did her hair. It was the face that she caught occasionally when she glanced at reflections in the water, or a smooth metallic surface. Somehow, because of all of that, she felt like the face in the reflection was more hers.

    Yet she carried her previous face for more than twenty years. How could this newer, prettier face that she only owned for a month seem so much more like her face? Why was it that when she tried to think of what she looked like, this was the first face that she recalled?

    With these new questions that emerged in her mind, the face reflected below her began to shift chaotically. Each of the features flashed back and forth between the two completely opposite features of the two faces that Yujia owned. They clashed together in a complete mess, looking like they belonged more in an abstract piece than a face from reality.

    Yujia could only stare at all of this in horror.

    Eventually, the shifting paused. The face settled on the face that Yujia knew from modern times, the one that seemed more foreign to her.

    That was when a dim shadow loomed over her kneeling figure.

    Yujia looked up, seeing herself. Or, actually, the Fourth Miss.

    It was''t a reflection. This part was clear. The person who stood over her was another entity, dressed in white robes with long sleeves that fluttered in the breeze. It looked exactly like the body of the Fourth Miss that Yujia knew, except it had two pairs of swirling silver orbs in place of her usually dark irises.

    Remaining in her kneeling position, Yujia found that she couldn''t move in front of this person. Her body was frozen in place. She couldn''t even raise the strength to lift a single finger. All she could do was to look back at the other.

    When the body in front of her opened her mouth, Yujia expected to hear the light voice that she was used to speaking in. Instead, she heard a rumbling voice as deep as thunder. The voice echoed though all of the endless whiteness, and the world trembled from it.

    " What have you learned? " it asked.

    Yujia found that she could open her mouth. Shakingly, she replied, "I¡ª"

    What has she learned? What a strange question. Had she learned anything?

    Seeing that she was hesitating in her answer, the voice continued firmly, " Not enough. You have not learned enough. "

    It waved its hand, almost as if it were ready to dismiss Yujia, but Yujia''s eyes suddenly widened. Her thoughts cleared in an instant, her consciousness rushing back to her and taking in the situation within a second. She found that she could move, and her hands reached out instinctively.

    "Wait!" she cried out, "Who are you? What do you mean by what I''ve learned?"

    For some reason, Yujia seemed to just know that this person was not anything ordinary¡ª and that it had the answers that she needed.

    " Too late ," the voice echoed again, " All too late ."

    It backed away a step. Yujia''s eyebrows tightened, and she flinched, reaching out to grab the sleeves of the person as if that could keep them from leaving.

    Yet, right before her eyes, Yujia watched as a few white chrysanthemums sprouted out of the two eyes and fingertips of the person she grabbed, growing at a rapid speed until the entire body was encased with the flowers. A breeze blew by the tower of chrysanthemums, and then, the shell of chrysanthemums scattered to the floor.

    The person simply vanished. It only left flowers behind.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Yujia found herself gripping onto a few white petals in her hands instead of the fabric that she was expecting. She stared at the petals, her hands trembling.

    The world then fell apart.

    ¡­

    When Yujia woke up, she found that her neck hurt. She blinked a couple of times and raised her head. As she rubbed the back of her neck, she looked around the room filled with sunlight.

    That was when Hui''er appeared in her vision, shouting, "Miss, the taels¡ª they''re¡ª they''re gone!"

 135 The Fourth Miss In Red

    Needless to say, Yujia panicked.

    Her first action was to search every corner of the room. Upon seeing that she couldn''t find the box of taels anywhere, she then proceeded to interrogate Hui''er which led to some interesting discoveries that Yujia connected with the little that she remembered.

    She recalled just blacking out after catching some sweet scent in the air. The next memory that followed that was waking up when it was already late into the morning. Hui''er''s experience seemed to be fairly similar as well. When she finished discussing with Manyu, she walked back into the room and immediately felt drowsy, then passed out on the floor. Hui''er woke up only a few minutes before Yujia did.

    With the fact that they both simultaneously passed out, and that the taels were gone, Yujia could only come to one conclusion: she had been drugged with something that had to do with sleeping, and while she was passed out, her taels were stolen.

    There was no time to afford for thinking too long on these matters. On a typical day, Yujia might have even spent some time thinking about the dream she had and piecing together all the tiny details, but she definitely didn''t have any time for that either.

    Without spending more than a second to prepare herself, Yujia ran out of the courtyard, heading in the direction of the courtyard where the Old Master lived. She had to explain herself¡ª if she could just get one more day¡ª or no, a couple more hours¡ª she could get the taels to him. She just need some more time. Any amount of time would do.

    But when she arrived at the courtyard, all she was met with was the face of Madam Zhang. The Madam placed one of her hands onto Yujia''s shoulder, then spun her back around to leave. "It''s your wedding day, Fourth Miss," she said with a sly smile, "Why be so rushed to come to this courtyard? I''ll be sending all your wedding materials soon. No need for any hurry."

    Yujia turned herself back around, speaking a little breathlessly, "I had the five hundred taels¡ª five gold taels¡ª yesterday night. They were right next to me. They''re¡ª gone now¡ª though¡ª"

    "How, then?" Madam Zhang raised her thin eyebrows. "It''s not like your taels grew legs and walked, was it?"

    "Thieves!" Yujia exclaimed, "It must be thieves!" Her thoughts raced through her head. "Right, do you remember¡ª a few weeks back, the incident with the thieves? It was never solved. There must''ve been some thief who targeted my taels¡ª"

    "And conveniently decided to steal them right at the night before the marriage? How was it that this didn''t happen earlier on? And, Fourth Miss, you never reported any numbers back to us from the start of the deal. Whether or not you truly had the set amount of taels is a skeptical truth. How do we know that the thieves that you claim so fervently are not just an excuse to make up for the fact that you never made it to the promised amount?" she replied, her voice sharp.

    "It''s just that¡ª" Yujia struggled to explain herself, but before she could say anything, Madam Zhang cut in again, her voice turning softer.

    "Fourth Miss¡ª no, my darling daughter ¡ª it''s alright. It''s perfectly alright that you didn''t come up with the five hundred taels. It''s such an impossible task after all." A sigh escaped from her lips.

    Yujia''s eyes widened. She never expected for this sudden attitude change from Madam Zhang. "So it''s okay? I don''t have to be married?"

    "Oh, no¡ª when did I ever say that?" The older woman''s eyes widened as well. "No, I just meant to say that it''s fine that you never came up with the amount since you should be satisfied with your marriage anyways. You''re already getting much more of a ceremony than typical concubines, and you can rest assured that the Yu Family is a good family to marry into. Now, now, why don''t you hurry back to your courtyard and prepare yourself for the marriage? Perhaps say goodbye to one or two people, if you need to?"

    "I won''t get married!" Yujia exclaimed, sick of dealing with this woman. "Let me talk to the Old Master¡ª my father¡ª"

    "He''s still sleeping. And I''m sure that he''ll have the same response that I do." Madam Zhang waved her hand.

    By now, Yujia was clinging onto every last strand of hope desperately. "It''s already so late in the morning¡ª surely he''ll be up by now¡ª please, just let me speak to him¡ª"

    "Fourth Miss, I''ll say this one last time, return to your courtyard. I won''t have you delaying your ceremony with all this nonsense."

    "I need to speak to him! I won''t be going through any ceremony." Yujia stepped forward.

    "Yes, you will." Madam Zhang clapped her hands, and two servants emerged from behind her, grabbing Yujia by her arms. Instantly, Yujia began to struggle, trying to push the hands of the servants off of her, yet to no avail.

    "Fourth Miss, if you will please return," the servants murmured.

    Yujia''s eyes frantically glanced back and forth. "No¡ª"

    "Well then, I didn''t want to do this, but I''m afraid I have to," Madam Zhang mused with a sigh, tilting her head. "Escort the Fourth Miss back to her courtyard, lock her in her room, and watch over her until the entire ceremony is carried out. I won''t be having any disorderly brides today."

    "Wait¡ª what¡ª no¡ª" Yujia proclaimed in protest, but it was already too late. The obedient servants began to drag her away despite all of her struggles.

    The last thing that Yujia saw before she turned around and finally gave in to the servants dragging her was the cold smile on Madam Zhang''s face.

    ¡­

    They had brought in robes of red a few hours after dumping Yujia into the room, locking the front and only doors in the room shut tight. Not even Hui''er, despite both of their loud cries of protest, was allowed to stay in the same room as Yujia. This left Yujia completely alone with her pure chaotic thoughts in the middle of her room, pacing back and forth until one servant brought in a tray with folded red robes.

    The servant who brought the robes left just as quickly, leaving Yujia to stare at the clothes.

    The situation that Yujia was in felt almost eerily unrealistic, as if she was a withdrawn outsider who wasn''t going to get married to some old man. Yujia''s fingers caressed the soft red silk fabric of the robes, looking at the bits of embroidery that peeked through the layers of red. The tailor did an excellent job.

    Yujia would''ve loved to wear the robes, if only she were in a different situation. But now, the more she stared at the robes, the more they were like a haunting realization of the reality that she was in.

    The doors to her room were locked. Yujia was alone.

    She seemed to be lost in thought, but that was when Yujia looked up and saw the windows at the back of her room. She knew how to open them, and surely they weren''t locked. If she just planned things out carefully¡­ then what she had in mind could definitely work.

    So, that was what it was going to have to be, wasn''t it? Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

 136 Escape Plans of the Fourth Miss

    Yujia admitted that leaving wasn''t her most preferred decision. Firstly, she didn''t want to leave people like Hui''er or Xiaoyi. Secondly, and more importantly, it seemed like there were many mysteries left in this household. Some of them could potentially reveal things about her transmigration, which was an even larger mystery that she wanted to solve. She was also dead set on figuring out the exact thief of her taels. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    But now, where a few hours later, her future would be set in stone, there was nothing better to do than to run.

    Carefully, Yujia walked to the direction of the window that was at the very back of her room. To an almost overly cautious degree, she pushed the window open just a bit, testing to see if it was locked or not. It was open.

    Now that she knew that she had an exit, there was still the problem of the servants that guarded her doors. If she pressed entirely against the side of the wall, they might not notice her, but it also didn''t mean that she was shielded from the sight of all the other servants in the courtyard. Those walking by would notice her trying to slip out of her window. That was the downside to being in the exact same courtyard as the kitchens.

    However, there was one positive to being in the current courtyard that she was in¡ª the back door to the Yang Villa was also located here.

    Yujia calculated the exact route across the courtyard to measure how long it would take for her to run from window to back door. If she timed it just right, then she could probably make it without being noticed, as long as she had a little bit of luck as well.

    With this mental plan sprouting in her mind, Yujia stepped back from the window. Since she had a plan, she needed to work quickly. She didn''t know when any servants might come in to check on her or prepare her for the marriage ceremony, so she needed to take advantage of the time she had right now while she still could.

    Yujia rumbled through a few of the cabinets first, pulling out a large square fabric that would''ve been used for some sewing or whatnot. She then took a few essential clothing items: the fancy set of dyed green and peach robes, a set of blue robes, and a few undergarments. On top of the small stack of clothing, she put her box of art supplies and a few pills that Yujia knew were crucial, especially since she knew that she was still pretty sick. Other than that, as Yujia stared at the lack of possessions she really had to carry with her, she glanced over at the stack of wed redding robes. By the side of the robes were a few intricate gold hairpins and accessories to match the robes.

    She might as well take those hairpins with her and sell them later for money. Besides, they were technically hers, so it wouldn''t be a bad choice to take them so she could earn a few extra taels, right?

    With that thought, Yujia grabbed the accessories and dumped them onto her stack of possessions. She tied the fabric up with a simple knot, then slung the makeshift bag over her shoulder. She also tucked a satchel of the remaining taels she had into a pocket by her chest.

    After packing everything up¡ª which took no more than three minutes¡ª Yujia spent a few more minutes debating if she should just leave, or if she should make a few other preparations.

    She decided to go with preparations.

    With a spare brush, Yujia scribbled a brief message to Hui''er on a piece of loose paper. She then stuffed the paper in a corner of the cabinet where Hui''er kept her embroidery. She knew that this message would be something that the girl would find.

    Once that was finished, she dressed herself in a set of maid''s robes that belonged to Hui''er and styled her hair to a mediocre maid-like bun too. This was a disguise that she thought up just a few seconds ago. Hopefully, as long as she kept her face subtly down while she was walking from the window to the back door, people wouldn''t notice her presence that much.

    The next challenge that truly rose was how Yujia was going to get herself out of the window. Now that she came to one of the final steps of her plan, she realized how small the window was for her to go through in a quiet manner. She ended up propping the window up, silently lowering her bag down first, then getting a stool to help her slide through the window.

    After a few long moments of struggling passed, Yujia found herself, somewhat out of breath, but also successfully out of the confining room. At this moment, she never felt more relieved to see a blue sky. She also never felt more conscious of her poor physical stamina, and how even the slightest bit of physical activity led to immediate breathlessness. It could be because she was still sick with a cold, but even so, a part of her knew her lack of physical capability.

    Yujia added curing her illnesses and exercising onto her to-do-list of the future.

    As Yujia leaned against the wall, waiting for the perfect opportunity to make a run for it, she silently decided to herself that she would eventually come back to the Yang Villa and solve the mysteries behind everything. Now just wasn''t the time for it. She shouldn''t feel sad for leaving Hui''er and Xiaoyi without saying goodbye¡ª she would meet them again in the future. She knew it.

    At the end of that thought, Yujia clung her bag of possessions close to her, assuming the posture of a maid. Attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible, she made her way across the courtyard to the back door.

    Surprisingly, Yujia found herself walking out of the villa without any difficulties at all. Nobody called her out for anything, which she was insanely grateful for. Within only a few moments, Yujia found herself successfully walking out into the main street, completely blending into the crowd.

    Was escape this easy? She expected something wrong to happen, but seeing how flawlessly everything went, Yujia felt a little more confident now.

    The only issue now was where she was to head. She could head out of the capital. She definitely had enough taels to afford her safe passage. Yet at the same time, she remembered her promise to return to the Yang Villa to track down some clues. The scenario she was in left for only one place for her to go, off the top of her head.

    Yujia set off in the direction of Lingxin Pavilion. Time to bid a hello to her master.

 137 Ah, the Fourth Miss is Truly Thankful

    When Yujia arrived at Lingxin and went in the direction of where her master could be, in one of the residences of Lingxin, she was pleasantly surprised to find up, considering that it was still somewhat early in the morning. The moment her master saw him, he gave her not the warm welcome she expected, but rather quite a large scowl.

    "So, you ungrateful brat¡ª finally decide to visit me now?" He lounged against his chair, cracking a sunflower seed between his teeth.

    Yujia smiled awkwardly and replied, "Master, it''s not that disciple is unwilling to visit you. It''s just that life has really been busy."

    "Peh, excuses." He spat the shell of a seed out, then grabbed another from his hand. "What are you here for today?"

    Yujia paused. "Well, it seems to be that I can''t return to my home anymore¡­ so I was wondering if I could¡ª"

    Halfway through her speech, he cut in, "You what?" He leaned forward, focusing his attention on her. "Say that again?"

    "Well, it seems that I can''t return home since I''m¡­ running away¡­ and if I don''t, then I''m going to get married to an old man who''s almost your age¡­"

    Yuija then went on to tell him her entire story under his command to do so. At the end, her master was sitting completely straight. He smacked his hand loudly against the table a moment later.

    "Nonsense!" he declared, "Utter nonsense! How dare that pathetic family bully my precious disciple? You should''ve left earlier! Or fought back!"

    "Well, I''m here now, so¡ª"

    "Want me to go back to destroy those trash families? I have connections that could flatten both the Yangs and Yus in one swipe! Then, they''ll get to see what the consequences are for trying to play games with my disciple!"

    "Ah, Master, that''s really not necessary."

    "Who do they think you are? Who do they think I am? Am I someone who others can threaten the direct disciple of? No!"

    "Ah, Master, they don''t really know about my connection to you."

    "What? Why? I can bet if you told them about me, then all of them would be trembling at your feet instead of having you here, kneeling in front of me right now! Why haven''t you told them earlier? You could''ve canceled that useless marriage earlier too without even wasting a single tael. Besides, you could''ve asked me for the taels earlier too! Five hundred is nothing to me! Why work so hard to get them?"

    "Ah Master, this disciple is truly grateful for your offers, but really, it''s unnecessary to cause so much conflict. All that really matters is that the past is the past, and there''s nothing that can be done about it¡­"

    Her master wrinkled his nose. "Why, you sound even older than me. When did you become so philosophical? Don''t be sprouting that rubbish in front of me right now; I''m not in the mood to hear it. My day has been bad enough as is before, with that other little brat acting up too¡ª why is it that both of you are acting up on the same day?"

    "Oh, Senior Brother?" Yuija thought about Yunhe. It had been a while since she talked to him too. What could possibly be wrong with him? From what she knew, he seemed like a fairly unproblematic person. The most issues he ever had was minor animosity towards a few individuals, but nothing too serious.

    "Kid, I''m really not in the mood to talk about him. It''s so early in the morning and I already have two headaches. This reminds me why I don''t like to wake up early," her master lamented.

    It seemed like her master really was in a moody temperament today. He seemed more easily irritated than usual, his responses as a result becoming more vehement as well. Now really didn''t seem like the time to have deep conversations with him, since he was resting in such a shallow manner in his anger.

    "Do you know where I can find Senior Brother?" Yujia asked. Second best option if she wanted to talk things out with someone, she supposed, especially since she did want to know what had been up with him lately, and what exactly it was that he said to their master to make him into such a bad mood.

    "Probably sulking around somewhere near here."

    "Alright." Yujia stood up, dusted off her knees, and bowed to her master. "Thank you to Master for talking with me this morning."

    Seeing her respectful attitude, her master cracked a smile. "Sure, sure. Now go chase after him, tell me what he''s been up to and if he''s come to his senses yet."

    Yujia was about turn around to leave, but then she remembered what she came here for. "So, Master, is it alright if I stay¡ª"

    "Of course!" He nodded and waved his hand. "What sort of Master would I be if I didn''t even let my disciple stay at my school at times of need? I''ll have a residence prepared for you."

    Yujia smiled again, this time with a warmer one. It was a comforting feeling to see that despite the fact that she temporarily lost her old home, at least she still had Lingxin to go to.

    She bowed to her master again, and with a few extra words of gratitude, she spun around and went to look for Ye Yunhe.

    At first, Yujia headed to the Lingxin Pavilion just to see if he was there. To her surprise, he wasn''t. She checked in the Lingxin library as well, but found that there was no sign of Yunhe''s presence either. Following those two locations, Yujia truly had no idea where Yunhe could be. If she really wanted to find him, she would have to look through the rest of the academy, which was surely an arduous task. Plus, if he happened to return to his own private residence, Yujia couldn''t barge into his courtyard either.

    This left Yujia to simply wander through some of the gardens in Lingxin, both as a way to find Yunhe if he happened to be walking on the same path as her, and as to collect her thoughts.

    It truly was a little bit surreal to think that her marriage could''ve been very well progressing at this moment. They could''ve been dressing her up in those red robes right now, but here she was, walking in Lingxin without too many worries.

    She wondered if people noticed her disappearance yet. She wondered if the household had begun to panic, and if they sent people to look for her. She wondered what Hui''er might think once she heard the news that Yujia had ran away.

    Oh well.

    These things were nothing more than pure speculations in her head. A pity that she missed the party and wouldn''t be able to see all the drama unfold in person. But at the same time, it really wasn''t something to be missed either.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    The moment Yujia set these thoughts aside in her head, she saw Yunhe sitting on a boulder by the side of the path she walked on. It was framed by the shadow of a tree looming over it. He sat with his face buried in his hands silently, almost as if he was a statue sculpted with the rock.

    Yujia paused in her steps, calling out tentatively, "Senior Brother?"

    Abruptly, Yunhe flinched as he looked up, as if he didn''t even hear her footsteps approaching him. His eyes widened when he saw her. "Junior¡ª Junior Sister. It''s been a while. I didn''t expect you today."

    Yujia noticed that his eyes were tinted with red at the edges.

    "I didn''t expect to see you here either, Senior Brother." Yujia sat down at another boulder, which was opposite of him and across the path. She hesitated again before asking with careful words, "Is¡­ something wrong? I talked to Master and heard from him that there seemed to be a disagreement between you two? Or something else?"

    Yunhe froze. He glanced away before glancing back up at her, completely wordless. His lips parted as if he was trying to think of what exactly he was going to say, but no words came out either. Finally, after a long moment of inner debate, he began.

    "Junior Sister, do you know the feeling of loving someone and knowing that you can never be with them?"

 138 Love Advice, Mass Chaos, and the Fourth Miss

    "What do you mean, Senior Brother?" Yujia paused, looking at him with hesitation in her eyes. She didn''t expect for this to be the topic. Surely, her master wouldn''t be that concerned with the love life of Yunhe?

    He seemed to take a long time to think his answer through too. "There''s¡ª this person, except they will never return my feelings, no matter what."

    "How so?" She tilted his head, sighing, "With Senior Brother having a good family background, good looks, and such talent, if you devote your time to chasing after somebody, why would she not fall for you?"

    He groaned, combing his fingers through his hair. "Well, it''s not that simple. It''s¡ª not even a ''she'' in the first place¡ª"

    Oh.

    Yujia blinked twice.

    So that was the case?

    She knew that back in her modern society, Yunhe''s sexuality would not have been too welcomed by the majority, especially amongst the older generations. That was just how things were. Yujia, on the other hand, didn''t really have a stance on these matters, but she knew that this was a much more open topic in ancient times. The thing she didn''t know, though, was if it applied to this world, since the time period she lived in seemed to not exist in the timeline she was used to.

    Based on what she had seen so far, she thought that there wouldn''t be any problems for Yunhe. It seemed like many things in this other world were the same as the things in her universe.

    Regardless of society''s attitude, Yujia decided she would support her Senior Brother. After all, it was only right for a Junior Sister like her to do so, right? If it weren''t for Yunhe''s downcast expression, she would even feel a little bit in the mood for gossip just to take her mind off of the marriage ceremony that was surely falling apart at the Yang Villa.

    Giving him an encouraging expression, Yujia stated, "I don''t think it matters even so. Who is it, Senior Brother? Maybe if we talk things out, I can give you some advice from my perspective?"

    "It''s¡ª" Yunhe kept his eyes cast to the side, his hands wringing. He clearly was going through a thorough inner debate about whether he should tell her or not. Finally, he settled on an answer. "It''s Jiang Muyun."

    Jiang Muyun? Wasn''t that his Junior Brother, Yujia''s Senior Brother, and the disciple under Yunhe''s father? Yujia''s impression of him was fairly well, and she knew that he came from a very highly esteemed family too¡­

    Oh.

    That was when she realized what Yunhe meant by never being able to be with Jiang Muyun. Surely, taking in male concubines wasn''t that big of a deal, but which elite family would be alright with having their son become a male concubine for another? She could understand the causes of Yunhe''s dilemma now.

    Yujia blinked twice again.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, in the Yang Villa, mass chaos was occuring.

    It started with a middle-aged maid going into the Fourth Miss''s room to see if she could help her with getting dressed and preparing her hair, or carrying out some of the beginning good-luck rites. She walked into an empty room.

    A few moments later, Madam Zhang caught news about what had happened. Her face immediately paled as she stormed towards the direction of the South Courtyard to see if things were truly as the servants reported. At there, her face only paled even more.

    Swiftly, she yelled at a servant, "Go call the Old Master up! Hurry!"

    Her fingers dug into her palms and her knuckles turned white.

    ¡­

    "Do you see now?" Yunhe exhaled deeply. "His father is the first rank Minister of Rites. My father is prestiged, but much lower. He already has his wife and concubines. There is no way that anything serious can ever happen¡ª Master and Father want to engage me to a lady from the Rong Family¡ª it''s all hopeless. Completely hopeless."

    It must''ve been matters of engagement that infuriated her master. Yujia could connect the dots.

    "When did you start liking him?" she asked.

    "I¡ª I don''t know." He flushed red. "For a long time, I guess. But I''m not delusional¡ª I know it''s never going to be a happy ending for me¡ª so I''ve been trying to push down these feelings, to tell myself that all he will ever be to me is my Junior Brother, and I to him as Senior Brother. Except the human heart doesn''t work that way. It always wants things that it can never have."

    Yujia suddenly recalled the words Yunhe told her in the past, when she had a conversation with him about his romantic life. Back then, he said that " someone who doesn''t care about how our relationship is perceived by the public, even if by other''s standards, we are not supposed to be together " would be his ideal person.

    Was this what he meant all along?

    ¡­

    The Old Master of the Yang Villa woke up groggily, but his senses immediately cleared after he heard the news from the servant sent by the Madam.

    The servant hadn''t even finished her words when he leapt out of bed, hastily rushing out of his room and in the direction of the South Courtyard without even bothering to put on proper robes. Upon seeing Madam Zhang standing, waiting for him, he gripped her shoulders and demanded, "This is a joke. It has to be a joke."

    "It''s not," she flatly replied. She attempted to conceal her emotions from her face, but he could tell from the way that color was completely drained from her cheeks that she was panicking on the inside too.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    "What do we do?" He let go of her and began to pace. "Yu Jianhui isn''t the type to bear this type of shame on his face. If he hears about this¡ª that we were even incapable of stopping a daughter from escaping¡ª then our business deal is over."

    "I know." She grabbed his hand. "But now is not the time for panic. We must act fast. How far do you think she can run to? We must send people to look for her right now."

    "Right, right." He smacked his forehead.

    Madam Zhang waved her hand at the group of servants who were guarding the doors of the Fourth Miss''s room "What are you fools still standing there for? Guard the room, guard the room¡ª you couldn''t even stop her from escaping, so what''s the point of guarding the room now, when she''s gone? If you all still value your lives, go collect all the servants in the household to go out and search for the Fourth Miss!" she barked, seething.

    ¡­

    Yunhe confessed, "I don''t know what to do. I really don''t know what to do. On one side, my heart is telling me one thing, but on the other side, I have my duty as my father''s son to continue the Ye Family."

    "Why don''t you just settle with a wife right now, and find other people in the future? Jiang Muyun can''t be the only one." Yujia tightened her eyebrows.

    "I tried¡ª I thought I told you¡ª I had an engagement in the past. It didn''t work out at all. I don''t feel anything towards women. I don''t want to ruin the future of any girl who marries me just because of my own personal feelings. It would be selfish for me to do so, to marry someone just for the sake of having a wife under my name, knowing that I can never give her the marriage, the relationship, that she deserves."

    He looked up, and his eyes filled with deep sorrow met with hers. It seemed like the thoughts that he had all related back to his previous engagement, that was still cancelled for a reason that Yujia wasn''t sure about, but had hinted ideas of.

    All of sudden, Xiaoyi''s blushing face surfaced in Yujia''s mind, as she talked about the feelings she had for Ye Yunhe. Xiaoyi¡­ what would she think if she knew about this?

    It was complicated. Far too complicated.

    Yujia was about to say something else, but seeing that Yunhe''s head was down again, she really couldn''t bring herself to utter any words.

 139 An Empty Sedan for the Fourth Miss

    Yujia let there be silence for a while. Both her and Yunhe needed some time to think and take in their own thoughts. When the timing seemed appropriate, she finally stated, "I don''t think you know yet, but I''ll be staying at Lingxin for a while."

    "Really?" He raised his eyebrows.

    Yujia nodded, then continued, "I¡­ haven''t told you the complete truth of everything. I was actually engaged to¡­ um¡ª the Yu''s Old Master¡ª as his concubine. I made a deal with my father that as long as I could earn five hundred taels by a deadline, I would be able to buy my way out of the engagement, but I guess that it didn''t work out. So here I am now."

    Yunhe looked at her incredulously. "This is not¡­ a joke?"

    "I''m afraid not."

    "Does Master know?"

    "I told him a few moments ago, before talking to you. So, yes." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    "That''s¡­ shocking to hear. Truly shocking."

    Yujia shrugged. "I figured it would be. My bad for not telling Senior Brother sooner."

    "No, I understand." He shook his hands in front of him. "It''s hard to find a good time, a good opportunity, to tell something. I''m glad I know now." Yunhe paused, then went on, "You can''t be allowed to be here, right? Did you run away?"

    "Indeed."

    He folded his hands. "Well, you''re smart for coming here. Your family won''t search all the way here, and even if they receive word of your location, they wouldn''t be able to barge into the academy either. Lingxin''s not an easy place to force one''s way in."

    "That''s what I was thinking," Yujia agreed.

    "And you''ll be staying at the residences?" He pointed a figure in the direction towards the north. "Did Master arrange a room for you yet? Do I need to?"

    "No need, Master has. But thank you, Senior Brother."

    He smiled gently. "That''s good to hear. No need to thank me. I''m just afraid that you won''t be used to living at Lingxin. It must be very different from the life you''re used to back at home, and we don''t have many female servants either¡­"

    Yujia let out a brief laugh. "A female servant is not the biggest worry of mine, Senior Brother. As long as I have a place to temporarily stay, I''ll be fine with any conditions. Surely, Lingxin Academy has better conditions than the little run-down courtyard I was given in the Yang Villa? I didn''t lead the most pampered life back then."

    She thought back to Hui''er. It would''ve been nice to have Hui''er with her right now, more of as the role of a companion than the role of a servant. But, considering that she was "on the run", her current conditions were nothing to complain about.

    "Since I''m here, if Senior Brother ever needs any help, I''ll try my best to help!" she added on.

    "Then Senior Brother thanks Junior Sister for the thought." Yunhe sighed with a soft smile, standing up from the boulder he sat on and brushing his robes off. "I''ll go tell my father about these living arrangements. He should know."

    "Of course."

    The two exchanged a few more words, then Yunhe left. Yujia watched his disappearing figure, then glanced down at her own hands.

    Lingxin Pavilion, Lingxin Academy, Lingxin.

    It was really going to become her temporary home now. She wondered how different her daily schedule would be now, simply because of the change in location. She also wondered how well the Yang Villa was faring at the moment.

    There may have been some panic and mess because of her sudden disappearance, but Yujia didn''t expect anything too dramatic. She was only an illegitimate daughter, an insignificant concubine. Her running off was sure to cause inconveniences, but it wouldn''t be anything too bad in the long run, she supposed. So, she hoped a little that the villa wasn''t in too much chaos.

    ¡­

    The Yang Villa was in absolute chaos.

    At this point, things had descended into madness.

    There were, in fact, quite a few things on the line if the Fourth Miss couldn''t be found.

    First, and perhaps the more insignificant part, was the Yu Household''s relationship with the Yangs. It would be highly embarrassing for the public to know that the Yu''s Old Master let his future concubine run away, and that he wasn''t able to bring her back. As a result, the close relationship the Yu and Yang families had was sure to deteriorate, even if only by a little bit. The Fifth Miss and Young Master Yu''s betrothal could become delayed as a result of the actions of today''s event as well.

    Second, the matter that meant a little more to the Yang Family was their reputation. The Second Miss was already enough of an embarrassing matter to the family. Yang Yichen¡ª or as she called herself now, Wu Yichen¡ª ran away to join the army after a marriage. If the public knew that now the Fourth Miss, Yang Yujia, ran away as well, how much shame would that bring to the Yang Family? Wouldn''t the other families in the capital know them now as the family with daughters who kept running away?

    With these two factors combined, it was needless to say that both Old Master Yang and Madam Zhang were not having a very splendid time.

    Two hours had already passed since the Fourth Miss was declared missing, and not even her shadow was caught by a single person. All the servants who went to look for her only came back without even any idea of where she could be.

    How was the Fourth Miss, so sickly and frail, able to run away and disappear from the capital so quickly?

    The Old Master and Madam looked at each other, struggling. A few more hours later, it would be time for them to send off the Fourth Miss. Except, how could they do that when all they had was an empty sedan?

    All of a sudden, Madam Zhang''s eyes flashed. "That''s it. The sedan. If by the time for the marriage, she still doesn''t show up, then we can just send an empty sedan over as a last resort."

    "An empty sedan?" The Old Master shrunk his head back. Then, he gave it another thought, and nodded slowly. "You''re saying that to cover up the fact that she''s missing, we send the sedan over as if she was in it, and nothing was wrong?"

    "Exactly. I''m sure that Old Master Yu can be somewhat understanding of our situation, as long as neither of our reputations are damaged. To the public, it may seem like the Fourth Miss already became his concubine, but only the insiders to our two families would know the truth. It wouldn''t be too difficult of a matter cover up, until we find the Fourth Miss. Besides, it''s impossible for her to vanish forever¡ª we''ll find her eventually. We just need some more time."

    The Old Master nodded again. Madam Zhang had logic to her words. She always had good ideas, in his eyes.

    That was how it was decided that the marriage ceremony would proceed as normal, only with an empty sedan.

    ¡­

    While all of that was happening, a low rank government official followed by a few other officials was making his way to the Three Inks Shop, holding the Emperor''s decree in his hand. When he arrived, he only saw a somewhat empty shop with a clerk at the front counter, fiddling with a brush in his hand.

    Clearing his throat, he stepped into the shop and declared to the man behind the counter, "Are you the manager?"

    The clerk, bewildered by the sudden appearance of this government official, immediately flicked his gaze over to the golden silk scroll held in the official''s hands. His eyes widened, dropping the brush in his hand and walking around the counter, then dropping to his knees.

    "This small one¡ª yes¡ª I suppose can be considered something like a manager. But this small one is not the true owner, who has departed for the moment."

    The few customers in the store followed suit, dropping to their knees and knocking their heads at the floor as well at the sight of the golden scroll.

    "Well then¡­" The government official cleared his throat again, rolling out the scroll and reading the words written with careful calligraphy out loud. "Under the Emperor''s proclamation, the invention known as the ''pencil'' has brought something revolutionary to the history of Xiang. From this day, it shall be mass produced and spread throughout the empire, to promote its revolutionary properties. Furthermore, the inventor will be responsible for supplying the palace and officials with these pencils. As a reward, twenty gold taels will be issued. Three Inks Shop, accept the edict¡ª"

    The clerk looked up, raising and taking the golden scroll, his hand trembling. He knocked his head against the floor three times.

    "Three Inks Shop is honored to receive this praise, and will do its best to carry out the Emperor''s words."

 140 Finale of the Fourth Miss

    Five days passed.

    Throughout those five days, Yujia heard some news.

    Somehow, the marriage ceremony proceeded. This was the first piece of news she heard after asking around, and apparently, the public knew that the illegitimate Fourth Miss of the Yang Villa married over to the Yu Household as a concubine. She barely found any rumors about it at all, most likely because it was only a small ceremony of a concubine, not the true marriage of a wife. On that day, there had only been a red-clothed sedan going through the streets, and that was it. It was enough of an everyday sight as seeing a farmer sell his vegetables.

    Yujia was one of the only ones who seemed to take note and find the entire thing particular. After all, how was it possible for her to marry the Yu''s Old Master when she was sitting in Lingxin right now, as single as can be?

    Nevertheless, the Yang Household seemed to play some trick that the public bought.

    Yujia also heard something just as peculiar¡ª the betrothal of Yang Xiaoyi and Yu Zixu was put on hold. Originally, things were progressing normally¡ª the Yu Household was preparing to send betrothal gifts over to the Yangs. However, before even those beginning stages could occur, it was publically announced that the betrothal would be cancelled, in a way. There was still the possibility of the two getting back together, but for now, the entire procedure was delayed, and both could go find other partners if desired.

    This timing definitely had something to do with Yujia''s little marriage-failure. It had to. Yet without a proper source, Yujia still found it difficult to get any good information, and could only speculate about it.

    On the topic of marriages, the date for the marriage between Bo Zhiyuan, Yujia''s first commissioner, and Zhou Luowei was also set to be a few days later. Because of this, Yujia didn''t want to bother his younger brother and business co-owner, Bo Zhizhong¡ª she would pay him a visit after his brother''s marriage ceremony was over. Anyways, Yujia was still happy for Zhiyuan and Luowei. From what she saw when she sketched Luowei''s portrait, the two were a very loving couple who were sure to have a successful marriage.

    Yujia passed those three days doing some miscellaneous things. She chatted with her master and senior brother at times. Other than that, she kept inside her residence most of the time to not draw too much attention¡ª she didn''t go anywhere public to prevent people who knew her identity from wondering what she was doing out here. She worked on creating some oil paints, sketched some brief sketches, and began work on a complicated painting.

    Life was very simple, and surprisingly stress-free. It was startling for Yujia to see how different it was to have the feeling of nothing really weighing her down. She didn''t have to worry about paying rent or art supplies. She didn''t have to worry about buying her way out of a marriage she never wanted.

    For now, all she could do was to draw and paint.

    So, that was what she worked on. Bit by bit, Yujia rediscovered the joy in creating art, not for any motive such as making money or improving an art supply, but just for fun. It was a joy that she lost for a long, long time and finally began to pick up again.

    By the end of those five days, Yujia finally decided to take a step out of the academy. This decision came along with some careful identity-masking through covering half of her face with a veil and keeping her head down to prevent too much attention from being drawn to her. She didn''t know if people were still out looking for her in order to drag her to the Yu Villa.

    The first place that Yujia dropped by was Three Inks Shop. Upon seeing her, the clerk, Gao Yi, hurriedly rushed from behind the counter, carrying a large and seemingly heavy box. He greeted her with a deep bow, then explained in a rushed tone, "Boss, I haven''t seen you or the other boss for so long. And¡ª so many things have happened¡ª" He nudged the box towards her. "It''s hard to explain. You should open that up."

    Yujia did. She was instantly greeted with the sight of twenty shining golden taels, as gleaming as the sun''s rays.

    At that very moment, she swore that her jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

    She stared at the gold taels for a very, very long period of time. Once she recollected her senses, she was only able to come up with some jumbled words afterwards. "Wha¡ª what¡ª where did this¡ª all of this¡ª come from?"

    Gao Yi explained everything carefully to her, from the Emperor''s decree to the arrival of the reward.

    While he explained, Yujia ran her fingers across the perfectly molded taels, marvelling at the sight. She swore that her eyes teared up a little out of pure emotion. This many taels¡ª it took her a month of stressed, busy work to barely come up with five gold taels, a feat she doubted was replicable in the future. Yet here were twenty gold taels sitting right in front of her, all of a sudden.

    And what was the reason behind these taels in the first place? The Emperor? How had the Emperor discovered her pencils?

    This felt too surreal.

    ¡­

    Yujia spent most of the morning and afternoon talking things out with Gao Yi and making arrangements to follow the Emperor''s decree, as well as scheduling a meeting with Bo Zhizhong. This was definitely something she needed to talk to her co-owner with.

    When all of that work was said and done, Yujia left Three Inks with a significantly improved mood.

    If she knew that she had twenty gold taels¡ª the equivalent of two-thousand silver taels¡ª just waiting for her in the shop, she would''ve gone sooner!

    As she walked down the street, keeping her thoughts happily occupied with the idea of all the money and recognition, her eyes caught on a booth with a sign that labeled it "fortune-telling". An old man with a wispy white beard sat at a table at the booth, calculating the fates of any potential customers. Out of pure curiosity, Yujia found herself drawn to the booth. After watching one individual having his fate calculated and exclaiming how accurate and grateful he was, Yujia felt more intrigued by the fortune teller.

    It wouldn''t hurt to see what this old man had to say about her past and future, did it? It would be entertaining if he managed to catch an idea of her transmigration journey as well.

    Thus, a moment later, Yujia sat herself down in front of the old man. Carefully, she unveiled her face and laid her palm on the table, as she saw the previous customer do.

    The old man peered at her silently, with narrow eyes, then looked down at her open palm. He stared at her palm for a particularly long time, all in complete silence.

    As the minutes ticked by, Yujia found herself growing a little nervous. With the previous customer she observed, the fortune teller only looked at his face and palm for a split second before coming to a conclusion. Why was he taking so long for her? Did he actually catch an idea of the supernatural forces in her life?

    Right when she began to have her doubts, the old man finally spoke.

    "Child, I am afraid I cannot tell you your fortune."

    Yujia drew in a breath, tensing up. "What¡­ do you mean?" This was not an answer she expected.

    He sighed, shaking his head. "Your fortune is too contradictory. A face that tells for great ambition, power, and wealth, yet a palm of a short life ridden with disease and pain. And even more, your life has shifted too much against fate''s will¡ª I can only decipher so little from the mess I''ve been given. Throughout my entire life of calculating fortunes, I''ve only come across one other person like you. You have played the dangerous game of tampering with fate, child. In fact, it could be said that you have no fate¡ª you have erased your destiny from the deities'' plans."

    "That''s¡­" Yujia shrunk back, her expression still with shock. So, she had no fate? She had no destiny?

    "This old fortune teller cannot do anything to tell your fortune, child." He sighed again, and waved his hand, signaling for her to leave, almost in a defeated manner.

    ¡­

    When Yujia returned to her room in Lingxin, she sat down at a table, poured herself a cup of tea, and stared blankly for a long time.

    It was as if the fortune teller''s words made her suddenly recall the dream she had on the night she had her taels stolen. It was a strange dream, as strange as what the fortune teller told her.

    For a long time, Yujia simply thought about the dream, trying to make sense of the blurry details. She thought about the past as well, about her life in the Yang Villa as the Fourth Miss.

    The Fourth Miss¡ª that was an identity she tried to hard to fit into. Except, at the same time, she also tried to keep herself separate from the standards of society. How was she able to accomplish these contradictory things? It would have been impossible. And where had masquerading as the Fourth Miss landed her? Nowhere good.

    Yujia paused, resting her chin against the palm of her hand.

    Could she even still call herself the Fourth Miss, now that the public knew the Fourth Miss as one who became a concubine? There was no point in still trying to fit into that identity, was there? Besides, did Yujia even want to become the Fourth Miss, one who had done so many condemning things in the past, who was so much different than the person Yujia was and the person she strove to be?

    Deep inside of her, Yujia knew the clear answer to all of those questions.

    Sitting there, in the room and all alone, Yujia made a silent decision to herself.

    Piece by piece, she peeled the identity of the Fourth Miss away from her heart. She may have shared the same body as the girl once known as the Fourth Miss of the Yang Villa, but their minds and souls were different. Too different. All along, she simply shouldn''t have tried to morph herself into this alternate identity in the first place.

    And so, Yujia came to her silent decision, her final conclusion.

    Yang Yujia, the illegitimate Fourth Miss of the Yang Villa was no more. From now on, there was only the Yang Yujia that she knew from the very start, the Yang Yujia she had hidden deep within herself for all this time.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    The thought of this brought a light smile to her lips, except she didn''t spend too much time pondering about it.

    Instead, she set the cup in her hand down, picked up a brush, and began to work on completing her painting.

 141 The Artist Learns How to Pain

    On the sixth day that Yujia stayed at Lingxin, she went over to her master''s residence with a completed painting in her hand. She worked on it for quite a while, in comparison to some of the mountain paintings that she finished in an hour or two.

    This painting focused on something that Yujia hadn''t worked much on before. Contrary to her usual vague scenic paintings, this one depicted a detailed, up-close branch of soft pink plum blossoms next to two jagged boulders. She drew it with inspiration to a large plum tree planted in the middle of the courtyard she stayed in. Though the flowers had long fallen off, she could still imagine how beautiful the sight would be when they bloomed. Thus, she decided to paint them.

    Over the past few days, she spent a lot of time in the outside air of her courtyard, observing the branches of plum and sketching them for reference. Then, a day ago, she began to paint once she was certain that she had enough of an understanding of the structure of the tree.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Yujia found that there were definitely a lot of benefits to staying at Lingxin, if one were to consider for the sake of art. Almost every single area that one could find at the academy was picturesque with all sorts of flowers and plants. Once Yujia was finished with mastering how to paint the plum trees, she would move on to learn how to paint all the other plant specimens. This made sure that she always had something to do. She would never run out of things to paint.

    The courtyard that Yujia resided in wasn''t too shabby in other aspects either. It wasn''t just all the greenery planted throughout that made the courtyard a marvelous place to live in. Everything else about it was also tended to in a careful manner, from the wood used to create the floors, walls, and ceiling, to the perfectly matching furniture and decoration within the rooms.

    In fact, perhaps the best of all, was that the entire courtyard belonged to Yujia. She didn''t need to share it with anyone else. It was definitely small in size, but there were three separate rooms within the courtyard: a bathroom, bedroom, and overall living room. This was a definite upgrade in comparison to the South Courtyard that the Fourth Miss lived in, where all the functions of daily life was jammed into one small room.

    The bathroom was what Yujia found most stunning. In it was a large carved out bathing area on the elevated floor where water could be deposited. She tried it out when she first arrived, and it definitely felt more luxurious than anything she ever encountered so far. A wooden tub just couldn''t compare to an almost pool-like structure existing for only her use. It was also nice to know that she could take frequent baths¡ª it seemed like staying clean was the greatest luxury of all.

    It was also the existence of this structure also made Yujia a little curious with everything else in the courtyard. Somehow, everything seemed more¡­ technologically advanced. The bathtub could hold hot water, even temperatures outside were chilly, for an extended amount of time. The chamber pots were attached to the floor and had a rudimentary "flushing" function, involving a small well of water built into the bathroom itself and a water scoop. The drawing desk in the living room had a drawer built underneath it to store supplies like brushes. The bedroom had a mini-fan that functioned like one in the modern world as long as one pulled on a string that made the blades in the fan spin.

    This certainly raised Yujia''s suspicions. Everything was still crude enough to resemble lots of the objects in this time period¡ª there definitely weren''t televisions or electricity-powered things¡ª except the ideas, such as a flushable toilet and a fan with spinning blades, mimicked some of the things that could be found in modern times. To any normal person living in this time period, things may seem a little peculiar, but not too attention-catching.

    Yujia, meanwhile, wasn''t any normal person. To someone like her with a taste of modern life, there was an obvious sense of familiarity to the objects in this particular courtyard that her master gave her.

    Keeping her suspicions in mind, Yujia decided that it was yet another mystery to add on her list of things to solve. She wasn''t sure what the reason was behind all of this, or even if there was any reason in the first place. Since she was heading over to her master to ask for critiques, perhaps it would be a good idea to ask him?

    Quickly, however, she paused these thoughts when she arrived at her master''s courtyard. It wasn''t too far from Yujia''s courtyard, and she memorized the structure of the residences at Lingxin fairly well too.

    There were two main "villas", one where her master resided alone, and one where Ye Yunhe and his father lived. Yujia was organized to live with her master, since he had many empty courtyards. He lived in the Osmanthus Courtyard. Yujia was given the Plum Courtyard. There were two other courtyards: the Lotus Courtyard for other guests, and the Winter Courtyard for servants. Conveniently, her courtyard was situated adjacent to her master''s, so it didn''t take long for her to arrive.

    Now that all the matters involving her marriage ended and she was fairly stress-free, Yujia finally decided to spend some time with art. Along with the reawakening of her passion for art, Yujia also began to want to truly improve, for the first time in years. She created artwork not for the purpose of profit, but her own growth in skill. This was a sensation that felt almost foreign to her.

    Putting her painting down on the table between both of them, Yujia greeted her master briefly and showed him the piece that she had been working on. Hesitantly, she inquired, "How¡­ do you feel about it?"

    Her master looked up at her, then moved his gaze down on the painting, staring at it for a long, tense moment. Yujia felt that her palms began to sweat as she waited for his response with both worry and a desire for praise. It would be a reassuring feeling for someone to acknowledge all of her hard work with this one painting.

    Instead of giving his instant opinion, her master asked back, "Did you paint the plum tree in your courtyard?"

    Yujia nodded.

    Seeing her response, he sighed, then stated his next words with a blank gaze.

    "This painting is trash."

 142 When the Artist Creates Trash

    "Ah."

    Yujia glanced at the painting, glanced down at her two hands, and glanced back up at her master.

    Well, that was something nice to hear. Getting her hard work called trash wasn''t the best feeling, especially when she expected something nicer, but if she were to think positively, it meant she had room to improve, right? And though Yujia would''ve replied with more of an attitude if anyone else said it, it was her master who spoke that sentence.

    Thus, even if she wanted to get angry, she technically couldn''t .

    "You want to know what''s bad about it?" he continued, raising his eyebrows.

    Yujia lifted her brows as well. "Please do tell."

    Her master ran his fingers along the painting, sighing deeply once more. "You attempted to depict the branches of plum in your yard, yet you drew red flowers on a plum tree that only blossoms in white. By the sixth principle of Xie He, Transmission by Copying, there is already something conflicting about this¡ª how could you know how to capture the true beauty of this blossoming tree if you have never seen it bloom? Besides, you have no idea of the history behind the tree¡­ you could not capture the true age of it either." Her master tapped the central trunk in the painting. "What I see right here is a young tree, barely old enough to have a magnificent bloom, yet the tree that you attempted to paint was a tree almost seventy years old."

    Seventy years old? Yujia stared at her painting for quite a while, trying to decipher exactly what went wrong. How was one supposed to paint the age of a tree?

    Carefully, she noted, "So, you''re saying that if this painting was not supposed to depict the tree in the courtyard, then it would be alright as a young tree?"

    "Well yes¡­" her master mused, "and no. Yes that you managed to get around two of the six principles completed decently¡ª but as for Transmission by Copying, Correspondence to the Object, Bone Method, and Spirit Resonance¡­ it is truly lacking. Do you understand what I mean by this?"

    Yujia shook her head. She knew that she needed to study the Six Principles still, especially after she failed spectacularly on it during the entrance examination to Lingxin. The only problem was that she never truly got to it. Most times, she simply forgot they existed.

    While she painted, she never really spent much time considering the Six Principles. It just wasn''t something she was used to doing in her past artistic career. She painted to create lively and visually appealing pictures, not to consider how much enlightenment one would receive after viewing her work. Her customers who bought her work didn''t look so deep into it, so she didn''t herself.

    Her master, upon seeing her response, sighed again and shook his head in disappointment. "You must study them if you wish to advance. The colors, values, and tones are excellent, as well as the composition. But you must also practice your Bone Method." He paused, looking up. "Do you know why the masters of painting are considered masters?"

    Yujia remained silent, shaking her head.

    "Because they have spent years, decades, practicing and focusing on specific things. Their effort into achieving true greatness with their art is all the result of countless hours, day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year of hard work. They do not strive to be able to paint everything to true likeness, but to capture a few small movements of life within their work, to as much as human capability allows. How many days have you spent practicing the plum tree?"

    "Less than a week."

    "Less than a week¡ª do you see now, child? You have tried to perfect something within a week that few could perfect through their lifetime. I evaluate your work not in a way to flatter you or to raise you up on an imaginary pedestal. I score this piece as if I were judging the work of a master, because only with high standards will you improve." He reached forward and patted her hand reassuringly. "So do not take it to heart when I criticize this painting like such. I''m sure that you''ve put lots of effort into this, yet it will take much, much more effort into creating true art. You have a long journey ahead of you, so do not expect instant mastery. Understand?"

    As the words sunk in and Yujia thought about her past values, she realized that her master did make sense. Why was she so reluctant to accept this other world of art which valued the Six Principles and much more different things than the art she was used to in the modern world? If she wanted to improve her work in this time period, then she should not judge and paint in the same way as she did in modern times, where she painted for profit. Not only were the two motives behind creating art different, but her master had a set of beliefs that would only work if Yujia shared the same beliefs as him, to allow him to pass his ideas on.

    At first, she admitted that she was a bit crestfallen to hear her master call her painting trash, but she could see now that he had every right to. Her painting was trash, compared to the great works that painting masters created. It would be unreasonable for her to say anything else, when she still didn''t truly comprehend how to paint plum trees.

    She was so used to receiving praise over her work. Now, though, standards were different. The plum painting in front of her which would''ve received much praise in the past was now held to the standards of the masters, which she strived to improve to the level of. As a result, the value and skill level of her work drastically changed as well. What was once a sophisticated painting by her previous lower standards could only be considered as the messy work of a beginner by the current standards her master held her to.

    "Master." Yujia clasped her hands and acknowledged, "I will keep your words at heart, and keep striving to improve! I understand what you mean."

    He smiled warmly. "Ah, that''s good, that''s good."

    Now that the conversation over the painting Yujia created had come to a conclusion, Yujia rolled up the painting and stashed it next to her. Then, she chose to ask the question she thought about right before she entered her master''s residence.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    "Master, allow this disciple to be a bit curious, but I can''t help but notice that the courtyard you allowed me to reside in seems a little¡­ peculiar, in some ways. I don''t think I''ve seen many courtyards similar to it before. Why is that?"

    The warm smile dropped off her master''s face. His eyes glossed over, as if reminiscing the past, but then he blinked, and the glossiness vanished.

    He forced a stiff smile on his wrinkled face, asking softly, "There is indeed a background behind why the courtyard has some of the things it has. You want to know the truth?"

    Yujia nodded eagerly. "Yes!" She always wanted answers.

    Liveliness seemed to jump back into his expression. He grinned teasingly and made a face. "I''m not going to tell you."

    "What?" Yujia''s expression dropped, her eyebrows knitting together. She should''ve known that it wasn''t so easy to get the answers she wanted.

    "¡ª right now. I''m not going to tell you right now," her master added, "If you want to know the story behind it, then you must work hard on improving your art! Drill the Six Principles into your head, then create a week''s worth of plum tree studies. Then, I''ll tell you a part of it. Fair?"

    She had to wait a week to know the ending? It was truly a little unbearable now that her master dangled the truth in front of her, yet still refused to convey its entirety to her.

    But, thinking about it, a week''s worth of work would be worth it. She recognized her master''s attempt at creating an incentive for her to keep studying art. Plus, there were many mysteries that Yujia faced that would not solve themselves within a week. A week truly wasn''t that long of a time.

    With that encouraging thought, Yujia nodded with a bright smile. A week''s worth of learning for a precious story was not a bad deal at all.

 143 A Long Conversation With the Artis

    Yujia didn''t immediately jump into working on creating her study-sketches. She had a meeting with Bo Zhizhong to deal with first, scheduled for around this time in the afternoon. Thus, once she set everything down in her room, she put on her veil and headed out.

    The good thing was that Three Inks was right outside Lingxin. She barely had to walk until she arrived. Surprisingly, instead of being greeted by the face of Gao Yi that she expected right when she usually arrived at the opened front doors of the shop, she was greeted with closed doors.

    This was a strange sight. It was right in the middle of the day, right at the peak of business, so why was the shop closed? She looked down and saw that there was even a lock around the middle of the doors. Yujia stared at this lock for a few seconds, remembering that Zhizhong gave her a key for a door in the shop. She pulled this key out from her pocket¡ª the good thing was that she carried it with her¡ª then stuffed it into the lock.

    It didn''t fit.

    Yujia spent a solid few minutes trying to figure out why this key that was supposed to open the lock was completely unable to fit in more than two notches into the lock. After those minutes passed, she suddenly recalled that there was a back door to Three Inks too. There was a possibility that the key he gave her was the one to open that one, since he never specified which door the key was supposed to open.

    Still, before Yujia walked to the back of the shop, she knocked on the door a couple times just in case there was someone inside. In return, she was greeted with silence.

    It seemed like there was no one in the shop, then. She would have to hope that the key worked with the back door.

    To Yujia''s delight, the key did work. She unlocked and set the lock on the side while pushing the door open. As she walked from the storage room to the main section of the shop, she found the quiet stillness of the shop a little bit unfamiliar. She was so used to seeing customers coming in and out and Gao Yi working behind the counter.

    Her gaze first went to look at the rows of pencils in the shop. It seemed like Zhizhong hadn''t arrived yet, so she had to find something to do to keep herself occupied during this time. When he arrived, Yujia also made a mental note to ask him why the shop was closed¡ª there were surely some reasons for that.

    Except, when her gaze slid to the counter, she flinched a bit with surprise by someone there who she completely missed the first time she looked around the shop.

    Zhizhong was at a chair behind the counter, sleeping with his head cushioned by his arms, which rested on top of the counter. He was fast asleep next to a scroll of paper and ink, and he had been so quiet and unresponsive that Yujia hadn''t even noticed him until now. So, she admitted that she was a bit startled to suddenly notice that he had been her this entire time.

    Seems like, yet again, Zhizhong arrived before her. He was early like that, and this time was no exception.

    Yujia walked over to the counter with quiet footsteps, taking off her veil as she did so. She picked up the paper that was next to him, reading what seemed like a couple of messy calculations. She couldn''t particularly comprehend what these calculations were for¡ª the mathematics of ancient times were too different from modern mathematics¡ª so after a few seconds of deciphering, she placed the paper back down and looked over at Zhizhong.

    Even now, when she was standing right next to him, Zhizhong was still sound asleep. He had faint dark circles under his eyes, but other than that, his face looked perfectly peaceful as he slept quietly. The way he slept was completely tranquil¡ª the kind where he almost looked dead if it weren''t for the subtle rise and fall of his chest.

    As Yujia observed his sleeping face, a bit unwilling to wake him since he looked like he was taking a good nap, she realized how young Zhizhong was. With all the business and co-ownership deals that she worked on with him, Yujia developed a fair impression that Zhizhong was more mature than some of the people of the same age as him in the modern world. She also never truly stared at his face for long periods of time. That would''ve been rude.

    Yet now, since he was sleeping, Yujia took in his soft features and skin, finally connecting his physical appearance with the age that he told her. Despite all the grown-up things that he did, Yujia realized that he was, in the end, still an eighteen year old boy. Based on her actual mental age, Yujia could practically be his older sister if she had a younger brother like him.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Ah. People were forced to grow up too fast in ancient times. Or¡­ was it the other way around? Perhaps people in the modern times were just too sheltered throughout their teenage years?

    Whichever way it was, Yujia rested her head on one of her hands and smiled a little. Regardless of what Zhizhong was in terms of maturity, he still had a bit of a childish side to him that Yujia was used to seeing in eighteen year olds. She recalled some of the things that happened in their first two meetings, especially when he pulled her into the water of the spring. This brought another smile to her lips, yet the smile quickly vanished.

    She used to think back to that memory fondly¡ª it was actually a bit hilarious when she thought back to the words she exchanged with Zhizhong at that time. But after everything she experienced with the riverbanks and nearly drowning, the idea of getting pulled into water wasn''t such a warm memory after all. Just the thought of falling into any body of water remotely deep made her hands begin to tremble.

    Yujia squeezed her eyes shut to prevent the rise of panic in her heart from going any further. That was when she heard a voice call out her name.

    "Is something wrong, Miss Yang?"

    Opening her eyes, Yujia saw that Zhizhong''s eyes were open as well. He blinked a couple of times to blink the lethargy away from his gaze.

    "Nothing." She forced a grin on her face, then glanced down. "I saw that you were sleeping, and didn''t want to wake you."

    He rose up, stretching his arms in front of him, his mouth drawn out into a yawn. "I¡­ was a bit busy last night with work over milit¡ª I mean, merchant stuff. There are bandit uprisings in the north that''s disrupting trade routes. Had to sort some of the details out; ended up spending all night working on it. That''s why I''m so tired now."

    "I see. You didn''t have to come then."

    "It''s okay. We promised a meeting today, right?" Zhizhong smiled brightly. "It would be bad if I missed today without giving you any heads up. Plus, Gao Yi isn''t here either. He asked me to take a break off in the morning and early noon to take care of some family matters. Without him here, I didn''t want to leave you here alone to speculate where everyone went, or want to run the shop alone. I''m not sure I know how to," he laughed.

    Yujia let out a brief laugh as well. "That''s all okay." She turned her head to the paper of calculations he had. "I wanted to see the record books. You definitely heard about the¡­ the Emperor''s decree from Gao Yi, right? I figured that it would be a good idea to see some of the transactions in the shop first before going on in developing according to the Emperor''s orders."

    "That''s a good idea." Zhizhong nodded and ducked his head down on the other side of the counter, looking through the built in shelves for the record book.

    While he did so, Yujia continued, "Don''t you find it strange that the Emperor suddenly noticed our shop? And so fast, as well? I didn''t expect any of it, honestly."

    Zhizhong paused. He looked back up, then countered, "What about your marriage deal? It definitely got cancelled¡ª otherwise you wouldn''t be standing here right now."

    "Actually¡­" Yujia laughed awkwardly. "It wasn''t cancelled. I¡­ somewhat ran away."

    "Oh?" Her words took a few seconds to register in Zhizhong''s thoughts. That was when the expression on his face shifted from dull surprise to absolute worry. "Wait, did you just say that you ran away? How¡ª I thought you retrieved five hundred taels? There''s no way¡ª why would you have a need to run away¡ª are you okay?"

    Yujia made a face and waved her hand. "I''m fine, alive, and unmarried now, am I not? Go look for that record book. The events that happened with my engagement is a long story. I''ll tell you later."

    "Fine." Zhizhong huffed, then went back to look for the record book. A few moments later, he looked back up, shaking his head. "I don''t see it. I think Gao Yi may have either taken it with him or stored it somewhere different instead of behind this counter."

    "Is that so?" Yujia''s eyebrows went up. She made motions to walk around the counter to look for it herself, and a few moments later, she came to the same conclusion that Zhizhong did.

    There was no sign of any record book in the area of the front counter.

    "The Emperor wanted a large supply of pencils created, did he not? If we cannot look at the record books, then how do we know some of the exact logistics?" Yujia pointed out. She really wanted to see some of the overall stats involving her pencil production and sales before she made any major decisions with Zhizhong about how they were going to supply the palace.

    "Well, Gao Yi only took a morning break. He should be coming back within an hour since he''s been gone all morning. When he does, we can ask him for it then," Zhizhong assured.

    "Ah, who doesn''t keep their records under the counter?" Yujia frowned, pulling a chair over and sitting down on the other side of the counter. It was time to wait, she supposed.

    Along with some small talk and explanation of her marriage situation with Zhizhong, another hour or so passed. Yet still, the clerk, Gao Yi, showed no signs of appearing anytime soon.

    By this time, Yujia was wondering if she was just wasting her time here. The conversation between her and Zhizhong also died down¡ª by this point, she really just wanted to get to have a good meeting with Zhizhong about the business, but she couldn''t talk about anything too much without getting to see the records to increase her limited understanding of her own business.

    When Zhizhong said one last phrase in their conversation and a long moment of silence passed, Yujia finally proposed, "I''m bored. Let''s play a game."

 144 Games and the Artis

    "What game?" Zhizhong tilted his head.

    "Hmm¡­" Yujia mused. She didn''t actually have a game in mind whenever she suggested it. It just felt like there was nothing else better to do to pass the time. After a long thought passed, she suggested, "How about Tic-Tac-Toe?"

    Zhizhong repeated the words after her. "Tic-Tac-Toe? What''s that? A type of chess? But we have no board or pieces."

    "You don''t need a board to play this game," Yujia laughed, "Just ink and paper." An idea lit up in her head. She ran over to the side of the shop, pulled out two pencils, then returned. "Or a pencil and paper works just as well. Perhaps even better."

    "Really? How do you play?"

    Yujia pulled out a sheet of loose paper, drew out the four lines necessary for setting up the "board", explaining as she went, "It''s really simple. There are X''s¡ª just crosses¡ª and O''s¡ª circles. I''ll be the cross, and you''ll be the circle. We take turns marking the paper between the blank, and whoever gets three in a row wins. Make sense?"

    She handed Zhizhong a pencil, which he accepted and tapped at the grid Yujia just drew. "So just three in a row?"

    "Yep."

    He stared at the paper for a long second. Then, he snorted out a laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. "This is going to be easy. How is it possible for anyone with any intelligence to lose?"

    "Don''t be so quick to judge before you play it." Yujia smiled a bit.

    "I''ve won so many chess matches against my brothers¡ª do you think that this small game will faze me?"

    "Well then, let''s try and see," she hummed.

    With her pencil, she drew an X at the top left corner of the grid. "Cross goes first. Your turn."

    Zhizhong carelessly circled an O at the bottom left grid. Yujia noticed as he did so that he was a lot more confident in using the pencil now. Before, he held it in a stiff manner like a brush, but after Yujia gave him plenty of pointers and lessons, he held it like in a normal manner without looking too uncomfortable as he used it.

    Yujia scratched an X right in the middle. Upon seeing her move, Zhizhong frowned a little. "Why did you do that?" he asked.

    "What do you mean?" She shrugged. It seemed like a pretty normal move to her.

    He didn''t say much, only drawing another O right below the middle X. Yujia drew an X in return at the bottom right.

    "You blocked me!" he pointed out.

    "Yes, and I also won the game." Yujia drew a line through the three X''s that went diagonally from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. She looked up to see Zhizhong''s expression, which was morphing into one of complete shock.

    "Wait, you can go diagonally?" he exclaimed in protest, "I didn''t know! I thought it was just vertical and horizontal!"

    She winked. "I said all directions, didn''t I?"

    "Not fair," he scowled, "I could''ve won if that wasn''t the case."

    "Not exactly." Yujia used the end of her pencil to tap at a few of the empty spots. "If the game went on like this, you would be unable to make any rows of threes. Meanwhile, I could place an X in the top-right corner, and then, regardless of whether you block me in the top middle spot or the rightmost middle spot, I would''ve been able to win."

    Zhizhong pressed his lips together. "Still. Let''s play again. I''ll win this time."

    "You can try," she taunted.

    The next round proceeded to end with Yujia winning yet again. This time, she used a simple strategy that was obvious to anyone who had played this game before. But with Zhizhong, who still barely knew how it worked, the strategy was more than enough.

    "How?" He protested with an even larger scowl. "Even if I blocked you on the other side, you still would''ve won because of the two openings you had to get three in a row."

    "It''s all good strategy."

    "Or no!" Zhizhong suddenly sat straighter, pointing at her X. "I bet you always win because you play first! This time, let me!"

    "Sure." Yujia shrugged one shoulder. Playing with an O was definitely harder than X, but it was pretty easy to win too with the strategies she had in mind.

    And she won once more.

    The expression shown on Zhizhong''s face was definitely the most amusing thing Yujia saw all day. This¡ª seeing his wide-eyed, jaw-dropped look as he realized he lost yet again¡ª definitely made such a simple game of Tic-Tac-Toe entertaining.

    A few more seconds passed, and Zhizhong spent it staring at the sheet of paper they were playing on, calculating all types of unknown things in his head. Once he was done, he looked up with resolute in his eyes. "I''m going to win this time. Back then, I just wasn''t thinking and skipped over details. But now, I know all your tricks, and I will win."

    They ended up with a tie.

    Although it was a tie, Zhizhong still looked satisfied enough with that. After all, a tie was a lot better than losing three times in a row. This was enough motivation for Zhizhong to propose another game, in which Yujia purposely made a few mistakes to allow him to win and give him more encouragement. This boosted the bits of self-esteem that Zhizhong lost after playing the losing games.

    "You can''t trick me anymore," he boasted, "Watch, I''ll win the next round too."

    "How about we raise the stakes?" Finally, Yujia got to the more exciting part of her proposed game, and one of the reasons why she suggested Tic-Tac-Toe in the first place.

    He leaned forward, appearing intrigued. "What sort of stakes?"

    "The winner gets to do one thing to the loser."

    "Fun," he agreed.

    Before the game could start, though, Yujia quickly cut in, "But just playing three by three is far too easy. Why not try something more difficult¡­ say a variation of this game? We''ll play with a five by five board. You can keep playing crosses, and I''ll play circles¡ª except the circles get to place two at a time, and the circles do not have to be next to each other as they''re played. Whoever gets five in a row wins."

    Zhizhong listened to her instructions carefully, nodding his head as she went. Towards the end though, he seemed a bit wary and had questions. "But don''t you get an advantage then, if you get to play two circles per turn?"

    "It''s to balance out the advantage you have by going first," she explained, "If that doesn''t make you feel convinced, then if the entire grid is filled, it''ll be counted as your win too, not a tie. I''ll give you some time to think about this. With such ''high'' stakes, I''m sure we both don''t want to make silly mistakes." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    He indeed took a minute to think about it. With his finger in the air, he worked out a few combinations in his head, before finally agreeing. "Sure, then."

    Yujia wouldn''t have suggested this game if she didn''t already have plans and strategies in her head. The truth was, she knew quite a few strategies involving Tic-Tac-Toe and similar games, only because in high school, she had one friend who was obsessed and taught her all of them. A couple of the ideas were already faded memories, but she still recalled a few that would definitely lead to quick wins. Her friend was also the one who taught her the five by five version.

    Tragically, however, if it was any other game, she would''ve lost. She simply didn''t have enough memorized strategies. All of her skill with Tic-Tac-Toe came from brute memorization. At least she was confident that with the first few games of Tic-Tac-Toe, she could still beat a beginner like Bo Zhizhong though.

    Using a trick involving a box with the O''s, Yujia slowly worked on winning while Zhizhong struggled. The game went a lot slower this round, since Zhizhong actually gave quite a bit of thought to his moves, and so did Yujia.

    Nevertheless, at the very end, Yujia leaned back in her chair.

    She won the game with a horizontal line of circles.

    Zhizhong took a while to look at her strategy in marvel. Instead of showing the disappointment she thought he''d display, he instead pointed at her various moves. "So, you chose to put those circles at the very top to distract me! And once you''ve made another row down there¡­ you had to win. And you placed the circles separate instead of together every turn to ensure the most space that you had to make winning moves!"

    "Precisely."

    "Ah, you''re smart." He gave her a big grin, clasping his hands in respect. "That was a fun game. Let''s play it again later, when I have more practice. I''ll be sure to win then. Now¡­ what do you want from me? I won''t go back on my words; you won."

    "Nothing much." A sly smile appeared on Yujia''s face. She picked up the brush dipped in ink that Zhizhong used to work on calculations earlier. With the thought of what she was about to propose next, she couldn''t hold back a laugh.

    "How about¡­ you let me draw on your face?"

 145 The Artistâ€™s True Masterpiece

    Yujia watched as the expression on Zhizhong''s face morphed into one of pure confusion.

    "What?" he gawked.

    "You heard right," she affirmed, the smile on her face only spreading further, "You agreed to the terms that the winner could do anything. Can''t go back on your words now. I want to draw on your face. And you can''t wash it off for the whole day, alright?"

    Zhizhong immediately stood up, shaking his head. "That''s unreasonable! You want to use ink¡ª to draw on me? No. No. No." He waved his hand in the distance. "Look, anything else! I''ll give you taels, or fancy art supplies, or treat you to a good meal¡ª just don''t draw on my face! And to ask me to not wash it off for the whole day?"

    "Why can''t I?" Yujia pretended to pout, "You think I''m that materialistic, that I''d rather have all these objects instead?"

    "No! But come on, drawing on my face won''t give you anything."

    "It''ll give me entertainment."

    "Ah, so my public humiliation is your happiness?"

    Yujia shrugged. "Sure."

    "Look, I have an event tonight, a banquet. I can''t go looking with ink on my face to the banquet. My father would kill me. I''ll let you draw on my face, but you''ll have to let me wash it off right afterwards!" he attempted to negotiate.

    "What fun is there in doing that, then?" Yujia sighed. "How about you let me draw on your face, walk back to your villa with my masterpiece on your face, and then get to wash it off?"

    "Why do you insist on torturing me?" he griped.

    "It''s not torture. Losers always get a punishment; you lost the game. You said yourself that you wouldn''t go back on your words. Be a man¡ª what has been said has been said already."

    Zhizhong was silent for a long while, probably quietly contemplating his life up to this moment. Finally, he looked up, exhaling in defeat.

    "Fine."

    ¡­ Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Yushang didn''t understand why he had to put himself in this situation. Why had he accepted to play that stupid game and stupid bet in the first place? If he hadn''t, then he wouldn''t be stuck in this current situation right now.

    But as he looked at Miss Yang''s expectant expression, he relented.

    "Fine."

    Miss Yang excitedly clapped her hands. "I was just waiting for you to say this word!" She waved her hand and pulled his chair, which was on the opposite side of the counter, to her side. "Come, sit here!"

    Yushang dragged himself and sat down at the chair, anticipating the worst outcome that would come from this scenario. On the other hand, Miss Yang had a completely opposite expression, her eyebrows raised and her lips turned upward with delight.

    "Noble Bo, what do you say that I should draw?" She tilted her head while tracing her brush in the air. "Should I draw a giant mole under your eye, or just paint your whole face with this ink? Both would surely make you look hideous, don''t you think?"

    Yushang imagined how he would look with her descriptions and shuddered. "Don''t make me regret allowing you to do this," he warned.

    "Alas, it seems like you''re already regretting from the very start though? When have you not regretted this decision?"

    She had a point.

    Miss Yang gave him a little smirk, holding her brush closer to his face. "I think I''ve decided."

    Yushang sighed deeply and awaited embarrassment, and perhaps Miss Yang''s constant mockery as she did her work. Instead, a serious expression appeared on her face¡ª the kind he saw when she was painting or thinking hard. She put her left hand under his chin, holding his face in place while she moved a little closer.

    She was so close that he could count her eyelashes. Her fingers against his skin felt cold to touch, making Yushang instinctively flinch a bit.

    "Don''t move," she instructed.

    Yushang looked her in the eyes. Her irises, reflecting light shining through the paper windows, were like the night sky, while her long eyelashes fluttered as she blinked. Her gaze never met with his while she worked, constantly focused on his other features, as if he was her canvas.

    The ink on the brush felt even colder to touch. He felt a dot of coldness on his nose first, then streaks of ink against the sides of his cheek. Lastly, she went to his eyes and carefully outlined the edges.

    While she worked on his eyes, Yushang''s gaze moved down to her lips. They were softly parted. He gulped.

    Before he could tear his eyes away, she moved back, setting the brush on the table. "I''m done," she hummed. She glanced back to him, wiping her cheeks. "Why are you looking like that at me for? Unless I somehow managed to get ink on my face too?"

    "What?" Yushang snapped out of it, shaking his head. "N-no."

    She stepped further back, nodding her head in admiration. "You look good. My skills are indeed excellent¡ª I''ve created an absolute work of art."

    "What did you draw on my face?" He narrowed his eyes.

    "Unfortunately, there seems to be no mirror here. I don''t think I''ll be able to describe the masterpiece on your face enough with my clumsy words, so I''m afraid Noble Bo can only see for himself when he returns home," she teased.

    Yushang set his face blank. "You know that I''m going to wash it right away once I have the chance to."

    In response, Miss Yang widened her eyes in disbelief. "You want to destroy my incredible artwork?"

    Before he could retort with something, the front doors suddenly creaked open. Yushang jumped a little on the inside, turning quickly to see who it was.

    It was Gao Yi.

    Gao Yi stared back at him, frozen in movement. He stared for a long time at Yushang''s face, then at Miss Yang, then back over at Yushang. One of his hands reached up to his mouth to muffle a laugh that suddenly burst out.

    "What? What are you laughing at? Tired of your job?" Yushang snapped, wanting to cover his face.

    He had never gone through such embarrassment through his entire life! Which person would dare to do this to him? Not the maids, not his siblings, not his mother. To see a mere clerk like Gao Yi snickering at his appearance certainly made Yushang''s face begin to burn. How dare this Gao Yi? How dare this Miss Yang?

    "Nothing, Boss." Gao Yi averted his gaze and dropped his hand, though his smile never dropped. He shuffled forward towards the counter, attempting to cover up his previous laugh. "So both bosses are here today?"

    "We were discussing things with the decree," Yushang explained, "I suppose your family matters are settled now. Where did you put the record book?"

    Gao Yi looked up, then headed behind the counter. "Is it not here? I thought I left it where I usually leave it, in the shelves right here." He arched over and came up with the same conclusion Yushang reached a few moments ago. "Funny, where did it go?"

    "You ask me, but I''m the one who''s asking you ."

    At the end of those words, it seemed like Gao Yi remembered something. He hurriedly headed in the direction of the storage room. "Yesterday, I was counting the storage, and I left the books here! I forgot."

    "Really?" Yushang rubbed one of his temples, then looked over at Miss Yang. "So, we just wasted all our time here waiting for him to bring the accounts over when it was here all along?"

    She grimaced. "I guess. But it wasn''t a waste of time¡ª look how handsome you are now with my work."

    Yushang wanted to scowl, but instead, he chose to stop giving her the satisfaction of seeing his frustration. It would probably make her stop speaking those words if he responded happily. Smoothly, he slouched against the counter and leaned his head on his hand. "What about before? Wasn''t I even more handsome?"

    She looked at him with no amusement on her face. "If you did, I never noticed." The blank expression shifted into a bright smile. "Except now¡ª you''re not just handsome, but cute. Quite fluffy."

    "Fluffy?" Yushang drew his head back. "What does ''fluffy'' mean, Miss Yang?"

    "You''ll see when you look in the mirror," she paused, then added on, "Also, we''re already co-owners for so long. And I''m no longer any proper young miss¡ª so calling me ''Miss Yang'' this,'' Miss Yang'' that, isn''t appropriate."

    He tapped his fingers on the table. "Then¡­ what do you want me to call you? Your¡­ name won''t be appropriate either."

    "How so?" She frowned. "We have a good connection and share a business together. I see you almost as a little brother; you can see me as your older sister. But calling each other ''sister and brother'' would seem awkward, yet in private when we talk, all this ''Misses'' and ''Nobles'' just seems too foreign. Better that, in private, we can use our names, but in public, you calling me ''Miss Yang'' won''t be bad either."

    "I can work with that, if that makes you more comfortable." Yushang looked down at his hands, breaking their eye contact.

    Gao Yi walked back over, presenting the record book in his hands. "If the two bosses will take a look."

    Yushang took it from him first, spending a few moments flipping through it. After that, he handed the book back to Miss Yang¡ª or, should he call her, Yujia¡ª then glanced outside. "It''s getting late. I spent way more time than planned here. There are still matters back at the¡ª villa ¡ª for me to take care of."

    Yujia looked back at him, her eyebrows knitted. "But about the decree¡­"

    "We can discuss it at a later date. Or, no need to discuss it with me. Speak with Gao Yi and come to an agreement. I''ll agree to whatever you want to do with these matters."

    "Then, see you later." She stood up, bowing politely. When she looked back up, her eyes met his face and she immediately snickered.

    Yushang almost forgot about that cursed ink on his face. He gave her a scowl with a nod, then swung his sleeves back and walked out of the shop. Screw all the previous thoughts about thinking of her as an older sister. His older sisters at the palace all treated him kindly and showered him with pastries, little gifts, and affection. Which one of them would be as reckless as her?

    As he walked down the streets, Yushang quickly picked up his pace and kept his face low.

    Internally, he wanted to curl up and die.

    ¡­

    Things were not better when Yushang arrived back at his palace. Upon seeing him, Si Shen, who he specifically told to not follow and watch over him today, smiled.

    His smile was nothing as overbearing as the snickers Yushang heard from Gao Yi and Yujia. Except, it was perhaps the worst thing he saw all day long, the thing that bothered him the most despite everything that happened throughout the day.

    The thing was, Si Shen never smiled.

    He had a face that was stiller than stone. Just like the fact that he barely talked unless Yushang asked him to, Si Shen never smiled or laughed either. Yushang was used to him being the emotionless block of stone, constantly following him around and guarding him. The unwavering smile on his face right now¡­ Yushang had to admit that it was almost terrifying to see.

    When was the last time Si Shen had smiled? Was it when Yushang was eight and fell into a pit of mud, which turned out to be cow dung, while the servants were not looking carefully? That was a memory that stuck hard with Yushang. It had to be in the top list of embarrassing things that he experienced, right next to what happened today.

    Heavens, that was ten years ago. And even then, Si Shen only cracked a brief smile that faded away within a second.

    Yushang stared at Si Shen with wonder. "I didn''t expect that you even knew how to smile."

    "Hm?" Si Shen raised his eyebrows, though the smile on his face didn''t vanish.

    Next to them, Yushang began to hear the sound of whispers. He whipped back around, throwing his hand out at the other eunuchs and maids waiting at the opening of his room. They covered their mouths and lowered their heads, discussing the scene in front of them.

    "What are you all staring at?" he snarled, "Still not bringing this prince a mirror and towel?"

    The servants immediately dropped to their knees while a few ran out to get what he asked for. The whispers ceased.

    That was more like it.

    Yushang turned back to Si Shen, waving his hand. "This prince isn''t in the mood to see you today, not with that smile on your face."

    Si Shen only nodded, the smile¡ª which only appeared infuriating now¡ª remaining while he backed away.

    When the servants came back with the materials, Yushang commanded, "What you see today on this prince''s face will not be spoken of anymore. Is that clear? If I hear of any word of this in the palace, none of you will have a good life. Not even the crown princess may know."

    The servants all bowed once more, murmuring assent while leaving Yushang alone.

    It was only now that Yushang got to see the true appearance of his face. His eyes widened while he stared at the mirror, realizing what Yujia meant all along.

    What ''handsome'', what ''cute'', what ''fluffy''?

    She had clearly drawn him like a cat !

    There was a dot on his nose, whiskers on his face, and his eyes were lined long and sharp like a cat.

    A cat ? She dared to draw this crown prince into a mere pest? What was a cat? Wasn''t it something not even better than little accessories for his father''s concubines to parade around?

    Yushang was not a little accessory or a pretty little pet! He was the honored crown prince of the whole country! Millions would bow at his feet, yet here he was, painted as a¡­ cat.

    Yushang threw the mirror on the floor and grabbed a towel, soaked with water, rubbing it against his face and smearing all the ink. Yujia¡ª this girl¡ª was too audacious! She may not have known his true identity, but next time, he would not allow her to step over lines like this again. What if others in the palace heard of his unkempt appearance? What if his father heard? How would his reputation still last, if all of this spread?

    He angrily threw the towel back in the basin as well, stomping over to his bed and falling face forward into it. All he came for today was a business meeting, not a public shaming!

    As he thought about what happened, Yushang rolled over and looked up. Memories of Yujia surfaced back in his mind as she painted his face, from her gaze, to her skin, to her¡­ lips.

    Yushang''s face morphed into one of horror. What were these thoughts? Begone! What pretty women had he not seen?

    He clutched his face and rolled back over to bury his face into the blankets.

    No, no, no.

    He could not start viewing her this way! She said it herself¡ª he was like a little brother, and she was like an older sister. They were close friends or business partners. There was nothing more, nothing less.

    Besides, he had Siying! Wen Siying was all he needed. She was everything that Yujia was not, from her gracious demeanor to her polite attitude. Yushang didn''t need someone to bicker with him all day and draw on his face.

    No, no, no.

    No no no no no no no.

    Just no.

    Yet as Yushang rolled over again and stared up at the canopy fabric, he realized that these aggravating, bothersome, unnecessary, and completely improper thoughts were not going away.

    What was all of this? Witchcraft?

 146 New Friends of the Artis

    Soon enough, after coming to some conclusions with Gao Yi, Yujia left Three Inks with her face veiled once more. She also took a few pencils before leaving¡ª the ones she had been using all along were getting used up pretty quickly.

    As she walked back to Lingxin, she thought back to how Zhizhong looked, painted as a cat, and couldn''t help but drop her head down and laugh. He was too cute.

    That was when, in the midst of looking down, she bumped into someone. The pencils in her hand fell to the ground.

    Hastily, Yujia lowered herself and picked up her pencils one by one before they rolled away. Then, she looked up to see who she bumped into.

    It was a young woman who looked familiar. She dressed in russet orange robes and had her hair styled up into a neat bun. She had soft features¡ª large, doe-like eyes, blushing round cheeks, and a thin, short nose above her painted lips. Yujia stared at this face for two seconds, recognition clicking in her mind.

    Yet prior to any response that came from her, another younger girl jumped out from behind, berating loudly, "Who are you to bump into our Madam like that? Do you walk without eyes? Apologize immediately!"

    Yujia blinked, looking at the younger girl with the sharp tongue. She looked back over at the woman she recognized, putting on a warm smile and greeting, "My fault for bumping into you. Miss Zhou¡ª or, I should call you Madam Zhou now?¡ª how are you? It''s been a while."

    The person she bumped into was Zhou Luowei, the woman that she first sketched a portrait of as a commission, and also the one who recently got married with Bo Zhiyuan, Zhizhong''s older brother.

    Zhou Luowei''s eyes widened when she recognized who Yujia was. "Ah, it''s Miss Yang! It has indeed been a while." She turned her face and quietly scolded, "Jiucai, do not be so disrespectful. Keep those words to yourself." She turned back to Yujia. "I''m so sorry about that."

    The young girl behind her, presumably her maid, Jiucai, looked down in shame. She probably didn''t expect that she chided someone her madam actually knew.

    "It''s fine." Yujia continued to smile. There was no need to take offense to what Jiucai said. It would only cause extra unnecessary conflict. "I heard about your marriage with Young Master Bo and wanted to congratulate both of you; I just never found an opportunity to. So I''ll leave my congratulations here," she continued.

    "Oh, thank you." Luowei held a handkerchief up to her face and blushed. "And for that beautiful portrait as well; I don''t think I ever had a chance to properly thank you for that. Both my husband and I love it."

    "That makes me happy to hear."

    Luowei glanced and gestured in the direction she was heading, asking, "I was just about to go to a gathering with a few other friends of mine. Would Miss Yang be interested in accompanying me? We do need some new faces occasionally."

    Yujia thought about it. She admitted that she was getting tired of being stuck in Lingxin and only chatting with her master and Yunhe. She also admitted that she needed more connections in life. It probably wasn''t good to only know a couple of people. Because of these two reasons, going to the gathering with Zhou Luowei would be a good idea.

    Thus, with a nod, Yujia walked along with Madam Zhou.

    ¡­

    They arrived at a secluded pavilion near the outskirts of the capital. It was shaded with a few willow trees, resting over a pond, and when Yujia neared, she could hear the quiet giggles and discussion of soft voices. Upon crossing a bridge and entering, she saw that there were around five young ladies inside, sipping at tea and sampling pastries.

    They looked up and paused in the midst of their conversation. One girl wearing apricot yellow happily called out, "Older Sister Luowei! How come you only arrive now? Your Bo Villa is the closest to here; you have no excuse."

    Luowei smiled and bowed apologetically. "An hour ago, I went further in the capital to buy some pastries for you all. On the way back, the carriage broke, thus causing my late arrival. I hope you sisters can understand my difficulties."

    Another woman, looking slightly older in age, perhaps in her late twenties, replied, "That''s alright, Younger Sister. We were just discussing where you were when everyone else had already arrived. It''s a good thing you''re here now."

    Luowei smiled again. "I knew that Older Sister would understand the most." She glanced over at Yujia and introduced, "This is Miss Yang. Younger Sister Yujia is really a splendid painter, and since I knew that Older Sister Qianzi said that she wanted to improve in painting last gathering, I brought her over."

    Yujia bowed politely, taking off her veil at the same time. "Yujia greets each sister."

    Qianzi¡ª the older woman who Yujia thought looked in her late twenties¡ª waved her hand for the two of them to sit. "Why are you two still standing? There are a few empty seats around still."

    Luowei and Yujia complied. Both ended up sitting in different places. Luowei sat next to Qianzi, while Yujia ended up next to the girl who was dressed in yellow. The girl, who saw that Yujia was seated near her, grinned brightly and asked, "Miss Yang would probably be my older sister, right?"

    "How old are you this year?" Yujia tilted her head and asked in response.

    "Me? I''m only sixteen!"

    Sixteen? She was even younger than Xiaoyi, then. Even so, Yujia smiled fondly at the girl. Her mannerisms and behavior all seemed like Xiaoyi.

    "I suppose you''re right," Yujia affirmed, "I''m nineteen. How should I call Younger Sister¡ª?"

    "I''m the Second Miss of the Rong Family, Rong Tianyu!"

    "Rong?"

    All of a sudden, the image of Rong Yuan, a very persistent and somewhat irritating Senior Brother surfaced in Yujia''s mind. He was from the Rong Family too¡ª so he was Rong Tianyu''s older brother? Thinking about it, both were very eager and energetic from the start. Yujia could see the similarity between them.

    Tianyu leaned forward, her eyebrows raising. "You''ve heard of my family, right? We''re pretty famous throughout the capital."

    Yujia shook her head with a soft smile. "Not that. You have an older brother, right? He is my senior brother." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    "What?" Tianyu''s eyes widened so large that they looked like they were about to pop out. She suddenly stood up, pushing her chair back which scraped loudly against the floor. "My older brother¡ª is your senior brother? You¡ª you''re a student at Lingxin Pavilion?" Her gaze turned into one of admiration. "You''re not joking, right? How¡ª?"

    Her sudden and loud exclamation caught the attention of the others in the pavilion. They turned to look. One woman dressed in light and dark green called out, "Right, we don''t know much about Miss Yang yet. Instead of hogging her all to yourself, Tianyu, why don''t you let her introduce herself? Miss Yang, are you from¡­ the Yang Family? I don''t believe I''ve heard much of a Yang Family in the capital, though I know there''s one in Luoyang. My cousin recently married into that one."

    Another one in green as well pointed out, "I did hear recently about some young miss from the Yang Family marrying into the Yu Family. Wasn''t that something? But it couldn''t be you, right, Miss Yang?" She covered her mouth and lowered her voice. "But there''s more exciting gossip recently. One young miss of the Yang Family has her engagement cancelled with the Yu''s First Young Master. It couldn''t be because of the other marriage, I don''t think¡­"

    The previous girl dressed in green replied, "Then what other reasons are there?" She looked back at Yujia. "Back on the topic, though, Miss Yang¡­"

    "I''m not that young miss who had her engagement cancelled that you may be thinking of," Yujia responded with a forced laugh. Right. She wasn''t the one with the engagement cancelled, but the one who was supposed to be married already. It wouldn''t make sense for her to claim an identity as any other young miss from the Yang Family, so she lied, "I''m indeed a student of Lingxin Pavilion. My parents abandoned me when I was young, and my master¡ª the founder of Lingxin¡ª adopted me as a disciple since. So, to be honest, I''m not sure which Yang Family I''m a part of either."

    "Oh."

    The young ladies covered their mouths with their handkerchiefs at this tragic backstory.

 147 The Artist Becomes an Instructor

    "It''s not that big of a deal," Yujia hastily added on. "I would be more afraid that my background is so lacking in comparison."

    "We''re not the types to care so much about family background," Qianzi replied softly, "On the other hand, you said that you''re a student of Lingxin Pavilion? That''s an incredible feat that none of us would have expected." She paused with hesitation, then continued, "Isn''t¡­ Lingxin an academy of only men?"

    "Yes, but I think that I''m more of an adopted daughter of my master than a disciple, so that allows me to stay there. Plus, I haven''t wandered and mixed in with the other students very often," Yujia explained.

    "Is that so?"

    The ladies all seemed to find amusement in Yujia''s backstory. It was probably different than the things they were used to¡ª prim and proper young ladies raised within the shelter of their own villas, only to grow up to get married and move into the cage of another villa.

    At this time, one of the girls in green spoke up again. "Let''s introduce ourselves to Younger Sister Yujia, then. I''ll go first," she turned to Yujia, saying, " I''m the Third Miss of the Luo Family, Luo Xiya."

    The other girl in green followed after. "I''m the Jing Family''s only young miss, Jing Juan."

    Rong Tianyu, who seemed to think that it was somehow her turn, jumped up again. "You already know me; Rong Tianyu!"

    "Sima Qianzi, or Madam Sima of the Dong Family." Qianzi bowed her head a bit, going next.

    Yujia already knew Zhou Luowei, or Madam Zhou, so there was no need for any introduction there. One girl, though, had yet to introduce herself. She was shyly looking down. Tianyu, seeing that the girl was hesitant, nudged the girl with the side of her arm. "Come on, Feifei, you don''t need to be so shy."

    The girl finally looked up, quietly saying, "I''m Lu Feifei¡­ the only young miss of the Lu Family."

    In a joking attitude, Sima Qianzi smiled gently and said, "Feifei is always the shyest one of all of us, even quieter than Luowei. Sometimes we forget that she''s here whenever there are strangers amongst us, but she''s quite lively when it''s just us."

    Yujia nodded and smiled.

    There were so many names and faces to memorize all at once. Each one of them had a maid behind them too. Yujia was grateful that she didn''t need to memorize those faces as well; otherwise, she would definitely be overwhelmed.

    Luowei spoke up, pointing to some paper and ink on a table in the center. "Since Younger Sister Yujia is a student of Lingxin Pavilion and has so much experience with art, would it be too much to ask for a couple tips of painting? Us young ladies are expected to master painting as one of the Four Arts, but it''s a bit difficult to just learn from books and copying other work. It wouldn''t be proper to have male teachers either."

    "Of course. I would love to," Yujia answered.

    She had a plan in mind. If she could make good relationships with everyone here at the moment, not only would that help her social life, but it could also potentially bring business to Three Inks. Based on the profit and sales statistics Gao Yi showed her earlier, she noticed that the main profit came in on the first few days that the pencil was introduced. This was likely because since it was a new product, many wanted to see how it worked and bought it for that reason.

    After that, only a few certain artists who enjoyed using this new art supply would continue purchasing a full set of pencils. Those would last them a while, however, so they would not buy pencils again until months later. This slowed down profit on later dates.

    On the topic of the cheaper pencils that Yujia wanted the public to begin using as an easier and more convenient tool in comparison to brush and ink, there were some sales, but not much. Mostly, the pencils appealed to the artists more since it was located right outside Lingxin. Nevertheless, Yujia expected that with the publicity of the Emperor''s favor of the pencil, more people will likely begin to use it. It would be a costly and difficult task to completely incorporate the pencil into society, but the beneficial outcome outweighed the difficulties.

    As for mentoring the young ladies here, Yujia''s thought process was that once they trusted her enough as a teacher, she could begin to introduce them to the pencil. Once they were interested in the pencil, she expected that they would naturally introduce it into their higher-end families, who would all begin to use the pencil. Those high-end families would make their servants use it. The servants would introduce it to their families and amongst themselves. And just like that, her pencils would spread throughout the classes of society.

    Yujia admitted that this idea was a bit of a stretch. She could both see this plan happening and also failing miserably. Despite how it would play out in real life, though, Yujia thought that as long as the pencil began to spread to a certain degree, then it would definitely be beneficial no matter what. The more people she could introduce the pencil to, the better.

    As a result, she would be more than welcome to become a teacher or instructor of a sort.

    Yet before she could teach anything, Jing Juan, one of the young ladies dressed in green, spoke up. "Sister-Luowei, how do you know Artist Yang is qualified to teach, though?" She hastily added on, her face turning towards Yujia, "But I don''t intend any offense. I''m just wondering¡­ how do we know that Artist Yang is really skilled? I mean¡­ Artist Yang looks really young. If I heard correctly, didn''t you say that you were nineteen to Tianyu?"

    Yujia nodded.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    "So, if you''re that young¡­" Jing Juan continued, "and even if you grew up in Lingxin Pavilion¡­ it''s just a bit hard to believe that¡ª" Her expression turned flustered and she covered her face. "I''m sorry. This is sounding very rude of me. I just¡ª"

    "It''s fine." Yujia both sighed and smiled.

    Jing Juan''s doubt was normal, considering that most people in this society didn''t think that young females were really capable of too much of anything. They were expected to learn the Four Arts to become either valuable future wives or virtuous wives once they were married, but at the same time, they were also not expected to be masters in any of these fields. Plus, Yujia''s claim that she was from Lingxin Pavilion was just a claim, after all. None of them knew her personally.

    Zhou Luowei spoke up. "I''ve seen Young Sister Yujia''s art before. She did a portrait of me. It turned out truly spectacular."

    "Then¡­" Jing Juan murmured, hesitation clear in her voice.

    Yujia thought that once they saw what she was teaching, they could probably trust her, but she could also understand this hesitation. With her original goal to create good relationships with these people, it would be better to win over their trust first before forcing them to learn under her. So, though it was a small inconvenience for Yujia to have to prove her skills, it would be better to do so quickly than to not do it at all.

    "I can understand why you all have doubts. If you would like, I can create a painting in ten minutes, and then you all can judge for yourselves whether or not to have trust in me?" she suggested.

 148 Painting Demonstration of the Artis

    Everyone present agreed with Yujia''s suggestion. More or less, probably aside from Zhou Luowei who had seen her draw in person, they all had certain levels of apprehension.

    Now, Yujia took a few seconds to think about what she was going to paint. She found that throughout all of her experience, she painted faster if she had a plan in mind instead of free-painting whatever and making do with pure improvisation.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    She originally had the idea of painting plum tree blossoms, but after hearing all that earlier about her horrid plum painting from her master, she didn''t feel particularly motivated to do so. It seemed like she was more skilled in painting mountains, which would be quick and easy to paint as well. Painting branches and blossoms required lots of details. On the other hand, she could definitely accomplish a mountain painting within the time limit of ten minutes with a few bland flicks of her brush.

    Because of this, she settled with painting a very generic and very washed out mountain painting.

    There were a few supplies on the table already. This included some black inkstones, inkwells, brushes, and paper. Yujia also took a few seconds familiarizing herself with where everything was placed. In a timed challenge like this, she had to know every next step in her mind as she painted. Being familiar with all this foreign equipment would help speed things up.

    And then, the challenge begun.

    Stepping up to the table, Yujia started off with diluting the ink with a lot more water, grinding the inkstone against the inkwell to create the consistency she wanted. Once she had the proper value, she worked quickly. Her hands practically flew as she took the largest brush she found, swirling it across the paper to create the immediate shadow of a mountain range. She then layered some of the ink over the paper again and again to create a blurred and soft range of values. This added dimension into the mountains.

    Following that, once all the diluted ink was used up, Yujia began to create a darker, more concentrated value of ink. She switched the wide brush in her hand for one that was much smaller, using this brush to create more detail.

    There was no definite timer or stick of incense to measure how much time had gone by. At the same time, though, most people had a general understanding of how much time there was in ten minutes. Yujia could finish a little later than exactly ten minutes and none of them would be able to guess, but she definitely couldn''t take half an hour.

    With this in mind, Yujia made sure to add in enough details to the mountains, including a tree in the front to create even more of a sense of dimension. At the same time, she also forced herself to stop adding in details when enough time had passed. She still wanted to save the last minute for final touches.

    Now, Yujia picked up a brush that was more medium in size. With this brush, she took some of the details, which had not dried yet due to the small amount of time she used to paint them, brushing and feathering some of them out. This gave the painting a softer effect, making the sharp details look less out of place once they were smeared.

    She finished with fading out the mountains. At this point, after painting more than thirty generic mountain paintings, it was practically second nature to create works that looked like what she just made. Though to anyone who had enough experience, her lackluster paintings would clearly be generic and worthless, it would be enough to impress beginners like the young ladies around her.

    Yujia stepped back. The mountain painting before her looked just like all her previous works. The only difference was that because of the time limit, there was definitely less detail. Nevertheless, she still liked how it turned out. It held more of a dreamy, mythical feel to it.

    The moment she stepped back to look, Yujia also created a mental list of fake-deep philosophy to say. Even if she created the most mediocre painting, as long as she made it sound incredible with her words, she could probably convince most crowds that the work was actually incredible. Certain keywords helped her accomplish this, such as "duality", "juxtaposition", "ethos", "Spirit Resonance", and "contrast", as well as the repetitive emphasis of the concept of "light versus dark" and "tranquility versus chaos".

    Ah. Being an artist was fifty percent real skill and talent and fifty percent pure bullsh*tting. No wonder Yujia was so good at deception¡ª she had so much practice making up things about her art that lying was really a natural, consequential skill at this point.

    Yet before she could say any of the words she came up with, the girl who doubted her skills the most earlier, Jing Juan, immediately folded her hands and bowed.

    "Artist Yang, please accept my apology! I shouldn''t have distrusted you in the first place," she exclaimed.

    A bit shocked by this sudden apology, Yujia took a step back, waving her hands in front of her. "It''s okay. Really."

    Luowei smiled with triumph. Since she was standing next to Jing Juan, she nudged the girl with her shoulder and said, "Younger Sister Jing Juan, what did I say? Artist Yang is indeed a true painter. Did you possibly think that she was lying about being a disciple of Lingxin Pavilion''s founder?"

    "Well¡ª"

    Sima Qianzi interjected, "Luowei, you can''t blame Jing Juan too much. After all, I did have a little bit of skepticism as well at the beginning." She turned to Yujia. "It''s not very often¡ª in fact completely unheard of¡ª that a girl is a disciple of a great master. I hope that you don''t hold grudges for our partial reasoning."

    Yujia nodded. "It''s completely alright. This painting was a bit of a practice as well, similar to a warm-up. So it''s all good."

    "No matter what you all say, let''s make it clear that I didn''t have any doubts!" Tianyu blurted loudly, "You all say that you had your uncertainties about Older Sister Yujia, but I believed everything she said from the very start!"

    "Really? If I remember correctly¡­" Luo Xiya, who was sitting during all of this, suddenly stood up and pushed back her chair, dramatically acting, " Wha¡ªa¡ªa¡ªt? You''re my older brother''s junior sister? How could this b-be? You''re a student at Lingxin? This¡ª "

    Jing Juan and Luowei laughed loudly at this. A smile crept onto Qianzi''s lips, and she held her laughter back with much difficulty.

    Tianyu pouted, crossing her arms. "I did not sound like that. And¡ª and¡ª I only said those things because it was surprising! I didn''t doubt her at all! Not even once!" She turned and grasped onto Yujia''s hands. "Older Sister Yujia, you believe me, right?"

    "Whether you doubted me or not, it doesn''t really matter. I wouldn''t hold any negative opinions because of something as fickle as this," Yujia pointed out.

    The others chimed in the conversation. The pavilion immediately turned lively. Yujia laughed at a few of the jokes made and joined in with occasional comments when things were directed towards her. Halfway through, she cast her gaze to the side, noticing that one person who had barely spoken¡ª Lu Feifei¡ª was standing alone at the table, her back towards everyone else, while she carefully looked at the painting Yujia just made.

    She stared at the painting for a long time. Her head was tilted to the side as if she was observing it with a newfound interest.

    Yujia only spent a few more seconds observing this Lu Feifei before joining back in with everyone else.

    Oh well. She was prepared to give a whole speech about how awe-worthy her painting was, but this crowd was easy to convince. Too easy. Perhaps they either had no artistic talent or that they were just too easily trusting of her¡­

    Regardless, Yujia subconsciously tucked the speech she created back into the depths of her mind. On another day, when she created another generic mountain painting and needed to defend it, she could use the exact same words as what she prepared today.

 149 Beginning of the Artistâ€™s Wise Words

    Soon enough, now that everyone was convinced that Yujia had enough skill, it was time for her to begin teaching.

    Yujia had a vague plan in mind. She would first talk about some principles of art to further solidify the false idea that she had extensive knowledge. She wouldn''t really need to do this if she was a true, hard-working student of Lingxin Pavilion. But because she still hadn''t studied the Six Principles¡ª she planned to do this soon¡ª she could only make up some things about painting that came from both her artistic experience and the things she learned in college.

    There was a definite difference between making up false philosophy that couldn''t be proven wrong about her own art and making up things to teach other people. For one thing, teaching other people did require a certain amount of skill in the first place. Teaching people what was all made up nonsense meant that they wouldn''t be able to create anything decent either, since everything was fabricated. Therefore, she had to weave in a lot more truth to her words.

    After talking about all the principles, Yujia planned to give them an opportunity to learn step-by-step how to paint something. This would introduce them to techniques that would, in the future, allow them to develop their own style if they were that interested in pursuing the arts.

    This plan, though simple, would hopefully take up the entire session today. Once her teaching time was over, she would hurry back to Lingxin and do some studying to prepare for any future meetings these girls might want her to come back for.

    "Alright," Yujia started, "Who knows the Six Principles of Painting? This is one of the most basic parts of painting that all beginners should familiarize themselves with before moving on too much."

    There were two possible actions that could occur after she asked this question. First, someone in this group would know the answer. Yujia would ask them to describe the six elements, and then, that person could educate everyone else and Yujia at the same time, all under the pretense of Yujia "testing their knowledge".

    If no one knew, it wasn''t the end of the world either. Yujia could just tell them all to go and do this as research when they get home. She would proceed to talk about Spirit Resonance, the one principle she was confident about her knowledge of.

    Sima Qianzi ended up speaking up. "Because I was interested in learning about painting earlier, I did briefly study them. The six are Spirit Resonance, Bone Method, Correspondence to the Object, Sustainability to Type, Division and Planning, and Transmission by Copying."

    "Wonderful. Can you explain them?" Yujia prodded.

    "Of course. Spirit Resonance is the connection of energy throughout a work. It measures the amount of life within the piece. Bone Method refers to the technique of painting with the brush. Correspondence to the Object explains how lines come together to depict a form. Sustainability to Type involves the layering of colors. Division and Planning refer to composition. It also demonstrates how composition affects the depth of a painting. Lastly, Transmission by Copying is all about replication."

    Yujia took fast mental notes while Qianzi explained. She found that with Qianzi''s voice being so soft and her explanation so precise and careful, it was easy to remember a few of the words she said.

    As if she knew about the Six Principles already, Yujia took the now-dried painting she created earlier. She pointed out a few of the brush strokes and areas of the painting. "I know that it may be difficult to memorize all these principles from just hearing or reading about them. To provide an example of how these six elements form a painting, let''s take a look at this. With the Bone Method used on the mountains further in the back, you can see how it affects Division and Planning to create a sense of dimension. This is only one example¡ª Bone Method always affects Correspondence to the Object just as much."

    The young ladies all nodded thoughtfully.

    "From this example, it is clear that all the Six Principles are intertwined," Yujia continued, "What I manage to do with Bone Method directly alters the other elements. And all together, the elements come together to create Spirit Resonance, the ultimate, most crucial factor within painting. That is why it''s important to know every single one to be able to apply it to your paintings."

    Tianyu spoke up, asking, "So we have to memorize all of them?"

    "Yes. These are the basics to painting, so it''s crucial to memorize them," Yujia answered.

    It was a little hypocritical to hear herself say these words. Still, Yujia assured herself by reminding herself that she was going to immediately study and memorize the Six Principles as soon as she returned to Lingxin.

    "For now, let''s move on from the principles and get to some actual painting."

    Yujia looked around the pavilion, her eyes settling on the pond surrounding the pavilion. She walked to the direction of the edge of the pavilion, looking out to the pond. This would be a good thing to reference and paint for beginners.

    She waved her hand to gesture them to all come over. They walked over with curiosity in their eyes at what they were going to do next.

    "To get to practice one of the principles in action¡­ er¡ª Transmission by¡­ Copying¡­ let''s spend a few minutes observing this pond. Use these observations to paint a picture in your head. We''ll be practicing painting this pond as one of our first paintings," Yujia explained.

    Upon hearing this, Luowei smiled brightly. "This is wonderful. Feifei was just telling me about how they added new goldfish to the pond a few weeks ago. I was about to suggest that we go to admire them at the end of this gathering."

    Tianyu was the first to rush up to the side. "Look, Older Sister Jing Juan!" she shouted, pointing at a few of the fish that swam by. "That one looks almost gold in this light! And that one¡ª look at the color!"

    Jing Juan, who walked over with Feifei, nodded with appreciation. "It''s been a while since I saw goldfish with such splendid colors. The ones in my family''s pond are all too bland."

    The rest of them all swarmed forward, pointing out various fishes as well as observing the entire pond carefully. Yujia looked on with amusement.

    Feifei, who had barely said anything up until now, finally spoke up, pointing at a swarm of fish that just passed by. She tugged at the sleeve of the girl next to her, calling attention to the scene in front of her. "Jing Juan¡ª look over there. Isn''t that swarm almost all gold? The colors are so pretty; they remind me of the imperial palace."

    "They really are!" Jing Juan''s eyes widened with marvel, "Isn''t it strange how that all the golden fish gathered together? It''s almost like they''re rays of sunlight swimming through the pond. And it really is like the imperial palace¡­"

    She stepped back, walking along the wooden rails of the pavilion along with the path that the fishes went. As she followed them, she noticed Luowei who was standing close by. "Older Sister Luowei, look at that¡ª oh!"

    At her sudden gasp, Yujia looked over to see what would make Jing Juan, someone who appeared very composed and cool-headed at all times, to be suddenly surprised.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    The sight that was in front of her was indeed startling. The goldfish all swarmed together to one central point, spiraling in concentric circles. They gathered and swam so fast that all their glittering golden scales blurred together to one gold spiral, like a spinning pool of liquid gold within the center of the pond. It was definitely odd compared to their usual behavior, creating a marvelous and breathtaking sight.

    This all happened right in front of Zhou Luowei. The entire group paused, all fixing their eyes on the incredible sight of pure golden goldfish circling round and round.

    Luowei took a step closer to the railing, but before she could get too close, Tianyu suddenly jumped out, leaping in front of Luowei, her two arms leaning against the wooden railings to get a closer look at the swirling fish.

    Then, a loud " CRACK" sound echoed in the pavilion. The wooden railing that Tianyu leaned on snapped.

    And Rong Tianyu tipped over, falling into the water.

 150 The Artist, Drowning Once More

    Tianyu screamed as she fell in the water.

    That one scream, coupled along with the loud cracking sound, brought on an instant onslaught of shouts and yells, some terrified screams and some frantic cries. So many people rushed forward, reaching out for Tianyu who was flailing in the water. It was to no avail¡ª the pavilion railings were too high to reach. The chaotic sounds of people yelling and water splashing filled the vicinity.

    Yujia stared at it all blankly.

    She saw all of it happen. From when the wooden beams broke, to when Tianyu fell, to the current mess and chaos happening in front of her. But for some reason, she felt¡­ numb. Detached. It felt as if though she could comprehend everything happening, she also felt no need to move or speak or do anything .

    And then, the flashbacks kicked in.

    All of a sudden, instead of Rong Tianyu being the one who was drowning, Yujia could envision herself falling into the water again. Or no, it wasn''t just envisioning .

    She was currently drowning.

    The water was rushing into her open mouth, seeping through her clothes, tangling through her hair. Its cold hands wrapped around her neck, tightening and pushing pressure down on her lungs. She sank lower and lower, completely helpless.

    Most of all, she couldn''t breathe at all. Her breaths were shallow gasps, in rhythm with the speed of her racing heartbeat. The memories vanished¡ª she could see that she was on land, she was safe, she wasn''t drowning¡ª but she still could barely breathe. Her heart was going to leap out of her throat and her chest was painfully compressed. Her hands were shaking¡ª no, no, her entire body was shaking.

    Yujia tried to stop herself. She tried to breathe in, breathe out, to calm her heartbeat, to calm her mind, but she couldn''t. She kept shaking. Her heart kept thudding. All the noise from her vicinity grew dimmer and dimmer, but the noise from the splashing water and Tianyu''s cries grew louder.

    Then, oh god ¡ª no¡ª the flashbacks were starting again. The water pulled her under the surface.

    No¡ª no¡ª count to ten. Breathe in, breathe out.

    Water kept rushing through her lungs, suffocating her completely. She needed to breathe she needed to breathe she needed to breathe.

    Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven.

    The water was so cold. Cold, like ice. So cold that she didn''t feel like she could move at all. She was being frozen in place, dragged down by the water, air pulled out of her lungs.

    Six. Five. Four.

    There was no hope for her. She was going to drown. No one was going to help. It was all hopeless. Completely hopeless.

    Three. Two. One.

    Zhou Luowei''s panicked voice suddenly rang out loud and clear in Yujia''s mind. "You¡ª you two¡ª quick¡ª go get help! Go find someone who can swim¡ª quick !"

    Yujia blinked. The real world clicked back into her view.

    All around her, people were hurrying back and forth. Some were reaching out for Rong Tianyu, some were encouraging her to keep being above the water, some were yelling at others to go get help, some were rushing to get help.

    They were helping. They were helping .

    Rong Tianyu couldn''t swim. This fact was clear. These young ladies, who have never been taught or given any opportunity to learn didn''t know either. None of their maids did.

    They may have been sending people to get help who could swim, and they may have been trying to save Tianyu. But if someone didn''t do anything fast, Tianyu wasn''t going to last much longer in the water. Yujia knew that. She remembered exactly how long it took for her to sink down.

    Her heart was still racing in her chest. Her hands were still shaking non-stop. But at least she could breathe a little better now. There was finally air rushing into her lungs.

    Yujia stumbled back, counting down from ten over and over again to steady herself.

    She had to do something. She had to. Everyone was trying to help, except for her, who was just standing alone and being absolutely pathetic and useless. She needed to get ahold of herself¡ª think of some way to contribute to saving Tianyu¡ª or Tianyu was really going to drown.

    She couldn''t jump in. Yujia knew that clearly. She didn''t know how to swim at all. It would just be two drowning people instead of one, a greater hassle and danger.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    At the thought of the cold water, Yujia found that her hands were shaking harder than ever again. She raised them to look.

    Why was her fear so persistent? She was on land. She wasn''t at any risk at drowning herself. There was no need for any of this fear. Water couldn''t hurt her as long as she wasn''t touching it.

    Yet her hands continued to shake. The memories of drowning continued to creep at the edge of her thoughts. Her heartbeat wasn''t slowing down.

    At least, though, she could think clearly. This was a difference to her completely helpless state before. And Yujia needed to keep it that way.

    Her eyes still fixed on her shaking hands, Yujia also took in the blue fabric she was wearing. It was one of the less-refined robes she owned, one that was made of rougher and thicker fabric than thin silk which would rip easily. Because of the semi-chilly weather this morning, she decided to wear this set of robes.

    At the thought of this, Yujia''s eyebrows flew up. She grabbed the belt she wore and untied it, then frantically took off her outer layer of robes. With the fabric, she twisted it into a bulky and long strand. Once the fabric was twisted, she took the string parts of her belt, fixing the twisted form in place. Hastily, she ran up to the edge of the railings, taking in exactly how far Rong Tianyu was.

    She needed to make a rope. If she gave Rong Tianyu something to grab onto, something to pull her closer to the railings, then perhaps she could save the younger girl.

    With the robes she wore, the fabric was thick enough to not tear easily. Now twisted, it would act perfectly as a robe, the only problem being that it was too short to reach Tianyu, who was further in the water.

    Yujia spun herself around, pointing at everyone present here. "Please¡ª if you want to save her¡ª please give me your outer robes! I only need one or two more¡ª"

    Jing Juan took a wary step back. "But that''s just not proper¡ª how can we take off our clothes in public? And also, most of us are wearing silk! If you''re about to do what I think you''re going to do, silk is going to tear easily¡­"

    "We''re talking about a whole human life here; who cares if it''s proper or not proper?" Yujia snapped back.

    "You''re right." Lu Feifei stood up, untying the cloak she wore around her. "I''m afraid I''m wearing silk underneath this cloak too, but this cloak should work!" Her voice was surprisingly loud and clear in this situation.

    Yujia took the cloak from her hands. She hurried as she twisted it, then knotting the two fabric pieces together in a tight knot. Her hands still trembled while she worked, making it difficult to tie the knot. That was when Luo Xiya stepped in, reaching forward and fixing the knot with steady hands.

    Xiya smiled, though her eyebrows were still furrowed with worry. She handed over another set of outer robes from what seemed to come from her maid behind her. "Here," she said.  It was already twisted and she tied the knot too.

    Yujia gratefully nodded a thanks, then leaned over the railing, tossing the makeshift rope in Tianyu''s direction. "Rong Tianyu!" she yelled, "Grab onto the rope!"

    Tianyu, who had dangerously sunk under the water once already, heard her voice and flailed her arms forward, grabbing at the rope. Yujia gripped her fingers tightly on the other end, hoping that the fabric wouldn''t all just fall apart.

    To Yujia''s relief, he knots held tightly. Yujia kept pulling with all her strength, and bit by bit, she dragged a nearly passed out Rong Tianyu back to the railing.

    Tianyu, now completely sapped of all her energetic personality that Yujia knew her for, weakly grabbed onto the wooden railings. The few servants that were in the pavilion with them now rushed forward, pulling their Miss Rong back over the railing.

    Seeing Tianyu dazed, but still alive and breathing, Yujia finally stepped back, taking a deep breath in. She managed to save her. She managed to save someone from drowning.

    She, Yang Yujia, saved a life today.

    Along with that thought, her hands slowly ceased to tremble. Yujia, completely exhausted, slumped to the floor and closed her eyes.

 151 The Cruelest Memory of the Artis

    When Yujia opened her eyes again, some of the young ladies, still pale with shock, were already getting escorted away by their servants and carriages. Meanwhile, Zhou Luowei ordered the servants who were carrying a now-passed out Rong Tianyu, "Quick! Since the Bo Villa is the closest to this place and the Rong Villa is so far away, bring her to my villa! And some of you go run for a doctor! If your Second Miss has any emergencies, your heads are all falling off today!"

    Once the servants carried Rong Tianyu away, Luowei now rubbed her temples, her posture loosening a bit. She glanced across the pavilion at Yujia, who leaned against one of the center poles of the pavilion, staring back at Luowei.

    Luowei watched everyone else leave quickly with a few bids of goodbye, then walked next to Yujia, holding out her hand. "Do you¡­ want to come back to the villa with me? I can get you another set of outer robes¡­ since you''re looking like this. If you walk all the way from here to Lingxin, you''re going to damage your reputation and get a cold."

    Yujia nodded, grasping onto Luowei''s hand and pulling herself up. "Thank you," she quietly murmured.

    Together, they walked and entered Luowei''s carriage, which set off soon. Though it was Yujia''s first time riding a carriage, she couldn''t bring herself to feel interested or excited. She could only stare down at her hands, silently contemplating many things.

    She managed to save Rong Tianyu. But even so, Yujia''s mind couldn''t stop replaying the events that happened before that. Though she managed to stop being completely immersed in her memories every single time, she could still recall the fear that spread across her entire heart. Just the thought of it made her heart begin to speed up again, worry spreading across her thoughts.

    Among all of this worry, a distant memory flickered in her brain, as if today''s events finally triggered them to surface.

    Through the twenty-four years of her life, this memory was the worst one. Worse than failing her most important college examinations. Worse than getting all those countless rejections for her art. Worse than all her fights with her parents. Worse than all the deep debt she was stuck in throughout her past life.

    This was a memory that she tried so hard to bury away. It was the deepest, darkest part of her shame, the one she never learned to accept. She only knew to bury it deeper and deeper, to forget it every time she recalled it, to ignore its sheer existence and pretend like this way, it would all be fine.

    It was a memory from when she was twelve. A year when she was just old enough to recall things with painful detail. A year just old enough to realize that everything was all her responsibility, her fault.

    In this memory, there was a graying beach and a little toddler, her baby brother. One moment he was there, playing in the sand where her parents left the two of them temporarily. The next moment, she looked away upon seeing a friend, and when she looked back, she only saw the faintest glimmer of him vanishing under the tide of the water.

    She had screamed then. She had screamed so loudly, running towards the spot where she last saw him, almost diving into the water before a lifeguard ran forward, pulling her back and telling her that it was dangerous. Then, he went into the water himself, diving into the waves instead of the calm area of water she saw her brother wander off into.

    Her parents were back by now, holding the picnic basket they promised to get from the car. They dropped the basket when they realized that she was crying and that their precious son was gone. They ran up to her, shaking and shouting at her, asking what had happened, but all she could reply was, with a red face stained with tears, " I don''t know, I don''t know, I don''t know ."

    When the lifeguard came back to the water, empty-handed, no sign of her baby brother anywhere, he only shook his head. At that moment, her mom dropped to her knees, her gaze becoming blank. Her father spun around, diving into the waves himself, in complete disbelief.

    Hours of searching passed.

    But no one could find him, the baby brother that she knew for only two years but loved with all her heart.

    It didn''t make sense. It didn''t make any sense. She had seen him stumble in the tranquil, shallow water before she could catch up to him and stop him. It was a welcoming, shallow, and friendly section of water in contrary to the strong tides. How could it be that he just¡­ vanished like that?

    Later on, they would tell her that it was a rip current. A silent killer under the disguise of calm, welcome water. Even adults drowned in these currents, much less a two-year-old boy.

    Something, at that time, broke between her and her parents. They blamed her. They blamed her for not watching him carefully enough. They blamed her for being distracted by that friend she saw. They blamed her for being the murderer of her baby brother. She blamed herself too. If she just hadn''t been distracted for that split second¡ª

    From that day on, Yujia never neared another body of water either.

    Over the years, with her parents losing the son they always wished to have and having this disappointment of a daughter, their relationship slowly grew more distant and more distant. After all, from the moment that Yujia turned around to see the head of her baby brother slip under the water, it was all destined to be broken.

    And along with the passing of years, Yujia also struggled to forget these memories. She wiped them away every single time she recalled it. With the passage of time, she thought that she had long forgotten all of this. She thought that if she rejected all of it for long enough, she would never have to recall and live through all her shame again.

    That was clearly wrong.

    For now, she was remembering all of it again. The feelings tore at her heart. The memories, the haunting memories, surfaced back, as clear as ever.

    Was this all retribution? Everything she experienced in this world, from the drowning to the fear of water, she deserved all of it, didn''t she? She was, in the end, the reason for her brother drowning. In return, wasn''t it just fair that she would continue to be faced with being drowned herself? It all made sense.

    "Yujia?"

    Breaking her thoughts once more was Zhou Luowei, who sat across from her. Her sudden voice tore Yujia from these memories.

    "Why are you¡­ crying?" Luowei continued with hesitancy.

    Yujia looked up, finding that her vision was blurred. Her cheeks were stained with burning streaks of tears that she only noticed just now. Her hands were shaking again.

    "I am?" She replied slowly, raising her hands up to wipe the tears away.

    She could not think about her brother''s death like that. She should not think of her brother''s death. These memories were too excruciating, too distressing. And they were things of the past. No matter how much shame she felt, she couldn''t bring him back from the dead.

    It was all her fault. Yujia knew that. That day, if she could''ve been the one to drown instead of her brother, she would''ve done it.

    But for now, Yujia wanted to be more selfish. She wanted to be more selfish and broken and blind and cowardly. The pain was too much to bear. The guilt was too much to bear.

    Once more, she pushed this memory into the depths of her brain, deeper and deeper in the hopes that she would not remember it again. She was a new person now. She had a new start. She shouldn''t allow herself to keep recalling the past. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    "Are you fine?" Luowei probed.

    "Me?" Yujia whispered, finding her voice hoarse.

    Despite the tears¡ª the goddamn tears that kept falling no matter how much she tried to push the memories away¡ª she gritted a smile on her face. A crooked smile that didn''t belong there and hurt too much to make.

    "I''m fine."

 152 Physician Diagnosis for the Artis

    Arriving at the Bo Villa, a servant hastily led Luowei and Yujia to the courtyard Rong Tianyu was brought to. There was a physician at the courtyard, an old man who looked to be in his sixties. He was currently taking the pulse of Tianyu, who laid down in a bed shrouded by a veil, likely to preserve her reputation. Even her wrist that the physician touched was covered with a thin layer of fabric to prevent skin-to-skin contact.

    Luowei, now a married woman, had less rules over her reputation. Yujia, on the other hand, quickly drew her veil out of her sleeve and tied it around her head again. Luowei already gave her a cloak to wear around her when they arrived at the villa, so there was no need for Yujia to worry about not being in the proper clothes.

    "Is Miss Rong awake?" Luowei questioned with a quiet voice to the servant that brought them over.

    The servant bowed and replied, "Madam, Miss Rong is still unconscious¡­"

    Luowei wrung her hands together. Her eyes were fixed on the shadow of Tianyu lying on the bed. "Poor Tianyu," she whispered, "To think that she would have to experience such bad luck today."

    While Yujia and Luowei both observed the doctor, one maid walked up to them, holding out a tray of folded robes and bowing. "Madam," the maid spoke up, "here are the robes you requested."

    "Oh!" Luowei''s eyes fixed on the robes, recognition appearing. "Younger Sister Yujia, we look about the same size, and I recently commissioned a set of new robes from a tailor. These are completely new, so¡ª why don''t you try them on behind that folding screen in the adjacent room, and tell me if it works?"

    Gratefully, Yujia nodded and silently walked over to the other room, behind the folding screen that Luowei described. The maid carrying the tray of robes followed, assisting Yujia in changing out of her wrinkled inner robes and into the full set of robes that Luowei offered.

    Yujia discovered upon putting on the robes that the Bo Family Luowei married into was indeed as wealthy as they were famous for.

    The robes, made of delicate silk, felt like a luxury on her skin. They were as light as feathers brushing her skin. With the fabric so lightweight and delicate, Yujia expected it to tear at the slightest movement. Yet surprisingly, it held up well to a few tugs Yujia made on the sleeves, and as she wore it, she found herself warming up too. Somehow, it was crafted to keep the cold spring weather out, but it also regulated temperature well enough that Yujia felt absolutely comfortable.

    Though there were no mirrors, Yujia could look down at the robes, realizing that the embroidery was just as fine and intricate as the technique used to weave the silk fabric. The robes themselves were an almost-white shade of teal, with white embroidery of lotus flowers and butterflies all over it. Because of the similarity in color, the embroidery and silk merged into one, creating a unique effect. From far away, the simplistic robes looked elegant for a mysterious reason, but once close up with all the embroidery in their full detail, one could notice the breath-taking details in the embroidery. A few touches of iridescent-silver thread that glinted in natural sunlight added an even better effect.

    Once the robes were all on correctly, Yujia stepped out and walked back in front of Luowei, who finally tore her gaze away from Tianyu to look. The moment Luowei saw the robes on Yujia, some joy finally appeared in her expression. Her soft pink lips turned upwards.

    "I knew that this dress would suit you more!" She stepped closer to Yujia, raising her sleeves and observing them. "Ah, when I first saw this fabric, I knew it would look good as a robe. You are the first person to wear robes like this, made of this kind of silk¡ª did you know?"

    "Really?" Yujia couldn''t help but feel her mood lightening. Things like this¡ª distractions¡ª could always draw her mind away from all the unpleasant thoughts.

    Thinking about it, in both times that she saw Zhou Luowei, Luowei always wore cool colors like green and blue, similar to what the Fourth Miss liked to wear. These robes were the same kind of colors. Truthfully, Yujia preferred warm colors, especially pastel pink and persimmon orange, but she was fine with wearing any color. And with robes as stunning as the one she had right now, she had no room to complain.

    Luowei took a step back, observing Yujia from head to toe before gesturing at the maid who dressed Yujia. She ordered, "Go bring me the veil with the jade beads and the matching jade hairpin from my jewelry box."

    The maid obediently left and returned within a few minutes, carrying the two requested items to Luowei in a tray. Luowei took the veil first, unfolding it and revealing a sheer white silk connected together by two strings of jade beads that could clasp and unclasp. Holding it out to Yujia, Luowei pointed out, "The veil you wear around your face normally is too unrefined. To match these robes, use this veil instead."

    Yujia immediately raised her hands and shook them, her eyes widening. She had a faint idea that this was what Luowei intended when she told the servant to fetch those objects, but seeing them in person now, they looked far too expensive than anything she ever owned. Even the veil had detailed embroidery that matched the robes she wore.

    "I can''t take this! Perhaps temporarily, but¡­"

    "Oh, just wear it," Luowei insisted. "These, along with the robes, you can keep. The veil I have no purpose for. I''m no longer an unmarried woman. As for the hairpins, I bought them to match the veil and robes, so you keep them too. The robes look better on you than they would on me, anyways."

    Yujia paused, hesitantly looking at the tray with the hairpins.

    Luowei smiled encouragingly. "Take it. I''m glad to give these small objects to someone who looks better in them than me. And¡­ it''s a distraction. From these other things." She glanced over at the physician and Tianyu, then brought her gaze back to Yujia.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    At that moment, Yujia realized that this game of dress-up was the same purpose for Luowei as it was to Yujia. They both needed a light-hearted distraction from everything occurring in the same room.

    So, Yujia relented. She untied her veil, then clasped the one with jade beads that Luowei gave her. Luowei then helped her by threading the two jade hairpins through Yujia''s hair, nodding appreciatively.

    "It really looks all put-together now," Luowei sighed with a soft smile. "Robes like this look best with simplistic hair ornaments."

    Yujia smiled back. "Does it really look good?"

    Now that everything was on her, Yujia realized more and more the true extent to the Bo Family''s wealth. Expensive and heavy hairpins were the kind that Luowei could call "small objects" without hesitation despite their exorbitant price.

    "Wonderful. Younger Sister Yujia is truly a beauty; anything you wear looks good."

    Though she couldn''t stop her cheeks from heating up, Yujia complimented Luowei back. "But Older Sister has her grace that this Younger Sister cannot compare with."

    Before Luowei could respond, the physician walked up, bowing. His diagnosis for Rong Tianyu seemed to be completed.

    Luowei''s posture immediately stiffened, the smile on her face fading away. "Is she fine?"

    The old man spoke his words slowly. "Do not fret, Madam. Miss Rong is perfectly fine. She only took in a little water, caught a little cold, and has some shock, but she''ll get better in no time. Her pulse is steady and strong." He fumbled to his side, pulling out a paper prescription. "This prescription will help."

    Hearing these words, Luowei finally relaxed. Her fingers, which were tightly clenched together, unraveled. She gestured at Yujia to the physician. "Miss Yang has received some shock too. Please check up on her."

    "Of course." The old man nodded, making a gesture for Yujia to sit over at the chairs at the side of the room.

    Yujia laid her wrist down on the table flat. The physician took the same thin fabric he used for Tianyu, laying it over her skin. Then, he pressed his fingers down, feeling her pulse.

    For a long moment, the old man only looked down, no expression displayed on his blank face. His fingers continued pressing down on her wrist, unmoving to the point where it began to get a little uncomfortable for Yujia.

    She observed him take Tianyu''s pulse, which only took a minute or two. But more than five minutes have already passed, and he was still taking her pulse. She knew that she was chronically ill, but was it really necessary for him to take her pulse for so long?

    Finally, the physician seemed to come to a conclusion. He lifted his fingers, speaking even slower than before. "Miss, you''ve indeed gotten a bit of shock¡­ but that''s not the biggest issue here."

    "Then what is?" Yujia''s brows gathered together. "I have always been ill. This is something I know."

    "Ill?" The old man let out a small laugh of disbelief. "No, Miss, you are not ill. Your pulse¡­ it''s completely irregular. It indicates signs of poison."

 153 New Perils of the Artis

    It took a few seconds for what the physician said to truly hit.

    And when it did hit, it didn''t hit easy.

    Yujia stood up in a flash, her hands clenched at her sides. Her eyes narrowed, eyebrows knitted, and mouth widened to almost a smile of disbelief. "Say that again," she ordered.

    "I''m not certain about it, Young Miss." The old man gave a shaky smile that attempted to look reassuring but didn''t come off that way at all. He folded his hands together, sweat beginning to bead at his forehead. He must think of Yujia as some high-status young miss of an important family¡ª and to report something like poison, if the report was false, he would be involved in a mess. "We¡ª we can test it though. It''s hard to tell from just the pulse. If this Young Miss is willing to participate and provide a drop of blood, this can be tested."

    Luowei, who stood at the side and heard all of this, walked forward and grabbed Yujia''s arm. This movement turned out to be more reassuring than whatever comforting smile the physician attempted to give. "Surely, we must test this," Luowei advised.

    "I¡­ agree." Yujia shook her head though, not in disagreement, but more in shock.

    How could it be? Poison? As if being terminally ill was not bad enough¡­ she had to be poisoned as well? Or was she not even sick in the first place? Could the poison be the true reason for her constant weakness, persistent cough, and dull stomach pain that she experienced on a normal basis?

    "Please have a seat." The physician waved his hand.

    Yujia sat down, her posture now stiffened. She watched with careful eyes as the old man drew from his medicine box a long silver needle, then held out his hand to have her place her left hand on the table. He also took out a shallow and small white bowl.

    "I¡ª I can do it myself," Yujia stated, taking the needle from him. "It doesn''t matter where I draw blood from, correct?"

    "Correct."

    Her hands were surprisingly steady as she held them over the porcelain bowl. With her right hand gripping the needle, Yujia pricked the very tip of her pointer finger of her left hand. The needle sunk in easily and exited just as quickly, breaking only the shallow layers of her skin. Red began to swell from the spot she pricked. Squeezing her skin together, a few drops of blood were pushed out of her skin, falling and swirling together at the bottom of the bowl she held her hand over.

    With a sample of her blood now in the bowl, the physician reached in his medicine box once more, pulling out a jade bottle stuffed with red cloth. He pulled the stopper out, shaking out a few droplets of a clear liquid.

    Upon touching the surface of her blood, the liquid immediately dissolved. Yujia stared at what happened next intently¡ª the blood, now combined with the liquid, turned a dark, dark shade of purple-black.

    "This¡ª" she pointed out.

    "With this, I am certain," the physician answered, "Young Miss¡­ I am very, very unhappy to inform you that you have been poisoned, and for quite a long time as well. This clear liquid is made of a special herb that reacts with most poisons. When interacting with healthy blood, there will be no effects. The blood and herb would not even mix. But when interacting with blood that holds traces of poison, it will mix and turn into the black shade you see here. The more poison that is concentrated within the blood, the quicker the color change."

    Yujia stared at the solid evidence in front of her. She considered if the doctor had been lying, but there was no reason to. He didn''t know her. What happened just now¡ª the pulse coming out irregular and the blood turning dark¡ª it was not coincidence either. They all pointed to one conclusion.

    She spoke slowly. "Then¡­ do you know what poison?"

    "I''m afraid that this humble physician is not so skilled in poison to deduct the type of poison just from blood. I would have to look and test everything that you have come in contact with, from food to incense to pills."

    Luowei followed quickly, "Young Sister Yujia, what are you going to do about this? You¡ª Lingxin¡ª this is just¡ª not what I expected. I¡ª"

    Seeing how flustered Luowei was becoming, Yujia covered up her discomfort and ever-growing fear, putting on a smile. "It''s alright." She couldn''t blame Luowei for any of this. Luowei only had good motives in the first place to have Yujia''s pulse checked. Who knew that a simple pulse diagnosis would lead to such a large conspiracy? "I''ll figure it out on my own."

    Luowei, who didn''t know Yujia''s past family background, would definitely come to the conclusion that someone poisoned her at Lingxin. But Yujia trusted her master and senior brother, the only two people she really came in contact with. Neither of the two seemed like the type to poison her, or had enough time to do so.

    It was the Yang Household that held the most of her concerns.

    She tried so hard to run away from it, to put some distance to allow herself to discover her true self before reuniting with some of the people in that place. But it seemed like fate was pushing her to return. There were too many things Yujia needed to find out: the truth behind the Fourth Miss, the truth behind Madam Liu, the truth behind Madam Zhang, the truth behind the thievery. And now, the truth behind the poison.

    Yujia leaned her head against her hand. Too many things were coming up, all at once.

    She just wanted to have some time of peace. Just when she thought her life was going to unfold normally, new threats were appearing here and there. Was a month of peace too much to ask for?

    In the midst of her thoughts, the door to the room was suddenly pushed open. A person she knew¡ª Bo Zhiyuan, the Second Young Master of the Bo Family, Zhou Luowei''s husband, and her first commissioner¡ª rushed in, heading towards Luowei. Behind him, another person she knew followed.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Yu Zixu.

 154 The Artist Goes to Buy a Drink

    Bo Zhiyuan rushed to Zhou Luowei immediately, grabbing her by her arms. His eyes searched her face frantically, his words pressed while he spoke, "I heard about what happened and rushed here as soon as I could. You''re¡ª you''re fine right? You didn''t get hurt. Has the physician checked your pulse? Are you completely alright?"

    Luowei smiled gently, taking his hands off her arms and nodding. "I''m fine." She glanced over to Rong Tianyu. "But¡­ Tianyu¡­" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Zhiyuan looked in Tianyu''s direction as well, his lips pressing together in a flat line. "I know you''re worried about her. Word was already sent over to the Rong Household. They should be heading over any second now."

    "That''s good to hear. I didn''t face too much shock myself, but Miss Yang has¡­" Luowei moved her gaze to Zixu. "Young Master Yu is here today?"

    Zixu kept his distance, bowing. "I was discussing things with Zhiyuan when he heard the news and rushed here. I simply followed along."

    At this moment, the doors were opened again. A servant and a middle aged woman barged in. The woman strode all the way to Tianyu who was on the bed, completely ignoring everyone else. "Tianyu, my child!" the woman pulled open the curtains and sobbed, clutching Tianyu''s hand.

    Based on her obvious words and actions, Yujia deducted that this must''ve been Tianyu''s mother. Since Rong Tianyu already had her family arriving, and Yujia had a change of clothes, there was no reason for her to stay anymore. She also wanted some time to herself.

    So, bowing to Luowei, Yujia said, "I''ll be going now. Thank you for everything."

    "Of course. No problem." Luowei smiled, bowing back. "It''s getting late; stay safe as you return home."

    "En." She bowed again and left.

    Once outside, it was soothing to breathe the fresh air. It felt like a refresher to her clouded thoughts. A servant led her out of the villa. Right when she stepped out, someone caught up to her.

    Yu Zixu, again.

    She wanted time alone. She really did. But seeing that Zixu had saved her life and treated her kindly for the past few days, it would be rude of her to immediately turn him away.

    Yujia folded her hands, bowing. "Young Master Yu. Do you need something from me?"

    Zixu bowed back, then looked off to the sky. "It''s already a little late. I had questions for you, and I figured that it would only be right if I escorted you back to where you''re staying, especially since it''s getting dark."

    Yujia glanced at the sky too. The sun was dipping closer to the horizon in the distance. Today had been a long day¡ª with Zhizhong, with Luowei, with Tianyu¡ª and it was already close to evening when she stepped out. She expected that in less than an hour''s time, it would be completely dark.

    "Then, let''s talk," she replied simply while she began to walk in the direction of Lingxin.

    Zixu, seeing that she was willing to talk, followed along with a content smile on his face. "Are you still going under the identity of Miss Yang?"

    "Why would I not?" Yujia raised her eyebrows. Despite not being the Fourth Miss anymore, she was still very much Yang Yujia. That was her name from the very start.

    He leaned forward. "How did you escape your marriage? Do you know what your family did?"

    "I may have heard a thing or two about it."

    "They sent over an empty carriage," Zixu laughed, "An empty carriage, pretending like you were in it. And did you know what my father''s expression was when he saw it?"

    This was something Yujia was actually curious about. "What was it?"

    "Something like confusion. Then shock. And then, overwhelming anger. So much anger that what was entertaining was not the look on his face, but the look on the servants who were bringing the word over from your household. I believe that it was the most entertaining thing I saw this past week."

    He smiled a little wider, the smile looking more genuine now. As if Zixu truly took amusement in seeing other people arguing over the most ridiculous things. Which, Yujia could relate to. She found the thought of it¡ª a towering old master of the Yu Family yelling at a cowering servant from the Yang Household¡ª a novelty.

    Or maybe Zixu found more entertainment in the fact that his engagement, which barely progressed through the first traditions, was now cancelled. Whatever the reason was for his jubilant expression, Yujia didn''t know for sure. She could never figure out what was going on in his head.

    "So how did you do it? How did you escape?" Zixu asked again.

    Yujia answered, "I ran to Lingxin."

    Hearing that, Zixu nodded twice. "I expected something like that. Your master will surely treat you well."

    "Is that all you wanted to know?"

    "No. I still have many more questions." He tilted his head. "Except now is not a good time."

    She looked at him in the eyes. "When are you going to ask?"

    "Didn''t you say that you were going to be my teacher? As teacher and student, our days are still long, aren''t they?" There was a teasing smile in his eyes.

    Yujia paused in her steps. "I¡­ said that?"

    Her mind flashed back to all of her past encounters. She did promise to teach him a few painting techniques, but that was about it, right?

    A foggy memory suddenly surfaced.

    "If you say so¡­ then I''ll be your kind teacher¡­ who tells you about your kindness scale¡­"

    Those words came along with the memory of Yujia falling asleep as she talked to Yu Zixu. It was the day after the drowned, where he brought her back to the Yang Villa after she fainted.

    She said those words as a joke. She swore that she did. Her brain was not functioning normally when she said it.

    Yet it seemed like Yu Zixu took it very, very seriously. Maybe this, just like seeing his father bring his anger down on the Yang Household, or his engagement being cancelled, was a delightful, fascinating concept to speculate about.

    Seeing her expression of recognition, Zixu continued on with his calm smile, "We can just talk later about these things."

    A headache was beginning to appear on Yujia''s side. Everything that happened today, along with seeing Zixu, reminded her more and more of her past memories she wanted to push away so terribly.

    Water. Suffocation. Sinking.

    She wanted all of it to go away. She wanted to be alone. She wanted to forget all of this.

    Her eyes looked off to the side, at a tavern. A few people sat inside, drinking jugs of wine.

    Her hands began to tremble, if only the slightest.

    Alcohol. That was what she relied on in the past to bring her away from all the worries in the world. The reminder of wine set off a sudden craving and desire for it.

    Going back to Lingxin with empty hands would do nothing for her. As a sober person, she knew that no matter how much she tried to push down memories, they were still going to surface up.

    But with alcohol¡ª that was an escape. An escape from all the struggles and all of the painful parts of reality.

    She turned sharply, making a cut for the tavern. Behind her, Zixu turned as well, asking, "Miss Yang, I thought you were going back to Lingxin?"

    "Changed my mind. I''m in the mood for a drink. You can stop following now, since you''re finished with the questions and all."

    He paused in his steps, and Yujia went on by herself.

 155 Wine Purchase of the Artis

    Yujia slung in the shop without pausing a single moment, immediately scanning her eyes over the shelves of wine behind the front counter. When the owner saw her, he focused his gaze and asked, "Miss, can I help you?"

    "Don''t you sell wine? Give me the strongest wine you have."

    "The strongest¡­?" Along with his wide eyes, his eyebrows slowly rose up and up more, wrinkling his forehead. "But Young Miss¡­ that''s¡­ uh¡­"

    "Money is not a problem. Give me the strongest wine you have," Yujia repeated.

    The owner hesitated for a second moment, but after that moment of thought, he turned around, running his hand along the shelf until he picked a large jug of wine towards the top. Pulling it down for her, he placed it on the counter between them and described, "This Plum Blossom Wine is the most popular treasure of my shop. Its flavor is both sweet and tart, and even a sip is enough to keep the aroma of plum in your tastebuds for hours on end."

    "Great. How much, then?"

    "Thirty taels for a small jug."  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    "That expensive?" Yujia recalled the last time she had a drink, only a few weeks ago. Back then, the rice wine was low in alcohol content, but at least she could drink jugs and jugs on end and only spent ten or so taels. Thirty for a small jug seemed like an extreme amount.

    "Why, didn''t I say that this was a treasure of my shop?" The man narrowed his eyes, placing his two hands on the jug. "If you''re not willing to pay this much, then you should choose another wine."

    "You said that this is the strongest wine you have?"

    "Of course. I would not lie to you. A small jug is more than enough to get you drunk, if that''s¡­ what you desire, Young Miss."

    "I''ll take it."

    Yujia shuffled in her pocket, pulling out her satchel of taels and dumping most of it out to the man. "That should be enough."

    He snatched the taels over to his side on the table, carefully counting each one before nodding a confirmation. Reaching underneath the counter, he pulled out another, much smaller jar. Opening the fabric covering of the large jug and using a scoop, he dipped out of the jug three times, which was enough to fill up the small jug. A red fabric was tied over Yujia''s jug as a cover. He handed it to her, a satisfied smile on his face. "May Young Miss enjoy her wine."

    Yujia took the jar from him, heading out the moment she had it in her hands.

    For some reason, Yu Zixu was still waiting outside.

    "I thought you left already," she said, "Why are you still here?"

    Zixu tilted his head. "I thought you were going to drink inside the tavern. It wouldn''t be safe for a girl like you to do so alone."

    Yujia gave a dry laugh, rotating the jar of wine in her hand. "Nope. I''m heading back to Lingxin to get drunk and forget all my worries."

    She began to walk. Zixu followed behind.

    "What worries do you have?" he asked.

    "Many."

    She didn''t know why he was still walking with her. Shouldn''t he have better thing to do? Wasn''t he discussing things with Bo Zhiyuan? Yujia faintly recalled hearing him mentioning something of that sort. With the thought of Bo Zhiyuan, Yujia thought back to Zhizhong. She wondered if he washed that cat-face she drew on him with ink immediately after returning home. She also almost expected to run into him in the Bo Villa, but she didn''t see him at all.

    Perhaps the ink on his face smeared even after he attempted to wash it off, so he was stuck in his own courtyard.

    At the thought of that, Yujia couldn''t help the corners of her lips tugging upwards. It was a pleasant distraction to think about the earlier, happier parts of today.

    Glancing over and seeing Zixu by her side brought her back to reality, the side of life with less distractions and more cold, harsh facts.

    There were a couple of reasons why Yujia didn''t enjoy seeing Yu Zixu. They key one was that he reminded her of too many things. She appreciated the effort he put into helping her despite reasons she didn''t know of. But regardless of that, there were more things that tilted the scale to more discomfort. He looked like people of her past. His voice and words sent her back to darker memories. His calm smile made her unnerved.

    Except then, Yujia recalled one sunny afternoon. She was sitting with Zixu in a pavilion. It was the moment after the painting convention she went to a while back. At that memory, the two of them talked about many things. And in that memory, she recalled that he wasn''t smiling.

    Just then, Yujia realized that though Yu Zixu enjoyed wearing that mask of a calm smile, there were many moments where he was not. And in those moments, there was no one who understood her quite as much as he did. He was not just someone who constantly helped her, but the one who always listened to her the best.

    Though Yujia wanted solitude, wouldn''t it be better if she could just put all her feelings out?

    She paused in her steps. Somewhere in the midst of all her thoughts, they had arrived at the front arch of Lingxin. Yu Zixu took a step back, bowing. "Miss Yang. I''ll be leaving now."

    She could''ve just said " Alright. Thank you for sending me, " or " Have a good evening ," but Yujia didn''t want to say either of the two.

    And though she had not taken a sip of alcohol yet, some part of her felt blurred. She reached out, her hand grazing his sleeve.

    "Wait. Stay."

 156 A Drink With the Artist Under the Plum Blossoms

    Zixu looked at her with his typical smile on his face. Not a trace of surprise reflected back from his eyes. It was as if he expected her to say the words that just left her mouth. He drew his sleeves back, bowing slightly with a nod. "Of course. If Miss Yang asks like so, then it would be wrong of me to reject."

    "Come along then." She gestured her hand, loosening her posture and attempting to keep a straight, emotionless expression as she walked into Lingxin.

    On the inside, however, she was anything but emotionless. Her mind was a complete mess.

    What was she thinking? Why did she ask Yu Zixu to stay behind? He was a man , for goodness sake. A grown, adult man. If Yujia went back to herself from a month ago, she would surely never worry about these fickle things, but things had changed since then. Now, it was almost as if she was growing used to society''s ideals. Or, not even that, but Yujia felt more inclined to think about what others would think of her. If they found out that she went drinking all night long with Young Master Zixu, how scandalous would that rumor sound?

    The only idea that slightly assured Yujia was that Lingxin Academy was a private place. No one, except for her master, her senior brother, her senior brother''s family, and the servants, would be inside the academy''s private gates, with it being so late in the evening already.

    She tried to push these thoughts of scandals and rumors aside for a good solid minute. With the fact that the two of them were in complete silence, it was even more difficult to distract herself with other thoughts. Every single time Yujia attempted to think of something else, these thoughts about scandal echoed even louder in her head.

    When they arrived near the courtyard Yujia resided in, Yujia finally picked up enough courage to break the silence. "Don''t you think it''s improper for you to do this?"

    "What do you mean?" He leaned his head to the side, almost as if he was genuinely oblivious.

    "You know what I mean, don''t you?" She found her voice light and airy. Their voices were both quiet, as if the stillness of the night was too perfect to break.

    He replied, "Didn''t I tell you that I have questions? Is there not a better time to ask than right now, over a drink of sweet wine?"

    Yujia paused for a long moment. The two stopped at the front arch of the courtyard. She hesitated before stepping in, then said, "I always thought you were uptight about etiquette."

    "I am," The corners of his lips turned up even more as he spoke, "but only when others are around. That''s the only time that it matters, isn''t it? When you are alone at home, do you sit with perfect posture, sleep without turning, and fold your hands exactly how they want you to?"

    "Am I not an ''other'', then?" she quipped back.

    "No. Of course not. At least, not right now."

    This made Yujia smile, at last. If he said with complete certainty that she was not another person, she would''ve thought of it as a lie. If he claimed that she was an other person, she would''ve felt uncomfortable too. Yet with his answer that was leaning towards both sides, she actually felt like there was more certainty and truth to his words.

    "Then, tonight, there''s no etiquette between us, like two brothers having a drink together," Yujia concluded, walking past the front arch.

    "Ah. Are you Yu Ziyang tonight?" Zixu arched a brow, amusement threaded through his voice.

    The two of them stopped in front of the plum tree, bare of blossoms and standing alone, in the middle of the yard. Perhaps it was the moonlight cascading down onto it, but the plum tree looked more lonely now.

    "Should I be?" She used to dislike thinking about the nerve-wracking, panic-driven moment where she had first officially met Yu Zixu, impersonating as his younger brother, Yu Ziyang. Now, though, it was more of a story to laugh at. It brought a light smile to her face.

    "If you want to be," he suggested. "I don''t particularly care who you choose to identify as¡ª Miss Yang, Yu Ziyang, Teacher Yang¡ª does it even matter?"

    "Then call me Yujia." At this, Zixu gave her a peculiar look, so Yujia hastily added on, "If that''s comfortable with you. I¡­ don''t really like being called "Miss". Never liked it. Never will."

    Thinking about it, Yujia wished that she told Hui''er this long ago. Hui''er has always called her "Miss", but Yujia never found an opportunity to properly tell the young girl to call her by her name in private.

    "Then¡­ Yu¡­ Jia ."

    Zixu spoke slowly, his words not rolling off his tongue as smooth as it always. It was a first to see him this way, his words clunky and unpracticed.

    "I''m sorry," he quickly added again, "I''m not too used to this."

    "It seems like you do care about etiquette a little more than me after all," Yujia laughed. She sat down underneath the plum tree, her back leaning against the wide trunk. "I thought we agreed on no etiquette?"

    Zixu sat down as well, shaking his head a bit. His lips were slightly parted, but he was silent, as if he couldn''t think of a response to Yujia''s words in time. Instead, while Yujia opened the jar of wine, he looked up at the branches of plum, his eyes taking in the full view of the bare branches.

    Yujia looked down at the wine, then at her empty hands. She just realized that she had no cups, and surely, Zixu and her couldn''t share the same jug. "Hold on," she noted, "I''ll go get cups."

    In a rushed manner, she headed into her room, looking for cups to grab. The candles were still lit in the room, along with the lanterns hanging in the walkways, probably by the servants who saw that she still had not yet returned and decided to light up the room for her. This way, when she returned, she wasn''t bathed in complete darkness.

    By the time that she went back, two cups in her hands, Zixu was still looking at the tree.

    "You like the plum tree?" she asked while she poured him a cup.

    "Under the moonlight, it''s almost ethereal." He raised the cups to his thin lips, barely taking a sip in between his words. "I only wish that it was blossoming¡ª now that would be a stunning sight."

    Yujia drank from the cup she poured for herself too, taking a deeper sip than him. "My master said that this was a seventy years old tree, and that it blossoms in white. Yet I''m not so sure about the full story of the tree. He promised to tell me about it when I finished an assignment he gave me this morning." She tilted his head back, looking at the thin strands of moonlight scattered through the branches. Then, she looked back at Zixu. "What are your questions? I''m prepared to answer now."

    "How about you tell me about your Yang Villa? I would like to know more about it."

    She filled her cup back up, beckoning her head at the near-full cup Zixu still held. "You have to take a drink every time you ask a question. It''s not fair otherwise."

    "Alright." He sighed in an airy, laughing manner. Yujia noticed that this was how Zixu always laughed. His laughs were mostly soft breaths of air escaping his lips, the slightest bit of sound carried along with it. Lifting his sleeve up, he tilted his head back with the cup in his other hand.

    Since he drank all of the wine, Yujia now had to tell him. She thought about what she could say about the Yang Villa. Some of her experiences of her time spent in the villa were pleasant, while others weren''t. Some of them she still didn''t want to tell Zixu of either.

    Finally, she settled on one topic.

    "Let me tell you about my sisters then," she began, "There''s four other ones, but I''ve only met two of the four¡­"

    Her words went on, along with the cups of plum wine that continued to be emptied and filled. She finished talking about her four sisters. Zixu proceeded to ask about her maid when Yujia was finished discussing her sisters. They took another shot of wine, then continued to chat.

    Yujia asked Zixu back some questions about his family and art. Zixu asked her where she learned painting from. They exchanged a few tips of art. They talked about society, about life, about beliefs, about failed plans, about triumphant successes

    Zixu told her a childhood memory of watching a painter paint for the first time. She discussed the library of Lingxin. He explained the breath-taking beauty of the sun when it shone red over the mountains, but only if you were up at just the right time to see it happen. He also talked about his favorite small parts of nature, from the way the blades of grass bent under the weight of a blue dragonfly, or the sound of water trickling through a creek in the still forest. She made fun of her mountain paintings though she had never painted a mountain with a reference in front of her. He laughed and replied back with how he once convinced an entire crowd that his painting was valuable though there was barely anything good on it. She went on to giggle about the examinations where they first met officially.

    Talking about these things, like Yujia predicted, was like relieving a huge weight off her shoulders. As the cups of alcohol went down, she felt lighter. The strings that were tying her back down to the struggles of the mundane world were being cut loose, one by one, bit by bit.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    The tavern owner wasn''t lying when he said that his special Plum Blossom Wine would be perfect for her scenario. The taste of the wine was not the kind to burn down her throat, but the kind to flow through her like warm honey, leaving a fragrant sweetness on her tongue. Each cup went down smoothly, and the wine did what Yujia wanted it to do.

    She forgot the things she wanted to forget. She found solace in the blurriness of her thoughts, the slow, slurred manner of her speech. And with Zixu, who listened patiently, was the best person to be by her side, hearing all her thoughts and complaints.

    It seemed like hours passed, but her sense of time was also fading. She raised the jar of wine, which felt as light as a feather now, pouring the last few drops into her and Zixu''s cups. She held her cup up high, as if serenading the moon, letting her words tumble out of her mouth. "Plum Blossom Wine under an ancient plum tree. There is nothing more suiting."

    "Only a pity that there are no blossoms." His voice sounded steady to her ears, which was surprising. Even drunk, Yu Zixu was so collected in his speech.

    But she could care less about what Zixu''s voice sounded like. The last cup of wine vanished. A wide grin spread across her face while her hand dropped the empty cup she held in her hand. She stretched her arms out, waving at the plum tree above the two of them. "That only means that next year, when the plum blossoms under the snow, we must have another drink. You have to agree."

    "En." Zixu ran his fingers through the grass absentmindedly while his eyes looked back at Yujia''s.

    At that moment, seeing his face in such a full view, a memory flashed in Yujia''s mind. This memory was startling in the way that it was sharp and clear, though Zixu''s face in front of her was becoming more blurred by the second. It was the face of Wu Hao, the person Yujia had a silly little crush on when she was in high school. It was also the person who shared the exact same face as Yu Zixu.

    Why was she thinking about him now? He meant nothing to her, didn''t he?

    She inclined her head to the side, straining to keep her eyes open even though her eyelids were becoming heavy. She wanted to look at Zixu''s face for just a little longer. Or did she want to look at Wu Hao''s face for just a little longer? Who was who? Where was she, even?

    But she didn''t want to think of Wu Hao. She didn''t want to think of the world filled with technology, the world filled with cold-hearted people, and the world filled with painful memories. All she wanted to do was to capture this moment under the plum tree in her mind, to brush everything else away with a wave of her hand.

    "You know¡ª" she murmured, her voice barely louder than a whisper, "You look so much like him¡ª it almost hurts."

    With the end of those words, she lurched forward and fell into his outstretched arms.

 157 The Young Master Never Drinks

    Zixu liked to listen to stories.

    That was one of the few things he enjoyed. Stories, with the people that experienced them, always brought along new topics of interest to ponder over. Either that, or the one telling him the stories would be someone that he was interested to crack open, like a locked puzzle. Along with the stories, they always dropped hints and clues about them as a person, which Zixu pieced together bit by bit until he had the key to figuring out how to completely open them up. He liked being able to know a person inside-out, to be able to predict their actions, and to not be taken by surprise in any situation. He liked to have everything under control, completely planned out.

    The only downside to all the stories he listened to as a child, from arguments behind the doors to chit-chatter of servants meant one thing: truly unique, unpredictable puzzles and unpredictable stories, were rare. He hardly found many in recent times.

    That was when he met her.

    He first saw her by bumping into her at the Bo Villa. She wore a veil then, but her eyes with those dark, dark irises were unforgettable. Regardless, Zixu thought she would be one that he would forget in a couple of days and never see again.

    The second time he saw her, she was at Lingxin Academy. For some reason, she coincidentally ran into him again, but this time impersonating as his brother. It was amusing to see the emotions shift over her face: surprise, panic, then relief. At that time, Zixu was already analyzing her, picking up small details, figuring things out. He came up with basic assumptions for her, but somehow, she managed to surpass them every time.

    From then on, he continued to see her in various spots. At the festival, at the Yang Villa, at Lingxin¡­ they were coming across each other almost regularly, as if it was all a little arrangement of fate. If Zixu was even the slightest bit superstitious, he would''ve believed that it was fate. What else could explain it?

    But Zixu never believed in those superstitious words. Why should some strange, uncontrollable concept dictate his life and the people he would interact with? Fate was just a joke. An absurd idea that only fools obeyed.

    Zixu admitted that he didn''t mind her too much, though. The more he talked with her, the more he realized that she seemed to be one who held stories he had never heard before. She wasn''t so special to the point where she occupied his thoughts or became the ultimate puzzle he wanted to figure out, but she was different enough that he was somewhat intrigued whenever he came across her, worthy of a conversation or two.

    That was when she fell into the water and nearly drowned.

    He admitted that he hesitated before he saved her. He also admitted that her anger over his hesitation was explainable after he saved her. Nevertheless, Zixu didn''t think that he agreed with her at all. It was a struggle to recall how to swim and to pull her up along with him as he swam. What was he supposed to do¡ª to just jump in without a pause simply because he was a heroic, brilliant individual who was willing to sacrifice everything just to save someone he barely knew? What would happen if he didn''t know how to swim well enough to save both her and himself? That would be an idiotic move if he didn''t take his time to make his final decision. Two people drowning was worse than one.

    Afterwards, though, what intrigued him was when he had his two conversations: one with her and one with Bo Zhiyuan. That enlightened him on something new. Perhaps, it would be a better thing if he seemed to be that "kind" person she described as oh-so-important. Perhaps it would be a better persona to take on.

    Zixu was always focusing on crafting the perfect mask and costume for himself. He almost had a responsibility to do so. Seeing that there were finally cracks pointed out in the mask he wore, it was inevitable that he worked on fixing them. To do that, he had even greater of a reason to speak to her.

    That landed him in where he was now: drinking with Yang Yujia under the blossom-less plum tree.

    He never drank wine in front of people he didn''t trust. The most he would have would be a cup. So, as Yujia drank in front of him, he pretended to sip while raising his sleeve. In reality, he was subtly pouring it onto the ground beneath him. It was a waste of good wine, but Zixu couldn''t risk the words that he might speak under the influence of alcohol. He found Miss Yang''s company decent, but he did not trust her enough to drink without limit around her.

    Taking advantage of the situation, he decided to talk to her more, to gain her trust, and to figure out the list of things he wanted to know.

    They "drank" and "drank", words flowing between them as often as wine did. He learned the things he wanted to know. He shared a few stories of his own in exchange for these secrets. At last, when her words became slurred, Zixu noticed that Yujia''s face was a definite shade of blushing red, her eyelids drooped shut, and her head nodded downwards. She was about to black out, by the looks of it.

    He looked down at the direction she was going to fall down in. If she fell over as she blacked out in the current position she was, lazily slouched over a cup of wine, she would land with her face hitting the stone paved path. That kind of face-planting was sure to be unpleasant. So, he stretched out his arms, waiting to catch her.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    Yet before her eyes closed, she looked at him with a sliding gaze, whispering, " You know¡ª you look so much like him¡ª it almost hurts."

    And then she fell into his arms.

    As Zixu held her fragily, almost like she was a sheet of thin ice, he looked down at her peaceful face with narrowed eyes. He originally just wanted to bring her back to her room and to leave right afterwards, now that his objective was completed. Except now, with her last words¡­

    Who was this "him" that she spoke of?

 158 When the Young Master Runs Into the Master

    For a few moments, Zixu paused, thinking about her words. She said that he looked like this "him". Except, who in this world was this "him"? He couldn''t think of anyone in the capital that shared the same, or a similar face, to him. He was generally fairly observant of people, so he should notice if he had a doppelganger walking around, right?

    Zixu racked his head for people who resembled him the slightest. It was hard to come up with any faces. He began to walk in the direction that he presumed was Yujia''s room while continuing the process of thinking about faces, holding her in front of him in his arms. Was it possible that it was someone he didn''t know? Who would that be, then? Or did he actually know this person?

    He thought about Ye Yunhe. Miss Yang seemed fairly close to that Senior Brother of hers. Could she be talking about him, when she said that Zixu looked like him so much? Zixu did share the same face shape as Ye Yunhe, with both of them having fairly long faces. Their noses were both thin and narrow as well, with high bridges. Except, other than that, the two looked nothing alike in other manners. Ye Yunhe''s eyes were very different, and just the arrangement of features on his face made him a distinctly different person from Zixu. Zixu was also taller than Yunhe by more than half a head. The two of them would never be confused for each other.

    But who else could she be talking about? It had to be someone he didn''t know then.

    Though if it was Ye Yunhe¡­ Zixu thought back to her words. They seemed filled with melancholy. Could it be that she had a relationship with her senior brother that was a bit¡ª well¡ª closer than the average disciple relationship?

    Zixu internally shook his head at that thought. He was thinking too much into this. He really shouldn''t be trying to pry into her private life so much, but he was just so curious. It was almost taunting to be given a vague hint without any clear direction.

    No matter what, he acknowledged that though he could make his speculations, he could only come up with theories without definite answers. Zixu didn''t particularly like that. So, he stopped thinking about it the moment he set her down on her bed. Tomorrow, he was mostly free, but he also needed to continue to prepare for more future examinations. It would be a good idea to study, then.

    Just like that, Zixu planned out his entire next day. He said with a whisper, "Goodnight, Yujia," then turned, about to leave.

    That was when he saw an individual standing at the doorway.

    Zixu froze.

    ¡­

    Yue Ze, the founder of Lingxin, was an old, old man.

    And as an old, old man, it was inevitable that he had some sleep problems. He was often an insomniac at night, and when he finally fell asleep in the morning, he would only wake up at noon. People, particularly his bratty disciple Ye Yunhe, often told him that it was unhealthy for him to do so, but he could honestly care less. What was the point of caring for his health? He was past seventy and somehow still alive, despite the fact that he kept these unhealthy habits they always criticized him for.

    In fact, he would probably be happier if he could just leave this bothersome world and find some peace for himself. For his next life, he would like to become a simple blade of grass minding his own business in a spring field. At least in that reincarnation, he could quietly meditate and do all the things he never got a chance to do in this life, which was filled with chaos and energy.

    That was mainly his thought process until he received his last disciple, Yang Yujia. That girl was a bit irksome at times, he admitted. But at least she reminded him of someone else , so he wouldn''t mind dealing with her antics for just a bit. He wanted to see her succeed in her goals, to complete the same motives that the someone else once had. Because of that, Yue Ze decided to stay alive for a couple more years more to support his young disciple.

    He was slowly walking back to his courtyard as usual this evening. It was getting late, but he was playing a game of chess with Ye Xuanhe in the pavilion that took longer than usual. That was the reason for why he was only heading back by now.

    While he passed by the courtyard that kid, Yujia, stayed in, he peered inside with a glance, noticing that the lanterns and candles were all lit. That was peculiar. At this hour, she should be asleep already, so the servants should''ve extinguished most of the lanterns and blown out the candles. Since they were all lit, there was only one reason.

    What was she doing in this late hour?

    Yue Ze flattened his lips into a thin line, walking through the opening arch of her courtyard. He looked around the courtyard, which was still empty. As he passed through, he noticed an overturned cup of wine and an empty jug. His eyes glanced back towards that kid''s bedroom, noticing that it was the one that was the brightest.

    And in that room, there was the standing shadow of¡­ a man?

    He paused in his steps.

    Ai, what was this girl doing in this hour! Ridiculous!

    He gave her room and board because he wanted to be kind to his disciple, but this was absolutely ridiculous¡ª he wouldn''t tolerate things like this happening under his roof! Not without marriage first!

    With more energy now, Yue Ze strode in the direction of her room with long strides. The door was already open, so he stood there in the doorframe, taking in the scene in front of him.

    The good news was that both were perfectly clothed. There was no improper scene in front of him.

    Thank the heavens.

    Yue Ze released a deep breath of relief. He headed in here without putting much thought to it, and he wasn''t so sure how he would react if he saw what he expected to see playing out in front of him.

    His disciple, that kid, Yujia, was lying on her bed, while someone else¡ª the shadow of a man he saw earlier¡ª stood by the side. He whispered something quietly, then spun around.

    The moment their eyes met, they both froze.

    Yue Ze stared at the young man in front of him, squinting his eyes to get a better look at this individual''s face. After about three seconds, he concluded he didn''t know this boy.

    Meanwhile, the emotions on this young man''s face morphed from blank and expressionless to one of innocent surprise, with large eyes and lifted eyebrows. He immediately dropped to his knees, kneeling and clasping his hands in front of him.

    "Pardon me, Elder Yue."

    "Ah? You know me?" Yue Ze continued narrowing his eyes. He did not recognize this boy. He didn''t think that they ever met. So how did he get recognized by this stranger? Since his identity was exposed, he looked at the boy through a lidded gaze, straightening his back. He coughed, turning his voice deeper. "Indeed, I am. Since you know me, should you not be reporting your identity right now?"

    A calm smile surfaced on the other''s face. He replied, "I am Yu Zixu, the first son of Yu Jianhui, and a student of Lingxin Academy."

    "A student, hm?"

    Then, it made sense that this young man was a stranger. Yue Ze didn''t generally recognize the students of this academy. He used to try in the past, but in recent years, he just gave up. There were too many faces for his old brain to keep up with. The only faces he still remembered belonged to the brat, Ye Yunhe, the kid, Yang Yujia, and a few other disciples from the head, Ye Xuanhe.

    But Yu Zixu¡­ that name seemed familiar. Yue Ze thought about it for quite a while before finally recalling where it seemed familiar from. The one with the surname of Yu was the individual who scored the highest overall on the entrance examination to Lingxin a while back. The Yu household was also where Yu Ziyang, the person Yujia impersonated, was from.

    Yue Ze had seen this Yu Zixu''s painting-work in the third round of examinations, and he admired that the boy showed quite a bit of talent and skill. He even considered taking Zixu in as a disciple if he didn''t take Yujia as his last disciple. Ye Xuanhe was eyeing Yu Zixu as a personal disciple as well, and as much as Yue Ze treated the school head like he was obnoxious on the outside, the two had a long, long friendship of pure bickering. So, it would be wrong to steal the kid that old man Xuanhe had his eyes on.

    As a result of all of this, he had a fairly good impression of Yu Zixu. Even so, however¡­

    "How dare you!" he proclaimed, his voice firm. Yue Ze raised an arm, shaking it at the boy''s direction, "This girl right here is my personal disciple. Do you not acknowledge your wrongs for being with her alone so late at night? Do you not care for any decency? Or if not that, at least think about the reputation of my disciple!"

    Truth be told, it was somewhat fun to yell at students at times. They wouldn''t be able to respond with any retorts but fear. Yue Ze didn''t do it frequently, but on the rare occasions that he did, it was honestly amusing.

    After his words, Yue Ze expected the slightest signs of similar fear to appear on the young man. Perhaps his hands would shake, sweat would bead at his forehead, or he would blink rapidly. Instead, Yu Zixu only maintained the same smile, bowing his head to the ground.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    "Elder Yue, forgive this one for his insolent actions. Yuj¡ª Miss Yang invited me for a cup of wine, and I found that in the situation, it would be rude of me to reject. I didn''t know that just after a few cups, she would pass out. I thought it would be improper to leave her outside¡ª she might catch a cold¡ª so I brought her inside. I sincerely did not hold any ill intention, and I hope that Elder Yue will excuse me for my lack of thinking things through completely."

    The words flowed smoothly out of the boy''s mouth, not a single beat of hesitation within his voice. The only moment of pause was when he nearly said Yujia instead of "Miss Yang".

    That one mistake was also something that Yue Ze surely caught onto.

    Still, though, Yue Ze admitted that he appreciated an individual with eloquence. He liked someone who had their thoughts all gathered together and organized. It wasn''t the kind of person he was, but he found people like this easy to interact with.

    "Raise your head," he commanded. With Yu Zixu''s face now looking up, he eyed Yu Zixu again. "You''re close with my disciple?" This was question he already guessed the answer to.

    "Close? I''m afraid that we''re not too¡ª"

    "Oh stop. You''re drinking companions. How would you two not be close?" Yue Ze waved his hand, though his eyes were still fixed on Yu Zixu''s face.

    This Yu Zixu didn''t look too shabby. He had good features. He had talent in painting. He also had a decent family background. Yujia also seemed to be on good terms with this young man.

    Yue Ze found that the more he stared at the boy''s face, the more comfortable it was to look at him.

    His disciple liked to drink alcohol with this Yu Zixu. She also displayed a clear interest in the arts and those that had an interest in it. Yue Ze looked over at her lying on the bed behind Zixu, imagining the two of them standing together.

    Ah. That would make a pretty sight.

    A small smile began to creep onto his face. Yu Zixu really wasn''t that bad of a person. He even showed that he cared about Yujia''s well being, by thinking so thoroughly about whether or not she would catch a cold if she was left outside. And he showed that he knew about the rules of etiquette, but he was willing to risk setting aside a few with the sole motive of bringing her back to her room, where she would be safer. He also showed that he held no bad motives by turning around so quickly, not taking advantage of the girl when she was unconscious.

    Someone like him would take care of the reckless person Yue Ze''s disciple was, wouldn''t he?

    "What''s your age?" Yue Ze asked after a brief moment.

    Yu Zixu replied simply, "Twenty-four."

    "Are you wedded?"

    Immediately, Yu Zixu''s eyes, which were glued down all this time, flicked up.

    "Pardon?"

    "You heard me right. Are you wedded? Or do you have a few concubines?"

    The calm smile on the young man''s face dropped. "No," he answered slowly, shaking his head, "This student desires dedicated to the arts. A concubine or wife would only be distracting."

    "Hm." Yue Ze flattened his lips into a thin line. Which young man at twenty-four didn''t desire any sort of woman? Only the brat, Ye Yunhe, was like that. Was Yu Zixu¡­ the same? This thought brought a bit of hesitation from him. He finally continued to ask, just to make sure, "Do you plan to marry in a year or two?"

    "If¡­ I find the right person, yes?"

    "And¡­ do you perhaps¡­ feel there''s a right person emerging into your life right now?"

    Yu Zixu''s head tilted. He paused for a long moment before replying, "Possibly?"

    That was the answer Yue Ze was looking for. Possibly was better than nothing! A wide grin immediately appeared on his face and he clapped his hands. "Good!"

    He appreciated someone who had a dedication to art! He appreciated someone who held a good, respectable stature! He appreciated someone who was¡­ er¡ª physically aesthetic¡ª when held next to his disciple!

    With all three of those things checked off his list of requirements, Yue Ze decided that this was the perfect time to play matchmaker!

    He had always wanted to do this for someone. He tried with Ye Yunhe, but that brat was a failure. What better person would be his best next victim than Yang Yujia, his precious, wonderful, and talented last disciple?

    Yu Zixu and Yang Yujia¡­ weren''t they very matching with each other in every way conceivable?

    Still, though, Yue Ze didn''t want to jump to instant conclusions. He still didn''t know this young man very well, after all. It would be better to take his time to slowly get to know him well before trying to set him up with Yujia.

    Yue Ze continued to smile, though, while he gestured for Yu Zixu to stand up. He patted the shoulder of the young man, saying brightly, "Well then, Yu Zixu, was it? It was nice to have this conversation with you today. From here on out, don''t call me ''Elder''. Just call me ''Master''."

    Yu Zixu clasped and bowed. When he raised his head, he inquired, "That wouldn''t be proper though, would it? I''m only student of Lingxin, not a disciple¡­"

    "I''m not so tight on rules." Yue Ze shrugged. "And who says you''re not a disciple?"

    He turned and began to walk out of the room, his hands folded behind his back.

    "Wait," Zixu strode after him, "Could Master clarify?"

    Yue Ze didn''t pause a single step or turn the slightest to the one rushing after him, waving his hand. "The night is late. You should return home! All things will unfold naturally. Do not rush your knowledge."

    With that, he left the courtyard, a big grin on his face.

 159 Hangover For the Artist, Again

    When Yujia opened her eyes, she was back in the modern world.

    She blinked twice, rubbed her eyes, and slowly pushed herself up. Her head turned to look around the room she was in. It was her familiar dull apartment, with paint peeling off walls and newspaper covered floors. The sounds of honking and morning city traffic came from outside the window.

    The moment she took all of these senses in, Yujia froze.

    She swore, that in the moment, her heart stopped beating.

    Yujia leapt up, pulling the blinds over the nearest window open. Her eyes were greeted with cars rushing across the roads, pedestrians crossing streets, and motorbikes beeping loudly. Seeing that and confirming the sounds to be real, Yujia turned around, her hand running up to her face, feeling all of her old features again and bumpy skin.

    She practically ran to the bathroom, slamming the door open, pushing her face up close to the mirror.

    There she was, in her old body.

    She had gotten so used to seeing that face with the body that didn''t originally belong to her. She had grown used to seeing light colored robes, dainty features, and long, long hair¡ª not a sloppy t-shirt, shorts, and a distorted face.

    This couldn''t be real. This couldn''t be real.

    Yujia spun back around, her steps feeling as light as air, retracing her steps to the newspaper-covered floors. There was a canvas in the middle, black paint splashed all over it. Her hands went to touch the canvas. The paint was still surprisingly wet, leaving black splotches on her fingertips. She wiped the paint aside in messy movements, revealing a streaky painting of white chrysanthemums underneath.

    Did she paint chrysanthemums the night before she transmigrated?

    Her hands were shaking.

    This couldn''t be real. This couldn''t be real. This couldn''t be real. This couldn''t be real. This couldn''t be real.

    But it felt real. Every inch of her body felt real. Every breath escaping her lips felt real. Every touch she made felt real. All solid.

    Transmigration. She swore she transmigrated. She transmigrated into a Fourth Miss back then, spent more than a month in that world, made relationships like¡ª like¡ª

    Yujia found with horror that she couldn''t recall any names. She had a maid, didn''t she? What was the name of that maid? Now thinking about it, did she even have a maid? Did she even make any relationships?

    Did she even transmigrate?

    What if this entire ordeal, all those memories and emotions she went through, was all a dream?

    It couldn''t be.

    Yujia was certain of this fact. There was no way that this was the kind of experience she went through, summarized by an entire dream. Everything from back then was too real. Too, too real. Just like how it felt now, expect even more vivid, more legitimate, more substantial.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    She went back to the bathroom, looking in the mirror. It was the reflection of her true face, the one with all the imperfections.

    She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply and exhaling deeply. Then, she opened her eyes again.

    The reflection in the mirror changed. It became the one far more beautiful, the one with a slender face and larger eyes. Yet the eyes, instead of having dark irises, were silver. A startling shade of silver, misty and shining.

    Her hand reached out for the reflection, but at that moment, the mirror shattered right before her eyes. Beneath it was endless darkness spreading through the room like a fog made of shadows, the only light coming from glowing chrysanthemums drifting down.

    The ground underneath her feet collapsed, and Yujia fell down with the white petals.

    ¡­

    Yujia woke up, half her body hanging off her bed and zero blankets over her. She slumped over like that, stuck in place for a few minutes, catching her breath.

    She looked around the room after that, greeting her eyes with the sight of oriental furniture. She was in Lingxin. She was back to reality. The place she expected to wake up in.

    Internally, Yujia quickly recited a few names through her head: Hui''er, Ye Yunhe, Yu Zixu, Bo Zhizhong, Zhou Luowei¡­ It was a relief to find that she could remember all of them.

    It had been a dream. All of the terror of going back to her old world, losing all her memories of transmigration¡­ it had been a dream.

    Then, the feeling of something that she forgot about came up: a hangover.

    Her head was thudding while the feeling of nausea rose up within her. Immediately, she rolled herself off the bed, scrambling to find a basin where she recalled it to be in the mornings. The basin had fresh water in it, but she couldn''t be more bothered to pour it out at the moment. Yujia pulled it over and violently vomited.

    In between these moments, she recalled her first hangover when she transmigrated. Hui''er had been there to bring the basin to her, empty it once she was done, and to wipe her mouth and pat her back gently. Now, however, no one was quite by her side. There were servants, but most of them hid away from her sight. She only had herself, and no one else.

    While her mind slowly cleared up, the dream she had last night came back to her in vivid flashes.

    It was at this moment, with her heart thudding and hands trembling, did Yujia truly realize how terrified she was to go back to the modern world.

    She hated the person she was back then. She hated her old self. She could give up technology and the comforts of the modern world, as long as she didn''t have to go back to that person she used to be. That person¡ª just the thought of that person¡ª brought fear to her heart.

    The dream was strange though, with the silver irises and white chrysanthemums. It was just like that one she had a week or so ago, right before she escaped for her marriage.

    Once was just a coincidence. But could two times be a mere coincidence as well? Or could there be a deeper meaning behind these repeating dreams?

    Yujia decided to not jump to these ideas instantly. Twice was not repetitive. Three times, however, and that should be when it truly bothered her.

    She took another clean basin with water and wiped her face with a wet towel. The water felt refreshing to her face, except the more her mind cleared up, the more thoughts came to her.

    Now, she had so many mysteries to solve, from transmigration to her family secrets. How was she going to manage all of that by herself? Just the thought of it seemed overwhelming.

    Yujia paused, dipping the towel in the water, then wringing it dry.

    It was alright. Though overwhelming, she had plenty of time. And with time, all problems could be solved. She just needed to go through it slowly. Rushing would be of no purpose.

    This brought a sigh to her lips. The days ahead of her were long, but at least she had things to keep herself busy with.

    Her headache and nausea continued to persuade her to continue lying around in bed, but it was already so late. She had things to do.

    Thus, she went and did them, one by one, bit by bit, taking all the time she needed in the world.

 Chapter 160 - The Artist Sketches and Ponders

    After eating a simple breakfast of porridge¡ª Yujia was used to by now with having this for breakfast to cleanse her stomach and improve her health¡ª she began to work on her task of plum tree studies. Her master assigned it to her yesterday, and since he asked for a week''s worth of these pictures, it was a good idea to work on them starting from today.

    She decided to work on it for two or more hours every day with different types of media. She would alternate between sketches and paintings on different days to give herself an opportunity to experiment between them. By the end of the week, she would hopefully have some progress to show her master.

    Bringing a table outside, right where she had the perfect view and angle of the plum tree, she set her supplies of paper and pencil down, then began sketching.

    Sketching the tree, capturing all of the miniscule details with the movement of her pencil, brought her back to her days of art school. It felt refreshing to draw with the motive of learning and to figure out new things under the guidance of her master. It was also nice to have the kind of master that wasn''t requiring her to listen to long lessons or looking over her shoulder as she worked, but rather someone who gave her a direction to go in and had progress checkpoints. She was the type of person who didn''t want anything too strict but also needed general guidelines.

    As she sketched, she found it as a good time to think about everything. First, she thought about Rong Tianyu. The banister that broke which caused her to fall into the water didn''t seem like it was too weak. Yujia even tested it earlier by leaning against it. It was too sturdy to break so easily, wasn''t it?

    Soon enough though, by the time she worked on the second branch, she stopped thinking about the incident with Tianyu drowning. It brought along too many unpleasant things.

    Next, she thought about Yu Zixu. At just the thought of his name, her headache grew even worse.

    She really must''ve been crazy to drink with him last night.

    First, she didn''t even think that she trusted him that much. She felt like the two of them did have a certain amount of trust after the life-and-death experience she had with him¡ª but still. Still. She barely knew anything about him when she asked him to drink with her.

    She thought he would reject. She really did. Who knew that he would willingly drink with her without any hesitation and only a simple smile?

    At least he was a good drinking partner. She admitted that she enjoyed their conversation, and that her trust in him grew more after that conversation. She knew more about him, and slowly, just like this, Yu Zixu was losing the mystery he had when she first met him.

    Above all, he felt more human . He revealed to her his ups and downs, his conflicts and inner thoughts, just as she did to him.

    The only thing that really bothered her was at the very end. Somehow, all these memories were clear, instead of some of her other drunk actions which she forgot right away.

    So¡­

    Why in the world did she literally declare about how he looked like Wu Hao in front of him?

    Why? Just why ?

    Judging by the kind of person Zixu was, he was not going to be the type to just go, " Ah, drunk words; she must mean nothing. "

    He was the kind of person to carefully ponder over every word in that sentence, coming up with all sorts of theories and conclusions. If he asked, how would he explain to her who Wu Hao was? She didn''t feel like it would be alright to tell him about the whole transmigration thing. Zixu once said he didn''t believe in fate. How would he believe in time travel?

    A long moment of inner-debate went on inside of her before Yujia finally decided that she would play dumb if he asked her. It would be the best method, considering that it was also a good motto.

    When in doubt, just play dumb.

    Ignorance was always a good solution to all problems in life.

    Another thing that Yujia found startling was that she actually didn''t wake up sleeping in the bathtub or somewhere else awkward, like she usually did when drunk. Though she wasn''t under the blankets, at least she was in a bed this time.

    This also meant¡­

    Did Young Master Yu carry her all the way back to her bed?

    At this thought, Yujia dropped the pencil she was holding. It fell to the floor, and she quickly bent down, scrambling to stop it from rolling away.

    When she sat back up straight again, she found that her cheeks were heating up.

    Ah! Stop thinking about these things!

    Her waking up in her bed didn''t necessarily mean that he carried her. That would be too teenage-drama-like, wouldn''t it? Too much of a fairytale to be realistic?

    He probably dragged her across the floor. Or maybe he just left her alone after she passed out, and she somehow managed to drag herself back to her bed. Those two things were at a greater possibility than Zixu carrying her.

    She needed to stop these ideas. What would they be categorized as? Daydreaming?

    Oh god, was she just daydreaming about Yu Zixu?

    Yu Zixu was handsome! She acknowledged that! But daydreaming? That was officially now banned in Yujia''s mind. No daydreaming, no carrying, no Yu Zixu''s.

    Only painting and sketching.

    Exactly.

    Internally, Yujia scolded herself and promised herself that these thoughts would never rise up again. She was not in the mood for these things, and letting her imagination run wild was definitely not what she needed right now.

    ¡­

    A while later, after she was doing with a few hours of plum tree studies, Yujia recalled that she needed to memorize the Six Principles. That was another one of her assignments.

    As a disciple of Master Yue, she could enter Lingxin''s private library as she wished. So, Yujia headed there once she rolled all her sketches up, storing them neatly in one of her rooms.

    Yet on her way to the library, she was distracted by running into another individual: Yu Zixu.

    Fate? They couldn''t tell her that fate didn''t exist. What would it mean then, that she ran into him again this morning?

    It would be wrong of her to ignore him. Yujia quickly folded her hands and bowed, greeting, "Young Master Yu."

    "Good morning," Zixu replied back, a smile rising across his expression. "Did you sleep well last night?"

    "Ah. Yes." Yujia replied, her breath catching. She kept her eyes down all this time, but finally, she looked up, blurting out, "Last night¡ª when I drink, I tend to say a lot of strange words. Did I say anything?"

    "You don''t remember?" Zixu tilted his head.

    "No. Nothing."

    "Well then, if it will assure Junior Sister Yang, nothing out of the ordinary happened." He kept the smile on his face.

    A lie.

    This part was obvious. Yujia''s memories seemed quite clear and sharp. They couldn''t just be a figment of her imagination. Though, if he didn''t want to talk about it, all the better. She wouldn''t even have to play dumb.

    "Then, that''s reassuring." She put on a smile as well. Her mind trailed back to his words. "What¡­ did you call me again? Junior Sister?"

    This wasn''t normal. Yu Zixu was only a student, not a disciple. It wouldn''t be normal for him to call her Junior Sister, unless he became a disciple.

    He nodded curtly. "I''m becoming a disciple under Master Ye. I was just told this morning, a few moments ago. That''s what I was doing here. So from now on, we''ll be on the terms of Senior Brother and Junior Sister."

    Her smile turned genuine. If anything, Zixu with all his natural talent, deserved to be a disciple of Lingxin. Besides, calling him Senior Brother felt more natural now than Young Master Yu or Zixu.

    "That''s wonderful. Congratulations," she said in a simple but genuine manner.

    "Thank you." He bowed, then looked off to the distance. "I''m a bit busy today, so if Junior Sister would excuse me¡­"

    "Of course."

    The conversation was surprisingly polite and short. Compared to their long discussion last night, it felt like Yujia was talking to two different people at those times. The Zixu she talked to now felt much too impersonal, too held back with etiquette and rules. It made sense¡ª they were under public eye right now. All the behavioral guidelines appeared again, creating a wall between the two.

    Zixu turned to leave, but Yujia had a question that had been bothering her. She called out, "Wait, Senior Brother!"

    He turned. "Yes?"

    She took a step forward, her voice becoming a hush, her palms starting to sweat. "Last night¡­ when we were drinking¡­ after I passed out¡ª sorry about that¡ª did you... I¡ª"

    "I carried you back. Is there anything wrong about it?" he replied simply, no extra flustered emotions appearing on her face.

    Yujia froze right there.

    It wasn''t a daydream after all.

 Chapter 161 - A Good Student The Artist

    The conversation with Yu Zixu ended quickly enough. Leaving a few words of farewell, Yujia turned and hurried to the library.

    She learned her lesson the last time she walked right into the main room of Lingxin where the school head, Master Ye, was teaching. This time, she went through the side door of the library.

    The moment she stepped in, she was greeted with the quiet stillness of the library. Like the last time she entered, the atmosphere immediately gave off a different type of energy than everywhere else at Lingxin. Though a lesson may have been going on in the other room beside it, one would not be able to hear it through the walls. It was almost eerily quiet in here.

    It wasn''t a bad thing that this place was so quiet though. Yujia found it best to focus in silence when she needed to study. Though she might have enjoyed having some background ambience when she was painting or drawing, she found that noise, even music, made it hard for her to concentrate when she wanted to memorize things.

    Yujia walked through the various shelves, recalling where her senior brother, Ye Yunhe, last pointed out where the book of Six Principles were. Once the book was in her hand, she found a desk, sat down at it, and began to study.

    There were only six principles, meaning that in less than thirty minute''s time, Yujia would be able to memorize all of them to the point where they were ingrained in her mind like carvings in stone. Plus, with her knowledge of a few principles that she picked up in the past, it was not a difficult task at all. Yujia just needed to be able to settle her mind down to a state of tranquility, try to deal with her headache, and the studying-time would pass easily.

    The moment Yujia found the book that Yune suggested to her last time, however, she realized that it wasn''t just a book labeled with "Six Principles of Painting." The title was "Classified Record of Painters of Former Times", with the author being Xie He. She flipped through the pages quickly, finding that with a preface of the six principles, Xie He proceeded to examine and rank twenty-seven painters. The six principles only existed to define the way by which he categorized these other painters in three classes, but it seemed that they gained recognition and were established as the basics through history.

    She skimmed through the section of painters, then moved back to the preface with the principles listed. The statement about them was rather brief, so within ten minutes, Yujia managed to memorize each of them: Spirit Resonance, Bone Method, Correspondence to the Object, Suitability to Type, Division and Planning, and Transmission by Copying.

    The only problem was that though she knew these names, she still wanted more details to how they were applied to certain works. Yujia turned a page, beginning to read about the painters that Xie He discussed.

    As she read on and on, she found that it was actually fairly interesting to see him analyze the painters and their works. Xie He grouped them into three classes based on his judgements and used the Six Principles as the guidelines for his criticism and analysis.

    While she read on, she began to understand how Xie He defined these principles. Spirit Resonance and Bone Method were obviously the two given the greatest importance. With Spirit Resonance involved with creativity and bringing life to paintings and Bone Method dealing with the spirit being conveyed through the brushstroke, everything else all came as a result of the first two principles. Once one mastered those, the rest of the principles, which dealt with colors, positioning, and accuracy, would come naturally. The only principle that didn''t conform was the last principle, Transmission by Copying. Xie He insisted the importance of practicing the recreation of ancient paintings created by other masters so that one could gain greater skill, and so that these works could be preserved throughout time.

    Yujia didn''t keep track of time while she read through all twenty-seven painters that Xie He analyzed. At the end, once she read the last word, she found that she felt no exhaustion from her studying. She only felt more educated on the matters of this art world during this time period. In fact, she would even call the book an interesting read. Her headache had grown duller too.

    At the last word, she closed the book, stretching her arms in front of her. She now felt intrigued to discover what other scrolls or books Lingxin''s extensive private library might have. Considering the influence the academy had in the art world, they were sure to hold most rare resources that might be beneficial to study.

    Yujia stood up, holding the book in her hands, but she paused. She did want to study more right now, the only problem being her other issues which were at a higher priority. So, she sat right back down.

    She thought about the diagnosis that physician gave yesterday. Someone had poisoned her.

    Who could it be? Hui''er? The Madam? The Old Master? One of her siblings? One of the servants?

    There were too many possibilities, but Yujia could eliminate a couple individuals. It couldn''t be either the Second or Third Miss, with the Second Miss escaping the family for the army, while the Third Miss was already married off. Plus, according to Hui''er, neither of the two ever had any conflicts with Yujia. The First Miss was a possibility though. Yujia couldn''t think of a definite reason, but it might be involved with Yang Qingxia''s hatred for Hui''er. As for the Fifth Miss¡­ Yujia would not like to think that Xiaoyi would ever poison her, but she could not rule off Xiaoyi completely either.

    She recalled the thoughts she once hinted to Hui''er: trust was always needed to some degree for her to continue on in her life, but it didn''t mean that she had to blindly follow it until the end.

    Perhaps it could be the Madam or Old Master. Since the physician said that she had been poisoned for a long time, it implied that it could''ve started during her childhood as well. Madam Zhen, Xiaoyi''s mother, died when Yujia was nine. For a split second, Yujia thought of her as a possible suspect, but quickly ruled that out. Madam Zhen had died, so though she could''ve poisoned Yujia when she was younger, she could not continue doing it. There was the possibility that someone continued her work, but then, Yujia wanted to find out the person who continued doing it for ten more years.

    As for Madam Liu, Yujia''s birthmother, Hui''er always discussed their relationship positively. Madam Liu was one of the few people who the original Fourth Miss had a solid relationship with. She was also too far away from the villa. It would be difficult for her to extend her hand all the way into the Yang Villa, and again, what reason would she have to poison her own daughter?

    Though then again, Madam Zhang had caused her own daughter''s miscarriage. Anything could be possible.

    And Hui''er, the one who Yujia interacted the most with, the one she held the most trust in, and the one she did not want to doubt¡­

    Yujia hated to admit that if Hui''er wanted to poison her, it would be easier than anyone else in the villa. Hui''er had to become a suspect.

    At this thought, Yujia realized her brows were furrowed, and her headache was worse than ever. She placed her two elbows on the table in front of her and leaned her head down into her hands.

    She despised all of these suspicions and calculations. This wasn''t the kind of person she wanted to be, to hold zero trust in everyone. The sisters who were related to her by blood were becoming suspects. Her mother that gave birth to her, though Yujia never interacted with her, was a suspect. Even her closest friend and maid who she revealed her secret of transmigration to wasn''t someone that she could trust anymore.

    Who did she have to trust in this world? With this revelation of being poisoned, Yujia had lost all her trust in the individuals she thought she was once close with.

    Yet if she lost her trust so easily, did it mean that she never had any trust in them in the first place?

    Her headache swore to split her head in half. And in this moment, Yujia wished that it really would. Perhaps then, she would find more peace than the mess she was now.

 Chapter 162 - Heart of the Artist Feels a Bit Heavy

    Yujia continued to make a mental list of suspects in her head, despite her headache. She tried to form three different lists, one with people who probably weren''t the ones who poisoned her, one with people who had a possibility but weren''t too likely, and one with people who have the greatest suspicion.

    On the list with the individuals that had the greatest suspicion, there were two people: Madam Zhang and Hui''er.

    First, Madam Zhang ended up on that list because of her obvious dislike of Yujia. The two of them were not enemies. In fact, in some of the dinners that the two ate together at, Yujia felt that the Madam truly wasn''t too bad. She was the type, from what Yujia had seen so far, to care about the overall well-being of her family, and was very accepting of Xiaoyi as well despite the Fifth Miss not being of her blood. Towards Yujia, there seemed to be some antagonism, but that was all involved with Yujia''s status in the household, not her personality.

    Through the years, the only bad things that Madam Zhang ever did to the Fourth Miss was depriving her of good living conditions and forcing her marriage with Old Master Yu. Both of those two had their reasons too.

    With the living conditions, the Yang Family did not have much wealth, and Yujia, in the end, was illegitimate in status. Her environment and provided resources were already fairly decent by the standards of that time. As for the marriage, though Yujia personally did not like it, she didn''t feel like Madam Zhang was completely in the wrong either. The main madam only saw in the eyes of everyone else, that the marriage was good for the Fourth Miss in the long term. She also acted for the benefit of the family. If the sacrifice of a worthless illegitimate daughter could bring on a better future for the rest of the family, why would she not support this marriage?

    Because of this, though Yujia could understand why Madam Zhang acted the way she did, she still felt like Madam Zhang had the greatest reasoning and possibility for poisoning her. She couldn''t think of a perfect logical reason for why¡ª every idea of hers had both potential and logical flaws¡ª but there was no other person that Yujia could think of who had a direct negative relationship with the Fourth Miss.

    As for Hui''er, the main reason for why Yujia suspected her was because of how much Hui''er condemned the original Fourth Miss, her abuser. It would make sense for her to poison the Fourth Miss as a result. Still, though, this meant that Hui''er only had the chance to poison the Fourth Miss for a couple of years, and not since childhood. Though the physician never specifically said since when Yujia was poisoned, this meant that Yujia still had less suspicion towards Hui''er''s side.

    This made Madam Zhang her main suspect.

    Yujia thought about it a little more. The logic still didn''t add up. What was the true reason for Madam Zhang poisoning her? Was the poison the reason for her consistent illness? And what was the reason for making Yujia''s health so poor? Was Madam Zhang really that into the idea of seeing the Fourth Miss suffer?

    It didn''t seem likely.

    To answer all of these questions, speculations wouldn''t work. Yujia needed to find more clues to be able to piece together a cohesive answer.

    Yujia tilted her head to one side, beginning to massage at her temples to ease her headache. Her heart grew heavier at each of these thoughts.

    If she wanted to find clues, she needed to be able to enter the Yang Villa. That part was for sure. From the time where she escaped the villa, she wore a set of Hui''er''s typical maid robes. She could put on the same maid robes to blend in and enter through the side doors without any problem. Except, from then on, the problem would be how she would get into Madam Zhang''s courtyard and room to find evidence or clues of this poisoning.

    She couldn''t just enter. Some maids were bound to recognize her face. If they didn''t, they wouldn''t let an unknown, unfamiliar servant enter the Madam''s personal room either, or touch the Madam''s personal belongings. If Madam Zhang was in her room at that moment, Yujia''s plan could fail just the same too. These issues posed a major obstacle to Yujia.

    Yujia needed some sort of distraction to keep the personal maids and Madam Zhang away at the same time. The distraction didn''t have to be long, maybe a little more than ten minutes, so that she had time to carefully look.

    What could be a distraction though?

    This question stumped her. Yujia shuffled through possibilities in her head, finding that each one had their own downsides.

    Her headache grew worse and worse and worse.

    This plan she came up with fell apart once she came to the last, most crucial part. Would she have to think of another one? But how else would she be able to find her answers in the Yang Villa, when if she was caught, they would be more than willing to stuff her back to the Yu Villa?

    At this moment, in the middle of her thoughts, the door to the library opened. Ye Yunhe walked in, holding a scroll in his hand. Yujia turned her head to look at him.

    Upon seeing her, his eyes lit up. "Junior Sister!" he called out, "What are you doing here?"

    "Nothing much. Just studying." She looked down at the book in her hands. Yujia considered telling him about the entire ordeal of being poisoned since years ago, but she looked back at Yunhe''s carefree expression and decided against it. No need to worry him.

    In the midst of her arrival to this conclusion, Yunhe cut in, "Is there something on my face?"

    Yujia hastily glanced down, then glanced back up with her hand raising the book. She replied, "No. I was just about to ask Senior Brother though¡­ I was reading about the Six Principles, and it discussed the Bone Method and calligraphy. Is calligraphy really that important?"

    This question was something she just came up with to distract herself and to distract Yunhe from her brief moment of somewhat blanking out in her thoughts.

    Yunhe answered in return, "Yes, of course! Calligraphy is a key element of the Bone Method, just as important as the lines you create in your painting. A good painting along with good calligraphy is what makes a truly great work. So, that is why all great painters have wonderful calligraphy to pair with their art."

    "Oh¡­" She nodded thoughtfully. Thinking back to her own handwriting, it really wasn''t that great, much less what her calligraphy would look like. She may have been given talent in art, but handwriting was completely different. "Is Senior Brother good at calligraphy, then? I feel that I may need to improve in this," she followed up.

    He set the scroll in his hand down on a shelf, shrugging while his eyes flicked to the left as he thought. "I''m decent, I suppose. But you know who''s better? Noble Yu and Noble Bo. Noble Yu is always saying that his calligraphy is inferior to his paintings, but he''s being a little too humble. Noble Bo, on the other hand, is closest to a true calligraphy master."

    "Noble Bo? Which Noble Bo?"

    Yujia thought of Bo Zhiyuan and Bo Zhizhong. It was likely that Yunhe was discussing the Second Young Master, Bo Zhiyuan, since it seemed like he knew Zhiyuan personally.

    "The Second Young Master," Yunhe confirmed, "You should see whenever Yu Zixu and Bo Zhiyuan collaborate on a work. Now¡ª that is what true art is like. No wonder they are both such good friends."

    Yu Zixu.

    Yujia thought about him. She wondered if Yunhe knew about Zixu becoming his Junior Brother, now that Zixu was about to become a disciple of Yunhe''s father.

    Something clicked.

    Right at that moment, where Yujia thought about Zixu''s name, something clicked.

    Yu Zixu. The Yang Villa. Yang Xiaoyi. Madam Zhang. Distractions.

    It all began to fit together, piece by piece, coming together to paint a perfect plan in Yujia''s mind. It was all clicking.

 Chapter 163 - More Cautious Ideas of the Artist

    Yujia remembered that Zixu told her he would be busy today. This meant that she had to wait until later to tell him about her plan.

    Once she finished talking with Yunhe, she went back to her courtyard, sitting down underneath the plum blossom tree. While she looked at the branches, she realized that though her master wanted her to work on a week of studies for this tree, she would never be able to paint it until the next time it blossomed, in the winter.

    One week of sketching branches wouldn''t make her a master. One week of sketching plum blossoms wouldn''t either. Skills took time to learn. Even if the next winter, she spent the entire season painting and sketching the tree, she wouldn''t be considered a master. She would probably just be considered as a pretty decent plum tree painter.

    Ultimately, the act of becoming a master at painting plum branches required dedication that lasted year after year, and a focus that was incomparable to anything else.

    She couldn''t rush any of these things.

    A few moments later, Yujia took her supplies out and sketched some more branches, using this as an opportunity to gather more of her thoughts. Though she had a headache, her mind was clearer than ever. Things that once confused her seemed perfectly plain now.

    The physician told her that he wouldn''t be able to detect any poison if he didn''t have objects that she had been in contact with to examine. This made sense. With technology not yet being as advanced in this time, it was already a miracle that they could detect poison in her blood. To figure out exactly what type of poison it was just from her blood, even if it was at a high concentration, would be an impossible task considering the current advancements in medicine.

    Yujia knew for sure that the poison wasn''t intended to kill her quickly. If it was a poison that was with her since a long time ago, it would''ve killed her already. This poison seemed like it was the type to make her ill, rather than to end her life.

    It didn''t seem likely that someone would use this kind of painstaking poisoning on someone like her. The Fourth Miss wasn''t a special aristocrat or royalty. It would be much easier to just to give her Qi Bu Duan Chang San ¡ª Pills of Seven Steps Death¡ª or He Ding Hong ¡ª a dose of arsenic¡ª than to slowly poison her.

    With the fact that the poison was so easily discovered in her blood, the person who poisoned her didn''t seem like they were too concerned with Yujia discovering the traces of their work. This meant that if they did hold the intent to kill her, they would also not hold any fear for using a poison that could be discovered in her blood.

    So, the entire idea that this individual, if they wished to cause her death, poisoned her slowly until her death to avoid sudden detection and suspicion was clearly not the case. They did not fear having the poison discovered, so wouldn''t it be easier to just kill her off with an immediate poison that was probably cheaper and easier to find than a slow-acting poison?

    Besides, even if the Fourth Miss died, no one would care enough for her to investigate her death.

    The one thing about the entire poisoning case that muddled Yujia was the exact point of it all. Like she thought about earlier, she couldn''t understand the entire point of this. Why would someone be interested in poisoning her? What could they get from it?

    If their goal of poisoning was to make Yujia suffer from being chronically ill, then that was horrendous. Nevertheless, it did somewhat make sense. Perhaps this would also explain why they gave a slow-acting poison. Perhaps they did intend to kill her too, after she suffered enough.

    Still. Still. The risk of her discovering her state of being poisoned was clearly there. Yujia only saw a physician once, and he managed to diagnose her instantly. Why did this person not fear her discovery?

    The risks and rewards just didn''t balance out.

    Yujia, frankly put, didn''t understand.

    She stopped sketching then.

    Yujia stood up, walked to her room, shuffled through her drawers, and pulled out the pills and other medicine she brought with her from the Yang Villa.

    There were a few bottles of pills. From her experience of listening to what Hui''er told her to take, some she took daily while others she only took when she was feeling particularly ill. There was also a pack of leftover medicine from the time she fainted. Yu Zixu had personally bought her medicine from the store.

    Yujia knew for sure that Yu Zixu could not have poisoned her. He only knew her from a few weeks back. The people that wanted to poison her in the Yang Villa also didn''t have enough resources to convince him to poison her. Thus, Yujia didn''t have any suspicion about the medicine he brought her. She trusted him.

    Though, as for the rest of her pills, the ones that anyone could really have contact with¡­

    She scooped up all of them in her arms, then headed out the doors.

    If someone were to poison Yujia directly without intending to poison anyone else, the best place to start would be in her pills. It would also be the easiest, most obvious place.

    Yujia decided to take these pills to a medicine shop to see if they could tell if there was poison laced within some of them. With the pills being part of the little things she brought over from the villa, they would also be one of her only hopes of seeing if the kind of poison¡ª as well as a proper antidote¡ª could be discovered.

    ¡­

    A stick of incense and a couple taels spent later, an herbalist, along with another apprentice of his who was checking his work, told her that there were absolutely no traces of poison in any of the medicine she owned.

 Chapter 164 - IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 12/31/2019

    dear readers,

    please read these facts:

    1) only 11 people commented last chapter. I have 9000 readers. this means that 0.1% of my readers left a comment . but let''s be fair. let''s say that only 200 people read last chapter. that''s still a very VERY sad & low number of 5.5% readers. 100 people? 11%. still low.

    2) I''m insanely grateful for the support I''ve had so far. every comment means the world to me, really. but when I''ve gone from days of having 99+ comments per chapter everyday to only having the amount I got from last (and the past few) chapters, it''s crazily discouraging. where have all my readers gone?

    3) comments are my only way of knowing how many people read my chapters.

    4) I understand the silent reader mentality, but at the same time, I don''t think you all realize how much comments mean to me. I am writing PUAY for free right now. FREE. I could''ve locked it from chapter 60, ever since I signed the contract in july, but I haven''t, because I care about you all, and I want you all to have content to read without having to pay! the only thing that is keeping me going is comments. THAT''S IT!

    5) I don''t think that it''s very easy for those who are not writers to understand how painful it is for me to spend 4 hours every day writing a chapter, then getting barely any support.

    6) if I was a smaller writer, I would be a lot more appreciative than the petty person I am now. but seeing these stats- 9k readers and only 11 commenters - can you blame me for feeling this way?

    I don''t want to start off the new year like this, ranting and being so upset. I also don''t want you all to hate me for being this way (b/c, tbh, I hate myself already, but I can''t help feeling this way). this year has been rough, and seeing the recent decrease in all my stats no matter what I do has been more discouraging than anything.

    I also hate having to make a rant like this every couple of chapters to only get a few comments like "sorry, I''m usually a silent reader, but I''m always reading your novel!". I''m going to be very honest here. these comments don''t help much.

    can I please just get some comments about the chapter? about what you think? about how you feel about this novel, what you like and don''t like, your thoughts about the characters, etc, etc.?

    I understand that you all are busy with your lives. you don''t have time to spare to leave a comment. or maybe your english is bad. or maybe you just find my chapters boring & think that there''s nothing to say.

    but please-- I''m practicallly begging you all now. this is the point that it has become. PLEASE leave a comment if you have the slightest of time! PLEASE!

    any kind of comment is fine. english is not your native language? I''m okay with reading broken english! or just write in your native language! i''ll just use google translate. I want to know your thoughts. you don''t have time? a simple comment, such as "thanks for this chapter! I liked reading about how yujia''s entire thought process!" is okay! it''s all I''m really asking for. this can''t take more than a minute, can it? is four hours of my work really not worth even a few seconds of your attention after you finish reading?

    seeing the stats going down for this novel, day after day, is really depressing. it actually is. at this point, I don''t know what I can do to get my readers back.

    what am I doing wrong? can you all tell me? what exactly do I have to do to get comments again?

    I can''t write more than the schedule i have going on right now. five updates a week is already pushing at my mental and physical health.

    I''m so tired of writing this novel.

    I feel like I''m going to get hate for this. people are going to think that I''m entitled. I don''t imagine that many will truly understand the kind of mindset I''m in right now unless they''ve gone through the process of writing a 100+ chapter, 200,000+ word novel themselves.

    it sucks to put so much effort into something ever since september 2018, and get less and less support as time goes on.

    I''m probably already considered as someone who gets lots of support compared to smaller authors. if I never saw those days where I would get hundreds of comments per chapter, I''d probably also be more grateful.

    but I really am that selfish of a person. I''m fucking selfish. is it wrong of me to be like this?

    I don''t want to be one of those authors who threaten readers to comment. I feel like that''s wrong. I don''t want to force any of you to do anything.

    instead, from now on, I''m going to implement a new system. chapter length of this novel are normally 700-2.5k words long. from now on, they will stick around the 700-900, shorter end range, on the idea that I get so little comments per chapter.

    so, the more comments I get per chapter, the longer the next chapters will be. I''m tired of writing 3k word chapters and getting only 20 comments.

    this is not a threat. I don''t want it to come off that way. I am not taking away any chapters. the same amount of chapters will come out every week, only that this time, the length is controlled by YOU all rather than me controlling it based on the plot. thus, this system is basically more of an incentive.

    I''m sorry for starting the new year off like this. I really don''t know what else I can do though. I want change in 2020. I can''t just keep having this novel going on like this.

    this announcement chapter will be deleted by the end of the week, and the info will be put in the author''s note in the previous chapter.

    thank you all for reading.

    even if you don''t decide to comment, and wish to stay a silent reader, I understand. I''m still grateful for all the support in votes/collections/views. and to those who have continuously commented throuhout the chapters, your support is really what has kept me going all this time. I love you all. I really do.

    have a happy new year, and I hope that 2020 is a good year for all of us!

    -- yueyi.

 Chapter 165 - The Artist Gives Advice

    The moment Yujia decided to spend the rest of her day taking a nap¡ª the headache was really too bothersome¡ª a servant woke her up by knocking on her room''s door, which she just closed to get some peace and quiet.

    A little groggily, Yujia threw her outer robes back on messily, ran her fingers through her hair, and pushed the door open. "Do you need something?" she asked the servant.

    The servant bowed, replying, "There is a young lady at the front of Lingxin who claims that she is looking for you."

    A young lady? Who could that be? Zhou Luowei seemed the most likely, but if Yujia thought about it, any of the young ladies from yesterday had a possibility too.

    She straightened herself and gave a curt nod. "Bring her here."

    The servant obeyed and left. Yujia instantly turned, grabbing the plain robes she wore and switching it to a set of Lingxin disciple robes. Two sets of these were given to her the second day she moved in by a servant. She hadn''t worn it much, since she mainly stayed in her own courtyard, but it seemed like it would be reasonable for her to wear to meet this unknown other today.

    The robes were simple light teal, embroidered with fine silver-white threads of clouds and cranes. The fabric was comfortable to wear, and the sleeves were not the inconveniently large draping types that would interfere with art. Because they were intended for men, they had more of a masculine style, which conflicted with Yujia''s softer features. She finicked for a while with the different strings and tying methods to put the robes on properly, wishing that Hui''er was here. Her maid probably knew the tricks to wearing these robes.

    Once she managed to get the robes on, she hastily combed her hair to a simple style she learned and wore most of the time. She strung the Lingxin jade pendant at her waist and checked her appearance one last time in the bronze mirror before going to the room designated as a living room and a study. She sat down, picked up a brush, and acted just as if she was working on painting the plum branches.

    Whoever this young lady Yujia wanted to meet was, Yujia didn''t want to ruin her image as a refined disciple of Lingxin with a messy appearance or a lack of productivity. That was why she hurried to make it seem like she was doing anything but suffering from a hangover.

    The person that the servant brought over next was not the person Yujia expected to see. Lu Feifei.

    Lu Feifei¡ª that was the person who barely spoke at the gathering. Besides the one moment where she offered her cloak for Yujia to tie her makeshift rope together, Yujia''s impression of her was very faint, since she was always so silent. In a way, this was also why Yujia expected her last.

    The two of them were not close. They barely exchanged more than two words. So, why was Lu Feifei here?

    Yujia set her brush down at the brush holder, stood up, folded her hands, and bowed. "Miss Lu. I didn''t expect to see you here. Have a seat, please."

    Feifei bowed deeply, then sat down stiffly. Yujia poured her a cup of tea while hearing her explain, "Miss Yang, I''m sorry for visiting you without any notice beforehand."

    Yujia waved her hand. "That''s alright. Have a cup of tea. It''s the season''s newest green tea, just shipped into Lingxin."

    Feifei picked up the tea, had a sip, then placed it back down on the table. "Indeed. The flavor is light and fragrant. This is good tea," she agreed. Yujia sat down at the chair across. She expected Lu Feifei to say something else to follow up her wods at this moment, and sure enough, the other girl continued, "Miss Yang, I came here today because I would like to apologize."

    Her words were not blurted out or rushed, but rather calm and collected. Her manner of speech, which sounded almost rehearsed, reminded Yujia of Zixu.

    "Apologize?" Yujia said, her hands folded in her lap. "What is there to apologize for?"

    "You might not know it, but my family owns the pavilion that these gatherings are held at. And the entire situation with the golden fish in the surrounding pond yesterday, I had a few people train the fish months beforehand to do some tricks such as swimming together in certain locations. I thought that it would be a gift for everyone there to witness the fish perform these sights, but I didn''t expect what happened yesterday to happen¡­"

    Yujia recalled the wooden banister breaking, and Rong Tianyu falling into the water. A frown appeared on her face. "I still don''t understand. How is it your fault? Yesterday was an accident."

    Feifei bit her bottom lip. "But a few days before, I was overseeing one of the trainers who was teaching the goldfish how to circle around in rings. He reported to me that a few of the banisters had wood that was rotting from the humidity, and that they would snap easily if anyone put a lot of pressure on them. I didn''t think much of it, since I thought that no one would be putting their weight on the banisters."

    Yujia began to see the direction where this was going.

    Her words became more rushed now, and she stumbled through a few of them. "I¡ª I didn''t expect Tianyu to just jump and push down on one of the weaker ones. But I should''ve listened. If I did, instead of just ignoring his warning, then none of what happened would''ve happened. And I feel just overwhelming guilt. The guilt¡ª it''s just¡ª my brief moment of carelessness almost killed Tianyu. I would''ve been a murderer. Can you understand me?"

    Lu Feifei''s hands were trembling. Her face wrinkled up while she kept her head down.

    Yujia took her words with silence.

    Could she understand Lu Feifei? Of course she did. She knew the exact guilt that the other girl felt. Except, contrary to Lu Feifei, Yujia didn''t almost become a murderer. She was one.

    A nauseous feeling rose up in Yujia. She raised her hand to her mouth to stifle it, which caught Feifei''s attention.

    "Miss Yang," Feifei quickly continued, "I saw, in the midst of my fear during the time, your fear as well. I''m afraid that the entire situation caused distress to everyone else as well, so today, I am paying a visit to everyone present to apologize. I know that it can''t make up for my moment of negligence, but I''m not sure what else I can do to make up for it. And for you¡­ I would like to thank you as well. If it weren''t for you taking action so quickly, I''m afraid that Tianyu¡­"

    "I know," Yujia interrupted, before Lu Feifei could finish her sentence, "and there is no need to thank me. I just did my part." She paused, then asked, "You''re apologizing to everyone personally? All those young misses?"

    Feifei nodded.

    "What about Rong Tianyu?"

    At this, Lu Feifei hesitated. "I''m visiting her last, after you." She wrung her hands in her lap, twisting her fingers over and over. "I''m just scared, if I''m to be honest. Do you think she''ll forgive me, after what I''ve done?" Yujia didn''t reply instantly, giving Feifei a chance to add on, "I''m sorry for asking you these questions. If you don''t wish to answer, that is fine. I understand. I know that you are most likely not the ideal person to be asking these things to, but it''s slightly easier to tell these things to someone I don''t know well. I''m terrified of hearing what the others will think about me, since I''m rather close with them."

    Yujia found her voice softer than normal when she opened her mouth to speak. "It''s fine. I think that Tianyu, from what I''ve seen of her, doesn''t seem like a resentful person who will hold a grudge. Don''t put all the blame on yourself. We all make mistakes; we all skim over important details in life. What you should be focused on is not the possibility of the future that could''ve happened, but rather the events that did happen. Tianyu is fine. She''s alive. That''s what truly matters."

    With a glance over to Feifei, Yujia noticed that Feifei''s large eyes were beginning to water. She didn''t want to deal with someone crying today, so she just turned around, keeping her gaze away from the other girl.

    "You should go now. At least you still have the chance to apologize to someone you may have harmed. Treasure this opportunity while you still have it," Yujia said quietly with a sigh tracing her breath.

    She heard the sound of Lu Feifei standing up. "Thank you for the advice today. I''ll treasure it, like you said."

    "En. I''m feeling a bit fatigued, so I won''t be sending you out. Take care."

    "Alright, Older Sister Yujia."

    Hearing Feifei''s way of addressing her, Yujia turned in surprise. But Lu Feifei was gone already, leaving nothing but a slight breeze carried through the room.

    ¡­

    Yujia quietly kept to herself for the rest of the day. The next day, she decided to do the same, but that was when things were different. An invitation was sent to her from Bo Zhizhong, asking for her to meet up with him at Three Inks Shop.

 Chapter 166 - A Challenge for the Artist

    At first, Yujia expected that Zhizhong requested to meet up with her at Three Inks to discuss the Emperor''s decree. Though she was less obsessed with earning money at this point, it was the order of the Emperor, after all. They couldn''t just ignore it.

    Yet when she stepped into the shop, Zhizhong greeted her with, "Let''s go do something fun!"

    Yujia''s lips curled down while she unclasped the veil she put on this morning before she left. "I thought we were working on the decree''s order. The day before yesterday, I worked on all of the plans with Gao Yi. Do you want to see?"

    "Oh, that. I already saw." Zhizhong waved his hand impatiently, then gestured at Gao Yi, who was by the side. "I dropped by yesterday to check and got a few of your plans from him. There were some flaws in it, but I''m sure that we''re all busy people, so I hired a few advisers and gave the plan to them. They''ll work on it, so we don''t have to worry about it anymore."

    "You did¡­ what?"

    Zhizhong blinked, then repeated, "I gave the job of carrying out the decree to some other people." Seeing Yujia''s expressions morph, Zhizhong quickly added on, "They''re all trustworthy; I promise! And the result that they will do will be much better than our own plans, and¡­"

    "I wanted to figure this out myself, though," Yujia responded, "or at least with a few other people. But I still wanted to be a part of it. How could I start something, and then just push off my responsibilities to someone else?"

    She looked to the side and pulled one arm closer to herself. Zhizhong stared at her blankly, as if he didn''t understand what she was saying.

    "But¡ª it''s all busy work. If you don''t have to do it, why work on it? There''s nothing different that will come out of it regardless of who works on it¡ª" He paused in the middle of his words. Zhizhong looked at her, then looked down, then looked back up. "Alright. I don''t understand you, but I''ll try to. I''ll talk things out with the people I¡ª er¡ª hired, and see what I can do to have them work with you, perhaps?"

    Yujia looked back up. "Really?"

    "Of course." He pointed at her face with a grin on his own. "See, now you''re happy! Is it really that easy to make you happy?"

    She didn''t realize she was smiling. Yujia''s smile dropped, and she mimicked Zhizhong''s signature scowl. "Is that better? Would you prefer to see me like this?"

    It took a few seconds for the scowl to register in Zhizhong''s eyes. But the moment he recognized that she was imitating him, the smile on his face grew even wider.

    "Seriously?" he managed to say between a laugh.

    Yujia couldn''t hold this scowl for long either, and she let out a small giggle.

    Soon enough, though, Zhizhong straightened himself and crossed his arms. "Back to what I was saying before all of this. We should play a game."

    "Why a game? Did you really summon me over for just a game?"

    "Are you busy?" He raised his brows.

    Yujia thought about the art assignment her master gave her. Yesterday, she drew more than necessary. It would enough to account for taking a brief break today, right? Even if she wasn''t going to do something productive during that break, she didn''t feel motivated now to keep working on her art now that she had an option for procrastination.

    Procrastination truly remained as one of the most tempting things in life.

    So Yujia just shrugged, threw her responsibilities to the side, and said, "Not too much."

    "Then, let''s play a game," Zhizhong replied with a clap. "Last time, you only won that Tic-Tac-Toe game because you knew how to do it, and I was a beginner! It wasn''t fair. So this time, let''s play a game that you haven''t played before either."

    Him mentioning Tic-Tac-Toe made Yujia think of when she painted Zhizhong''s face to look like a cat. The thought brought a smile to her face.

    "What game are we playing?"

    He seemed to already have an answer in mind. "A race on horseback!"

    Yujia''s smile stayed on her face, but her eyebrows furrowed. She pointed out, "I have never even touched a horse in my life. How do you expect me to be able to race with you?"

    "Exactly. That''s the point."

    "Aren''t you rigging it so I''m destined to lose?"

    He stepped back, holding his hands up. "And you''re telling me you didn''t make that bet with me the other day knowing that you would win?"

    Yujia pursed her lips at that. Zhizhong had a point. The only reason she dared to bet with Bo Zhizhong was because she knew the strategies to Tic-Tac-Toe better than him. She was very assured that there was a greater chance of her winning than losing.

    "You can''t back out of it," Zhizhong continued, his head inclined to the side, "Come on. I have to win one time to balance things out. And I have everything already prepared. I''ll teach you carefully. Even if you lose, it''ll be a fun experience. You can''t say no."

    She looked at him plead, then thought about it for a few tense moments.

    She never rode a horse before. Before transmigrating, she hadn''t even seen a horse in person. And a few that she had seen when she was just strolling down the streets of the capital were much more enormous than she expected. What if the horse that she would attempt to ride just kicked her the moment it saw her? Wouldn''t that be equivalent to instant death, or at least numerous broken bones? Or if the horse trampled her over¡­

    These thoughts, though filled with fear, seemed a bit irrational to Yujia. She knew that the horses Zhizhong used were probably well trained. He wouldn''t give her a dangerous horse to learn how to ride for the first time. But even so¡ª there was always the possibility of those events that she just thought of occuring.

    The body she owned was not exactly the most physically fit either.

    But seeing how Zhizhong looked at her, full of anticipation, she sighed. There was no need to be pessimistic about things. It could even be a fun experience like he said, for all she knew. And wasn''t that what she was living this life for? To go through the experiences she never had a chance to go through in the past?

    Besides, he already had everything set up. If she rejected, it would be ruining his effort of planning this challenge, or "game", as Zhizhong had called it.

    With this bit of positivity and her lack of desire to let Zhizhong down, Yujia finally relented. "Alright. Let''s go do that."

    ¡­

    Zhizhong told her that the horses he prepared were still in the capital. He claimed that he rented two horses to be waiting by the forest, so that they could race in the road that went through the forest and out of the capital.

    Yujia recalled this forest. It was the same one that she went through during her first few days of transmigration to gather clay for her pencil-making. She also met Zhizhong for the second time in this forest. He seemed to know it well, because following his lead, the two of them soon came upon the horses that Zhizhong wanted to race on.

    There were two horses. One was larger than the other, with a pure black coat. It stood taller by quite a bit compared to the smaller horse by its side. Yet the other horse, though smaller than the black one, wasn''t too small either. The closer Yujia stood to it, the larger it felt. The coat of that horse was a vibrant chestnut hue, and there was a streak of white down the center of its head.

    The moment Yujia laid her eyes on the chestnut horse and their gazes connected, a wave of unease rose up within her. While the black horse was actually quite still, only blinking to show that it was not a statue, the chestnut horse was more restless. Though tethered to the side of a tree, its hooves moved back and forth impatiently. Just based on how skittish the smaller chestnut horse was, Yujia immediately wished that she would be riding the larger horse instead.

    Zhizhong grinned brightly this entire time. During the walk to the forest, he attempted to assure her that she would enjoy herself. Horse-riding was apparently one of his favorite activities, which Yujia soon learnt.

    Now with the two horses right in front of them, while Yujia kept her distance cautiously, Zhizhong stepped up to the black horse, explaining to her, "This one is my favorite stallion. He''s a rare breed, and you won''t find many that are as strong, fast, agile, or otherwise as skilled as him. You should''ve seen him when I first got him¡ª he had a lot of spirit, and a groom who took care of him had his hands bitten and bruised the first time he cared for him. A few nails came off too. But it''s all okay now. They trained it out of him, so now he''s really a very calm horse."

    "Ah." Yujia looked at the black horse, her palms beginning to sweat. "Well, I think I¡­ appreciate the existence of all my fingernails intact."

    Zhizhong laughed, his hand reaching up to scratch the stallion''s neck. "I promise you, he''s a good horse. But I don''t know how he is with strangers, so that''s why I brought you this other horse instead. This mare is my sister''s personal favorite because she''s just so gentle. Her name is Xiao Ke Ai ¡ª Little Cutie."

    At the sound of her name, the chestnut mare immediately reared up and squealed, almost breaking the strap that kept her tethered to the tree. It towered up in the air for a few moments before going back down to kicking its legs against the floor. The horse snorted, clearly disliking being tied to a tree.

    Yujia stared at all of this with wide, wide eyes. Even Yushang backed away a few steps from the chestnut mare.

    Gentle? This horse was gentle?

    If this horse was considered gentle, then lions were only cuddly housecats!

    Hesitantly, Zhizhong took a step back forward. "Now¡ª Little Cutie¡ª she may just be a bit nervous meeting new people. But she''s not usually like this. I promise. She''s the mildest horse ever."

    Yujia looked at him with absolute disbelief, then back at the horse. She tried to take a step closer to the mare as well, but "Little Cutie" only kicked her foreleg out, which absolutely terrified Yujia to the point where she stumbled back in shock.

    She wanted to put as much distance with this horse as she could.

    Pointing at that horse, then back at Zhizhong, then back at the horse, her hand trembled. "I don''t know anything about horses, but one thing is for sure¡ª I am not riding that horse today."

    "Aw, come on." Zhizhong threw his palms up. "For real, I''ve been around her a lot. If I didn''t think that her demeanor suited you, then I wouldn''t have brought her to teach you horseback today."

    "Do you want me to die ?"

    "That''s too dramatic. She might be scary right now to you, but once you get to ride her, you''ll realize that she''s the sweetest thing in the world." He went back to his black stallion, swinging up so that he was on top of the saddle. "If you are to be scared of someone, my stallion should be what you''re terrified of. He''s not good with strangers."

    Yujia looked at the calm black horse, who still barely moved, then back at "Little Cutie". At that moment, when she looked at the mare, she swore that "Little Cutie" gave her a murderous glare back.

    Zhizhong continued to persuade as he swung off his horse, "Come on, take a step closer! She won''t kill you. She won''t even bite."

    He went up to the chestnut mare and rubbed her side. Yujia expected Zhizhong to immediately be kicked, but "Little Cutie" was surprisingly alright with it, neighing gently.

    Maybe¡­ Zhizhong was right?

    She found a little bit of bravery and went back up again. Zhizhong nodded supportively, saying, "Here, give her a good pat on the side."

    The moment Yujia reached out, she was greeted with a snapping mouth.

    That sight¡ª the size and speed of the snapping teeth¡ª made Yujia freeze. The horse teeth missed her fingers by just a bare centimeter.

    At that, Yujia was done. She really was done.

    She backed away, shaking her head, both her hands up in front of her.

    "I can''t do this I can''t do this I can''t do this I can''t do this," she repeated, backing up all the way until she ran into a tree. And then, she slumped down onto the ground, still in a daze, her hands cupping the sides of her face. Her vision was spinning.

    The fear she thought was irrational before she met this "Little Cutie" was not irrational at all. Horses were terrifying. Absolutely. Terrifying.

    This was the day that Yujia discovered that amongst all her other fears in life¡ª drowning, failure, and spiders¡ª horses were one of them.

 Chapter 167 - The Artist Screams A Lot

    Somehow¡ª just somehow¡ª Yujia found herself sitting on top of a horse.

    It took a lot of tears, fear, and refusal on her end, and lots of persuasion, encouragement, and demonstration on Zhizhong''s end, for her to end up where she was now.

    At first, she was dead set against any notion of getting near the two horses. But Zhizhong continued to kindly prove to her that this monster called "Little Cutie" was not a monster at all, and rather a very sweet horse. For some reason, now that Yujia was far away, the chestnut mare became calmer and more agreeable, letting Zhizhong ride her. Yujia only watched on from the distance she deemed safe as Zhizhong explained how to control and ride the mare properly.

    After that, seeing how the horse calmed down a lot more, Yujia was willing to give it another try¡ª though not instantly and not without a struggle, of course. Even going up to "Little Cutie" was a task more difficult than most of the things Yujia had ever done in her life. Half her mind screamed at her that she was walking up to a literal killing machine while the other half yelled the opposite: that if she did not conquer her fear this time, she would never be able to conquer any other fears. Yujia didn''t want to become the kind of person who collapsed at the slightest bit of adversity.

    Despite all that, once she mustered up enough courage to step up to the horse, getting onto the creature was a whole other deal.

    This was when Zhizhong''s persuasion skills really came to a test.

    Many, many, many words of encouragement where given from his side. He also continued to demonstrate that "Little Cutie" truly was a cutie. Instead of Yujia''s initial perception that if Zhizhong continued to hang around the horse, he would soon end up with all his bones broken, the chestnut mare somehow withstood his antics and allowed him to demonstrate everything a beginner needed to know when it came to horseback riding.

    A small voice began to convince Yujia that the horse only acted the way it had¡ª all the kicking and snapping¡ª because of Yujia being a stranger. But now that Yujia established that though she was a stranger, she posed no threats, the horse became much milder.

    Or at least, that was what Yujia hoped.

    Zhizhong left one last word for her. "You know," he proposed carefully, "seeing that it will be difficult to race at this point, let''s just make this game simple. If you manage to get and stay on Little Cutie for five minutes¡ª just five minutes¡ª I''ll let you win!"

    When she heard that, Yujia had actually given his words a lot of thought. Either Zhizhong genuinely wanted to see her capable of conquering her fear of the horse, or after seeing her entire demonstration of fear, he didn''t have any hope that she would be able to get on. He was so confident that she couldn''t even get close enough to "Little Cutie" that he would be willing to make a bet on that.

    Yujia admitted that with this thought, her pride felt a bit damaged. Even though she knew that he might not actually think that way, and that she was just overanalyzing all his words, her pride still felt hurt.

    "What happens if I don''t win?" she had asked in reply.

    He simply replied, "Same conditions as last time. Winner gets to do one thing to the loser."

    And at the end of his words, Zhizhong gave her a very, very, very suspicious smile.

    She knew it. At that moment, Yujia knew it. This entire thing¡ª horseback riding and all¡ª it was just payback for when she drew a cat face on Zhizhong.

    Yujia never imagined that Bo Zhizhong would be such a petty person.

    This, along with everything else that had happened so far, combined together to give Yujia fuel to finally face her fear.

    And that was how she ended up on the back of "Little Cutie", holding on for dear life.

    Though in the first few moments, she struggled to raise her back when she was sitting on top of the saddle, Yujia eventually raised herself bit by bit until she was sitting straight.

    To word it nicely, Yujia was not used to this view from so high up at all. To word it in a less subtle manner, she felt like she was going to throw up.

    Zhizhong clapped his hands excitedly. "Just stay up there for a few minutes, and you''ll be able to win!"

    Yujia didn''t even want to look down. She kept her eyes fixed up high and prayed to every deity in the world that the horse she was on would not move. If the horse was still, she could at least pretend like she was just sitting on a very tall boulder.

    But then, Zhizhong said, "Okay, change of plans. If you can stay on the horse after this ¡ª then you win."

    "Wait wha¡ª"

    Before Yujia could even finish her words, Zhizhong patted the back of "Little Cutie", yelling out, " Jia 1 !"

    And then, with a lurch and a scream of terror from Yujia, the horse started galloping.

    ¡­

    Fu Yushang thought of it as a joke. Or, if not a joke, at least a good learning experience.

    His logic was that fear was only something that held people back from improving. Fear was only a barrier to be destroyed. Some people may eventually be able to conquer their fears and enhance their entire life experience, while others continued to be held back by the limits of their fear.

    Regardless, the barrier called "fear" proved to be a struggle to everyone, no matter how brave or courageous they were. Everyone had their fears.

    Yushang also discovered that to break this barrier, the quickest method would be brute force. The wall of fear could be slowly chipped away, bit by bit, throughout an individual''s life, or they could just run into the wall and break it with pure will, solving their fear in an instant. The solution was that simple¡ª the only problem being that not many people were at the level of being able to just straight out face their fears like that. Not everyone was headstrong enough to run into a brick wall.

    So, Yushang held strong by the belief that if one was not capable of doing something, then someone else forcing that individual to do said thing would lead to good results.

    In this current situation, though Yushang admitted that he was a little mean, he thought that the same ideology about fear would be effective. He strongly believed that Yujia could conquer her fear of horseback riding as long as she received some, well,  "motivation" to continue to cling on the horse. This motivation included the value of life and the value of healthy, unbroken bones.

    But Yushang didn''t want to be that evil. He only planned to let the horse run far enough so that it was still in his sight, and he would call it back. That would be enough time, he believed, to show Yujia that riding on a horse wasn''t actually that terrifying. It was also such a short period of time that the chances of her falling off was increasingly little¡ª anyone could hold onto a galloping horse for only one minute.

    Recalling that his sister used a horse whistle to call her Little Cutie back, once the mare was far enough, he pulled out and blew the whistle. The shrill noise of the whistle cut through the forest, and Yushang blew it a couple of times.

    Little Cutie didn''t even turn back her head.

    For a few seconds, Yushang stared at all this blankly, the idea registering in his head that the whistle didn''t call the horse back.

    No way! No! Absolute! Way!

    He had gone on horseback rides and held competitions with his sister all the time! In all the cases, his sister always rode on Little Cutie, and she had always been able to call her horse back with the whistle! She even bragged that her horse was so obedient that she could blow the whistle on the opposite side of the world, and Little Cutie would come running towards her!

    Yushang would not have chosen Little Cutie to teach Yujia how to ride if he hadn''t seen Little Cutie''s calm demeanor and absolute obedience! He admitted that what happened in the beginning did shock him a bit¡ª he didn''t expect the mare to be so spirited today¡ª but he was convinced afterwards that she had calmed down. That was why he dared to let Yujia try riding the horse. He would not have done so if he ever thought that too much danger would come to her.

    But now¡ª why wasn''t this whistle working?

    Yushang blew it a couple more times, to no avail.

    That was when he began to panic. He knew that it probably wasn''t the case, but he hoped that Yujia was not in a state of too much panic right now¡ª

    ¡­

    There was only one thing going through Yujia''s mind at this moment: endless screaming.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, two horse grooms were checking on the imperial family''s horses when they came upon one empty stall.

    The older groom, who was the younger stableboy''s mentor, curiously said in a half-question, "Strange. Why is this stall empty? Wasn''t that where the new horse was kept?"

    "The new horse?" the stableboy replied, "Master, this is the stall for the princess''s favorite Little Cutie, isn''t it?"

    The groom looked at that stall, then took a few rushed steps forward, looking at another stall close to this empty one. In it, there was a chestnut mare with a very pleasant aptitude, chewing at some of her lunch. He blinked.

    The stableboy followed him, asking, "Master?"

    "This one''s Little Cutie, idiot."

    "What?"

    Gesturing at the horse in the stall, the groom explained, "Little Cutie, the one that the princess likes, has a thicker, continuous strip of white down its head. But the new horse we got just recently, the one we haven''t trained properly yet, has a white star at the top, and then a broken stripe down. They may both look alike, but that''s how you tell them apart." He paused, looking back at the empty stall. "So where''s the new horse? It was your shift this morning."

    "Oh. The Crown Prince''s servants came by this morning and asked for his black stallion and Little Cutie to be brought to him," the stableboy answered, his words falling short and his eyes widening as he realized what he had done.

    "You absolute idiot!" His master barked, angrily smacking the boy on the back of his neck. "You did what now?"

    "I¡ª I¡ª I made a mistake¡ª it was an honest mistake¡ª"

    "Fool!" The groom grabbed the boy. "That horse you brought to the Crown Prince is barely trained! And she''s not a gentle kind of horse, like Little Cutie, either! She was just recently shipped over from the west, and here you are, mixing her up with the princess''s favorite horse¡­ What if the Crown Prince gets hurt by this horse? She''s far too spirited to be ridden by anyone!"

    "Master¡ª I¡ª"

    Lowering his voice to a hiss, the groom kept going, "You know, if the Crown Prince gets hurt, all of our heads are falling off today?"

    The stableboy''s eyes were so large at this point that they seemed like they were about to fall out. "But! But¡ª but¡ª but it was an accident!"

    "And your accident will cost us all of our lives ."

    ¡­

    Yujia''s mind at this moment was still at the same state.

    Screams, screams, and screams.

    Jia = giddyup in Chinese.

 Chapter 168 - Curses From the Artist

    The horse was going at the speed of light, and Yujia was a very terrified time traveller. Somewhere, in between all of her screams and completely incomprehensible thoughts, Yujia suddenly had a sudden idea: if a person who belonged to the current time period transmigrated to the modern world and got in a racecar, would they feel the nausea and terror that she was going through right now?

    This thought was only a strange idea that flickered briefly before vanishing. At this moment, Yujia could not afford to think of anything else besides a pure conscious stream of "how to not fall off ".

    The survival mindset was real.

    As the horse¡ª no, absolute demon-creature¡ª galloped on through the woods, tearing through branches and bamboo, twisting and turning in all sorts of directions, Yujia clung onto its reins and neck for dear life.

    She couldn''t even bother to care about anything, such as the direction she was going, or how much time had passed since "Little Cutie"¡ª no, "Little Demon"¡ª began to gallop. All she could think about was her attempt of staying on the horse.

    Perhaps it was adrenaline doing its job, since Yujia didn''t feel too much fatigue as she clung on for dear life. The scenery around her flashed by in colorful blurs, but she didn''t even dare to lift her head to look. She just squeezed her eyes shut, tried to stay put on the horse without getting thrown off, and prayed to all the deities she could think of.

    If she came out of this entire ordeal in a whole piece¡ª

    At this thought, the horse suddenly froze in its steps.

    It took a few seconds for the pause in rapid gallop and the thudding of hooves to register in Yujia''s mind. When it did, she slowly moved her head up, taking a bold look at everything around her.

    The world, to her shock, did not present itself in flashes of indiscernible colors. Instead, everything was still.

    How¡ª ?

    The motionless world startled her. In fact, seeing how tranquil everything was, Yujia felt even more nauseous than before.

    Her first thought: she was alive.

    Her second thought: she needed to get off.

    Yujia didn''t waste any time sitting around and pondering her nausea on the horse.

    Only two seconds after she realized the horse stopped, she immediately let go of the reins and clumsily scrambled off the mare. Then, she stumbled backwards, swiftly putting as much distance as she could between herself and the demon.

    Once she was a secure distance away, Yujia looked at "Little Demon", who was now peacefully grazing in the grass as if nothing had ever happened. The two had stopped in a grassy clearing in the midst of the bamboo forest.

    "You demon¡ª"

    Yujia glared in its direction, an immediate string of colorful curses flying out of her mouth. All the times in the past where she contained herself, speaking properly to fit the time period, went to the back of her mind. The absolute rage and shock from the ordeal she just had to go through broke those barriers of etiquette.

    She had to vent her anger in some way, and cursing was just the best method.

    Her rant of curses went on for what felt like a solid five minutes, but the horse only continued to graze, not paying any attention to her words.

    When Yujia paused to catch her breath, the horse finally looked up at her, sending a glare filled with equally as much murderous intent as she had been giving it. It then reared back, neighing loudly, and Yujia took a few steps back in more caution.

    The moment she stumbled back, "Little Demon" dropped back down, snorting as if laughing at her.

    That was when Yujia decided that if she had enough physical strength, she would love to murder "Little Demon" right at the spot.

    Strangulation sounded awfully appealing.

    But sadly, she was a sickly, poisoned girl who was pretty much skin and bones, neither fat nor muscle existing in her two arms. Even if she wasn''t completely worn out from the ride, she wouldn''t have any strength to strangle the demon''s neck anyways.

    "Little Demon" looked at her for one last time, then turned its head and trotted away, as if it couldn''t bother to spare another second around this human. And Yujia wasn''t sorry to see it go at all¡ª the further away the chestnut mare was, the better.

    Yujia didn''t want to relive that insane horseback ride again.

    Once the mare was out of her sight, Yujia sighed loudly and dropped down in the tall grass. She stared up at the open sky above her.

    Bo! Zhizhong!

    That name rang out loudly in her head.

    Yujia sat back up. Bo Zhizhong!

    She was going to kill him.

    He tricked her! He absolutely, positively, one-hundred percent tricked her. And the worst part was, she fell for it.

    Was this his whole plan all along? To just take revenge on her for drawing a cat face on him? Except, wasn''t that just too petty of him? She only drew some cute whiskers on him, while he was out her trying to take her life.

    He claimed that he just wanted to race with her, but after what he did today, Yujia doubted his true motives. If "Little Demon" was really that timid mare he claimed she was, would Yujia have gone through the events she went through? He claimed that the horse belonged to his sister, but thinking about it, the Bo Family didn''t even have a young miss, as far as Yujia knew!

    At this moment, fury boiled up inside of Yujia.

    Zhizhong and her had a good relationship up until now. She knew that Zhizhong likely didn''t mean to hurt her, but still, that fear she felt when the horse started galloping was very much real. She couldn''t help the desirable idea of smacking Zhizhong replaying in her thoughts.

    Her heart still raced at the thought of riding the horse, but not to the point where she was reliving the memories, or going through the fear that crawled into her heart after nearly drowning. Perhaps it was the fact that Yujia was never harmed by the horse, or that the shock and adrenaline that rushed through her during the event made the whole event feel a lot less personal. Yujia couldn''t even believe that she rode a horse through all of the woods, and was still altogether in one piece.

    Regardless of all this, Yujia was just tired. Thoroughly tired.

    She waved the thoughts of horses and Bo Zhizhong out of her mind, then collapsed back into the grass. Above her, the sky was as blue as always. Today was a clear day without clouds, unlike the past few days which had been a combination of clouds dotting the sky. In Yujia''s eyes, the pure blue was beautiful, but she also missed the rain.

    Would it rain anytime soon? It hadn''t for a whole month now, ever since she transmigrated. She missed the clean smell of air after a good rainstorm, where the storm carried away all the dirt and grime with it.

    Yujia closed her eyes, breathing deeply and calming herself.

    No more horses, no more Bo Zhizhong, no more races, no more games.

    Just alone, cradled by the blades of grass, listening to the rustling leaves, and feeling the cool breeze drift by, Yujia cut the strings of stress from her life one by one until there was nothing else except for her with herself.

    And then, a wet nose and furry face woke Yujia up.

    She found herself face to face with a grinning dog panting over her.

    Yujia''s eyes immediately flew open from the half-closed state she was in. She flinched up, startled, and the dog took a few steps back as well.

    "Who are you?" she blurted, shrinking back.

    She wasn''t afraid of dogs. But getting caught unprepared by the sudden face of this dog, nose to nose with her as she laid down in the grass, did startle her.

    The dog, obviously, could not speak. If it did, Yujia probably would''ve just quit life at this moment. There were too many chaotic things today, and a speaking dog wasn''t making anything any better.

    But the dog did grin.

    Yujia had never seen a smiling dog. But this dog had a crooked one, with eyes curved up like crescent moons and lips curled back. It was both amusing and also offputting.

    Seeing that the dog had neatly groomed fur, Yujia thought that it might not be a stray. She worried for a second about rabies, but recalling how the dog behaved around her, she didn''t think that it was a rabid dog.

    The dog sat down next to her, panting. He seemed out of breath and tired just like her, though it was still grinning widely.

    Yujia observed the dog for another moment. He didn''t have any collar, but because of his fur being so clean and well-combed, Yujia was fairly convinced at this point that it wasn''t a stray. The dog, besides its grin, had a honey-colored coat with white fur lining his stomach, and short triangular ears that stuck up. His tail was bushy and swished side to side.

    After sniffing Yujia all over for a few moments¡ª it was a ticklish experience¡ª it trotted off a few steps to the right and peed on a tree.

    Yujia let out a laugh, and the dog came scampering back to her. He kept grinning, then licked her face.

    Ah. He was really too cute. She had no idea who this dog was, or where it came from, but she knew one thing for sure: he sure was adorable.

    Yujia couldn''t hold back anymore and reached forward with two hands, patting the dog. She rubbed him on the back, and his grin seemed even wider now.

    "I don''t know who you are," she said with a hum threaded through her voice, "or what you''re even doing here. Where''s your master, hm?"

    The dog barked in response, then pawed her, as if to say, ''keep patting''.

    That was when¡ª speak of the devil¡ª Yu Zixu burst through the forest, stumbling out into the grass clearing.

    Yujia blinked twice. Was she seeing things correctly? Yu Zixu?

    No way.

    That was the last person she expected. And this timing as well¡ª he appeared right after she asked the dog who his master was.

    What was this coincidence?

    Yujia considered for a serious moment if she was seeing the wrong person. It couldn''t be Yu Zixu. She thought that he was busy. What was he doing in the forest?

    But Zixu¡ª it was definitely Zixu, despite Yujia''s denial¡ª looked in her direction. His gaze skimmed over her and only fell on the dog next to her.

    "Mimi!" he exclaimed, then rushed in her direction with open arms.

    Yujia stared at Yu Zixu. Then she looked back at the dog, who was happily running towards Zixu as well.

    This day has been too strange. First, Bo Zhizhong and horses. Now, Yu Zixu and dogs¡­

    She admitted that she was a bit speechless.

 Chapter 169 - The Artist Meets the Dog

    For a solid few moments, Zixu only had eyes for his dog.

    Once he was completely finished with checking and making sure the dog was alright, he finally moved his attention to Yujia, who stared back at him blankly.

    Only pure confusion went through Yujia''s mind. She was still trying to piece it all together.

    "Junior Sister¡ª I didn''t expect to see you here." He masked his worried gaze with a smile.

    Right. Yujia temporarily forgot that Zixu was now her Senior Brother, since Ye Yunhe''s father took him in as a disciple. She nodded back and said, "Senior Brother Zixu, I didn''t expect to see you either."

    He knelt down in the grass to pet his dog, continuing, "Are you simply taking a walk because of the good weather today?"

    Yujia almost snorted. She wished that was the case. Except, how was she supposed to say, '' Oh, I was just riding on a psychopathic demon, but now I''m all good'' ?

    "I guess you could say it that way. A leisurely stroll that landed me here. What about you?" she settled with telling him.

    He looked down at the dog, the corners of his lips lifting up. "My dog likes to go on walks through the forest. I thought I would accompany him, but¡­ he saw a rabbit halfway through." At this, a small laugh escaped him. "He ran after the rabbit and deviated from the path we were going through, so of course, I had to chase him. And here I am now."

    Yujia only just now noticed the beads of sweat dotting Zixu''s forehead, and his breathing which seemed heavier than normal. He must''ve ran after his dog at full speed. The image of a panicked Zixu losing his usual composure to run after his dog brought a smile to her on the inside.

    Thinking for a brief second, she looked down, reached in her pocket, and pulled out a handkerchief, which was only a square of rough fabric. Yujia handed it to him and glanced away.

    "Here."

    He looked at the square for a second, then took it from her. "Thanks."

    "No problem." Yujia looked back at the dog, who was grinning even more. "Your dog is so strange," she teased, "She''s always grinning? I have never seen a grinning dog before."

    Zixu handed the handkerchief back to her when he was done wiping his sweat. He smiled too with an affectionate smile that met his eyes. "Mimi has always been like this, ever since he was a puppy."

    "Mimi?" Yujia questioned, "She''s a girl, right?"  1

    Mimi¡ª which literally meant honey¡ª seemed like a very feminine name.

    "Oh, no." Zixu shook his head, scratching behind Mimi''s ears. "Mimi is a boy. The whole reason for why he''s called Mimi is because my younger brother named him. I was seventeen, but Ziyang was only ten when we got Mimi as a newborn. He thought Mimi was a girl at first, and because of his coat color, he named her that. He called him Mimi for a whole week until he was told that Mimi was a boy. But the name stuck."

    Yujia reached forward to pat Mimi as well. She softly replied, "That''s cute. You seem to love your dog very much."

    "I do." Zixu tilted his head. "Dogs in general¡ª they''re sometimes¡­ better than men."

    Yujia thought back to Zhizhong and Little Demon and laughed sullenly. "I can agree with that. Dogs are superior to everything. Humans, horses¡­"

    He lifted his brows. "Horses? You dislike horses?"

    She raised her head up, her hand clenched into a fist as she answered, "Yes. Passionately. I hate them with a burning passion."

    "What have they ever done to hurt you?" he joked. Yujia had so many replies to that, but he continued before she could say anything. "I''m fine with all animals. I''ve had a good experience with all the horse''s I''ve ridden on in the past. And Mimi gets along with horses very well."

    Yujia wished that she could say the same.

    She didn''t want to think about what just happened a few moments ago with her and the demon creature, so she attempted to change the topic. "You seem a lot different than how you were before¡ª you''re a lot more talkative today," she pointed out.

    Usually, though Zixu did share a few personal stories about himself, they were much more rare. But on the topic of animals, he became much more lively and interested in the conversation.

    "I am?"

    The warm smile on Zixu''s face fell, quickly replaced by the typical calm smile he wore in a split second. The switch between his expressions was almost instantaneous after his rhetorical question, barely a falter in between them. He sat straighter, exhaled, and looked at her with a different gaze.

    Zixu was still smiling. But now, the smile he wore was somehow much more different than the one he had on before.

    Yujia observed all of this silently.

    He brushed through Mimi''s fur with his fingers one last time, then stood up, dusting off his robes. Glancing away from her, Zixu said dryly, "I still have things to get to today, so I believe I''ll be leaving, if Junior Sister has no objections."

    "Oh."

    She said something wrong.

    Yujia wasn''t sure what she said wrong, but the change in the air between them was apparent.

    Was it her statement about how he was more talkative? But how was that wrong?

    It was as if her relationship with Zixu was back to square one from her one simple statement. She first met him as a calm and collected person, but as the two of them interacted, talked, and spent time together, she felt like Zixu was warming up to her, if only just a little bit. She wouldn''t consider them good friends, but at the same time, maybe friends. At least she enjoyed talking to him.

    But now, Zixu was standing in front of her stiffly, his fingers curled up by his side. He was back to that well-mannered, ever-so-perfect Yu Zixu that everyone else knew.

    Yujia hastily stood up too. She wanted to know why the words she said were wrong, and what mistake she unknowingly made by asking that question.

    "I need to head back too. We''re going in the same direction, so would you mind if I walked with you?" she asked, her words laced with hesitation.

    But contrary to the expectations she held in mind, Zixu replied with a single word of agreement. The two began the walk back together, yet Yujia couldn''t quite think of the words she wanted to tell or ask him.

    ¡­

    Somewhere along the mostly silent walk, perhaps almost an hour later, the two of them both realized and came to the conclusion that they were utterly lost.

    They had been walking for so long, but there was no sight of a road anywhere. Normally, by this time, they should''ve already been mostly out of the forest and definitely on a road. Maybe they made a few unknowing turns along the way¡ª mostly stop stop Mimi from chasing after a bird or a rabbit¡ª but they should''ve been heading in a mostly linear direction, right?

    Or, at the very least, they weren''t walking in circles¡­

    "Are you sure we''re heading in the right direction?" Yujia stared at a tree stump that was right in front of them. "I swear, I''ve seen that tree stump for the fourth time already."

    Maybe they were walking in circles.

    Zixu looked at her with a shrug. "I''ve been following you, all this time."

    "No¡ª I''ve been following you !" she retorted.

    When Zixu went to the left, she went to the left. When Zixu went to the right, she went to the right. She just assumed all along that Zixu knew what he was doing, and never questioned it. But how was she hearing now that he had been following her instead?

    "You''ve been following me ?" Zixu repeated.

    "Indeed."

    At this, Zixu stopped in his tracks. He spun in a slow circle, looking in every varying direction, then looking up at the sky with his hand shielding his eyes from the sun. He finally laughed at this point, an awkward laugh that consisted of pure disbelief.

    "I''m bad at directions," he admitted.

    Yujia clasped her fingers together. "Nice to know. I, too, have zero sense of direction."

    Their eyes met. Yujia saw the awareness registering in Zixu''s eyes, and she was sure that he saw a similar sight in hers.

    Then, Mimi barked, leaping to chase after the thirteenth rabbit or small creature he had come across in their entire walk.

    At this moment, Yujia realized that the two of them were utterly screwed.

    In Chinese, he, she, and it all translate to varying forms of "ta", which all sound the same though having different written characters. Thus, Yujia believed that Mimi was a "she" despite Zixu''s usage of "he", since they sounded the same.

 Chapter 170 - Expedition of the Artist

    Times like these were times where Yujia missed modern technology. Life would be so much easier if she had her phone on her. She could just call someone to pick her up. Or she could just use a GPS and find her way out herself. Or she could search up "how to survive in the wilderness" if things really became that desperate.

    The wonders of the smartphone¡­

    But the reality was that she just had to be transmigrated into ancient times, as if she were the character of a novel, drama, or something of that sort. There were no smartphones.

    So Yujia had to do things the hard way.

    Along with Zixu, she caught Mimi from running away for the thirteenth time. Next, they tried to put together their lack of directional skills to come up with a solid plan that would prevent them from getting even more lost. It wasn''t going to be a perfect plan, but there was that saying that two heads were better than one, right?

    Their plan wasn''t too complicated either. It was all rather simple.

    They were just going to walk in a single direction until they walked out of the forest.

    Yujia''s logic consisted of the idea that if they kept turning whenever they felt like it, or to the whim of Mimi, they would be walking in circles. But if they headed in one direction, and kept Mimi going in the same direction as them instead of running after prey animals, they would have to eventually hit something¡ª perhaps a landmark or a road. Or even better, to find the exit of the forest.

    Thus, after Yujia proposed this idea to Zixu, the two of them continued to walk in what they assumed to be a fairly straight direction.

    Halfway through, Yujia suddenly picked up a topic she had on her mind for a while now.

    "So, why is there a forest in the capital?" she asked.

    Zixu thought about it for a second before replying, "I think it has to do with some tradition of some sort. And because of the walls you had to pass through to get here, though it might feel like it''s part of the capital, it''s really not."

    Yujia thought about it for a second, recalling any memories she had about the walls separating the forest from the capital. On all the occasions that she passed through it, Yujia never paid too much attention to it. She was a person by herself, after all, and there were only two guards who briefly looked at her as she passed through the open gates. If Zixu hadn''t just mentioned this detail, she wouldn''t have even recalled it. It would''ve just become a vague detail buried within all her other memories.

    "Interesting. Do you know how large this forest is, even?"

    "I''m not sure." Zixu said again after giving it a thought. "On the normal days where I take Mimi to go on walks, we don''t walk far. I haven''t ever tried exiting the capital in this route either. So I don''t know much about navigating this area, especially when there''s no road."

    "Oh."

    An old man told her the first time she went in the forest that if she went down far enough through the roads and turned right at a split path, she would find her way out of the capital. It didn''t seem like that long of a road, now that she thought about it, to bring her out of the capital.

    To find out more about her speculations, Yujia asked, "I don''t see many people taking the forest road to leave the capital though. There also aren''t that many people going in and out of the gates. Why is that?"

    Zixu gave her a wry smile. Instead of replying right away with a thought, he instead said, "You have a lot of questions today. Do you think that I am one who has an answer to everything?"

    Yujia blinked, then put on an overly sweet smile. "Of course. You''re Young Master Yu, my Senior Brother who should know everything."

    He paused at this, then tilted his head. "Your flattery is very kind," Zixu admitted, "but the best answer I can give you to that question is that I imagine that the forest roads are more inconvenient. They aren''t paved too well, and if you take the wrong path, you could reach a cliff, or get lost¡ª like we are now."

    "Ah. So Senior Brother does have an excellent answer."

    "They''re only mere inferences."

    "Then, Senior Brother''s inferences are good enough for me," Yujia said with a hum and grin.

    She glanced over at Zixu''s face and saw the corners of his lips twitching up. His eyes glanced back over to meet hers, and she hastily looked away and pretended to survey the area by looking back and forth a couple of times.

    Moments like this¡ª where she half-teased Senior Brother Zixu and he gave his dry remarks back¡ª were what brought her entertainment.

    ¡­

    It felt like at least two hours of walking passed by the time that they finally reached a landmark of a sort: a coursing river.

    Yujia stared at all of this, then stepped back a few steps, her eyes looking away.

    She should''ve felt celebratory that the two finally walked out of the forest, but the problem was now of what one could do with a river as a landmark guide. The capital had a canal, so maybe that had something to do with the river. If they walked by the river bank, would they eventually hit something else as well? Except, there was also the risk of walking in the wrong direction, and heading further and further from the city as well by walking along the river.

    Besides that, Yujia was honestly too exhausted. Her legs ached from walking. The Fourth Miss never walked for so long before, without a stop.

    And out of all things, why did it have to be a river ? The day had already been unpleasant enough. Yujia attempted to prevent those equally unpleasant memories from rising up by looking away from the river.

    She was tired, both mentally and physically. A headache was rising up. The memories were resurfacing again. This day had been a series of emotions, ups and downs.

    Yujia sat down by a tree and slumped her head into her hands. A few moments later, she heard the sound of someone sitting next to her. She looked up to see Zixu by her side, staring out to the river, his expression unreadable.

    The two of them remained like that, drowned in silence, for a long, long time.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, during Yujia''s expedition to finding her way back in the forest, Fu Yushang was panicking.

    Once he got his senses back, he immediately jumped on his black stallion and chased after Little Cutie. Yet Little Cutie was nowhere to be seen, and after a while of chasing after nothing, Yushang realized it was hopeless.

    He then pulled his horse back and headed out of the woods.

    He had to do something. He couldn''t just leave Yujia with her life at risk, riding on Little Cutie!

    Should he organize a search party? Should he order all the men at his palace to go into the forest to find her? But what if she was already thrown off of Little Cutie? By the time he organized a search party, she could be bleeding with all her bones broken! She could be dead by now!

    At this thought, Yushang looked up with horror, seeing a familiar chestnut horse heading in his direction.

    Was that Little Cutie?

    Yushang leapt in that direction, looked and checked, and that was Little Cutie with no doubt. The saddle on her was the exact one that came from the palace stables.

    But the problem was, Little Cutie was alone. No rider sat at her back.

    Where was Yujia?

    Did Little Cutie throw her off? If the horse did that, then Yushang knew that Yujia wasn''t a sturdy person. In his mind, she was possibly as fragile as a vase sometimes. Not all the time, but sometimes.

    And if Little Cutie threw her off¡­

    All of her bones would shatter! She might get thrown on a rock, or hit her head! She might bleed to death from getting scrapes after falling! Little Cutie could trample all over her and crush all of her organs!

    Did she die?

    The fact that she was not on the horse only meant this one fact.

    She was dead! She had to be dead!

    Yushang stared at the peaceful looking chestnut mare in front of him, his eyes glaring wide with horror. In less than thirty seconds, his brain went through all those chaotic theories.

    Heavens, what was he going to do?

 Chapter 171 - Stories For the Artist

    "What are we going to do?" Yujia asked with a sigh. She stared out at the river in front of them, then ducked her eyes back down again. "Cross the river? Walk by it? Then, which direction?"

    Zixu rested his head on his hand. "I''m not so sure."

    Yujia turned to look at him, noticing his eyes glancing back and forth. His fingers tapped on his cheek repeatedly.

    She asked some more, "Do you think that there''s even a point to finding our way out by ourselves? I think that we''ll have a higher chance waiting for someone to find us than to continue our pointlessly walk around."

    "You have a point," he agreed. "Should we wait here?"

    "I feel like by this river will be a better place to wait than in the middle of a forest, where less people will come by, don''t you think?"

    She glanced at the water again, and her hands began to tremble, even if only at the slightest.

    At this, Yuija stood up, closed her eyes shut, and clenched her fingers into her palm. Her nails dug into her skin, but at least this steadied her shaking by just a bit. She marched to the other side of the tree she leaned against to have a seat.

    Zixu leaned over to her side. "Moving spots?"

    "I¡ª" she stuttered with hesitation, "I¡ª I don''t want to look at¡­ the river."

    "Oh."

    That was all Zixu said, the word coming out more like a light breath of air escaping his mouth, but Yujia heard it nonetheless. He leaned back to his side of the tree, no words following his sigh.

    Yujia closed her eyes, diverting her mind with all sorts of different things. Paint. Cute puppies. Sunshine and smiles. But in between those thoughts, the image of the water still surfaced, flashing in her thoughts in various memories.

    She tried to drown those memories out with more positive, completely unrelated ideas. The plum blossoms studies she had to work on. The taste of good wine burning down her throat. The brush in her hand and ink on a scroll of paper.

    But still¡ª water. Water, water, water, and water.

    She dug her nails more and more into her palm.

    Now was not a time to think of this. She should continue to distract herself with other thoughts.

    But the silence was killing her. The silence between her and Zixu was both an opportunity for Yujia to go through her own thoughts and also a constant reminder of the fear knawing at her heart, tracing her every thought.

    Except that was when Zixu began to speak.

    "Did you know that when Mimi was still mostly untrained, he used to steal food from my younger brother?" he began.

    Yujia''s eyes opened up. She didn''t move her head to look at him, but she listened to him speak and responded, "What?"

    She didn''t expect Zixu to say anything. And if he did say something, Zixu usually kept things practical. He rarely discussed things on another separate tangent like this one.

    But Zixu continued to tell his story without clarifying himself.

    "My younger brother¡ª Ziyang¡ª is very sickly. Sometimes, because of what the physician says, he can''t eat some of his favorite foods in the world. Fatty pork, braised beef, roasted chicken¡­ he can''t have any of those. But it''s only at times, so depending on the day, and what the physican says, he may or may not be able to eat these foods."

    From the corner of her eye, Yujia could see Mimi''s bushy tail beside her. It seemed like the dog laid down next to Zixu.

    "This one day, the kitchen prepared a plate of chicken for Ziyang on accident. Yet it happened to be a day where the physician said he couldn''t eat the meat. At the end of his meal, he had to leave the entire plate of roasted chicken untouched on the table."

    Yujia thought about Yu Ziyang. That poor boy. She knew that she wouldn''t be able to resist taking a single bite of the chicken, even with her poor health, and even if the physician said it would be bad of her to do so.

    "The servants were supposed to come and take it away, as usual. Ziyang went to take a nap. Yet before the servants cleared the table, Mimi ran into the room, lured by the smell of chicken. A servant came in at just the right time to see Mimi using one of the chairs to jump and climb onto the table to snatch the entire chicken off the plate."

    At this part of the story, Yujia couldn''t resist letting out a laugh. She hadn''t met Mimi for long, but what dog disliked food? She could completely see Mimi doing what Zixu was talking about.

    "Of course, Mimi ran out of the room with the chicken in his mouth. All the servants in the courtyard tried to catch him, but he was too nimble, and by the time that they managed to grab him and the chicken, the meat was already a slobbering mess. So that was how Mimi got to have a full stomach that afternoon. And afterwards, he had indigestion because he ate too much."

    Yujia finally spoke up, "Your younger brother must be devastated that he had his chicken stolen by his dog."

    "Oh no." Zixu chuckled softly, "Ziyang''s too kind hearted to bring himself to get mad at Mimi, even if he tried his best."

    A pause.

    Yujia thought about the story Zixu just told her.

    It was so off-topic, so random, so unpredictable. It was the last thing for Yujia to expect to hear a story about Mimi stealing roasted chicken from Yu Ziyang. It didn''t feel like Zixu to tell these stories, especially with what happened this morning when he suddenly became quiet after Yujia asked about his talkative behavior.

    Yet at the same time, Yujia admitted that the story made her smile. Mimi running with a whole roasted chicken in her mouth as frantic servants chased after him was a hilarious image.

    "Do you usually tell this story to anyone who meets your dog?" Yujia asked in a whisper.

    "No," Zixu immediately responds, "You''re an exception."

    "Exception?"

    Yujia looks down at her hands.

    Things clicked then. Her trembling hands, the red crescent-shaped nail marks embedeed in her palm, her move to the other side of the tree so that she didn''t have to face the river, the stammer in her voice.

    Zixu was always observant.

    "Oh," she said, her voice still in a whisper, "Thank you."

    She understood now.

    The numerous things she tried to think of to take her mind away from those dark memories didn''t work. Yet Zixu''s brief story about Mimi did.

    "Could you¡­ tell me another story about Mimi? Or maybe about Ziyang?"

    She couldn''t see Zixu, but she imagined him with a half smile across his face.

    "Ziyang? You want to know about Ziyang?" He didn''t wait for an anwer before continuing, "I suppose you do want to know more about him. You tried impersonating him after all."

    The flasbacks of her trying to take the Lingxin examination with the identity of Yu Ziyang appeared in Yujia''s mind.

    "Right. You''re never going to let me forget about that, right?" she groaned.

    There was a laugh in his voice while he continued, "Well, like I said, Ziyang is really the kindest person to exist. Sometimes, I doubt it''s kindness but rather pure stupidity and his overly gullible mindset¡­"

    He went on to talk more about Ziyang. And after Ziyang, more about Mimi. Then on about all sorts of peculiar stories about Mimi and Ziyang together. Then more and more about some of his entertaining childhood occurances.

    These stories filled up the space that was once silence between the two of them, and through them, Yujia found her mind at ease. Her hands stopped trembling. Her nails stopped biting into her skin.

    There was only Zixu''s voice and his stories, which could not be more ordinary. Some of them were just small occurences in his life that could only be considered slightly interesting, but nothing too spectacular.

    But for Yujia, it was enough. So she listened.

 Chapter 172 - The Artist Sits by the Fire

    The sky gradually grew darker around them, with the sun slipping behind the horizon. And yet still, no one showed up. Not a single shadow of a human other than the two of them, Yujia and Zixu, appeared.

    At this point, Yujia was beginning to lose hope of finding someone to help them get out. There was a very high possibility of her and Zixu having to spend the night in the forest.

    During this time, Yu Zixu worked on starting a fire before night officially came. He found a few dry pieces of wood, a sharp rock, and some dry grass for tinder. He told Yujia to go find some smaller twigs for kindling, and by the time she came back with an armful of kindling and slightly larger sticks to keep the fire going, he already had an entire drill-contraption set up.

    She set the kindling down in a nearby pile and sat down to observe him.

    "Have you started a fire before?" she asked.

    "When I was younger, yes. My uncle taught me on a long-distance business trip that I went with him on. I practiced a few times for fun when I got back home."

    "You start fires for fun?"

    That sounded like the making of an arsonist.

    Yujia fixed her eyes on the notches he carved into a piece of wood with the rock. He now took a thin stick and placed it in one of the notches.

    For some reason, she didn''t quite see Zixu as one who would practice starting fires with just a few sticks of wood. On the contrary, he seemed more like the type to carry matches on him so that whenever he needed a fire, he could be prepared. Through all the stories he told her, her mental image of a young Zixu was the type to be careful with his actions and words, even as a child, and to focus on improving practical skills that he could frequently apply to his own life.

    Survival skills didn''t really seem like they categorized as something he would spend his time learning, though they were certainly very useful right now.

    "I was very dedicated to becoming perfect at everything I was taught," he replied, his gaze still focused on the pieces of wood, which he now put between his hands to spin the stick into the notch. "Starting a fire with just wood and friction is a difficult task. My uncle, who had practice, did it so easily. Yet when I attempted it, even with his careful observation, I could never get enough of a flame going. So I was determined to master it."

    He used the heel of his foot to steady the notched wood.

    "When I went home, I didn''t think that my father would appreciate me starting fires in the villa. I would sneak to the backyard and carve my pieces of wood and find my spindles. I would practice until my hands were all blistered, day by day, determined to prove that I could start a fire by myself. And when I did, there was a kind of triumph that I had never felt before. It was nice to know that I had the power to do something. It may have been just a simple flame, but it was almost like the first taste of power I ever had."

    "And you were¡­ how old when this happened?" Yujia asked in reply.

    "Twelve."

    "Then, you were a very ambitious and power-loving twelve year old."

    He didn''t object to that, only nodding. All the while he talked, he continued to twist the wood spindle. A long while passed, and nothing seemed to happen. No smoke, no sparks, nothing.

    Yujia stared at this. "Will this work?"

    Zixu looked up at her, the corners of his lips curling up. "Starting a fire has also taught me the important skill of patience."

    It was as if the word "patient" was a magic word, for the moment Zixu said that, smoke began to drift from the notch the wood was spinning on. When there was enough smoke, he moved it from the tinder to kindling, cupping it in his hands and gently blowing at it. Then, it was truly magical to see little orange flames flicker up from the cracked twigs, growing larger and larger until Zixu tucked the fire within other twigs and larger sticks.

    From that, within minutes, a medium sized fire was going between the two of them.

    Yujia looked at this with wide eyes. Her eyes grew larger by the second.

    This was pure magic. She could see why a twelve-year-old Zixu felt so proud of himself for being able to start a fire. Seeing this fire start in front of her, from just a few sticks of wood to a flame burning an entire pile of logs and bamboo, felt like a magic trick.

    Fire, which could be started so easily with any bit of technology, from flint and steel to modern stovetops, felt like something so basic. But now, seeing how much work it took to start a fire without that technology, Yujia had a newfound appreciation for its existence.

    Zixu, who tossed a twig into the growing fire, muttered, "It took me awhile to start this fire. I used to be able to do it quicker as a child. I suppose I forgot most of how to do it by now."

    "That''s still¡­ stunning," she murmured back.

    And though the sky was already close to becoming entirely dark, and though the fire was enchanting enough with its flickers of vibrant oranges and yellows, Yujia realized one crucial fact.

    She was very hungry.

 Chapter 173 - The Artist Amongst the Stars

    Yujia''s meals of that day went somewhere along the lines of this. For breakfast, she had a small bowl of plain porridge. For lunch, she had a nice bowl filled with air¡ª delicious. And for dinner, it seemed like she would be served air again.

    Briefly, Yujia considered the possibility of using Mimi to hunt for some small game so that they could roast it over the fire Zixu had started. Soon enough, however, with some basic reasoning, she deducted that neither of them had a knife on them, which would make the entire idea of turning dead rabbit into rabbit stew a difficult idea.

    She even went as far to ask Zixu, "Do you know how to skin animals?"

    But he only responded with a shake of his head and an odd stare. Out of context, it must''ve sounded very strange, so Yujia quickly followed with explaining her motives when she asked that question.

    After that idea quickly came and left her head, Yujia went back to the idea of the river. Perhaps she could catch some fish for dinner. Except, the thought of getting anywhere near that river was very unpleasant. Once it came to the problem of how she would catch fish, Yujia wasn''t quite sure either. She had no equipment, such as fishing nets or fishing poles, to allow her to catch the fish.

    Thus, the idea of fishing seemed impossible as well.

    Yujia really wasn''t quite sure if a single bowl of porridge could sustain her for the whole day, but apparently since she was still very much alive, it seemed to work. The only downside to her lack of two meals was that her stomach was eating itself. She was also, for the most part, severely dehydrated.

    Nevertheless, Yujia dismissed all those thoughts. This was the first time that she had ever experienced any hardship like this, and she shouldn''t complain about it. Millions of others out there were in much worse conditions than her, so she was always in a better place than someone else, right?

    This bit of positivity kept her filled for a while.

    After a few more minutes though, Yujia couldn''t help but think about her favorite foods. What food would she want to have the most right now? Maybe some fried chicken and a drink of Coke. Or a bag of wasabi peas. Or even instant noodles, spicy ramen in particular, sounded pretty great right now. Dim sum, Peking duck, egg tarts, sunflower seeds¡­

    Yujia craved a lot of modern foods right now.

    She came to the conclusion that when one''s stomach was empty, one''s brain could only think about food.

    She didn''t know if she was being under the influence of hunger right now, or if she genuinely missed some of these modern foods, but she did feel a sudden boost of motivation to cook. She was never that great at cooking, but on the few occasions in which she tried following a recipe, she was at least skilled enough to not form a lump of inedible burnt mass.

    Maybe she should switch professions from Artist Yang to Chef Yang.

    And if being a chef meant that she would know exactly how to turn the little rabbit Mimi was gnawing on right now into a wonderful plate of braised rabbit, with a bit of garlic, olive oil, and salt, Yujia would willingly switch professions anytime.

    The more Yujia thought about it, the more she spun herself into a career-crisis. As a chef, she could at least cook. As an artist, what could she do right now? Offer to paint Mimi a little pretty painting?

    At least Mimi caught a rabbit to eat and could keep himself full.

    Yujia, who was sitting with her hands curled around her legs the entire time, glanced over at Zixu, who leaned against a tree. She questioned with pure curiosity, "Are you not hungry?"

    "Not particularly," he replied while playing with a twig in his finger, "I''ve only missed two meals. I''ve missed more in a row before." His voice trailed off with his words.

    "Ah,"

    Yujia glanced back down. She then dropped down to the grass, staring up at the now-dark sky.

    Her eyes were greeted with the sight of countless stars.

    This sight took her breath away. She had never seen so many stars before. The city lights and dust always hid the stars from the sky. And after transmigrating, she never paid enough attention to the sky to just look up at it and stare for a few moments. Or maybe it was because the stars were dimmed out too under the light from the capital''s lanterns.

    Now, however, she couldn''t even count the stars¡ª there were just far too many. She could only bathe her eyes in the light they shone. They twinkled in enchanting glimmers, each one its own little dot, its own little entity, in the sky. With the last bits of purple light fading in the horizon, the dark blue backdrop with its scattered silver stars gave Yujia a sensation she couldn''t quite describe.

    She always thought of the sky as just pure darkness. Night, to her, even seemed a little bit terrifying at times, with the darkness simply being a part of the endless unknown. Yet with the stars illuminating the sky above her, Yujia could see why there was no need to fear the night.

    It would be an understatement to say that the stars took her breath away. And having her entire view filled with the sight of stars, stars, and stars, Yujia could only feel herself being carried away into the stars. The light and beauty of them pulled her in, beckoning for her to walk amongst them and to fall asleep, buried in a sea of stardust.

    Zixu watched her silent marveling. In a quiet voice¡ª almost as if he didn''t wish to break the serenity of the starlight either¡ª he stated, "You seem so entranced by the stars."

    Yujia blinked, then answered, "I¡­ haven''t seen them like this before."

    "Have you never looked up at the sky?"

    "When I was younger, I did," Yujia closed her eyes, exhaling deeply. "But there came a time far enough in my life that I stopped. I guess I just forgot. Or maybe I saw no point in looking, when I could see no stars."

    "No stars?" Zixu echoed, "How so? Even though tonight does have more stars than usual, you could see a similar sight on some days in the capital."

    Yujia sat back up, staring straight at Zixu through the light cast on him from the fire. "You want to hear a story?" she suddenly proposed, a crooked smile spreading on her lips.

    "I''ve told you so many; it''s only natural that you owe me one, right?" he replied, his voice soft.

    "Alright then."

    She stared into the fire, the memories flashing through her. But at least this time, they weren''t bleak memories that twisted her heart and shriveled her hope. Instead, she felt that they were more like memories bursting out of her, memories she had kept for so long that she was sick of keeping them to herself, memories that she wanted to tell someone.

    "It''s a long story," she sighed, "so be patient with me."

 Chapter 174 - A Story from the Little Artist

    Once upon a time, there lived a little artist. She lived in a majestic world with sparkling lights, large birds that would carry passengers across the skies, and magic that could do anything, from controlling day and night within buildings with light switches, to running water that came at the turn of a knob, to large screens that flashed vivid images after images.

    This world was full of all sorts of wonders, but the little artist was quite used to it. She preferred to ignore all the spectacular sights in front of her and looked within her own imagination instead.

    What if the sky was a magnificent sunset pink all day long? What if the stars fell from the sky for her to catch and to keep in little silk pouches? What if amongst the humans that walked these lands, there were fairies; there were magical beasts; there were spirits?

    She lived in this world, cradled with her imagination, under the supervision of her parents. In this world, each family could only have one child, so although she thought that her parents loved her, at one point in time, she came to realize that they would''ve preferred a son.

    Thus, the little artist grew up under the shadow of knowing that if she was just a different person, her parents would''ve loved her more.

    But this didn''t matter to her. She was fine with what she had, and never asked for more. The little artist was happy, for the most part.

    Years later, when the world passed a consensus that two children would be allowed per family, that was when they had the son they''ve always wanted. The new addition of this boy did mean that the little artist would be neglected, and though she and feelings of jealousy at times, she loved him too, just as much as everyone else. She had always wanted to experience the role of an older sister.

    Happy moments couldn''t last long.

    One day, a wave decided to sweep the boy away. And so, the little artist was alone once more.

    This was a new type of loneliness. It was not like before her baby brother came to exist, where she would pass her time alone, thinking of new ideas and scribbling with colors. This loneliness was more like the kind where she felt utterly isolated. Her parents neglected her before, except now, the little artist came to the realization that their silence meant that they might have hated her.

    The reason for why the boy was swept away was her, after all.

    The little artist spent more time drowning in her imagination now, letting her ideas take her away from this solitude she was in. She let the tools in her hands take her off into a brighter world of make-believe, where she could paint worlds filled with colors, loving parents, and her brother, no longer lost within the waves.

    Time went on. The little artist grew older and older, until it was time for her to choose her future. Her parents, though they seemed almost close to strangers now, told her that if she would ever do one thing to make them happy, it would be to choose herself a practical future through going to a more practical school.

    Part of the little artist did want to follow the words of those near-strangers, but part of her didn''t. She told herself that if she listened and gained success for herself, they could love her again. Another part told herself that if she didn''t listen and chose the path that would make her happier, she wouldn''t even need their broken love. She only needed herself, and her own happiness.

    That was how the little artist chose to continue being an artist.

    Time passed on, years went by, and the little artist slowly found her life spiraling more and more out of control. She thought she would be happier on this path of joy, but she wasn''t. And she couldn''t understand why.

    She painted. She painted, painted, and painted some more. She tried to sort through all her messy thoughts by dumping them on a canvas.

    It didn''t work.

    Bit by bit, the mundane things in the world were beginning to weigh the little artist down. They drained at her imagination, pulling her further away from her dreams and replacing all of those lost pieces with bottles of alcohol. She became blinded by her exaggerated goals and stubborn arrogance.

    Just like how the little artist''s brother was carried over by a wave, the little artist was now being drowned by a wave of self-pity and self-hatred. Just like how the blinding lights of mankind buried the grandeur of the stars, the little artist lost her sight on the stars as well.

    The end.

    ¡­

    "That''s it?"

    Zixu''s eyebrows knitted together. He looked at her with pure disbelief.

    "That''s it," Yujia repeated with affirmation. "That''s the story I wanted to tell you."

    "I expected this to be some revolutionary life story. I didn''t expect to get this depressing fairytale."

    Yujia shrugged. "I was in the mood to tell it. You were the one who chose to listen to it."

    "That was a pathetic ending, whether you admit it or not." He folded his hands together, then continued, "What happened to the little artist? What about her parents? These people are the most static ones I''ve ever met. Years had passed in the timeline, but none of them ever developed in any positive manner. The artist went from having some almost non-existent positivity to hating herself. The parents went from neglecting their child to hating their child. And once they got to the worst mindset they could be at, they stayed there, never developing, improving, or adjusting themselves the slightest. If that''s not what you call a pathetic ending, and pathetic story in general, I don''t know what is."

    Yujia scrunched her face up. She knew that she told Zixu this story as a more fictional work¡ª how would he believe her if she said she transmigrated?¡ª but it was still pretty harsh to hear her life called pathetic. Honesty was brutal.

    "Fine," she obliged, "do you want to hear the actual ending to the story?"

    ¡­

    Then, one day, life decided to take pity on the little artist and decided to give her a new chance. So the little artist was reborn in another identity, and had the ability to restart her life with a new and better mindset.

    ¡­

    "That''s still a pathetic ending. It was the easy way out. She didn''t have to personally pick up the courage and determination to change her mental state, but instead got all of it delivered in a new start," Zixu pointed out.

    Yujia rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. "Gee, you seem to have so many issues with my story. Must you complain so much? And how do you know that the artist didn''t face any struggles in this new life as well?"

    Zixu was the one to shrug this time. "It''s easy to face new problems when you can just ignore your old ones. Regardless of what you say, I''m convinced that this character needs to help herself. An identity change, a new life, will only encourage her to ignore her problems. She needs to face the past, and to stop running away from it."

    With her expression falling flat, Yujia leaned back into the grass and stared back at the sky and the stars.

    "Okay then. You do you," she grumbled. "I just wanted to tell the story because I thought about the stars."

    She couldn''t see him, but she imagined him smiling, perhaps in an amused manner. He replied to her in a tone as light as air, "Then, goodnight."

 Chapter 175 - The Artist, Moving Forward

    Yujia tossed and turned for a while before she realized that she really couldn''t fall asleep. At all.

    She wanted to. By all means, she really, truly, absolutely wanted to. Falling asleep meant that she could sleep through all her problems. Yet no matter how hard she tried, she really just couldn''t fall asleep.

    Maybe she was too hungry to do so.

    Or maybe, it was Zixu''s words echoing in her mind.

    She finally sat up once she came to the conclusion that she probably had zero chance of falling asleep.

    The fire between her and Zixu was still burning, and she could see that his eyes were closed asleep. She stared at him.

    Did he really mean what he said about her story? Zixu didn''t seem like the type to be spiteful for just the sake of being spiteful.

    If he meant it, then Yujia had some heavy advice to take in.

    Moving forward.

    She never really thought of it like that. And if she did, she still couldn''t bring up the will to. She told Lu Feifei to move forward. She told Hui''er to move forward.

    She wanted to move forward. She knew that it was not healthy to dwell herself on these things.

    Yujia just couldn''t bring herself to. Every time she tried to move forward, she would just recall those memories again, and the painful process of seeing those memories flash in her mind would just be too discouraging.

    How does one move forward, then? Did moving forward truly mean going through her pain enough times so that she grew used to it? To experience the memories so many times that she could grow desensitized to it?

    That didn''t sound right.

    Her heart twisted in her chest. Yujia stared into the fire, as if the fire could give her an answer. She wished that it would.

    At one point in time, Zixu opened his eyes. Maybe he was never asleep in the first place.

    He asked quietly, his voice barely louder than the crackling fire, "Are you cold?"

    That was what made Yujia look in his direction and realize that he was awake. She shook her head, replying slowly, "Maybe. Can''t fall asleep." She curled her fingers into her palm, then stretched them back out. "Wish I had alcohol."

    Zixu exhaled softly, ignoring her words. "You must be cold. The night wind is chilly."

    He stood up, stretching his two arms out and walking next to her. Carefully, he untied the strings of the cloak he was wearing, then placed it on the ground next to her, spreading it evenly.

    "The grass is scratchy and difficult to sleep in. The ground is cold. Sleep on this, and maybe you''ll fall asleep easier."

    After saying this, he went back to leaning against the tree, his eyes closing again.

    Yujia looked at the cloak he laid out on the ground, then back at Zixu. She pulled the cloak closer to the ground she just laid down at, patting it down.

    "Thank you," she murmured, "What about you? Aren''t you cold too?"

    He was wearing fairy thin robes underneath too.

    Zixu, his eyes still closed, replied, "Last time you caught a cold. Your body is still recovering. You need it more than I do."

    "Thank you," Yujia whispered again, letting herself fall onto the cloak.

    She wrapped the cloth that she wasn''t lying on around herself. The lingering warmth from when Zixu was wearing it still clung to the cloak, warming Yujia up. Mimi trotted to the other side of Yujia that was less covered by the cloak, lying down right there. Warmth radiated off of Mimi''s fur as well.

    She closed her eyes, wrapped within this warmth, and fell asleep.

    ¡­

    When the morning came, Yujia saw Zixu sneezing. The fire had died down, leaving nothing but ashes and the morning sunlight.

    "Are you okay?" she asked. She handed the cloak back to him.

    Zixu looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Just a sneeze. I''m not that fragile of a person."

    But he took the cloak back from her, dusted the dirt off the back, and tied it back around himself.

    "Do you think we''ll get out of this forest today?" Yujia looked to the river, this time not tearing her gaze away.

    Zixu looked too. "Let''s just wait and see, I guess."

    His words were true.

    In less than an hour, a fisherman''s boat could be seen in the distance of the river. Both Yujia and Zixu rushed to the riverbank, watching the boat approach them.

    When it did, the old man rowing the boat stopped, looking at the two of them with a puzzled gaze. "What are you two young folks doing here, so early in the morning?"

    Zixu immediately responded without any falter, "We''re siblings who took a walk outside of the capital yesterday and got lost. Could you possibly take us back to the capital, if you know which direction that is?"

    Siblings?

    Yujia looked at Zixu, the corners of her lips twitching up. Of course, siblings. That was the best answer to give this old fisherman, one that would not be anything incriminating or strange.

    The old man responded, "Sure. You say you''re from the capital? That sure is peculiar. The capital is a long way off from here¡­ how far have you two walked?"

    Yujia gulped.

    Did they really walk that far?

    "I suppose we were really lost," Zixu said with a laugh.

    He seemed at ease talking to this old man, but Yujia noticed a tightening in his jaw, and a stiffness in his pose that he didn''t have yesterday. She also recognized the usual polite smile he kept on his face.

    "Well, get on the boat." The old man gestured behind him.

    Zixu thanked him, about to take a step onto the boat, but saw Yujia''s clear hesitance.

    She stared at the boat, her palms at her side beginning to sweat. A few memories flashed back, of a painted boat pushing her under the water. Of feeling water clogging up her lungs, choking her throat.

    That was when she felt a warm hand grab hers. Her eyes cleared up. She glanced at the hand, then at the person who held her hand.

    Zixu.

    Zixu tugged encouragingly at her hand. "Come on, little sister. What are you waiting for?"

    Yujia wrapped her fingers tighter around his hand, taking in a deep breath. She closed her eyes, and let calmer memories of water rest in her mind.

    She was about to step in a secure boat. Nothing bad could happen.

    With that, she took a shaky step on the boat. Then, she raised her other foot and stepped in as well. Zixu went in after her, supporting her back as the two of them had a seat. Mimi leapt in with a command uttered from Zixu.

    Now that the two of them were on, the fisherman begna to row again. The boat swayed gently in the river as it moved forward. Yujia felt her breath tightening again as she looked at all the water around her. Zixu had let go of her hand by this point.

    Her hand instinctively reached out and grabbed Zixu''s. She looked up, seeing his eyes widen a bit. He didn''t return her gaze and instead looked off into the distance. Yet he didn''t move his hand.

    Yujia''s fingers were clenched around his palm. She counted her breaths and squeezed her eyes shut, pushing those terrifying memories out of her brain.

    She was okay. She was okay. She was okay.

    As if their thoughts were connected, Zixu, at this moment, finally looked to her, his other hand placing over hers. "You''re okay. You''re safe," he whispered.

    Yujia opened her eyes. She couldn''t force a smile on her face, but she could feel her heart settling down from the irregular rhythm it was thumping at. For a brief moment, she managed to breathe again.

    Perhaps this was not moving forward, but for now, for Yujia, it would be good enough.

 Chapter 176 - Observations of the Artist

    The boat eventually stopped at a path that parted through the forest. The fisherman pointed down the path, telling the two of them, "Go straight down that path, and you''ll walk right out of the forest. You two siblings can''t possibly get lost if you follow the path."

    Both her and Zixu thanked the old man and went on their way.

    Yujia felt a lot better once she was on land. It made a big difference to know that though a boat could flood with water or flip over into the river, the land couldn''t just fall away at her feet. The water couldn''t get to her anymore.

    Her legs still felt unsteady. Within taking just a few steps, Yujia felt her legs nearly collapsing under her. She immediately reached over for the nearest steady, tall object she could grab.

    She expected a tree. Instead, she grabbed onto Zixu''s arm.

    Zixu froze. Yujia flinched away the moment she realized what she grabbed on.

    "S-sorry," she stammered, taking a few steps to the side from Zixu.

    The closer the two got to the city, to the rest of society, the more that the etiquette Yujia previously learned kicked in. She could see why people were so concerned with manners back in the day. Once one was fed enough of the rules, they became almost a part of instinct.

    While she may have grabbed onto Zixu''s hand without letting go back on the boat, Yujia couldn''t just grab onto Zixu''s arm now. One, because her fear overtook all her worries when she was on water, and two, because she wasn''t sure if Zixu was comfortable with her doing so or not. He didn''t recoil, but he didn''t say anything about it either. He could either feel extremely uncomfortable, or fairly average right now.

    The two may have fallen asleep under the stars together, but they were nowhere close to holding hands.

    Except Zixu ended up letting out a laugh after a second of being frozen.

    "Are you alright?" he asked with tilt of his head.

    "I''m fine," Yujia said¡ª though this part was half a lie; she was still feeling dizzy¡ª and she leaned down, pressing her hands against her knees to balance herself.

    "Do you need a hand to hold again?" Zixu turned around and held out his hand, his lips curled upwards and his eyes curving with his smile.

    Yujia recognized the subtle change in his tone, the way his voice had a slight lilt to it, different than before. His smile was also more open, his posture more relaxed.

    These were the traits that Zixu always took on whenever he joked in his subtle, indiscernible manner. At times, before Yujia got to notice these little traits about him, she wouldn''t have been able to tell the difference between a serious suggestion and a lighthearted joke.

    Only now, she noticed these things. Just like how Yu Zixu always noticed everything with his sharp eyes, was Yujia becoming more observant just like him?

    Regardless, she rolled her eyes, straightening herself again. "You''re joking."

    Zixu didn''t say anything and spun around, his expression not revealing a thing. Yujia stared at his posture from the back, trying to determine anything from that.

    She came to the conclusion that she was overthinking things.

    The only thing different was that he held his hand behind his back as he walked, but when Yujia thought back to whenever she walked by his side, he had a habit of walking like that too. It wasn''t anything to taunt her.

    Yujia quickly moved faster to catch up with Zixu. "I''m sorry about before, if that made you uncomfortable. I wasn''t thinking straight."

    "It''s not a problem," he replied, his voice slow, "Remember what I told you before? Etiquette is only a show put on for other people to see. When there are no others around, what is the point?"

    "There was that boatman."

    "He thought we were siblings. I was an older brother who had a little sister that was afraid of the water. Why should I not calm her down by holding her hand? Besides, he was half blind in both his eyes. I doubt that he even paid attention to that."

    "Half blind?" Yujia stared at Zixu. "How did you know that?"

    Zixu answered as if it was common sense, "He squinted whenever we first called out to him. I thought it could be because of the sun, but when his hands were free from rowing, he still squinted as he looked to the distance. Would it not be more natural for him to hold his hand over his head to give his eyes some shade? Besides, we also look nothing like siblings, and our clothes are more fine in quality than the clothes that would belong to reckless siblings who would run out in the woods. He didn''t question a single one of those things, or show any doubt in his expression when I told him our relationship. How could he not be half blind?"

    Yujia gaped a little, her lips parted with awe. "How do you notice all these things?"

    She thought she was observant just a few seconds ago, yet that was only with her long observation of Zixu over all the time that she knew him. Even then, she could only come up with a few ideas.

    Zixu, on the other hand, determined the old man''s poor vision within the few minutes that they rode on his boat. Even then, when Yujia was observing Zixu on the boat, he wasn''t intensely staring at fisherman either. He only glanced at him once or twice, while most of the time, he was staring at the scenery around him. It looked nothing more than just a carefree, sweeping glance over the entire landscape.

    His way of deducting all these things just from a few glances was a skill Yujia wanted to learn. It would be helpful to figure out all these things without having to uncomfortably and awkwardly stare at someone for a few minutes just to figure out their traits.

    "I had a lot of practice."

    His answer to her question was so vague that Yujia couldn''t help but say, "Alright then, Senior Brother has to teach me how you practice, sometime, if that''s the case."

    Zixu pressed his lips together, asking, "And how many favors is that now?"

    "Ah."

    Yujia looked down at her hands.

    He had a point. She owed Zixu quite a lot for everything he had done in the past.

    Her mind went back to the more important favor she wanted to ask from Zixu. This was far more crucial than him teaching her a few observation tricks.

    So, Yujia followed up with, "Then Senior Brother doesn''t have to teach me these things. But I want to ask something else from you. It''s important."

    "What is it? I might not have time. Yesterday already took up too much time. I need to study for the examinations," he sighed.

    In all honesty, Yujia didn''t expect Zixu to be one so focused on studying. She did know that he was a fairly hard-working individual, but things seemed to come naturally to him. She knew that this idea seemed foolish if one went to logically take it apart, but Zixu seemed bright enough to be able to practically absorb any study material that was thrown at him. Or at least, that was Yujia''s impression.

    "It won''t take up too much time. I promise," Yujia hastily explained, "It''ll probably just last a morning."

    "What is it?" he questioned, pausing in his tracks.

    Yujia stopped too. She took a deep breath, looked straight at Zixu in the eye, and declared, "I''m poisoned, and I need your help to figure out if someone''s been trying to kill me or not."

 Chapter 177 - Too Many Gifts for the Artist

    Zixu blinked.

    "Alright," he said, his expression oddly calm. Not a single sign of surprise crossed his face¡ª no wide eyes, no flinch backwards, no furrowed brows, no gawked mouth. Not even a smile. He just looked at her, and blinked again.

    Yujia''s jaw tensed. She stared back at him, repeating her words slowly again. "I''m¡­ poisoned."

    How could he give her such an expressionless response?

    But then, Zixu actually smiled. "You''re joking," he said, his eyes glancing up and his hand reaching up to run through a strand of his hair.

    Yujia let out an exasperated snort, her eyes widening to a glare.

    "You think I''m¡­ what? Joking?"

    She truly couldn''t tell if he was being serious or not. Perhaps, he was the one joking?

    Zixu''s smile fell again. "You''re¡­ not?"

    "No!" Yujia threw her hands up in the air, her head lurching back. "You thought I was joking ? I would make a joke about potentially dying ?"

    "I was confident!" Zixu actually showed signs of pure confusion now, his brows knitting together and his body leaning forward. "Just the way that you said it, so calmly, so out of the blue, and without any hesitation. Usually when people reveal this information to others, they at least don''t look as relaxed as you do¡ª actually, nevermind." He straightened himself, tugging at his sleeves. "Nevermind that. My mistake; I apologize."

    It was Yujia''s turn to smile. The smile crossing her lips turned into a short laugh.

    Zixu''s stare at her only became more intense. He spoke with hesitation, "And now, you''re¡­ laughing? Is this actually a joke? Stop confusing me."

    "No," Yuija assured in between a laugh, "I''m not joking. I actually am¡ª poisoned¡ª a physician confirmed it himself. I''m only laughing¡ª because¡ª because it''s rare to see you make a mistake. In fact, when was the last time you made one? Have you ever since you were born?"

    Zixu turned away from her, beginning to walk again. Mimi, who was standing around them all this time, soon followed. Yujia chased after, listening as he said, "Of course. You think of me as one who doesn''t ever make a mistake?"

    "Yes," she replied to the view of Zixu''s back.

    That was a simple answer, but that was all Yujia really needed to say. Zixu, to her, was almost omnipotent. He was talented at art, had a few survival skills up his sleeve, could analyze people with deadly precision, and memorized things well. If that was not perfection, what could be?

    Though, Yujia did admit that after this mini adventure in the forest, Zixu felt a little more realistically human. He had his imperfections too¡ª despite that so far, Yujia only recognized his lack of directional sense. She technically couldn''t quite criticize him about that, as she was just as pathetic with directions, but she found it fascinating to discover his flaws, one by one.

    Zixu only sighed. He then stopped in his tracks again, spinning to face Yujia. The movement was so sudden and unpredictable that even Mimi scrambled forward a few steps before doubling back in realization. Yujia almost bumped into him, and she was glad that she didn''t, because today was filled with far too much contact with Zixu.

    She took a wary step back.

    "I make mistakes all the time," Zixu declared, his gaze perfectly serious, "only that when I make them, I usually manage to cover them up. I turn the situation around to look like no issues ever occurred."

    "But you didn''t manage to cover up your mistake with my joke about being poisoned."

    "I only put in so much effort when I''m around calculative people."

    Yujia blinked twice. "Are you calling me simple-minded?"

    "No¡ª just that I know you won''t¡ª you know what? Forget it." Zixu sighed, tilting his head. "What did you say again about being poisoned? Everything after that was all a very off-topic conversation."

    "Right. I could be dying. You don''t seem particularly worried," she pointed out.

    "Because I know that you''re not dying."

    "And how so?"

    Zixu pressed his lips into a flat line. "If you were dying, you wouldn''t be calmly¡ª and would I say, carefreely¡ª discussing this with me right now. You would be panicking. Just your entire tone from the start would be panicked and rushed. Your muscles would be more tense. You would speak with more hesitation, debating if it was proper or not for you to reveal this information to me. Therefore, I can conclude that it''s not an urgent matter, and there is no need for me to be too worried."

    Yujia paused, her eyes looking down.

    He was right. She went through all those things already, before she came to the idea that such a long-term poison probably didn''t exist to kill her. She had those moments of tense panic and hesitation before.

    Now was different, since she was almost in the mindset where she wished that she could stay away from the idea that someone had plotted against her. She was living a dream in the forest, where as long as she looked away from the river and stared at the stars, she could at least run away a little.

    They were leaving the forest though. She had to come back to reality, and though she knew that it would be much more unpleasant to speak seriously than to joke around with Yu Zixu all day, it was only a matter of time before she needed to tell these things to him. She might as well stop wasting time now.

    So, Yujia exhaled and straightened herself. "You''re right. The poison is not the type to kill me, from my speculations. I found out about this upon running into a physician, who revealed this fact to me only a few days ago."

    Zixu became more serious too, his eyes focusing on her. "How can you trust him? Have you visited other physicians to run some more tests?"

    "He was a physician hired for treating a young lady of the Rong Household¡ª it''s a long story. I know that he''s trustworthy, and there was no reason for him to lie. I''ve apparently, from a test he ran with my blood, been poisoned for a long time, since young."

    "You suspect your family." This part didn''t come out as question, but rather a statement. He said this knowing her suspicions.

    "Yes. There is no other group of suspects who could''ve poisoned me."

    She could see the information going through Zixu''s thoughts. The speculations that she slowly mulled over during the past few days seemed to fly through his brain. Zixu did know a bit about the Yang Family''s structure¡ª Yujia recalled telling him during her half-drunk conversations with him¡ª so she could almost see him coming to the same conclusions she came to in the span of a few moments.

    "You want me help you figure out which family member it is?" Zixu questioned.

    "Yes."

    "And how will I do that?"

    Yujia bit her bottom lip. "I thought about it. The best thing to do is¡­"

    She explained the plan she kept in her head to him. Zixu listened carefully, nodding in agreement. When she finished, he only tilted his head again.

    "Do you realize," he slowly asked, "that my engagement with your younger sister is already called off?"

    She nodded. "I''ve heard."

    "And you still want me to carry out this plan."

    "I don''t have any better ideas."

    "What makes you think that I will feel inclined to follow your words?"

    Yujia only shrugged. "Think about it. There is a wonderful mystery played out in front of your eyes. An entire household of potential suspects who want to poison an illegitimate daughter¡­ but for what reason? What can they get from it? Who are the true villains? What is their end plan? Don''t you want to know?" She paused at that, then put on a big, warm smile, saying with a hum, "And you''re my wonderful, multi-capable Senior Brother."

    Zixu laughed. Yujia noticed that the more time they spent together, the more he laughed. Less calm smiles and more honest laughs.

    "You do know that in the public''s eye, you are my father''s concubine, and therefore my step-mother of some sort?"

    Yujia only replied with a smile, "I thought you were the one who said that when we are not acting in public, there is no need to follow the public''s perceptions and rules? I am not your step-mother; the marriage never went through. So you are still my Senior Brother, and I am still your Junior Sister."

    "Alright," Zixu relented. He started walking again. "Then, Junior Sister it is. With you wording it like such, it would be wrong for me, as a Senior Brother, to not always help his Junior Sister out."

    Yujia felt a surge of pride rising up within her. It made her undeniably proud to think that she managed to persuade Yu Zixu to help her.

    She thought back to their relationship just yesterday, where she would''ve felt more uncomfortable to have to tell him all these things. Things were obviously different now.

    But within a few minutes of walking by Zixu, Mimi running ahead of the two of them, Yujia was reminded of their beginning conversation, where she talked about how he was more chatty whenever his dog was around. He had displayed clear discomfort then, and though Yujia wanted to apologize for whatever she did wrong, she never found an opportunity to.

    Now was a good time.

    She glanced back at Zixu, hesitantly saying, "On another topic, when I met you yesterday, I think I may have said something wrong at that time. I''m not sure what, but I would like to apologize."

    Zixu didn''t look back at her, only recalling the scene she was talking about. He shook his head immediately after and waved his hand in the air, dismissing it.

    "That was nothing. Don''t worry about it."

    Yujia continued looking at Zixu, examining his face for any shift in expression. She couldn''t find any, but she was sure that it wasn''t just "nothing", like he said. Something had clearly happened there.

    Yet with him saying this, it would be wrong for Yujia to keep prodding him on the topic. Thus, she let the matter drop.

    The two of them¡ª or actually, three, including Mimi¡ª walked closer and closer to the exit of the forest.

    And that concluded the end of this small journey that Yujia embarked. Stepping out of the forest and into the city, she surveyed the people busily walking by. Only one day had passed, but she knew for sure that something within her had changed, for the better.

    Yujia was ready to take on the world¡ª although first, she was going to grab a bite to eat.

    ¡­

    Yujia and Zixu departed and each went their separate ways soon enough. Yujia returned to Lingxin straight away, then personally went to the kitchens to stuff herself full, to drink all the water she ever needed in her life, and to take a long, hot bath.

    A few concerns ran through her mind as she went through these things, refreshing herself from the struggles she went through before.

    First, Yujia didn''t want to have to face her master. She was sure that he picked up on her lack of presence in the academy yesterday, and she wasn''t quite sure what to say to him if he asked. It was good that he slept in late, so she had some time to think of her excuse, but she had to make up a good one.

    Second, Yujia wasn''t quite sure what to do with Bo Zhizhong. She frankly didn''t know how she felt about him.

    One thing was for sure though, and that was that she still held plenty of rage towards this irresponsible co-owner of hers.

    As she went through her day, she wondered what she was going to do when she saw Zhizhong next. She came to the conclusion that she would just simply avoid Zhizhong from now on, or at least temporarily.

    A day passed without much happening. Yujia eventually had to face her master and to tell the excuse she came up with¡ª"I went walking in the forest and got lost for the night, and no, there was totally never a Yu Zixu involved in this entire process, and yes, I am perfectly safe, just a little tired".

    A servant also reported to her that people who claimed that they were from the Bo Family came to ask how she was doing and if she returned yet, or if she was dead. Yujia immediately knew who sent them, but still being upset with Zhizhong, she didn''t want to leave a reply.

    What had Zhizhong been doing for the past day, ever since the moment where Little Demon ran out of control? If he really cared about her well-being, he should''ve at least personally came to ask, or at least done something more than sending servants to Lingxin. Yujia knew it was a bit demanding of her, but she couldn''t deny the disappointment she felt in how little Zhizhong seemed to care, especially since she thought they were good friends.

    That was why she told the messenger servant to not say a single thing to the other people that Zhizhong sent.

    Except as it turned out, the messenger didn''t listen and certainly did say something. For the next day, in the morning, the same servant came running back, reporting to Yujia, "Honored Disciple! T-there is a line of servants from the Bo Family, each carrying a tray of gifts! They''re all lining up at the gate, demanding to deliver these to you¡ª saying it''s the order of their Third Young Master¡ª"

    Yujia''s eyes widened.

 Chapter 178 - Contemplations and Worries of the Crown Prince

    Over the past two days, things went down like this:

    First, Yushang had been an absolute idiot. Just thinking about everything in retrospect, he wanted to curse himself out. The servants in the stable apparently gave him the wrong horse.

    He wanted to let Yujia borrow his sister''s favorite mare, since he knew how gentle and mild-natured Little Cutie was. He had seen his sister ride Little Cutie for years now. Just like how he grew up along his black stallion, his sister grew up along her Little Cutie.

    Yet somehow, some switch-up occured, and Yujia ended up riding the newly brought in¡ª and very wild-natured¡ª chestnut horse.

    Yushang didn''t know of this at the time. He straight up panicked when everything occured, with the horse that he thought to be Little Cutie running off to the distance carrying a screaming rider.

    Once his senses came back to him, he immediately went back to the palace. At the stables, he found out about everything, but he didn''t even have time to bestow a punishment on the stableboys and grooms before he created a search party, rushing the servants to go look through the forest to find Yujia.

    He couldn''t create too big of a search party, as he didn''t want to raise the suspicions or notice of his father. But Yushang created the best search party he possibly could, some of them given horses and some of them searching on foot.

    And then, he could only wait and pace with anxious thoughts going through his brain.

    Yushang considered joining the search party himself¡ª that was how anxious he was¡ª but with careful thought, he realized that it wouldn''t make any difference if he went. It wasn''t like one more person would make to big of a difference, and he wasn''t free all afternoon either. Regardless, he expected the search party to find Yujia¡ª who was probably dead, injured, or unconscious¡ª within a few hours.

    When they searched the whole day without any discoveries and returned at night without any news, that was when Yushang truly panicked.

    How? Could? There? Be? No? News?

    One of the servants who searched towards the eastern part of the forest even reported coming across a grassy area near a cliff with some horse tracks around it.

    What if the Little Cutie imposter chucked her off a cliff?

    This idea didn''t help any of Yushang''s increasingly frantic thoughts. He instantly slammed his hand on the table and ordered the servants to all go back to the woods to search with torches. If they didn''t find her, he threatened them with the fact that they liked their heads to be connected to their necks.

    This threat worked well enough, for the servants all immediately scrambled back into the forest.

    By this point, it was already late, and Yushang was forced to go to bed. But that didn''t stop him from staring into darkness, stricken with insomnia and waiting for any news to come to him.

    There was nothing.

    No news at all. Not a single word. Not even a shadow of Yujia was discovered.

    There was that saying that no news was good news, but Yushang couldn''t think that way. He could only imagine various possibilities of death that could occur to Yujia. Every second ticking by meant something¡ª she could be dying from starvation, she could be dying from blood loss, she could be dying from getting eaten by wolves.

    Morning came. No news still.

    Yushang had to go participate in governmental affairs, but he couldn''t focus at all. Once the session was over, he rushed back to his palace to be delivered with the news that there was still no news.

    That was when Si Shen, who was sitting back and watching all this time, suddenly said, "She could''ve just returned home. Have you ever considered the possibility that she was no longer in the forest?"

    This idea brought immense surprise to Yushang. He clapped his hands in amazement, his eyes widening in realization.

    It was true that the quietest ones always had the best ideas!

    Thus, Yushang listened to his guard''s advice and sent a servant to Lingxin Academy, where he knew that Yujia was at. Before the servant left, Yushang even tucked a few taels in his hands so that the servant had some money to bribe with if no information was provided to him for free.

    Sure enough, within an hour, the servant returned with news¡ª finally, some news!¡ª that just like Si Shen said, Yujia had returned to Lingxin, safe and sound!

    Hearing this news, it felt like the weight of the world was lifted off Yushang''s shoulders. He was so overjoyed that he rewarded taels to everyone in the search party, even though they had been absolutely useless. He wanted to rush to Lingxin immediately, to see for himself that she was okay, and that he could beg for her forgiveness, because he was truly sorry.

    Seeing this sight, Si Shen only smirked.

    Yushang caught on this smirk, and the smile on his face vanished. He knew that the smirk crossing his bodyguard''s face was definitely a sarcastic one.

    "What?" he snapped.

    Si Shen only shrugged. "You''re hilarious."

    "How so?" Yushang''s celebratory attitude almost entirely vanished upon hearing this one statement.

    Si Shen still didn''t want to say anything more, shrugging again.

    "Tell me what''s hilarious!" Yushang demanded in return, grabbing onto Si Shen''s shoulders.

    Finally, his guard relented. "You never bow down in front of anyone except for the Emperor, yet here you are, fretting and worrying your head off over some girl."

    "She''s not just ''some girl''!" Yushang said with a scowl, crossing his arms.

    "Then, what is she?"

    "She''s my¡ª!" Yushang paused.

    What was Yang Yujia, really?

    He realized that Si Shen did have a point, yet again.

    What was Yang Yujia to him? Why was he so concerned over her well-being that he was ready to plead for her forgiveness? Why had he put so much thought into everything yesterday that he couldn''t even sleep at night?

    There were so many women in the world. Yet why was his mind stuck on only one?

    "She is¡ª um¡ª my business partner," Yushang ended up awkwardly saying. "Yes. Business partner."

    The second half of his words came out more confident. Right. Yushang was only worrying about Yujia because she was his business partner! He still needed her to come up with product ideas so that he could make more money off his business and please his father even more with all the new art supplies.

    There was no other reason! It was as simple as that!

    Si Shen only snorted. Then, he cast his eyes down, mumbling, "When was the last time you paid so much attention to the Crown Princess?"

    "Siying?" Yushang asked with an arched eyebrow. "I give her plenty of attention."

    "She came by yesterday, but you turned her away."

    "I was¡­ busy! Very busy yesterday! You knew what was happening!"

    Compared to Wen Siying''s brief moment of happiness, Yang Yujia could''ve been dying. That was definitely a concern on a higher spot in Yushang''s list of priorities.

    Si Shen now looked up. "What about the past few days? You barely had more than a few conversations with her."

    "I can''t help that," Yushang sighed, "Father-Emperor gave me so many tasks to cover, with everything happening with the small flooding in the south. Most of my day went to that, and only recently did the situation start to clear up. I didn''t have time for her. Besides, why are you worrying so much about her?"

    "I thought that you forgot who your wife was, Crown Prince," Si Shen quietly noted.

    Yushang waved his hand in dismissal. "Nonsense."

    He then straightened himself and turned around, looking around his room.

    "I suppose I can''t go apologize to her empty-handed¡­" he muttered to himself, "Should I bring some gifts along? Or maybe some medicine? But the servant reported that she was alive and well, so there should be no need for medicine¡­ what do girls even like?"

    And that was how, the next day, Yushang came up with the idea of bringing tens of servants to send gifts valued at least a fortune to Lingxin Academy, all in the hopes that perhaps Yujia could forgive him.

 Chapter 179 - Way Too Many Gifts for the Artist

    Yang Yujia tried to stop the servants from letting the line of gift-bearing people in, but things didn''t work out. The servant seemed to be bribed. He didn''t listen to his words at all and only backed down with a smile.

    Yujia could only gawk at the next scene that happened.

    Tens of servants walked into her courtyard, each one of them holding a fabric-covered tray. When they saw her, they knelt down and presented the tray to her, taking off the fabric one by one with a flourish and an explanation.

    The first servant presented a jade tea set, informing, "Here is a precious tea set crafted with the finest quality jade in the capital. This icy white jade is so flawless and semi-translucent that it is comparable to a thick sheet of ice itself, and it is especially suitable to be used during the heat of the summer."

    Before Yujia could say anything, the servant backed away, giving room for the second servant to kneel and present, "This is a set of silver hairpins encrusted with jewels and fine pearls. Along with it comes matching jewelry, including earrings and a set of bracelets to be worn on both hands. The hairpin is carved to resemble bejeweled pear blossoms, and it will bring unmatched elegance to the wearer."

    Yujia opened her mouth this time, ready to turn down all the servants before they could say anything else, but another one cut in speedily.

    "Here is a complete set of brushes, ink, and silk to draw on. To bring out the full quality of this silk as white as snow, the ink made of materials imported from the south must be used along with it. There are various colors of ink, all made from the highest quality pigments possible, and when one applies it to paper or silk, they will glide on in a smooth and effortless manner."

    He paused, then focused on the brushes, "As for the brushes, they are made with precious black rabbit fur. The rabbit kind is so rare and the selection process is so refined that only eighty brushes can be made from a thousand rabbits. The hair is collected during the winter, when it is at the best firmness. The core of the brush contain furs from the north, while the furs from the south coat the outside. This ensures a stiff center and a soft exterior, which leads to the best brush strokes. These brushes are so magnificent that the Emperor himself would use similar ones."

    Hearing this, Yujia admitted that she was intrigued. She didn''t know much about hairpins or tea, so she couldn''t admire it that much, but which artist did not appreciate receiving free, high-quality art supplies? Though she still was very shocked and caught off-guard by all these gifts, seeing the brushes and hearing their description made Yujia want to get her hands on them and test them herself.

    She used goat hair brushes, "wolf" fur brushes, and white-haired rabbit fur brushes before, just not black rabbit. How much bigger of a difference could it make?

    The servants, taking her brief pause to admire the brushes, soon presented another gift.

    "Here are two sets of robes made from the newest produced silk of the season. The silkworms were all grown in the best farm in the empire, and their rare and valuable species allows for a lovely kind of silk to be produced. Both robes have such a wondrous material that they can keep you cool during hot summers and warm whenever the breeze picks up. They are also embroidered with a hundred thousand stitches of iridescent threads that glimmer in the sunlight. It is suitable for even fairies to wear."

    "The statue right here is an antique passed down from centuries ago. The red and white swirling agate stone depicts two intertwined fishes to symbolize greatness and prosperity."

    "A box of pastries and fruits lie within this box. The box is composed of eight layers, each layer holding a different delicacy. For example, there are phoenix cakes, dried persimmon, mung bean pastries, thousand layer cakes, peeled chestnuts, and more."

    "Here is an emerald jade vase¡­"

    "Here is an entire book and scroll collection of various paintings throughout history¡­"

    "Here is a mirror on a stand made of jewels, jade, and gold¡­"

    "Here are two matching fans, each painted with the work of a renowned painter¡­"

    "Here is a jade bottle filled with the sweetest, most enticing wine in the empire. The cost of just one bottle of this is worth at least a gold tael¡­"

    "Here is a box of silver taels, so if any of these gifts do not suit your liking, you may go purchase anything to your heart''s content¡­"

    As the line of servants went through, Yujia only became more and more speechless.

    Lingxin was not a poor place. There were plenty of valuables around the academy. Yujia''s living quarters were also not shabby and decorated with simplicity that made it quite dignified, which Yujia liked.

    But now, seeing these countless valuables carried out in front of her, flashing by her eyes with the end of each explanation¡­

    The shock of it all was still registering in her brain, and it was almost terrifying to see how many valuables Zhizhong could come up with. If one Third Young Master could easily gift away so many valuables, how many total valuables did the family have? How wealthy exactly was the Bo Family?

    Lastly, a servant with a bowed head came up to her, presenting a medium sized box. He lifted the lid of the box with a dramatic wave of his hand.

    Yujia was greeted with a roasted duck with crispy brown skin, hot steam still curling from it.

    She blinked twice at the sight of this duck. After seeing all the vases, statues, jewelry, and carvings, it was unexpected to see this rustic, roasted duck just sitting on a simple white platter.

    Not that Yujia was complaining, however¡­ she was just getting hungry for lunch.

    Then, the servant behind it looked up, greeting Yujia with a cheeky grin. He spoke with a familiar voice, and his face was all too familiar as well for Yujia to not recognize.

    "How do you like your gifts?" he asked.

 Chapter 180 - Roasted Duck and the Artist

    "Bo Zhizhong?" Yujia exclaimed, immediately backing away a step.

    Zhizhong only grinned, straightening himself and handing the duck off to a servant who scurried by his side. He held his arms out, speculating his outfit and saying, "I didn''t want my father to know about this¡ª so how does my servant disguise look?"

    Before, with his head bowed and his posture all slumped, completely different than his usual confident airs that he resumed now, Yujia admitted that he did look like a servant.

    But she immediately pressed her lips together and set her expression blank, dryly answering, "You look like an eunuch."

    Zhizhong leaned back, crinkling his nose. "A eunuch? Let''s be honest, there are no eunuchs who have my good looks."

    "Or your inflated ego," Yujia muttered, turning around and heading back to her room.

    Seeing this, Zhizhong scurried after her, calling out, "You''re mad at me?"

    Yujia paused in her steps, her eyes narrowing. "Of course." Before he could respond, she turned back, her arms crossed. "First, you forced me to get on a horse even though I was clearly terrified of it. Second, that horse was nothing like you claimed¡ª it was a literal demon. Third, didn''t you just plan this whole thing to get back at me for just drawing on your face? Well, congrats, you have. I almost died. I hope you''re happy now."

    The words sounded a lot harsher the moment they came out. Yujia regretted them the moment that she saw the expression on Zhizhong''s face morph. His eyes glanced down and his hands wrung together.

    "I¡ª" he said with hesitation, "I''m sorry." He looked up, continuing, this time his words coming out a bit rushed, "I know I could probably explain what actually happened. But I feel like that would sound too much like I''m just making excuses. And I don''t want it to come off that way. So I''ll just leave it like that¡ª I''m sorry."

    Yujia blinked. Seeing Zhizhong look like this, all filled with guilt, she sighed and sat down at the edge of her front step.

    "You know what? It''s fine."

    "You''re¡­ not angry anymore?" he asked as he leaned forward slightly, filled with anticipation.

    "Let''s just forget about it." She waved her hand and bit the inside of her cheek. "Since you apologized, and I never did get hurt¡ª just absolutely terrified¡ª I don''t want to blame you for too long or make you feel too bad."

    "Really?"

    Zhizhong''s sulking expression transformed into a bright grin in the matter of a few seconds. He jumped to sit down next to her, looking at her with his head tilted to the side. "You really forgave me so easily?"

    "I don''t think I want to hold grudges for pointless things," she responded, though straightening herself and scrunching her eyebrows. "But if I broke all my bones or got super bruised from falling off that horse, I would probably be a lot angrier."

    Plus, over the past few days, her anger diminished a bit, in contrast from her initial shock and anger when the situation first happened.

    "Ah, well then, the good thing is that you have not broken all your bones. Therefore, everything is fine! Why think about those ''what if'' scenarios?"

    He clapped his hands. The servants who have all moved to the side came scrambling back forward, kneeling and presenting the gifts.

    "Which one do you like the most?" Zhizhong gestured at all of them with a broad sweep of his arm. "Not that you have to pick and choose from them¡ª since you can have all of them. I just want to know what you like the most."

    Yujia hesitated for a response. She was stuck between picking the roasted duck, the painting supplies, the pastries, the wine, or the box of taels.

    Zhizhong took it as a sign that she disliked all of them.

    "Don''t tell me you''re going to reject them all?" he glanced back at her anxiously.

    "What?" Yujia immediately answered back, "You think that I would reject all of them?"

    "Well, I thought that I was going to present all these gifts to you, but you were going to be angry, so I would have to take them all back. But then your pride will hopefully be convinced by my genuine apology, so maybe you would keep one or two select items. And then you''ll completely forgive me."

    "Huh." She stood up and looked at all of the items carefully. Then, she said with a laugh, "I don''t think that I''m the kind of person to be offered something but to reject all of it. If someone wants to give me free gifts, why would I say no?"

    Zhizhong blinked twice, then smiled brightly as well. "That''s even better! All of it is yours!"

    As if receiving a silent command, the servants began shuffling into the main room to put down all the gifts. Yujia watched this with a slow smile.

    What could she say? She was really just a materialistic person. She liked to receive expensive things. Maybe it would''ve been better if she had just a little bit more pride, but it wasn''t like Zhizhong and her were strangers. They were business partners or friends, even. There would be no point in her rejecting his gifts, and would, in fact, make it more awkward for Zhizhong as well to carry back the gifts he spent so much time bringing over to Lingxin.

    Though, what mattered most to Yujia in the end was that he came to apologize to her in a genuine manner. That was all she really wanted, after all, and why not just accept a few more gifts along the way? It was like the icing on the cake.

    When the last servant, who was carrying the roasted duck, passed by, Yujia stopped him, taking the duck off his tray and sitting back down on the steps with Zhizhong.

    "Let''s eat; I''m hungry."

 Chapter 181 - The Artist Only Cares for Good Food

    The two sat at the steps, eating the roasted duck bit by bit. Yujia was always more of a wings person while Zhizhong liked drumsticks more. The two would decide how to split the rest of the duck later on, but with the current division going on at the moment, it was a perfect split of the duck.

    As Yujia ate, she nodded with appreciation. "This tastes pretty good," she noted.

    Zhizhong grinned brightly. "You like it? I put a lot of effort into roasting it."

    "You cooked this yourself?" she immediately exclaimed.

    With marvel, Yujia turned the duck in her hand. She didn''t expect Zhizhong to have good cooking skills as well. The duck that she was eating right now wasn''t any worse than the roasted duck her master enjoyed eating. The skin was crispy on the outside, and the meat was juicy on the inside. It was seasoned with quite a bit of salt, but not to the point where it was unbearably salty, only flavorful and savory. The melted fat coated the meat, adding even more of its unique flavor to the duck.

    Zhizhong only grinned and nodded.

    Meanwhile, in his head, he was going through a terrifying flashback. It had taken seventeen practice ducks, each picked from the ducks raised by the imperial kitchen to personally fit the imperial family''s standards, with just the perfect ratio of muscle and fat. It had also taken a lot of guidance from one of the chefs in order to teach him, who just seemed incapable of cooking a decent duck.

    Each one always turned out wrong for some reason¡ª not enough crispy, not enough browned, not enough salt, too much salt, completely burnt¡­

    He messed up in one way or another until he mastered how to roast a duck perfectly.

    So, just like that, seventeen perfectly fine ducks had gone to waste in order for him to just learn...

    The other gifts he gave may have been far more valuable, but the roasted duck was what he put his heart and soul into. Though eating it right now, and seeing the blissful expression on Yujia''s face, everything seemed worth it to him.

    Yujia took another bite of duck, swallowing it before complimenting, "Wow, you really are talented."

    In his mind, Zhizhong¡ª or better put, Yushang¡ª shed a little tear of happiness. The validation of all his hard work was really worth it!

    On the outside, however, he couldn''t stop grinning.

    Once Yujia was done with her two wings, she looked in the room. The servants had long evacuated the area in such a silent manner that she barely even noticed. They left all the trays of gifts in her room.

    She stared at them, then said, "You''re too rich for your own good."

    "Hm?" Zhizhong gnawed on one of the bones, giving her a sideways glance.

    Was he too rich?

    No, not in particular, especially when the whole word was destined to be his one day.

    But Yujia didn''t know that, so she just continued, "If this is your apology gift, I wonder how many treasures your family has."

    "Uh¡ª a lot," he answered vaguely, tossing the finished bone to the side and scratching the back of his neck. "This isn''t too much to me, really, but I put a lot of thought into all the items. If you''re concerned about the financial well being of the Bo Family, then you really shouldn''t. You should''ve seen what I gave as dowry to my wife," he followed up with a laugh.

    "Oh really?" Yujia raised her eyebrows. "How much was that? Did you gift an entire kingdom to her?"

    Zhizhong shrugged, perfectly serious with his reply. "I could''ve. But no, it was five hundred bolts of silk, two hundred thousand acres of land, a hundred or so sets of jewelry, and some other things I can''t remember well¡­"

    "¡­"

    Yujia was rendered a little speechless. She let the hand that was holding another piece of duck drop.

    "You have to be kidding," she stated, shaking her head.

    Five hundred bolts of silk? She had seen the price of one bolt of silk. It was expensive enough. Five hundred bolts, on the other hand¡­

    That was worth a fortune just by itself.

    Then, there was all that land and other parts of the dowry. Adding up all the math together, it just didn''t make sense for the Bo Family to be able to afford this dowry. How rich could a merchant family be?

    "Oh, yeah!" Zhizhong''s voice suddenly jumped louder in volume. He rigorously agreed, "Definitely! I was joking. Haha, you fell for it."

    Yujia eyed him, slowly raising a piece of meat to her mouth. "Right¡­"

    He was being awfully suspicious right now.

    Zhizhong then sat straighter, his eye catching on some of the painting supplies Yujia had left out in the yard during one of the times that she practiced in the morning. He instantly changed the topic, saying, "You''ve been practicing painting lately? Of what?"

    Seeing that he was unwilling to carry on the conversation they had before, Yujia allowed him to change the topic. She didn''t really want to make things awkward. It was always something she hated most whenever conversations turned uncomfortable.

    "Oh, I was just painting a plum tree¡­" she explained, their conversation going in the direction of the homework her master had given her.

    Yet only a few minutes of chatting passed when all of a sudden, Yujia, who was talking about one of the struggles she reached when painting plum, had her words cut by a sudden declaration.

    "Junior Sister, Master said he was looking for you¡ª"

    Along with those words, Ye Yunhe, her senior brother, strolled into the yard, holding a half-scrolled painting in his hand and his other free hand straightening the papers. He was seemingly concentrated on getting the paper scroll to roll in the proper way, his gaze completely fixed on that as he walked in the yard.

    Yujia immediately stood up, staring at Zhizhong, staring at the gifts in the room behind her, then staring at Yunhe.

    Ye Yunhe!

    She wasn''t expecting him to come find her right now!

    Though they were good disciples learning under the same master, and Yujia considered him as someone she grew close to, a flurry of concerns flew through Yujia''s thoughts of what he would think at the sight of an unfamiliar Zhizhong and a huge pile of valuables behind her.

    What if he took things the wrong way?

    With the fact that she didn''t have a response, Yunhe stopped strolling in the middle and looked up, his eyes registering the sight in front of him.

    His eyes fixed onto Bo Zhizhong first, who was still eating a piece of duck, not a worry in the world. Yunhe stared at Zhizhong for a solid minute before sliding his eyes up to Yujia, who was standing stiffly.

    He then asked, "Junior Sister¡­ this¡ª who''s that?"

 Chapter 182 - Two Difficult Men and the Artist

    "That''s¡­"

    Yujia spoke with so much hesitation that she was practically screaming at herself on the inside.

    Why was she hesitating? It made her seem guilty! What was she being guilty for? There was nothing wrong with her having some roasted duck with Bo Zhizhong!

    She finally forced herself to blurt out, "That''s the Third Young Master of the Bo Villa I was talking about before." She turned to Zhizhong. "And that''s my senior brother."

    "Oh. That''s¡­ the Third Young Master Bo you talked about before?" Yunhe repeated, eyes fixing sharply on Zhizhong, arms crossing.

    Yujia understood his reaction. The last time she talked about Zhizhong, Yunhe had confronted her that there had never been a third young master in the Bo Family. Of course, Yujia had listened to him and asked for evidence from Zhizhong himself that he was part of the family, which he gave a faultless response to.

    Yujia had considered then that perhaps Yunhe had recalled wrong.

    So now, seeing the two of them facing each other, she felt like the environment turned uncomfortable.

    However, in the next second, Yunhe dropped his crossed arms, putting on a half-smile. "Noble Bo. Nice to meet you. I know your brother well."

    Regardless of his shift of expression, his words were laced with hostility. Yujia recognized it well¡ª his tone was completely different than the peaceful senior brother she knew.

    As for if Zhizhong would pick up on the malice...

    Zhizhong finally stopped eating his duck, swallowing the bite he had in his mouth. He stared back at Yunhe.

    "Is that so?" he asked simply, giving nothing more than a blink.

    He still remained sitting. He still didn''t offer a greeting. He still held a drumstick in his hand.

    Yujia knew that she wasn''t the best at etiquette. Seeing the scene in front of her right now, though, with Zhizhong sitting down and eating his duck, completely not acknowledging Yunhe''s presence, Yujia knew something was wrong. Something had to be wrong.

    Normally, even in the modern world, wouldn''t it make sense for Zhizhong to stand and greet Yunhe?

    Maybe¡­ he was still deciding what to do. Maybe Bo Zhizhong was slow at reacting to situations like this. Or maybe, Yujia was just overthinking it, and he was just so drawn in by the delicious meat that he only cared for good food, like her.

    But then, after that brief moment of staring, Zhizhong slowly raised a drumstick to his mouth and bit in again.

    The air in the courtyard immediately turned another degree more awkward.

    Yunhe smiled a little wider, his eyes shifting back and forth.

    "Well, Junior Sister, Master sent me to come get you. He just woke up and seems to need to talk to you about something. Go find him," he finally gritted out.

    Yujia glanced at Zhizhong, who turned his last drumstick in his hand with careful speculation. He acted as if Yunhe almost didn''t exist. He treated Yunhe the same way he would treat his servants¡ª like they were only a speck of dust in the air.

    She didn''t know what was wrong with him. Yunhe may have a right to be a little hostile when greeting Zhizhong¡ª after all, he thought that Zhizhong didn''t exist and was a fraud¡ª but it didn''t make sense for Zhizhong, who didn''t know of the fact, to act like similarly chilly and rude?

    "O¡ª ka¡ª y."

    She slowly drew out the word, finally tearing her gaze off of Zhizhong.

    Alright. So maybe Ye Yunhe and Bo Zhizhong had some enmity going on.

    She didn''t know what it was. And frankly speaking, she didn''t know if she could help resolve this in any way, shape, or form. They weren''t even arguing¡ª just that one side was glaring, and the other side was blatantly ignoring.

    Now Yujia knew what it felt like being a middleman caught between two very difficult individuals.

    So Yujia just took advantage of the fact that Yunhe offered her a solution to this situation. She nodded briefly at Yunhe, then at Zhizhong, and fled the scene.

    Let the two of them solve their problems! She didn''t want to be a part of it.

    ¡­

    Now that Yujia was gone, Yushang finally set the drumstick in his hand down, staring at her senior brother.

    Yushang recognized him.

    Yujia''s senior brother was none less than Ye Yunhe, the painting master, Yue Ze''s, disciple. He was fairly famous in the capital for being the son of Lingxin''s current school head and Master Yue''s direct disciple. With Yushang''s father being Yue Ze''s disciple as well, this elevated Ye Yunhe on a whole other level.

    Hence, Yunhe had been in the palace before, and Yushang did run into him. The two only had a brief encounter, but Yushang recognized his face.

    That was why, the moment he saw Yunhe and noticed the recognition registering in Yunhe''s face, he chose not to stand up. If this senior brother was any bit smart, he would notice Yushang''s clear lack of response as a silent order to keep his identity hidden.

    Yushang didn''t want Yujia to know his identity yet. Today, right after she chose to forgive him, wasn''t a wise time either to reveal anything like this.

    So he stayed all tensed up, waiting for the situation to pass. The good news was that Yunhe seemed to catch on, never exposing Yushang.

    Now, though, he waited for Yunhe to speak up first, which the other did.

    "You''re not any Third Young Master," Yunhe accused, setting his scroll on the floor.

    Yushang nodded, finally standing up and dusting his hands. "Indeed."

    The things that would happen next were obvious to Yushang.

    There would be Yunhe kneeling on the floor, the proper way a subject would greet a prince. He would bow to Yushang in the proper way. He wouldn''t dare to look at Yushang in the eyes again.

    This was a normal response. Yushang was used to it. He was certain that things would unfold in this manner. And then, perhaps Yushang would thank Yunhe for not revealing his identity, or maybe he woul threaten Yunhe. Maybe the two of the could have a chat about royalty and the importance hidden identities. Yushang had the whole conversation planned out in his head in a second.

    Instead, Ye Yunhe only blinked again, asking, "If you''re not the Third Young Master, who are you, then?"

 Chapter 183 - The Crown Prince Has Too Many Plans

    Yushang couldn''t help but stare at Ye Yunhe blankly.

    Was this some sort of joke? He couldn''t quite tell if this senior brother of Yujia was messing with him or not.

    Seeing Yushang''s response¡ª or lack thereof¡ª Yunhe repeated again, "Who are you? Are you afraid of answering now? You seemed quite willing to admit that you were no Third Young Master before."

    Yushang took a step back, shaking his head in disbelief. Seeing how Ye Yunhe continued on with his appearance of ignorance, it didn''t seem like he was joking. Yushang wasn''t certain that the man across from him wasn''t lying either, but with what he saw right now, Yunhe seemed genuine enough.

    "You don''t know who I am¡­" Yushang started slowly, using this time to organize his state of panic.

    Ye Yunhe didn''t recognize him!

    He didn''t know that he was the crown prince!

    Yushang could''ve totally denied all accusations and gotten away with it!

    At that moment, Yushang wanted to facepalm. Or to smack himself loudly on the head. Or to ram his head into the nice-looking wall behind him.

    The fact that he gave away that he wasn''t a young master of the Bo Family¡­

    Did he seriously have to reveal his identity now?

    But maybe he had a chance to save this situation. He might be able to say something, come up with some wise lies, or just do something to set things straight.

    If he had the chance to not reveal who he was to Ye Yunhe¡ª trusting that Yunhe didn''t remember him¡ª Yushang would aspire not to. After all, he wasn''t quite sure how close Yunhe was with Yujia.

    The end goal to all of this was for Yujia to not find out. Yushang didn''t want her to treat him with fear just because of his identity, or for her kindness to him only coming as a result of his status. He had seen too many of those people.

    When the time was right, Yushang naturally wanted to tell her about who he was and all of these related things. Now, however, just wasn''t the right time to reveal these things.

    Thus, if Yunhe decided to reveal these truths to Yujia without Yushang''s knowledge or permission, he would honestly prefer to avoid a situation like this.

    Yushang came up with a long list of potential responses to tell Yunhe, though he was positive that half of them were complete nonsense.

    First, he decided to test the waters by saying, "That was a joke before. I was just testing you. I''m the Third Young Master, no lie."

    Yunhe narrowed his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "I''m not a gullible idiot, unlike my junior sister, who might believe everything that you say."

    Oh. So he wasn''t one of those people Yushang could trick with pure confidence. That made the challenge of his entire task double in difficulty.

    Yushang put on a bigger smile, straightening his back to perfect posture. If pure confidence couldn''t convince Yunhe, then he would use even more confidence.

    Confidence was the key to all things in life.

    And hence, time for Plan B.

    "Alright, you got me there," he sighed, throwing his arms up with a shrug, "I was telling a lie before. You''re right¡ª I''m not the Third Young Master. I''m the First."

    Yunhe blinked. "Bo Zhijun?"

    "Yes," Yushang nodded, scrambling through his lacking memories of that individual.

    Who was Bo Zhijun again? Yushang faintly remembered there being some joke around Bo Zhijun''s name in the capital. Though he had a name that meant " handsome 1 ", Bo Zhijun was famously below average in terms of physical appearance. He should be in his late twenties this year.

    At this thought, Yushang gulped.

    He was only eighteen. And he had to admit that his physical appearance was very much above average, just as he told himself every morning as his daily boost of confidence.

    How could he compare himself to Bo Zhijun?

    Plan B was not well-thought-out at all. Not a bit.

    Yunhe scrutinized Yushang''s face, catching onto these details as well.

    "You know," Yunhe stated, his expression dead, "The more you speak, the more trust I lose in you."

    Internally, Yushang cursed at himself.

    Why? Why was he like this? Why was Plan B such a failure?

    But he still had a chance. As long as he chose to speak the right words next¡­

    Alright.

    Confidence.

    He had to have confidence in himself. The less confidence he had, the less he would be able to deal with all of this. As long as he could manage to fool over Ye Yunhe with confidence¡ª

    Plan C?

    "Alright! Those were all just tests. I am neither the Third Young Master, First Young Master, Second Young Master, or any young master of the Bo Family. I am your long lost brother. Long time no see, brother."

    Yunhe stared at him.

    "Don''t believe that? Alright, I admit, that was a joke as well. I''m actually a beggar on the street who your junior sister graciously saved, so now I repay her debt by showering her with wealth."

    Yunhe stared at him.

    "I''m a deity descended from the heavens who comes to bestow¡­ great wealth¡­ haha¡­"

    Yunhe stared at him, and minute by minute, as this went on, Yushang''s confidence crumbled.

    He couldn''t understand why he was becoming so tongue tied. Why every word coming out of his mouth sounded like pure gibberish. Why he was spouting complete nonsense that no one would believe. Why this pathetic attempt was his Plan C, Plan D, Plan E, and possibly even Plan F.

    Yushang could usually come up with brilliant comebacks. He always had a response no matter what. This was what those in the court complimented him with. When he had an argument he wanted to stick to¡ª such as the other day, when he convinced his father to invest more resources to solve a major flooding issue the court had to deal with¡ª he could always convey it well. He liked to think that he had a natural flow with words.

    So why was all of this turning out like such?

    Why was it that when it came to the topic and threat of his identity being revealed, he couldn''t quite make any sense? Even when he thought about the words that just came out of his mouth, he would wince at the sheer ridicule of all of it.

    Yushang took a deep breath. He clasped his hands around his head.

    These plans were not working out. Even Yushang had to come to terms with that, as much as he hated to admit.

    So finally, he decided to be honest.

    It hurt him a little. He admitted that it hurt him. All these plans, failing spectacularly, one by one. His confidence had failed him.

    Yushang dropped his hands, staring at Ye Yunhe straight in the eyes. Unconsciously, his fingers tightened into fists.

    "I''m the Crown Prince. That''s who I am. No lies, no deceptions, no more trickery."

    After this grand reveal occured, Yunhe stared back at him, his expression unreadable for a few solid moments.

    Yushang waited for the bowing now. He waited for the surprise and the reverence that came as a result of this revelation. Though he admitted that this was his last resort, he did quite enjoy the idea of Ye Yunhe kneeling and bowing to him.

    That would be a nice sight to see.

    Yet contrary to his expectations, with a sudden sweep, Yunhe picked up his scroll that he dropped on the floor earlier.

    Before Yushang could respond, Yunhe raised it up and smacked the air in front of him, roaring, "Scammer! I''m tired of your lies! Get out!"

    At that moment, Yushang''s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

    Yushang ducked. He stumbled back away from Yunhe, but Yunhe chased after him relentlessly, raising his scroll and repeatedly smacking it in Yushang''s direction.

    "What are you doing?" Yushang exclaimed, dodging another swing from Yunhe.

    "Get out of Lingxin! Am I not making myself clear?" Yunhe yelled in response, his face flushed.

    "Why? I''m telling the truth!"

    "You think I''d seriously believe you? I don''t need someone like you around my junior sister!"

    He swung at Yushang again, which this time, Yushang didn''t manage to dodge. The blow made contact with his back, pain jolting him as it hit.

    Yushang lurched forward, pure shock taking over him.

    He had never been beat like this before! Who would dare to lay a hand on him like this? And for what? For telling the truth?

    What was this? What was this tyranny?

    But he couldn''t even freeze for a second¡ª Yunhe took this momentary pause as a chance to swing forward again. This second blow smacked Yushang right on the head, breaking him out of his shock and slamming him forward. His feet, out of pure instinct, tripped forward once more.

    Yushang could only internally cry as he stumbled and ran, putting as much distance as he could between himself and that violent scroll.

    Thus, just like that, Ye Yunhe chased Fu Yushang around the yard, similar to how a farmer would chase a chicken to catch and slaughter.

    ¡­

    Yujia sat at a table next to her master, who was lazily eating sunflower seeds and staring out at the scenery around them.

    She sipped at a cup of newly brewed tea.

    Her master called her over to just talk about art. It seemed like he felt quite inspirational when he woke up, and he immediately wanted to bestow some major knowledge to her. So, she sat and listened as he slowly talked about his life and art stories.

    The warm tea tasted delicate and fragrant on her tongue.

    She wondered what was going on in her courtyard during this absence.

    Hopefully, Bo Zhizhong and Ye Yunhe were getting along decently?s

    The "jun" character of "Zhijun" means handsome or good looking in Chinese.

 Chapter 184 - The Crown Prince Gets Along Well With People

    A few long moments of chasing and beating later, Yushang finally couldn''t take it anymore.

    He dropped down on the floor, completely out of breath. "Can we¡ª pause¡ª c¡ª call a truce or¡ª something?"

    He expected to receive another slap, but instead, Yunhe actually paused. He seemed out of breath as well. Running circles around a spacious courtyard was a bit of an exercise.

    "I only want you to leave," Yunhe said, his breath heavy, "You could''ve ran out of here a whole fifteen minutes ago¡ª and there would''ve been none of this."

    Yushang was about to retort, but he froze, realizing that Yunhe was right. He kept receiving warnings to leave, so why didn''t he just leave? Why did he stay to get smacked a hundred billion times?

    But then, he was filled with indignation as he thought of the fact that Yunhe was truly smacking him for no reason! He told the truth in the end, didn''t he?

    At this, Yushang''s face scrunched up. He eyed Yunhe, then blurted out, "I''m not lying! I really am the crown prince!"

    Yunhe flattened his lips into a straight line. "I don''t know how you expect me to believe you."

    Believe him? Well, that was easy. He had plenty of evidence, but most of all¡­

    Yushang sat up straight and rummaged in his pockets, yanking out a jade pendant. This pendant was made of gold and white jade, swirling patterns carved into it, befitting of the crown prince and the royal family.

    He held it up for Ye Yunhe to see, declaring, "I''m really the crown prince! See!"

    Yunhe grabbed the pendant from him, scrutinizing the details for a few seconds. Then, he flipped it over and observed the back as well.

    Once he saw the back and front, Yunhe''s expression froze onto his face. He immediately took three steps back, dropped the scroll in his hands, fell to his knees, and bowed deeply.

    "Crown Prince. It was¡­ my mistake for not recognizing you."

    At last!

    Yushang finally grinned, delight rising up across his face. At last, he saw the sight that he was waiting for. This was the stance that Ye Yunhe should''ve taken all along!

    Seeing Yunhe fixed in place, Yushang slowly rose up, stretching out his sore arm and back. He took the pendant back from the kneeling other,  swinging the jade around and around.

    "Do you regret now?" he mused, "Imagine the treason you would''ve committed just now¡­ what kind of sentence would you get for laying your hands on the crown prince of the empire?"

    Yunhe stayed silent.

    Yushang admitted that he enjoyed this. He enjoyed every moment of this thoroughly. It was so satisfying to see Ye Yunhe like this. The contrast between before and now was stunningly hilarious.

    He wondered what this young man was thinking right now. He wondered if he would be filled with regret, panic, terror, or any other emotion that had to do with suffering.

    This was karma!

    Nonetheless, he didn''t make Yunhe squirm for too long. He leaned over, gesturing for Yunhe to rise, commanding while he did so, "You may get up."

    A moment of hesitation passed between the two of them. Yunhe then stood up, keeping his posture still at a bow, however.

    Yushang plastered on a bright, genuine smile on his face and informed, "I''m not going to punish you. We will treat the events that have occured this day as a¡­ joke. Between friends."

    Yunhe looked up, his eyebrows knitted "Friends?"

    "Indeed, friends!" Yushang nodded, clasping his hands together. "You are Miss Yang''s senior brother. I am her business partner. Hence, we are friends from now on."

    Eyes narrowed, Yunhe backed away. "What is your exact relationship with my junior sister?"

    "I told you. Business partners and friends," Yushang answered with a shrug.

    That was all. Nothing more, nothing less, right¡­?

    But for some reason, Yushang''s gaze was cast down and he couldn''t quite bring himself to look at Yunhe in the eyes.

    A moment later, fixing his gaze back on Yunhe, Yushang crossed his arms and explained, "I don''t want her to know who I really am. I have my reasons for doing so."

    Yunhe was smart. He caught on quickly. "So, the whole reason for why you''re letting me off is as a bribe, just so I can keep the secret for you?"

    "Something along those lines, yes. You''ll keep quiet about my true identity."

    This wasn''t a question. Yushang knew that Yunhe would have to keep a secret if he wanted to keep himself alive.

    Yushang racked his mind for anything else he might need to ask or say. "Ah!" he suddenly exclaimed, realizing that he forgot one major question. "How did you not recognize me? You''ve been to the palace before, haven''t you? I remember seeing you."

    Yunhe just shrugged. "Oh. I''m just bad at remembering faces."

    ¡­

    Yujia returned to see Yunhe and Zhizhong getting along as well as brothers. While she was gone, it seemed like the two of them smoothed out any conflict they may have had, since they were now just talking and laughing like normal people.

    She grinned at the sight of this, "I''m glad you two are getting along well."

    Zhizhong smiled a smile that was unnaturally wide. "Yes. We got along very well."

    "Very, very well." Yunhe agreed, adding on, a wide smile plastered on his face as well.

 Chapter 185 - Poetry and the Artist

    The next day, Yujia ran across Yu Zixu. She found him in Lingxin''s private library when she went there in the morning to study. There were three days left before her deadline of a week to please her master with her artistic improvement, so studying always helped.

    Normally, she liked to wake up early to go to the library because it meant that no other disciples were there. Though they were all her senior brothers, she wasn''t close with most of them and only talked to a few individuals like Jiang Muyun. Also, it seemed like the pestering Rong Yuan, who also, sadly, happened to be a fellow disciple, heard that Yujia frequented the library. So now, on a few occasions, she ran into him.

    That was why Yujia always went in the morning now. She figured out Rong Yuan and her master were both pretty similar in terms of their schedule: neither of the two liked to wake up early.

    When she opened the door and walked in, noticing the presence of someone else, Yujia was a little disappointed. She liked studying alone, but now there was another person here. She could only pray that it wasn''t Rong Yuan, who she was now trying to avoid like the plague after her past few encounters with him.

    Stepping a little closer, however, she recognized this individual''s face between the spacing of the shelves¡ª and thank the heavens, it wasn''t Rong Yuan.

    The person was Zixu, all focused on a book that he had pulled off the shelf. His attention was completely absorbed in the book¡ª his eyebrows knitted, head tilted down, and lips pressed together.

    Now that she knew who it was, she didn''t quite mind his presence. A mischievous smile surfaced on her lips, and Yujia crouched and crept over silently to Zixu''s shelf, on the other side of where he was standing. Then, she leapt up, fitting her face in the open space that showed Zixu''s, exclaiming, "Surprise!"

    Zixu didn''t even flinch. He slowly looked up after finishing the sentence he had been reading, blinking when he saw her face. "Oh. Junior Sister. I didn''t expect to see you here."

    "Aw, you''re no fun," Yujia complained with a sigh, dropping her hands and walking over to Zixu''s side. "You didn''t get scared by me at all? Or surprised?"

    "I heard you the moment you opened the door. There was no surprise factor," he answered straightforwardly.

    Rolling her eyes, Yujia hummed, "I''m going to catch you unaware someday. Just you wait."

    At this, Zixu closed his book, looking over. His gaze seemed perfectly serious, but Yujia noticed that his lips were curled up in amusement. "I''ll look forward to that day, if it ever arrives."

    "What are you reading?" Yujia inclined her head over, trying to read the title, which was half covered by Zixu''s sleeve.

    Zixu moved his sleeve aside. "Just studying some poetry. I need to improve more for the imperial examination."

    Yujia nodded thoughtfully. In one of her discussions with Ye Yunhe, she found out that they were holding an irregular palace examination that would come up soon. Contrary to the normal examinations, usually held in the first month of the year, this irregular examination occured because the Emperor wanted to find new talents. Unlike normal tests, which covered more specific fields, the irregular examination would be very diverse in topics. Thus, though it made it more challenging to score better results for these tests, the rewards were greater. Many were interested in earning themselves a first or second-rank graduate title.

    She also found out from Yunhe that despite the fact that Lingxin Academy seemed like a very specialized school for art, there were many esteemed scholars as teachers and resources for all students too. The focus of Lingxin was on art and calligraphy, but each year, they submitted plenty of successful students to the examinations. Hence, this allowed the school to stand at the same level as other renowned schools, such as Taixue, Guojian, and the Four Gates School.

    Lingxin also stood out not only as a result of its success, but also because of its method of acceptance. Students who wanted to enroll in Taixue, Guojian, and Four Gates must come from families with officials above rank eight. Meanwhile, Lingxin did not discriminate between ranks, letting talent, not family background, dictate an individual''s ability to enroll. This complemented the beliefs of the Emperor, so Lingxin was widely known as the Emperor''s favorite academy.

    When examination season came along, Lingxin always provided any students who were interested in taking exams plenty of resources and teachers. For people like Zixu, who became disciples of the masters at Lingxin, they would be allowed to use even more resources to study, such as Lingxin''s private library, which had more materials than the public one.

    Yujia looked at the current shelf Zixu was looking at books from. Judging from the titles, they all had something to do with poetry. She didn''t know if they would test an individual''s poetry skills in the examination, but since Zixu was studying for it, they probably would.

    "You were paying a lot of attention to this book when I walked in," she noted.

    "Yes," Zixu agreed, "I do like poetry quite a bit. These," he glanced down at his book, "are poems from Tao Yuanming. His work focuses on the plain simplicity of the natural world''s beauty. I think that the things he writes might resonate with you more than me, actually. He talks about wine quite a bit."

    Zixu gave her a wry smile that she returned with a laugh.

    Wine. Of course that would resonate with her.

    Yujia recognized Tao Yuanming, however. In the future, many centuries later, he would be recorded as one of the great poets. She had read quite a few of his poems in her past life. He also wrote an influential piece about an utopia, Peach Blossom Spring . This piece of prose would be renowned as well.

    "There''s one particular poem that I was focused on," Zixu said, flipping to the page he was just at. They were the five poems of Returning to Gardens and Fields . Then he read them out loud.

    " At the gate and courtyard¡ªno murmur of the World''s dust:

    In the empty rooms¡ªleisure and deep stillness.

    Long I lived checked by the bars of a cage:

    Now I have turned again to nature and freedom ."

    "This entire poem resonates with me, but these lines conclude it all very well," Zixu considered, thinking his thoughts out loud. "It adds onto the layers and depth of the entire work. If I were to write a poem for the examination, I would like to write something similar to this, though of course¡ª it wouldn''t be quite at this level. Tao Yuanming''s work is truly great."

    Yujia smiled. "I trust that you have the capability to."

    As she said so, she couldn''t help thinking back to the full poem set. She read it before and even memorized it for class. Those lines just read aloud may resonate with Zixu, but what Yujia thought back to upon seeing the poem were its previous lines, unspoken:

    " The migrant bird longs for the old wood:

    The fish in the tank thinks of its native pool ."

 Chapter 188 - An Artistâ€™s Infiltration, Phase Two

    Zixu took note of everyone present in the room.

    Behind Madam Zhang were two maids¡ª obviously her personal maids. The Fifth Miss, Yang Xiaoyi, was summoned quickly enough, and she was followed by her own maid as well. The Old Master didn''t seem to be in the villa¡ª Madam Zhang later explained that he was out at a meeting. The First Miss had no reason to come, so she wasn''t present either.

    Otherwise though, these servant numbers were perfect. Everyone that Zixu really needed to be present arrived in the room.

    Considering that his engagement with the Fifth Miss was canceled, Zixu did find the situation that his Junior Sister asked of him to perform to be a bit difficult. But as long as he didn''t make things awkward, he was confident that it wasn''t going to be.

    He smiled warmly, directing his attention at the Fifth Miss. "I apologize for bothering Miss Yang, but I really did have a few things I wanted to ask about from our conversation last time. I painted quite a few things since then, but all this time, I thought about what you told me about enhancing the Bone Method. It''s given me quite a bit of inspiration."

    Hearing this, Yang Xiaoyi''s eyes lit up. She smiled back at him, exclaiming, "Oh, that!"

    Like Zixu expected, the topic of art broke down barriers. Though this Fifth Miss wasn''t too skilled in painting, she had a decent interest. Most times, conversations about shared interests took away the clumsy, uncomfortable parts of conversation that Zixu never enjoyed having. This situation was no different.

    "It''s just a technique I read on an old book I found in the villa," she explained eagerly, "I didn''t know that Young Master Yu would find it so interesting. If you would like, I¡ª we¡ª could gift it to you."

    Truthfully, in his memory of the events that happened, his past conversation with Yang Xiaoyi wasn''t too interesting. He became quite bored of it halfway through, in fact. But Zixu had to fulfill the request of his Junior Sister, so he listened right now with imitated enthusiasm.

    "Speaking on the topic of gifts," Zixu cut in, "I just remembered that I brought a gift but left it in the carriage."

    "Did you really?" Madam Zhang leaned forward, folding her long, slender fingers in her lap. "That is too kind of Young Master."

    "Yes, I could not come here empty-handed, could I?" Zixu let out a laugh, turning to his two servants behind him. " Both of you , go fetch the gift from the carriage for me."

    At the "both of you" part, a hidden message was implied to one of the servants, which Zixu explained part of the plan to earlier.

    If he told them that only one was allowed to go, then the servant who Zixu let in on the plan would stay behind. If he emphasized that both were supposed to go, then while one servant went to fetch the gift, the other would take a detour and go alert Yujia, who was waiting in the servant''s courtyard, which was also the courtyard that the Fourth Miss used to live in.

    This part with a code was incorporated into their plan at the last minute, under the proposal of Zixu, since Zixu needed a way to check for if the servants who Yujia needed to avoid were all away. They should''ve all been distracted by his sudden visit to the Yang Villa. On the chance that the plan had any mishaps, he didn''t plan on sending a messenger to her, so Yujia would leave when she had waited for enough time. This added an additional level of security to their plan.

    Sure enough, both servants left after hearing his order. Zixu smiled his usual close-lipped smile, then turned the conversation back to painting again.

    ¡­

    Yujia was still sweeping the yard when a male servant, dressed in different color robes than the usual servant in the Yang Villa, walked in hastily. She recognized him as the one servant Zixu incorporated into their plan. Her eyes met his and she rushed forward, clutching the broom tighter.

    "Excuse me," she asked loudly, making their conversation seem normal to anyone who may be listening, "you don''t look like you belong. Are you lost?"

    The servant nodded deeply, replying, "Yes, I am. I came to your villa as a part of the Yu Household. My young master wanted me to get a gift, but I somehow became lost. Could you direct me back?"

    "Of course." She smiled tightly and gestured her hand forward. With the broom as a prop, she led the servant down. When they walked further enough away, he nodded silently, then turned back, returning to where he belonged.

    His message had been conveyed to her, though not a single word was said.

    It was safe to progress into Phase Two.

    With the Fifth Miss and her courtyard being conveniently close to the path that Yujia chose to lead the servant back on, she dropped by that courtyard first. Sure enough, all according to plan, Xiaoyi''s courtyard was rather empty except for a few general cleaning servants. Yujia blended right in.

    She grabbed a basin and a rag, which rested over a banister to dry, switching it with the broom. No one took an extra look at her when she entered Xiaoyi''s room.

    Yujia searched through everything quickly but thoroughly, finding nothing suspicious at all. When a few minutes later, she walked out, she had no new discoveries and only a growing sense of guilt. Even though she knew that she had to take such actions for her own wellbeing, it still felt very wrong to snoop around the personal belongings of other people.

    She did feel relieved that like Hui''er, Xiaoyi had a lower chance of being the culprit. But this sort of relief, coupled with a wave of guilt, was mostly unpleasant.

    It wasn''t likely that she would have the abilities to search the First Miss''s courtyard, so Yujia settled with the second next best, and her final target.

    Madam Zhang''s room.

    Hurrying to the East courtyard, the residence of the Madam, the Old Master, and the First Miss, Yujia blended in with everyone as easily as her experience in both courtyards. It turned out that overall, the Yang Villa''s security was very lax, since Yujia had not been noticed or questioned a single time. Nevertheless, this made sense, since it wasn''t a very big or grand villa overall.

    Once she stepped in Madam Zhang''s room, Yujia immediately began searching, shuffling through all the drawers, cabinets, and boxes. After looking through each item, she was sure to set it back to how it was before, completely destroying all evidence that someone had just shuffled through all of them.

    Ten or so minutes passed of detailed searching, but Yujia was unable to find anything incriminating. Anything and everything seemed normal, with nothing off about them. She looked through every possible nook and cranny, but no strange items were uncovered. None at all.

    Yujia surveyed through the room one more time, sighing. Her eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and she wondered if she was doing something efficient, accurate, purposeful, and morally correct by looking through everyone''s belongings. Would she really find the answer she needed by doing this?

    ¡­

    Midway through the conversation, Zixu let out an involuntary cough, drawing the attention of Madam Zhang.

    Her eyes fixed sharply on him and she asked, "Young Master Yu, you''ve coughed a couple times already. Are you sick?"

    Zixu shook his head swiftly, rejecting the idea. "No, I am not ill."

    "Are you sure?" Madam Zhang glanced at the servant behind her. "Here, even if you''re not sick, if your throat is not feeling well, I have a specially imported honey in my room. It is usually useful with things like sore throats. Anning, will you go fetch it for me?"

    Zixu''s expression immediately shifted, his jaw tightening and his head tilting. This was not good. Not good at all.

    "Madam, it is truly alright. I do not need it and cannot accept such a precious gift."

    He put in all his effort to express the idea that he didn''t need it. She shouldn''t give it to him. And more importantly, she shouldn''t send anyone in her room right now. What if Yujia was there?

    Yet Madam Zhang, who could not possibly know the inner thoughts of Zixu, took it as just etiquette. Plenty of people denied their desire for so-and-so gift when offered presents, but who didn''t like gifts? They rejected it just to be polite, but in reality, they actually wanted the item and expected that after a few exchanges of humble words, the gift would still eventually land in their hands. Madam Zhang thought that it would be the same case with Yu Zixu.

    Thus, she waved her hand dismissively, urging. "You already brought such a nice statue gift for the Yang Household. It would be wrong for me to not give you back anything in return, on behalf of the household. Honey may not be much, so I hope that Young Master does not scoff at what I can offer."

    "It''s really unnecessary¡ª"

    Zixu tried to explain, but Madam Zhang stopped him again.

    "That''s enough. If honey is not to Young Master''s taste, then you should still try it out before determining. Perhaps it can truly help to heal your cough."

    ¡­

    Yujia was about to exit Madam Zhang''s room when she heard footsteps approaching.

    She froze.

    The door creaked open.

 Chapter 189 - An Artistâ€™s Infiltration, Phase Hiding

    Before the door pushed open, Yujia threw herself under the first hiding place she thought of: the bed.

    Her breathing stopped. Crouched under there, her face almost pressed up against the wooden boards of the bed, she didn''t dare to make a single sound or to move an inch. The sound of footsteps traveled all around her while someone walked in the room and to a cabinet beside the bed.

    Yujia glanced over, seeing what looked like the shoes of a maid in her peripheral vision.

    She wondered if it was a good choice to throw herself under the bed. But if those shoes belonged to anyone who knew the face of the Fourth Miss, she would be quite screwed too. So maybe throwing herself under the bed was the best solution.

    Regardless, she was under the bed already. It wasn''t like she could just crawl back out and act like everything was perfectly normal.

    The maid who stood right by the bed rummaged through the cabinet, similar to what Yujia was doing a few moments ago. This meant that she had to be someone who had plenty of trust from the Madam to do something like this¡ª unless she, too, was trying to infiltrate like Yujia.

    The maid''s actions narrowed her identity down to a few individuals. She had to be one of Madam Zhang''s personal maids; otherwise, she wouldn''t dare to go through the Madam''s personal belongings right now.

    This made Yujia a hundred times more assured of her decision to hide. One of Madam Zhang''s personal maids who followed her everywhere would know the face of the Fourth Miss, for sure.

    She could only hope that whoever it was didn''t notice a shadow under the bed. The chances of being discovered weren''t too high, so Yujia wasn''t too panicked. Nonetheless, at the same time, the longer she spent in the awkward position she was at, the more fear that came up when she wondered what would happen if she was discovered.

    Would they force her to get married again? Would her entire plan fall apart right at this moment? Would Yu Zixu be dragged down with her?

    Why was this maid here anyways? If she was a personal maid of the Madam, shouldn''t she be with the Madam, making sure that the meeting with Zixu went well?

    What did Zixu do to cause this maid to go into the room now? Why didn''t he manage to stop her?

    Too many questions appeared in Yujia''s thoughts.

    Yujia glanced away from the shoes and looked up at the dark wooden boards. There were plenty of cobwebs and dust collected under the bed, making Yujia extremely uncomfortable.

    She hated, despised, and dreaded spiders.

    Them and their little legs and disgusting ways always made them one of those things that she couldn''t stand to be near. Cockroaches, bees, snakes, ants¡ª she could stand all of them.

    But spiders?

    If she saw one right now, she wasn''t sure how she would manage to stay still. She wasn''t sure how she would manage to not scream. It was already enough to have cobwebs pressing into her hair.

    Yujia closed her eyes tightly and mentally prepared herself. She would keep calm. She would keep calm. She would keep calm. She would keep calm. She would keep calm.

    Was that a tingling sensation she felt crawling up her hand? Or was she just overreacting and imagining things?

    Her eyes flashed open. They fixed right at the wooden boards above her. There was an odd dark spot on it.

    HeavenswasthataSPIDERnononopleasedon''tbeaSPIDERifthat''saSPIDERshewasreallygoingto¡ª

    Yujia blinked.

    It wasn''t a spider.

    Instead, it seemed like a wooden¡­ notch of some sort? Maybe there was a chip in the wood that was selected to make Madam Zhang''s bed.

    Part of her filled up with relief that it wasn''t a spider. Another part of her wondered when the maid was going to leave.

    Yujia squinted up at the small cut in the planks.

    That was when she noticed that the notch in the wood wasn''t any ordinary splinter. Extending from the cut was a thin border, forming what looked like a rectangle slightly larger than Yujia''s two hands pieced together. She scrunched her eyes up and stared at the rectangle some more.

    In the darkness, she couldn''t see much, but the rectangle still didn''t look like it belonged. Proven, she didn''t know much about how beds were built in this time period. Yet still, why would someone carve a rectangle at the bottom of a wooden plank which would never be seen, hidden by blankets and mattresses?

    At this moment, the maid seemed to find what she was looking for and left the room.

    Yujia let out a breath that she had been holding, but she didn''t scamper out from under the bed yet. Her fear of spiders was momentarily set aside with the new curiosity she gained from this.

    Her hand went up to trace the edges of the rectangle carving and the little notch.

    And then, she discovered that this wooden carving wasn''t just a cut in the wood¡ª it was a panel that opened up.

    No innocent person without anything to hide would have a secret panel hidden under their bed.

    With wide eyes and new realization, she pried the plank open. The moment she did, a wooden box plunged down, smacking straight on her face.

    "Ah!" Yujia exclaimed with surprise, flinching.

    It didn''t hurt that much, considering how close she was to the box. But with that flinching movement, Yujia still rammed the top of her head against the boards on accident, bringing a wave of pain on the top of her skull. She immediately followed that up with rolling away, out from the darkness under the bed.

    Her face all scrunched up, Yujia sat up and rubbed the area that she had slammed on the wooden board.

    That hurt.

    Once the pain from the bump subsided a bit, Yujia blinked twice, then stretched herself out. With her free hand, she reached back under the bed to grab the box.

    The box that had fallen out of that suspicious panel was made of a strange material. She thought that it was wooden in the dark, but now that she could see it fully, she realized that this material was definitely not wood. It seemed to be made of silvery metal, with a metallic luster to it that glinted in the light.

    The box was small enough, fitting perfectly in the palm of her hands. And in the center of that box was a keyhole, molded into the metal with extreme precision and detail.

    Yujia observed this carefully. She then reached back under the bed, pushing the panel shut, and pocketing the small box into her sleeve.

    She thought that she would leave the room without any evidence at all. But this box, hidden in such a secret location, had to be something. It wouldn''t make sense for it to not hold some sort of confidential information.

    Yujia then went to look for keys in the room, all the while thinking about her new discovery. It was possible that this box that Madam Zhang owned had to do with something completely different, and not the whole case of her poisoning. But there was an equally likely possibility that some sort of poison was inside there as well.

    Thus, Yujia had to figure out what was in it.

    Yet moments of searching later, Yujia couldn''t find any key in any part of the room. She looked everywhere¡ª and even in other panels of wood to see if there were any secret compartments again.

    It all led to nothing.

 Chapter 186 - The Artist Decides to Infiltrate

    Zixu closed the book he held, shelving it back where it belonged.

    "Junior Sister, are you here today to talk about your plan?" he asked.

    Yujia asked him back during their "forest trip" to help her along her plan of infiltrating the Yang Villa to investigate. Because Zixu was busy, the two didn''t get to discuss exactly what time they would execute the plan. Yujia wasn''t quite sure if it would be appropriate to bother Zixu, who needed to study for such an important exam, now thinking about it.

    Every second he spent on her matters felt like they were taking away from his study time, which made a wave of guilt rise up in Yujia. She didn''t want to be so selfish about things.

    Deciding to get to her point fast, Yujia said, "When are you free? I would like to get this matter done as soon as possible, but I don''t want to do it if you''re too busy."

    Zixu shrugged. "I''m free today. It''s best to do so today."

    "Oh."

    Yujia thought for a second that maybe she wasn''t prepared enough to do so today, but at another thought, she had been planning this for almost a week now. If she wasn''t prepared now, a few days more wouldn''t make her any more prepared.

    Still, it was somewhat nerve-wracking to see everything unfolding so quickly.

    "You want to¡­ go right now?" Yujia blurted.

    "Sure. Not a problem with me."

    ¡­

    Yujia found her palms sweating as she went back to her courtyard. She dressed herself in the set of maid robes that she "borrowed". Recalling the memory of Hui''er''s typical hairstyle, along with the hair that most maids in the villa wore, Yujia brushed her hair quickly in the mirror. The good news was that it wasn''t elaborate at all. Thus, even with Yujia''s lacking styling skills, she could still pull her hair into the usual bun that maids had.

    While she got ready, Zixu went back to the Yu Villa. Yujia was supposed to meet him there once she was done.

    Truthfully, Yujia didn''t need to do much besides dressing up as a maid. The key to her whole plan relied upon Zixu, and what he was about to do.

    Still, Yujia couldn''t help getting nervous. All the anticipation she had during the past few days boiled down to this point, Zixu''s performance, and her performance as well.

    Her heart raced at the thought that today¡ª a day which she didn''t expect to turn out like this when she woke up in the morning¡ª could be the day that her trust was either restored or completely broken.

    In a way, preparing herself in a maid costume right now was also a chance for her to calm herself down.

    Once she was completely ready, which only took ten or so minutes, Yujia raced down to the Yu Villa. Thankfully, it was near Lingxin, so though she walked super fast¡ª or pretty much almost ran¡ª to reach the villa, she wasn''t too out of breath.

    She wasn''t quite sure why she ran. Maybe she didn''t want to delay Zixu''s time, if he was already ready. Or maybe she couldn''t wait to figure out the truth, and the adrenaline racing through her blood pushed her to move faster.

    A carriage was already prepared whenever Yujia arrived. A minute or two later, Zixu exited the villa as well, followed by a few servants. One of them carried a tray with a gift, which looked like a jade sculpture of some sort.

    He gestured for Yujia to get on the carriage with him, and Yujia followed. Once they were on the carriage, and felt the carriage jolt forward in movement, Zixu glanced at her. "You''re nervous?"

    "You noticed?" Yujia asked, but the moment she said it, she realized that of course Zixu noticed. It wouldn''t be Zixu if he didn''t notice. "I''m just¡­" she said, "a bit scared of what I''ll discover."

    He sighed. "It''s inevitable that you have to face it. It''s only a matter of if you face it sooner or later. Might as well get it over with early on."

    "You have a point," Yujia sighed as well, biting the inside of her cheek. A part of her knew this fact too.

    She could only pray that it wasn''t Hui''er or Xiaoyi. Those were the two people that she didn''t want it to be. She wouldn''t know what to do if she found out that it was them.

    "What''s the gift for?" she asked, attempting to divert herself.

    Zixu answered, "It''s etiquette to bring gifts. That way, your father may feel more inclined to let me speak with the Fifth Miss."

    "Makes sense. Do I need to pay you back?"

    "No. There are plenty of these things lying around in the Yu Villa. No one would miss one or two that disappeared."

    After hearing this response, Yujia fell silent. She looked down at her hands, going through the plan in her mind.

    The first step to infiltrating the Yang Villa was getting Zixu to request for an audience with Yang Xiaoyi. Since the two were now not even in an engagement, both Madam Zhang and the Old Master would have to be present as chaperones. This left an opportunity for Yujia to sneak in and search the rooms of the main suspects.

    It wasn''t foolproof. But with the details all planned out, Yujia hoped that it would all go well.

 Chapter 187 - An Artistâ€™s Infiltration, Step One

    When the carriage reached close to the villa, Zixu called for the driver to stop. Prior to this, Yujia already made sure both of them were very clear of the plan.

    This was the point where Yujia slipped off.

    Zixu coughed. She glanced for one last time in his direction, then exited the carriage. The moment she stepped off, the carriage began moving forward once again, as if the driver had stopped the carriage just to listen to a word from his young master. And since Yujia was dropped off facing a wall, no one noticed a thing¡ª not that there was anything to be quite suspicious about in the first place. It was only an ordinary carriage travelling in broad daylight, when plenty of people walked through the streets.

    Everything was perfectly normal.

    Yuija didn''t look back, striding down the alleyway which stood right in front of her. She kept her head dipped down and posture humble, mimicking the servants she had seen come and go in the past.

    This alley happened to be the alley with the Yang Villa''s servant entrance. Yujia knew this area well. It was the area where she found an escape route through.

    For a brief second, the idea of the events that would occur if the household discovered her flashed in her mind. She put so much work in getting away. She ran away just to escape this place.

    But here she was, back again.

    Yujia knew that her act of returning would happen one day. Still, it was odd to imagine that every step she took was part of reality, however, and not just some strange dream or plan.

    Keeping her head down, Yujia shuffled into the villa without a single issue. A servant which usually sat at the gate, lazily chewing on some sunflower seeds, didn''t even spare her an extra glance.

    Yujia was just another ordinary, drab servant. There was nothing special and nothing suspicious about her. Nothing at all.

    Once she made it in, Yujia finally looked up, surveying everything in front of her. Noise came from the kitchens. One servant carrying a cart of waste moved towards the exit. Another servant girl swept the paths. Someone yelled for this girl in the kitchen, for in the next moment, she leaned her broom against a wall and hurried inside the building.

    Yujia took this chance to slink forward, grabbing the discarded broom and making sweeping motions. Within a split second, she blended in with the environment. She was yet another little maid, given the job of cleaning the yards.

    As she swept, she made her way in the direction of the room of the Fourth Miss, which was on the opposite end of the courtyard.

    She wondered if she would run into Hui''er this time. Judging by the way the villa was run, it didn''t seem likely. With the Fourth Miss gone, Hui''er likely got relocated to another job.

    Once she was right by the familiar doors leading into the room, Yujia tossed the broom into a shadowed corner. She glanced around to make sure that no one was outside, then pushed open the doors by a crack just wide enough for her to slip through. Immediately, once she was inside, she closed the doors.

    Letting out a deep breath of relief that things went alright so far, Yujia glanced around the room. Things didn''t look too dusty, but it was clear that since she left, no one had really taken care of the room.

    Yujia wasn''t here to give critiques on cleanliness, though. She dropped to the cabinets, opening them and checking everything for any questionable items she could''ve missed when packing her runaway belongings. After that, she checked the bed and drawers, finding nothing in any of the places which could''ve hidden secrets.

    Although Yujia had to work quickly in her search, the fact that she knew the room made her speed much faster. In a few minutes, she figured that the room was all clear.

    So next, the obvious place of suspicion would be the connected small room that Hui''er resided in. All that room contained were two cabinets and a bed, as it was only needed for sleeping purposes. Hui''er spent most of her day in Yuija''s actual room.

    In the small side room, she searched through everything thoroughly as well, finding absolutely nothing. Hui''er seemed to still sleep in this room as of this moment, since her things were still intact. Still, amongst the few belongings that she did have, Yujia couldn''t find anything either.

    This brought some comfort to Yujia upon knowing that Hui''er''s chances of being the culprit decreased by a bit. Though it was impossible to determine Hui''er''s innocence from just a brief search alone, her lack of suspicious items lowered the chances.

    With all of the possible searching in the courtyard completed, Yujia exited the room and picked the broom up again. Once more, she pretended to maintain the yard, waiting for her singal to execute phase two.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, Yu Zixu''s carriage pulled up to the front of the villa. A messenger earlier ran ahead to bring word to the Yang Villa that he was arriving. By the time that the carriage rolled over, the Yang Household''s Madam stood at the front to welcome him.

    "Young Master Yu," she politely greeted, "what brings you to the Yang Villa today? We didn''t expect you."

    Zixu inspected this middle aged woman in front of him, taking in her dark magenta robes, which she wore neatly pressed, not a wrinkle to be seen. A placid smile rested on her unpainted lips.

    He smiled respectfully in return, bowing as he greeted, "Madam. To be honest, I didn''t expect myself to drop a visit either. Therefore, I apologize for the lack of notice in advance."

    He took in a shaky breath, glancing his eyes down as if he was nervous, or if he was steadying himself. In reality, Zixu was calmly focused on the delivery of his lines of both literal words and body language. It was too, too easy to fake this look of wariness he displayed right now.

    "The truth is¡­ ever since I had the discussion with the Fifth Miss about painting, I gave our conversation lots of careful thought. The things we discussed enlightened me in quite a few works of mine afterwards. If it is not too much, I would like to have another conversation with your Fifth Miss again? I know that it may be stepping over boundaries, but of course, it will be with you present to chaperone. I only want to exchange a brief word about painting with her."

    As he spoke, the Madam''s expression shifted ever so slightly, her lips parting just a bit. But quickly enough, she regained her mild composure, nodding and replying, "Of course that is within boundaries." She stepped back, gesturing for Zixu to follow. "Come, let us talk inside."

 Chapter 190 - An Artistâ€™s Infiltration, Phase Failure (?)

    Yujia walked out of Madam Zhang''s room, her head hung down. This time, however, it wasn''t just from the act of keeping herself inconspicuous. She couldn''t bring herself to be too excited with any of the non-existent discoveries she made so far.

    So far, all she found that had the slightest potential in being a major piece of evidence was a box that she couldn''t even open. And what point was there in that?

    Yujia still decided to take the small box with her, however. She could easily carry it without being discovered, and based on what she observed in Madam Zhang''s little under-the-bed space, the box wouldn''t be missed too bad. With all the cobwebs intact, it didn''t seem like anyone had gone under there anytime recently.

    Before taking it, Yujia also thought of the existence of the thieves in the household. She still didn''t know who they were¡ª that was her next task to solve once the entire poison ordeal was revealed¡ª but the box''s disappearance could be credited to the thieves. After all, who would suspect a Fourth Miss, who had long disappeared into non-existence and vanished off the grid?

    She estimated how much time she had left and decided to check the Old Master''s room and study, which was just within the courtyard, as well.

    The results no longer surprised her anymore: no discoveries.

    Exiting the villa now that she went through everything she could check, Yujia walked along the alleyway and back into daylight. A few minutes later, right on schedule, Yu Zixu exited as well. The carriage rolled in her direction, stopping to let her get on, then continued traveling back in the direction of the Yu Villa.

    Inside the carriage, Yujia sighed deeply, running her fingers through her hair. Zixu glanced in her direction, stating after a moment, "You didn''t find anything."

    Statement¡ª not question.

    She nodded. "Except for a box," she added in, drawing the box out of her sleeve and handing it over for Zixu to see. "Do you happen to know how to pick locks, Senior Brother?"

    She said that as a joke. It was really supposed to be a joke.

    But Zixu actually nodded solemnly as a response, replying, "I''ve tried it once or twice."

    He took the box from her, turning it in his hands as he observed the metal. His slender fingers ran over the lock and the edges, tracing it in a perfect continuous line.

    Yujia''s jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

    Zixu was good at observing people. Zixu could start a fire with some sticks and twigs. Zixu had a good brain for memorizing things. Zixu was talented at painting. Zixu was skilled at calligraphy. Zixu had a great face, plenty of wealth, and a good family background. Zixu was good with animals.

    What was it going to be next?

    "Is there anything you can''t do, at this point?" she questioned, tilting her head in exasperation.

    Zixu thought about it for a second. He stopped turning the box in his hand, looking up and answering, "For one thing, I''m bad at¡ª"

    His words cut short when he glanced over in her direction, staring at her face.

    Yujia blinked. "Bad at what?"

    "You¡ª" he spoke, his words slow and his eyes narrowed.

    "Me? You''re bad at¡­ me?" She leaned back, folding her hands, "What does that mean?"

    He immediately shook his head, pointing in the direction of her hair. "No¡ª not that¡ª you have a spider in your hair. Did you notice?"

    ''You have a spider in your hair.''

    ''You have a spider in your hair.''

    ''You have a SPIDER in your hair.''

    All the color drained out of Yujia''s face.

    She shrieked, then leapt up from her seat. Her hands flew up to her head, violently smacking it. As she did so, her face scrunched up, she repeatedly called out, "S-spider¡ª Is it gone? Is it gone? Is it gone? "

    Please, dear heavens, begone, begone, begone, begone, begone, begone, begone...

    "It''s right there¡ª no, a little more to the left¡ª yes¡ª alright, you''ve killed it. Now you have a spider corpse in your hair. Oh, it fell off¡­"

    At those words, Yujia stopped smacking her head.

    She flinched back, staring at her seat, which now had a squashed spider corpse resting on it. The spider was no bigger than a nail on her finger, but Yujia still winced and covered her face.

    Thank the heavens that it was gone now!

    Yet there was that demonic being in her hair just a few minutes ago. How long did it crawl in there? And the fact that she didn''t notice it¡ª it was just¡ª spiders¡ª they¡­

    When she looked up from behind her hands, Zixu was smiling.

    "You''re smiling at my misery?" she asked, a little out of breath.

    "Indeed," he laughed, a small smirk spreading on his lips. "You''re that afraid of spiders?"

    "Of course! They''re disgusting¡ª"

    Just then, before Yujia could finish¡ª or even start¡ª her long rant on how terrible and unnecessary spiders were, the carriage lurched, likely from an uneven bump in the road. If Yujia was sitting, this bump would be nothing more than an uncomfortable jolt. Except because she refused to sit down on a surface once graced with a dead spider corpse, she was still standing and her balance was uneven.

    And thus¡­

    Yujia toppled over in Zixu''s direction.

 Chapter 191 - Theory Discussion and the Artist

    She fell forward, her arms reaching out to break her fall. But before they could, Zixu flinched, his hands reaching upwards and pushing up against her shoulders. Her body stiffened.

    Their eyes met. She stared into his dark irises for a solid moment, her breath caught, the world almost slowing around the two of them.

    Zixu had pretty eyes. She only just noticed that. Her face was so close to his that she could count his lashes. His eyes held immeasurable depth behind its layers of darkness, and when she stared straight into them, she couldn''t tell anything from them. If eyes were windows to the soul, then Zixu kept his windows covered, carefully shrouding himself with the darkness.

    Then the driver, likely hearing the shuffling noise, called out from the front, "Sorry about that! Young Master, this section of the road is a bit bumpy¡ª please sit securely!"

    Yujia recoiled, drawing herself back immediately. She could feel a burning heat creep up her neck, spreading across her cheeks in what she guessed would be a glowing shade of red.

    Unable to bring herself to look up, in frantic movements, she swiped at her seat with the spider to clear it, then sat down, taking in a deep breath.

    "I''m sorry¡ª" she hastily said, her words tripping over each other in the rushed way that she spoke, "I should''ve sat down properly before¡ª all that happened. That wasn''t¡ª right of me."

    Zixu coughed, shaking his head as his hands, once rested on her shoulders, dropped to his lap. "It''s not your fault. The road was bumpy, and you fell. No need to apologize." His hands went back to the box that slipped out of them in the rush to stop her from falling on him, rotating it once again. "Do you have a pin?"

    "Ah?"

    "A pin," he repeated, looking up, "like a thin hairpin. Or some sort of thin metal. I can try to pick the lock for you."

    "Oh! A pin for lock-picking¡­" Grateful for the complete topic diversion, Yujia quickly followed through with Zixu''s request.

    Yujia raised her hand to her head. In her maid costume, she didn''t wear any hair ornaments to keep her disguise believable, but she did have one thin metal pin that she threaded through her bun to keep it in place. She pulled it out, which loosened her long hair that cascaded down to her back.

    The pin wasn''t all that thin, but at the tip, there was a sharp point. It might be enough to manage to pick the lock of the box, though then again, Yujia didn''t know much about lock-picking. She would just have to wait and see if it would work out for Zixu.

    Zixu took it from her, holding the lock to the light and sliding the pin in, moving his fingers in detailed movements. A twist there, a nudge there¡ª a few moments passed of his attempts to pick the lock, though to no avail.

    The lock remained locked, all intact.

    He stared at it for a few more seconds, then handed the hairpin back to Yujia, a sigh escaping from him. "It won''t open. This lock is a bit more complex than I expected."

    "Really?"

    Yujia took the box back too, peering into the lock. With how small everything''s scale was, she was surprised to hear that the lock was complex. Though thinking about it, this only boosted her curiosity even more. How far was Madam Zhang going to go just to protect this secret?

    "Where''s the box from?" Zixu asked, tilting his head.

    Right. Yujia forgot that she barely explained anything to him. So quickly, she went over a couple of things¡ª from her lack of discoveries in the other courtyards to how she discovered this strange box in Madam Zhang''s. Zixu listened intently.

    At the end of all this, he speculated, "It doesn''t seem likely that the poison is within the box, Junior Sister."

    "Hm? Why?" Yujia blinked.

    "If she had been poisoning you for so long, and has continued it until recently, then there shouldn''t be so many spiderwebs under the bed. All the dust and webs collected there means that she hasn''t touched it anytime recently. The need to continue poisoning you many times means that she would likely put the poison in an easily accessible location. Though under the bed is a good spot for secrecy, it is not convenient at all for her to continuously retrieve and put the poison back."

    Zixu pointed at her box with a turn of his wrist.

    "So, whatever is in there will not be poison."

    Yujia''s eyebrows rose. "Would you bet money on it?"

    The corners of his lips turned up as Zixu replied, "Sure. I wouldn''t tell you these theories if I wasn''t the slightest bit confident. You want to bet money, Junior Sister?"

    Yujia quickly laughed, shaking her head. "No, no, how could a junior sister gamble with her Senior Brother?"

    On the inside, she thought that whoever would be willing to bet money with Yu Zixu on theories that he came up with had to be insane. Judging by the Zixu she knew, he always said things with the risks calculated. If someone tried to bet with him, then there would be a high chance that they would be on the losing side every time.

    And Yujia didn''t want to become a broke, sad child yet.

    "If not poison," she mused to herself, "what could it be? And who could be the true culprit?"

    Zixu had an answer already prepared, saying, "There could be the chance that whoever it was already disposed of the poison now that you are gone from the household. It would be foolish for them to keep holding onto incriminating evidence like that, unless they had another purpose."

    "True," Yujia agreed.

    "It could also be the one individual you did not search¡ª the Yang Family''s First Miss."

    "Qingxia?" Yuija bit the inside of her cheek. "I didn''t think that Qingxia was probable."

    "You haven''t searched her room, however," Zixu reasoned, "so anything could be possible."

    "True," she said again. While gathering her hair back to a bun, Yujia suddenly thought of and asked, "So, I went under the bed because a servant entered the room. What happened? Wasn''t that servant in the main room, a part of the meeting?"

    "Ah." Zixu glanced up, thinking while he spoke, "A mishap occurred. But nothing too dangerous, since you managed to get through it all, right?"

    "I suppose."

    That was when the carriage stopped, arriving at the Yu Villa''s front doors. The driver hopped off, and from inside the carriage, Yujia could hear the noise of his preparation so that Zixu had a platform to walk off of.

    Zixu, standing up and giving her a smile, suggested, "I''ll tell the driver to give you a ride back to Lingxin."

    "Alright. Thank you," Yujia stood up too, folding her hands and bowing. "See you next time, Senior Brother."

    "Certainly, Junior Sister."

    ¡­

    Zixu left the carriage, one hand behind his back as he walked briskly into the villa. He kept a straight, blank face as he passed through the various courtyards and walkways to get to his courtyard.

    The moment he stepped foot into his courtyard, however, a shade of red spread across his complexion. He froze in his steps, staring blankly at nothing.

    His hand reached up to run through his hair. His eyes squeezed shut.

    The scene flashed back in his mind¡ª her, falling over him. His hands pushed up against the warmth of her shoulders. Her eyes, staring back into his, and all the angles and details of her face, pressed into his memory.

    "Ah, Yu Zixu, you are an idiot," he muttered. "An absolute idiot."

 Chapter 192 - The Artist Snatches Good Food

    When Yujia returned to Lingxin, she immediately headed to the kitchens, a small, tucked-away area that one could only walk to after many twists and turns.

    She stepped in, and Lingxin''s main chef, Chef Hong, gave her a bright grin. Chef Hong was a wide woman who always had a messy appearance, her workstation being just as messy as well. Flour dusted over her rolled up sleeves and apron. Her hair was perhaps the only neat part, with it pulled back by a piece of cloth. She always greeted Yujia with a smile and a welcoming attitude, so during the brief visits where Yujia ran into Chef Hong, she developed quite a positive opinion on this woman.

    Plus, the food that Chef Hong cooked was just too good. She specialized in all different kinds of methods in cooking meat, and who could say no to well-roasted duck?

    Yujia stood in front of Chef Hong, making sure to not bow, and to only provide a curt nod. Last time she bowed, Chef Hong almost reprimanded her, telling Yujia that she never was one for too much etiquette. She preferred it when people were straightforward.

    "What are you here for, girlie?" Chef Hong asked, dicing some greens as she spoke. She didn''t even have to look down at her board as she cut, her attention seemingly focused on Yujia. "Hungry again?"

    Yujia put on a sheepish smile. During the days she spent at Lingxin, she did sneak to the kitchens once or twice to grab a quick snack. That was how she met Chef Hong before.

    "No, not just because I''m hungry." She pulled out the box she managed to obtain. "I just wanted to ask if Chef Hong knows what kind of metal this is?"

    When she observed the metal of the box, she thought of the kitchen knives and the metal used to make those blades. That was what inspired her to go look for Chef Hong to find help.

    Chef Hong slammed the knife she had in her hand down on the board, snatching the box from Yujia and turning it in the air.

    "This metal isn''t like anything I''ve seen before. Why ask me?" she stated after a second of looking.

    "I thought that it resembled the kitchen knives when sharpened, don''t you think?" Yujia proposed, taking the box back. "But I guess not."

    "No, no, it''s too bright and silver." Chef Hong explained, "I wouldn''t be surprised if it was pure silver."

    "Really?" Yujia looked at the box with newfound interest. A whole intricate box made of silver¡­ this box had to cost plenty. If it wasn''t made with ordinary metal¡ª like that used to make the knives¡ª then this would only make the entire case more interesting.

    "There''s one way to test it out." A gleam appeared in Chef Hong''s eyes. "The knife I''m using right now is a good iron knife. Iron is sharper than silver. Let''s hack at it until it breaks."

    A look of horror crossed over Yujia''s face. "Hack at it? What? That¡ª!"

    Chef Hong raised the knife she was chopping at vegetables a few moments ago, spinning it in the air. "Hand me the box. You won''t know until you try!"

    Instinctively, Yujia brought the box closer to herself.

    "Ah¡ª Chef¡ª that''s, really, really¡ª unnecessary¡ª I¡ª"

    Wasn''t this too reckless? Yujia didn''t know what the point would be of hacking at metal with metal! She didn''t know her chemistry well, but at least she was fairly positive that it wouldn''t work. This wasn''t a good, scientific method of testing out silver at all! Plus, she wasn''t sure of the content in the box. What if during Chef Hong''s violence, the contents were broken as well?

    "Didn''t you hear me? Hand me the box!"

    Yujia shoved the box back into her pockets, crossing her arm. "Chef Hong, that''s too dangerous!"

    "You think I''m afraid of danger?" she snorted, "You should''ve seen me in my younger days! I''ve done far more dangerous things than this!"

    Yujia''s eyes widened further. She glanced to the side, then back at Chef Hong, who was now holding her large chopping knife in front of her like a weapon.

    At this moment, the talented chef in front of her looked more like a serial killer than a cook.

    Their eyes met, and a staring competition began without any words. Both gazes were very intense, with one intent on protecting the box, and the other intent on hacking.

    And then, Yujia, who decided that she shouldn''t have even come to find Chef Hong in the first place, suddenly leapt to the side.

    It was time to break off this staring contest anticlimactically! Yujia didn''t want to leave this place with a hacked up box¡ª no, not today!

    She grabbed two hot steamed buns, newly steamed, from an open basket. With food now in her hand, she darted towards the direction of the exit, raising her hand in a wave as she did so.

    "I''ll be going then, Chef! Thanks for your suggestion, but I''ll see you later when I''ve figured out the identity of this metal!"

    She should''ve brought it to a specialist in metals, like a blacksmith or locksmith, in the first place! Why did she even come to the kitchen again? What valuable information did she expect to gain from this?

    Yujia glanced down at the steamed buns in her hand, wondering what the stuffing would be.

    Ah.

    Maybe her sub-consciousness was just hungry, so she went to the kitchens to steal food under the guise of seeking knowledge¡­

    ¡­

    Chef Hong watched the young girl leave, a hearty laugh escaping from her. She set the knife in her hand down.

    It was so fun to mess with youngsters. She never planned to hack at the box in the first place¡ª from what she saw and felt, that metal seemed tougher than silver and possibly even iron, making it a unique type that she certainly had never seen before.

    She wondered what the girl wanted to do with the box, and how she came upon it in the first place. But a second of thought later, she decided that it wasn''t really her business.

    So, she went back to chopping vegetables.

    Chef Hong was a simple woman.

    ¡­

    Returning back to her room, Yujia took the box back out, raising it in the air as she plopped down at a table. She raised it in the air, speaking her thoughts out loud, "Box, oh box, what could you be? What could you have inside of you?"

    A moment of thinking later, Yujia dropped her arms and poured herself a cup of tea. She stuffed a bite of one steamed bun in her mouth, finding the stuffing to be white radish, her favorite.

    As she chewed, still going over the events of this morning in her mind, her eyes automatically trailed over to a statue of two intertwined agate fishes sitting on a windowsill opposite from her.

    It was a gift from Bo Zhizhong from the other day and his gift parade, but thinking about it now, it didn''t particularly match with the general theme of her room. The swirling red agate was too flamboyant in contrast with the more elegant, muted environment of Lingxin.

    What did that servant say about this statue again? Yujia couldn''t remember it too clearly, but didn''t he say that it was an antique passed down for many centuries? The statue must be worth many, many taels.

    Yujia bit her lower lip.

    Right now, the statue was just sitting at her window, collecting dust. It didn''t really do much for her or her room''s aesthetic¡­

    So¡­ wouldn''t it be a good idea to sell it?

    She might as well get a few extra taels out of it.

    ¡­

    Fu Yushang, wandering the markets again, caught his eye on one stall with a very, very familiar vendor woman. The middle-aged woman didn''t look like anything too special, but he remembered her clearly!

    This was the woman who scammed a whole gold tael out of him, just because of that one time Yang Yujia sold the cloak he had given her to this vendor! To buy it back¡ª Yushang couldn''t imagine the idea of others and their grubby hands touching his cloak¡ª he was forced to waste a whole gold tael.

    Yushang''s eyes fixed on this scammer-vendor, his gaze filled with seething hatred.

    Then, his eyes traveled down to the goods she was selling this time around. Something very, very familiar caught his attention: a statue of two red fish.

    Yushang''s eyebrows knitted, his eyes largened, and his jaw dropped down in pure disbelief.

    Wasn''t this the statue gift he gave Yujia just the other day? What was it doing here?

    How could this be¡ª he¡ª this¡ª

    This statue was an antique passed down from emperor to emperor! It was an antique worth hundreds of gold taels, the history behind it simply too valuable to put a price to! No ordinary person would dare to even touch it after being gifted it, much less so carelessly selling it to some vendor on the street!

    But Yujia¡ª!

    Yushang rushed forward in long strides, his veins throbbing and nostrils flared.

    "You!" he exclaimed, picking up the statue, "Where did you get your hands on this?"

    The vendor woman stared back at him, a bright grin spreading across her face, completely contrary to the fuming scowl Yushang wore now. It seemed like she remembered Yushang and his generous payment of a gold tael that she managed to scam the other time.

    She clasped her hands together. "This Noble! How delightful to see you again!"

    "I could not disagree more," he snapped back, waving the statue and repeating his previous question, "Where did you get this?"

    "Oh, some girl sold it to me just a few hours ago," the woman replied cheerfully, "Would Noble like to buy it?"

    Yushang stared at it. It would be wrong of him to just let such a valuable antique slip though into the hands of citizens, wouldn''t it?

    "How much?"

    The vendor tapped her chin, thinking about it, "Five taels."

    "Five taels? So cheap?" Yushang blinked, leaning back.

    "Oh¡ª my mistake for not clarifying," she exclaimed, a fake look of surprise crossing her face as her hand raised up to her mouth, "I meant five gold taels!"

    Yushang stared at her. He blinked again. Once. Twice. Three more times.

    No way! There was no way that he was paying five gold taels¡ª the equivalent of five hundred silver taels¡ª for something that once belonged to him! This woman may have scammed a gold tael out of him last time, but there was no possible way that he was paying another five taels to a scammer like her!

    He would never do so! How shameful would that be? He had at least the most basic amount of pride, didn''t he?

    Thus! No! Way!

    He would not pay that money and fall for this scam!

    ¡­

    A few moments of persuasion and deep thinking later, Yushang walked out of the marketplace with a "new" agate statue and five less gold taels in his pocket.

 Chapter 193 - Daydreams and Drunken Dreams of the Artist

    During the second half of the day, Yujia went seeking for her master.

    She found him working on a painting when she arrived. This immediately drew her attention while she silently walked forward, bowed, and took a quick peek. Her master, completely focused on the piece in front of him, didn''t give her more than a glance.

    After a few more moments of bowing, Yujia raised herself, getting a full view of the painting he had beneath his hands. Though part of it was obscured, she could make out the impression of a blurred landscape, with fog rolling between the shadows of figures that could be seen, resembling a land of myths.

    He painted with absolute confidence. At times, in between the broad strokes of his brush, he paused, his eyes closed, as if recalling a memory in his mind. The ink beneath his brush swirled in various shades, layering over each other bit by bit to recreate this memory within his work.

    While he moved his brush, not a word escaping from him, Yujia watched attentively. She had never seen her master dedicate so much attention to painting before. Thinking about it, she had never seen him take out his brush and paint a serious piece either. She trusted his skill from his prestige and a few works of his that she saw in the library.

    This was the first time that she saw him paint an actual painting in person.

    Not wanting to disturb him or to break the near-silence, save for the sound of brush against paper, Yujia helped herself to a seat by the side, her eyes still watching as he painted. He didn''t seem to mind her watching, so she figured that she might stay and observe. It would be a good idea to learn a thing or two from him painting.

    Her master painted in layers upon layers. Each layer added new depth to his work through the depiction of another element¡ª a patch of rolling fog, a mountain peeking behind a blanket of clouds, a pagoda nestled between crooked branches¡­

    As time ticked on, Yujia took this as a chance to go through the list of painting principles. She spent the past few days studying them. By this point, they were ingrained in her mind well enough that she could probably recite all six of them in her sleep.

    Her deal with her master was that at the end of a week, she would have plenty of plum-blossom studies and the Six Principles memorized. With just a few more sketches and paintings completed, she would be done. By then, as an incentive, her master had promised her a story and an answer to the questions Yujia had about the courtyard she resided in. She looked forward to finding this out.

    So many mysteries existed in her life. Especially with how demoralizing her investigation earlier this morning went, Yujia wanted to get some easy answers soon.

    When Yujia thought more about it, she quickly pushed down all the discouragement building up within her. She shouldn''t be so easily crestfallen¡ª there was plenty of time for her to figure out the truth in the future. Just because the plan of investigating for clues didn''t work this time, it didn''t mean that she couldn''t try out other plans later. She had all the time she needed.

    Besides, sometimes, no news was good news.

    These ideas made her feel a lot better about herself. And following that, her thought process traveled from the idea of investigating the Yang Villa to Yu Zixu.

    From the way that she had lost her balance in the carriage, to the way that¡­

    Yujia blinked rapidly. Her cheeks were heating up again.

    She tore her eyes away from the painting, then cupped her hands around her cheeks.

    What was she doing with her life?

    Yujia stared blankly at the open space in front of her for an extended moment.

    Her master seemed to notice this, for at this second, he finally straightened his back hunched over his work.

    "What are you thinking about, kid?" he asked. While he did so, he switched out a wide brush for a thin one made for detailing.

    Yujia blinked, tearing her eyes off of the blankness. She dropped her hands and put on an embarrassed grin, standing up to properly answer him.

    "Nothing, Master. I was just daydreaming."

    He snorted in response. "Daydreaming¡­"

    "What? Is there anything wrong with that?" Yujia hummed, twisting her head to get a better view of the painting. She was staring at it backwards all this time, and she was truly curious to see how it would look from the right side. "What is Master painting?"

    This seemed to be the question that her master was waiting for her to ask. Setting the brush he just picked up on the table, her master waved both of his hands through the air in a grandeur sweep. Freezing in place right at a dramatic pose, he exclaimed, "I had a dream of walking amongst immortals! The deities brought me through their palaces, pagodas, and mountains. I drank the sweetest wine and bit the ripest fruit. And then¡­ and then¡­"

    "And then?" Yujia prodded in anticipation.

    "And then¡­ I woke up."

    Ah. Waking up after such a marvelous description¡ª Yujia could almost imagine the disappointment across her master''s face when he realized that everything he experienced was but a dream.

    At this thought, Yujia was unable to hold back a giggle. "That sounds more like a drunken dream than anything, to me."

    "Indeed!" Her master took no offense to her words, only agreeing more, "I shall call this painting, when I am complete, A Drunken Dream Amongst Immortals. I could not even bear to wake up from it."

    "How wonderful," Yujia hummed again, a light smile spreading across her lips.

    Without another word, sudden inspiration striking him again, her master picked up his brush. Ink splashed across the page once more, the droplets morphing and shaping into more details with the twists of his wrist: a cup of wine turned over, a tree''s shadow looming over the pagoda, a circle of sunlight in the distance¡­

    Yujia carefully observed all of this. A subconscious sigh escaped from her.

    A mountain range in the land of deities. A jug of wine and endless painting to spend her days. A blanket of fog to cover over her when night fell.

    This eternal drunken dream amongst immortals¡ª surely, she would not wish to wake up from such a wondrous illusion either.

 Chapter 194 - The Artist Becomes a Chef

    When her master was finished with his painting a little more than an hour later, Yujia had a few conversations with him about the usual topics.

    She then left his courtyard, preparing to head back to her own to practice some more. That was when she ran into her senior brother, Ye Yunhe.

    "Senior Brother!" she called out with a wave.

    Yunhe, who was a few steps ahead of her, turned around. With his hands full, carrying a scroll, he didn''t have the ability to properly bow to her. Instead, he greeted her with a nod, saying, "I was just going to go look for you."

    Yujia caught up to him in a couple of strides. "You were? What for?"

    "Oh¡ª this," he answered, tapping the scroll he carried, "I was going to ask you the other day to critique my work after you were done with what master wanted you for. But then that¡­ Noble Bo threw me off and I forgot."

    Her mind reflected back to Zhizhong and Yunhe''s first encounter just yesterday. They seemed to have some sort of enmity when they first met, but during the time that she went to talk with her master, who summoned her, they seemed to have made up.

    "What did you paint?" Yujia asked while the two of them continued walking towards her courtyard. It seemed like a fairly large painting, considering that the scroll was as tall as half a person.

    "Remember how last time, I painted¡ª well¡ª Lingxin Pavilion¡­ and you called it as worthless as a sheet of blank paper?"

    An awkward laugh escaped Yujia. "About that¡­ I may have been too harsh on Senior Brother."

    "No, you were honest," he replied, "Even Master agreed with you on that. I tried improving a lot since then, especially focusing on Spirit Resonance. If I''m going to be honest with you, I''m a bit scared to bring the painting to go find Master¡­"

    "So you would like me to critique it first?" She finished his sentence for him.

    "Yes." Yunhe scratched the back of his neck.

    They arrived at the front of her courtyard. Yujia went to a stone table that was a recent addition to the courtyard. It was located in front of the plum tree, where she had previously placed a wooden table to give her a space to study the plum. Yunhe was the one who saw the wooden table outside, and how it was inconvenient to have to move it inside and outside all the time, especially since that was the same wooden table which she ate her meals at. That was when he ordered a stone table to permanently sit where it was at, and since then, Yujia had been painting and sketching on it.

    The table was all cluttered with art supplies, which Yujia pushed to the side to make room for the scroll. A few pencils fell off the edge of the table and rolled to the edge of the tree, making Yujia have to go pick those up as well.

    Seeing all this when Yunhe was right next to her, Yujia realized how disorganized and messy she was. She needed to have a better system of organization going on.

    For now, however, pushing aside all the supplies would have to suffice.

    Yunhe loosened a dark silk ribbon he tied around the scroll, rolling out on the table. The moment Yujia set her eyes on it, she realized that by all means, her senior brother had improved since the last time he showed her.

    With it still being spring, the lotus flowers had not bloomed yet, but the leaves had grown taller above the water. Instead of last time, where Yunhe tried to capture a scene of the pavilion close to evening, he settled with a morning time frame.

    The time of day changed the mood of the painting immediately. While back then, it was more sullen and dull despite the sunset, the scene of the early morning within the painting brought a refreshing element to the painting. Yujia could recall the mornings she spent in Lingxin Pavilion, the cool breeze that rustled through, and drops of dew still dotting the lotus leaves.

    Yunhe refrained from using color, instead settling with soft shades of gray and white. This deliberate choice emphasized the delicate mood of the painting even more, differing with the darker shades he used before. It took away from any chaos that could rise from the contrast of shades and colors, adding a calm serenity to the painting.

    The energy that rose up from the painting¡­ Surely, this must be Spirit Resonance?

    Yujia gave these thoughts and encouragement to her Senor Brother. She didn''t think she was all that qualified to give serious critique yet on too many elements, so she used her encouragement as a way to boost the confidence of Yunhe, until he was willing to go face their master and get critique from someone who had been painting in this style and time period for decades.

    At the end, though, Yujia added a silly remark. "Master will probably say something along the lines of, ''Your painting is set in the morning! I don''t like mornings! This is a bad painting!'', don''t you think?" she laughed.

    Yunhe grinned widely. "I hope not. But¡­ I can oddly see him saying that."

    "Don''t worry though," she assured, "I think it''s a definite improvement since the last time. Master will like it."

    "Thank you, Junior Sister," he gratefully responded.

    "No problem." Her eyes suddenly lit up, remembering something, "Oh, Senior Brother!"

    "Yes?"

    "I have a question¡­ say someone does a lot of favors for me. And I need to repay them in some way, but I''m not sure how¡­ They already have everything that I could possibly give as a gift. I don''t think that they lack anything, at all. What could I do?"

    Yunhe''s eyebrows raised slowly. "Is it a man?"

    Yujia nodded.

    "Then, you should devote your life to him and get married¡ª"

    "Senior Brother!" Yujia exclaimed with indignation, staring at Yunhe with pure horror.

    She asked Yunhe this question since she felt like she owed Yu Zixu too much. He saved her life and helped her out on so many occasions, yet she was never capable of paying him back. This sort of inability added on a layer of guilt to her heart whenever she thought about it.

    But to devote her life to Zixu¡ª

    No! Just no!

    "What?" Yunhe asked, his hands folded and a teasing smile on his lips, "Isn''t that a natural answer to things? When a man helps out a woman a lot, perhaps giving her things or saving her life, it is natural for the girl to devote her life to him¡ª"

    "Well, for starters, I don''t see him in a romantic manner!"

    Yunhe blinked. "Oh." He cupped his chin with one hand, thinking for a moment. "Then, you should cook some good food for him, as a gift. Who doesn''t like good food?"

    At this, Yujia actually paused.

    Indeed¡ª Zixu had all the money and precious treasures he could need. On the other hand, food was something people always needed and wanted. You couldn''t live without it. And though Zixu may not be a foodie like her, he would appreciate eating something decent, right? At least, her gift would be sincere.

    Maybe it was time to become¡­ Chef Yang?

 Chapter 195 - Can the Artist Cook?

    There were a few issues with Yunhe''s suggestion.

    For one thing, Yujia didn''t know how to cook very well. She could manageably cook some basic dishes, like frying rice, or boiling water for instant noodles. Everything else ventured into more complex territory, and she had never tried too many of those things out. The last time she cooked seriously was when Hui''er taught her how to make red bean pastries, and she was positive that at this point, she forgot every step of it.

    Second, Yujia didn''t quite know what Yu Zixu liked to eat. She saw him buy pastries before. It was on that day where she almost drowned. Though then again, she recalled that Zixu had commented that the pastries were for his younger brother, Yu Ziyang. He denied all claims that he had a sweet tooth. So what did he like to eat?

    Third, she felt like cooking for someone might be an easy action that others could perceive in the wrong manner. She didn''t feel like there was anything romantic going on between her and Zixu, and honestly, she wasn''t all that bothered by that. What she wanted was to repay him and to keep their friendship, without Zixu or any outsiders getting the wrong impression.

    That was how after voicing her thoughts with her senior brother, Yujia came to this conclusion: she would make Zixu a little bit of everything. At the same time, she would also make a decent amount of everything so that she could feed all of her other senior brothers. This would make it seem like she was cooking for a crowd, and not just Zixu specifically. To make it special, she would just add in a little more effort for what she would give him.

    At the very least, this dealt with the entire reputation and rumors issue.

    Considering the enormous workload Yujia just accepted for herself, she decided to begin tomorrow morning. There were not many hours of daylight left today anyways.

    ¡­

    The next day, early in the morning, Yujia pulled her hair in a bun, dressed herself in simple cotton robes, rolled up her sleeves, and marched to the kitchen.

    Today was the day that she would become Chef Yang! She didn''t feel like she had too much of an affinity with cooking in the past, but perhaps this was the time where she would realize her ulterior love for cooking.

    Chef Hong, quite the early-waker as well, saw her. She stopped kneading a slab of dough beneath her hand and remarked, "Could you really be hungry so early on in the morning, girlie? I don''t even have anything prepared yet."

    Truthfully, Yujia didn''t take any surprise that the first response Chef Hong had was to assume that Yujia was here for food. She didn''t blame the woman. Nevertheless, Yujia shook her head swiftly, responding, "I''m not here to eat today!"

    "Then, you got another box you want me to chop?" Chef Hong referenced yesterday.

    "No, no, no¡ª" Yujia continued shaking her head. She arrived in front of Chef Hong, placing her two hands on the table. "I want to learn how to cook!"

    "Ah!" The middle-aged woman''s two eyes lit up, "Is that so? I have never met a single disciple interested in cooking before. Most of you all just like to paint, and paint, and paint. All those refined little things."

    "Well, you have only met Yunhe and a few other disciples. How could you assume so quickly that I am like them? Besides, you''ve seen how much I like food¡­" Yujia''s voice trailed off.

    She liked eating food. She wasn''t sure how much she liked cooking.

    But that didn''t matter.

    Chef Hong grinned wider, clapping Yujia''s back. "I see the passion in you! All great chefs share a love for food!" She glanced around the kitchen, at her own workspace, then asked, "What do you want to learn today? I have some time in the morning to teach you anything quick and easy."

    Quick and easy?

    She lowkey wanted to make an entire feast here. Could that possibly be "quick and easy" in any way, shape, or form?

    Yujia bit her bottom lip.

    "About that¡­ I might not want to just learn one dish. Perhaps¡­ you could teach me how to cook a few dishes that could feed¡­ all of the disciples¡­ in Lingxin¡­?"

    As she spoke, she realized that she was coming from a rather ridiculous perspective. It would be fairly simple for a seasoned chef like Chef Hong to whip up enough food to feed a whole crowd in a day. On the other hand, Yujia, as a beginner¡­

    On the other hand, Yujia supposed that though impossible as this challenge seemed, it would be a good idea for her to challenge herself occasionally. Besides, she had most of a day to do everything as well, considering that she planned ahead and painted extra the day before to get her plum blossom studies for today complete.

    Thus, she stuck with her request, repeating it with more confidence this time, "Could Chef Hong teach me how to do so?"

    Chef Hong stared at Yujia. "You''re being serious right now, girlie?"

    "Of course. Why would I joke about this?"

    "Then¡­" she spoke with hesitation.

    Yujia''s flattery-mode automatically turned on. She put on a big smile, praising, "With Chef Hong, such a talented, skilled, and amazing cook, even a beginner like me will succeed, right? After all, everything cooked and overseen by the renowned Chef Hong can not turn out poorly!"

    This had to work. Chef Hong had to be one to like flattery. Who didn''t?

    Yujia predicted correctly. A snort and a laugh later, Chef Hong gave her a nod and relented, "You have a point. Alright, girlie, I''ll teach you."

 Chapter 196 - Manual Labor and the Artist

    Yujia settled on making two things: salty steamed buns and sweet steamed buns. Within the salty steamed buns, there would be a meat filling, while in the sweet buns, it would be a black sesame filling.

    The reason why she settled on making steamed buns came from the fact that she had some basic experience making them before. In college, during one new year''s celebration, she had assisted her roommates in creating some. Though she barely remembered what the steps were, she definitely had a general idea of how steamed buns, such a staple food, were created.

    Besides that reason, Chef Hong, whose hometown was in the north, knew how to make steamed buns very well. Yujia ate some radish ones just yesterday. The guidance that she could receive from someone who made steamed buns weekly would definitely be superior than if she asked Chef Hong to teach her a dish that the chef didn''t know well.

    At least to Yujia, steamed buns were also one of the quicker, easier food items to make. One only had to make a dough and filling, and then fold the buns properly. After that, throwing them in a steam basket would finish it off. Altogether, compared to other dishes, this choice would be the easiest.

    Chef Hong even revealed that the dough she was kneading when Yujia walked in was dough that she prepared for making steamed buns today.

    With all of these reasons, Yujia came to the conclusion that steamed buns were the way to go.

    Hearing her final decision, Chef Hong remarked, "Then today, you shall be my assistant."

    "Sure." Yujia nodded. "Sounds good. Works for me."

    Staring at her, a sudden smile creeped onto Chef Hong''s face, as she spoke with a peculiar tone, "You better not regret it."

    "Regret?" Yujia froze. "Why regret?"

    "Oh¡­ you''ll see."

    Without giving Yujia a proper answer, the chef quickly began. She started off by moving the dough she kneaded before to the side. Then, she yelled in the direction of one of the doors, "Ay, Old Wu!"

    In a few seconds, a skinny man who Yujia had seen once or twice, carrying an ax over his shoulder, leaned in from the doorway. The rhythmic sound of chopping wood, which Yujia treated as background noise all this time, paused. This man, though as skinny as a twig, didn''t look all that old, but rather about the same age as Chef Hong. He walked with a bit of a limp.

    "What you need, Great Chef Hong?" he asked lazily, dragging his eyes from Chef Hong to Yujia and then back to the chef.

    "Go slaughter a pig for me," she ordered, "We''re making pork buns today!"

    "Pork buns? I thought you were making sweet buns for breakfast¡­" Old Wu responded.

    Chef Hong''s face scrunched up, and she waved her hand dismissively. "Change of plans. We''re doing both. Now hurry; go slaughter that pig, quick!"

    "Alright, alright," Old Wu turned and slowly wobbled off, in what Yujia presumed was the direction of the pig pen.

    Chef Hong turned back to Yujia, nodding her head to the right of Yujia. "Go fetch me the flour sack, then get a bucket of water from the well."

    She then went under her station to get two large bowls and some other ingredients.

    Yujia obediently went to where Chef Hong directed her too, finding a few large hemp sacks in that corner. She opened one of them, and the sight of flour greeted her eyes.

    Retying the top of the sack, Yujia wrapped both of her arms around it, attempting to carry it back over to Chef Hong''s station, a couple steps away.

    But she couldn''t lift it up.

    Yujia''s eyebrows tightened, her eyes glaring down at the sack.

    Ah. This was pathetic.

    To be unable to lift a single sack of flour¡­

    Perhaps in her old life, she might be able to. But the Fourth Miss''s body was still frail, and she truly couldn''t muster up the strength to lift this entire bag of flour no matter how hard she tried.

    Yujia''s fingers curled up. She stopped her attempt at lifting the bag, opting for dragging it across the room.

    This, too, took way too much effort than it was supposed to.

    Seeing this, a young woman rushed to her, placing her hands on the sack that Yujia was dragging. "Do you need help with this?" she asked with a kind voice.

    Yujia looked up, putting on a smile. She recognized this individual as well. Though she didn''t know the name of the girl, who looked to be in her mid-twenties, she had seen her a few times in the kitchens. She usually worked with Chef Hong.

    Did she need help? Of course she did.

    Before she could answer anything though, the loud voice of Chef Hong interrupted from behind them, "Lili, don''t you dare lend her a hand! She better drag it here all by herself."

    "Auntie, why?" The young woman, Lili, raised her eyes up, countering.

    Yujia turned around as well. Indeed¡ª why, Chef Hong, why?

    "I''ve long thought that this little disciple girlie has no muscles. If she wants to learn from such a great chef as me, then she better work for it."

    Yujia''s mouth dropped into a gape. This logic¡­

    But okay. Manual labor was manual labor. She might as well get it over with.

    Turning back to Lili, Yujia gratefully said, "Thank you. But I guess I''ll have to drag this myself."

    Lili loosened her hands. "Alright then."

    Yujia tried to motivate herself with the idea that perhaps through dragging flour around, she could build those muscles that Chef Hong spoke about. It was definitely crucial to strengthen the body she had right now, which couldn''t even run a few steps before going completely out of breath.

    A few moments of intense dragging later, Yujia finally dumped the sack of flour at Chef Hong''s counter. In an easy sweep, Chef Hong grabbed the sack from her, pulling it up to the counter effortlessly.

    Yujia stared at the chef''s strong arms, then back at her own weak twigs.

    Ah. Life seemed a bit unfair at times.

    Chef Hong noticed her staring, then waved her hand. "What are you staring at? Go fetch that bucket of water for me. Do you want this dough made or not?"

    Yujia wiped at the sweat beading at her head and wordlessly went off in the direction of the well.

    Only five minutes in, and she was already exhausted.

    But it was okay! Yujia attempted to cheer herself up with the idea that this was a workout. She would be fine. She was just building muscles, and learning how to make steamed buns as she did so.

    It wasn''t manual labor! It was a workout!

    Positive thinking! That was the way to go.

    ¡­

    "Got that bucket of water? Now go, fetch me some eggs."

    "Did Old Wu finish butchering that pig yet? Go check and grab that pig back for me if he''s done. It might be the weight of four sacks of flour, but I believe that you can do it."

    "Hm, we might need another bucket of water. Fetch that for me, will you?"

    "Chop this pork for me. The knife might be a bit heavy, but heavy knives do the trick, no?"

    "Go dig for ginger, scallion, and cabbage once you''re done with that chopping. Why are you the one doing it? Because I''m an old woman; having my back hunched over for half an hour won''t be any good. You''re a young little girl; what are you complaining about?"

    "This fire is running a bit low. Does Old Wu have any more wood? No? Well, that''s a surprise. Maybe you should try chopping some yourself. If there''s no fire, there''s no steamed buns."

    "Ah, we might need water again. Get two buckets this time?"

    ¡­

    By the end of the day, or around late noon, Yujia had done as much manual labor¡ª no, she was not considering it as a workout anymore¡ª as she could possibly do.

    She finally comprehended what Chef Hong meant by "regret".

    All along, by assistant, Chef Hong meant "manual laborer". If Yujia wasn''t nineteen physically, she could possibly even consider this child labor! Screw all of that positive thinking.

    Her limbs were sore, her back was sore, and she was sweating all throughout. The rising heat of the day didn''t seem to help either.

    It didn''t help that the Fourth Miss had such a weak body with absolutely zero muscles. It didn''t help that no one was allowed to lend a single hand without Chef Hong yelling at them to stop. None of this helped.

    But in between those moments of physical labor, she had worked on folding the steamed buns to have the perfect shape. She had done a bit of actual cooking, like kneading the dough, chopping the ingredients, and shaping the buns. The proudest thing that she had done was shaping and folding the steamed buns to have their classic shape. She had done most of the work in that step after learning how to fold them with Chef Hong.

    She poured as much effort as she possibly could.

    And she had to admit that she did learn. She learned a lot more by being part of the entire process of making steamed buns from scratch¡ª from getting the ingredients fresh from the source, fetching everything by hand¡ª than she would ever if she was just handed some premade filling and dough.

    As much as Yujia hated to admit it, she could see why Chef Hong made her do all the things she had to do. It wasn''t manual labor, nor was it a workout. It was just a part of the process.

    So when Yujia lifted that bamboo basket lid, greeting her eyes with a perfect sight¡ª curls of steam rising off of cream-colored buns¡ª she couldn''t stop an exhausted but proud smile from spreading across her lips.

 Chapter 197 - The Artist Tastes the Food

    Yujia uncovered the layers of the bamboo basket one by one.

    The first layer was the best layer, by far. It was the most recent layer that Yujia had made. In other words, it was the layer which came as a result of practice folding countless other buns. These were the most refined ones.

    As the layers in the basket traveled down, the quality of the steamed buns¡ª or at least, the physical appearance of them¡ª were far inferior to the steamed buns at the topmost layer. Yujia almost couldn''t even stand to look at the few steamed buns in the last layer. They were ugly little things, made when she barely had any idea how to fold pretty steamed buns.

    Some of them were overstuffed. Some of them were pinched strangely. Some of them had messy folds in the dough. Some of them were even deflated. Something wrong must''ve happened during the cooking process for the bread part of the steamed bun to fall flat like that.

    Yujia frowned as she poked at the ones at the bottom layer.

    She was definitely not going to feed these to Yu Zixu.

    Altogether, Yujia had created two large baskets of steamed buns under the guidance of Chef Hong. Each layer had fifteen buns, and each basket consisted of three stacked layers. Yujia created ninety steamed buns in total. Considering that perhaps she would save six buns for Yu Zixu, eat two buns herself, and give a few to Chef Hong¡­

    She figured that she would have enough to give every disciple two buns, one salty and one sweet. She made plenty of them, and she might even have extras at the end of the day. Yujia didn''t believe that she had more than thirty senior brothers overall.

    Carefully, with a pair of chopsticks, she nudged six of the prettiest steamed buns into a corner of the basket, dividing them from the rest of the buns. She had told Chef Hong exactly who she was actually cooking for during the time she spent in the kitchen, so the chef knew that these steamed buns were left for Yu Zixu without her needing to tell the other.

    When Zixu came to eat the steamed buns amongst the rest of the disciples, Yujia would specially give him the best ones out of all of them. That, she supposed, was what made the gift personal, right? Besides, everyone else had two, but if he liked the steamed buns she made so bad, he could have triple the amount that normal disciples could have.

    Yujia decided to herself that her method of repayment seemed to work out well. She capped the lid to the basket once she finished her observations and divisions, trapping the heat within. It would be bad if the steamed buns became cold by the time that Zixu ate them, especially since they were best served warm.

    And now, finally, the moment she had been waiting for¡ª

    Yujia could get a taste of her own handiwork.

    She picked one of the average-looking salty steamed buns, nearly burning her fingers as she broke it in half to see the cross-section. Then, she took a big bite.

    Her eyes widened.

    She didn''t know if it was because of her hard work that she put into it, or the anticipation that she had for these steamed buns, but she was certainly not underwhelmed.

    They were delicious.

    The bread part of the bun was light and fluffy, a wonderful texture to bite into. It was neither too soft nor too chewy, and when one chewed it enough, a natural sweetness came from the bread. The meat filling paired perfectly with it. Seasoned perfectly, the combination of ground pork, ginger, scallion, and lettuce made for a simple but fulfilling taste. Yujia probably couldn''t fit a whole basket of these steamed buns in her stomach, but after tasting this one steamed bun, she somewhat wanted to try.

    Quickly enough, she finished that steamed bun, then moved on to the one with sweet filling. Once more, the bread did not fail to amaze her, but she was further impressed by the filling. Composed of a black sesame paste, the sweetness brought a smile to Yujia''s face when she bit down. The delicate aroma of the sesame paired well with the sugar that she used in creating the paste filling. Furthermore, the contrast between the white bread and the black filling made it visually pleasing to look at.

    She scarfed this one down as well. Considering that she barely had anything for lunch¡ª Chef Hong gave her less than ten minutes for a break¡ª Yujia was almost starving at this point. The two steamed buns filled her up, but she still wanted to eat more.

    She glanced over to the side at Chef Hong, who sampled a salty steamed bun. Chef Hong took a few bites, then nodded with appreciation.

    "You did well."

    That was all Yujia needed to hear. She wanted to cry.

    All of that work¡ª from chopping that gigantic pig up to make the pork filling, to carrying those buckets of water back and forth, to digging up ingredients and folding her buns¡ª finally paid off. She had two full baskets of wonderful steamed buns and praise from a master at cooking.

    Seeing that her eyes were watering up, Chef Hong quickly snapped, "You''re crying now? Girlie, I didn''t tell you this to make you cry! What are you crying for? Stop! Stop right now!"

    Upon hearing this, Yujia, who managed to hold the tears back before, couldn''t stop the tears from flowing out now. "I''m¡ª just¡ª so happy¡ª that they turned out well¡ª" she managed to say, "I didn''t¡ª know they would turn out¡ª this¡ª this good?"

    "Huh, you overly emotional kid. Stop making a mess of yourself," the chef scolded, but she couldn''t hold back her smile either.

    Yujia raised her sleeve up and dabbed at her face, grinning like a fool as well despite her watery eyes. "I was going to be fine until you told me to stop crying! Then, I couldn''t stop myself!"

    She waved her hand at Yujia. "Okay, okay. I''ll send these steamed buns out to the disciples at Lingxin Pavilion. You go wash up. You''re¡­ looking like a mess right now."

    "Hm?"

    Yujia looked down at the sleeve she just wiped on her face. There was an ungodly amount of flour on both of her sleeves. She looked down at the basic robes she wore. Similarly, they were all caked with flour. When her hands went up to her hair, she swore that there was flour in there too. Not to mention, Yujia had been sweating all this time.

    Basically, it all came down to one fact: she was definitely a complete mess right now.

    Her expression froze. Surely, she couldn''t go looking for Zixu like this!

    She gave Chef Hong a quick thanks, then ran off to her courtyard.

    ¡­

    Yujia felt ever-so-thankful for the slightly modern-styled bath existing in the bathroom of her courtyard. With the advanced water system that was already built in by the time she arrived, Yujia learned to stop questioning why the bathroom was so technologically advanced and instead chose to take advantage of it. So, by herself, she managed to fill up the large bath and jumped in, quickly getting all of the flour and sweat off of herself while avoiding dipping her hair in the water.

    Without a hair-dryer, it would take forever for her hair to dry once wet. She would have to manually get any of the flour she accidently brushed in there out with a comb or a wet towel, which did make for an inconvenience, but in the end, it was alright.

    Once she was done with bathing herself, she dried herself off and wore the set of Lingxin disciple robes that were provided to her. The custom robes styled by a seamstress just to suit the robes of a female finally came in, allowing Yujia to stop wearing the robes made for the male disciples. The two types of robes were essentially the same, only now that Yujia was given the female one, the entire skirt of the robes flowed more, and there were no pants underneath the layers of the skirt.

    Yujia did slightly miss the ability to wear pants underneath her skirt. She did prefer the one that was meant for male disciples because of this fact. However, with the fact that it was not socially acceptable for her to do so, she had to settle with wearing the female robes. She still kept a set of the male disciple robes in her room though, for any cases where she would need it.

    At the mirror, Yujia spent a moment wondering if she should doll up a bit. She did have a bit of rouge, but Yujia deemed it unnecessary to put anything on her face. This was Yu Zixu she was seeing. She didn''t need to dress up for him¡­ did she?

    She just needed to look clean.

    So Yujia settled with ignoring the idea of rouge. She cleaned her hair of the flour that she got in there, tucked the now-clean strands into a simple hairstyle, checked herself for any other accidental flour left on her in the mirror one last time, before running back to Lingxin Pavilion. She wanted to hear from her senior brothers what they thought of her cooking, and to hopefully find Zixu as well.

    ¡­

    It was an ordinary day for the Lingxin disciples before they heard news that their junior sister made free steamed buns for them. When that news traveled to them, it created a stampede of people running to Lingxin Pavilion, all to get a taste of their junior sister''s cooking.

    Word had long spread that there was a new direct disciple of Master Yue, and she was a "mysterious beauty" with an unclear background. The disciples couldn''t care much about this vague background part. They were more interested in getting to know this "mysterious beauty" better.

    Besides, who could say no to free food?

    Thus, when Yujia made it to the pavilion where Chef Hong told her she would send the steamed buns to, she saw a loud crowd of twenty or so people, all jammed into the pavilion and fighting for the steamed buns even though there was plenty enough for them.

    She couldn''t believe the sight in front of her. She had only spent half an hour getting herself ready, so how was it that in this little time, so many people managed to gather at Lingxin Pavilion? Were they all really that hungry?

    For a single moment, they all froze when Yujia stepped near the pavilion.

    And then pure chaos broke out.

    "Junior sister! These steamed buns that you made are super delicious!"

    "Junior sister! They told me I could only have two, but could I have a couple more?"

    "Junior sister! I never knew that you were so good at cooking too? You should do this more often!"

    "Junior sister!""Junior sister!""Junior sister!"

    Yujia stared at the horde of people swarming at her with horror, her hands held up in front of herself. She didn''t expect this. Not at all.

    Then, a clear voice, louder than all of them, yelled out, "JUNIOR SISTER! Did you make these because of me?"

    Yujia turned her head slowly. She made the steamed buns because of Zixu. Yet that was not the voice of Zixu. Zixu wouldn''t be yelling. Zixu''s tone wouldn''t be so energetic.

    So who could it be, hollering like that?

    Yujia''s answer arrived when she came face to face with the young master of the Rong Family, the brother of Rong Tianyu who she saved, Rong Yuan.

 Chapter 198 - An Attempt of the Artist to Find the Young Master

    Yujia stumbled back and into the crowd, a bit taken aback by the sudden appearance of this young master Rong.

    Her impression of him was fairly negative in the past. There was that time where Yunhe told her about Rong Yuan''s background, about how he had numerous concubines at eighteen years old. Though Yujia tried adapting to some of the beliefs in this time period, it still made her somewhat uncomfortable to think of an eighteen year old boy running around and having fun with so many girls. Bo Zhizhong was eighteen as well, but he only had one wife. In comparison to this singular number, Rong Yuan¡­

    Honestly, Yujia could care less about the personal matters of other people, as long as it didn''t bother her.

    Yet that was when Rong Yuan went and tried to court her in a very direct manner, which at the time, made Yujia quite uncomfortable, and definitely involved her in these personal matters. In retrospect, Yujia realized that she may have acted a bit excessively back then when she rejected him¡ª she could''ve been kinder with her words, a bit more patient with her tone¡ª but just his sudden choice of grabbing her wrist in front of the whole wide world distressed Yujia a little too much. That was why she acted so harshly in the past.

    Yujia gave this matter a bit of thought after that wrist-grabbing situation, coming to the conclusion that regardless of what Rong Yuan did in the past, she was willing to set it all behind. She wanted to establish good relationships with all of her fellow disciples, so although she would try to avoid Rong Yuan when she could, she promised herself that she would try to be kinder the next time they had a conversation. It was pointless to start unnecessary conflict or to turn Rong Yuan''s positive impression of her into a negative one, which may harm Yujia in the future.

    Except now, Yujia found it awfully difficult to keep herself polite when Rong Yuan was practically throwing himself at her face.

    It was just¡­ uncomfortable to get her personal space violated so unexpectedly.

    She put a comfortable distance between the two of them while Rong Yuan pressed onwards. The crowd of disciples naturally parted as Yujia stepped back more and more. At least they understood that a decent amount of space should be kept between them and Yujia, especially in a time where contact between men and women were deemed a bit taboo.

    Yujia ended up making her way to the table where the steamed buns were stacked, all the while greeting Rong Yuan and the rest of the disciples in what she presumed was a polite manner.

    Once she bumped the edge of the table, she quickly slipped to the other side of it, putting a solid distance of one table between her and Rong Yuan. It wasn''t much, but it would suffice.

    Yujia leaned back, straightening herself. "Senior Brother Rong," she greeted once more, "hello. Are you here to eat?"

    "Yes!" he nodded eagerly, eyes shining as he replied, "I heard the news from my villa and came here as soon as I could, just to taste Junior Sister''s cooking!" Giving her a slick smile, he added on, "Would it be too much of a stretch to ask if you perhaps cooked these because of me?"

    Yujia didn''t want to lead him on. She gave him a very clear answer that he could not possibly warp.

    "No. I made them for practice, and decided to give them to my senior brothers because I could not possibly eat so much by myself."

    It was a lie, but it would work.

    One of the disciples who Yujia couldn''t remember the name of, called out in between a bite of a steamed bun he held in his left hand, "Junior Sister is such a fairy! To make so many and give them to us is an act of true kindness!"

    A small smile spread across Yujia''s lips. "Hopefully, the steamed buns suit everyone''s taste."

    "Definitely!" another one said, "How could we not like what Junior Sister makes for us?"

    These words were too flattering. All the self-esteem that Yujia had lost during her session of manual labor came piling back on her now that people were complimenting her like so.

    Nevertheless, Yujia shook her head quickly to disperse those thoughts. An inflated ego wouldn''t be a good thing to have.

    Rong Yuan, the prime example of an individual with an ego that extended on towards infinity, jumped in the conversation once more, asking, "Even though I came late, surely Junior Sister still has some left for me to sample?"

    Yujia glanced over at the two baskets. By her side, the one who had distributed everything earlier was Lili, the kitchen-worker who offered to help Yujia earlier. Chef Hong probably sent her to carry the baskets over, and while she was here, she facilitated the distribution of the steamed buns.

    From just a glance, though, many of the layers in the two baskets seemed emptied.

    "Sister Lili," Yujia began, "there are still some left, right?"

    Lili nodded, pulling two empty layers off and gesturing at a few steamed buns left at the bottom. These were the ones that Yujia called ugly earlier¡ª the worst steamed buns of the batch.

    "Here''s all that''s left. The left basket has the pork filling, and the right basket has the sesame filling," Lili explained.

    Yujia took both of the half-empty layers from her, showing it to Rong Yuan. "You can take your pick," she stated.

    Seeing the ugly-looking steamed buns, not at all like the fluffy buns that everyone else had, Rong Yuan''s face morphed into a frown immediately. Yet he knew enough to not complain, observing the steamed buns and searching for the best one of the bunch. His eyes then traveled to the side, where on one layer sat the steamed buns intended for Yu Zixu.

    Of course, not knowing this, he jumped and gestured to those. "Junior Sister, why can''t I have those?"

    Yujia glanced over at the direction he pointed to, realizing what he was referring to.

    The steamed buns meant for Yu Zixu?

    No! He could not possibly eat those.

    Protectively, Yujia grabbed that layer and pulled it away from anywhere within Rong Yuan''s reach, asserting, "Those¡­ I made for my Master," she came up with a lie quickly, "You can''t have those."

    Rong Yuan stared at the perfect steamed buns, stared at her, stared at the deformed steamed buns, then back at her. "So¡­ Junior Sister¡­ I can only eat the ones that look like¡­ that?" He pointed at the deformed ones.

    Yujia nodded. "I had better ones, but I suppose that since you came late, the better ones got eaten already. Next time, you will just have to arrive earlier. These steamed buns will still taste good though. Have a try."

    Unable to think of a response to that, Rong Yuan sighed, reaching forward for two of the distorted steamed buns. He took his share, then gingerly placed it in his mouth, taking a wary bite.

    Seeing his exaggeratedly disappointed actions, Yujia couldn''t help but laugh on the inside. The worst bunch of her steamed buns were a bit ugly, but they weren''t as bad as Rong Yuan made them seem, alright?

    She watched his expression carefully. Even though she couldn''t say that she liked this Young Master Rong, she was curious if the disfigured steamed buns still tasted alright.

    Rong Yuan''s eyes lit up the moment he bit down. He chewed slowly, swallowed his first bite, then looked up at Yujia, a grin on his face. "Junior Sister, these actually don''t taste that bad! They might look a little¡ª well¡ª misshapen, but the taste is still good!"

    "What did I say?" Yujia couldn''t stop her proud smile from surfacing again.

    Ah. It was nice to receive validation, even if it came from Rong Yuan.

    ¡­

    Soon enough, once there were no more steamed buns to pass out, and people weren''t actively trying too hard to pursue Yujia in conversation, Yujia found herself looking through the crowd, searching for any signs of Yu Zixu.

    She looked towards the sides and corners of the pavilion the most. Based on what she knew about Zixu, he didn''t seem like the type who would throw himself in the middle of the group. He tended to stick to the sides.

    Yet despite how hard she looked, Yujia couldn''t quite find him in the pavilion.

    For a moment, Yujia wondered if he was perhaps in his villa, and he didn''t hear the news. Maybe that was why he didn''t come to eat the steamed buns she made. But that didn''t make sense¡ª the Yu Villa was so close to Lingxin Pavilion, and if Rong Yuan in the further away Rong Villa managed to hear news and arrive during this time, then Zixu should''ve found out as well.

    Maybe Zixu was too busy to come eat. Or maybe he didn''t have any interest in tasting Yujia''s cooking. Both seemed like valid reasons.

    Yujia thought for a moment about that.

    If she couldn''t get Zixu to come eat the steamed buns she made in Lingxin Pavilion, then maybe she needed to go and deliver the steamed buns to the Yu Villa herself?

 Chapter 199 - A Lovely Disguise of the Artist

    First things first, Yujia searched around Lingxin for any signs of Yu Zixu.

    She didn''t want to run all the way to the Yu Villa to find that Zixu was in the library this whole time. That would''ve been a waste of energy, and Yujia really just wanted to go to sleep right now. She was extremely tired from all the "cooking" she did in the kitchens. If it weren''t for the fact that she was determined to give her steamed buns to Yu Zixu, she might as well just pass out right now.

    Without much surprise, she didn''t find Zixu anywhere.

    So Yujia moved onto the next step: getting into disguise.

    She decided to disguise herself for primarily two reasons. One, she was practically walking into the place she ran away to avoid. If the Yu Household discovered her existence in the villa, they would surely abduct her and keep her from escaping a second time. Yujia wasn''t dumb enough to risk throwing away her freedom just to deliver some food to Yu Zixu. Two, Yujia also figured that the idea of a young girl visiting Yu Zixu privately would be quite scandalous if word got out. She didn''t want to ruin Zixu''s reputation.

    As a result, Yujia came up with the idea of cross-dressing once more.

    She did it once before. It was when she officially met Yu Zixu for the first time, during the entrance examinations for Lingxin. She had impersonated his younger brother, Yu Ziyang, that time, and the entire event caused her lots of distress and panic.

    Obviously, Yujia wouldn''t assume the identity of Yu Ziyang again this time. That just wasn''t a logical move. Dressing up as a junior brother of Zixu would likely be more suitable. Yujia had all the materials she needed too¡ª makeup for a more masculine look, a set of male disciple robes, and the Lingxin jade pendant. She could definitely pull this off.

    Yujia asked Lili to take the steamed buns for Zixu back to the kitchens temporarily. Meanwhile, she made an excuse to get away from Lingxin Pavilion and retreated to her courtyard, where she began to transform herself into a man.

    She recalled the things she did the first time she underwent this transformation. Yujia grabbed a pair of scissors and some glue. She snipped the tips of her hair off once more, using the hair and glue to thicken her eyebrows. Once she managed to do that, she drew her eyebrows into a more masculine shape to further emphasize masculinity.

    Amongst the few things that she brought from the Yang Villa, there were the makeup materials that she used to make herself seem more like a man, dark rouge included. As she dusted and blended some of this rouge to contour her usually soft features, the actions felt familiar.

    She tied her hair into a top knot like how she had seen students at Lingxin wear, securing it with a simplistic and scholarly white ribbon. Once her hair was all done, she switched into the set of male disciple robes.

    Yujia felt thankful that she didn''t have much of a chest. Because she was so flat, and because the robes had so many layers, she could just throw on her outfit and be good. One couldn''t tell that she had any feminine curves at all. She strung the white jade pendant on her waistband, as usual.

    Taking one look at the mirror now that she finished dressing up in her disguise, Yujia decided that she could pass off as a delicate young master from far away. Up close, under careful scrutinization, the risks of being discovered as a girl doubled. Her identity back then as Yu Ziyang helped since he was supposed to be pale, sickly, and frail, but she didn''t quite have that identity to take on right now.

    She needed something more to reinforce her disguise.

    Yujia''s eyes trailed to the side at the two folding fans that Bo Zhizhong gifted her. She set them on her dressing table before, unsure of what she would do with it, but it seemed like they would come to good use now.

    These folding fans, peculiarly enough, didn''t feel like they belonged in this time period. If Yujia remembered her historical facts well enough from the few times where she went to the museum to look at artifacts, folding fans would become popular later on in history. Currently, the type of fans that should be popular were round fans, not the type that Zhizhong gifted her.

    However, Yujia credited the fact that these folding fans were out of the correct time period because of the alternate dynasty that this universe seemed to have. Surely, because of this change in history, some inventions that appeared currently might not fit with the original timeline of ancient China.

    Yujia picked one of the folding fans¡ª the one with bamboo painted on the white paper¡ª and fanned it out in front of her. Judging by the near-summer weather, the fan would be appropriate, and it also matched the habit of young masters from good families carrying fans around with them. Yujia looked at herself again, deciding that with one hand held behind her back and another hand holding a fan, she did look quite like a young master. She was a bit feminine, but charming enough.

    Her disguise complete, Yujia walked in long strides to the direction of the kitchens, copying and practicing the walking style of Zixu. The entire concept of posture was key in carrying out a good disguise as well, wasn''t it?

 Chapter 200 - The Artistâ€™s Infiltration, 2nd Edition the Yu Villa

    Yujia arrived at the Yu Villa soon enough, a wooden basket in one hand and a folding fan in another. The wooden basket that she held contained two layers, each layer holding a plate with three steamed buns on it. She got it from Chef Hong, who had plenty of these baskets for sending out meals to the various courtyards.

    The front doors to the Yu Villa were closed. Yujia raised her hand with the fan, rapping at the large wooden doors two times. A moment later, a servant dressed in dark blue¡ª which seemed to be the signature servant robe color of the Yu Household¡ª pushed open the doors, taking a look straight at Yujia and observing her robes. His eyes caught on the Lingxin Jade Pendant hanging on her belt.

    He spoke first, "Does this Young Master perhaps need something?"

    Yujia nodded. Coughing and making her voice deeper, she replied, "I''m looking for your First Young Master. I am his junior brother, a disciple of Lingxin Pavilion, and I come on behalf of Noble Ye, who asked me to deliver some steamed buns to your young master. One of the disciples decided to cook for all of the other disciples at Lingxin today, and there were many extras left. We couldn''t figure out how to get rid of them, so we decided to offer them to the other disciples who weren''t here today."

    "I see." The eyes of the servant trailed down to the basket she held. He reached an arm out. "You may hand them to me. I will see them delivered to the young master."

    Yujia stepped back. There was no way she was going to give these steamed buns to the servant. It wasn''t because she didn''t trust the servant, but more of because the entire reasoning she told him wasn''t specific enough. She didn''t want Zixu to just take the steamed buns without knowing that she made them. That destroyed the whole purpose of repaying her "debt".

    "I was told to hand them specifically to Senior Brother Yu. Besides, I have a few things to talk to him about involving Spirit Resonance and Bone Method. He promised to explain to me some of the details of Bone Method, and since I''m already here, it would be a waste to leave without knowing." She threw in a few art terms for good measure.

    The servant paused, thinking for a moment. He stared at the Lingxin jade pendant for a longer moment, then finally relented, "Alright. Young Master may enter."

    He pushed the doors open wider, gestured for Yujia to follow, and led her through the Yu Villa.

    It was Yujia''s first time seeing the inside of the Yu Villa. She found that the gardens and ambience of the villa were quite excellent. In comparison to the more flamboyant and vivid style of the Bo Villa, which she had visited previously, the Yu Villa seemed more tranquil and elegant in the way that it was decorated.

    It suited Yu Zixu''s temperament well. Surely, the environment that he was raised in played a role in the kind of person he was now¡ª serene and sophisticated.

    As she walked through the villa, led by the servant, Yujia admitted that she was a tad bit nervous. She was supposed to be married into this household, after all. But considering that she thought her disguise to be well enough, and that no one except for Yu Zixu had ever seen her face, she wasn''t as nervous as the time that she snuck into the Yang Villa. This time, this infiltration was much less risky, in her opinion. Though being caught would lead to higher consequences, the chances of being caught were miniscule. No one would see someone dressed as a Lingxin disciple walking around in the Yu Villa and think that it was the runaway concubine Fourth Miss. The public didn''t even know that Yang Yujia became a disciple at Lingxin; only those in the art world may have heard about Lingxin Pavilion taking a female disciple.

    Therefore, Yujia relaxed herself, striding in the method that she practiced until she and the servant came to the courtyard of what she presumed to be Yu Zixu''s. In such a wealthy family like the Yu Household, the young masters each had their own courtyard.

    The servant stepped aside, gesturing for Yujia to go ahead. She nodded and left a brief thanks, then stepped foot into his courtyard.

    Zixu lived in a courtyard that was somehow even more quiet and still than the already tranquil Yu Villa. He lived simplistically. A few plants and grasses grew along the edges of his courtyard walls. A stone table sat in the center of the yard, the path under Yujia''s feet splitting into two smaller paths that wrapped around the area of the table. Under the window of one of his rooms grew a small flowering shrub.

    That was about all in his yard¡ª no ancient plum trees, no detailed greenery, and nothing too notable. No servants were in the area, now that the servant who brought Yujia here left.

    The door to his room with the flowering shrub was open. Yujia went there first, leaning in and knocking.

    Yu Zixu sat in there, at a desk, his head tilted down. He was reading intently, so focused that he didn''t even notice Yujia''s approaching footsteps.

    When she knocked, he jolted, but didn''t even look up as he ordered, "Didn''t I say to not disturb me?" He turned a page, then looked up, "What do you¡ª oh." Seeing Yujia standing there, the irritated frown on his face morphed into his usual smile, his tone shifting into a kinder reply almost immediately, "Junior¡­ Brother. I didn''t expect to see you here. Apologies."

    Yujia smiled back. "Am I disturbing you? Should I leave?" she asked.

    Zixu shook his head, waved his hand, and coughed. "No, I thought you were a servant. Come have a seat. What are you here for today, dressed like that?"

    "I made some steamed buns. Had extras. Decided to give them to you," Yujia answered, walking forward to the opposite side of his desk and sitting. "Do you like salty or sweet buns?"

    "If I''m to be honest, I prefer salty ones."

    "Ah. Then good thing I made both." Yujia lifted the lid of the basket, taking out the first layer''s plate. "They''re still somewhat warm. You should try one."

    Zixu took the plate from her, placing it at the top corner of his desk, but he didn''t take one immediately. Instead, he noted, "Thank you, Junior Brother."

    Yujia said in return, "It''s strange to hear you call me Junior Brother. I''m so used to Junior Sister, even though I dressed today as a man for convenience."

    "Is that so? Then¡­ I should continue calling you Junior Sister if you are more comfortable with that."

    At the end of his words, Zixu erupted into a fit of coughs, holding his arm over his mouth.

    Yujia stared at all of this, her eyes fixed on Zixu.

    When she walked in, she noted that Zixu already looked terrible today. His skin was much paler than usual, dark eye circles lining under his eyes, and his lips almost colorless. He moved and answered with more hesitation than his usual, smiling self, who always had an instant, flawless reply to every conversation.

    And now, with the coughs¡­ A few days ago, Yujia remembered that he was coughing on the carriage ride too during her infiltration of the Yang Villa, but they were only a few light coughs that Yujia didn''t think much of. He was fine back then too.

    "Are you alright?" Yujia hesitantly questioned.

    "Me? I''m fine," Zixu dismissively responded, rising up and staggering a step forward, "Though my bad, I should''ve served Junior Sister a cup of tea."

    He walked in the direction of a table to his right. Yujia stood up as well, her eyebrows furrowed. Zixu picked up a teapot and a matching cup, pouring some clear tea into the cup and bringing it to Yujia.

    Yujia accepted it with uncertainty. While her hand brushed over Zixu''s as he handed her the cup, she noticed that his hands were shivering. She noticed that his whole body was shivering.

    It wasn''t cold outside. It was in fact, fairly warm, nearing summer weather. Zixu wore a normal amount of clothes. He should have no logical reason for shivering.

    Unless he had a fever.

    Yujia''s free hand flew up to Zixu''s forehead, the idea of etiquette thrown out of her head, considering that Zixu previously told her etiquette wasn''t all that necessary when the two were alone. Yet his eyes widened, and he immediately flinched back.

    "You''re burning," Yujia exclaimed, the brief touch she had with Zixu''s head enough to tell her the answer. "You have a fever. You''re sick. You''re not fine! What are you doing, studying like that?"

    "What?" Zixu spoke slowly and loudly, as if he couldn''t hear her properly. "You don''t have to worry. I told you before; I''m fine¡ª"

    And then, his gaze slid and he collapsed forward, into Yuija''s arms.

 Chapter 201 - Perhaps, the Artist Murdered Someone?

    At this moment, Yujia straight-up panicked.

    Zixu fell into her very exhausted arms and Yujia almost toppled over with him from the unexpected impact. The steaming cup of tea he just handed her tipped over, spilling all over her right hand, but Yujia didn''t even have time to react. She was too busy trying to keep Zixu propped up.

    "Senior Brother!" she exclaimed, pushing him upwards with both of her hands, trying to shake him as well, "Senior Brother? Zixu? Yu Zixu!"

    He didn''t respond. Yujia''s arms, which were extended upwards, were getting tired almost immediately.

    "You idiot!" Yujia added loudly, "Clearly you''re so sick, so why did you keep denying it?" Her voice dropped to a mutter, "What do you expect me to do now?"

    He still didn''t respond¡ª which, thank God. Yujia probably wouldn''t dare to insult Yu Zixu when he was conscious. She couldn''t imagine calling him an idiot to his face like that. Now was her only chance to do something like this.

    Yujia shook him for another moment, then gave up on trying to wake him. Yujia was now stuck with a very unconscious Zixu.

    She wasn''t quite sure what to do, more panic rising up within her. She couldn''t just let him drop to the floor. If anyone walked in, the unconscious Zixu on the floor would look more like he just died then and there. Yujia didn''t want to come off as a murderer.

    Yujia figured that it would be best to drag Zixu to his bed first. She couldn''t keep him propped up any longer¡ª her arms felt like they were going to fall off¡ª so she might as well throw him on his bed.

    Her eyes scanned across the room, locating his bed, which was thankfully in the same room, only a few meters away.

    She cast a look at Zixu''s face, with his closed eyes and relaxed expression, wondering how she would do this task. She definitely didn''t have the strength to pick him up and lug him over. After all, he was a grown man and she was a frail, sickly, and exhausted weakling. This left her with the option of dragging him.

    "Apologies," Yujia quietly noted for what she was about to do ahead of time, for a reason she wasn''t quite sure of. Zixu couldn''t hear her, obviously. What point was there in apologizing? Nevertheless, she already said it, so she might as well leave her apology be.

    Then, she lowered Zixu onto the floor as gently as she could.

    She walked to the other side where his feet were, raising him by his shoes and rotating his body to face the direction of the bed. Next, Yujia dragged him slowly across the room by pulling him by his feet, trying to summon all the strength that she possibly could and wincing on the inside.

    When she finally reached the bed, Yujia looked behind at Zixu, taking in his completely messed up hair and wincing more. This must''ve been the first time that Zixu was ever dragged across a floor. Yujia felt like a murderer dragging a corpse to bury it somewhere discreet.

    She was ever so thankful that Zixu didn''t wake up halfway through her dragging. That would''ve been embarrassing, to say the least.

    Yujia walked back to the side of his head, propping him up to a sitting position. Then, she fit her arms under his, pulling upwards with all her strength to lift him. Once he was up enough, she pushed him onto the bed.

    It was all so awkward. So, so awkward. Why did humans have to be so awkwardly shaped? All the limbs and body mass made it so difficult to move an unconscious person around. Not to mention, with Yujia being as exhausted as she was from a morning of scurrying around the kitchens, she had practically no energy left. By the time that she got Zixu to his bed, she was sweating terribly again.

    The moment she shoved him onto his bed, things became even worse. Yujia had positioned the angle of the push wrongly, and the moment she pushed him, Zixu''s head smacked soundly on one of the wooden poles holding up the bed.

    "Oh sh*t."

    Yujia flinched back, staring at the sight in front of her.

    Half of Zixu''s body was on the bed. The other half was still slumped over on the floor. The top half that managed to make it on the bed was face-planted down. When Yujia flipped him over with another shove, she noticed that a splotch of red was already appearing on his forehead, clearly a sign of a future bruise. His dark hair was messily tossed over his entire face, and Yujia had to brush it aside in an even sloppier manner to check on his bruise.

    When Yujia stepped back, getting a good look at all of this, she realized that the situation now seemed even more like a murder case.

    Zixu was unconscious. Out of context, he looked dead. Meanwhile, she was standing and staring down at his corpse with a delirious gaze, her eyes so wide that they were about to pop out. Zixu''s hair and clothes were a mess from her act of dragging him across the room, and Yujia''s sleeves were stained with tea, making it look like a scuffle occured. A big bruise was spreading across Zixu''s forehead, seeming like a location of attack.

    Murderer? Yang Yujia.

    Victim? Yu Zixu.

    Weapon? A wooden bed post.

    She started off the morning trying to cook some food for Yu Zixu. Now it looked like she killed him. The irony of the situation was just too good. Despite how exhausted she was, Yujia couldn''t hold back a laugh from escaping her.

    Great. She now seemed like a mentally insane killer, laughing at her victim''s dead body.

    She stopped herself, deciding to move the rest of Zixu onto the bed. She needed to stop focusing on how awkward this situation was. Since it was just her and a fainted Zixu, no one else in the room, at least all of these actions and appearances would not actually matter. No one could possibly judge her.

    If she didn''t make the situation awkward, it wouldn''t be awkward. With no one else here, none of the things that Yujia fretted over quite mattered.

    Yet before Yujia could do anything else, she heard footsteps approaching. She whipped around, hands suspiciously clenched into fists, brows creased, eyes wide.

    It was a servant, carrying a tray with some books stacked atop. Upon entering the room and noticing that his young master wasn''t in his usual spot studying, her turned his head in Yujia''s direction. His eyes took in the scene in front of him.

    He froze. The tray in his hands clattered to the ground.

 Chapter 202 - The Artist is Innocent

    "I didn''t kill him," Yujia blurted out. But then, she realized that the way she worded it made it seem like Zixu was dead¡ª which he definitely wasn''t, or at least she hoped¡ª so she quickly added, "I mean, he''s not even dead. He just¡­ fainted."

    The servant blinked.

    Yuji held her breath.

    Then, the servant let out a sigh, picking up the tray with the papers and setting it on the desk. He walked a few steps towards Yujia, bowing and saying, "It''s alright, Noble. I expected this to happen."

    "Expected?" Yujia tilted her head. "How so?"

    The servant raised himself and answered, "Young Master has been studying so hard for the imperial exams that he hasn''t been really taking care of himself over the past few days. He went missing for an entire day a while back, and ever since then, he has always had a cough. I advised him to go see a physician, but he didn''t listen, saying that it would pass soon. Perhaps because he hasn''t been sleeping or eating well, his condition only worsened."

    Yujia''s eyes slid over to the Zixu on the bed.

    She came to the conclusion that this man definitely was an absolute idiot. Her words back then weren''t wrong. Zixu should''ve gone to see a physician at the very least.

    Yujia understood the importance studying held, but it still didn''t mean that he could not eat, sleep, or get medicine. Yu Zixu should be old enough to know how to take care of himself, instead of the current way he acted.

    The servant hesitantly spoke up after this explanation, asking, "And, apologies but this noble is¡­?"

    "Oh, I''m¡­" Yujia racked her brain for identities to take on, "the young master of the Zhuang Family."

    The Old Master of the Zhuang Household was one of the masters that taught at Lingxin, only a rank below the school head. During her stay at the school, Yujia heard that the Zhuang Household''s young master was a peculiar one who spent most of his time indoors, so he seemed to be a good identity to take on. This servant of Zixu''s should''ve never met this young master.

    Hearing this, the servant bowed again, deeply, "So it''s Noble Zhuang." He gestured at Zixu. "I''ll go fetch a physician."

    "Yes. Go quickly, please," Yujia agreed.

    With another bow, the servant boy scurried off.

    Yujia was left with Zixu, who was still halfway hanging off his bed. She let out a deep sigh, dragging him properly so that he was resting in a normal position. As she grabbed a roll of blankets that were neatly folded by the side, unrolling them and draping a layer over Zixu, she found herself leaning over his face.

    Zixu looked a lot more relaxed with his eyes closed. His chest rose and fell with his breathing. Even though in the past, Zixu always had a calm demeanor, he seemed much calmer now. Something about it just felt less forced, less careful, and more serene.

    He surely fainted because he hadn''t been eating well for the past few days. Yujia knew that it could result in low blood sugar, which was often a cause for fainting. However, the fact that Zixu was still unconscious did worry Yujia a bit. Normally, people didn''t faint for so long, did they? Would he be okay?

    Blankets covering Zixu completely, Yuija straightened herself and helped herself to a seat by the side, waiting for the physician to arrive.

    Zixu should be fine. Yujia calmed herself with the thought that nothing too bad should occur. At most, he just caught a common cold.

    Still, Yujia couldn''t quite shake off her concern.

    She wished that she knew a bit more medical knowledge than the few basics she knew. Usually when she felt a cold coming, she would just take some Ban Len Gen supplements1 and wait for it to pass. Similar to Zixu, she wouldn''t go see a doctor for just this reason, but then again, the times were different. She wouldn''t also be as dumb as Zixu and become sleep deprived or not eat properly. In fact, if she knew that she felt uncomfortable, she might be even more careful with how much sleep or food she was getting. At least Yujia, unlike a certain somebody, knew how to take care of herself.

    Then, a realization hit Yujia.

    What better way could she pay off her debt than through taking care of a sick Zixu?

    Her eyes lit up. This was a wonderful opportunity presented to her!

    Depending on the severity of Zixu''s illness, if Yujia took good care of him, then by the time that he recovered, her debt to him could be considered as mostly paid off, couldn''t it?

    Yujia stood up at this. She walked over to Zixu''s side, placing her hand on his forehead again, her other hand over her own. She didn''t need a thermometer to know that he definitely had a fever.

    She took both of her hands away, getting up to go find a basin and a towel. When she moved away, however, Yujia swore that she saw the flicker of Zixu''s eyelashes, as if he opened his eyes temporarily, then shut them just as quickly, in the corner of her vision.

    "You''re awake?" Yujia stated, straightening herself.

    Zixu didn''t respond.

    She could''ve seen wrong. Yujia turned away, looking for a basin. She eventually found one in the corner of the room, tucked away in the shadows. It was empty, so eventually, Yujia ended up going to the back of Zixu''s courtyard, where she found a bucket of water left there by some servant. She filled the basin with the water, brought it back to the room, and dipped a clean cloth into it.

    Wringing the towel dry, she sat back down to Zixu''s side, placing the towel over his head.

    This should help?

    Yujia stared at Zixu for a few moments, at loss for what else she could possibly do. Her hand, which the hot tea had spilled all over earlier, was becoming quite red and uncomfortable, so Yujia dipped it into the basin on her lap, letting the cool and crisp water soothe her skin. She didn''t think that it was too serious of a burn, but maybe, when the physician came over, she could have him check over this as well.

    Her thoughts trailed away from the burn and back to Zixu. It still seemed inconceivable to Yujia that Zixu was so careless as to allow himself to get sick at such a crucial time in his life.

    That was when the servant boy from before came rushing back with an old-looking physician.

    Swiftly, Yujia stood up and moved aside. She would let the physician¡ª the more certified individual¡ª do his job. And then, the rest of Yujia''s plan consisted of doing her best to take care of Zixu afterwards.

    Surely, she could pay off everything she owed to Zixu this way.

    A common traditional Chinese medicine used to prevent colds, made from the root of the Ban Lan plant (known as woad in English).

 Chapter 203 - The Physician Diagnosed the Artist

    Yu Zixu found a blank space in his memories.

    One second, he was handing tea to his junior sister, and in the next second, he woke up from a moment of darkness, a throbbing pain on his forehead and blankets weighing down on him.

    Zixu''s eyes flew open. He could see something in the midst of his blurry vision, the movement of a hand, perhaps, but he closed his eyes just as quickly. His eyelids felt heavy. Keeping them open took far too much effort.

    There was the noise of shuffling around him. He wondered what this noise was, but he couldn''t bother to focus on it for too long. A wave of drowsiness lazily crashed into him, the idea of sleeping seeming far more appealing than opening his eyes up or even thinking in general.

    A part of him reminded him that he needed to study. Study, study, study. That was all that was on his mind during the past few days. He needed to study to get the top spot during the imperial examinations. He needed to study to get the future he wanted, and the future that he couldn''t get in any other way.

    But he also wanted to sleep.

    The darkness of sleep called out to him, pulling him down. The darkness felt freezing, but the blankets piled atop of him¡ª how did he get covered in blankets?¡ª brought him a bit more warmth.

    It was a struggle between two parts of him, logic and desire, but soon enough, the appeal of sleep won over. For now, at least, he would allow himself these few moments of letting go.

    Zixu sunk deeper into the darkness.

    ¡­

    The physician promptly got to diagnosing Zixu quickly, and Yujia simply watched as he did so. Carefully, the old man took out one of Zixu''s arms from under the blankets and turned it over so that he could take the pulse. Fingers resting on Zixu''s wrist for a few moments, the physician quietly nodded. Then, he turned his attention to Zixu''s face, opening Zixu''s mouth and pulling down his jaw to look at his tongue.

    He observed this for a few more moments. Following that, he made a couple more observations of different things, such as Zixu''s temperature or the color of his lips.

    Finishing with that, the old man stood up, glancing over at the two. His gaze was more directed at the servant as he said, "Don''t worry. Your young master simply caught a cold. It isn''t too serious, but he must get proper treatment now."

    Yujia let out a breath of relief upon hearing that. So she was right with her previous assumptions that Zixu shouldn''t be afflicted with anything too serious. Regardless, it was still nice to hear an official confirmation from someone certified.

    The physician hobbled over to the table where Yujia sat, taking a seat across and pulling out a slip of paper from his medicine box. With a brush, he wrote down the instructions of a prescription, saying as he did so, "It seems like your young master hasn''t been eating or sleeping well, from what I''ve heard earlier, correct?"

    The servant boy replied, "Indeed."

    "When I checked earlier, your young master is sleeping, not fainted. He likely fell asleep after he fainted," the physician continued after receiving this confirmation.

    Yujia blinked.

    Asleep.

    Yu Zixu was asleep.

    She didn''t even realize that. She thought he was still fainted all this time, which was the main cause of her worry since he had been for so long. Who knew that Zixu actually fell asleep? The source of her worry was all nothing in the first place.

    "So, there''s no need to worry about that either," the physician affirmed, "He was likely too sleep deprived, so a moment like this happened. Your young master needs to be more careful from now on. Make sure that he gets plenty of sleep and rest."

    He finished writing the prescription, passing the slip to the servant boy, who gratefully accepted it.

    The physician ended with saying, "Be sure that besides giving him this medicine, have him eat a stable diet as well. This medicine is only for treating the cold and fever. After that, improving his health completely relies on improving his daily habits. You can try giving him some dishes that will improve one''s health. That may help."

    "Thank you, Physician Lai." The servant respectfully bowed in gratitude.

    Nodding and giving a slight bow of his head as well, the physician prepared to leave. "I will go back to my clinic if that is all. This is the extent of what I can do for your young master. Hoping that he will recover quickly."

    "Actually¡ª" Yujia swiftly spoke up, "Physician, while you are still here, I happened to burn myself a bit too with some hot tea earlier. Would it be too much to ask for you to check up on it?"

    The physician looked up, paying actual attention to Yujia for the first time in a while.

    "Oh¡­ of course, Noble."

    Yujia held out her hand across the table. The physician stared at it for a few moments, but didn''t bother touching it or reaching out in any way. In fact, he actually moved himself back a bit, putting more distance between the two.

    He looked up after observation, saying, "It doesn''t seem like any blisters will form, and the skin is only reddish pink, but it will be slightly painful for¡­ Noble over the next few days. Any common burn ointment will do in soothing it, but you must remember to use it often. No scarring should occur."

    Yujia caught on to the hesitation before the word "Noble". She pieced it together with the distancing movement of the physician before, piecing the two together.

    The physician must''ve realized that she was in disguise.

    Considering that the other individual was a doctor, it would''ve been inevitable that he realized her true gender. In fact, Yujia was surprised that Zixu''s servant boy didn''t seem to.

    Grateful that he was wise enough to not expose her, Yujia reached and pulled out her money satchel, fishing out a few taels and handing it to the physician. "Thank you."

    "Of course, of course. It is my job." The old man nodded, all the while taking the money from her, not the slightest bit hesitant.

    Yujia smiled. People like this old physician were easy to deal with.

    ¡­

    The physician, finished with his job, left soon enough. The servant boy also left after informing Yujia he would go buy some medicine.

    And so, once more, Yujia was left with an unconscious¡ª no, asleep¡ª Yu Zixu.

    She stared at Zixu''s relaxed expression, wondering what she could possibly do now. She couldn''t feed Zixu medicine since the servant went to buy it, and she shouldn''t wake Zixu up either. There was nothing more that she could do in the situation, except for straightening Zixu''s blankets and changing the damp cloth on his head.

    Yujia completed both of those tasks rather quickly. She was back to staring at Zixu with nothing else to do.

    A moment of boredom later, Yujia glanced over at the steamed buns left untouched on Zixu''s desk.

    Well, if Yu Zixu wasn''t going to be awake anytime soon to eat them, and Yujia had nothing else better to do¡­ maybe she should just go and eat those steamed buns.

    She knew that she made it for Zixu. Except at the moment, there was nothing better to do than to eat them herself. She might as well give the existence of those steamed buns a purpose. If they weren''t meant to be eaten, what did she cook them for?

    With those excuses, Yujia managed to convince herself that it was completely okay to eat what was meant to be eaten in the first place. Her persuasion skills may have been average, but in the face of food, they seemed to skyrocket to a whole new level.

    A foodie''s self-control was indeed a bit lacking.

 Chapter 204 - The Artist, Nurse Edition

    Yujia ended up eating two of the sweet buns and filling herself with that. Zixu did tell her before he fainted that he preferred eating salty foods, so it would be best to leave the salty buns for him.

    By the time that she finished the second bun, she was also feeling quite full, so Yujia cleaned her hands, observed the area where she was burnt, then poured herself a cup of tea, carefully drinking the contents.

    After all that, the servant boy finally returned, holding a neatly tied paper package filled with herbs.

    Yujia looked at this. If she wanted to be the reason for why Zixu recovered, it would be better if she was more involved in his process of recovery than the little amount of actions she took so far. But honestly, she couldn''t quite think of a decent excuse to stay any longer than she did now.

    The servant did think that she was only here because she was waiting for him to buy her burn ointment. Otherwise, Yujia, as what the servant perceived to be a simple acquaintance of his young master, should have no reason to stay behind for Yu Zixu.

    However, when the servant handed her the ointment in a tiny canister, he heard someone calling out for him from outside the courtyard. He hurried out, and a few moments later, when he returned, he had an unpleasant expression on his face. His eyebrows were tightly knitted in worry and his jaw was tight.

    Yujia asked out of pure curiosity, "What happened?"

    The servant replied, "Oh, Noble, I just¡­ heard that¡­ my little sister¡ª she has always been ill¡ª and she became more sick¡­"

    "Oh."

    Yujia paused. This was not good news to hear. Yu Zixu was sick, and now so was the younger sister of this servant. She also doubted that the servant would even receive this news unless something bad had seriously happened to his sister. It seemed like they needed his presence. Otherwise, they wouldn''t send a message into the villa.

    Yet at the same time, she couldn''t help but think that this was the perfect opportunity for her. Yuija felt bad for part of her thoughts coming up with this idea. She quickly covered up her guilt with the argument that she was being reasonable and resourceful here.

    So, she nodded at the servant, "You should go take care of your little sister. Check up on her, at the very least."

    "But I can''t¡­" the boy muttered, "I''m the only servant that Young Master allows in his room. All the other servants can at most, step foot in his yard, but only for basic chores. If I leave, then Young Master won''t have anyone else to take care of him¡­"

    How peculiar was that? Yujia had her suspicions about Zixu enjoying the solitude when she noticed that there were no servants in his courtyard. She attributed this to his desire to not be disturbed while studying before, but it just seemed like Zixu valued his privacy overall, even on normal days.

    Nevertheless, this was all to her benefit as well.

    Yujia gave an encouraging smile to the servant, urging, "You should still go. I''ll take care of Noble Yu. Like the doctor said, it''s nothing serious. Your little sister, on the other hand¡­"

    "But Noble¡ª" the servant continued with reluctance.

    "I owe your young master a favor," Yujia decided to reveal, "so I might as well pay it off now. Don''t worry, I''ll be careful with him. Also, it seems like your young master has a lot of books that I''ve been wanting to read, so it''s a good opportunity for me."

    "If that''s the case, then¡­"

    She waved her hand. "Go. Just go."

    "Then Noble, I''ll send the medicine to the kitchens to have it prepared¡ª just make sure Young Master is fine¡ª if anything too serious happens, do call a servant¡ª"

    "Definitely."

    The servant bowed deeply with gratitude. Yujia only felt more guilt layer on her. It seemed like the servant perceived her actions as pure kindness from the heart, but in reality, it was more like for her own selfish reasons. He didn''t seem to perceive her genuine reasons for why she wanted to stay as her true motives, but rather excuses to get him to be willing to go visit his sister.

    Because of this, she swiftly told the servant to rise and urged him to leave.

    A moment later, Yujia found herself alone with Zixu again. But at least this time, she had something to do with herself other than just waiting around.

    She opened the canister of burn ointment, dipping the tip of her finger in it and smoothing it out over her skin. Whatever herbs used to make it had a cooling effect, since it did help her scalded skin feel better. It was a similar feeling as to when she dipped her hand into cool water. The ointment did have a strong herbal scent to it, but Yujia was able to ignore the scent soon enough.

    Once she was finished with her self-treatment, Yujia went back to Zixu''s side, checking if he was okay. He was still sound asleep. To keep herself occupied still, Yujia went to her desk and straightened a few of the books. Zixu, who was usually an organized person from what she had seen of him, actually had a messy desk this time. Books and a few scrolls were thrown all over, some of them opened, some of them closed, and some of them even folded.

    Yujia simply straightened and stacked the books and scrolls and papers up. She also cleaned out a brush that he had been using to write with earlier but forgot to rinse.

    Now that this part was neatened up, Yujia decided to head over to the kitchens to check on the medicine the servant had sent over to be cooked.

    ¡­

    Yujia found her way to the kitchens with some help from a passing servant. At the kitchens, she watched the finishing preparation of the medicine being cooked to liquid form. This procedure was one she was quite familiar with, considering that she had seen Hui''er do it in the Fourth Miss''s courtyard quite a few times. Depending on the extracted medicine, a varying amount of time would be needed to prepare it. Hui''er used to spend hours on some special ones.

    At the thought of Hui''er, Yujia''s heart couldn''t help but twinge a bit. After everything she had seen with the personal servants, such as the servant boy of Zixu or even Yunhe''s personal servants, she missed the companionship of Hui''er. Whenever she became bored, at times, she would often think about Hui''er. It was wonderful to have someone she could talk to. Above all, Hui''er was the only person who knew the complete truth about Yujia.

    But Yujia dismissed those feelings soon enough, keeping herself busy with the task of how to help Zixu recover.

    The medicine finished cooking. A maid scooped up a large amount into a bowl, putting it on a tray and handing it to Yujia.

    "This is it," she noted, "And thank you so much, Noble, for doing this."

    It hit Yujia that they must''ve thought of her as somewhat unordinary. Not many nobles would be out there taking care of people. Maybe, in the eyes of an outsider, it would seem like there was something more to the relationship between her and Zixu. Maybe it would seem much more scandalous to outsiders since Yujia was also under the identity of a male.

    Thus, Yujia made it clear, "No problem. I am only repaying a favor."

    ¡­

    She returned to Zixu''s courtyard, finding him still asleep, to no surprise.

    Yujia sat the tray down on the nearby table, holding her unburnt hand over the bowl and feeling the drifts of steam curl around her fingertips. The medicine was definitely burning, as it just came out of the stove. The extraction of this liquid concoction only took about half an hour, which was certainly on the quicker side of things.

    Zixu was still asleep. She considered waking him up to feed him the medicine, but it felt like he needed sleep more right now. Besides, the medicine was a little too hot for consumption, so she might as well wait for it to cool before giving it to him.

    She let the medicine cool on the table and took a seat back by Zixu''s side. Her hand reached out to move the damp cloth on his head, and to take his general temperature again, though she knew that the chances of his fever being gone were unlikely. It just worried her that his forehead burnt so much, especially because it seemed like more than the usual temperature of a fever. She hoped that it would go down soon.

    Except, when she reached out to move the cloth, mumbles escaping Zixu''s mouth startled her.

    Her hand froze, attention focusing on what Zixu was saying. He spoke in such a low voice that his words came out in barely more than a whisper, somewhat slurred as well. She wouldn''t have noticed if she wasn''t so close to him.

    Yet amongst his mumbles, Yujia managed to catch on a few of them.

    "Mother¡­ no¡­ don''t go¡­"

    £¬

 Chapter 205 - The Exhausted Artist and His Dreams

    Mother?

    Yujia tried to pull away.

    But then, Zixu''s hand reached out, latching onto her arm. Yujia froze again, her eyes glancing down at the fingers that gripped around her wrist.

    "Mother¡­" Zixu muttered again.

    Her heart practically melted.

    Yujia had a few soft spots. One of them happened to be puppies. In fact, any cute baby animals. Or babies. When they were cute, they melted her heart.

    The other was her younger brother.

    This idea brought a heavier feeling to her chest. At the same time, nonetheless, Yujia felt herself recalling the few memories she still had with her younger brother. A lot of those times, through the brief few years she spent with him, she had been the one who took care of him the most. And during this time, her brother had always had night terrors. These episodes came earlier to him than other toddlers his age.

    She was the one who was there for him most of the time, despite her young age, patting his back and telling him that it was alright through his panicked nightmares.

    In a way, Zixu reminded her of him. The way small beads of sweat appeared between his brows, to how he reached out and grabbed her¡­ it was all too similar.

    Instinctively, as if she was acting out a faded memory, Yujia wiped away the beads of sweat with the cloth in her hand. A small whisper escaped her.

    "It''s alright. You''re fine. I''m here."

    She was sure that Zixu wouldn''t quite respond to that, but he did. His grip on her hand loosened a bit¡ª though not too much¡ª and he seemed to stop struggling a little. Yujia wasn''t quite sure if he actually felt calmer, or if she was just imagining all of it. She didn''t know if she was supposed to wake him up either. She wasn''t quite sure how he would feel if she told him that she heard everything. She wasn''t quite sure if he would want her to even know these things about him.

    Yujia lowered her wrist delicately, leaning against the bedpost. A few moments later, she determined this pose as uncomfortable no matter how she turned¡ª there was always this awkward slump¡ª so she sat down at the side of the bed, on the floor, leaning her head against her arm. She tried peeling his fingers off her wrist, but it was to no avail. Zixu only gripped tighter.

    She wondered what the story behind Zixu was. What could perhaps make him have dreams like this?

    Who was his mother in the first place? And what could''ve happened to her?

    Yujia realized that she didn''t know anything about that topic. In all the stories Zixu shared to her in the past about his family, he had talked about many people¡ª Yu Ziyang, Mimi, his uncle, and even his father¡ª just never his mother. She only realized that just now.

    It seemed like there was some untold past in that area. But considering that Zixu didn''t tell her, he likely didn''t want to tell her. And Yujia was in no place to ask or pressure him about this truth.

    She would just leave it be for now, until a day where he felt like revealing it to her, if that day ever came. In the meantime, she would just act like she never heard these fever-induced mumbles from him. For all she knew, they could even be nothing serious, and just some random and crazy words.

    As Yujia leaned against her arm, all the exhaustion from this entire day¡ª running back and forth in the kitchens, making the steamed buns, delivering and handing them out, disguising herself, and taking care of Zixu¡ª finally caught up to her.

    She thought Yu Zixu was a fool for studying so hard that he became ill, but maybe she was the same kind of fool as him. She didn''t know when to rest just like he didn''t know how.

    Without realizing, as time went on, trapped in her own thoughts, Yujia slowly nodded off to sleep as well.

    ¡­

    Zixu was trapped in darkness. So much darkness. Darkness that rolled under his feet, curling up around him, blanketing everything into a land of no light.

    In this endless darkness, there had been voices. Flashes of images along with those sounds. They sounded familiar. Like memories. Like shattered memories.

    He looked down at his hands. They seemed smaller, younger. He felt smaller. He felt younger.

    He knew this person that he had become. It was someone that he had morphed into in all those dreams¡ª no, nightmares¡ª in the past.

    His hands reached up, clasping over his ears automatically. As if he knew what sounds would come up next. These sounds, he had lived through countless times. Once in reality, and too many more times in his sleep.

    The screaming began. And the pushes. And the shakes. And more, more, more¡ª those screams.

    At some point through this ordeal, the images flashing, the screams echoing, the idea that this was just a figment of his sleep vanished. It seemed real¡ª all too real. He was back to his childhood, reliving these memories over and over again, and there was nothing he could do to stop them. He could only keep himself curled up, in that darkness, in his solitude, his only hope being that these sounds and images would leave. If they would ever leave.

    They said his mother was a crazy woman.

    Yet at this moment, a part of him yearned. A part of him wanted to see her again, her smile, if only just for a fleeting moment.

    He felt himself reaching out to that disappearing figure, one of the last memories he had of her and her smile, basking in the sunlight, eyes glittering. His fingertips barely touched her shadow before she threatened to shatter. He cried out¡ª "No. Mother. Please. Don''t go. Stay. Just another moment. You don''t have to go there¡ª I''ll talk to Father¡ª it''s¡ª no¡ª Mother¡ª"

    She only shook her head. Silently.

    Her image faded more and more. He grew more desperate, chasing after her shadow, stumbling over his own feet, crying out. He felt dragged down. There were boulders clung to his feet, shackled around his hands, slowing his every movement to a crawl. Yet still he crawled. Yet still he chased.

    Right when he was about to give up, allowing the darkness to continue engulfing him¡ª that was when she turned.

    "It''s alright," she finally said.

    She turned. She turned. For the first time, she turned.

    Zixu looked up with wide eyes. The boulders vanished. The chains broke.

    He felt her hand brushing over the top of his head. "You''re fine. I''m here," she said. It was in her usual way, the way she used to so many times in the past. Her hands were warm, in the light. She was the light. She was the sun.

    He was a child, with her.

    "Don''t leave, Mother." he whispered in her embrace.

    An eternity perhaps passed. Or perhaps it was only a mere second amongst the everlasting path of time. A precious second that his mind clutched on, unwilling to let go.

    In the next moment, the second was gone. Perhaps it had never even been there in the first place.

    When Zixu looked up, she had faded. The sunlight was no longer there, and he was back in the darkness.

    He opened his eyes.

    There was barely any dim light streaking in through the windows. He was laying in bed. He raised one of his hands, staring at it and his long fingers.

    He wanted to laugh.

    The foolish, pathetic dream of a child.

    He didn''t even think that he would have those again. How many years had it passed since he last had a dream like that?

    Those dreams were worthless. Laughable.

    But when his hand reached up to his eyes, why were they just a bit foggy?

    He chased the lingering pieces of the dream away, back to where they belonged in the darkness. Zixu shifted his body, turning in the blankets to face the side.

    That was when he saw her, lying her with her head draped on her arm, sitting on the floor. She was asleep. He glanced over at her hand and his fingers wrapped around her wrist.

    Ah.

 Chapter 206 - The Artist Awakens

    The moment he noticed his fingers around her hand, Zixu let go, drawing his arm back sharply.

    He stared at her face, which was leaned over so close to his. His eyes traveled over to a bowl and tray on the table, seemingly medicine. Taking in that detail, they also caught onto the water basin and damp cloth she had put by his bedside. Piecing this all together, he realized that Yujia was the one taking care of him all along.

    Where was his servant, Shen Li? Why was she here?

    Zixu blinked the final bits of blurriness away from his vision, feeling a headache appearing at the sides of his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them again, he noticed a bit of flour still dusted on Yujia''s temple. The memory of the steamed buns she brought over for him surfaced in his thoughts. She said that she made them herself, so she must''ve missed this spot of flour when tidying up. The light colored flour was easy to miss against her fair skin.

    Instinctively, Zixu reached over with his hand. His movements were gentle as he brushed away the remaining flour from her temple.

    But then, the pain in his head increased sharply, causing him to jerk his hand back and press against his own head.

    The headache bothered him. The idea of lying in bed right now bothered him. What was he doing here? How did he get here?

    Right¡ª he must''ve done something during Yujia''s visit and fallen asleep. He should be studying right now¡ª

    The blanks in Zixu''s memories bothered him. The speed at which Zixu''s thoughts traveled bothered him. They felt like they were moving too slow. The thoughts were all scattered too, some focusing on the dream, some focusing on the girl in front of him right now, some focusing on the fact that he needed to study. Overall, the sluggish and messy state of his mind bothered him. He couldn''t quite think clearly¡ª and absurdly, only this fact appeared quite clear to him.

    His eyes opened again after squeezing tightly once more. That was when he noticed Yujia sleepily blinking her eyes open.

    ¡­

    When Yujia woke up, Zixu was staring back at her. She flinched back, noticing that he had let go of her hand. This probably was the movement that woke her up.

    Standing up and straightening herself, she quickly started, "I¡ª"

    "You burnt yourself," Zixu interrupted her. As he slowly sat up, propping himself up against the poles of his bed, his eyes slid down to her right hand, which she had burnt earlier.

    She glanced down too. It faded a little more than before, but it still hurt like before. The ointment seemed to only work for a temporary moment. Based on the amount of light that passed through the windows, a few hours had passed. It would make sense that the cooling ointment medicine wore off a little.

    "If you want to get technical, I didn''t burn myself. You fainted on top of me and knocked the cup of tea over," she muttered.

    "I did?" Zixu sat a little taller. "Apologies. It was not my intention to burn you."

    "It''s not a big deal," Yujia hastily dismissed.

    The scald did pain her a bit, but it was only a small burn. Whining about it would be childish.

    She walked over and got the tray with the bowl of medicine for him. The medicine had definitely cooled by now, but it was too chilly, not lukewarm, which would''ve been the ideal temperature. Zixu shouldn''t be drinking chilled medicine, especially since he had caught a cold. She shouldn''t have fallen asleep and should''ve given it to him when it was still warm.

    "The medicine is all cold now," Yujia explained, "I''ll go get it warmed up."

    Zixu replied lightly, his voice lacking in energy, "Where''s Shen Li? Just send him to get it heated¡­"

    Yujia assumed that Shen Li must''ve been the servant boy who was the only one Zixu allowed by his side. "His sister was ill, so I told him to go visit her. He might not be back yet," she answered.

    "Oh?" Zixu paused, letting out a sigh as he said, "His younger sister was always sickly¡­" He raised his hand to his head rubbing his temples. But then he froze, looking up at her. "Why did you stay behind to take care of me?"

    She told him honestly, "I figured I could at least do so much. You''ve saved my life, and I don''t think I could possibly dedicate or promise you my heart and soul, so I''ll just start slowly repaying it like this."

    "Why can''t you promise me that?" Zixu remarked, his gaze and expression perfectly serious.

    Yujia stared at him.

    Despite knowing Zixu for a while already, she still couldn''t tell if he was teasing or not. At times she could, but right now¡­ she truly couldn''t tell what was going on in his head.

    Except then, the corners of Zixu''s lips twitched upwards, and Yujia deducted that this must''ve been a big joke. He liked messing with her too much.

    Picking up the tray with the medicine bowl, she turned and replied with a terse manner, "You''re spewing nonsense because of your fever. Go sleep more or something."

    While she headed towards the door in long strides, Zixu called out after her, "Of course, Physician Yang."

    Hearing this, Yujia looked down, but she couldn''t stop a smile from surfacing on her lips as she walked out.

    ¡­

    Zixu, slouching down more now that she was gone, coughed and leaned his head back.

    He wasn''t usually like this. Something must''ve been wrong with him. Like she said, the fever must''ve been messing with his brain.

    Yet still, he couldn''t stop grinning.

    A second later, he pushed those emotions out of his thoughts, slowly helping himself up, staggering over to his study desk and picking up the book he was studying before. He noticed that the desk was much more organized.

    She must''ve fixed that for him too.

    Shen Li knew not to touch Zixu''s things, and while Zixu was usually irked when people did so, he supposed that it was time that this table needed organization. He couldn''t pay it any attention when he was busy studying, so only now that she straightened it for him, he actually noticed how miserable the state of his desk was before.

    With the book that he needed now in his hands, Zixu shuffled back to the bed, covering himself in blankets yet again. He flipped through the pages of the book to find the place he left off while placing another hand over his head.

    Even he could tell that he had a fever.

    Things were definitely bad. A combination of stress, the lack of sleep, and others, must''ve led him to the state he was in now. Usually, he would''ve been more meticulous about these things, but the threat of not getting the top result in the imperial examinations was too much.

    He needed to get first place. It was his last chance. It was his only way out.

    With the examinations starting in two days, he couldn''t risk not studying anymore.

    It was just two days. He could push himself that much. Besides, after taking that nap, he did feel a bit more refreshed.

    As long as he just held on for a little longer¡­

    Reading through the lines of text, the dream that he had during the nap interrupted his focus again. He usually never thought of those memories again. They were moments of the past. They were a distraction. They were worthless.

    Only with the events that occured in his dream reminding him of all of those things, Zixu was recalling those abandoned memories again.

    He set the book in his hand down. Staring straight ahead of him at blankness, Zixu settled his mind and calmed the chaos in his thoughts.

    He came to the conclusion that stubbornly hiding from those memories was a bad idea. Instead, he had learnt to just accept it as the past. He had learnt to move on.

    Or at least, he thought that he had moved on.

    Clearly though, with that dream, he hadn''t. And thinking about it, he supposed that part of the reason behind his desire to do so well on the imperial examinations had to do with the past too.

    After all those years, he still hadn''t completely dropped the matter.

    Somehow, the story that Yujia told him before in the forest¡ª the one with the "little artist"¡ª appeared in his thoughts. He had told her back then, at the end of the story, that she needed to move forward.

    Zixu sighed, his headache coming back to bother him.

    He was such a hypocrite.

 Chapter 207 - The Artist, Physician Yang Edition

    Yujia came back to see Zixu reading his studying material again.

    He was less focused than before, since when she stepped in, he actually looked up¡ª unlike before, where he didn''t even notice her presence.

    "Why are you studying again?" Yujia questioned, sitting down next to him again and placing the tray on her lap.

    Zixu blinked. "I had nothing better to do."

    "You''re sick. When you''re sick, you need to get rest, and let your immune system¡ª"

    Halfway through, Yujia''s words trailed off. She realized that people of this time had no comprehension of an immune system, white blood cells, or any of that knowledge. Still, however, people of this time should know to rest whenever sick. That was common sense.

    She corrected herself, "I mean, let your body have the opportunity to get better."

    Zixu did set down the book on the page he was on. "How will I be prepared for the imperial examinations then?"

    "You''ve been studying for the past few days. I''m sure you''ll pass."

    At this, a frown surfaced on his face. He quickly smoothed out his expression, though, calmly saying, "I lost around two days to study because of you, from that time in the forest to the time I helped you out. I can''t just ''pass'' this set of exams. I have to get first place."

    Yujia bit the inside of her cheek. She glanced down.

    "I''m sorry."

    A silent moment passed between them, but then Zixu said, "It''ll be fine. You can just make up for it by helping me study later."

    "Ah," Yujia nodded, replying, "I''m not sure how qualified I will be for that, but I''ll try. On the other hand¡­" she picked the bowl of medicine up, handing it over to him, "you should drink this."

    Zixu reached out for it. When he took it from her, he held the bowl close to him. One hand picked up the spoon, but then he paused, setting the spoon down. His hand reached up to his head, pressing against the side of it.

    Seeing this, Yujia quickly asked, "What''s wrong?"

    "I''ve just been having a headache ever since waking up," Zixu admitted, "and now I''m feeling a bit dizzy. But it''s not a big deal."

    He dropped his hand back to the spoon, but as he picked it up, Yujia observed his expression. In particular, she noticed his crinkled eyebrows as if he was trying to squeeze away the headache. He wasn''t even properly looking at the medicine bowl as he tried to take a spoonful from it. His hands were also trembling just a bit, perhaps from his lack of energy.

    "Do you need me to help you?" she finally proposed.

    It almost pained her to watch him struggle so much with drinking the medicine when she knew that there was a quicker and more efficient way if she just helped him.

    Zixu paused. He stared at the bowl, looked up at her, then finally nodded. "That would be appreciated."

    "Alright then."

    It seemed like Zixu understood the concept of getting help when he clearly needed it as well.

    Yujia took the bowl from him. With her steadier hands, she filled the spoon with the medicine, then held it out to his mouth. She placed the bowl underneath the spoon.

    Carefully, Zixu sipped at that spoonful, but he quickly winced.

    "It''s burning," he noted.

    "Aw, come on," Yujia retorted, "It can''t be that hot. At least not compared to that scalding tea you spilled over my hand."

    "You''re my Physician Yang; shouldn''t you be more careful with these things?" Zixu muttered back after a light cough.

    "''My Physician Yang''? When did I become ''your'' physician?"

    Yujia laughed. If only she were a qualified doctor. Her past life would''ve been so much easier. Her current experience in this world would be so much better as well, probably.

    But at least, compared to before, she didn''t regret the career path of the artist as much. At least, because of this, she got to meet people like Yu Zixu, her master, Ye Yunhe, or Bo Zhizhong. She likely would''ve never known them this well if she hadn''t been an artist.

    Trading those years of misery in the modern world for these current experiences and relationships would be worth it, Yujia supposed. Fate had a funny way of letting things play out.

    Meanwhile, at her question, Zixu only replied, "You''re Physician Yang. You''re my junior sister. You were my younger brother at one point in time. And you also promised to be my teacher too, but you never showed me anything more than a few painting techniques. I guess I was so used to saying ''my'' that you happened to become ''my'' Physician Yang as well."

    "Alright, alright," Yujia finally relented. She held the spoon of medicine up to her lips, gently blowing at it to cool it down. Then, she held it out to Zixu again, saying, "Here. Is this better?"

    Zixu carefully sipped at it again, this time drinking all of it.

    "En."

    Yujia exhaled deeply as she filled the spoon again. After she helped it cool down a little, she sighed again, "Ah¡ª why is Noble Yu just so delicate¡­?"

    Zixu didn''t take any offense or humor from this. He replied seriously, "If you think this is bad, Ziyang is far more fragile than me."

    "Right. Your younger brother¡ª how has he been these past few days?" Yujia asked, tilting her head. She dipped the spoon into the liquid again.

    "The usual, I guess." Zixu''s eyes cast down. "Nothing better, nothing worse."

    "Well, I suppose he is on the same boat as me." Yujia took a jab at her consistently poor health.

    Zixu responded, "Not necessarily. At least you know the reason behind yours¡ª poison. You have a chance at curing yourself. With Ziyang¡­ I don''t know if he''ll ever fully recover."

    He sipped at the medicine again, but this time, there was hesitation in his actions. Yujia could sense the air in the room growing heavy, so she swiftly changed topics, "You don''t have any other siblings, right?"

    Zixu shook his head. "No."

    "I''m surprised, considering how many concubines your father has."

    "And you are supposed to be one of them."

    He smiled. Yujia smiled at his smile.

    "But here I am, sneaking into the Yu Villa as some Noble Zhuang," she hummed with a grin.

    "If my father knew, he would be furious."

    "But will he know?"

    "Of course not," Zixu assured.

    The last bit of medicine filled up Yujia''s spoon. She held it out for him, watching him finish it all. "How bitter is it?"

    Zixu answered, "Bitter, but not too bad."

    "Last time, when you bought me medicine, you bought those candied fruits as well, to help chase away the bitterness," Yujia remarked, "I feel bad that there''s none here with me. I do have one sweet steamed bun left, but it''s all cold by now, and I don''t know if it''s any good¡­"

    "That''s alright. It''s just some bitterness¡ª I can stand it," Zixu said with a tilt of his head, "You can still repay that past favor by helping me study, you know."

    "How do you want me to do that again?" Yujia narrowed her eyes while she stood up, placing the tray and empty bowl back on the table.

    Holding out the book he was studying, Zixu explained, "Just test me on this content."

    Yujia took it from him, flipping through the pages. "Alright¡­ Then¡­ who was¡ª"

    Her words were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Yujia looked over, seeing Shen Li¡ª Zixu''s servant boy¡ª walking in.

    When Shen Li saw that Zixu was awake, he immediately walked forward, bowing deeply. "Young Master, you''re¡­ awake. This servant knows that what I''ve done is deeply wrong¡ª"

    Zixu waved his hand. "You just visited your sick sister. There''s nothing wrong with that. When have I ever been against it? She is your only remaining relative. It is natural for you to act this way."

    Voice becoming a little softer, Shen Li said in response, "Then, this servant thanks Young Master for being magnanimous."

    Yujia, seeing this and that Shen Li was back, stood up. It was time to go.

    She handed the book back to Zixu, clasping her hands in front of her in the normal style that men used. "Since he''s back, and it''s getting late, I''ll be leaving."

    "Mhm," Zixu took the book back, but he closed the pages as he placed it next to him. With half-lidded eyes¡ª seemingly, sleep was getting back to him again¡ª he told her, "Farewell then, Junior Brother. I''m afraid I cannot send you off, but Shen Li will."

    "Sure. I left those steamed buns I brought earlier on the table. Make sure you try those out too, when you have more of an appetite," Yujia added, "and don''t study too much. Get rest, for real."

    "Of course, of course, Physician¡ª I mean¡ª Junior Brother."

    With another bow, Yujia turned. She couldn''t stay here forever. Her job of taking care of Zixu was complete.

    It was time to return to Lingxin.

 Chapter 208 - Bribery and the Artist

    Leaving the villa, Yujia found herself heading back in the direction of Lingxin when she spotted someone familiar.

    Passing by her just now was no other than one of the personal maids of Madam Zhang, and Yujia certainly recognized this face.

    It was already nearing the evening, with the sun beginning to set in the distance. Yujia wondered for a second that if, because of the dim lighting, she mistook the person for one of Madam Zhang''s maids, but when she turned around, staring at the back of the individual, she was only more certain. The clothes that the maid wore were exactly the robes for the personal servants of the household.

    Her heart quickened a bit, seeing where the maid was headed. Clearly, because of Yujia''s disguise, she wasn''t recognized. She didn''t want to throw herself in front of the maid either to get purposefully recognized. Nonetheless, Yuija couldn''t resist looking to see what a maid of Madam Zhang would be doing out here so late.

    The maid vanished into a building, which Yujia recognized to be a medicine shop.

    Was someone in the household sick?

    No, if that was the case, then another servant would be sent to buy the medicine, not one of Madam Zhang''s personal maids. That is, unless Madam Zhang was the one who was sick.

    Yujia still found it a bit peculiar that one of the personal maids did the task of buying medicine. Tasks like these wouldn''t be given to personal maids. Admittingly, Hui''er was the one who bought Yujia her medicine, but that was because Yujia was the illegitimate Fourth Miss. A personal maid of the Madam of the household, however, would be held at a much higher spot.

    Something was suspicious about this occurrence. Yujia had a gut feeling about it.

    She went to the side of the road and opened her fan, casually fanning herself as if she was taking a break from walking. In reality, she was just waiting for the maid to leave.

    A few moments later, the maid exited the doors, carrying a large bundle of medicine. She then headed off in the direction of the Yang Villa.

    Yujia narrowed her eyes at this. Who could the medicine possibly be for? The chances of Madam Zhang being the one who bought the medicine was the greatest, but it was an awfully large amount of herbs and pills that she was buying.

    Yujia never heard any news of Madam Zhang falling ill. She even infiltrated the villa a while back, and Madam Zhang was fine then. It also never seemed to Yujia that the Madam was any bit sick throughout all the time she spent in the Yang Villa. There was the possibility that she bought the herbs for nourishment, but judging by the size of that bundle, Yujia couldn''t quite believe in a simple possibility like that.

    She thought back to the mysterious box she found under the bed. She planned to get that box checked out tomorrow or the day after that by a locksmith, or someone else that was a professional.

    For now, however, it seemed like she was given a set of clues to follow with the appearance of Madam Zhang''s personal maid acting so suspiciously.

    Yujia decided on taking a look.

    She walked in the medicine shop right after she was sure that the maid was gone. From a first glance, everything seemed like a typical store, with a cheery middle-aged man¡ª the shopkeeper¡ª sitting behind a counter. The store was relatively empty, but it was kept clean. The shelves were all labeled and organized. A heavy scent of medicine drifted in the air, which made sense, considering that this was a store that sold herbs. Yujia didn''t mind this smell too much.

    Seeing her enter, the shopkeeper asked, "Noble¡ª what can I help you with?"

    Yujia went up to the counter, directly getting to her point. "I want to know what that maid who just came in here bought."

    The cheerful smile on the shopkeeper''s face vanished. His jaw tightened, shoulders tensing up.

    "Er¡­ Noble, I don''t believe that it would be appropriate of me to tell you that information."

    "Is that so?" Yujia reached in her pocket, pulling out her satchel of taels. She placed it on the counter, reaching in and counting ten taels. These taels were passed in the direction of the man. "How about now?"

    The shopkeeper hesitated, then pushed the taels back to her. "Noble, it really wouldn''t be appropriate of me."

    Yuija sighed, shaking out another ten taels. Departing with these taels may have meant a lot to her a month ago, but now that she lived at Lingxin and had Three Inks Shop, she had plenty of taels at her disposal. Even though she lost those five-hundred taels to the thieves¡ª which, she would gain back one day¡ª she had enough to use twenty taels like this without an issue.

    A glint appeared in the shopkeeper''s eyes. He hesitated for another moment, eyes tracing the taels that Yujia just slid across the counter. Clearly, he was going through an internal battle between his morals and the ability to earn twenty taels by just giving away some information. Finally, after much detailed thought, the battle ceased.

    He reached out and took the twenty taels.

    A smile surfaced on his face. One had reaching up to the back of his neck and the other scooping those twenty taels into a box, the man told Yujia, "Alright then, Noble really does put me in a difficult position¡­ but I suppose I could reveal a thing or two."

    Yujia smiled. She crossed her arms, nodding with her head for him to continue.

    "The herbs that the maid bought include Bai Zi Ren, Dan Shen, Fu Ling, Yuan Zhi, and some Ginseng. She also bought some Gan Mai Da Zao pills and Xiao Yao pills," he explained.

    "What do those do?" It was no help for her if she just received a bunch of names of herbs, recognizing only Ginseng out of that list.

    "Well, a lot of those herbs help treat issues such as insomnia and irritability, serving to calm the spirit. They also have some other functions, like tonifying the blood, or reliving toxicity. Gan Mai Da Zao pills help from controlling the spirit to prevent losing self-control, which are the result of a yin deficiency in the heart or a liver qi deficiency. It also helps with more insomnia caused by vivid dreams and palpitations, possibly even contributing to help menopause. Xiao Yao pills have a similar function, like dealing with fatigue, appetite changes, and can be related to treating infertility or menopause."

    Judging by the description that Yujia received, it seemed like whoever the medicine was for¡ª probably Madam Zhang herself¡ª dealt with plenty of insomnia, sleep, and menopause issues.

    "Has the maid been purchasing medicine for a while at your store?" Yujia followed up by asking.

    The shopkeeper nodded. "Indeed. She has been a regular customer for a long time now. And she purchases similar herbs and pills every time."

    Her breath caught. "Can¡­ any of the herbs you mentioned, or pills, act as a poison?"

    "No, definitely not," the shopkeeper was quick to answer, "In fact, plenty of them deal with nourishing the body and detoxifying. They do the opposite of any poison."

    "Has she ever bought anything that could act as a poison?"

    "No, not that I recall."

    Interesting.

    From everything that Yujia had discovered so far, it seemed less and less likely that Madam Zhang was the reason behind her poisoning.

    Yujia thanked the shopkeeper for this information that he revealed. She then exited the store, her thoughts a bit heavy as she went back to Lingxin.

    She needed to find out what was in that box fast.

 Chapter 209 - A Hot Bath and the Artist

    There was nothing else for Yujia to do, now that the day was coming to an end. After dinner, she prepared herself another hot water bath, sinking herself in it.

    Today had been such a chaotic and busy day. She could easily say that out of all her days living in this transmigrated world, today was the most tiring one.

    As she leaned her head back, the memory of Zixu''s teasingly smiling face surfaced. Yujia found herself grinning at this memory. Yet when she realized that she was grinning, she quickly splashed her face with the hot water, wiping the smile away.

    She supposed that despite the day being so tiring, it was worth it.

    While she thought about the events that occured, she recalled the fact that she fell asleep while at the Yu Villa.

    Well, that was, frankly speaking, embarrassing.

    If it weren''t for Zixu changing the topic so easily, diverting her mind away from apologies and the embarrassment of falling asleep while she was supposed to take care of him, Yujia wasn''t sure if she could escape the situation without being emotionally scarred. It was almost as embarrassing as the time when she tripped in the carriage and fell on Zixu.

    But then again, there was a whole other level of embarrassment, which would be given as the crown of all awkward situations: the time where Yujia impersonated Yu Ziyang to take the Lingxin examinations. She thought that Yu Zixu, who she ran upon in the line and met formally for the first time, would expose her immediately. She was prepared for the worst embarrassment of her life. And although to her surprise, he didn''t, she could still recall the anxiousness and panic building up in her chest.

    Yujia then realized just how many embarrassing moments there had been involving her and Zixu. Yet nonetheless, somehow, she still found herself comfortable when around him.

    She could clearly recall that this wasn''t the case before. There had even been a period of time where she avoided him at all cost.

    When had things changed?

    Yujia sunk herself a little deeper into the water, to the point where the steaming water washed over the tip of her chin.

    Her thoughts changed from this question to how grateful she was to have a place where she could frequently bathe herself. This was such a luxury in this current time period.

    And even better, unlike the modern world, there were no water bills.

    The perks of living at Lingxin were indeed wonderful. At times, if it weren''t for the need for her to figure out the mysteries behind her background and the relationships she built at the Yang Villa, she wouldn''t hesitate to just live the rest of her life at Lingxin.

    Yujia decided that once the whole mystery behind the poisoning and the thieves was solved, she would bring Hui''er to Lingxin, as a companion, not a maid. She knew that Hui''er would like it here.

    Of course though, this all rested on the idea that Hui''er was not the one who poisoned her. Yujia hated this feeling of distrust, but she couldn''t ignore it. She quickly allowed it to sink back into the depths of her thoughts with the idea that without evidence, everyone was innocent. For now, unless she found concrete evidence or suspicion that Hui''er was the culprit, she would treat her like she did before.

    Once she made this decision, Yujia raised herself a little higher from the water. Even though she knew that the bath was shallow enough that she couldn''t possibly drown, the idea of submerging her head completely in the water did terrify her a little. It also made washing her hair a bit difficult, and also the reason for why Yujia washed her hair separately from bathing. She did it in the morning, with a basin of water, rather than in the bath.

    Yujia knew that this fear of water when she was in a shallow bath was irrational. She supposed for now, however, she could only work on it a little. Rushing things would be no good.

    With all these thoughts sorted out, Yujia came back to her original idea: having this bathtub and the ability to frequently bathe was indeed a luxury that she wasn''t quite sure that she would trade for anything else.

    It also brought up the idea of the original owner of this courtyard. She made a deal with her master that as long as she completed a week''s worth of plum blossom studies and memorized the Six Principles, he would tell her the truth behind everything, especially the existence of all the advanced technology in the courtyard he allowed her to reside in. It felt like it was a long time since she last made the bet, but the week was now finally up.

    She could get her answer tomorrow.

    A little giddily, Yujia went through the Six Principles one more time in her mind. She knew that she memorized them. She just wanted to make sure that when tomorrow came, she would be perfect with her answer.

    She had been waiting to hear the truth about this courtyard for what seemed like forever. It would be terrible if she allowed a simple "memorize the Six Principles" to mess up her entire opportunity.

    As she went through the principles to herself, Yujia found a wave of drowsiness overcoming her. It seemed like thinking about anything that required more than a few strands of consciousness took too much energy.

    Especially with the warmth and steam of the hot bath, Yujia found herself on the verge of falling asleep. She splashed water in her face again to keep herself awake, finished scrubbing and cleaning the rest of her body as quickly as she could, then exited the bath.

    It was time to go to bed.

    And in all honesty, considering how exhausted she was, Yujia couldn''t wait. She practically fell asleep the moment her head touched her pillow.

 Chapter 210 - The Artistâ€™s Courtyardâ€™s Truth

    Yujia wondered if she should run into her master''s courtyard first thing in the morning, or if she should wait until the afternoon. By now, she knew his sleep schedule well. To see him awake at any hour before noon would be an enormous surprise.

    She was just too anticipating.

    Because of this anticipation, right after dressing herself and eating breakfast, Yujia decided to run over to his courtyard. Even if he wasn''t awake, she would just wait outside. She wanted to get the answer as soon as possible.

    Perhaps it was because she had so many questions and so little answers all this time. There were so many mysteries. To know that she could finally clear one off her plate was a bit of a relief.

    So, grabbing all of her sketches and rolling them up to form one scroll, Yujia hurried over.

    To her surprise, her master was actually awake.

    The old man sat at a stone table similar to the one Yujia had in her courtyard. A jug of wine and two cups sat at the table. This puzzled Yujia a bit. Usually, when her master drank, he drank with one cup, or directly out of the jug. It didn''t make sense for why he had two¡­ unless he was treating her to a cup?

    He didn''t notice her right away when she arrived at the opening arch to his courtyard. She stared at him for a moment, observing this man that she called "master".

    It felt like he was older today, possibly due to the grim expression on his face.

    Gone was his usual carefree laugh, or the loopy smile he wore sometimes after drinking a little too much. Now, he had one elbow propped up on the stone table. His head leaned on his hand, causing his body to shift into a slouch. His gaze peered in the distance, at nothing but blankness.

    He reached over for the jug of wine. That was when he noticed Yujia standing. Lethargically, he waved her over.

    Yujia went by his side, taking a seat.

    He filled the cup by his side full, then glanced over at her. The first words he spoke were, "You want a cup?"

    "What kind of wine?" Yujia asked back.

    "I made it myself. Plum Blossom Wine."

    At this name, Yujia blinked in surprise. Just a while back, she was drinking wine made from plum blossoms with Yu Zixu. She paid a good thirty taels for it, but from her memory, the wine was just that good. It was worth every tael.

    She was curious what the wine that her master made himself tasted like. She nodded, and her master poured a full cup for her too.

    Yujia took a careful sip. While before, the wine she drank was more smooth, rich, and sweet, this drink was more fragrant. It still held the smooth and sweet qualities, but this wine felt lighter. It made the drink a refreshing one, rather than one that made her drowsy or forgetful. There was also a bit of sourness in the wine, but this sour taste balanced out the sweet taste, making it barely noticeable. In fact, it enhanced the taste by adding a bit more depth to the wine.

    It was, without a doubt, good wine.

    Yujia voiced her thoughts to her master. He replied with a soft smile, "She was the one who taught me how to make this wine."

    "She?"

    "My wife." He sighed, holding out the jug in front of him. "Plum Blossom Wine was one of her inventions."

    Yujia thought back to the person she bought her first Plum Blossom Wine from. She said, "I''ve seen other people sell it before though."

    Her master didn''t seem too surprised. "Yes. A lot of her inventions were spread out to the public." He drank his cup completely, then turned to face Yujia completely. "You''re here today to hear the story, aren''t you?"

    "Yes!"

    Taking her scroll of papers, Yujia unrolled it on the table. One by one, she explained her plum blossom studies to her master¡ª which seemed awfully appropriate, since he had a jug of Plum Blossom Wine at the side. He listened attentively, pointing out things along her sketches and paintings in areas that she could improve, or areas that she did well in.

    Finally, he tested her on the Six Principles, which Yujia was able to proudly recite without any hesitation.

    At this, he poured both of them another cup of wine, nodding appreciatively. "I see that you''ve been working hard, kid."

    "I''m happy to hear Master''s acknowledgement," Yujia responded with a smile.

    "So, you want the true story behind your courtyard?"

    "That''s what I''m here for, yes."

    "Alright then." He sighed again, this time a deeper sigh as if he was truly tired¡ª not just from waking up early, but also from the idea of telling her the story. "Since I promised you, I suppose it would be wrong of me to go back on my words."

    Yujia put on an encouraging smile. This was what she worked all week for

    Her master''s fingers tapped the table. Thinking for a moment, he finally began with, "Your courtyard belonged to my late wife."

    Pressing her lips together, Yujia wasn''t too taken aback. She did speculate something of that sort. Based on the things she saw in the courtyard, it did seem like it used to belong to a female.

    This truth didn''t come as much as a surprise to her.

    "And¡­" her master continued, "she came from the future."

    Yujia blinked.

    She blinked again, this time staring at her master with wide eyes and raised eyebrows.

    This truth, in contrast with the other one, did come as a bit of a surprise to her.

    When Yujia was sketching and painting those plum blossoms, she did think about the background of her yard quite a bit. She even entertained herself with the idea that the previous owner was a transmigrator, like her. This seemed a little silly, though, so Yujia didn''t treat the idea too seriously.

    But to hear these silly theories confirmed by her master¡­

    The entire theory seemed much more realistic now.

    Perhaps it wasn''t as silly as she thought of it at the time. There definitely was the possibility of his wife being a transmigrator like Yujia. If Yujia could transmigrate, why did she think that she was the only one who could? It wasn''t like she was anything special.

    "Do you believe me?" her master asked, after allowing a moment of silence between them.

    "I do," Yujia affirmed. "Please continue."

    Her excitement only increased tenfold after hearing this truth and giving it some thought. If his wife was a transmigrator, then perhaps this story would reveal more to Yujia than just a simple backstory behind a courtyard. Maybe she could find out exactly how the transmigration process worked. Maybe she could finally decide if it was science or supernatural elements controlling these events. And maybe she could learn a little more about herself too, along the way.

    Yujia sat back, and listened attentively.

 Chapter 211 - The First Memory Fragment of the Past

    The story began in pieces of memories. At some of these memories, her master spoke with more ease than at the others. But regardless, there was never a moment where he hesitated from doubt, or corrected himself. He knew his past well, as if each memory had been carved into his head. As if these memories, perhaps, were memories that haunted him in his sleep, memories that he could not forget simply because they had replayed over and over again too many times.

    ¡­

    In the first memory, he was no longer wrinkled, no longer white-haired, and no longer nearing the end of his life.

    He was a young boy named Yue Ze, barely something more than a child. Sixteen. That was the age where he first met her.

    She was the only young miss of the esteemed Wei Family: Wei Yunjing. He was the third son of the equally esteemed Yue Family. The two families, however, were competitors. Both of their fathers were considered as one of the heads of the legislative bureau. It was no secret that each one wanted to kick the other fellow chancellor off, and the two frequently had heated debates with each other. Their viewpoints clashed far too much.

    So during one chance occasion, where Miss Wei threw herself at him over the Wei Villa''s walls, Yue Ze frankly didn''t know what to do.

    It all happened because his master had fallen ill. When Yue Ze visited him, he was told to pick up some painting homework assignments that he gave before he fell ill. Yue Ze gave the argument that his master could get some servants to pick it up, but his master simply replied that he wanted Yue Ze, as his closest disciple, to give some artistic advice to the fellow students as well for each assignment. With his role as a disciple, Yue Ze couldn''t quite say anything, so he went house-to-house like an errand boy.

    When he arrived at the last house, the scene was chaotic. The front doors were slammed shut, and there were shouts and thumping noises from the inside.

    Yue Ze looked up, then down at the list his master gave him, making sure that this was the right place he was supposed to go to: the Wei Villa.

    It was.

    That was when a girl''s face, with messy hair, a forehead wrapped with white bandages, and large eyes, popped up from the top of the outer walls of the Wei Villa. Her eyes latched onto his, while he was still trying to process the situation.

    The girl then yelled out, "Hey! You¡ª I mean¡ª Noble, please help me! I''m being kidnapped!"

    Kidnapped?

    Yue Ze''s eyes widened. He didn''t even have time to react before the girl just vaulted herself over the wall. Instead of catching her, she straight up fell onto him, knocking him over, onto the floor. More shouts came over from the other side of the wall.

    She quickly sat up, seemingly fine despite tossing herself over the wall. This made sense. After all, Yue Ze was the one who cushioned her fall, and the one who fell back onto the ground on his back. She didn''t seem to notice this, pulling him up with her.

    "Come on!" she exclaimed, "Run!"

    The door from the Wei Villa burst open, servants swarming out. She used a second to take this in, then launched herself in the opposite direction.

    Her hand pulled his wrist along with her. Yue Ze was unwilling at first¡ª his back began to ache from the impact to the floor¡ª but the sight of all these servants chasing seemed a little threatening. He found himself intuitively running along with her as well.

    He didn''t even have a single moment to process most of the events that just occured. He could only go along with it.

    As the two ran, she called out, "Do you know a good place to go?"

    In a split second, he calculated the best road to take in the city. He signaled her over to turn to the left, and she listened. Now, it was him leading her.

    A few twists and turns later, the two found themselves alone, with the servants thrown off. They were also at one of the edges of the city, past a sparse section of trees, in a clearing where a young plum tree grew.

    Yue Ze was the one who planted this plum tree. This secluded location, at the corner of the city, was also a place he discovered and frequently went.

    As the Third Young Master only interested in painting, his family didn''t pay him much attention. His two older brothers had far more accomplishments, so he frequently found himself in the background of things. Solitude became his friend, in a way, far more comforting than the presence of people and human interactions. That was how he discovered this clearing and quiet space surrounded with nature. No one ever visited this place, so he came to claim it as his own.

    The girl, who didn''t question where she was, collapsed under the tree, her breathing heavy. "Thank you¡ª so much¡ª" she said while she leaned up against the thin trunk of the tree.

    "They weren''t actually kidnapping you, were they?" Yue Ze replied expressionlessly.

    "Nope. You knew, but you still helped me?" She leaned forward, an incredulous smile surfacing on her lips.

    He folded his arms. "I heard the servants yelling ''Miss'' inside. You''re wearing high quality silk. There were many servants chasing after you, one dressed like a personal maid. This is the Wei Family. I don''t believe that a family like this would have the need in kidnapping someone like you. Let me guess: you are the only young miss of the Wei Family?"

    She didn''t answer his question. "Ah. You know the Wei family?"

    "Not that well," he responded, "Your father is the chancellor of the legislative branch."

    "Oh?" She raised her eyebrows. "And your father is?"

    He paused before giving an answer. "Also the chancellor of the legislative branch."

    Her posture immediately tensed. "How can that be? You''re¡­ not my brother?"

    "No. There are two heads of this branch."

    He almost wanted to laugh. Or cry.

    What was wrong with this girl¡ª the person he presumed to be ''Wei Yunjing'', the name listed on his master''s list¡ª for her to not even know these most basic details? From the start, her behavior had been so erratic.

    Yue Ze knew that his master had spent some time teaching the young miss of the Wei Family. It was all because this precious, treasured only daughter of the Wei Household had suddenly found interest in art, so they hired a teacher for her. He hadn''t heard about this Wei Yunjing otherwise, however, but he didn''t expect her to be this¡­ strange.

    She seemed to notice how he perceived her. "Wanna know why I''m here?" she asked.

    He nodded for her to continue.

    "You''re right. I''m not kidnapped. I''m also that young miss you''re talking about. But at the same time, I''m also not that young miss. You see¡ª something happened¡ª I am actually a soul from the future." She waved at her bandaged head. "I am under the impression that the past owner of this body died after hitting her head under a table, and I, who shared the same name as her, managed to take over this body."

    Silent for a moment, Yue Ze let her words settle for a moment before replying with, "You''re joking." He set his jaw, unamused.

    She stared back at him, gaze unwavering for a few seconds. Seeing that he was perfectly serious, she exhaled deeply, waving her hand. "Fine. Sure. Take it like that; it''s a joke. I hit my head, and now I have a serious case of amnesia and craziness. That''s what they all say."

    "They probably all say that for a reason. I find it more believable," he remarked.

    Only a month later, of course, he would find out that she was absolutely not joking. Yet for now, he was just the stubborn, insolent boy that he was. He wouldn''t accept any ''future soul'' nonsense like that.

    "Who are you, then?"she asked with a little bit of sarcasm layered in her voice, "Could I possibly know the great name and identity of my gracious savior?"

    "I''m Yue Ze, of the Yue Family. Your teacher is my master."

    "I have a teacher?"

    "Oh. You might have forgotten." He glanced at the bandages wrapped around her head.

    She definitely had some sort of amnesia.

    Instead of being embarrassed by her lack of knowledge, the girl just patted the grass in front of her. A big smile blossomed across her face.

    "Then, sit down. Tell me some more."

    Yue Ze hesitated. He probably had better things to do.

    Except, looking at this girl, the way she grinned unabashedly, and considering the fact that she had brain issues, it would be irresponsible for him to just leave her here.

    So he stayed, and the two talked, under the unblossomed plum tree.

    Later on, as he looked back at this part of his life, perhaps he would consider it a great luck that the two met on that fateful day. Perhaps he stayed and talked because it was fate urging him¡ª the subconscious part of him that knew that the two would have a story together. Perhaps this choice, to help her in the first place, was the best choice that he would ever make in his life.

    Or perhaps, it was the worst mistake. This day, perhaps, was where everything began to go wrong.

    From the very beginning, the two had been fated to end with a tragedy.

 Chapter 212 - The Following Memory Fragments of the Past

    In the second memory, it had been two weeks later.

    Yue Ze had long put the peculiar Miss Wei to the back of his head after their conversation two weeks ago. She eventually had to go back to the Wei Household¡ª as she explained to him, she only needed to run away to get a grip on reality¡ª and he just simply didn''t think much of this encounter. Sure, it was bizarre but at the same time, not too important.

    In this following memory, the premise was that he was at his master''s villa-school, where his master sometimes conducted lessons at. As his master''s disciple, he had better privileges and got access to a more private area to paint and study at.

    His master was just conducting a lesson. When his master returned, bringing along someone familiar with him, Yue Ze was painting.

    The person he brought was a girl, wearing a veil, but when she looked up at Yue Ze, he recognized those large eyes above the veil.

    It was Wei Yunjing.

    "What is she doing here?" Yue Ze asked, eyes narrowed.

    "This is your new Junior Sister," his master replied, then went to a desk on the opposite side of the room to paint.

    There was no extra explanation. Just that.

    Yue Ze stared at this with disbelief. He recalled the day after that conversation with Wei Yunjing, he talked to his master about this student of his. His master told him that he was only teaching this girl because of her family background, and that he was paid well to do so. She didn''t have any actual talent. He could care less about her artistic skills¡ª or lack thereof.

    The relationship between his master and this girl would never extend more than teacher and student.

    How were they now suddenly master and disciple?

    Yue Ze''s eyes glanced back over to Miss Wei, then right at his master again.

    His master snapped back, "Stop staring at me like that. Stop gawking. She''s plenty qualified to be your Junior Sister."

    "She''s¡ª the young miss of the Wei Family¡ª how could you¡ª"

    "Relax. The public won''t know about this. We''re only master and disciple in private. Can you blame me, Yue Ze? She''s a genius at art. If I don''t take her as a disciple, I would be throwing away a sacred opportunity."

    "This¡­"

    ''But just a few days ago, you were insulting her work like crazy! How could your opinion change so fast?'' That was what Yue Ze wanted to say.

    "Yunjing thanks Master for the praise," she replied sweetly. "Would Senior Brother like to see some of my work?"

    He nodded. He really did want to see how much of a "genius" she could possibly be.

    A few brush strokes, textured ink details, and layered mountains later, Yue Ze was left wordless and convinced.

    A genius, indeed¡­

    Seeing her work, he frankly felt ashamed of himself and wanted to buy himself in this shame. How could he be so arrogant before? This¡­ he¡­

    ¡­

    In the third memory, at this point, the two of them¡ª Yue Ze and Wei Yunjing¡ª had developed a good relationship. It was a month later, and he found her in the villa-school of his master, tinkering at something involving a pot, animal fat, a fire, and other odd supplies.

    "What are you doing?" he asked.

    Yue Ze had long accepted the somewhat peculiar personality of his Junior Sister. He had never seen her do something like this before, though.

    "Making soap."

    "Soap? What''s that?"

    He had never heard of this term before.

    "Oh. Right. You people have never seen this before. How to explain¡­" she hummed, "it''s kind of like¡­ detergent. What you use to clean stuff. You can take baths with it, clean clothes¡­ the current soap that you all have is just too pathetic. I need to fix that."

    He watched her continue working with newfound awe. "You can do that with just some animal fat?"

    "Yes. It''s because of the chemical properties¡ª the hydrophobic tendencies of lipids," she let out a small laugh, seeing the puzzled look on his face, "I guess these are alien terms to you."

    "How do you know how to do all of this?" he asked.

    Yunjing smiled, shrugging half a shoulder. "I''m mostly just playing around with things, figuring it out, but¡­ what did I say before? I came from the future. You thought that I was crazy, though." Half her focus on the pot she was stirring in front of her, the other half of her focus on him, she continued, "I''ve already devised a better plumbing system in the Wei villa. After making this soap, I''m going to figure out how to make more refined salt than the current overpriced and low quality salt you people have, then create other things as well."

    Yue Ze found himself slowly believing this idea, though it was just a little incomprehensible. What else could explain why this young miss, who had been pampered all her life, knew how to do all of this right now? Amnesia couldn''t explain how she figured out how to make this ''soap''. Or the advanced plumbing system she claimed.

    "Junior Sister," he said with an awkward laugh, "I''m a bit scared of you right now."

    "Scared of me?"

    "You''re too¡­ capable."

    "Hm. I guess you could word it like that. In my past life, I tinkered with a lot of different fields."

    "Do you tell everyone that?" he blurted out. She looked up, pausing, so he felt the need to clarify, "All of those future-soul notions."

    She shook her head slowly. "No."

    "Then, why are you saying all this to me?"

    "Just because," she laughed, "you''re a fun kid to mess with. And, you''re my lovely senior brother. How could I not tell you these things?"

    It would still take Yue Ze a while to come to terms that Wei Yunjing truly was some strange soul switched over from the future, but this was the start of it all. Along with this, it also marked the beginning of the trust that developed between Yue Ze and this unordinary girl.

    She trusted him, so gradually, he learned to trust her as well.

    As a younger boy, he didn''t quite want to admit this, but in a way, she was the first person he grew to put all his trust in¡ª the first person, and the only person, for the rest of his life.

    He knew that now. He knew it, finally, when it was all too late.

    ¡­

    In the fourth memory, two years had passed.

    Many things had happened in the past two years. For one thing, Yue Ze had grown much taller. In the past, he was eye-level with Wei Yunjing, but now, he was much taller. Plus, he was still growing.

    Second, many of Wei Yunjing''s inventions launched out to the rest of the world. From her flower-scented soap, to the controversial refined salt which caused a ruckus in the government and business world, to simple things like folding fans, little gadgets, glasses, and more, the world began to appreciate this new technology more and more. Yet due to her identity, Wei Yunjing never managed to step up to admit to these inventions. She could only let them be released under a male pseudonym.

    Yue Ze witnessed the growing frustration within his junior sister Yunjing. She wanted a name for herself. She wanted the world to know that these inventions were a result of the days she spent, mulling over her equipment and supplies. The identity of Wei Yunjing limited her far too much. Her family would never allow for this truth to leak.

    He was there for her when she broke down, when she needed someone to rant to. He knew her greatest desire¡ª to run away and throw everything behind¡ª and her reluctance, like the love she received from her family, and the good relationship she had from their shared master, to the friends she made.

    At the same time that she ranted to him, he ranted to her as well. He ranted about the struggles of being the third son, with older brothers above him and a spoiled younger brother below him, of feeling that he was never enough, of feeling that he was a disappointment since he had no clear talent besides art. He shared his dreams too, dreams to start an art school that would win fame, an art school with a name that would spread across the globe.

    They also talked. They talked about little things, like melancholic dreams they had last night in their sleep, a new method of painting that Yunjing introduced to him, a critique on certain overrated pieces of art, strange occurrences throughout their day, how they felt about certain opinions, sides, politics. Wei Yunjing simply knew how to carry a conversation. She knew how to keep the flow going, and she knew what people liked and disliked to hear.

    She embodied charisma. She wore a brilliant, beaming smile frequently, and it was just this smile that was so charming. She treated everyone like an equal. She knew how to make people laugh. She never hesitated to help others in need. She congratulated and applauded the smallest accomplishments and achievements. She made everyone feel like they were valued. She made them feel like if the whole world turned on them, at least she would be there, listening.

    And she made Yue Ze feel like he was worth something, for the first time. She made him feel like his dreams of opening a world-famous art school weren''t all that hopeless.

    She said that he was dull, but he didn''t take offense. Because of her, he learned to smile more. To laugh more. To be less uptight about things, and to learn to let go of the irrelevant parts of life.

    The time that the two spent together in those two years were fleeting, but they were some of the best times in Yue Ze''s life.

    In retrospect, he always wondered if it was his choice to take things further that messed things up. If he chose to keep things the way they were, to keep their friendship, to keep their junior sister and senior brother relationship, maybe things could''ve turned out differently.

    He was a fool back then.

    He was a fool, when his father told him that he was interested in arranging a marriage between him and the young miss of another family.

    He was a fool, when he replied to his father that he already had someone in mind.

    He was a fool, when he expected that his father would be happy for his reply, that the person he had in mind was the treasured young miss of his father''s greatest rival, the Wei Family.

    He was a fool, when he stormed out, in the blurring snow, looking for Wei Yunjing.

    He was a fool, when he arranged for them to meet in the snow, under the plum tree where they first talked at, the plum tree that he planted himself.

    He was a fool, when he confessed, and she only laughed at his confession, not taking him seriously.

    He was a fool when he stubbornly continued, telling her that it wasn''t a joke, that he wasn''t a kid anymore, that he was a man, that he wanted to be able to take care of her in the future, that she was the only one in his heart, and that he wouldn''t want to ever marry anyone else.

    He was a fool when he listened to her tell him to just give it some time. She said that it was only a passing phase of infatuation, and that years from now, he would be over these childish emotions.

    He was a fool, when he declared with determination, "It''s not a child''s infatuation. If today, I fail with my proposal, I have the rest of my life. I''ll keep asking. One day, you''ll say yes."

    He was a fool when he failed to note that she still didn''t seem to quite take him seriously, giving him a dismissing, "Sure, sure." She then pointed at the tree behind them, eyes wide with surprise, noting, "Look¡ª the plum blossoms have finally bloomed. They''re¡ª they''re actually white blossoms?"

    He was a fool, when he turned, his attention being drawn away by the sheer beauty of the white plum blossoms against the pure white snow. This was the first time that this tree bloomed. He considered it a lucky symbol back then, that it was a sign that Wei Yunjing, who he had met under this tree, who he had confessed to under this tree, was fated with him.

    He was a fool, when he failed to note that it might''ve been a warning.

    White: a symbol of death.

    The plum blossoms that he thought would bloom in either red or pink bloomed in white. Yet at the time, all he could think of was appreciating its beauty.

    He was a fool back then. A hopeless fool in love. A fool who should''ve noted that things were not the kind that he should pursue after. A fool who should''ve backed down and salvaged their friendship when he still could.

    An absolute fool, fool, fool.

    If he was not such a fool back then, perhaps things would not turn out the way that they did.

 Chapter 213 - The Brightest Memory Fragment of the Past

    The fifth memory was less like a memory and more like a collection of memories. They were tiny snippets that occured over a period of time, each one short and sweet.

    The first snippet was a memory of Yue Ze asking Wei Yunjing what people during her "future times" did whenever courting someone. Wei Yunjing gave him a really judgmental look, but he managed to convince her that he was only asking because he was purely curious.

    Thus, she gave him a list of things that these people gifted: flowers, chocolates¡ª which she described to be some sort of sweet candy¡ª jewelry¡­

    She also gave him a list of activities: cooking a meal for the other, writing them a poem, singing a song with a guitar¡ª which was another one of those futuristic, western instruments¡ª writing letters, watching movies¡ª which were like plays, but with some more futuristic equipment¡ª going shopping¡­

    So in the following few days, Yue Ze went back on his words that it was only a question of pure curiosity. Thing, most times, went like this:

    "Wei Yunjing, I like you," along with a hand-picked bouquet of flowers that he spent hours rummaging in the fields and mountains to find.

    "Wei Yunjing, I like you," along with a romantic poem that he wrote himself attached to a letter of funny little jokes.

    "Wei Yunjing, I like you," along with her favorite pastries he bought from the best pastry shop in the city.

    "Wei Yunjing, I like you," along with a jar of plum blossom wine that she had taught him to make earlier, only this time, he made it on his own.

    "Wei Yunjing, I like you," along with a classic play that the two watched together.

    "Wei Yunjing, I like you," along with a song, despite the fact that he was very much tone-deaf, and his singing skills were clumsy.

    "Wei Yunjing, I like you," along with his attempt at making her those favorite pastries that would''ve tasted so much better if he just bought them again from that one shop he went to last time.

    "Wei Yunjing, I like you," along with a stick of candied hawthorn that he bought for her during one festival.

    And it was during this festival that, under the fireworks, he looked at her seriously. It wasn''t like before, where Yue Ze would sillily present a few of his shabby, hand-made gifts. He wasn''t grinning anymore, staring straight at her.

    Fireworks were booming above them and the arched stone bridge they stopped at. People were passing by them, chattering loudly. The sounds of cheers and applause came from different corners of the streets at performers who were doing all sorts of tricks.

    But at the moment, the two of them were alone in their own world. Yue Ze couldn''t even hear all the background noise, his entire attention focused on her.

    "Wei Yunjing," he finally said, "I really do like you. How much longer do I have to wait before you say the same?"

    Yunjing''s hand went up to her face, running it through her hair. Her lips were turned upwards into a smile again, perhaps from embarrassment. She muttered, "If I knew that you were such a liar, I wouldn''t have told you that whole list of things before. You have to be messing with me."

    "I''m serious about this. I wanted to prove to you that it''s not a passing infatuation. It''s been so long already. Why do you still think that it''s a joke?" he responded.

    She dropped her hand. "I do like you too, but I''m afraid of all of this. I''ve just¡­ always been bad at romantic relationships¡ª in my past life¡ª it''s just like¡­ my heart has been played with too many times. I don''t know if I can ever have something real again in the future, after all of that."

    This was, in the two years that he knew her, the first time that Yue Ze saw this kind of expression displayed on Yunjing''s face. Her eyebrows were knitted, lips pressed into a thin line, eyes tearing up, head looking down, as if she didn''t want to think about it. As if she couldn''t let go of the past.

    Seeing this, he couldn''t help this desire rising up within him to help her. He wanted to know what it exactly was that kept her feeling this way. He wanted to help her let go.

    So, he softly replied, "Tell me about it."

    And so she told him. Maybe, despite the painful scars of the past, she wanted to let go of it as well. She wanted to finally have someone to listen to her about it.

    She said that her past life was full of messy relationships. She had been an entrepreneur in that life, and because of her lack of success in her career in her beginning, the person that she had been with for six years, the person that she thought that she would marry, the person that was her first love, and the person that was her first for everything, left her.

    She thought that she was done with relationships after that, even after she achieved success and all her hard work began to pay off. Her company succeeded, money rolled into her account, and she became a big name in the business world. That was when she found him, her second love, and for the first time, she thought that her heart was opening up again. She married him only after a year of dating. It was quick, but she was afraid of losing him like she had lost her first love.

    Yet later, it was revealed that he was only interested in her for her wealth, and that he was simultaneously cheating on her with another woman.

    She couldn''t believe how quickly their relationship fell apart.

    Just like that, she was divorced.

    She tried having other relationships after that. They all ended with breakups, failures.

    She wondered if there was something fundamentally wrong with her. If she was the problem, the issue, the one at fault for all of this. Otherwise, it would make no sense. People all around her were happy, content with the relationships they had. If she was not the problem here, then what exactly could explain all of this?

    But then again, what had she done to deserve all of this? What had she done to deserve her relationships all ending so tragically, to deserve her husband cheating on her?

    What was¡­ wrong with her?

    During all of this, her mental health was deteriorating. The divorce and the failed relationships happened right when conflict and issues were rising up within her company. She fell into debt. Her company was sold. Things were falling apart right in front of her eyes, and despite everything that she did, she couldn''t put back together any of it.

    The stress, all stacked up, one on top of the other, was getting to her. It was painfully obvious.

    She had long nights of insomnia. She started drinking more. She picked up smoking, although she never had any interest in that in the past. Years of things just dragging on¡ª on, and on, and on¡ª with no end in sight, no light ahead of her, finally came to a stop when she was hospitalized.

    Lung cancer.

    They said it was curable at first. Though maybe because it was her fate, or that it was her own fault, another year passed, her symptoms growing progressively worse. The doctors slowly changed their diagnosis to incurable.

    She could remember her last moments¡ª moments filled with pure delirium¡ª before everything faded to darkness.

    And when she woke up again, she was here, in this odd little crevice in history called the Xiang Empire.

    It was a new chance at life, and she took it.

    This concluded her story, which left Yue Ze a little bit at a loss for words. He couldn''t quite figure out what to say. In the past, though she did talk about the future to him, it was always brief, and the things she discussed were always the good parts. The future she talked about seemed like such a paradise, with people that were treated equally, with people living much longer than they did now, with information available to everyone, with technology so advanced. It seemed like the future couldn''t hold anything bad. But now, here he was, hearing all of this about it.

    He never knew that she had this side to her. He never knew that the image of Wei Yunjing in his head¡ª the one with her always smiling her bright smile¡ª was actually just something that she projected to other people. Behind all of that, she was suffering, haunted by the truth of her past.

    He glanced up at her, seeing how she had her head tilted up, blinking those tears away.

    She managed to whisper in a hoarse voice, "Do you see now? I''m someone abandoned. I''m a failure. I''m worthless. You''re¡­ a really good person, Yue Ze. You deserve someone better than me."

    He shook his head.

    "Yunjing," he spoke carefully, gently, "You''re not worthless. You''re not a failure. Look at all the amazing things you''ve managed to accomplish here! You were the one who taught me to be truly happy with myself. You taught me to see and acknowledge my inner self, and to accept and love myself for that. Why can''t you see that for yourself, as well? The Wei Yunjing I know is not someone worthless. She''s someone brave. Bold. Persevering. Dedicated. Witty. Kind."

    She managed to look at him, her breath catching. "I¡­"

    "Wei Yunjing," he repeated, "I like you. I like you for the Wei Yunjing I knew yesterday, the Wei Yunjing that I know today, and the Wei Yunjing that I will know tomorrow. Nothing can change that."

    Yue Ze then reached into his pocket, pulling out a slightly crumpled red bracelet, braided from red thread.

    "It''s kind of ugly, I know," he explained with a laugh, "But I spent a lot of time making it. You said that men courted women by giving them jewelry in your time, except I know that you don''t like any of that flashy stuff. So I made you this. It''s not any string of pearls, or any pure gold. But I made it with my heart."

    He extended his hand, holding it out to her. "Yunjing, I promise that I won''t be like those other men in your past. I won''t abandon you. I won''t ever let you down." He hastily held up one hand, "I swear on it¡ª that if I ever do, thunder can strike me, and I can suffer slowly and for an eternity. Has anyone ever made a promise like that to you?"

    Yunjing actually managed to laugh. "No, you''re so¡ª you''re so stupid, put that down¡ª"

    She reached forward, grabbing his hand with the pledge and pulling it down.

    In return, Yue Ze reached forward and pressed the red-string bracelet into her palm.

    "Will you accept it?" he asked, eyes pleading, "I''ve tried to prove my dedication already, but give me another chance, and I''ll prove it more. I''ve pledged and promised and did everything I could possibly ever think of already. Will you just¡­ give me a chance?"

    Yunjing stared at him, expression solemn. "Well¡­"

    "Please?"

    Time seemed to stop right there. Yue Ze was frozen in anticipation, both anxiously waiting for the answer and in fear of what he could possibly hear.

    Only, soon enough, that fear melted away with her answer.

    "Fine." She smiled, almost laughing as she relented, "Alright. I guess I can give you a chance." She raised her eyebrows. "But you better never let me down."

    Yue Ze burst out into a bright grin. He lifted her hand, gently tying the bracelet around her wrist. He couldn''t stop grinning.

    "Really? Really?"

    "Yes. Really. Gosh, you''re so happy." She laughed too.

    He was happy. He was definitely happy. This was the best day in his life. He couldn''t think of a single thing that would make him more happy than he was right now. Up to this point, everything had been a huge mess of emotions, but it was all worth it. It really, truly, absolutely, most definitely, all worth it.

    "Yunjing," Yue Ze assured, "In this lifetime, the next, and for all eternity, I will never, ever let you down."

    "Alright." She smiled gently. "I believe you."

 Chapter 214 - The Fracturing Memory Fragments of the Past

    In the sixth memory, four years later, the two were dressed in red.

    Her family said "no". His father said "no".

    So the two ran away.

    They found a place not far from the capital, where neither families could find them, and were married with the heavens and earth as their witness. When they returned, things were scandalous enough, the reputation of both families broken enough. The two households had no choice but to acknowledge this marriage, and to hold an actual ceremony for them, just to piece their reputation back together.

    Yunjing had been reluctant to cause this rift in the relationships between her and the father and mother she loved dearly. But in the end, since things worked out and relationships were patched up again, she was okay.

    Yue Ze, on the other hand, didn''t have as many ties with his family. His father had been disappointed with him enough in the past. A little more disappointment wouldn''t do anything.

    Everything in the end worked out, and both were happy.

    ¡­

    In the seventh memory, another year later, Yunjing used her wealth from her successful inventions to build the two of them a villa. Neither of the two were flamboyant types, so the villa was kept in a simple and elegant style. It was built at the spot where Yue Ze planted that white plum tree, the spot where he formally met with Yunjing for the first time, and the spot where he confessed to Yunjing for the first time.

    In particular, around the plum tree, she created the Plum Courtyard. This was the courtyard she lived in. She said that she liked the scenery of white plum against white snow, so she wanted to live around it. She wanted to be able to capture the scene of every year''s white plum in her memory.

    Now that she had her own place, Yunjing also worked on inventions more. She built her bathtub and plumbing system that she worked a little bit on in the Wei Villa. She built fans, desks, and all sorts of modern furniture. She tried out other inventions as well, in the art field. In particular, she worked on making paint.

    Yue Ze watched her do all of this. He helped her out, at times.

    He wanted to support her in the same way that she supported him. Together, they were happy.

    ¡­

    In the eighth memory, yet another year later, the construction of a Lingxin Art Academy began.

    This was all made possible by Yunjing. Yue Ze couldn''t even properly describe his gratitude to her.

    She only smiled, gave him a light laugh, and waved it off, describing that she did it because she wanted to. He didn''t owe her anything. They were husband and wife.

    ¡­

    In the ninth memory, Lingxin finished its construction. Because of the sheer grandness of the project, it took two years to complete the look that Yunjing and Yue Ze had a vision to create. They built a stunning front gate, planted lovely gardens, created artificial ponds, built pavilions on top of those, built residences within the school, built libraries, and built more classrooms.

    They invited their master to come to the school to teach, but he rejected. He simply said that he was old, and he wasn''t interested in any of these official things. At this point, he just wanted to sit back and relax the rest of his years away.

    The school opened up with much popularity and fame. And for the first time, Yue Ze experienced what it was like for his father to be proud of him.

    This emotion rose up when he visited his father, for the first time in months. His father told him that he heard about the things he did, and that he wanted to know more about Lingxin Academy.

    Yue Ze explained, desperate to prove himself. Even though he thought that he was over the stage where he wanted to receive the support of his father, he realized how much he actually wanted to receive this recognition. After all of these years, this was just a feeling that he suppressed deep down. Now, he finally had a chance. He felt as if he was back to the person he was ten years ago, when he was only a sixteen year old boy.

    At the end, his father only asked him one other question, "And you did this all by yourself?"

    Yue Ze paused. He knew that Yunjing contributed much as well. The work they did was half and half. Both contributed an equal amount.

    Except¡­ how could he possibly word it? How could he possibly say that he allowed a woman to be the main reason for his success?

    He knew that Yunjing came from a time where there was equality, from a time where there would be no shame in admitting.

    Yet he couldn''t say it.

    All that talk about equality, all that talk about expressing his gratitude, all that talk about giving Yunjing credit for her accomplishments¡ª at this time, it all boiled down to one idea.

    He wanted to receive recognition. All of it.

    His father would be disappointed in him in any other way.

    So, Yue Ze said, after this moment of hesitation, "Yes, Father. All of it."

    He figured that it wouldn''t mean much. This was just a private discussion he had with his aging father. Yunjing would never have to know.

    He just wanted this selfish moment, where he finally heard the words he had always wanted to hear from his father.

    "You did well, son," his father admitted.

    And right then, Yue Ze could only grin, throwing these emotions of guilt to the back of his head.

    When he returned back home that evening, he found Yunjing in her courtyard. She was sitting on her bed, reading a book by candlelight.

    "How did things go?" she asked, turning a page carelessly.

    "It went¡­ well," he answered. He could feel the guilt building up within him again, for that one lie he told. Suddenly, as he was pouring himself a cup of tea, he stopped. He turned, blurting out, "Yunjing, I did something bad."

    "What did you do?" She paused, looking up.

    He told her about the things he said to his father, about how he took all the credit.

    At the end, contrary to his expectations, she didn''t get angry. She only closed the book she was reading, saying, "It''s alright. I don''t blame you. I would''ve done the same in your situation."

    "You''re¡­ not upset with me?" he asked, eyes wide.

    She replied in a simple manner, "No."

    He walked to sit down by her, pulling her into a hug. "Yunjing, even if you''re not upset, I''m sorry. It was wrong for me to do so, and I won''t do it again. Tomorrow, I''ll go tell Father. I''ll explain to him the truth."

    "You don''t have to," she pulled back, shaking her head with a small smile. "I don''t care so much about what one person thinks. We live far enough from your father, and we barely come in contact with him. What he thinks can''t hurt me."

    "Well then¡­ I''ll¡­ set up a stone monument in front of Lingxin. I''ll hire people to carve your name on it, along with mine. We''re co-founders, after all. Then, the world will know that I am proud to have such a strong, capable person by my side like you."

    This brought a wider smile onto Yunjing''s face. "You''d really do that? You wouldn''t care what the world thinks about us?" she asked, her voice as low as a whisper.

    "Of course. Why does it matter? Like you said, it doesn''t matter what my father thinks. So why should it matter how the rest of the world feels?" Yue Ze grinned in return.  "I''ll put up the monument by the end of this month."

    "Alright." She leaned her head into his shoulder, a smile still tracing her lips. "I believe you."

    ¡­

    The stone monument never came to occur. The countless promises he gave her fell apart.

    And the one who was at fault for all of this was none other than Yue Ze himself.

    A few days following the time where he told his father that he was the sole founder of Lingxin Academy, his father, during a meeting with the Emperor, decided to report this fact. Perhaps he didn''t like the idea that his two older sons had not amounted to much prestige in court, or that his youngest son was a bit of a spoiled fool. Perhaps he didn''t like the idea that his competitors in the government had sons with way too many achievements in comparison¡ª getting first place in examinations, winning a battle as the general, becoming the crown prince''s favorite study partner¡ª and he felt lacking.

    Regardless of what the reason was, the only thing that mattered was that Chancellor Yue told the Emperor about Yue Ze''s grand art academy, emphasizing on the fact that his son started it all by himself, and how capable his son was.

    The Emperor appreciated talent, though he was not the most appreciative of art. He put out an imperial decree to honor the school, and to give Lingxin some extra funds.

    This would''ve been a great honor. It would''ve been something that made Yue Ze exhilarated, if it weren''t for the fact that because of all of this, because of the fact that the Emperor knew Yue Ze as the sole founder of Lingxin, because of the consequences of telling the Emperor otherwise, and because of the fact that now the whole world thought this way, the stone monument could never exist now.

    Wei Yunjing would never be acknowledged as a co-founder of the academy.

    When Yue Ze told her the news, it was the first time that Yue Ze had seen Yunjing genuinely upset with him.

    He could recall her betrayed expression as he explained to her. He could recall the way that she stepped back, the way that she drew her hands away from his, wrapping them around herself.

    He could remember how she asked, back then, "Why does that matter? I thought you told me that what the world thought didn''t matter. Why¡ª just why¡ª why does it matter now?"

    "It''s not that, Yunjing," Yue Ze muttered, placing his hand at the side of his head. "I meant what I said back then. It''s what the Emperor thinks."

    "The Emperor?" she echoed.

    "Yes." He looked straight at her. "Did you know that if I went through with announcing you as a co-founder, my father would get charged with lying to the Emperor?"

    "We could say that it was a misunderstanding. That there was miscommunication," she hastily added.

    Yue Ze couldn''t stop his voice from rising. "Misunderstanding? A miscommunication? That, in the Emperor''s ears, is the equivalent of lying. Do you¡­ even know what the consequences are?"

    She backed away a step.

    "My father could get beheaded, Yunjing. He could die¡ª or no, not even that he ''could''. He will die." His voice was trembling now, by just a fraction, perhaps from anger, or frustration that she just did not understand. "For your honor, for your fame, and for all of that, you would be willing to sacrifice the life of my father?"

    Yunjing replied, her voice softer now, the slightest bit of a tremble caught within it too, "You know I don''t mean that. I¡­ I would never want that."

    She hugged herself a little tighter now. He noticed this.

    After a brief pause, she continued, "But you know that the one thing I ever only wanted was this. And you promised me it. But¡­ I''m sorry for being so selfish about things. I''m sorry for not thinking of the whole picture. It''s my fault."

    Yue Ze''s gaze softened. He couldn''t bear to see her like this, quickly realizing his own mistakes. "No, it''s my fault too. I got too heated in the argument too quickly. I shouldn''t have yelled at you. And I understand how you feel. After all, I promised that to you. I¡­ I let you down."

    Yunjing stepped back forward, wrapping her arms back around Yue Ze, burying her face into his chest. "It''s alright," she murmured, "I understand that you are in a forced situation. You can''t do anything about it. There''s no need to feel sorry."

    "But I promised you before. I promised you all those things. I promised that I would never let you down," he spoke, lips brushing against her hair.

    "You also swore that if you let me down, then thunder would strike you to the ground," she added, "But did that happen? No. The skies are perfectly clear right now,  so you haven''t let me down yet. We''ve just¡­ compromised."

    "You remember that?" He was actually taken aback by this fact, head tilting.

    Yunjing affirmed, "Yes. It was only eight years ago. You were such a cute, silly boy back then."

    "You know," Yue Ze brought up, "I hated it when you called me a boy back then. I was so desperate to have recognition."

    "And you are different now. I can''t call you a boy anymore, can I?" Yunjing looked up.

    "No. Definitely not. Time¡­ changes people," Yue Ze paused, then continued, "But are you sure that you are fine?"

    "Me? Fine?" Yunjing repeated, leaning back with a smile tracing her lip, "Yes, I''m fine. Don''t worry about it."

    He smiled, pulling her back into a hug. "Alright. I''m glad we talked things out."

    ¡­

    Years later, Yue Ze realized that he had been wrong back then. He had been wrong in so many ways, but perhaps most in the phrase that "time changed people".

    He was still the same fool as he was eight years ago. Time had not changed a thing about that.

    Back then, how had he not noticed the words hidden behind her eyes, the words hidden behind her smile, when she said that she was fine?

    And because of that one moment of ignorance, because of that one fight he put to the back of his mind, and because of the things that would occur next, he was fated to be a fool for the rest of his life.

 Chapter 215 - The Darkest Memory Fragments of the Past

    In the eleventh memory, Yue Ze and Yunjing were seeing a physician.

    They had been married for four years, yet Yunjing hadn''t managed to become pregnant. They''ve visited a few physicians in the past, and those doctors all tried giving her various prescriptions to help increase the chances.

    According to those physicians, Yue Ze was fine. They still gave him some medicine though, just to make sure.

    Still, nothing really worked.

    By the end of those four years, the physicians they were seeing all came to a similar conclusion: Yunjing''s body was not "suitable for childbirth".

    Or, in Yunjing''s modern terms: "unexplained infertility".

    The two knew that the diagnosis was coming for a while. But still, when it came, the preparation didn''t lessen much of the blow. Hearing a final verdict felt different. It felt more real.

    When Yunjing went home with him that evening, she didn''t eat much. She went to bed early, before the sun was even down.

    Yue Ze tried talking to her, but she said that she wanted to be left alone. He insisted her some more, saying that he would listen, determined to communicate with her, but she only pushed him further away.

    Seeing all of this, he realized that no matter what he tried to say to her, she would only continue doing so. Thus, he followed what she said and left her alone.

    He would talk to her later.

    As Yue Ze went to his own courtyard, pouring himself a cup of wine and sitting at his porch, he thought about what his father had previously told him.

    His parents had discussed to him months ago about the fact that the two still hadn''t brought any children. Yue Ze''s older brothers all had quite a few children. Even his younger brother had a boy and a girl, twins.

    Compared to Yue Ze, who was without a single child at twenty-six, his parents were a bit concerned. Yue Ze, meanwhile, was a bit shocked at this concern. He could understand his mother''s perspective, considering that she always loved children and wanted more grandkids to look at. On the other hand, his father''s concern was a bit unordinary.

    His father didn''t care. That was the sole impression he had, growing up. His father didn''t pay much attention to his grandkids. Yue Ze witnessed himself the lack of attention his father paid to his grandchildren.

    Except, only at that time, his father actually pulled him aside, discussing with Yue Ze about this topic in a serious manner.

    His father told him that if Wei Yunjing was not fulfilling her role as a wife, then there would be no need for her position. Yue Ze had the excuse to file a divorce paper if he wished. Or, at the very least, Yue Ze should take in a few concubines. Regardless of what Yue Ze chose, the one thing that he shouldn''t do was keeping Yunjing as his one and only wife.

    Yue Ze recalled that he had been infuriated when he first heard his father say that. He recalled how he responded with rage that Yunjing would be his one and only wife¡ª he promised her that¡ª and that he didn''t have the slightest interest in divorcing her or finding concubines.

    After hearing this, his father had been silent for a few moments. Then, quietly, he said one phrase.

    "Then son, I hope that you don''t regret this in the future."

    Yue Ze had wondered what his father meant by this, both in the past memory where he was told that, and in the current memory where he drank his wine at the porch and pondered about things. He assumed that it was only in regards to having children and descendants.

    Of course¡ª he was wrong. Very, very wrong.

    Only, it would take him a year to find out why. It would take a year for him to discover the true meaning behind his father''s words.

    And when he did, he experienced the exact thing his father predicted: regret

    ¡­

    In the twelfth memory, a year had passed. Yunjing was sitting with Yue Ze in a garden, feeding the swirling fish in the pond.

    That was when she said, out of the blue, "I''m going to reveal my identity as the inventor of all those inventions soon."

    Yue Ze blinked at this, but soon enough, he smiled. "Sure. I''ll support you." His eyes glanced from the fish to her. "But why now? What gave you the sudden inspiration?"

    "I''m not sure," she replied with a hum, "I thought over it the past few nights. I think that at this point, I''m old enough so that I can reveal these things without it being much of a scandal. My family shouldn''t care so much anymore, don''t you think?"

    "You''re right." He nodded. "The capital has been calm recently. It would be a good time to reveal. Do you have any plans for how you will do this?

    She told him about it. She told him how she planned for it to be a grand revelation, and all the things she wanted to occur on the day that she would execute this plan on. He listened attentively, encouragingly.

    If this was her greatest dream, why should he stop her from carrying it out?

    He wanted her to be happy.

    ¡­

    In the thirteenth memory, that was when things began to fall apart.

    The entire Wei Family was executed.

    From the patriarch Chancellor Wei, head of the legislative bureau, to the government official cousins he had introduced to the court, to his wives and concubines, to his descendants¡ª all of them, dead, executed under the name of treason.

    The offenses were stacked up against Chancellor Wei, personally presented to the Emperor by Yue Ze''s father, Chancellor Yue. They came in unbelievable amounts, years of evidence carefully collected and put together.

    Chancellor Wei had been scamming the tax system by manipulating lower officials in court to deliver to him the wealth that had passed their management. He hoarded the gold, silver, and grain that the peasants paid up all to himself, reporting false numbers to keep himself from being caught in all these years.

    Chancellor Wei had been using these resources to fund a secret, private army that he had been developing without any permission or acknowledgement.

    Chancellor Wei had been manipulating the legislative bureau and formed a solid faction in court, all in support of himself.

    Chancellor Wei had been contacting the enemy country, Northern Zhou, which had been the largest rival of the Xiang Empire since the split of the previous empire and the formation of Xiang.

    And the deadliest offense of them all¡ª Chancellor Yue had been planning to usurp the Emperor, using the wealth he had gathered, the private army he had formed, the faction he developed, and his connections with the enemy.

    At all of this, the Emperor was enraged. There were accounts of the Emperor storming through the palace, knocking over papers, determined to get his own hands on this Chancellor Wei''s throat.

    The Chancellor Wei who he had devoted so many resources to, the Chancellor Wei that he trusted even more than Chancellor Yue in the court, the Chancellor Wei who advised him the most¡­

    ¡­ turned out to be the Chancellor Wei that betrayed him the most.

    The Emperor didn''t want to believe the evidence, but it was far too much. It was far too much, far too solid, for it to be anything but real.

    And thus, a decree was passed.

    The Wei Family, traitors to Xiang, would be decapitated. All shall be sent to the prison until their execution date, where the chopping block waited for their heads.

    Yue Ze, when he heard all of this, was horrified.

    Wei Yunjing, on the other hand, reacted even worse.

    She refused to believe it at first. She thought that it was a lie. She begged Yue Ze to say that he was lying, to say that he told nothing close to the truth.

    But Yue Ze couldn''t respond.

    He was more terrified with the idea that Yunjing, part of the Wei Family herself, would be taken away. That she, too, would join her family to be decapitated. He couldn''t have this. He couldn''t have this. He couldn''t let them take her away from him. He wouldn''t allow it.

    Only moments after this news reached his ears, a new piece of news was delivered. It was revealed that Yunjing would not have to die. Just the day before, Chancellor Wei had written a long letter, requesting that his daughter would be disowned. He said that he was ashamed of her, and that he could not stand the idea of someone like her as part of his family. Her name had already been removed from the family records. He planned to reveal it today, if not for the fact that the treason accusation occured.

    This news shocked Yunjing even more.

    There was no logical reason for this. Her father had always loved her. She was his only official child from his official wife. He never showed her anything but love, even when she pretended like she lost all of her memories. The same went with her mother. Her mother would never allow her father to disown her.

    That was when she realized that her father wrote that disowning letter because he knew what was coming. He somehow knew about all of this just a moment beforehand, and just to save her life¡ª he could only afford to save her life¡ª he would rather disown her, just so she would not be counted as part of the family to be executed.

    At this point, Yunjing was still unwilling to understand.

    Her father. Her mother. Her whole family, who treated her well. Her whole family, who never gave her anything but love.

    They were all dead now. Or, to be dead.

    Yue Ze watched her collapse. He could see the entire moment where it happened, where she went from denial to true madness.

    She screamed at him.

    She screamed and yelled and cried and begged and sobbed and choked and wept and wailed.

    She clutched him, still praying and demanding that it was all a big joke, a joke played by the Emperor, a joke played by his father. She knew it was not. But at this moment, she could not assure herself in any other way.

    Yue Ze was at a loss of what to do. He froze in that moment, uncertain.

    His father had been the reason for all of this.

    His father, who he had desired attention from for all his life. His father, who despite his rivalry with the Wei Family, never showed any signs of going to this point. His father, who had warned him in the past that Yue Ze would regret keeping Wei Yunjing as his wife.

    Yue Ze realized that his father knew, a year ago. He knew everything that would happen.

    Considering the evidence he had collected against Chancellor Wei, he had been planning this for years. Behind the open rivalry the two families had, one of the two was trying to tear the other one down all of these years. Or maybe both families had planned. Maybe Chancellor Wei planned the same thing to the Yue Family, only Chancellor Yue beat him by one step.

    The one thing his father did not expect was for his foolish third son to fall for the Wei''s only daughter. The other thing that his father did not expect was for Chancellor Wei to love his daughter enough that he would disown her to save her life.

    His father planned for Wei Yunjing to die. He had planned to, ever since he told Yue Ze that he would regret not divorcing Wei Yunjing, or perhaps even long before that. And if Yunjing died, Yue Ze, as her husband, would fall under this execution too.

    Chancellor Yue would sacrifice his son for the sake of, what?

    More power in court?

    The idea that his life was worth this much was what made Yue Ze freeze. He should''ve known. He should''ve known that he¡ª and all of his brothers¡ª were nothing more than chess pieces to his father. His father only gave these chess pieces a little more attention based on how useful they were.

    That was all.

    The memory of his father saying to him, "You did well, son," and the blooming smile, the proudness in Yue Ze''s chest when he heard that, suddenly made Yue Ze sick to the stomach.

    But Yunjing.

    She was the one who was suffering right now. She was the one who was in the most pain, the pain of her family being killed. All Yue Ze had was a heartless father. He had no right to think about that at this moment.

    Yue Ze moved, wrapping his arms around Yunjing. He patted her gently, as comforting as he could. He had to be strong for her.

    He couldn''t say anything. Saying something like "it will be alright" would be nothing but a lie. Both of them knew the truth. Both of them knew that things would be anything but right.

    Eventually, she calmed down from her hysteria. As time went on, she stopped screaming, stopped struggling. She was still shaking. Tears still fell from her eyes uncontrollably. Her breaths were still hiccuped.

    Yue Ze couldn''t imagine what was going on in her head.

    She had married the son of the person who would kill her father, her family.

    Chancellor Wei might not be the father of her past life. But in the years that she had known him, it was enough to make her love all of the Wei Family.

    This love was pain.

    Her love for her family, her knowledge of their impending death, and the fact that she could not do anything about it, pained her.

    Her love for Yue Ze perhaps pained her even more.

    Yet in the end, she only had him to cry into.

    Finally, once the tears managed to cease for a moment, she breathed, her voice hoarse, "Do you think¡­ that if I didn''t exist¡­ perhaps one of my siblings could be saved?"

    Yue Ze didn''t know what to say to that. He still didn''t know anything to say at all.

    "Yunjing," he finally let out, "the decisions that have already been made cannot be changed."

    It was a useless sentence.

    It was a useless, useless sentence, and both were more than aware.

    Yunjing still leaned into his shoulder. She still shed her tears.

    Later, she would still run in the middle of the streets to see her family being paraded down the streets, in the direction of the execution court. She would still try her best, in any sort of way, to stop what was fated to happen to pass by.

    She would still stand there, in the middle of the crowd, watching the heads of her father and mother, her brothers and sisters, her aunts and uncles, roll onto the floor. She would still stand there, watching the red bloom underneath the heads, dripping from the severed necks.

    After that, she would still allow time to heal its wounds. She would still smile, wishing for those memories to fade, wishing to stop them from haunting her dreams, from following her step.

    She would still try to get over it. She would still try to make herself "alright" again. She would still try to fool over Yue Ze, to convince him that she was truly fine.

    But a part of the two of them, deep, deep down inside, knew.

    They both knew that after that day, the day where they found out what was going to happen, nothing would ever be truly fine again.

 Chapter 216 - The Shattering Memory Fragments of the Past

    The fourteenth memory was a fragment of a conversation.

    "You don''t blame me?" he asked.

    "No. Why would I? You didn''t do anything," she answered.

    "But my father. He¡ª he was the reason," he went on.

    "You are not your father," she replied.

    And then she put on a small smile, one with her eyebrows raised, head tilted.

    "Yet sometimes, I wonder why fate must be so cruel."

    ¡­

    In the fifteenth memory, a year had passed since the execution.

    Ever since that day, Yujing spent more and more time alone. She used to spend her days with a few close friends. Now, she barely visited them, keeping to herself in her courtyard. At times, she didn''t want to see Yue Ze either.

    He respected that. She was still in mourning.

    In this memory, he had just returned back to their villa from a morning session of teaching his students. He found Yunjing sitting by herself, embroidering a piece of silk cloth. She looked down at her piece, seemingly giving all her attention to it.

    Spring had arrived. Birds were chirping. A soft breeze fluttered through the yard. New leaves budded on the branches left bare by winter''s hands.

    Yue Ze sat down across from her. "What are you embroidering?" he asked, starting a conversation.

    Her hands pausing, she looked up and replied, "Some birds."

    He nodded and poured himself a cup of tea, glancing over at the side. Two birds were sitting on top of a nest built at a tree, and at a closer look, it seemed like the father bird was feeding his children with a worm he found. Yue Ze then looked over at the birds that Yunjing was embroidering. They seemed like the same two birds¡ª common ones that no one usually embroidered.

    "Are those your inspiration?" he asked, gesturing at the birds perched at the tree.

    Yunjing looked up again, eyes traveling in the direction he pointed at. "Yes," she answered softly, breath catching.

    A moment passed, and she set the embroidery in her hands down. Yue Ze noticed this, turning to her and waiting for her to say something.

    She ended up saying, her voice quiet, "Today would''ve been my mother''s fiftieth birthday."

    ¡­

    In the sixteenth memory, Yunjing and Yue Ze were having a conversation.

    It was one of the few times that she ever spoke about her family after the date that they passed. This conversation was one that happened in the middle of the night, where Yue Ze woke up and found that Yunjing was not asleep either.

    He asked her why. She said it was because she dreamed of her family again, and she could no longer fall asleep after that dream.

    "You know," she had said, "Sometimes, I think that I''m fine. Sometimes, I think that all these days have passed, and every day, I am erasing a little more of them. Sometimes, I think that I''ve already moved on."

    She paused right here. She paused, taking a deep breath.

    "But then, there are little things. I''d see the foods that my younger brother liked to eat. I''d see the type of silk that my mother liked to wear. I''d find a pendant my father gave me, as part of my dowry, that I had stored in a box a long time ago. And it''s grief. It''s grief all over again. Grief and grief and grief."

    Yunjing rolled over, facing away from him.

    "Sometimes," she whispered, "I feel so tired."

    Yue Ze had turned to face her after hearing this, gently whispering back, "If you want to continue talking about it, I''m always here to listen. Whenever."

    Yunjing shifted herself to face him again, one of her hands reaching out to cup his face. In the murky darkness, he couldn''t see her features, but he imagined a light smile gracing her lips.

    "Thank you," she said.

    Yet after this moment, she kept silent. The next morning, they didn''t speak about this conversation they had. It was almost like a dream, like something that never existed.

    And ever since they had that conversation, Yunjing never brought up the topic of her family on her own again.

    ¡­

    In the seventeenth memory, Yue Ze caught Yunjing returning home after attending a friend gathering. This was the first official one that she decided to go to after declining countless invitations and staying in the villa.

    Instead of returning back joyfully, however, she returned home with her head cast down and eyebrows knitted. Yue Ze, who was walking between courtyards to find a good object to reference for a new painting, saw her right then. He noticed that she barely greeted him before heading off in the opposite direction¡ª an act definitely different than usual.

    "What''s wrong?" he immediately asked, turning to her and grabbing her hand to stop her.

    Yunjing froze in her steps, but she didn''t move to look at him. "Nothing," she answered.

    "Something''s wrong," Yue Ze insisted, moving in front of her.

    He saw her put on a smile. Her smile. That smile. The smile she always put on. "I said, nothing''s wrong," she repeated.

    "I''m not blind, Yunjing." He put his hands around her shoulders. "Something''s clearly wrong. Talk to me about it."

    She took a step back. His hands fell.

    "Alright, then. I''ll tell you," she said, her voice slowly rising in volume, "I''ll tell you how people think that your wife is an embarrassment to be around. That she should be ashamed of herself to even step outside with the surname of ''Wei''. That she must be a pathetic traitor like that sorry father of hers who ended up with his head rolling on the ground."

    Yunjing''s eyes were watering up. When she finished with her words, she took another step back, wrapping her arms around her tense self.

    Yue Ze''s expression dropped. His temper flared up, eyes widening. With a clenched jaw, he demanded, "Who said that to you?"

    The anger and frustration building up within Yunjing seemed to vanish with that question. She glanced down, the side of her lip twitching up with a laugh. "People who I ignorantly believed to be my friends."

    "Give me names," he continued to demand. Seeing her hesitation, he pressed, "Even if they were your old friends, you shouldn''t still keep covering up for them. Two-faced people like that don''t deserve it. Give me names."

    "Oh?" Yunjing looked up again. "And what will you do about it, if I give you these names?" Her expression shifted into a smirk. "Oh wait, I forgot. You''re the son of the almighty Chancellor Yue. How could you possibly allow your traitor wife to be shunned by the rest of society?"

    Yue Ze stepped back, eyes widening again. He lost the aggressive tone threaded in his voice. "Yunjing, why are you being this way?" He hesitated, then said, "If you don''t want to give names, fine, but still, talk to me about it. Don''t close off like that. Like I said before, I''m here to listen."

    "Listen? And then what? How could you possibly understand? It''s not like you get told by others to be ashamed of that ''Yue'' surname. Your father is doing as fine as ever. You have all the honor in the world, even as that son your father never cared about," she snapped.

    She gave him one last look, then turned and walked away again.

    Stunned by her remark, Yue Ze couldn''t quite move.

    He had heard similar things in his past. He heard it from his brothers, from his colleagues, from the other nobles.

    But hearing Yunjing say that¡ª the Yunjing he knew as the person who always encouraged him, who would never say something like that¡ª was different.

    He couldn''t understand it at all.

    Instead of staying frozen in place, though, Yue Ze suddenly blinked, chasing after her. He grabbed her again, forcing her to stop.

    His words came out in a blurred rush. "You''re not telling me what''s wrong. Stop. I know¡ª something must be wrong¡ª you''re not usually like this¡ª just talk to me. Talk to me, Yunjing."

    At this, she couldn''t hold it back anymore. The tears that she had been holding back, the mix between betrayal, rage, and pain, rushed out of her.

    "Why are you so good?" she cried, "Why are you this way? I tried so hard to push you away, but you''re still like this. Why?"

    "You''re trying to push me away?" he echoed, loosening his grip around her, "That''s¡ª just¡ª why would you do that?"

    "That''s¡ª" she faltered.

    He demanded, "Tell me."

    She stared at him, tears spilling out of her eyes. "Alright¡ª because I feel like a burden, alright? I feel like a pathetic, worthless burden to you. I''m so sick and tired of all of this. I''m so sick and tired of everyone. I''m sick of the person I am today. I hate all of it. All of it, all of it, all of it. I hate myself for being the last person alive in my entire family, and that the whole world mocks me to the point where I can''t even go by my name without getting mocked. I''m exhausted by the way that things always turn out in the end. I hate the kind of person that I''ve become, and how I''m treating you, and how I''m acting right now¡ª"

    She was collapsing again. She was collapsing right in front of his eyes, and Yue Ze couldn''t stop this rush of emotions from spilling out of her.

    At the end of her long rant, she took a deep breath, reaching up and wiping her tears. "Something''s just so wrong with me, and I''m so lost. I don''t even know what the purpose of continuing on is, certain days."

    "Don''t say that," Yue Ze immediately interjected, eyebrows furrowed, "Yunjing¡­ I think that you just need to¡­ take a break from all of this. Stop associating yourself with those people, and find more people that appreciate you for who you are. But first, you need to learn to love and accept yourself. Hearing you say all of this¡ª it really pains me. It pains me to see you treat yourself this way."

    "Then, tell me what am I supposed to do? Repeat to myself in the mirror every single day that I love myself?" Her tone continued to shift in every second. "That''s bullsh*t."

    "You should do what gives you happiness," he suggested.

    "What gives me happiness?" She paused. "I want the world to know my name. I don''t want to hide under a pseudonym anymore. I want to be known for what I did. That will give me happiness."

    Hearing this, Yue Ze''s first response was to support her, urging her to go do that. Yet then, a new idea suddenly surfaced in Yue Ze''s mind.

    In the past, perhaps she could do that. Despite the lack of equality in this world, she could slowly build up her name and win herself what she wanted.

    Only now, things would be different.

    The Wei surname was indeed like what Yunjing said¡ª something deemed as a traitor''s name. Even if Yue Ze didn''t want to admit it, it was the truth.

    If the world knew that Wei Yunjing was the one behind making better salt, creating soap, redesigning fans to have the folding shape, updating the luxury products that elites liked to use, bringing new concepts and techniques to outdated methods¡­ what would be the reaction?

    He could imagine the doubt and skepticism already. He could imagine what people would have to say, especially on the topic of wealth.

    If Wei Yunjing was the one behind all of this, she must''ve raked in enormous wealth. It''s impossible to store all the gold without using it, so what if she, too, contributed to her father''s private army? What if she was the one supporting her traitor family the most, and why they got to do all the things they did? What if her father disowned her to keep her alive, just so that she could continue his legacy with her wealth? What if she could become a threat to the Emperor himself?

    Even disowned, the blood that ran in hers was blood of the Wei Family. Who was to say that she wouldn''t be like her father and try to usurp the Emperor as well? Who was to say that she wouldn''t try supporting those future usurpers of the throne?

    Yue Ze wondered if he was overthinking.

    Except these fears¡ª the fears that these exact suspicions might rise up¡ª grew in his heart.

    He blurted out, "Can we¡­ push the entire idea of revealing your identity back a little bit?"

    Very clearly, he knew that this was the wrong thing to say. For right in front of him, he saw her change¡ª the way her lips curled down, eye twitching. She backed away, shaking her head slowly.

    "So you, too, have become one of them," she murmured.

    Yue Ze didn''t understand the person in front of him right now. He didn''t understand the way she looked at him, devoid of anything in her gaze. He didn''t understand the way she spoke, her tone so sharp as if they were enemies.

    "Yunjing¡­ why have you become like this?" he asked, his voice a low murmur as well.

    "I haven''t turned into anyone, Yue Ze. I''ve always been this way," she answered, her voice cold.

    "Then, what about the old Yunjing that I knew?"

    She smiled. He thought he knew her smile. He thought he knew the person behind the smile. He thought he knew her so well.

    Yet with this smile, he swore that he almost couldn''t recognize her anymore.

    "She was a lie," Yunjing said, "She was just a lie that you wanted to believe in."

    ¡­

    The eighteenth memory occurred only a few hours after, when the two of them made up again.

    "I''m sorry," she whispered, "I shouldn''t have lashed out like that."

    "I''m sorry," he repeated back, "I should''ve tried to be more considerate."

    Things went on. Their lives went on. They didn''t speak about the fight again. He was still the same Yue Ze. She was back to the old Yunjing.

    ¡­

    In the nineteenth memory, a year later, Yunjing brought up the topic of revealing her identity again.

    She was painting right next to Yue Ze. The two were having an informal competition of some sort.

    Yue Ze always liked to watch her paint. Her works, perhaps because she enjoyed painting as a hobby in her past life, always had something original about them that no other artist reflected. Even after so many years of knowing her, he admired her creations.

    In the midst of outlining some details, Yunjing suddenly looked up from her work.

    "Yue Ze," she called out.

    "Hm?" He looked up as well.

    "I still want to reveal my identity."

    This made him set his brush down. "Yunjing, I thought we talked about this. Can we just wait a bit?"

    "Wait? How much longer do I have to wait?" Her eyes narrowed.

    "Just until all of this is over. The topic of your¡­ father is still fresh, and it''s better to avoid drawing more attention to yourself¡ª"

    "So, should I wait until my life is almost over?" she asked, jaw set.

    "I don''t mean that," he stated, pressing his lips into a flat line, "You know I don''t. It''s just¡­ have you even thought of the complications?"

    She folded her hands together. "I''m not an idiot. I''ve thought of them. Yue Ze, I''ve really thought of all of them. But you know that this is the one and only thing I ever always wanted. It''s what I live for."

    "I can''t have that." He shook his head. "I can''t have that," he repeated again,  "If you''ve thought of the problems that could rise up, then you should know. You could potentially be putting your life on the block for this. I can''t lose you, Yunjing, because of this. I really can''t."

    Yunjing stared at him, expression blank. She echoed again, "This is all I''ve ever wanted."

    "You can''t. You can''t do it," he reiterated.

    "It''s the only thing I have hope for," she whispered.

    "And this hope is exactly what will destroy you."

    Yue Ze was set. He couldn''t have her risking her life for this. He couldn''t imagine the thought of losing her. He knew that it was selfish of him. But when it came to this, when it was Yunjing''s life on the line, he knew what his answer would be. He knew what his answer would always be.

    "Can''t you try something else?" he pleaded, "Spend some more time doing other things. You can do the entire identity reveal some day in the future. Just not now."

    She didn''t say anything to this. She only kept her eyes down, beginning to paint again, this time silently.

    Yue Ze didn''t say anything either, picking up his brush as well.

    That was when Yunjing, only a moment later, stopped. She picked up the half-finished painting she was working on, folding it over and smudging all the paint.

    "What are you doing?" Yue Ze instantly frowned, confused by her sudden actions.

    She didn''t say anything.

    She only grabbed the folded paper, walking out to the yard and throwing it onto the floor. Then, she walked back in the room, going to the shelves and pulling the scrolls of paintings off the shelves, heaping it into her hands. These were all her paintings. Yue Ze knew where she kept her work.

    Yue Ze stood up, eyes tracking her movement.

    She took this bundle of scrolls, throwing it to the pile out in the yard. She then went to the walls, ripping off the few favorite paintings of hers that she loved and was proud of. That was why she hung them up.

    A faint inkling of what Yunjing might be planning to do flashed in Yue Ze''s mind.

    He dropped the brush in his hand, rushing to Yunjing.

    "What are you doing?" he exclaimed.

    She ignored him, only moving faster and grabbing a candle with a small flame on it. Even though it was already morning, this candle had not yet been put out.

    He knew for sure what she was planning now.

    Yunjing rushed out to the yard, where she had tossed all her paintings. Yue Ze leapt after her, grabbing her before she could toss the candle into that pile.

    "Wei Yunjing!" he yelled, "Are you insane? What are you doing?"

    "Let me go," she struggled, finally saying something, "Let go of my hand."

    His fingers tightened their grip. "Stop¡ª Yunjing¡ª stop that! Why are you doing all of this?"

    She didn''t even answer. With her other hand, she suddenly swung over, grabbing the candle to her free hand. Before Yue Ze could do anything about it, she twisted her body, pitching it into the stack of papers.

    "NO¡ª" Yue Ze exclaimed, letting go of her and rushing forward, trying to put out the growing fire.

    The flame, starting from the tiny candle, flickered upwards, growing in size. With its insatiable hunger, it ran across all the papers at incredible speed.

    Yunjing pushed Yue Ze aside. She held herself between him and the flames, calmly saying, "They''re my paintings. If I want to burn them, I will burn them."

    He hated how calm she was right now. He took a step to the left, and she took a step to the left. He took another step over, and she moved as well, continuing to block her.

    He realized that she had her mind set on having these paintings burnt.

    Even if he wanted to, he couldn''t stop her. Yunjing was determined to burn all her works, judging by her attitude, and he couldn''t force her to move aside without seriously injuring her.

    Eyes wide, still, at the sight of flames in front of him, he cried out, "Then why? Why would you burn all of them? What point is there?"

    She replied softly, "I just don''t see a purpose in having all these paintings. If the world cannot know my name, if the world cannot remember me, then what is the point of leaving behind these objects that no one will remember?"

    "Yunjing, this¡ª this is crazy. Are you out of your mind?" Yue Ze continued.

    "I''m not, Yue Ze."

    She wasn''t angry. She wasn''t shouting or screaming or crying.

    She was calm. Calmer than ever.

    And perhaps this serenity was what frightened Yue Ze the most.

    He could only stare helplessly as the flames destroyed the work.

    ¡­

    A sudden memory, one from years before the fire, flashed in his mind.

    It was one where he sat with a much younger Yunjing under a tree. He was nineteen here. So young. So naive.

    Back then, he was thinking intently and quietly about something. So Yunjing had leaned over, smiling at his focused expression.

    "What are you thinking about?" she had questioned.

    "About what I should call you," Yue Ze admitted, a bit embarrassedly, "Yunjing? Or Jing''er? Yun''er?"

    "Hm." She thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I don''t like either Jing''er or Yun''er. I just like the way that you say my name. Yunjing. It''s nice." She laughed a little.

    Yue Ze laughed too. "Alright then. No nicknames. Just Yunjing."

    "And just Yue Ze," she hummed in agreement, "Yunjing and Yue Ze. Sounds good together, doesn''t it?"

    He had grinned, almost shy at this. "It does," he muttered.

    "It what?" she asked, "I didn''t hear what you said."

    "I said it does!" he proclaimed.

    "It does what?" she continued asking, a teasing smile surfacing on her lips.

    "It sounds good together, alright?" Yue Ze finally admitted, rolling his eyes. "We sound good together."

    "That''s right." She grinned back. "We do."

    ¡­

    Yet only a second after this memory flashed in his mind, he was back in the scene in front of him.

    It was a scene of Yunjing standing between him and the fire, blank determination across her face. It was a scene with a fire in the back, burning up all the paintings she had worked on in her entire life.

    All those paintings, all those memories.

    Burnt. Gone.

    When the fire died down, running out of papers to burn, that was when Yunjing finally stepped aside. She finally turned to look, staring at all of it. Her expression was unreadable.

    The last few flickers of flames eventually ceased.

    Only ashes were left behind.

 Chapter 217 - The Last Memory Fragment of the Past

    Time went on, as usual. Months passed, as usual.

    Things became normal, as usual. Or, as usual as things could possibly be.

    Yunjing stopped asking about going public with her status as the creator of the inventions. She could''ve gone and did it if she didn''t let Yue Ze know. They both knew that he couldn''t truly stop her if he wanted to. But maybe she simply didn''t have the spirit to do it anymore.

    She gave up on the idea. She gave up on all of it.

    And though Yue Ze didn''t want to admit it, he was relieved that she gave up on this thought. He just needed to keep Yunjing alive. Anything else, to him, didn''t matter.

    Yet he had been so wrong.

    ¡­

    Winter eventually came.

    This year, towards the beginning of the season, it was warmer than usual.

    On this fateful day¡ª the day of the last memory fragment¡ª Yue Ze had stayed in the academy for a prolonged period of time, working with tutoring one of his best students. When he returned back to the villa, it was already nearing the evening.

    He found Yunjing sitting under the plum tree in her courtyard, two jugs of wine and a basket by her side. When she saw him, she gestured her head at the basket, saying, "The weather is nice outside today. Have a drink with me while we eat dinner?"

    Yue Ze smiled, sitting down across from her. "Sure," he agreed, "It''s rare to see you in such good spirits."

    "Good spirits?" she repeated slowly, pausing before adding on, "I guess you could word it like that." She opened one of the jugs, pouring the wine out in two cups. "Plum blossom wine. As usual."

    Yue Ze accepted the cup she handed to him and sipped at it. "You''re always better at making this wine than me," he remarked.

    Yunjing smiled softly. "I made a few extra jugs today. In the future, when the wine is ready, you''ll have plenty to drink. It''ll last you a while."

    "Ah. That''s great."

    Yue Ze reached forward, opening the basket which held the plates of vegetables and rice for dinner. He took these plates out, placing them on the raised stone edge they sat on.

    "I cooked all of that myself today," Yunjing explained, "I know my cooking skills aren''t the best, but I wanted to do something for you."

    Yue Ze raised his eyebrows. "Is today a special day? It''s not your birthday, not my birthday, not any anniversary, not any holiday¡­"

    She laughed a little. "No, not a special day. Like I said before, the weather was good. Or like you said, I''m in a good mood today."

    "I see." Yue Ze tried a piece of white radish, then made a face. "Too salty."

    "Well, I tried," Yunjing replied defensively. "At least my cooking is better than whatever you cook. If the dishes are too salty, try the pastries."

    Listening to her, Yue Ze cast his gaze over to the plate of pastries. He recognized the pastries¡ª they were the ones that he made for Yunjing so many years back. They were her favorite pastries.

    "How nostalgic," he noted.

    She seemed to know what he was thinking of. "I still remember the taste of the pastries you made me. Those awful, misshapen cakes."

    He frowned, thinking back to her reaction when she ate them. "Awful? You said they tasted good back then!"

    "I was being nice," she stated, the corners of her lips curved up.

    Something about her smile was different today. It was more relaxed, more natural, with her soft gaze that reflected just a hint of nostalgia.

    Yunjing refilled their cups, during the silence that fell between them. "Remember that festival? The one where you told me you liked me. It wasn''t the first time, either. You used to chase me around all day with those words."

    "I was young and naive back then. But¡ª the festival was the first time that you said ''yes''."

    "It was." She hesitated, casting her gaze down.

    Yue Ze hesitated too, before saying, "I promised back then that I would never let you down. But I have, haven''t I?" He finished his cup of wine. "Sometimes, I feel like I have most definitely let you down. Sometimes, I regret it. And sometimes, I wonder if you regret it too."

    She looked up. "Regret what?"

    "Everything. From all those decisions to the first ''yes'' you ever said."

    Yunjing downed her wine. The smile on her face was still there while she slowly began her words.

    "I''ve come to realize that regret is pointless. It''s our human nature to regret. We regret everything, every wrong choice, every word spoken, every action taken. We live in the past, forever hung up on all those fading memories. We''re so absorbed in all of that that we forget the present. We forget to look and enjoy our lives in the moment. Yet what is the point of all the regret? What is the point of living in the past? Those memories are unchanging. Those past mistakes are unfixable. It is so pointless to only think of those times."

    Yue Ze lifted his brows. "And you now live in the present? The future?"

    Yunjing sighed. "I used to live in the future. Then, there was a long period of time that I lived in the past. When I met you¡ª I began to live in the future again. Yet it''s amusing¡ª after some more time, I found myself going back to the past. Only now¡ª I''m not sure. I''m not living in the past or the future, nor am I in the present. Isn''t that amusing?"

    "How can that be?

    "I''m not sure," she answered, fingers tapping against her cup. "I''m really not sure anymore, about anything."

    Her eyes slid to the plum tree she sat under.

    "Remember this tree, the first white plum blossoms?" Yunjing reached out her arm, placing her hand at the trunk of the tree.

    Yue Ze nodded. "I remember all of that."

    Her following words came out in a soft hush. "Your first confession. I wish that today, the blossoms have bloomed. That would''ve been a perfect sight."

    "The flowers will bloom in a month or two," Yue Ze assured, "Don''t worry."

    "Oh, of course. But still, I wish."

    Yunjing picked up the jug of wine, filling the two cups to the brim once more.

    "Yue Ze," she continued, "I''m a selfish person. I hope you don''t hold any grudges for all my selfish times."

    "You, selfish?" He grinned. "How can that be? You''re the most selfless person I know."

    "Is that so? There''s plenty of people out there better than me."

    "Perhaps. But you''re the only one who matters, to me. If anything¡ª" his voice caught, "I am the selfish one. Do you blame me?"

    "No. Never." She set her cup down, her gaze serious. "In return, in the future, don''t blame me for being selfish, alright?"

    "Alright."

    Yunjing smiled a little more now. "And with everything I said, don''t blame yourself either. Don''t regret. You have never let me down."

    It was such a painfully clear lie.

    He had let her down. He knew it. She knew it.

    A younger him had promised that thunder would strike him down if he broke his pledge to never let her down. A younger him had promised that he would regret it for life.

    However, thunder never struck him down. And she was telling him, right now, to not regret anymore.

    Perhaps both of them also realized that promises from their younger selves never counted for much.

    At this thought, Yue Ze found himself becoming drowsy. Maybe it was the wine. Or maybe he was truly tired from today and all the work.

    Yunjing noticed this. "It''s getting late. You should go sleep."

    "What about you, then?" he murmured.

    "I have an extra jug of wine, so I''ll just stay here and have a few extra drinks. It''s warm out here tonight. I want to see the stars."

    "I liked our conversation, though," Yue Ze went on, "It has been a while since the last time that we talked like this."

    "Then, one last drink," she recommended.

    "Alright. One last drink," he agreed.

    Yunjing took the almost empty jug of wine, filling their cups. After she did this, she paused, looking up at him and suggesting, "Can we link our arms, for this drink? I want to do it like how we did for our marriage ceremony."

    "I don''t see why not."

    He took his cup from her, raising it in her direction. She followed suit, linking her arm with his.

    Looking into her eyes, he whispered, "It''s so nostalgic."

    "Isn''t it?" she agreed.

    Then, he drank his wine. She drank her wine. It was truly their last drink shared, though he didn''t realize at the time.

    "Don''t catch a cold," he had said, when he rose up to leave.

    She gave him an assuring smile in return. "Don''t worry. I won''t."

    And that was how the night ended.

    ¡­

    During the night, Yue Ze slept better than he had ever before. When morning came, he sleepily moved his arms over to the side, expecting to find Yunjing, only to discover that she was not there.

    He thought that she would join him after finishing her stargazing.

    Maybe she fell asleep under the plum tree instead?

    He stretched and got out of bed, yawning as he moved across the room, to the door. Opening it, he looked over at the plum tree, finding that Yunjing was indeed still sleeping under there.

    Yue Ze frowned a little. Even though it was warm yesterday, the night was still somewhat cold. She shouldn''t have fallen asleep out there like that. But then again, it was like Yunjing to not care much about these things.

    Standing by the doors of the room, Yue Ze called out, "Yunjing¡ª aren''t you going to wake up already?"

    She didn''t respond.

    Yue Ze, thinking that she was just in a deep sleep, began to walk in her direction, continuing to call out her name. When he stopped right in front of her, speaking her name and seeing that she still didn''t respond at all, he realized that something was absolutely, most definitely wrong.

    She was perfectly still, almost as if she was frozen. Her eyelashes didn''t flutter, and there was no slight rise and fall in her chest.

    She was a sculpture.

    Yue Ze reached out, grabbing her arms. Eyes wide and fixed on her, he stammered, "Y-Yunjing, don''t¡ª don''t scare me."

    She didn''t respond.

    Her expression was relaxed, but her entire body was stiff. Her skin was cold to touch.

    "You''re¡­ scaring me, Yunjing. Wake up. Wake up."

    He shook her again, this time a little more vigorously.

    She didn''t respond.

    Yue Ze flinched up. He staggered back a few steps, eyes glancing all around him.

    Just last night, he was having a drink with her under the plum tree. And now¡­

    His eyes fixed on the second jar of wine that Yunjing said she would drink. It was still open, and almost full to the brim.

    Yue Ze grabbed that jar, raising it to his face and smelling the wine.

    It had a bitter scent to it: an unnatural, pungent bitterness, nowhere close to the fragrance of the wine he drank last night.

    Yue Ze quickly noticed that it wasn''t any ordinary jug of wine. It wasn''t what Yunjing pretended like it was.

    It was poison.

    The moment he came to that conclusion, he shook his head. He realized it and knew the truth, yet he couldn''t bring himself to acknowledge it.

    He dropped down to his knees again, right in front of Yunjing.

    He grabbed her, shaking her still, frantically cupping her face, pleading, "Yunjing¡ª wake up¡ª please¡ª please, just¡ª goddamn it, wake up¡ª"

    She didn''t respond.

    Words she said last night came echoing back in his mind.

    "I''m really not sure anymore, about anything."

    "In return, in the future, don''t blame me for being selfish, alright?"

    "Then, one last drink."

    He knew what had happened. He knew it so obviously. Yet he could not admit to it. He could not acknowledge the truth.

    "Yunjing¡ª Yunjing, Yunjing, Yunjing," he repeated over and over again.

    His hands were trembling. Or, no¡ª he was trembling. His entire body was shaking. His vision was blurring.

    "Yunjing, I''m sorry. I''m sorry¡ª please¡ª please, just wake up. I''m sorry. I''m really, really sorry. Don''t do this to me. Don''t be this way¡ª just wake up. Wake up. It''ll be alright¡ª it¡ª I''ll do anything¡ª just¡ª"

    He wanted her to open her eyes. He wanted her lips to curl up into a bright smile, like how she always did, and to pull him into a hug, to lean into him. He wanted her to laugh, and say, "You''re silly. Gosh. It was just a joke, and you''re already sobbing?"

    But she didn''t do any of that. She didn''t respond.

    Was this a nightmare? It had to be a nightmare. It couldn''t be real.

    He wished so hard that he was dreaming. He wished so hard that this was all one big hallucination.

    He grabbed her two hands, those two lifelessly still hands. They were no longer warm, like he remembered.

    That was when he noticed a red thread sticking out from her curled fingers.

    With wide eyes, he pried her hand open.

    What he saw next broke him.

    It was the clumsy red string bracelet he had woven her, so many years back. It was the bracelet that he tied around her wrist when both of them and their relationship were still simple, during that festival. It was the bracelet that he had almost forgotten, the bracelet that he had never thought that she would hold onto after all this time.

    It was the bracelet that signified his promise to her: his promise that he would never, ever let her down for all eternity.

    After all these years, she kept it. She kept it and believed in him.

    And with that trust she gave him, with the belief she put in him, he shattered all of it. He shattered all of it until all that was left was the Yunjing in front of him right now.

    Yue Ze couldn''t even move anymore.

    A droplet escaped one of his eyes, and then, the tears were unstoppable. They came flooding out, streaming down his cheeks.

    "Wei Yunjing¡ª" he yelled out in between his tears, "Wei Yunjing¡ª why did you have to do this¡ª have you ever thought about how¡ª how I could possibly deal with it¡ª you¡ª you can''t leave me, not like this¡ª"

    What did everything in the past mean? What did those words of being together until their hair turned white mean? What did that pairing of their names, Yue Ze and Wei Yunjing, mean? What did all those efforts to stay together, to be there for each other, mean?

    Everything, in the end, just turned out to be one broken promise, one large mistake.

    If only he had been a little more considerate in the past.

    If only he noticed a little more of those small hints she dropped all along.

    If only he was just a little more selfless, a little more there for her, a little more careful.

    If only he was a little more¡­

    Then, in the corner of his vision, something white came fluttering down from the skies.

    For a second, Yue Ze thought that it was a plum blossom petal. He thought that the white plum tree finally bloomed, a miracle of that past night. He thought that it was Yunjing''s last wish being fulfilled.

    Except, with a closer look, it was a flake of snow, drifting down from the clouds above them.

    The snowflake touched his skin, then dissolved, something fleeting and lovely in the middle of all his misery.

    With that first snowflake, all around him and Yunjing, more snow began to drift down.

    Yue Ze had to look up, at this unexpected, impossible sight.

    As the snow fluttered through the skies, Yue Ze''s eyes fixed onto a branch on the plum tree. Just like that, amidst the snow, there was a singular small white plum blossom blooming.

    It was just like the one memory of the past, the memory of the first confession¡ª white snow, white blossoms¡ª only back then, Yunjing was standing under the tree with him, smiling at the sight.

    Now, she had taken her own life under this exact tree.

    Yue Ze stood up, shaking his head. He had to find her a doctor¡ª right¡ª a physician would know what to do. Yunjing was just sleeping. As long as he found a good physician, she could be saved¡ª

    He gently raised his hand to her face again. Tears still slid down his cheeks, but he couldn''t feel them anymore. He just felt numb. Utterly numb.

    "Yunjing," he whispered, voice hoarse, "Please¡­ just wake up."

    Wei Yunjing wasn''t dead. Wei Yunjing couldn''t be dead.

    She was just asleep.

 Chapter 218 - Back to the Artist

    "I buried her outside of the capital, at the top of a mountain. I figured that with the open sky, the birds, and the trees, she could finally be free again. It was the last thing that I could do for her," he said, his voice becoming quiet.

    Yujia stared at her master. He was finished with his jug of wine, but he didn''t seem drunk at all. He only looked off into the distance, not quite displaying much emotion now, except for pure blankness.

    Carefully, she said, "How¡­ did you get better, afterwards?"

    He answered in his soft voice, still. "I didn''t think that I would, for a period of time. I took a long break from everything for numerous years and went traveling across the empire. I wish that I did that with her, but instead, back then, I was too worried about keeping the academy open and prosperous. Funnily enough, none of those foolish worries mattered. In the end, during my trip, Lingxin closed down. All the students were sent away."

    "Then, what happened when you returned?"

    He paused. "I thought that Lingxin would be a failure, after all those years during my departure. However, perhaps because my skills became refined over the years, I won the recognition of one of the princes. He became my disciple. Later, when the crown prince was deposed, this disciple became the new crown prince, and of course, the fame and honor came back to the academy."

    "That crown prince¡­ he''s the Emperor now, isn''t he?" Yujia asked, awe spreading across her face.

    "Indeed. Then, life just played out. I made friends with Ye Xuanhe, who is the school head that you know of ever since I retired. Lingxin Academy became what I always dreamed that it would become, yet she was not there by my side to see these things with me."

    Yujia observed him now. The old man in front of him wasn''t the spirited, careless master she knew. He was quieter, more careful with his words. Though, this personality change was to be expected. He had been this way ever since the start of the day.

    "She didn''t leave anything to me," he continued, "No paintings, no letters¡ª just a few of her creations that you see in your courtyard today. That was why I was so keen on taking you in as a student. The two of you truly share a similar style in art."

    Yujia blinked.

    Her master smiled now, gently, head inclined a bit to the side. "So, tell me child, what is the future like, for you?"

    Hearing this, Yujia raised her eyebrows, not from surprise, but rather how unexpected this question was. She figured that her master picked up on her status as a transmigrator ever since he began the story. After all, he said that she reminded him of his wife, and he knew his wife so well. How could he not guess Yujia''s true background as well?

    Yujia tapped her fingers on the table, thinking of a proper response. "The future is¡­ like how your wife described. More equality, more opportunities. Yet human nature, in the end, stays the same, even thousands of years later."

    "Is that so?" His smile grew a little fainter, but it didn''t vanish. "Since I''ve told you my story, isn''t it your turn now? Tell me about it all. I want to know," he brought up.

    Yujia knew that it was only fair. Straightening herself, she agreed and began her story.

    He revealed the rawest parts of his heart, so she did the same. She told him about everything¡ª about her parents, her broken family, her brother''s death, her failure in her career, her arrogance being her downfall, her constant habit of running away and being a coward, and her final moment before transmigration.

    He listened attentively. Yujia wasn''t sure if she was the best, most captivating storyteller, but she tried her hardest. He did his best to convey the darkest memories of his past. She could only attempt the same.

    At the end of all of this, her master requested, "If it''s not too much, can I ask if you''ve heard of a Wei Yunjing in your timeline? I¡­ wanted to know if perhaps, by chance, she went back to her time."

    Yujia shook her head slowly. "I''m sorry. I never paid much attention to the business world. If she did¡­ I haven''t heard of her."

    "Oh."

    She could see his expression fall, but her master quickly covered up his disappointment by looking away.

    Yujia, however, still had one last question. She had been meaning to ask, yet she didn''t quite know when to do so. Now, perhaps, seemed like a decent time.

    "Master, I want to know how you moved on."

    "How I moved on?" he echoed, raising his gaze up

    "Yes."

    Her master seemed to understand exactly what she was thinking about¡ª her brother. He thought for a moment, then explained to her his thoughts.

    "Every person has a different way of moving on. We run away, we hate the past, we wish that we were wiser back then and made a better choice, a better decision. For me, things began to change when I realized that she didn''t want me to act the way that I did. She didn''t want me to be unhappy, to suffer, and to hate both her and myself for our choices. She wanted me to stop regretting. I thought about the conversation we had that night for a long period of time."

    He folded his hands on the table in front of him.

    "Traveling helped. At first, it was a way for me to run away. Then, it was my way of understanding more¡ª about people, about her, and most importantly, about myself. Doing things that I loved helped. Going to places that made me realize how beautiful the world was, despite the ugly parts of life, gave me hope. For me, all it was was time. I let time do its job. Perhaps, for you, it can be something similar. Over time, you learn to stop focusing on the few memories of their death, and to think of the happier memories you spent with them. You learn to cherish these things."

    He sighed.

    "In the end, you cannot continue to be in denial. You cannot continue to try to crush and smother and bury the past. Forcing yourself to step over these emotions doesn''t help. It''s crucial to let it out, to find people who are willing to listen, and to move on."

    "Like I said from the start, everyone has a different way of moving on. There is no right or wrong. There are no guidelines or timelines. It is all your decision."

    Yujia stared at him.

    Seeing her expression, he let out a single laugh. "All that vagueness didn''t help at all, did it?"

    "Somewhat. But¡ª I''m still uncertain. And I hate this uncertainty. I hate the fact that I don''t really know what I''m doing with my life. I''ve had this feeling for so long, and I''m sick of it. I''m sick of all these emotions, and I want them to go away. I thought that trying to move on would help me, but it doesn''t. At all. I know that the past is the past, and I''ve accepted the fact that none of it is going to change. Yet there''s still that overwhelming guilt building up within me whenever I think of the past, along with so much, so much pain." she admitted.

    "Well," he paused, "maybe, my dear, you are just confused about the true meaning of moving on. Moving on is not simply accepting the past. It is not ridding yourself of these emotions either. Grief is grief. After all these years, even when you become someone as old and wrinkled as me, the grief does not go away."

    "Then, what''s the point of moving on?"

    "You no longer allow the grief to hinder your daily life. You accept it fully, the past and the emotions with it. You allow it to become a part of you, and that it can make you grow stronger. It''s not about making the grief vanish. It was never about that, in the first place. Perhaps moving forward would be a better way to say it."

    She didn''t quite have a response to this.

    "Still confused?" he asked, resting his chin on his hand.

    "To be honest, yes."

    "Ah. You''ll understand one day." He waved his other hand, sighing again. "Is there anything else you would like to ask or talk about?"

    "No, not really." Yujia stopped, realizing that this was a subtle signal that the conversation was over. She stood up, bowing. "This disciple thanks master for the story and wisdom."

    "I''m glad we had this conversation." He smiled back at her.

    "Me too."

    He waved his hand again. "Since we''re finished with all of this, this old man is feeling tired. Why don''t you go busy yourself with your things?"

    "Of course."

    Yujia accepted the farewell and departed, plenty of new thoughts swarming in her head.

    ¡­

    As Yue Ze watched her disappearing figure, he sighed again.

    To be young and bold¡ª he was once like that as well.

    He wondered: if he had grandchildren, they would be around her age as well, wouldn''t they?

 Chapter 219 - Unoriginal and the Artist

    The conversation Yujia had with her master took up the first half of the day. After eating lunch, she decided to get to work¡ª or at least, to be a productive person.

    She grabbed the small box that she technically stole from Madam Zhang, placing it into her sleeve. She also made sure that her satchel of taels were full and in her pocket. Then, Yujia left Lingxin in search of a locksmith.

    Today would be the day where she would get someone to open this box for her.

    Wandering in the marketplace for a while brought Yujia to the shop of a reputable locksmith in the capital. She had to ask around a bit to see which shop would be the best shop to go to, and so, here she was¡ª at what she expected to be the most trustworthy locksmith in the city.

    As usual, when she went out in a female identity, Yujia wore the veil that Zhou Luowei gifted her. Her attire and dress all seemed to be that of a typical young miss, so it was no surprise that the people in the locksmith shop were a bit startled the moment she walked in.

    After all, what could any young miss go to a locksmith for? If she needed anything, she should''ve sent a servant.

    On the other hand, Yujia wasn''t dressed as a young miss to act like one. She just needed to keep her identity private, and the veil that Luowei gave her matched best with more young-miss-like robes.

    This time around, Yujia didn''t bother with any flowery language or subtle lies. She simply took out the box, placed it on the counter in front of her, and told the locksmith what she wanted.

    "I need you to forge a key that can open this box without damaging it or the lock."

    The locksmith hesitated, perhaps still a bit taken aback by her appearance and identity. Thus, Yujia had to use her classic trick of bribery, pulling out her satchel of taels and taking out quite a bit.

    "If you manage to do this for me by tomorrow, all these taels are yours."

    At this, the expression of the locksmith changed. People were always like this, when given the incentive of money.

    It was true that as long as one had money, anything was possible in this world¡­

    The locksmith smiled at Yujia, scratching his neck. His tone immediately became more friendly. "Young Miss, that should be an doable task for me."

    "Alright," Yujia paused, then continued, "I also expect that with your shop having the positive reputation that it has, no matter what you find in that box when you open it, you will not touch it or spread word of its contents."

    "Of course. That''s a definite policy of my shop." He nodded.

    Things worked out far easier now that Yujia had taels that she could just bribe people with. She gave him a smile, pleased with how quickly everything was settled.

    Yujia paid him a few taels as a down payment, then left the shop.

    This man seemed like a trustworthy locksmith. If she couldn''t trust him to do his job, then she wouldn''t be able to do anything about the box or the contents within it. Even though she didn''t like the idea of other people who she didn''t know well being able to see the contents of the box before she did, she supposed that it was the same concept of letting a new hairdresser have control over the customer''s haircut. When it came to letting professionals do their job, some basic trust was needed.

    It was overall a simple concept.

    ¡­

    To Yujia''s surprise, when she returned to Lingxin, she was stopped by the gatekeeper.

    This gatekeeper servant was the person who regulated everyone entering and exiting Lingxin, to make sure that only students and people of the villa entered. He knew Yujia well by now, and Yujia discovered that he was a cheery and talkative man. He must have liked his job, one that paid him for just standing by a door and talking with a few people passing by.

    The moment he stopped her, Yujia expected that he was just saying a hello. Instead, he actually gestured down at her waist, saying, "Where''s your pendant?"

    He was talking about the white jade pendant that was given to all Lingxin disciples. Yujia usually carried it by tying it around the belt on her waist, like many other disciples. It was a way of proving her identity and status as a student of Lingxin.

    This phrase was what surprised her. Did she not have the pendant on her?

    She looked down as well, noticing that indeed, the usual pendant wasn''t there.

    For a moment, Yujia tried to recall if because she was dressed in casual wear, she happened to put her pendant in her pocket or something of that sort. She reached in her pockets, expecting to find the familiar piece of cold jade.

    Her pockets were empty except for her tael satchel.

    This made Yujia frown.

    "I don''t have it on me," she admitted.

    Did she happen to leave it in her courtyard this morning? Maybe she had been so excited to listen to her master talk that she forgot about it. That seemed like a reasonable idea.

    Yujia tried thinking about it a little more, the fear of a thief possibly stealing the pendant from her, unaware, tracing her thoughts.

    Yet with a little more thinking, she scratched out that possibility.

    It couldn''t have been a thief. She didn''t have any memory of carrying the pendant on her for this entire day, so the chances of her bringing it out on the streets and having someone that would steal it from her were not that great.

    Though, there was that possibility that she lost it the day before¡­

    For a brief second, Yujia considered asking the gatekeeper if he remembered seeing the pendant on her yesterday. Only, with another thought, she scratched that idea out too.

    Yesterday, she returned late, so the gatekeeper wasn''t guarding the front doors of Lingxin. He was only there during the day, when traffic was the highest. When it wasn''t the right time, the front doors would be locked. Yujia discovered that she had to get into the villa in Lingxin through the side doors instead. Therefore, the gatekeeper wouldn''t have noticed if Yujia had her pendant on her when she returned yesterday.

    She knew for a fact that she carried her pendant with her yesterday, however. It was because of the fact that the pendant was a crucial part of her disguise as a Lingxin student during her infiltration of the Yu Villa.

    This left her with two ideas about the whereabouts of the pendant.

    Did she bring it back with her, after visiting Zixu, who was ill? Or did she accidently leave it at the Yu Villa?

    Maybe when Zixu fell on her, during the chaos, the pendant accidently fell off of her. That seemed like a believable explanation for why she didn''t have it on her anymore.

    Yujia settled on this idea that she might''ve dropped it at the Yu Villa. It seemed the most plausible.

    Giving the gatekeeper a flustered smile, Yujia explained, "I think I lost the pendant at a friend''s place. I''ll go fetch it later."

    "Sure." The gatekeeper smiled back. "I know your face, so obviously, it won''t be an issue if you don''t have the pendant. But still, objects like these shouldn''t be carelessly lost. I hope that you can retrieve it soon."

    "I definitely will," she assured.

    ¡­

    Returning back to the villa, Yujia found Yunhe waiting in her courtyard. He held a flat and square box and sat at the stone table in the center of her courtyard.

    "What are you doing here, Senior Brother?" Yujia asked, casually sitting down and pouring herself a cup of tea.

    Yunhe explained, his expression flat, "I went and talked with Master for lunch. He was cranky and said that he wanted to sleep, so he almost shooed me away. But then, I think he thought of something¡ª he got up and pulled out this box, then handed it to me. He said to give it to you, and that it was a gift."

    "A gift?" Yujia''s eyes lit up.

    She didn''t expect to receive a gift at all. Just hearing her master''s story was enough of a gift to her. And what could her master possibly have for her?

    "Did you open the box already?" Yujia continued with a question, pulling the box towards her.

    "No. Master told me that I wasn''t supposed to, and I figured that however curious I was, I could always wait for you to get back and open it." Yunhe''s lips twitched down into a frown. "But, sometimes, I feel like I''m just a messenger and delivery boy for Master. He doesn''t even treat me like his disciple anymore," he grumbled.

    "You visit him so often that he probably just finds it more convenient to send you over than to call over a servant," Yujia snorted. "Well, anyways, let''s see what''s in here."

    She raised the lid of the box. What she saw next surprised her:

    Oil paint. Tubes and tubes of oil paint.

 Chapter 220 - An Introduction to Oil Paint and the Artist

    Yujia would recognize what typical tubes of oil paint looked like anywhere. Furthermore, in this black wooden box, the tiny characters of "Oil Paint" were carved into the edge.

    Seeing her expression light up, Yunhe peered into the box as well, hesitant. "What''s that?" he asked.

    Yujia couldn''t contain her excitement. She ran her fingers along the tubes, picking up a tube of red paint. Each tube was labeled with the color of the paint, and there were exactly ten tubes fit inside the box. Meanwhile, on the inside of the lid, a fairly decent-sized glass palette fit perfectly. A few other supplies, such a container of paint thinner, an oil medium, and some palette knives rested in the empty space next to the paint tubes. Brushes of all shapes took up the rest of the space in the kit.

    "It''s oil paint," Yujia explained, unscrewing the cap, "You''ve definitely never seen it, but let''s say that I have a little bit of a ¡­ history, with it."

    Thinking about it, her history with oil paint was far more positive than her history with acrylic, in which she may or may not have consumed a whole bottle of orange acrylic.

    In her past career, she painted with both oil and acrylic paint. Acrylic had its strengths when painting, such as the quick drying speed, the texture that she could create with it, and the simplicity of the supplies. Meanwhile, oil paint also had its strengths. The slow drying speed, which would allow her to take her time and correct any mistakes easily, was one of the best parts.

    Overall, she liked using both mediums, so when she came to this world¡ª where watercolor was the most popular medium¡ª she admitted that she missed both kinds of paint.

    It would be extremely difficult for Yujia to imagine herself with acrylic paint in this time and age, especially with acrylic being made of plastic¡ª something far too technologically advanced for this era, as well as something that she had no clue on how to make. Ever since creating pencils, Yujia always wanted to give creating oil paint a try. However, being caught up in all the events of her life, Yujia hadn''t quite figured out how to create it yet.

    Therefore, seeing a full set of oil paints, a gift from her master, did bring a bright smile on her face that she couldn''t quite wipe off.

    She imagined that this gift might be because of the events of this morning, where he told her about his wife. His wife was probably the one who created these oil paints.

    Oil paints could generally last a very long time, as long as they were stored well. But with some more careful thinking, it felt like the story that Yujia''s master told her was one from nearly sixty years ago. She wasn''t sure how well these oil paints would age if they were made so many years ago.

    Or perhaps, this set that her master sent her was a new one. Everything looked pristine, untouched, and quite new. She did recall that her master did some inventing himself. Perhaps he learnt how oil paints were made from his wife, and created a custom set for her. That was the most logical belief.

    Regardless, this gift made Yujia''s heart warm up. She really had to sincerely thank her master for this later.

    To say that she was grateful might also even be an understatement. The box kit that her master sent her had essentially all the supplies that Yujia would ever need. She wondered how long it took to create all of this, and how much time it took for her master''s wife¡ª the presumably first individual who brought oil paint to this world¡ª to figure out the formulas and items to make these materials.

    Even if Yujia figured out how to make oil paint, it would also take her a long time to figure out how to make all the other necessary supplies, like the solvents and primers. For everything to come in one kit, already premade, was an almost heaven-sent gift.

    She could finally paint with some of these familiar supplies again.

    As Yujia took out the tubes of paint and the glass palette, Yunhe continued watching, eyes narrow.

    He had never seen this before. Yujia could imagine his confusion. Yunhe was an artist, but he was used to painting with inksticks and inkstones, water and brush. He didn''t know of the existence of any other type of medium.

    Thus, while she set everything up, Yujia explained to him, "Senior Brother, let me introduce to you one of the most wonderous mediums in the world¡ª if this paint set works properly."

    "It doesn''t look like much," he stated, leaning a little closer to get a better view.

    Yujia nodded. She admitted that the packaging of everything wasn''t the finest. In Lingxin, the art supplies were always top tier, with inksticks engraved with the prettiest details and brushes made of the purest furs. The paint tubes, labels, and box were all made of relatively simple materials. Because of this simplicity, Yunhe wasn''t as in awe at the contents in the box as Yujia was, which she understood.

    He didn''t know how amazing oil paints were yet.

    "Yes, but what''s inside is what counts," Yujia responded simply. She squeezed a little bit of the red paint onto the glass palette.

    Yunhe, seeing the red paint come out of the tube, gawked. "What¡­ is that?"

    "Paint."

    He shook his head in disbelief. "Why is it that consistency? And you don''t add water or anything¡­ it just comes out like that?"

    "Yep. It''s why it''s called oil paint, Senior Brother. The oil in this paint is the reason for the liquid state of the paint. To prevent the paint from drying out, it''s also stored in these tube-like containers."

    He paused for a moment, then slowly nodded.

    "Ah. I kind of get it. So it''s just a type of ink that comes in a different form, and you don''t need to create the ink yourself with water?" Yunhe rested a finger on his chin.

    Yujia smiled and nodded. "Essentially."

    The other tubes in the box were the colors of yellow, blue, black, and white. Each color had two tubes, with the black and white tubes being slightly larger than the others. And truly, these were all the colors that she needed.

    Yujia knew her color theory well¡ª mixing primary colors and the shades of black and white would allow her to create pretty much all of the shades that she needed.

    Individually, she squeezed out a little more of each color on the outer edge of the palette. She then took the palette knife, scooping some of the red paint to the center of the palette. Another scoop of yellow paint was added to the side of the red, then blended together to create a brilliant, vibrant shade of orange.

    Yunhe watched her do all of this attentively.

    Now that she mixed this orange shade, Yujia realized that she was missing some key supplies. In particular, she needed a surface to perform a demonstration of the wonders of oil paint on.

    She stood up, giving a glance at the materials she had on the table, then at Yunhe. "I need to get some items. Wait a second."

 Chapter 221 - More Oil Paint and the Artist

    Running into her room, Yujia fetched the things she needed quickly. She returned with a small container, a rag, and the thickest kind of paper she could find. She typically used all of them when doing watercolor paint.

    "Are you going to start painting now?" he asked.

    Yujia shook her head. "Not yet. Usually, with oil painting, I like to do it on a canvas, but since I don''t have a canvas right now, I''ll just have to stick with priming this paper."

    She followed up with laying out the piece of paper on the table, flat. With the paper now on the table, she looked through the box, seeing that along with the paint tubes and other supplies, there was a bottle of rabbit-skin glue granules¡ª a sizing1. There was also a small bottle of oil primer. These were what she needed exactly.

    She stared at this, then thought for another moment.

    Yujia had sized and primed paper before, to make it suitable for oil painting. Usually, back in the modern world, she wouldn''t do this often¡ª she only tried it a few times¡ª since she could just buy pre-primed canvases. It wasn''t very expensive to do so, and convenience was always welcomed. Yet in her memories and experience of priming, the sized and primed paper would take a whole day just to dry properly. The process of drying couldn''t be rushed either¡­

    This meant that though she wanted to paint a serious painting today, she really couldn''t do so. The paper would be ruined, and if she somehow managed to make the oil paint work on the paper, it wouldn''t last long as a painting either.

    A frown appeared on her face. "Well. Disappointing news, but I don''t think we can paint today. The paper sizing and priming will take a while."

    "Oh." Yunhe sighed too. "I was excited to see the things that you would do."

    "Yeah. It''s sad." Yujia tapped her fingers on the glass palette. "I could show you how the texture of oil painting feels and all that, but without the proper paper, no serious painting can occur¡­"

    If only she had some pre-primed canvases right now. That would help a lot. She wouldn''t mind taking the time to set up the paper or to make a canvas herself, but with Yunhe with her at the moment, she was excited to show him exactly how fun oil painting was. The greatness of the medium simply couldn''t be expressed with normal paper.

    But Yujia wasn''t in despair for long.

    As if her thoughts were read, her wishes granted, sounds of two sets of footsteps came nearing her courtyard.

    Two servants, one carrying a stack of canvases and the other one carrying an easel, entered the courtyard. They bowed, then presented the materials.

    The one carrying the easel greeted her, explaining, "The master told me to send you these with his apologies. He had all of these materials made beforehand, and he forgot to send the canvases along with Disciple Ye. He¡­ may have forgotten temporarily that one needed something to paint on along with the paint that he sent."

    Yujia blinked.

    Then, a wide smile spreading across her face, she rushed forward, taking the canvases from the servant and telling the other servant to set the easel by the table.

    All the issues rising up about canvases vanished in a second. Times like these were what made Yujia entertain herself with the idea that her master was a guardian angel.

    Almost laughing with glee, Yujia told the servant who just spoke with her, "When you return, tell my master that I am deeply grateful, that I will go thank him in person once I finish playing around with all of these paints, and that the only reason for why I haven''t gone to thank him yet is because¡­ I was afraid that he might be sleeping, so I didn''t want to disturb him."

    The servant nodded, then bowed again. Along with the other servant, he left, leaving Yujia and Yunhe with the canvases that she needed all along.

    "These should be canvases ready for painting," Yujia speculated. Her master wouldn''t send unprimed canvases to her, would he?

    "Canvases?" Yunhe repeated.

    "Yes." It was yet another term that Yunhe had never heard before. She placed a hand on one canvas on the table. "This is a canvas." Picking up a large brush and looking back at the paint, she asked, "So¡­ what do you want to see me paint, as a demonstration?"

    Yunhe thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "I don''t really care. Whatever suits you, I guess. I''m just here to see how great these oil paints are to make you act this way."

    "Great." Yujia grinned. "I like not having limits."

    She considered painting her usual birds. She liked painting them, and she knew how to paint birds well from all the years of painting them.

    Surprisingly, Yujia realized that she hadn''t actually made too many bird paintings ever since transmigrating. Perhaps she just painted too many generic mountain paintings.

    The last time she created a painting with a bird as the main focus was a painting she made for Bo Zhiyuan, the Second Young Master who commissioned her. Those birds that she painted were chickens.

    Yujia thought back to that scene. She made the painting at the time to prove her skills to him. The reason for why she chose to paint chickens was also because she ate a roasted chicken for lunch on that day. Her lunch happened to inspire her.

    This idea made her recall what she had for lunch today¡ª some marinated beef.

    At this thought, Yujia''s smile grew even wider now.

    Screw the idea of painting birds. "I''ll paint a cow."

    "A cow?" Yunhe tilted his head, perfectly serious. He couldn''t understand the reason for why his junior sister now smiled so happily. One second, she was contemplating the subject of her painting, and the next second, she was smiling at the idea of painting a cow. Could the idea of a cow truly entertain her that much? So, he questioned, "Why?"

    While Yujia blended a bit of black into the orange color she already created, she gave him a very simple answer.

    "I had beef for lunch."

    Sizing is used to seal the paper fibers to make it impermeable to the oil.

 Chapter 222 - The Artist Paints a Cow

Since she wasn''t working on something that would take too much time¡ª she was just offering a demonstration to Yunhe¡ª Yujia decided to do a quick and easy painting of a cow.

 Chapter 223 - Finding out the Contents in the Artistâ€™s Stolen Box

The next day arrived quickly.

 Chapter 224 - The Artist Ponders, Ponders, and Ponders Some More

Yujia''s fingers fiddled with the papers, folding and unfolding them over and over again. She read the words written on there countless times until she practically had them carved into her mind.

 Chapter 225 - Alcohol for the Artist, Again

Yujia found Zixu in his courtyard, a jug of wine in one hand and a paintbrush in another. Papers were scattered on the floor and tables all around him, some with nondescript brush strokes while others were aggressively painted.

 Chapter 226 - Drinking With the Artist

    Staring at Zixu for a few seconds, Yujia considered it. She didn''t come here to drink today, but it wasn''t like she ever refused good wine. Plus, from what she knew, the body she was in had a very high alcohol tolerance, so it wasn''t like a cup or two would be dangerous for her. Also, considering the fact that Yu Zixu drank with her before when she needed someone to talk to, it would only be right for her to return the favor.

    So Yujia nodded. "Sure, if you want."

    Instead of handing her his jug of wine like Yujia expected, Yu Zixu actually drew his hands back. He blinked, then stood up, making his way to the table Yujia saw him sitting at before. He bent down, and when he made his way back, Yujia saw that he now had two jugs of wine.

    Zixu tossed her the unopened jar that he just picked up. "I originally had two jars to drink by myself, but since you''re here, it''s perfect," he explained.

    Yujia opened it, taking a small sip from the jar and nodding again. "Good wine."

    "Not as good as the plum blossom wine we shared before, but it does the job." Zixu lazily leaned back into the grass.

    "How are you feeling? Are you still sick?" Yujia asked to start the conversation.

    "Better than I was before," Zixu answered vaguely. He didn''t bother to continue with any in-depth discussion about his health.

    With a pause, Yujia tilted her head. "So, tell me, why are you drinking?"

    One hand reaching up to nothingness, Zixu slowly traced a finger through the air. He answered this time. "I was writing a poem, and it wasn''t good enough. I was answering some questions, and it wasn''t good enough. I had studied so, so much, but it was all useless. Nothing is good enough."

    He took the imperial examinations today, Yujia recalled.

    Then, based on his words¡­ he did poorly on the exams? Yet how could that be? The Yu Zixu she knew was always someone who took the spot as first place. Second, third, or anything lower than that just didn''t seem like Zixu.

    Unless¡­

    "The results came out already?" Yujia asked, her voice trailing off with her thoughts.

    "Yes." Zixu''s voice was quiet. "But hours before then, I knew what to expect."

    "How so?" She found her voice becoming softer as well.

    Zixu took a sip of wine. "Well, you see, I am just a merchant''s son, close to the bottom of society. What can I ever achieve? It''s not like I was ever good at anything except for¡­ what, selling spices, salts, and silks?"

    Yujia blinked.

    She couldn''t believe that she heard Yu Zixu speak those words that just fell out of his mouth.

    This wasn''t the Yu Zixu that she knew at all. She knew a Yu Zixu who was always confident¡ª not someone who would say things to belittle himself.

    "You''re amazing at plenty of things," Yujia hastily replied, "like¡­ painting. You''re amazing at painting. I can''t think of anyone who is better than you. Even Senior Brother Yunhe¡ª"

    "Ye Yunhe?" Zixu scoffed, "Ye Yunhe. Of course. But when people think of talented young painters, who do they think of? Ye Yunhe, Jiang Muyun, Rong Yuan¡­ all those honored sons with honored fathers. Who ever considers a merchant''s son? What use is there in being good at something if it doesn''t do anything for me?" He sat up, gaze sliding over to Yujia. "And you¡ª Junior Sister. Yang Yujia. Even you are better than me, did you know that?"

    "Me?" Yujia shrunk back.

    She truly didn''t think that she was a better artist than Zixu. She had seen him paint before. He was a thousand times more talented and skilled than her¡ª she just took some techniques from her modern day knowledge to make herself seem talented.

    Zixu tapped his fingers on his jar of wine. "Yes, you. In the Lingxin entrance exams, weren''t you the one who received first place in the third round with painting, the only round that mattered?"

    He was right¡ª she did somehow make first place in that round. But then again, it was only because she borrowed some techniques from future artists. Actually, in terms of skill in painting in the style that Zixu knew of, Yujia was inferior. She truly was.

    She tried to explain this to him. "You don''t understand, it''s that¡ª"

    "I don''t understand. Indeed, I don''t," Zixu interrupted, "But what I do understand is that you were at first place, and I was at second place. And just like what happened before, here I am again at second place."

    "You got second place on the imperial examinations? Second place is not a bad place to be," Yujia quickly pointed out, "You''re essentially close to the same level as first place. You''re almost first."

    "Almost." Zixu stood up now, drinking from his wine. "Almost first. Do you know how infuriating it is to know that you are only a step away from the first place, yet in the end, you still landed in second?" He scowled, then shook his head. "Besides, it''s useless."

    Yujia waited for him to explain, and he did.

    "As the First Young Master of the Yu Family, I am expected to inherit the business. Furthermore, my younger brother is far too sickly to rely on for inheriting anything. Yet I can''t see myself going my father''s path, to become a merchant and spend my days buying and selling and transferring goods. Thus, I made a bet with my father¡ª if I prove myself capable of going into the government by making a first place, he won''t force me to inherit the business. He''ll find someone else. Only now¡­"

    Oh.

    Yujia could see the reason for all his despair now. And the fact that he got second place, just within reach of winning the bet, out of all things¡­

    "Can''t you¡­ talk things out with your father?" Yujia suggested, "Second place is not bad, seriously. If he sees that you''re at second place, maybe he''ll still¡­ just¡­"

    "You don''t know the type of person that my father is," Zixu replied, a sigh tracing his breath, "When he expects one thing, he won''t allow anything else to substitute it. But I could''ve gotten first place. I know I could''ve. And that''s the knowledge that pains me the most."

    "How? I thought you did your best already."

    Yu Zixu smiled a close-lipped smile. "I made a deal with a noble that if I gave him some information, he would pull some strings for me in the results."

    "What information?" Yujia furrowed her brows but smiled a bit, out of pure curiosity.

    She wasn''t all that shocked that Zixu made a deal like this with some noble. It seemed like him to do so. But now, she was curious at exactly what kind of precious information Zixu could provide to get him to second place if he really didn''t do that well, like he claimed.

    "Information¡­" he paused for a second, then continued, "about you."

    The curious smile on Yujia''s lips dropped.

    Information about her?

 Chapter 227 - What Information About the Artist?

    What good was there in knowing information about her? Yujia didn''t think that there was anything all that special about herself, besides her transmigration part. Who could possibly know of it, besides the few people she trusted enough to tell?

    It was just a bit incredulous to think that anyone would be interested in gathering information about her, out of all people.

    Zixu didn''t reveal that it was a joke, or anything like that. He continued, "Yes. You may recall a certain Senior Brother of yours¡ª Noble Rong Yuan?" Zixu smiled some more, amused at this secret that he was telling her right now. "He fancies you, I believe."

    Yujia thought back to Rong Yuan¡ª the one fellow disciple of hers that was chasing after her for the past few days. For the most part, she ignored and avoided him. She thought that it was just a brief infatuation that would pass soon, and besides, she wasn''t looking for too much romance right now. She just wanted to get her life together first.

    To think that he actually bribed Yu Zixu to give him info¡­

    "And¡­ did you tell him anything?" Her jaw tightened.

    Zixu''s eyes widened, shaking his head. "No. Nothing. I agreed at first, but right before the exam, I told him that I wouldn''t give him information. Except in retrospect, if I had been wiser, I would''ve told him some things."

    "And what would you say?"

    "Maybe some things about how you like drinking good wine, how you like dogs, or how you like art related things. Shallow facts like that."

    She tilted her head again. "If you could''ve gotten first place, why did you not tell him those things? I wouldn''t mind." Yujia sipped from her jar.

    Zixu sighed. "Because. I feel like that would be betraying your trust. You told me plenty of things, with some information that I don''t really think that I have the right to tell others. If I told you that I only told Noble Rong a few basic facts about you, would you still believe me? Or trust me?" He swirled his jug of wine. "Besides, I also wanted to prove that I could get first place with my own ability, not through pulling tricks like this. Believe it or not, I have morals too."

    "Well then, why did you agree in the first place? How can I trust you right now? How do I know that you''re not lying to me?"

    "If I were lying to you, I wouldn''t have told you about all of this." Zixu wrinkled his nose. "Plus, I''m far too drunk to lie properly."

    "You have a point." Yujia drank her wine again, eyebrows raising.

    "Though, I regret agreeing in the first place. If I hadn''t agreed, I wouldn''t have tried all sorts of ways to get to talk to you. During the forest, then, I wouldn''t have gotten sick or wasted all that time. I wouldn''t have spent time helping you with your family villa drama either. And if I hadn''t wasted time, then I could''ve done better on the exams. So in the end¡­ "

    Yujia stared at him blankly, then lifted her hand, running it through her hair. This was the part that she was the most guilty for. "I''m really sorry," she admitted.

    Zixu waved his hand carelessly. "Don''t be. I''m not blaming you; it''s not your fault. It''s all my problem¡ª putting the blame all on you would be pointless." He looked into the distance. "I only blame myself. There are so many decisions that I''ve made in the past few days that I wish I could change. I wish I took better care of my health. I wish I spent more time studying. I wish I looked over the goddamn history of some dusty, ancient chancellors and ministers who I thought would not appear on the exams. It''s funny how we always regret everything like that, isn''t it?"

    Yujia wordlessly sipped her wine.

    Seeing this pause, Zixu then smiled his close-lipped smile again. "But, do you know what I regret the most at this moment?"

    "What?" Yujia turned to face him.

    "I regret not betraying your trust and telling everything about you to Noble Rong." He dipped his head down. "I think, with the choice I made, I really am a fool. My entire future, everything I ever wanted, could''ve been given to me if I was less of a fool, and if I cared less about your trust."

    "Yet you didn''t tell him. Do you really care about my trust that much?" Yujia couldn''t help a puzzled smile.

    "No," Zixu answered quickly and honestly, "I think it was less of your trust, and more of the idea that I wanted to prove to myself that I was better than cheating too. But again, now, seeing the results, there are so many, so many regrets."

    Yujia couldn''t stop a light laugh from escaping her. Of course¡ª what did she expect? This was Yu Zixu. He didn''t care much about trust and all that.

    She remarked, "Well. At least, out of all this, you have my trust now, as useless as it is. You''re my good senior brother and close friend."

    "Friends, hm?" He looked pleasantly amused at her words.

    "I know. I''m not a very valuable friend. Can''t get you any political connections or help you with any sales. But at least I can cook some pretty good steamed buns¡­ which, did you try the ones I left for you the other day?" Yujia suddenly thought of it.

    Zixu confirmed, "Yes. They were alright. Will you make me more in the future?"

    Yujia nodded. "Of course. If you want. And painting techniques¡ª I''ll teach you more of those. I feel like I owe you too many things, and I need to pay you back in some manner."

    "Alright. I''ll anticipate that." Zixu still kept his smile, but his gaze seemed to lose interest. He went back to his wine.

    Yujia straightened herself, seeing that this conversation wasn''t a topic that Zixu was far too concerned about right now, which made sense. The other things on his mind were greater right now in terms of importance. She brought it back to one of the previous topics.

    "I still think you should talk to your father," Yujia suggested. "It''s too early to become hopeless. And if he disagrees, you could try to prove yourself in other ways. If he sees that you''re working hard, maybe he won''t force you to inherit the business. And if that doesn''t work, then maybe you can just¡­ be completely rebellious and carry through with your plans to go into the government, without your father''s approval."

    Zixu''s gaze went back to her. "You seem so invested in my matters."

    "Of course, because I care." Yujia grinned. "I thought we established it already before¡ª we''re friends. I''m only doing what''s right by staying with you and talking you through about this. And that''s why I''m here, drinking with you too."

    "You know¡­" Zixu leaned towards her without warning, expression suddenly becoming serious. "When you say things like that¡­ don''t you remember that I''m a man?"

    Yujia froze.

 Chapter 228 - The Artist, the Wine, the Poetry

    "What?"

    She blinked a few times, shrinking back, a flush creeping up her cheeks.

    Zixu blinked too, his expression not changing. Eyebrows rising, he repeated, "I''m a man and a son. It is my job to be filial to my father. You suggested for me to just go through things without a care for my father''s approval. To do so would be a largely irresponsible act, to both my father and my family. I can''t just do whatever I want because I feel like it. That''s simply ridiculous," he laughed, then leaned back to where he was originally.

    Yujia''s eyes widened and she nodded slowly, calming her heartbeat which she swore jumped up into a rate in the thousands the moment she heard Zixu say "don''t you remember that I''m a man?"

    She interpreted it wrong. She was just plain stupid and interpreted an innocent phrase like this in a completely different manner.

    Heavens, why was she overthinking things like that? Bless the fact that it was becoming so dark outside that Zixu probably¡ª hopefully¡ª couldn''t see the red that was dying down on her cheeks.

    "Why did you act so surprised about that, anyways?" Zixu questioned, looking at her.

    "Sorry," she replied, waving her hands in front of her, "I just, totally interpreted that wrong. It''s nothing¡ª you''re fine."

    Zixu held out his jug of wine to her, exhaling then saying, "Cheers, I suppose."

    "Cheers to what?" There seemed to be nothing that Zixu could celebrate¡ª just plain depression and failure.

    He laughed, clearly understanding where Yujia''s confusion was coming from. In a humming voice, he drawled, "Cheers to drinking away all of your worries, to letting go of all of the mortal struggles. This evening, with such a beautiful full moon casting light down from the clear skies, a light breeze threading through the air, and all of this paired with sweet wine and empty words, we will drink like immortals¡ª without worry."

    Yujia relented, raising her jug at him too, then taking a long sip. When she finished with her drink, she looked back up at Zixu, saying, "How do you know that the immortals have no worries?"

    Zixu shrugged. "I don''t imagine that immortals exist. But if they did, I''d imagine that they will not be tied down to the things that mortals like us are so tethered to. And without ties, there are no connections, and when there are no connections¡ª nothing left to fear¡ª there is no worry."

    His eyes caught a glimmer of the moonlight. Yujia looked up at the moon, imagining the immortals that lived there.

    Surely, immortals didn''t exist. Her modern self would''ve thought the same as Zixu. But after transmigrating, she wasn''t so sure about the supernatural things anymore.

    Yujia gently said, her voice low, "Perhaps immortals do exist, with their only worry being the lack of worries they have."

    "If that could be my only worry," Zixu replied, "I would be content."

    "So, you are one with many worries?" Yujia prodded on with a question.

    "Of course. I tend to think of every way that something can go wrong¡ª optimism has failed me too many times for me to believe in it again. Just today, I had the slightest bit of optimism, but look where that ended me up at. Though," he paused, letting out a short breath that sounded perhaps like a laugh, but more of a sigh, "I suppose drinking with you is not too bad either."

    Zixu seemed to be getting drunker and drunker as each moment passed. She could tell from the way that he spoke, his words all drawn out, eyes looking blurrily in the distance at nothing in particular.

    From this observation of Zixu''s drunken state, Yujia leaned to the side, as if she was getting a better look at the moon, but in reality, she was glancing at Zixu''s left hand, which still held her hairpin.

    She wanted to get that back, along with the jade pendant.

    Should she ask now, before Zixu became any drunker?

    Thinking about the last time she visited the Yu Villa, where Zixu had fainted on her, Yujia didn''t particularly want to deal with dragging Zixu''s unconscious body around again. Since it was getting dark, Yujia wasn''t sure where she would find a servant to help her. Thus, it wouldn''t be good for him to drink so much that he blacked out or fell asleep.

    Yujia moved herself to sit right in front of Zixu, catching his attention. She looked him straight in the eye, then said, "You should stop drinking now, before things get out of control."

    Zixu waved his hand and shook his head. "No, no, I know how much more I can drink. I can still drink quite a while. Let me do so. And you, if you don''t want that wine, I''ll take it."

    Yujia immediately pulled her jug of wine a little closer to her. "No, that''s my wine."

    "The wine that I gave you," Zixu chuckled.

    She noticed that he laughed more when he was drunk. It was rare to hear a genuine laugh from a sober Zixu, and though his drunken laugh surely sounded different, it was still a nice sound: soft but deep, with his face lighting up and his eyes crinkling with his smile.

    "Drinking good wine always makes me feel like a poet," Zixu went off on a complete tangent.

    His fingers tapped through the air, as if he was playing an invisible melody, or threading words that only he could see together.

    "A cup of wine under silver moonlight,

    it is only I who drinks alone.

    A friend beside me who shares my woes,

    yet still, the light¡ª"

    Zixu''s words cut off abruptly, and he shook his head, dismissing the lines he just thought of with a wave of his hand.

    "It''s not good enough. My lines are horrible," he lamented.

    Yujia disagreed, "I thought they were fine."

    "No, no. You don''t understand." He took his jug of wine, arching his head back to drink the last few drops. When Zixu didn''t find any in there, he carelessly tossed the jug to the side in the grass.

    "I''m out¡ª give me some of yours¡ª"

    Zixu reached forward for her wine, which Yujia protectively held closer to herself. For some reason, she was feeling possessive of this wine, or maybe it was the fact that she didn''t want to deal with a Zixu at a risk for blacking out.

    "It''s my wine! You can''t have it¡ª" Yujia protested again, leaning back as Zixu pressed forward.

    Zixu stopped for a second, eyebrows raising. "You''re not even drinking it, why put it to waste?"

    Without waiting for her to say any other words, he grabbed it from her, then took a long sip. When he was done, he looked up. "Tastes the same, like I expected." And then, he just sighed again, falling back into the grass, eyes looking up to the moon.

    Yujia stared at her poor jug of wine¡ª now stolen by Yu Zixu¡ª but then her eyes glanced back to the hairpin he held in his hand.

    Now¡ª it was the perfect opportunity.

    She suddenly stopped leaning back, sitting forward as she grabbed at the hairpin in Zixu''s left hand. Zixu, instead of dodging by sitting up or moving over, only flinched his arm with the hairpin over.

    And that was how, a fraction of a second later, Yujia found herself one hand cupped over Zixu''s hand with the hairpin, her other hand pressed into the grass next to his head, and her face hanging over Zixu''s face. Her hair, all loose, tumbled over her shoulder, draping over the two of them.

    Stunned, she could only fix her eyes on Zixu''s expression. It was a fleeting moment that only lasted a couple of seconds, yet this same moment felt unnaturally long when she thought back to it in the future.

    Yujia could only take in Zixu''s half-smile etched onto his thin lips, his dark brows above his drowsy gaze, the perfect slope of his nose and all the sharp angles of his face, with the cold and delicate moonlight highlighting every little detail.

    Yujia blinked¡ª that was how long the moment lasted, a single blink¡ª then Zixu''s lips parted. He whispered, "Your hands are freezing."

    She flinched back, the moment that just occured pressing into her memories, repeating over and over again in her thoughts.

    Yujia''s eyes frantically glanced around, at Zixu, who was now sitting up, his hand which still held the hairpin, and then at her own hands.

    What was this? The third time that Yujia fell over on Zixu, counting the time in the carriage and the time where she almost fell on him only about an hour ago?

    She wanted to cover her face and shrivel up in embarrassment.

    "Sorry," Yujia quickly blurted out, not even daring to look over at Zixu while standing up and dusting herself off, "And anyways, I think it''s about time that I should go. It''s getting late."

    Zixu stood up as well, his movements making her glance over at him. He allowed one word to fall from his lips.

    "Alright."

    Then, he reached forward, taking her hand and returning the hairpin he kept from her all along. He uncurled her fingers, pressing the pin into her palm. The movements of his hand were delicate, as if Yujia''s hands were made of easily shattered glass. And when his skin brushed against hers, his hand was warm¡ª much warmer than hers. Yujia hadn''t noticed before, but maybe Zixu was right. Maybe her hands were freezing.

    "I suppose it''s time that you become a Junior Brother again, and I become a Senior Brother," he murmured.

    "Yes." Yujia forced a smile, taking the hairpin and clumsily tying her hair back with it. When she was finished, she politely bowed. "Farewell, Senior Brother. You should rest early."

    He nodded. "Should I send you home?"

    "No, I can go by myself. It''s only a short distance away, and I don''t want to trouble you."

    "Alright then. Get home safe."

    ¡­

    On the way back to Lingxin, Yujia blankly stared at the path in front of her.

    Shoot. She realized that one of the main reasons for why she went to visit Zixu today¡ª to get her pendant back¡ª was never fulfilled.

    But still, it felt like today was a good day. Despite what happened to Zixu, she felt a bit closer to him, perhaps?

    She reached up to cup her hands around her burning cheeks, recalling how Zixu took her hand with his gentle movements, placing the hairpin in her palm.

    This was just¡­ normal behavior with a senior brother and junior sister, right? She was just overthinking any potential meaning about it, right? It was all normal. Normal, normal, normal¡­?

    Yujia''s face scrunched up.

    Her face was probably flushed, all heated up, but that had to be because of the alcohol, and nothing else. And even though Yujia knew that she was in denial, she couldn''t bring herself to admit to the truth.

 Chapter 229 - Tranquility and the Artist

    Like so many nights before, Yujia was drowning.

    Water rushed through her lungs, her inability to scream, cry out, or even flinch painfully obvious. She was suspended in the water, helpless as she watched it drag her down.

    And there were people. Always people, faces, staring at her. These faces never had any lips or noses. They were just blank, featureless faces, save for two eyes pasted across. The eyes were always fixed on her. The eyes were never blinking.

    They stared at her while she drowned. Sometimes, they would stay silent. Other times, they would laugh¡ª laughter without lips, laughter from their eyes.

    This was when things were the worst. The laughter echoed in the water, slamming into her, crushing her tightly, compressing her as if it was trying to fit her into a small, small box. And then, the laughter would pull at her, dragging her flesh through the water, stretching and molding her to the shapes they liked as if she was elastic.

    She couldn''t comprehend the feeling properly, or describe it with the right words. It was just a constant feeling of push and pull, followed by the burning sensation of the icy water in her lungs.

    Only one part was for sure: her moments of drowning were getting better.

    A while had passed since her first drowning, yet she had lived through it again so many times since then that perhaps this is what dulled the sensation. Or, perhaps it was just time working its magic, fading these harsh memories and flashbacks as the days went on.

    Over these nights, she would still drown. There would still be fear. But the fear was lessening; the panic was decreasing. She would wake up with less sweat on her skin, less tears tracing her eyes.

    Yet still, sometimes she wondered. She wondered in the layers of the night, after she blinked her eyes open and out of the nightmares, if this was what her younger brother felt when he was drowning. It must be similar¡ª the only difference being that she had survived, and he hadn''t. And this would bring tears to her eyes again, tears that would vanish the next morning, replaced by her greetings to her senior brothers or her smiles to the servants passing by.

    Earlier tonight, when she laid in bed, still awake, she thought about her conversations with Zixu. She thought about her master''s story, the one he told her the other day, and all the details of it. She thought about it the previous night too, but not quite in the way that she did right now, where she recalled all the words, scenes, and phrases that she possibly could.

    Then, she thought less about the story itself, and more of the words her master departed to her.

    "It''s not about making the grief vanish. It was never about that, in the first place."

    At the thought of these words, Yujia closed her eyes. She let out a soft breath.

    She allowed the sleep to take her again.

    This time, when she drowned, there was still that pain. There was still that laughter. Except this time, instead of trying to compress the pain, or to block out the laughter, she relaxed.

    Let there be pain. Let there be laughter.

    Yujia allowed herself to drown. She allowed the water to wrap her up, to rush into her lungs. The water still burnt her. The chilliness still spread to her heart. Yet she still allowed herself to relax, instead of struggling against the invisible binds that tied her to the water, against the stiffness of her limbs.

    Her heart pounded in her chest, louder than before. She focused on that, the pounding of her heart, every beat becoming a number in her mind.

    One. Two. Three.

    The pain spread through her even more, but she didn''t fight against it.

    Four. Five. Six.

    The laughter rang out even louder, but she didn''t try to block out the sound.

    Seven. Eight. Nine.

    The water strangled her breath, trying to pressure her into moving. The invisible binds against her limbs loosened, as if encouraging her to raise her hands, to try to swim up, to escape from the water. But Yujia only relaxed some more, containing the urge to thrash.

    Ten.

    As if this number was a spell, a mystical incantation, it all fell apart. Everything¡ª the agony, the voices, the frost.

    Yujia found herself falling as well, out of the water that she had been suspended in. She pummeled down, deep into the darkness. As she fell, air returned to her lungs slowly, bit by bit. Her heartbeat steadied, regaining the normal pace it was supposed to be at. Her eyes finally blinked.

    And with that blink, Yujia landed in a white space. It wasn''t the pure blackness she saw so frequently in her dreams, but a shining white so bright and welcoming.

    She found herself walking through the light, aimlessly, until things began to solidify. The white slowly transformed into walls and floors and ceilings, then windows with lovely sunlight pouring past the misted glass. Then, there were beds, rows and rows of them, with white sheets draped across all of them.

    Yujia walked and walked through these beds, before she stopped, bumping into the foot of a bed placed right in front of her.

    She stared at the bed with the white sheets, noticing that someone was lying inside of it, hooked up to tubes, wearing a cap. The person, a fairly young woman, was still, but with the slight rise and fall of their chest, she knew that she was sleeping.

    Yujia stared at this person in the bed. She didn''t recognize the face, but for some reason, one name rang in her head.

    Wei Yunjing.

    At the idea of this name, the person in the bed shifted, her image changing into a face Yujia knew well: her own.

    The person in the bed¡ª no, Yujia herself¡ª opened her eyes, staring back at Yujia. She looked with her glassy eyes, and then, the corners of her lips lifted up into a soft, wordless smile.

    ¡­

    Yujia woke up.

    She woke up, and for the first time amidst the many mornings that she had experienced since the time where she drowned, she discovered that her heart was calm. She tried to think of one word to describe this feeling, the feeling of waking up without the worries plaguing her heart, the panic racing through her thoughts, of waking up more tired than she had been before she fell asleep.

    It had been such a long, long time since she last felt this, in its truest form. It was a sensation that she had lost so many years ago, one that she had never been able to find again until now. Not numbness. Not despair. It was one, simple thing:

    Tranquility.

 Chapter 230 - The Artist Has a Matchmaker Master

    Today, Yujia settled on the idea of paying a visit to her birthmother, Madam Liu. She didn''t know how else she was going to get answers.

    Besides, there was also the possibility that the culprit who poisoned her was none other than Madam Liu herself. Yujia wasn''t sure what the reasoning would be for this. After all, which mother would have the heart to poison her own child? But considering that she had been poisoned since childhood, and that the Fourth Miss enjoyed visiting her birthmother, Madam Liu was a likely culprit that couldn''t be ruled out.

    She knew that Hui''er talked to Madam Liu about Yujia''s strange personality change. By the way that Hui''er later told her, with fear, that Liu Yuxi would treat Yujia negatively, due to superstition that Yujia was possessed or something of that sort, Yujia knew that she couldn''t just act like a normal Fourth Miss. She had to think of an excuse, and she had one in mind, she supposed.

    Yujia also wanted to learn more about or discover some clues about the letters she found in the box. She knew that she couldn''t directly ask, but maybe by talking with her birthmother, she could get a better idea at what exactly the meaning behind the letters was.

    Yet before Yujia could make any plans to leave Lingxin, her master called her over.

    Yujia already thanked her master for the oil paints yesterday. Plus, considering that it was still fairly early in the morning, she was surprised to hear that her master was awake.

    It felt like yesterday, he had been awake earlier than usual too.

    Yujia thought about it a bit. Perhaps he was establishing better sleeping habits. That was always a good thing. Granted, it wasn''t like it was too early in the morning¡ª the first half of the morning had already passed, but in Yujia''s master''s book, this was likely early. And so, Yujia considered it as early.

    Regardless, as a disciple, and especially considering that she was being clothed, fed, and housed by her master, Yujia obviously went over without a delay. Since the kitchens were also on her way, Yujia dropped by to say hello to Chef Hong and Lili. She also picked up the breakfast, simple congee, that the kitchens had prepared, to bring along with her.

    When she arrived, her master gestured for her to come sit down next to him. She set up the bowls of congee and the dishes, some pickled vegetables, and began to eat as she listened to her master talk.

    He seemingly just wanted to have a normal conversation with her as well, since he didn''t speak about any important announcements or things he needed to tell her. He simply said, tasting a bit of the pickled radishes, "Chef Hong truly makes the best pickled vegetables."

    "Oh, yeah," Yujia agreed, "She''s so good at cooking everything; it''s kind of ridiculous."

    "She''s always been skilled at cooking," her master took a bite of congee, then pointed out.

    "Really? How long have you known her? And how did you find a kind of chef like Chef Hong for Lingxin? And the rest of the kitchen staff¡­ Lili, Mr. Wu... " Yujia asked, leaning forward with curiosity.

    "They came in a group," he explained, "and actually, Chef Hong hadn''t been a chef all her life, even though she was always talented in this area."

    "What did she do before?"

    He scraped his spoon lightly against the surface of the steaming congee, just to get the part that had cooled down a bit. "The three of them, Hong Zhengmei, Wu Tianlei, and Wu Lili, were a group of criminals."

    Yujia dropped her chopsticks.

    She stared at her master, in disbelief at what he just said. "Criminals?"

    "Yep. They were young and bright then, in their late twenties¡ª though of course, Lili was just a kid. She''s Wu Tianlei''s daughter. I came across them during one trip I took in my fifties or so."

    "How did you all meet?"

    Her master let out a laugh, stroking the wisps of his white beard. "Well, it makes for a funny story. I met Chef Hong when she held a knife to my throat, since I recognized her face as one from a wanted poster I saw. She wanted me to give up all the wealth I had on me. On the other hand, instead of giving her all my money and possibly even my life, I offered for her to return back to the capital city with me. I was capable of giving all of them a life without living in the shadows of their crime¡ª I also just so happened to have the need for a chef¡ª so she went along with me."

    Yujia thought back to how menacing Chef Hong looked at times with her kitchen knife. She wondered what crimes they exactly committed to be on a wanted poster, likely from the government.

    Her master seemed to read her mind. "Oh, they were wanted for intercepting an important government shipment of goods, if you were wondering. They were the leaders of a fairly infamous group of thieves, almost like bandits, I suppose. But Wu Tianlei''s daughter was growing up. Both him and Hong Zhengmei wanted to go back to a normal, steady life."

    Yujia tapped her fingers on the table. "So are Chef Hong and Mr. Wu married? I thought I heard Lili call Chef Hong ''Auntie''."

    He waved his hand dismissively. "No, Zhengmei is the sister of Tianlei''s wife, who passed earlier, if my memory is not failing me."

    "Ah. So Chef Hong really is Lili''s aunt." She nodded.

    "Indeed," glancing in the distance, he continued, "so, I''m glad that in the end, I gave them a better life, and I got a great kitchen staff, plus delicious foods. It''s a win-win situation." He then paused and exhaled deeply. "I''ve been thinking about the past too much lately. Let''s talk about the present."

    "Sure. What about the present?"

    "Hmm..."

    Her master was about to say something, but then Ye Yunhe walked into the courtyard.

    "You all are eating here without me?" he feigned a look of betrayal, then took a seat, laughing.

    Yujia nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. Master and I have decided to purposely exclude you from everything we do from now on, Senior Brother."

    "Aw, Junior Sister, I''m heartbroken." Yunhe clutched his heart.

    He then helped himself to a bowl of congee, ladling the porridge into an extra porcelain bowl Yujia bought along.

    "You haven''t eaten yet?" Yujia noted.

    Yunhe usually ate breakfast fairly early, so this surprised her.

    "No, not yet." He ate a spoonful, then continued explaining, "I accidentally left something important in Half Moon Pavilion yesterday. I had to go grab it, so I didn''t have time to eat breakfast." He set his chopsticks across his bowl, turning to Yujia and saying, "Oh, guess who I saw there."

    "Who?"

    "Noble Yu Zixu. And," Yunhe raised his eyebrows suggestively, "he said that he was looking for you."

    Yujia thought about last night, when the two of them were drinking together. Her face warmed up a bit.

    What was Zixu here for? To deliver the jade pendant she left at the Yu Villa? But even then, he could''ve sent a servant. He didn''t need to personally come here.

    She forced out a quiet "is that so..." then looked at her bowl, deep in thought.

    Her master noticed this, a gleeful smile appearing across his face. "Yu Zixu? That kid wants to see my disciple?"

    "Yes. He said that he was looking for my junior sister. I didn''t hear wrong." Yunhe smiled too, though his smile was close-lipped.

    "Wonderful, wonderful." Her master tapped the table in front of Yujia. "Kid, how do you feel about this Yu Zixu?"

    Yujia thought about it. She had many things that she could say about Yu Zixu. But what exactly would be right to say in this situation?

    And besides, what was her master doing, being so interested in a Yu Zixu? As far as Yujia knew, her master didn''t particularly care about these things. His unexplained enthusiasm when it came to Yu Zixu was a bit startling.

    "Senior Brother Zixu is... thoughtful," Yujia allowed herself to say.

    "Did you know that this kid is unmarried?" her master brought up. "And he doesn''t have any concubines either... he''s a good kid, from what I''ve seen. Good at painting, talented in many things."

    Yujia stared blankly at her master. Yunhe stared blankly at both of them.

    Neither of them expected to hear these words from their master.

    Yunhe just talked about Yu Zixu to let Yujia know that Zixu was looking for her. He didn''t expect for his master to suddenly start complimenting Yu Zixu so fervently like this. This wasn''t fair! Yu Zixu wasn''t even the direct disciple of his master¡ª how come Yunhe was never complimented like this?

    Yujia, on the other hand, was less concerned about the compliments, and more about the entire "Yu Zixu is very, very, very single" attitude that her master was taking.

    What exactly did he mean by "this kid is unmarried" and "he doesn''t have any concubines"? What was her master trying to get at?

    Don''t tell her that... her master was trying to play a matchmaker here?

    Yujia quickly glanced over at Yunhe. Senior Brother Yunhe liked men, and it seemed like her master knew this fact as well. So hold on¡ª if her master was playing matchmaker, was he trying to match her with Zixu, or Ye Yunhe with Yu Zixu?

 Chapter 231 - When the Artist Thinks Too Much

    Yujia thought about it for a moment.

    No. Her master couldn''t be pairing Ye Yunhe with Yu Zixu. He was delighted with the fact that Zixu was paying a visit to her, not Yunhe. Plus, he had asked her all of these questions, like how she felt about Yu Zixu. He didn''t ask Yunhe that, so surely, he wasn''t trying to pair her two senior brothers together, right?

    Her master coughed, breaking her train of thought. He gestured his head at Yunhe, then declared, "What about you, then, brat? How do you feel about your Junior Brother Zixu?"

    Yunhe replied something vague as well about Zixu''s talent in art, but Yujia didn''t really bother paying attention. She was more focused on the idea that her master was now asking the exact same questions he asked her earlier about Zixu.

    So¡­ Yunhe had an equal chance of being a potential pair with Zixu?

    Yujia blinked.

    She supported Yunhe. She really, truly supported this senior brother of hers, regardless of who he liked or who he would end up with. He was like an older brother to her.

    So why was she so bothered, now, with the idea of her senior brother ending up with Yu Zixu, someone who she only recently started calling a friend?

    It had to be because she didn''t see Zixu and Yunhe having personalities which would match in that way. It had to be that.

    Yujia thought about it some more. No matter how she tried to make sense of it all, it still didn''t feel like her master was trying to matchmake Yunhe and Zixu. Maybe he was asking Yunhe these questions so that Yunhe could flatter and make Zixu seem like such a desirable person. And this way, Yujia would feel more inclined as well¡­

    Well, it really wasn''t a good idea that her master was trying to pair Zixu up with either of them. Yujia settled on that idea. Yu Zixu, despite the fact that he was unmarried, probably had someone out there that he was interested in as well. Although her master was the founder of Lingxin and an honored elder, it didn''t seem likely that his matchmaking attempts could do anything, right?

    Seeing her blank expression, Yujia''s master coughed again.

    "Kid. didn''t the brat over here say that Noble Yu was waiting for you? If you''re done eating, you should go meet him," he suggested.

    Yujia stood up at this. "I should," she agreed with a nod.

    Bowing quickly to her master and senior brother, Yujia left the courtyard, deep in thought.

    She really didn''t like the idea of some love triangle. She also really didn''t like the fact that she was so concerned over a few words from her master. But still, she couldn''t help but feel like her master was planning something, and this was a feeling that she couldn''t easily shake off.

    What exactly was this old man trying to do?

    ¡­

    Ye Yunhe stared at his master.

    "Okay. She''s gone now. Tell me, Master, what''s all this about?" he blurted out.

    The old man in front of him smiled without saying anything, suddenly having extreme interest in the bowl of congee in front of him. "You know," he babbled, "there is an art to making a good porridge. The rice and water ratio must be just perfect¡ª absolutely perfect¡ª for the texture to be so silky, and the fulfilling factor so high."

    "Don''t try to divert the topic," Yunhe continued straightforwardly, "Besides, do you seriously think that I have interest in talking about congee?"

    The smile on his master''s face dropped. "Who said that I was changing the topic, brat?"

    Yunhe, choosing to ignore his master''s disagreement and obvious attempt at diverting the topic, went on, "Are you trying to set my junior sister up with Yu Zixu?"

    "Why not?" His master dropped the entire ''let''s talk about congee!'' act, and didn''t try to change the topic anymore. "Your Junior Sister comes from a merchant family background, and now that she is a Lingxin disciple, she has that backing her. Yu Zixu is also from a merchant background, and his family is one of the top in the city. Their backgrounds are excellent, and society won''t say anything about it. Yu Zixu, that kid, is also interesting. Polite, good with his words, and he treats my disciple well¡ª what else can an old man like me ask from him?"

    "So you''re really trying to pair them up?"

    His master waved his hands, then grumbled, "I tried to find you a good wife, and you never let me. Let this old man play matchmaker once in his lifetime, alright? I want to see a happy relationship bloom in at least one of my disciples."

    "It''s not like Junior Sister Yujia and I are the only disciples you have. What about¡­ say the Emperor? Did you forget about this disciple of yours? He has plenty of¡­ relationships, would you not say that he is happy?" Yunhe retorted.

    His master smirked at this. "Foolish brat, do you seriously think that relationships in the palace are ever happy ones?"

    Yunhe paused.

    He thought about the Fu Yushang he saw a few days ago, the apparent crown prince who he had mistaken for a scammer. He had chasen the prince around the yard with a scroll back then, not knowing his true identity, until Fu Yushang couldn''t take it anymore and revealed it.

    Yunhe might be somewhat dense in these matters. But when he thought about it, this crown prince''s attitude towards his junior sister didn''t seem as simple as the prince claimed either.

    "Relationships in the palace are never happy ones?" Yunhe mused, "So, you would be against Junior Sister going into the palace?"

    "Of course. Besides, that kid never will." His master smiled again. "I know what kind of person she is. She wouldn''t want to be drawn in all these political schemes." He paused, sighing deeply. "I want her to live a happy life, like I said before. And to have that, she must have a happy relationship. Don''t you think Yu Zixu is quite a worthy candidate?"

    Yunhe tried to recall his last impression of Yu Zixu. Truthfully, with Zixu being one of his friends, his entire impression of Zixu was all very positive.

    He admitted that seeing his junior sister with Zixu wouldn''t be a bad sight at all.

    "Wait but first¡ª" Yunhe quickly added in, "how do you know that Junior Sister even likes Yu Zixu? Are you really going to force her if she doesn''t?"

    "No, obviously not."

    Yunhe sat straighter. "Then, I think that you should just leave them be. From what I know of Junior Brother Zixu''s personality, it''s not all too compatible with Junior Sister''s. And with all the words you said today, I''m afraid she''ll overthink things. She does that, sometimes."

    "You think so?" The eyebrows of his master raised. "I, on the other hand, think those two will be good together. Even if I make her overthink, that''s not necessarily a bad thing. And¡­" He stared back at his porridge. "Sometimes, even if two personalities are distinctly different, they won''t be all that bad together. Back to the congee I spoke of. Rice and water are two very different things¡ª but if you place both in the same pot, then some flames underneath it, you will find the two making a very nice pot of porridge soon enough. They combine better than you expect. And I, in this scenario, am the flames."

    Yunhe laughed.

    This was a ridiculous analogy¡ª comparing people to rice, water, and flames¡ª and it seemed like his master knew as well. He laughed shortly after hearing Yunhe''s laugh, though his laughter was soon cut off by a spurt of coughs.

    "Master, are you alright?" Yunhe quickly jumped to ask.

    "Yes, fine as ever," the old man responded, "I''m just getting old with age. Been having some coughs lately, but they are not a big deal. The physician who came by yesterday said so."

    "Are you taking your medicine?"

    "You think I''m the type to not take my medicine?" His master rolled his eyes. "I''m old, but I''m not senile and dumb. I know how to take care of myself, if out of anything I learned over the past few decades." He then looked off to the distance. "Well, all this talking is making me tired. You have your own things to do as well, right? Leave this old man alone¡ª I need to get some rest."

    "Alright then, Master," Yunhe pushed his chair back, then bowed. "Hope you rest well."

    ¡­

    Yujia came upon Zixu in the Half Moon Pavilion, just like Yunhe described earlier.

    He was sitting in the shade, lazily looking out from the pavilion rails. A slice of sunlight shone across his face, casting light on the half not covered by the shade.

    Yujia recalled the Zixu she knew from last night, the one under the moonlight with his angled features and dark eyes. The Zixu she saw now, under a glimmer of the sunlight, was different.

    He looked warmer, less melancholic, though his gaze was still drowsy. His eyes were fixed on the nature surrounding the pavilion, capturing the smallest breeze amongst the grasses or a slight rustle of the leaves from the creatures of nature. Zixu seemed captivated by it all, as if this was all a painting, and he was one of the people, frozen within it.

    But when he heard her footsteps, he turned around, tilting his head when he saw her, expression light.

    She smiled.

    "Hello, Senior Brother."

    He smiled back.

    "Junior Sister. I''ve been waiting for you."

 Chapter 232 - An Offer From the Artist For Some Soup

    Zixu got to the point rather quickly.

    He took out the jade pendant she lost in the Yu Villa, handing it to her. "Next time, don''t be so careless, alright?" he said casually.

    Yujia took it from him and nodded. "Thanks. I don''t know how I left it at your place. And¡­" she paused, glancing up at him, "you shouldn''t have come all the way here. Sending a servant would be enough."

    In Yujia''s mind, it wasn''t exactly a good thing for Zixu to come all the way just to deliver a pendant. Not only did Yujia feel bad for making him send it himself, but also, there was the fact that scenarios like these would only encourage her master, who seemed to enjoy his new career as a matchmaker.

    Zixu, on the other hand, didn''t know. He leaned his head back against one of the poles of the pavilion.

    "Is there anything wrong with me coming here personally? Lingxin is so close. It''s only a brief walk for me, and besides, I''m a disciple here as well. Did my junior sister forget?"

    Yujia shook her head and let out a small laugh. "No, that''s not the reason. You can come and go from Lingxin as you please, it''s just¡­ you know, it''s actually kind of funny. You won''t believe it when I say it."

    "What is it?" His eyebrows raised up.

    "My master has some weird plans. They''re like¡ª" Yujia''s words suddenly fell short.

    They''re like¡­ what? What was she going to say? That Yu Zixu was potentially about to be paired up with¡­ Ye Yunhe? Or that Yu Zixu was about to be paired up with¡­ her?

    No, no, no. That was way too strange to say, especially since it involved Zixu. She couldn''t say things like this. What was she thinking?

    So, Yujia hastily added on, "Actually, nevermind. I just realized that¡­ I was about to spout nonsense. You wouldn''t understand anyways. But¡­ on a completely separate, unrelated note, how do you feel about Senior Brother Yunhe?"

    She leaned forward a bit in anticipation, hands folding in front of her.

    "Yunhe?" Zixu''s lips flattened in a thin line. "What about him? I thought I told you last night, I don''t care about him much."

    Yujia narrowed her eyes, trying to recall the last words Zixu told her about Yunhe.

    "You never said that," she ended up saying.

    Zixu shrugged. "Not explicitly. But I implied it, and now you know." He then leaned a bit closer. "But don''t tell your senior Brother I said all these things, alright? He thinks that we''re good friends."

    Yujia pursed her lips. "You trust me that much?"

    Zixu''s expression didn''t change. "You seem trustworthy enough, and not the type to go gossipping and tattling around. Especially after what happened between us last night¡­"

    The moment she heard this, Yujia''s eyes widened.

    She jumped, immediately interrupting, "Don''t say it like that!" She raised a hand to her lips. "People will misunderstand, and we didn''t do much; we just drank some, and also¡ª"

    At her reaction, Zixu glanced around the pavilion lazily, a smile tracing his lips. "There''s no one else here. Relax."

    "Still, the way you worded it¡ª"

    "Am I not telling the truth?" he cut in, "I gave some secrets to you. Are those secrets not something that happened between us?"

    Yujia stopped.

    He had a point. She was the one who was taking the word in the wrong manner.

    Heavens, what was wrong with her? First with Zixu''s words that she misinterpreted yesterday, and now the words from Zixu that she took the wrong way just now¡­

    "Well," she stated plainly at a brief pause, diverting the topic of the conversation, "I''m glad that you feel indifferent towards Yunhe."

    Zixu blinked. "Really? Why?"

    Yujia stopped again.

    Indeed, why? Why would she be relieved about that?

    She didn''t give herself much time to think, waving her hands in dismissal and hastily saying, "Nevermind, nevermind. I''m just saying things without thinking about them." Giving a look at the pendant in her hands, she then said, "If that''s all, I won''t waste anymore of your time."

    She waited, expecting for Zixu to say those customary words of farewell and to return back to his villa.

    Instead, he stayed put, replying, "I think I''ll stay here for a bit longer. I don''t want to return home yet."

    "Why?"

    He put on his typical calm smile, his words becoming careful and his voice dropping in volume by just a degree. "Let''s just say that I don''t want to face my father right now."

    Hearing his tone of voice, and thinking about what he told her last night about the deal Zixu made with his father, Yujia didn''t pressure him to continue. She observed his expression, then asked, "Have you had any hangover soup yet?"

    "No, not yet."

    This unrelated question seemed to take Zixu aback, though he quickly masked his surprise with a blank expression.

    "You drank a lot last night. You must have a bad hangover." Yujia put on a small smile. "The chef in Lingxin''s kitchen has a pretty good recipe for hangover soup. Since you''re not returning home anytime soon, let''s go have some soup."

 Chapter 233 - The Artist Proposes a Game

    As Yujia walked to the kitchens, Zixu followed behind her. She saw Lili first when she stepped in the kitchen, and she made sure to introduce Lili to Zixu. Zixu, as always, was his polite self, knowing all the right words to say at all the right times.

    And then, Yujia saw Chef Hong.

    The middle-aged woman, who was carrying a basket of vegetables into the room, saw Yujia at the same time, immediately declaring, "Girlie, who that next to you? Your man?"

    Yujia flashed a look at Zixu, then stared back at Chef Hong. She let out a single laugh, saying, "Ah, no. That''s my¡­ senior brother, Yu Zixu. Senior Brother Zixu, this is Chef Hong."

    Zixu nodded and bowed courteously, greeting, "So, this is the great Chef Hong. I have heard great things about your cooking before."

    "Really?" Chef Hong''s eyes lit up in a delighted manner. "From who?"

    "From Senior Brother Yunhe, and of course, Junior Sister Yujia. She raves, in particular, about a certain hangover soup you make?" he replied simply.

    Chef Hong narrowed her eyes at Yujia. "This girlie is the type to compliment me so much in front of other people?"

    Zixu kept his plain smile. "Certainly."

    Yujia chimed in, "Chef Hong, since we''re on the topic of hangover soup, I totally do not have a hangover or anything, but I''ve been really craving the taste of your soup. If you have the supplies on hand, and if it''s not too much, could you please make me a bowl? Oh, and a bowl for Senior Brother too, since he doesn''t believe how good the soup actually is."

    Chef Hong laughed, waving her hand in the air. "You know that when cooking for a person like your master, I always have the ingredients for hangover soup on hand. If you want some soup, then I''ll make some. Easy."

    "Then, I can only graciously thank the great chef." Yujia grinned.

    While Chef Hong got to work, Yujia and Zixu took a seat in the back of the kitchen. They passed some time with some basic chit chat, but soon enough they became bored.

    Yujia glanced around the kitchen, spotting one shelf that had some old paper and ink on it. She looked back at Zixu, who had just finished explaining a poem Yujia found the other day and had been puzzled about.

    She then thought about a simple game she played the other day with a certain someone named Bo Zhizhong, in which she had won. Back then, she drew some cat whiskers on Zhizhong''s face as his punishment for losing and her prize for winning.

    Staring at Zixu with a careful gaze, Yujia imagined how he would look with some strokes of ink across the sides of his face. She couldn''t stop a giggle from escaping her at the idea of it.

    Zixu blinked. "Hm? What''s funny?"

    "Well¡­" Yujia immediately wiped away her smile, straightening herself and taking on a serious tone. "If we have nothing to do, how about we play a little game?"

    She had a great game and a great idea.

    ¡­

    Meanwhile, on the other side of Lingxin, Fu Yushang, the crown prince of the empire, stared at the person who was standing right in front of him right now, Ye Yunhe.

    "What are you doing here?" Yunhe asked, eyebrows knit and an unamused expression crossing his face. "And how did you even get into Lingxin?"

    Yushang grinned brightly. "Been a while since you''ve seen me, haven''t you? Did you miss me? Did you forget about my existence? And did you forget that a certain someone," he coughed, "ahem, me," he coughed again, "is a certain crown prince, and has some excellent abilities to get into places that are closed off to the average person?"

    Yunhe continued looking unamused as usual, sighing. "What do you want today?"

    "Aw come on, don''t look like you''re so miserable to see me." Yushang gestured at Yunhe''s expression with a nod, "I could have you flogged for that."

    "Go ahead. Why don''t you?" Yunhe didn''t seem like he particularly cared. He turned around, then started heading in the opposite direction.

    Yushang hastily followed, explaining, "Well, because I''m in an excellent mood today! And I came to visit the lovely senior brother of my wonderful business partner¡ª"

    At this, Yunhe spun around. "So, when do you plan on telling her your true identity?"

    "You think I should?" Yushang placed his hand at his chin. "I do admit that I''m growing a bit attached to the entire ''Bo Zhizhong'' identity. It''s quite easy to go around town like this, you know?"

    Yunhe''s lips flattened into a thin line. "I don''t think she''ll be particularly pleased with the idea that you''ve been hiding these things from her all along."

    "You make it sound like I''m lying to her all the time," Yushang defended himself, "which I''m not. I''m an open book. This is the only thing that I''m keeping from her, and I have my reasons."

    "Is that so? This is the only thing you''ve kept from her? Are you sure?" Yunhe''s brows jumped off.

    "Yes, of course."

    Yunhe didn''t seem all too convinced by this, but Yushang thought that this senior brother of Yujia was just too much of a worrier and overthinker. What else could he possibly be hiding from her besides the fact that he was a crown prince? Yushang told her almost everything.

    Seeing how Yushang wasn''t spouting any more words, Yunhe then blurted out, "I know you''re not here to visit me. That''s nonsense. You came to see her, didn''t you?"

    "Why yes, I did." Yushang grinned. "You''re not as dense as you seem, are you? So tell me, where can I find her?"

    Yunhe turned and continued walking fast again. "I actually don''t know," he answered while he walked.

    Yushang scurried to follow. "Aw come on, you have to know. How could you not?"

    "I really don''t." The two of them stopped at the entrance of a large building, which Yunhe seemed like he wanted to enter. "She went off this morning after breakfast, and I haven''t seen her since." He faced Yushang, then gestured to the building doors. "I have to go find some documents in Lingxin''s private library. Only disciples can enter, and I''m afraid that even an almighty crown prince like yourself cannot get in. So, if you would excuse me, honorable crown prince," he bowed deeply, "I''ll be going now."

    With that being said, Yunhe went in and closed the doors behind him.

    Yushang stared at the closed doors, a few thoughts crossing his mind.

    Since the last time that he met Yunhe, the attitude of this other one seemed to change a lot. He seemed to be less afraid of Yushang''s power, compared to when Yushang first revealed who he was to Yunhe.

    This made sense, though. After all, Yunhe was an important noble''s son and the direct disciple of Yushang''s father''s master. Yushang, though a crown prince, couldn''t actually get Yunhe in too much trouble, especially when he was under the disguise and not interacting with Ye Yunhe in public.

    Yushang pondered for a moment the possibility of Noble Ye exposing his identity to Yujia, but he decided that despite Yunhe''s attitude, he wouldn''t go as far to tell Yujia the truth about who Yushang was. He wouldn''t want any troubles to befall on his family in court.

    Still, on the safe side, Yushang decided that he would have to send some fancy gifts to Yunhe to buy his way into having Yunhe''s loyalty. It was better to be safe than sorry.

    Yushang looked at the doors again, recalling the words Ye Yunhe told him just a moment ago.

    Only disciples could go into the private library?

    It seemed like there were a lot of restrictions to non-disciples that even a crown prince couldn''t cross.

    That seemed to be an issue, but Yushang figured that it was an issue that was easy to solve. If only disciples could enter the library, then he would just go and become a disciple! He didn''t think that any of Lingxin''s masters would dare to reject a disciple like him.

    From just a thought, there were numerous benefits to becoming a disciple. He could enter and leave Lingxin as he pleased, and he could also see his business partner for business related things as he pleased, right?

    Thus, Yushang discovered a new goal he didn''t know he had before: becoming a disciple of Lingxin Academy.

    But for now¡ª he needed to find Yujia. He actually had some things involving their shop that he wanted to discuss with her, and it wasn''t that he was just finding her for fun.

    Though, with Ye Yunhe now gone, behind some doors that Yushang couldn''t cross, how was he supposed to find his business partner? She could even be outside of Lingxin, for all he knew.

    Because of this, Yushang decided to do some waiting.

 Chapter 234 - The Artist Deals With Consequences

    Yang Yujia thought that she had the upper hand. She thought that she had a good plan in mind¡ª win a game of five-by-five tic-tac-toe with Yu Zixu.

    She intended to carry out the exact same trick as last time, where she fooled Bo Zhizhong and got the chance to draw cat whiskers on him. After all, she thought, Yu Zixu didn''t know the same strategies as her. Even if he was super smart, when it came to tic-tac-toe, she would still have the upper hand and prior experience, right?

    Clearly, she thought wrong.

    The first game, with a simple three-in-a-row, ended in a tie. This should''ve been a fair warning for Yujia that things were not going to turn out right.

    In the game of five-by-five that they played, Yujia thought she was winning at first. Yet unlike Bo Zhizhong, who made bold moves without much careful thought, every move that Zixu made was with plenty of careful analysis. Whenever it came to his turn to play, he seemed hesitant to draw on the grid. And so, just like that, with Zixu''s careful moves, what Yujia thought was a clear win for her slowly transformed into a loss.

    By the end, it was clear that she had lost.

    She ended up staring at the messy grid drawn on the paper, wondering what mistakes she exactly made to get to this point.

    Meanwhile, Zixu smiled his usual close-lipped smile, leaning back. He set the brush in his hand down, casting his eyes across the grid before dragging his gaze back to her.

    "What did you say that the prize was again, for the winner?" he asked, though Yujia was sure that he knew already, and was just purposefully messing with her.

    "The winner gets to do one thing to the loser," she mumbled with a scowl.

    "What were you planning on doing? I''m curious," Zixu asked again.

    At this, Yujia looked up, quick to defend herself, "I wasn''t planning on doing anything too serious! I was just going to¡­ draw some cat whiskers on your face." One of her hands went up to cover her face, her cheeks reddening. Still, she couldn''t hold back a bit of laughter. "I know it sounds ridiculous. But that''s why I thought it would be funny. So¡ª you better not do anything serious either!"

    "Hm."

    Zixu didn''t say much, his fingers twirling the brush that he picked up again. He observed the grid and paper in front of him again, as if he was thinking about the different moves that he could''ve played.

    Yujia waited, in dread. She realized that possibly, by not saying anything, Zixu was just building up more of the suspense.

    God, this man was a bit of a sadist sometimes.

    Then, breaking her anticipation, Chef Hong called out from the front of the kitchens, "Girlie! Come here."

    Yujia, more than glad to run away from her current situation, jumped up, going to Chef Hong.

    "I need to go to the market real quick," the chef explained, "The servants are absolute idiots. I always tell them to not buy these kinds of cabbage¡ª" she furiously pointed at the cabbage on the table, which Yujia could honestly not see anything wrong with, "but they keep doing it. They never learn! And now I have to pick the cabbage myself. Absolute idiots, I''m dealing with, I tell you."

    Chef Hong paused, glancing over at the stove. "So, watch my soup for me, alright?" she asked, "It should still have a while before it''s ready, but just¡­ make sure the entire kitchen doesn''t catch on fire or anything. I would ask Lili to do these things, but that girl is off to who-knows-where. If you see her come back, tell her I''m looking for her. For now, though, just watch the soup."

    "Ah, okay. I can do that," Yujia agreed.

    With the explanation spoken, Chef Hong then left the kitchen, leaving Yujia alone with Zixu.

    Yujia stood by the stove, intently watching it as if there was nothing else in the world which could possibly interest her more. When Zixu called out to her with a "Junior Sister", she responded rather simply.

    "Sorry, I''m busy¡­ watching soup boil."

    She prayed that he wasn''t about to ask anything too ridiculous of her. He couldn''t. He shouldn''t.

    As she stared at the soup, Yujia heard the shuffling of fabric, like the sounds of someone getting up. Zixu made his way over to her, holding a brush in one hand and an inkstone in the other.

    "I decided what I want to do," he stated, head tilted.

    "Really?" Yujia winced, bracing herself. "What, then?"

    Zixu kept his smile. "Since you were planning to paint some cat whiskers on my face, I might as well do the same to you. Come, step a little closer, and let me draw on your face."

    Yujia narrowed her eyes and laughed. "You''re for real?"

    "I got the ink and all." He set the inkstone he was carrying down on the counter that stood between them.

    Zixu then leaned against the counter and picked up his brush. He gestured with his left hand for her to come a little closer. "You don''t plan on eating your own words, do you?"

    "No, no, of course not," she immediately disagreed, "That would¡­ not be fair."

    Yujia could finally see how Zhizhong was so adamant against the idea of her painting on his face now. Though it didn''t really seem like a bad thing, the idea was still fairly embarrassing. And if Zixu didn''t let her wash it off, it would be pretty humiliating to go around Lingxin like this.

    Still, however, she couldn''t be a sore loser. Dropping her excuse of watching soup, she moved herself directly across to Zixu, propping her two elbows on the countertop and setting her chin on her hands.

    "Paint whatever," Yujia grumbled with a sigh.

    "Alright."

    Zixu''s voice was a bit quieter, now that the two were in such close proximity. She noticed that he generally spoke with a softer tone like this, the volume of his voice always appropriate for the situation, and calming to others around him.

    He dipped the tip of the brush in the ink, beginning by delicately drawing a single line across the left side of her face. At the cold touch of the ink, Yujia''s face unintentionally recoiled back a little, making Zixu reach out with his left hand. He cupped the side of her face, keeping her from moving, his touch gentle and warm.

    She expected his skin to be icy to touch, but it was surprisingly much warmer. And with their faces so close to each other, it was just like last night, when she accidentally fell on top of Zixu. She could see all the details of his features perfectly, and she couldn''t help those memories¡ª the ones of moonlight cast over Zixu''s expressionless face¡ª from rising up.

    Yujia imagined that her face was burning up, but if it was, Zixu didn''t say anything. Perhaps he was too focused on drawing the lines to realize, except then again, it was Yu Zixu who was drawing right now. Yu Zixu, the one who never failed to notice anything.

    No words were exchanged through this process, Yujia keeping herself as still as possible. She tried to focus on the sensation of ink against her skin more, and less on Zixu''s face, so close to hers.

    Was this what Bo Zhizhong felt like when she was drawing on his face? Surely not. When she did it back then, to him, it felt like a brother and sister moment. There was nothing that felt quite as off, or just a little bit awkward, like it did right now.

    Though, Yujia had to admit that despite the fact that she was generally one who hated awkwardness, she didn''t mind the scenario right now. This time, the awkwardness wasn''t too uncomfortable, really. It was more describable by a fluriness in her stomach and the thudding of her heart, making her question if what she was feeling right now could necessarily be called "awkwardness".

    But in the next moment, Zixu leaned away. With him less close now, a decent space put between the two of them, Yujia didn''t feel anything anymore, making her push the reason for that awkwardness from before to just the inevitable embarrassment whenever any two people were so close together.

    Zixu, getting a stepped-back view of her face, actually allowed a single chuckle of amusement to escape from him.

    Yujia flinched back from the counter, a hand raising up to touch her face before she stopped herself, realizing that it was probably not a good idea to smear her fingers against wet ink.

    "You look wonderful. Don''t worry," he hummed.

    She realized, after his words, that she had not been able to focus completely on the brush and the ink. She had no idea what he painted on her face.

    "Did you¡­ paint whiskers?" she questioned.

    Zixu took a seat. "Maybe. Maybe not."

    Upon hearing this, Yujia immediately scanned the kitchen, looking for any traces of a mirror. She didn''t find one, but she saw her next best option¡ª a large bowl of water.

    Yujia rushed over to the bowl, leaning over and taking a look at her reflection.

    Looking back at her was a girl with what she predicted¡ª three cat whiskers drawn on both sides of the face, and a bit of ink underlining the nose. However, at a closer look, Yujia realized that this wasn''t a cat, based on the stripes Zixu drew on her forehead.

    "You made me into a¡­ tiger?" she exclaimed.

    "I figured a cat would be too simple, for someone like you." he replied.

 Chapter 235 - Hangover Soup and the Artist

    A cat was too simple for her? What was that supposed to mean? Was this a compliment? Or was he saying that she was too fierce and brash like a tiger, unladylike and undesirable traits for a girl in this time period? Was this some form of backhanded compliment, then? Or did she interpret his words wrong again?

    Yujia wrinkled her nose. "Thank¡­ you?"

    Zixu responded, seemingly reading her mind, "It''s a compliment. Don''t worry." He then stood to put the ink and brush away.

    While he did so, Yujia narrowed her eyes, which were fixed on him. How come she never understood what Yu Zixu was trying to say, but he always seemed to know exactly what she was thinking?

    This was injustice!

    She remembered what he said before about practicing his observation skills. Maybe she needed to practice more. She thought her observations were already getting much better, but after seeing all of this, she felt like she was far behind Zixu in terms of her capability to notice and understand what others were thinking.

    Or, then again, maybe it was just Zixu''s fault for being too vague, misleading, and puzzling.

    A while later, Chef Hong eventually returned, carrying some more vegetables in a basket. She definitely had plenty of questions, mostly about how when she left, Yujia still had a clean face, yet when she returned, Yujia was looking like a freak who scribbled ink on her own face.

    Zixu surprisingly had a set of logical answers to give the chef. His answers were so solid¡ª though not entirely truthful¡ª that even someone as talkative and questioning as Chef Hong couldn''t come up with anything else to say. Yujia figured that after Chef Hong heard Zixu''s answers, she just gave up on trying to question why Yujia''s face looked that way.

    Regardless, it was still a large moment of embarrassment for Yujia, knowing exactly what her face looked like. She wished that she could wash her face clean, but she really couldn''t, while Zixu was still here.

    For now, she would just have to deal with the judgemental stares and questions. Chef Hong was only the first one to see her face outside of Zixu, so Yujia could only imagine how many more questions she would have to deal with throughout the day.

    A few more moments later, the soup also finished cooking on the stove, and Yujia took this as an excuse to take her mind off of her face. She helped the chef ladle the steaming soup into two bowls. When the soup was in both bowls, she walked over to Zixu with a tray, placing his bowl of soup along with a spoon down on the table.

    The soup looked delicious. Inside the light, simmering base of the soup, there were many ingredients: tender tofu, bamboo shoots, two eggs, preserved vegetables, bean sprouts, shiitake mushrooms, ginger, some delicately sliced pork, and lastly, a few herbs which helped to cure a hangover. A sprinkle of chopped green scallion scattered over each bowl brought a touch of bright green to the mellow color of the soup.

    Neither Yujia nor Zixu spoke many words as they took a spoonful of the soup. Yujia gently blew on hers to cool it down a bit, but when she drank hers, it still burnt her tongue a little.

    Still, she had to admit that the soup tasted just as good as it looked. Despite having tasted Chef Hong''s hangover soup a few times in the past, Yujia still found herself startled at just how good the soup was.

    A touch of vinegar and pepper in the soup brought a tangy and spicy hint, increasing her appetite. The soup was flavorful, but it was not greasy or heavy to drink down. It warmed her throat and stomach as she drank it, spoonful by spoonful. And though there were many ingredients packed into this soup, it didn''t feel like these ingredients clashed at all. None of the flavors overrode each other, creating a satisfying blend of spices filling up her taste buds.

    Ah. This, the soup in front of her, was the definition of heaven.

    And to think that with all the herbs packed inside¡ª which she couldn''t even taste¡ª the soup was healthy for her mind and body as well, Yujia felt even more joyful eating it.

    Halfway finished with drinking her soup, Yujia glanced up at Zixu. "What do you think?" she asked.

    "It''s wonderful," he said with a content sigh. "Better than any hangover soup that I''ve had before."

    Yujia put on a grin. "What did I say? But¡­ have you had many kinds of hangover soup in the past? You don''t seem like one to drink frequently."

    Zixu stirred his soup. "I don''t. But I will drink with people that I trust."

    Hearing this confirmation¡ª that he trusted her¡ª made Yujia''s smile grow a little brighter. She quickly looked down at her soup when she realized how wide her grin was.

    Today, she felt like such a fool, smiling so easily at the slightest things.

    ¡­

    Ultimately, Yujia and Zixu finished their soup, and it was time to part. Yujia offered to walk him to the front doors of Lingxin, and he accepted. Only a moment later did Yujia realize that this meant dealing with more people who would see her ink-scribbled face, but it was too late to back out now.

    As Yujia walked behind Zixu, almost covering her own face up, Zixu spun to face her. He walked backwards, saying to her, "You shouldn''t cover your face like that. You look cute."

    She raised her head up for just a moment, eyelid twitching when she noticed how Zixu was wearing his teasing smile. "No, I look ridiculous," she objected, "You know, I know, and everyone else who sees me will know."

    He turned back around. "Well then, if you think so, then that shall be it."

    The two reached the front gates of Lingxin. Zixu faced her again.

    "Thank you for treating me to a bowl of soup, Junior Sister." He bowed.

    "No problem. Treat it as my payment for the pendant that you returned." She touched the jade pendant, which now hung at her waist again.

    "Next time, if I have a few more drinks than usual, will you treat me to this same soup again?" he inquired, partially joking.

    Yujia answered quite seriously, "Of course. You are my senior brother; a bowl of soup should be no problem."

    Zixu tilted his head. "Alright then. I''ll look forward to it. Farewell for now, then, Junior Sister."

    "See you later, Senior Brother." She waved her hand.

    Just like that, Zixu left with another brief bow.

    Yujia stared at his figure, which was slowly becoming smaller, vanishing into the distance. She exhaled deeply.

    Then, someone yelled out from behind her, "Hey, who''s that?"

    Yujia flinched. She spun around and came face-to-face with Bo Zhizhong.

 Chapter 236 - The Artist Deals With a (Jealous?) Business Partner

    Seeing that it was just Zhizhong, Yujia let out a breath. "You scared me."

    "Scared you?" Zhizhong frowned. He crossed his arms underneath a deep navy blue cloak that he wore. "People who weren''t doing anything shady shouldn''t get spooked easily."

    "I¡­ wasn''t doing anything suspicious." Yujia crossed her arms too. "You just talk super loudly. And abruptly."

    Zhizhong snorted. "I speak at a perfectly fine volume and pace, thank you very much." He then slid his eyes at her face, raising a finger and bursting out in a wave of laughter. "Are you kidding me? Why¡ª why does your face look like that?"

    Yujia immediately flung her hands over her face, groaning loudly. She swiftly began to walk back into Lingxin. "I don''t want to talk about it."

    "Ay, let me get a better look!" Zhizhong ran after her until he was standing in front of her, then turning to walk backwards. "Just the other day, what were you doing again? Drawing on my face? What is this now, karma? Did someone draw on your face? Who? That guy walking away that you were watching? Or did you draw it on yourself? Were you really that bored?"

    "Why do you have so many questions?" Yujia stopped in her steps, dropping a hand so that she could glare at Zhihong. "And no, do I look like the type to draw on my face for fun?"

    Snorting again, Zhizhong answered, "Right now, yes, you do."

    "You''re so¡­" Yujia''s voice trailed off, not sure of the proper words that could convey her exact frustration at this moment.

    How bad was her luck? First, she lost that game of tic-tac-toe that she thought she was sure to win. Then, Zixu scribbled over her face. And now, she had to deal with a Bo Zhizhong, who she conveniently did the same ink-scribbling on in the past.

    Maybe it really was like what Zhizhong said: karma.

    "Come on now, you can''t cover your face the entire time," Zhizhong continued, "You have to take your hands away sometime, and then I''ll see."

    "Okay, okay, okay, fine!" Yujia finally dropped her hands, glaring at Zhizhong. "Are you happy now?"

    Zhizhong stared at her face for a moment, before Yujia went on with her walk, storming through Lingxin.

    "Oh!" he exclaimed, "I thought you were a cat at first. You''re actually not?"

    "No, a tiger."

    Zhizhong fell silent for a moment. Yujia imagined a frown on his face, though she couldn''t bear to make eye contact with anyone right now.

    When he finally spoke up again, unsurprisingly with a question, he demanded, "How come you get to be a tiger, but I''m only a cat?"

    "Why? Is there a law that says that you must be a tiger?" she asked back.

    "Well, tigers are the kings of all animals, and I¡­" his words trailed off, though he hastily went on, "I think that they''re one of my favorite animals. You should''ve painted a tiger instead of a cat for me! Cats are just¡­"

    "Ah, so, would you like me to paint on your face right now?" she suggested.

    Zhizhong immediately shut up.

    Yujia, once reaching her own private courtyard, headed for a water basin immediately. "Go help yourself to some tea or something," she told him, "I''m pretty sure you''re not here to just gawk at my face. Once I''m done washing my face, we can talk about whatever is important."

    "You''re washing it off already?" Zhizhong immediately protested, "But last time, you told me I couldn''t wash it off for the whole day!"

    "Come on, we all know that you didn''t follow through. You probably washed it off as soon as you got home."

    Ignoring his offense towards the fact that she was washing her face so quickly, Yujia went into her room. She got a full look of Zixu''s painting on her face, scrunched up her face, then took a towel and wiped her face clean. The ink did stain a little, but with some more scrubbing, it all came off clean. It probably helped that she washed it off quickly.

    In all honesty, Yujia didn''t feel any regret, wiping the ink off.

    She hoped that she wouldn''t see Zixu for the rest of this day. He did say the same requirements that Yujia had for Zhizhong¡ª that she couldn''t wash it off for a day¡ª but as long as Yujia avoided him, he should never know.

    Another fact was that Yujia planned to go pay a visit to her birthmother after all of this, so she couldn''t go with her face looking like a tiger either. That woman probably already thought that Yujia was insane. Ink on her face would not help Yujia''s case.

    She finished up by drying her face pretty quickly. Then, Yujia slipped back out of her room, taking a seat across from Zhizhong at the stone table.

    He looked at her, scowling upon seeing that she really did wash all of her face clean. Setting his cup of tea down on the table, he questioned again, "You never told me, why did you have ink drawings on your face in the first place? I don???t think that you would do this to yourself."

    Surely, Yujia couldn''t explain Yu Zixu and the entire reason behind how she came to have a tiger-face. That would be too complicated, and she didn''t want Zhizhong to misunderstand anything.

    "I had a bet with a friend, lost the bet, and so this happened. Similar to what happened between you and me last time. Simple." She chose to answer this way.

    Zhizhong''s eyes narrowed. "Was the guy who was walking away the friend you were talking about?"

    "No," Yujia blurted, "That was¡­ one of my senior brothers."

    "Why were you sending him off?"

    "I was being¡­ polite?" Yujia bit her lip. Then, she quickly changed the topic, saying, "What did you come to find me for?"

    "Oh." Zhizhong sat up, pulling out some papers from his sleeve. "I actually wanted to talk about our shop, and some of the business decisions I''ve decided on. I wanted to ask you before progressing."

    Yujia thought about her new discovery and gift of oil paints from her master. She remembered that she wanted to talk to Zhizhong about potentially selling oil paints as well, and this was the perfect opportunity.

    So, she said, "Right. I actually have something to talk about Three Inks as well. Tell me what new things you have, and I''ll tell you mine afterwards."

    "Sure." Zhizhong quickly got down to explaining attentively.

    As Yujia watched him explain, absorbed within the discussion, she couldn''t stop a small smile. Even someone as childish and playful as Bo Zhizhong could get serious like this. He was a good kid.

 Chapter 237 - Bonus: The Crown Prince Drinks Vinegar

    The conversation went well. When Yushang left Lingxin, he was feeling rather productive today.

    As he walked back to the palace, he found his guard, Si Shen, walking behind him silently. In the beginning, when Yushang first knew Si Shen, he did find it a bit freaky that his personal guard was literally one with the shadows, able to appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. He also found it freaky that Si Shen walked so silently that even in a fully silent room, his footsteps were still one with the silence.

    Now, though, Yushang was completely used to it. So when he noticed Si Shen''s presence, he didn''t feel the slightest bit surprised.

    "Hey," Yushang started talking first, as usual, "Si Shen, if I told you to go track someone down, could you?"

    His mind wandered towards the memory of a man''s back, the one Yujia was watching walk away.

    "Who?" Si Shen responded with his typical brief style.

    Yushang admitted, "I don''t know. I just know he''s wearing like¡­ a white cloak? Or was it light blue? Or light green? Or wait¡­ was it a cloak? Or was he wearing light colored robes?"

    Scrunching up his face, Yushang tried to recall the fading image in his head. Why didn''t he pay more attention before? But then, Yushang recalled what Yujia told him about this man''s identity before.

    "Oh, I remember now¡ª he''s also a disciple of Lingxin!"

    After saying this, he turned his head to look at Si Shen, who was expressionless. But then, Yushang squinted, and he swore¡ª he really swore¡ª that in Si Shen''s eyes, there was the glimmer of a condescending, mocking gaze.

    "You''re making fun of me? Really?" Yushang scowled.

    Si Shen stared him back in the eyes. "No."

    Hands clenching at his side, Yushang pressed on, "Then, why are you looking at me this way?"

    "The Lingxin disciple robes are all light colored."

    "Ah, so because of such a simple reason, you can''t find this person? You can''t even do this one, small thing?"

    Si Shen actually snorted a laugh¡ª or what Yushang thought was a laugh, but more like a small breath of air. "You ask me why I''m making fun of you, but then you''re just here, being¡­"

    His voice trailed off.

    Yushang immediately snapped back, "Being what?"

    "This one is afraid to offend the almighty crown prince." Si Shen went back to his blank expression.

    "No, go on," Yushang commanded, "Finish what you were saying. This prince will not charge you with any offense. Tell me, what were you going to say?"

    Once Si Shen heard these words, he didn''t have any hesitation in replying, "You''re just being dumb."

    "Dumb?" Yushang repeated, eyebrows flying up. He immediately regretted saying that he wasn''t going to charge Si Shen of any offense. "I''m not being dumb! I asked a simple task from you. You''re Si Shen¡ª how difficult will it be for you to track down a single person? You already have your choices narrowed down to the disciples of Lingxin."

    "Any other details?"

    Yushang thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Nope."

    "Then, I''m not a god. Go find that Lingxin disciple yourself," Si Shen blankly stated.

    This man¡­ Yushang could not believe Si Shen''s dismissive attitude right now.

    And although he was about to retort, angrily, Yushang actually stopped himself.

    Si Shen was right¡ª Yushang was being dumb. This person that he was trying to track down could be any of Lingxin''s disciples. Without any extra details, he really couldn''t figure out who this person was. Yushang originally thought that Si Shen might know, since for all he knew, Si Shen might''ve been lurking above the rooftops of Lingxin or something. Maybe he saw all the people who entered and exited Lingxin, so he knew more than Yushang.

    But, Si Shen was sadly right.

    This personal guard of Yushang''s wasn''t any god. Who would really keep track of the normal-looking people going in and out of an ordinary school? Only a god could track down this person that Yushang wanted to find the identity of.

    All this time, maybe Yushang did see Si Shen as an overpowered, super capable being that could do anything Yushang asked from him. Yet from what he saw today, Si Shen had his limitations too.

    Yushang sighed deeply, running his fingers through his hair and messing it up.

    How could he figure out exactly who the person Yujia was sending off was?

    Yushang stopped in his tracks.

    Wait.

    Why did he care so much about who she was associating herself with? Like she explained before, she was just sending one of her senior brothers off to be polite. There was nothing wrong with it¡­

    But wait!

    Another realization hit Yushang.

    Could it be that¡­ her words, which he chose to accept at the time, were all a flimsy excuse?

    This didn''t make sense at all. How could it be that Yujia, who claimed that she lost a bet with a friend, was sending a senior brother of hers off in the next second? Yushang saw how quickly she ran to her room to wash her face off once the person she was sending off left. If she lost a bet with a friend, and the friend was already gone, she would''ve washed her face clean before she sent off this senior brother of hers.

    She wasn''t the type who would walk around all day with ink on her face. If she was sending off her senior brother looking like how she did when Yushang first saw her today, then¡­

    That was it!

    The friend that Yujia talked about, the friend that Yushang assumed was just some female friend, the friend who drew on her face, and the friend that she had been so vague towards¡­ it was none other than the senior brother that she was sending off!

    She was just lying to him this entire time! She was just telling him excuses to get him to stop asking questions! And now that Yushang was already almost at the palace, so far away from Lingxin, he couldn''t go back and ask her more questions either now.

    Yushang glared down at his two hands, realizing how stupid he must''ve been to believe her so easily. Heavens, he hated to admit it, but Si Shen was just so goddamn right. Yushang was dumb. An absolute idiot!

    Yujia''s senior brother, another man, was the one who drew on her face¡­

    Yushang recalled the time where she drew on his face. Their close proximity, the way that her skin brushed against his, her concentrated gaze fixed on his face¡­

    Another man was doing that to her!

    He didn''t care if it was some senior brother. This sort of closeness and touchy-touch was not okay! Yushang thought that he was the only person who she would do these kinds of things with.

    Yushang wasn''t quite certain why he was feeling this twinge of irritation in his heart.

    Before, when she said that it was a friend drawing on her, Yushang wasn''t quite so irritated at this idea. Maybe it was because he assumed that "friend" automatically meant "girl" for absolutely no reason at all. Or maybe it was because he didn''t know exactly who this friend was, so it wasn''t as irritating as the idea of seeing the person who drew on Yujia''s face. Or maybe, he was irritated due to the fact that she had lied to him¡ª which meant that she definitely had something to hide.

    Nails digging into his palm, Yushang resumed taking bold strides forward.

    This was making him inexplicably angry. So, he vented at Si Shen, ranting, "I just realized, she¡ª Miss Yang¡ª she was lying to me! She said that it was just a friend that she was spending her time with, but it was her senior brother! Why would she lie about that? Did she think that I would misunderstand? But if there was nothing wrong or off in the first place, why would she be afraid of any misunderstandings?"

    While he continued walking and ranting, he ended up turning his head to see if Si Shen was paying attention. That was when he noticed that Si Shen wasn''t following him.

    This was a first.

    Yushang spun around completely, surveying the people behind him. That was when he noticed a glimpse of Si Shen standing at some vendor''s stall.

    Swiftly, Yushang strided across the street to the stall, demanding from Si Shen, "What are you doing? You''re supposed to be following me."

    Si Shen ignored him until he passed a few copper coins at the vendor, then picking up a jar the vendor handed him.

    He looked at Yushang and pressed the jar he just bought into Yushang''s arms. "For you."

    "What''s this?" Yushang raised the jar.

    "I saw that you were drinking vinegar, so here: have some more," Si Shen answered.

    Yushang''s eyes trailed over to the sign of the shop Si Shen just bought from.

    It was a stall that sold vinegar.

 Chapter 238 - The Artist Meets Her Birthmother

    The time had come.

    Yujia was about to go visit her birthmother for the first time since she transmigrated into this body, a little more than a month ago.

    Earlier this morning, Yujia had even purposefully made sure that she was dressed in robes which resembled the Fourth Miss''s closet. Her robes were made of a simplistic light blue fabric, the quality of the fabric not quite comparable to her Lingxin uniform or the other silk dresses Yujia owned. Still, however, she hoped that by wearing something closer to the typical outfits of the Fourth Miss, Madam Liu would be less wary of Yujia.

    The closer that Yujia got to actually talking to her birthmother, the more nervous Yujia became. She wasn''t quite sure what to expect. Considering the Fourth Miss and her past, including how she was abusive towards her own maid, Yujia was a bit scared to see what kind of woman the mother of the Fourth Miss would be.

    Hui''er had been adamant to tell Yujia where exactly her birthmother lived. Earlier on, before she left the villa, though, Yujia talked around with a few servants. She had a basic understanding of where in the city Madam Liu lived, and if she needed more specific instructions, she figured that she could ask the neighbors of Liu Yuxi.

    Yujia went into the kitchen, packing some leftover soup in a nice basket. She imagined that her birthmother would appreciate some sort of gift from her daughter.

    Sure enough, once Yujia set out, she had to do some asking around. It seemed like she didn''t need to ask too much though¡ª people living near Madam Liu recognized her face, due to the Fourth Miss and her past of frequent visits.

    Only, when Yujia found herself stepping foot into the small, fenced off front yard that belonged to Madam Liu, she was taken aback.

    To say that Madam Liu, or Liu Yuxi, lived in poor conditions was an understatement.

    Yujia used to think that the Yang Villa was in pretty shoddy conditions. The walls had cracks, the courtyard she lived in had flourishing stray weeds, and it was evidently the villa of a small merchant.

    Now, looking at where the Fourth Miss''s birthmother lived, Yujia didn''t think that the Yang Villa was all too bad anymore.

    The front gate which divided Liu Yuxi''s house from the others was broken. It was already dangling in the wind, and with a light push, Yujia walked in. Though this was a clear security and privacy issue, it was more there for show. The wooden gates around the house were built so low that someone could easily climb over. And besides, at another look, Yujia knew that there were no reasons for any thieves or criminals being interested in breaking into this residence.

    The front yard was a mess, some broken wood chips and logs tossed in one corner. Though summertime was coming, the grass was all yellow and sickly. A piece of the land on the side had a few plants¡ª vegetables?¡ª growing out of it, but they looked as wilted as the grass. Weeds grew freely amongst this area.

    When Yujia looked forward, at the house, she didn''t need to step any closer to see its broken state. The bamboo poles making up the walls of the house were chipped, missing in some places. At the front of the house, there seemed to be some sort of kitchen set up, but it was all a mess. The few pots, bowls, and cups in it were tossed in random places. A knife and a chopping board were on top of a crooked table, while another pile of wood resembled a table that had collapsed on itself. Flies buzzed around the unwashed bowls and utensils.

    Yujia stepped through all of this tentatively, observing her surroundings carefully.

    She arrived at the front door of the house¡ª a door that barely held onto the hinge. Raising her hand for a knock, Yujia then realized that the slightest push of her hand made the door swing open with a creak.

    The house interior was just a small room. An old table was on the right, with a single cracked cup and a mismatched teapot. A bed without any canopy was on the left. Barely any light streamed into the room from the only window it had, due to the moth-eaten curtains draped over it. The floor had some wooden flooring, surprisingly, but the planks were tearing up. Dirt was tracked everywhere.

    It didn''t look like a place for a human to live comfortably.

    Yet on the bed, there was a person. A woman. She laid there, eyes closed, her breathing so shallow that she was almost perfectly still.

    Yujia thought she was dead. But walking closer, she realized that this woman was only sleeping.

    And seeing this face, a face that despite the yellowing skin, the wrinkles all over her face, and the graying hair, Yujia could still see similarities. She saw features in this woman that Yujia had, but her other half sisters in the Yang Household did not share. The shape of her face, the cheekbones, the slope of her nose, and the curve of her lips¡ª Yujia saw all of these similar features on her own face, when she looked into the mirror every morning.

    Only, it was slightly more difficult to tell. It took focus to notice these shared details, all because of the sickly state this woman lying on the bed was in.

    She should''ve been in her forties. Except when Yujia looked down at this sleeping face, she saw an old, dying woman, much, much older than that.

    This woman, lying on the bed in front of her right now, was none other than Liu Yuxi.

    Yujia didn''t know what she expected when she envisioned Madam Liu. This person was not it.

    Then, the eyes of this woman blinked open. She stared at the ceiling for a brief second, before she looked over at Yujia.

    Light came to her eyes. She sat up¡ª with a bit of difficulty, but still managing to prop herself up¡ª a smile simultaneously blooming across her face. The smile wiped away some of the folded wrinkles on her face. It was a smile, so jubilant, that it made her seem younger. And seeing this woman wide awake, Yujia realized that Liu Yuxi must''ve been a beauty when she was younger, the kind of beauty suffered under the cruel hands of time.

    She continued her blissful smile, hands raising towards Yujia, the way that a mother beckoned to her daughter to come into her embrace.

    "Daughter," she said, "I have not seen you in a long time. I missed you."

 Chapter 239 - Amnesia and the Artist

    This was a first for Yujia.

    When was the last time that she hugged her own mother?

    Thinking of it made her heart twist in her chest. And thinking about how to deal with this unexpected situation in front of her, Yujia leaned forward a bit warily.

    She thought she would deal with a hysterical woman, one that would scream at the sight of her. That was what Hui''er made Yujia expect, after the entire "she thinks that you''re possessed" deal.

    Madam Liu''s current attitude, however, was anything but that. Since Yujia wasn''t prepared to play out the role of a dutiful daughter to a loving mother, she was definitely hesitant in her actions. Nevertheless, Yujia ended up hugging the woman in front of her stiffly, simultaneously managing to keep herself from flinching away.

    As Liu Yuxi embraced her, one of her hands went up to stroke Yujia''s hair. "Daughter, I was thinking of you earlier. You haven''t seen me in so long, and even your maid¡­ what was her name again? Little Hui? She visited me more than you, and she said¡­ she said¡­"

    The woman''s dry voice paused. She was silent for a few moments, as if remembering something.

    Then, she violently jerked back, pushing Yujia away.

    Yujia staggered back at this sudden push, eyes widening. Madam Liu recoiled back in her bed, grabbing her blankets close to her, a hand reaching up and trembling, pointing at Yujia.

    "You¡ª you¡ª"

    Within a moment, Madam Liu transformed from that caring, warm-hearted figure to a horrified woman, clutched to her blankets, all tense in fear, and her entire body shaking. Her jaw was clenched. Her sunken eyes frantically glanced at Yujia and all over the room, darting back and forth.

    "I¡ª" Yujia began.

    Her words were cut off. "You are not my daughter! I¡ª I¡ª I remember what she said¡ª that maid¡ª your personality change¡ª she said¡ª there¡ª there was no explanation¡­ no explanation¡­ you must''ve been possessed! A demon, monster¡­"

    Her mad rambles continued.

    Yujias arms reached up to hug herself, gathering herself closer. Yet after the sudden push, which did catch her off guard, Yujia found herself becoming much more collected. She actually found this scene in front of her, though much more aggressive than before, easier to deal with.

    This¡ª the unstable woman in front of her right now¡ª was what Yujia prepared herself for. This was what she was worried that she would see. This is what she thought of solutions for.

    It was actually a bit amusing to think of how taken aback Yujia was to receiving motherly love. Yet when dealing with this sort of hostility, she was much more accustomed.

    Hui''er had worried in the past that Yujia would be frightened by this sight. Except, now thinking about it, wasn''t this Madam Liu in front of her acting the same way to Yujia as her actual own mother in her past life did? The accusations, the blame¡­

    The more Yujia looked at the aging woman in front of her, the more she saw a reflection of her actual mother.

    Yujia decided to speak calmly in this situation. Raising her voice or showing signs of being distressed by the shouts of Liu Yuxi would do no good to Yujia''s purpose of being here.

    Catching a brief pause in between Madam Liu''s rambles, Yujia cut in, "Mother. Mother. Calm down."

    "You are not her¡ª you are not my Yujia¡ª what did you do to her? Return her to me." Madam Liu spat in response.

    "Who told you that I am not your Yujia, Mother?" Yujia smiled. She tilted her head. "Hui''er? That maid¡­ she is just misinformed."

    "Misinformed?" Madam Liu''s eyes narrowed, her head shaking. "No. No, no, no¡­"

    "I am not possessed. I am not a demon, a monster, some sort of spirit taking over the body of your daughter. It is me, Yujia. How can you not see, Mother?"

    Yujia took a seat on the side of the bed, her movements slow so that Madam Liu could see that she posed no threat. She clasped her hands in her lap, her posture relaxing.

    "Mother," Yujia went on, "when Hui''er went to visit you a few weeks back, she was misinformed. The truth is, I lost my memories."

    Indeed¡ª Yujia was playing the classic "amnesia" card.

    She thought about what she could tell Liu Yuxi which would be believable. The entire "I transmigrated from the future" honestly did sound like a bunch of spiritual possession and demonic kind of stuff. So, Yujia decided to draw references from modern media, and the stories with the main characters that transmigrated.

    What did they always resort to? Amnesia.

    And truly, that was the best choice to make in a situation like this.

    Yujia continued speaking after a pause, "Since such a long time had passed, I have slowly started to gather bits and pieces of my old memories back. I believe that this case of losing my memories had to do with this time where I drank a little too much, and hit my head. And ever since then, I woke up unsure of my identity and all of my past. That, I suppose, is why I had a personality change, which led to Hui''er going to you and telling you these things."

    Madam Liu still shook her head, possibly in denial. "That''s¡­ that''s¡­" she stuttered.

    "It''s the truth." Yujia reached forward to grab Liu Yuxi''s hand, and though the woman flinched a bit at first, she allowed Yujia to touch her hand. "Mother, how could I be anyone but your Yujia? Why would any demon want to possess me? Don''t you believe me?"

    It really wasn''t the truth. Yet unlike Hui''er and her master that Yujia was willing to tell the truth to, she had to use these lies for someone like Madam Liu.

    "You said you were regaining some of your old memories. If so¡ª to prove that you are truly my daughter¡ª tell me the things that you''ve regained," Madam Liu demanded.

    It seemed like though this woman was a bit delirious, possibly due to the constant sickness that plagued her, she still had plenty of sanity. Yujia needed to do a bit more convincing lying than what she had done so far.

    But that was alright. Yujia was prepared for this too. She had a list of things that had to be memories the old Fourth Miss shared with her mother, based on logic and deduction. Hopefully, these would be enough to win over Madam Liu as well.

    "I¡­ remember when you taught me embroidery, Mother. I remember¡ª oh¡ª how you taught me how to stitch butterflies. Butterflies on blue cloth. And I remember¡­" she paused, thinking back to the cutting board she saw outside, "when you used to cook me my favorite dishes, since they didn''t feed me well in the villa. You always fussed over that. And.. and¡­ I remember gardening." This idea came from the plants she had seen growing outside, "You taught me how to grow certain plants¡ª I just can''t remember what they were."

    The more Yujia spoke, the more Madam Liu nodded. Her eyebrows slowly raised, her eyes growing larger and larger, the shakes of disbelief transforming into nods of encouragement.

    At the end of Yujia''s words, Madam Liu burst out in a bright, welcoming smile. "You really are my Jiajia! My daughter! Those plants I taught you how to cultivate were medicinal herbs. That was from so many years ago, but you still remembered, out of all things?"

    Yujia forced a nod and a smile. "I suppose these were my most precious memories." At this, though, Yujia looked down, biting her lip. "It''s just¡­ such a pity. These are the only things that I remember. I came today to talk to you, since Mother, I really want to remember my past better. I want to know the things that make me who I am, and there is no one else to talk to. Yet when I walked in, you called me¡­ possessed¡­ do you believe me now?"

    "Oh, Daughter." Madam Liu sighed, gripping Yujia''s hand tighter and placing her other hand over both of their hands. She coughed slightly as she spoke, but her spirits were notably better. "I believe you! Of course I do!"

    Yujia wordlessly smiled a bittersweet smile.

    Madam Liu kept saying, "You know I only said those things because I was worried about you. I know that those are all wrong now. I was wrong. And to know that my daughter, all along, was suffering from this loss of memories¡­ It does hurt me, as a mother, do you know that? You must tell me more about how you lost your memories. Is your head still alright? Have you seen a physician to get medicine? If you need any money for medicine, you know that Mother can support you. You do know who I am, but has this caused you any terrible trouble the past few weeks?"

    Though these were questions of concern, they were fired at such rapid speed that she honestly didn''t think that Madam Liu expected answers to all of these. Yujia decided to only give answers to some.

    "It''s been fine. A bit tough to adjust to everything, but the people by my side helped. I should''ve visited Mother sooner, though."

    "My poor, poor daughter¡­" Madam Liu mourned, her eyes watering up, "To think of how much you must''ve suffered."

    Yujia immediately assured, "The worst is over. Do not feel bad, Mother."

    A long bit of silence fell between them.

    Then, Madam Liu eventually filled in, "You said you came here to listen to me talk about your past?"

    "Yes. I want to see if this helps me regain any memories. And," Yujia purposefully nudged the conversation in a certain direction, "I want to know more about Mother''s past too. Surely, you have told me stories before, but now, they are all forgotten. I don''t want all of these stories to go to waste. So, for today, can we just talk about all of these things?"

    "My past?" The woman visibly tensed up. She let out something that was a mix between a cough and a laugh. "My past is a boring one."

    "Boring or not, don''t you think that as your daughter, I deserve to know?" Yujia insisted.

    "I suppose." Madam Liu sighed, patting Yujia''s hand. "Well then, let us talk. I will tell you some things, and I hope that they can help your memories." She brushed a hand against Yujia''s face. "It is a pity for my daughter to forget all these things. I will do my best as a mother to help."

    Yujia picked up the basket by her side. "I brought soup, so that Mother can eat and talk."

    "My daughter, with memories or without, is still as considerate as always," she responded proudly.

    Only capable of keeping her smile, Yujia nodded.

    As Madam Liu began to speak of the past, Yujia also let out a sigh of relief. This was why she picked the amnesia card. There was simply no better way to do it.

    She hoped that she could learn something new today.

 Chapter 240 - The Artist Learns of the Madam Liuâ€™s Past

    As Liu Yuxi took a sip of the soup that Yujia brought, she began recounting certain memories of her past. It wasn''t like how her master retold his stories¡ª slow and steady, with an organized, chronological manner. Madam Liu had her thoughts scattered all over the place. Though she was eager to retell Yujia''s childhood and her past, she was, at the same time, incapable of recounting the details perfectly. She went off tangents easily. The memories that she described were blurry.

    Regardless of all these issues, Yujia still managed to understand the gist of the Fourth Miss''s childhood, as well as the story of Liu Yuxi. Afterwards, when she returned to Lingxin, she would scribble all these details down on a paper, organizing the cluttered, mixed-up memories into something like a timeline .

    This was the story that she heard.

    ¡­

    Liu Yuxi was not born into poverty.

    She was the young miss of the Liu Family, with her father being an imperial physician. Though imperial physicians were placed at a low social status, her father was one of the better physicians for the Emperor. A few successes in his career boosted his status to a fifth-rank official, making it so that the household had amassed a decent amount of wealth.

    She lived with a carefree attitude, happy with the life she had. She had friends as well¡ª friends from other families of imperial doctors, mostly,

    There was one notable person, her closest friend, the Second Miss from the Zhang Family: Zhang Ruoyu.

    The two grew up as each other''s friends, though Ruoyu''s father was one rank higher than Yuxi''s. They were as close as sisters, to the point that Ruoyu''s older sister would occasionally joke that Yuxi might as well be a young miss from the Zhang Family, considering that Yuxi was so close with Ruoyu.

    But of course, everyone who heard that knew that it was a joke. If Yuxi and Ruoyu were as close as sisters, then Ruoyu''s relationship with her actual older sister, Zhang Ruoqing, was even closer, perhaps like the relationship of twins. The bond between them was unbreakable.

    While Liu Yuxi grew older, she experienced the various stages of life with Zhang Ruoyu. Her moments of happiness, her moments of sadness, her moments of success, and her moments of failure were all accompanied by her best friend. It was no exaggeration to say that most of Yuxi''s childhood was made up of this friend of hers.

    So, of course, Liu Yuxi''s first heartbreak, her first betrayal, happened involving her best friend as well.

    Yuxi fell in love with the son of a fourth-rank official, Yang Chen.

    She liked him, and she thought that he liked her as well¡ª until Zhang Ruoyu fell in love with him.

    Ruoyu was convinced that she was in love. Still, though, Yuxi didn''t think that Yang Chen would like Ruoyu. He met her first. The two grew closer first. Ruoyu only met him by chance, on a brief occasion. How could the two of them possibly get together?

    The two friends fought. From that very moment when Ruoyu first confessed to Yuxi that she had feelings for Yang Chen, a crack was already beginning to grow in their friendship, spreading like a web.

    Yuxi eventually told Ruoyu how she felt. And in the end, the two actually arrived at a conclusion: for the sake of their friendship, they would not let a man break the bond the two shared. Ruoyu would step aside. She wouldn''t try to talk to or catch Yang Chen''s attention. Since Yuxi and Yang Chen already had something blossoming between them, it was only fair that she did so.

    Yet when it came time to choose, the Yang Family selected the Zhang Household over the Liu Household. Yang Chen selected Zhang Ruoyu over Liu Yuxi.

    It was heartbreak, in the cruelest way possible.

    Yuxi realized that simply because of the fact that Zhang Ruoyu was from a family of physicians one rank higher than Imperial Physician Liu, Yang Chen would''ve never chosen her. If this was the only reason, perhaps the heartbreak wouldn''t have been so bad. But Yang Chen went and explained to Yuxi that it wasn''t only because of power and ranks that he chose Ruoyu. He said that Ruoyu and him spent so much time together that he felt like Ruoyu was the one for him. Even though he liked Yuxi, Ruoyu was just the better choice for him.

    That was when Yuxi realized that Ruoyu had lied to her. All those promises that she wouldn''t try to talk to Yang Chen, that she wouldn''t try to get Yang Chen to love her back¡ª they were all lies. These lies, coupled with the fact that the person who Yuxi thought was her best friend chose a man over their years of friendship¡ª this was what hit the hardest. It was what completely shattered their already cracked, fragile friendship.

    Liu Yuxi and Zhang Ruoyu stopped talking after that.

    On the day of Ruoyu''s marriage, Yuxi originally planned to attend, perhaps out of pure courteousness, or perhaps as a way to say her final farewell to this couple.

    Only, that was when she received news that her father was thrown into prison.

    Her whole family was shocked, unable to comprehend what crime the Old Master could''ve committed. They were eventually informed. Yuxi''s father was one of the few imperial physicians who tried offering a cure to a disease that had suddenly struck the Empress Dowager. None of them could figure out a cure. The Empress Dowager''s symptoms only worsened, especially after drinking Imperial Physician Liu''s medicine.

    And so, the physicians who tried to treat the Empress Dowager were all thrown into prison.

    Their fate would be decided if the Empress Dowager would survive or not. If the Empress Dowager died, all of them would be executed as well, for being incapable.

    After all, the life of an imperial physician did not mean anything. There were plenty of them, just like how there were plenty of fourth-rank officials, and they could be discarded and executed as needed. Furthermore, the empire didn''t need incapable individuals.

    The Empress Dowager was sickly to the brink of death. The whole family knew the impending fate of their Old Master, as well as the fate of their family. Yuxi''s father had no sons. With him gone, the savings eventually would dry up, and the Liu Household would fall apart.

    While Zhang Ruoyu was dressed in red, celebrating her marriage with the man that Yuxi loved, Yuxi was running to the prison, begging for the ability to meet her father one last time.

    With some taels as bribery, she managed to finally see her father.

    Upon seeing her, he had a flood of words erupting from him. He exclaimed about how his formula should''ve worked, how it shouldn''t have worsened the symptoms of the Empress Dowager, how he was confident that it should''ve all been good, that nothing which had happened should have happened¡­

    He was the only one who touched and took care of the medicine for the Empress Dowager. What could''ve gone wrong, if he was so careful?

    These last words that he exchanged with her were carved into her brain.

    While they announced that the Empress Dowager had passed, she thought about his words. While her father was sent to the execution grounds, she thought about his words. While her family mourned and sobbed, she thought about his words. She thought about it with the tears flowing down her face, with a withered heart in her chest.

    Liu Yuxi was determined to figure something out, and keeping his words in mind was the only way that she could carry on with all this stress.

    And she did. She knew that her father was not the type to make mistakes that would cost his life. He was always a meticulous person. Someone must''ve done something to the medicine her father prepared, but only he had access to his private station. Only one person was allowed to enter, and this was a person that her father trusted.

    Zhang Ruoyu''s father, Imperial Physician Zhang, who had always worked closely with Yuxi''s father: he was the only person who could''ve done anything to the medicine.

    Yuxi searched for more clues and hints. She studied medicine furiously, taking the knowledge she had before from occasionally watching her father work, to reading all of his records and notes, to memorizing all the herbs, to figuring out exactly what medicinal herbs her father used, to seeing the predicted effects of his formula.

    Sure enough, like he said, his formula should''ve only helped, not harmed.

    She went even further to analyze the remains of the medicine that was supposed to be dumped out in the trash, which she managed to get her hands on. There were inconsistencies with the formula of the remains to the formula her father had planned to put together. It was clear that someone did something to the medicine, altering the dosage and types of herbs used to change the function of the medicine.

    Piece by piece, like that, she put together all of the evidence she found, until the truth that she discovered was solid. It truly was Imperial Physician Zhang who was the cause of the defective medicine.

    She was about to present it to anyone who could help her, in the hopes that this could clear the name of her father and family.

    On the night where she made this decision, a large half of the Liu Villa, including the courtyard that Yuxi lived in, burnt down due to a candle dropped by a careless maid.

    Fires were common. But all the evidence¡ª all the hard work from Yuxi¡ª burnt down in a matter of seconds. She was too concerned with saving her own life and escaping the villa than saving the evidence.

    Although the evidence was all gone, her hard work all burnt to ashes, the fire actually awakened her.

    She realized that even if she had all the evidence, who would help her? Who would be willing to believe the rambles of a young girl? And if she managed to prove something, what point was there? Her father was already dead. Her family was already falling apart. The villa that she grew up in was burnt down into ashes.

    There was no point in anything. It was all hopeless.

    The servants were all dismissed. The one concubine that her father had in the past had already left a long time ago, taking her daughter¡ª Yuxi''s half-sister, who Yuxi never spent too much time with¡ª away with her. Yuxi moved into a smaller house with her mother, who had fallen ill.

    Now, it was just her and her sickly mother.

    Liu Yuxi, who was decent enough at embroidery, sold her needlework to sustain their lives. With the money she made, she had enough to feed and clothe them, but not enough to pay for all the expensive medicine her mother needed.

    That was how Yuxi delved more into the study of medicine, learning carefully from the resources that she managed to salvage from the fire. She went up to the mountains to gather medicine on her own, slowly being capable of creating the kinds of medicines that her mother needed. When she wasn''t sewing or caring for her mother, she was studying medicine. She borrowed and read countless books, to the point where her mind was brimming with knowledge¡ª knowledge about herbs, about formulas, about poisons, about techniques, about pill formation, about taking pulses, and about diagnosing patients.

    This went on for two years.

    Then, her mother passed.

    Liu Yuxi was now truly and utterly alone.

 Chapter 241 - A True Culprit Behind the Artistâ€™s Poisoning

    At this point in the story, the details became vague. Madam Liu did not speak in detail about these moments of the past, as if she couldn''t remember all the details. Or, as if she didn''t want to remember all the details.

    She skipped over a few years, jumping to the point where something happened again between her and Yang Chen, who had his own failures in his family. Unlike his destiny of inheriting his father''s position in the government, certain events caused him to drop to the low status of a merchant. And that was when he met Yuxi again.

    Yujia was born.

    And in this part of the story, Madam Liu described it with deep hatred. She told Yujia while gripping both of Yujia''s hands tightly, her eyes wide, her gaze drilling into Yujia''s stare.

    It was a part about Madam Zhang, Zhang Ruoyu, the official wife of Yang Chen, the childhood friend that Yuxi once had. The friend whose father was the cause of Liu Yuxi''s father being killed and her family falling apart. The friend who stole the man that Liu Yuxi loved.

    From the first place, Zhang Ruoyu had already stopped Yang Chen''s numerous attempts to bring Yuxi into the Yang Household. Furthermore, Ruoyu could not stand the idea of her husband having a child with Liu Yuxi. Maybe it was jealousy. Maybe it was insecurity.

    Because of this, Zhang Ruoyu managed to poison Liu Yuxi, to the point where Yujia was almost a stillborn baby. Only because of the fact that Madam Liu had knowledge of medicine was she capable of saving Yujia''s life. Nevertheless, it didn''t stop the fact that Yujia was born with significant health issues that would soon develop. She was always sickly, and despite the large amount of medicine that she consumed, her health couldn''t be fixed.

    Liu Yuxi took care of her child at first. But when Yujia grew old enough, Yang Chen came and took her away, believing that raising Yujia in the villa would only make things better. Except, without her mother''s care, and with the neglect she received in the villa, her health only worsened.

    "So," Madam Liu told Yujia towards the end of her story, "That is why I always told you, my dear daughter, to never trust that woman, Zhang Ruoyu. She is a liar. A backstabber. A woman with no morals. Her father wronged my family so much, just for the sake of power and his threatened position as a fourth-rank physician. But despite this, we were still childhood friends at one point. We were still as close as sisters at one point. And still, she managed to have the heart to poison me, to try to kill you before you were born. Who is to say that she will not continue her cruelty towards you? Who is to say that she didn''t raise her children, your half-sisters, the same way? No one in the villa can be trusted. You believe me, Daughter, don''t you?"

    Yujia looked at Madam Liu, managing a nod.

    She wasn''t sure if Madam Liu told a completely factual story. Though her mother didn''t seem like the type to lie to her own daughter, it still felt like there would be some bias in there.

    Yet on the other hand, Yujia had seen and heard of how cruel Madam Zhang could be. Madam Zhang had the capabilities to cause her own daughter, Yang Qingxia, to miscarry. Liu Yuxi''s claim that Yujia was almost killed by Madam Zhang when she was a fetus didn''t seem all that far-fetched.

    And if this was the case, if everything she heard today was all true, then things began to make sense now. The poison and her poor health was all due to Madam Zhang.

    It also explained the second letter that Yujia read in the box she opened. That letter said, "Liu Yuxi, I hate you," and it seemed like it was probably written by Madam Zhang.

    Though now, Yujia was conflicted about what Madam Zhang had to hate about Madam Liu. Surely, shouldn''t it be the other way around, considering how much Liu Yuxi was wronged by her? Just jealousy didn''t seem to explain all of it.

    Plus, if the letters were both written by Madam Zhang, then what did the first letter mean?

    Yujia seemed to have reached an answer to the entire poison mystery that had bothered her all along. But the more she thought about it, the more questions and uncertainties there were.

    Even though she arrived at seemingly a conclusion, there was still the nagging feeling that there was something more to it.

    Madam Liu shared a few more stories of Yujia as a child, mostly funny, light-hearted ones. Yujia thought they were cute, but she was more concerned about the entire poison deal. So, she thought about that while Madam Liu talked.

    Suddenly, her concentration was broken when Madam Liu gripped her hand tightly again. She leaned to Yujia, saying, "Tell me about how your days in the villa are going right now. Are they treating you poorly? Has Madam Zhang tried to do anything to you?"

    Yujia gulped.

    She was no longer living into the Yang Villa. How could she explain that?

    "You know the marriage arrangement I had?" Yujia started by saying.

    "Marriage arrangement?" Madam Liu blinked, a look of utter confusion crossing her face.

    Yujia''s eyebrows knitted. Could it be that Madam Liu didn''t know about her daughter''s own engagement to the Yu Household''s Old Master? How could it be? She thought that the old Fourth Miss must''ve told her mother about it. They seemed to have a good relationship.

    "I mean... Madam Zhang tried to marry me off," Yujia tried to explain, twisting her hands in her lap, "But... Father canceled it. So now, the engagement doesn''t exist anymore. That''s all."

    "Is that so?" Madam Liu breathed a sigh of relief. "That''s good. Men cannot be trusted¡ª they are all like your greedy father. It is better to never marry, to never fall in love, than to make the same mistakes that I made in my life."

    Yujia managed a smile.

    Seeing her smile, Madam Liu smiled too. "You know, Daughter," she said, "everything I do for you, all the advice that I give you, it''s all for your own good. I only want to give you happiness. You understand that, right? I tell you everything, so I hope that you do not keep any secrets from me either."

    "Of course, Mother," Yujia replied. She smiled again.

    Except, on the inside, Yujia wondered how many lies the Fourth Miss told her birthmother that she was supposed to love so much. She wondered how many things the Fourth Miss kept as a secret.

    Yujia couldn''t help but pity this woman in front of her. Her best friend betrayed her. Her family was all gone. And even her own daughter, her own flesh and blood, kept the full truth from her.

    Madam Liu lived a pitiful life.

 Chapter 242 - Announcement 06/15/2020

    Hi guyss

    Here''s an announcement since I''m going to be taking a brief break (around 3-5 days?) so that I can go back and edit some of the earlier chapters of PUAY. Especially with such a big plot point like Madam Liu''s backstory beginning to unravel, I really want to take some time and smooth out the earlier chapters/any plot holes I may have had. So yeah, hope u guys understand. :D

    On another note, during this brief break, I do want to write some drabbles/short stories about PUAY characters to make up for it (will be publishing this on my Ko-Fi so it won''t be extra chapters). Currently, I''m thinking about writing some bonus stories about Si Shen (since he''s a big fav character), but any other characters/specific scenes yall wanna request to read? Please drop a comment so I know <3

    (also, sorry for fake update)

    - Yueyi

 Chapter 243 - The Artist Thinks and Thinks and Thinks

    When Yujia headed back to Lingxin, after she recorded all the details of the story she heard from Madam Liu down, she found herself sitting in front of a canvas. The oil paint set her master gifted her was open and laying on the table. She busied her hands with the paints, while her mind went over everything that she recorded.

    Even though she thought about these details, it felt like the more she went over every little word in her head, the blurrier everything was becoming. There were so many uncertainties. There were so many places in the story that Yujia felt like she needed more details about. Yet right now, she had nothing except for her own mind to try to sort everything out.

    And out of all of it, the most glaring question in Yujia''s head was if Madam Liu told the truth or not.

    Just the idea that every part of the story she heard was one big lie made Yujia''s hands stop painting mid-brushstroke.

    She realized: indeed, who was to say that every story she heard wasn''t just a pile of lies?

    Madam Liu could''ve been lying to her. And everything she heard from everyone else before, the stories from Hui''er, from Yang Xiaoyi, from even her master¡­ how did she know that they weren''t lying?

    Everyone could''ve been lying to her all this time.

    Yujia set the brush in her hand down, leaning forward and pressing her fingers against her temples.

    "F*ck," she muttered.

    These trust issues were getting to her. She needed to stop herself, before they went too far. Though she did have some of these thoughts before in the past, they were to a lesser degree. The emotions that she felt before were similar, but not as overwhelming as they were now.

    Why was she even having these thoughts? Perhaps she could excuse not trusting Hui''er or Xiaoyi, but her master¡­ she had to trust him. They were master and disciple, a relationship closer than father and daughter, even. Her master would have no reason to lie to her.

    Though then again, why didn''t she trust Madam Liu?

    For a moment, Yujia thought that the same logic could be applied, that a mother shouldn''t have any reason to lie to her daughter. But with another thought, she realized that Madam Liu could''ve had, within perfect reason, lied to her. If she thought that keeping the truth from Yujia was beneficial to Yujia, then surely, she would excuse her act of dishonesty.

    On the other hand, Yujia''s situation with her master was different. Her master was talking about old matters with him and his wife. He truly had no reason to lie to her. She could trust him.

    Yujia smacked the two sides of her head. She was beng dumb right now, and letting the mess of emotions going through her right now take over her thoughts.

    Why was she so sensitive today? Could it be that the things told in the story, with all the scheming and poisonings, unsettled her to that degree?

    It felt different knowing that Yujia herself was directly stuck in the situation. Unlike the story she heard from her master about his wife, Madam Liu''s story about Madam Zhang and her past directly affected Yujia. After all, Madam Liu claimed that Zhang Ruoyu was the reason for Yujia''s poor health and the poison in her body.

    At this thought, a new idea struck her mind.

    All along, Madam Liu had been the one treating Yujia when Yujia was younger. It didn''t seem like the Fourth Miss visited many other doctors. Yuija''s experience with a doctor, though a highly esteemed one, was also fairly brief. She thought that getting her medicine checked along with the diagnosis from the doctor before would give her all the possible hints she could get in that area. But maybe if she went to see a completely different doctor and received new insight, some more things could click.

    This idea made Yujia decide that tomorrow, she would go find a doctor.

    For now, though, she would just have to paint and think some more. Yujia picked up the paintbrush again, dabbing it in a bit of green paint she had mixed.

    She realized that her messy perception could''ve probably been fixed if she was looking at it from an outsider''s perspective. Yet being in the situation right now, knowing that the truth she discovered or the truth that she believed in could completely change her personal outcome, was what made her so sensitive about everything.

    She stopped her brush again.

    Another thought appeared in her mind. Did she really have to chase after the truth? What if she just accepted Madam Liu''s story, regardless of if it was a lie or not? Wouldn''t it just be easier to accept these lies and to live with it? It wasn''t like Madam Zhang could harm Yujia any more, now that she was in Lingxin. Why was she so desperate in seeking after the truth?

    But no.

    That wasn''t the kind of person she was. Living with lies and an unclear past like that just wasn''t something that sat right with her. Yujia didn''t think she could live out the rest of her life with a little voice telling her in the back of her head that she missed out on such a crucial truth.

    She had already gotten so far in her investigation of her poisoning. To let it all go now through choosing the easy route would take away plenty of her worries. Still, though, it was such a waste, to let go of the truth just because of a little bit of frustration that she was feeling.

    She wanted the truth, and she would get to it, regardless of how many struggles she would have to face to get there. In the past, especially in her past life, Yujia had too many moments of giving up halfway. This time, she wouldn''t let that be the case again.

    Yujia looked at her canvas, focusing on her painting and not her thoughts for the first time in a long while. She wanted to try painting some sort of landscape scenery, maybe a field of grass, when she first began to paint. The image on the canvas right now, though, was more of a mess of colors and brushstrokes, tossed together in one big pile.

    However, in the mess of it all, she began to piece together the shapes and dots of paint, seeing it form a field of grass under blue skies and brilliant rays of golden sunlight. She could see the way that the grass flickered in the wind, and the way that the cool breeze changed the patterns of clouds to reveal the glory of the sun.

    She never liked abstract painting too much in the past, but now, things felt different, seeing this painting on her canvas.

    Maybe that was the beauty of abstract art, to make out the order amongst the chaos.

 Chapter 244 - Infiltration and the Artist, Again

    The next morning, Yujia made a checklist of things she needed to accomplish today. First, she planned to go to a physician to get checked again, just for the sake of making certain a few things, as well as for the sake of her general health. Next, she planned to do some more infiltrating into the Yang Villa¡ª possibly by herself.

    She knew that asking Yu Zixu would raise her success rate by probably quite a bit. But after everything that went down between them, the truths that he confessed to her, and Yujia''s unwillingness to burden him anymore, she didn''t feel like it was right to keep asking Yu Zixu for favors like this. She didn''t want to feel like a bothersome responsibility to him.

    A relationship was always give and take. If she kept taking without giving, the other person in the relationship would surely get annoyed at her fast.

    The infiltration this time involved her return of Madam Zhang''s box and letters. Yujia probably could''ve kept it, but her conscience was getting to her the longer she didn''t return it. It made her feel like a petty thief, and someone who violated the most private parts of someone else''s life. Even though she could somewhat excuse it with the fact that she did it for the sake of investigation, she still didn''t feel like her actions were fully justified. Therefore, Yujia was determined to put the box back in its proper place.

    To do the infiltrating without Yu Zixu would be slightly difficult, but Yujia had a plan too. She knew the normal schedule of the Yang Household''s dinnertime, where Madam Zhang and her servants would surely not be in her room. This would be the perfect time to place the box back, and if Yujia was lucky and careful enough, she could do it without being noticed.

    Besides this plan for today, a good night''s sleep also did make her realize a point she missed yesterday.

    She suddenly recalled the time when walking out of the Yu Villa, she came across Madam Zhang''s personal maid fetching a large package of medicine for Madam Zhang. Back then, she definitely thought of it as suspicious.

    She now knew that Madam Zhang came from a family of physicians. Yujia still couldn''t quite piece together the connection between this new information and Madam Zhang''s surplus purchase of medicine, but she did feel like there was some sort of connection.

    Maybe today, during her infiltration, she could figure out something new. Though then again, Yujia reminded herself that she was only here to return and box and leave, at the fastest speed. She wouldn''t purposefully spend time trying to figure out more clues in order to reduce the chance of being discovered.

    With the events of her day decided, Yujia prepared herself and headed to go find a physician.

    ¡­

    The meeting with the physician didn''t tell much or give plenty of new insight. He only confirmed a few facts, one of them being that the poison in Yujia''s blood was, for the most part, disappitated. There was a part of it that would never be gone, even after heavy medication, but this poison wouldn''t be too impactful on her daily life. Yujia assumed that this poison was the poison that Madam Liu talked about consuming when carrying Yujia.

    This was an interesting fact to Yujia, since it implied that the heavy poison found in Yujia''s veins last time a physician checked was something that would disappear quickly over the span of a few days, which confirmed the fact that besides the fetal poison, Yujia was poisoned at a regular dose growing up as well. It also meant that Madam Liu didn''t tell her the full story. Either that, or Madam Liu was missing out on some information as well.

    Now that Yujia had been away from the Yang Villa for a while now, the poison was going away. Someone was poisoning Yujia during her stay at the Yang Villa, one that Madam Liu''s story didn''t cover.

    ¡­

    On her way back to Lingxin, Yujia came across a fortune teller.

    The old man doing the fortune telling, with a long white beard that went down to his chest, looked like a scammer. Still, though, Yujia had a few extra taels. Thinking about the last time she had her fortune read, in which it seemed fairly accurate, Yujia decided to give it a go.

    Sure enough, right off the bat, the old man told her, "You have something big planned today, don''t you?"

    A bit startled, Yujia nodded. "Yes."

    He smiled mysteriously, almost like he knew everything, and proceeded to read her fortune. He ended up telling her towards the end of the session, "Be bold, and your day will go well. Today, the elements are in your favor¡ª you should succeed in whatever you plan to do."

    Even though she knew it was silly, this brought a bit of relief to Yujia. She felt more confident about this entire infiltration thing.

    ¡­

    Yujia went back to Lingxin, thinking over things as usual. She went on with her day, waiting for the evening to come. Then, towards the end of the day, she went back to her room after grabbing a quick bite, dressing in her set of maid robes and readying herself.

    And then, it was time to infiltrate.

    Because the Yang Villa was a considerable distance away, and because she was going by foot, Yujia exited Lingxin prior to when she estimated for dinner to occur. She went in the same path as she went last time, through the servant''s corridor.

    The only difference was that this time, Yujia brought a prop. In Lingxin, she found an old basket that looked like something a servant working at the Yang Villa might use. She filled it with the cabbage that Chef Hong had complained about yesterday and never used in her cooking. When she walked into the Yang Villa, she carried this basket on her arm.

    This prop was crucial to help her blend in. She walked through the servant''s door in the villa easily, heading to the kitchen immediately, now that she was in.

    Once in the kitchen, Yujia placed the basket on a counter and took off the cabbage, grabbing a basin of water and pretending to wash some of the cabbage. In reality, part of her gaze was focused on the people going in and out of the kitchen.

    Without a clock or watch, this was the easiest way to tell when dinnertime would be for the Yang Household. Furthermore, in a hectic time like right now in the kitchens, not a single servant questioned her existence. They all had their assigned tasks to work on, and none of them had the time or effort to busy themselves with an unfamiliar face in the kitchens.

    Within a few minutes of her pretend-washing, sure enough, as Yujia estimated, the head chef of the kitchen called over a few servants. She waved her hand at a few plated foods, and those servants took those dishes, carrying it to go serve the Yang Family.

    It was the perfect time. Yujia ducked her head down, left the cabbage behind, and scurried after the servants.

    The servants and her entered the same courtyard. With her following behind the line, no one questioned anything.

    While the servants headed to the main room to serve the food, Yujia broke off from the line. She surveyed her eyes across the entire courtyard, taking advantage of the dimming sun and the fact that servants hadn''t lit lanterns yet to duck to the side of the courtyard. She made her way across carefully, comforted by the idea that both of Madam Zhang''s personal servants should''ve been serving her in the main room to sneak into Madam Zhang''s bedroom.

    The moment she opened the door, no one was inside, as predicted. Yet there were a few slips of colored paper carelessly tossed on the floor in front of the door, which blew aside with the slight breeze carried by the door''s opening movement. Careful to restore everything back to where it was before, Yujia hastily gathered the slips of paper and placed them at the foot of the door. She closed the door behind her.

    Instead of dallying around like last time, Yujia immediately went over to Madam Zhang''s bed, throwing herself underneath. She tried her best to ignore the cobwebs and her fear of spiders while she drew the small box out of her sleeve. She ran her fingers across the wooden panels in the darkness, feeling the rough edge that outlined the secret compartment underneath the bed. A pull at the latch opened up the compartment, and Yujia placed the box inside. She closed it soundly.

    This was when Yujia was about to crawl back out of the bed and run away.

    Except¡ª curse her luck¡ª she heard footsteps and the sound of the door opening very slowly.

    Yujia was frozen underneath the bed, not daring to move an inch.

    After a brief moment of silence, the footsteps continued into the room. They walked and stopped right in front of the bed. Holding her breath, Yujia glanced over at the side, recognizing the shoes as not the footwear of maids. It belonged to none other than the madam of the household.

    Cursing in her mind, Yujia squeezed her eyes shut. She thought that the fortune teller told her that things would go successfully. She thought that the "elements were on her side".

    He was a scammer! A big scammer!

    Yujia prayed over and over again in her mind that Madam Zhang would just leave. It was dinnertime. Dinner just began. Why was the madam leaving in the middle of the meal, a completely inappropriate behavior in this era of etiquette?

    Did Yujia''s logic fail her?

    Yujia tried to calm her racing heartbeat with the idea that Madam Zhang would have no reason to look under the bed. What normal person did that, especially in a situation like this?

    As long as Madam Zhang didn''t look under the bed, Yuja would be perfectly fine¡ª

    Yujia''s eyes flung open.

    That was when she saw a ghostly-pale face peering back at her¡ª Madam Zhang''s face¡ª while her body was crouched to be able to look under the bed. Madam Zhang''s large eyes drilled into Yujia, her stare eerie and unmoving.

    "How long are you going to stay under there?" Madam Zhang asked. And then, she smiled.

 Chapter 245 - The Artistâ€™s Transformation Into a Detective

    "Why me? Don''t you have better people that you could use to investigate?" Yujia asked, her eyebrows gathering together.

    Even though she did plan to originally figure out the identity of the thief on her own, Yujia admitted to being a bit taken aback by Madam Zhang''s sudden, unexpected request.

    "I don''t trust many people, not even the servants I keep by my side," she responded to Yujia, "Who is to say that they won''t betray me due to the temptation of silver? And besides, you passed my test."

    "What test?" Yujia racked her brain.

    "You told me that you found the letters I hid in my box. That proves that you can be dedicated and meticulous enough."

    Yujia laughed. "That was the test?"

    Madam Zhang gave a curt nod. "You passed. Good choice with telling the truth back there."

    Yujia continued to ask another question, "If you don''t even trust your personal maids, why would you trust me? How could I be more trustworthy than them?"

    At this, Madam Zhang tapped her perfectly curved nails on the dark wooden table. "I don''t truly trust you. I just believe that our goals are aligned enough that we could form a working partnership as of this moment. Would you like to hear my reasons behind this belief?"

    Yujia nodded for the Madam to go on.

    "Firstly, you are definitely not the thief. I can say that part with certainty, since as the Fourth Miss, you would have no purpose to steal from various places in the villa, nor would you have any capability to. Furthermore, since the thievery instances have continued to occur after your departure, it is easy to say that you are not involved with the thieves, making you a very viable candidate as an investigator. I cannot say the same about my personal servants or any other servants in the villa, due to the reasons I mentioned before about their possibilities of betrayal."

    "Secondly, even though I could hire an outside investigator, it is quite shameful and damaging to the image of our villa. It''s also inconvenient to have someone who doesn''t know the villa well to go around and try to figure out the identity of the thief for me. Having an insider makes everything much easier."

    "Thirdly, you have the capabilities of going undercover. Recently, to get rid of the thief, we have exchanged most of the servants in here for new ones, minus the personal servants and the steward. So, not many people recognize your face. You could easily blend in as a new servant, with a decent disguise like the one you''re wearing right now."

    "Lastly, telling you a story doesn''t quite take much effort from me, but this story is very valuable to you. So, I do think that it''s a good deal on both sides, and why I made this proposition in the first place. What do you say, Fourth Miss?"

    Yujia thought through each of Madam Zhang''s points as she listed them out. She did have a fair amount of reason behind it.

    "I still don''t get it, though," Yujia interjected, having one last fragment of disbelief, "If you did change out the servants in the villa, then you have a very narrow list of suspects for thieves. Why didn''t you just search the rooms of all the personal maids and the steward?"

    "We did," Madam Zhang said with a sigh, "But whoever the thief is, they''re quite sneaky. They know to sell the items they sell as soon as they steal it, and with the money, they either store it in a secretive location or spend it immediately as they earn it. I haven''t managed to find any solid evidence yet. There needs to be an insider on the situation to give more input."

    Yujia suddenly thought back to the one piece of evidence she stumbled across during her stay in the Yang Villa.

    Manyu, one of the maids who happened to be Hui''er''s friend, was once caught with a necklace she had stolen from the First Miss. Because during the time, things had been chaotic, with Manyu accusing Hui''er of being the thief, it felt like an exact punishment was not dealt down on Manyu. Or if there was a punishment, Yujia didn''t know about it.

    She blurted out this suspicion. "Do you remember the case of Manyu?"

    "Manyu?" Madam Zhang blinked. "Didn''t she steal a necklace?"

    "Yes. Did you deal any punishment to her?"

    "If I remember correctly, she was caned a few times and assigned some horrible tasks in the kitchen. She was about to receive a harsher punishment, like being sent to face the law, but Qingxia herself actually pleaded for the maid''s mercy. Qingxia always had a soft heart for things like this¡­"

    At the talk of her daughter, the expression on Madam Zhang''s face softened.

    Yujia shuddered, thinking that this was the exact woman who also ordered for her own child to have a miscarriage, for reasons Yujia still couldn''t completely comprehend.

    No matter what, even if Madam Liu had lied, Yujia still couldn''t trust Madam Zhang completely.

    ??The thief might not be her, though," Madam Zhang did remember to note. "Manyu was locked in a shed for a few days, just for me to test out her identity as the thief, and while she was locked, the thief did strike again and steal something more valuable. Besides, the thief seems to target highly valuable objects. A necklace like the one Manyu stole isn''t anywhere close to the value of some of the other objects stolen."

    Hm. Conspiracies.

    Yujia talked a few moments more with Madam Zhang, who agreed on getting her a list of suspects and items stolen tomorrow. The madam also informed Yujia that she could now enter and exit the villa as she pleased, just for the sake of searching for suspects. She should keep her head low around the maids that knew the Fourth Miss, but other than that, the other servants did not know who Yujia was, so she could just pretend to be a maid to aid in her investigations.

    It didn''t seem like a bad deal, so at the end of their meeting, Yujia agreed to what Madam Zhang asked from her. On the way out of the villa, Yujia congratulated herself on getting one step closer to knowing the complete truth about everything.

 Chapter 246 - The Detective, Mission: Creating a Disguise

    That night, Yujia went to sleep with plenty of thoughts on her mind.

    The next morning, she realized that it was that time of the month again, the time where she had extreme mood swings; craved chocolate, an impossible food in this era, to extreme degrees; and solely desired to curl up on her bed with a hot pack to soothe her cramps.

    This probably explained why she was so emotionally sensitive the past week. And considering how her period came a full week late this month, Yujia realized that the original Fourth Miss didn''t exactly have the most regular cycle, probably due to her consistently poor health. Yet although her cycle came later than she predicted, the good news was that Yujia had a pretty light period, which meant that her experience wasn''t as bad as it was in her last life. From her experience in this body, she would only have some cramps on her second day, so right now, she was still okay.

    After asking a maid for the fabric sanitary napkins used during this era, depositing her stained sleeping robes to be washed, and cleaning herself up with her daily morning routine, Yujia found herself feeling quite normal and ready to get on with her day.

    The task of going under disguise as a maid popped into Yujia''s thoughts again. She thought about Hui''er''s face and demeanor, as well as the behavior of most of the maids in the villa.

    Standing in the middle of her room, Yujia practiced a few times the act of mimicking these maids. She copied their posture, the way they kept their heads always bent down, and the way they shuffled their feet. It was very different from the posture and rules Yujia learned from Hui''er, the etiquette of the Fourth Miss.

    Yujia did practice mimicking maids in the past for her past two infiltrations, but now that she was going to be actually talking with the maids and servants, she needed to make sure that her disguise was flawless. She had to get every aspect of the behavior down, from the way that servants looked, to the way they walked, and to the way they spoke. This meant more practice.

    In this manner, she passed a decent amount of time perfecting her act before deciding to get breakfast. Except, right before she headed out the door, she caught a glance of her reflection in the mirror.

    Yujia stopped.

    She went right back to the small circular mirror, glancing at her bronze-colored reflection. She narrowed her eyes, realizing that if she was going to be talking to the servants, they were going to be paying attention to her face. Even if they didn''t recognize her face, the Fourth Miss''s body didn''t exactly have the face of a maid.

    Well, sure, she did have a pretty malnourished appearance, but her frailness gave off less of the "hard working but underfed" vibes, and more of the "poisoned by potentially her mother or stepmother" vibes. Or, maybe that was just Yujia seeing too much into the situation, since she knew more of her backstory than any strangers would.

    Regardless of that, though, Yujia realized that her face also had really delicate and dainty features. They definitely looked like they belonged to a young miss, not a servant.

    Maybe she had to do something to make herself appear more like a maid.

    Yujia thought long and hard about how she could cover up her face in various ways, including finding makeup to change her features. Maybe she should learn special effects makeup, in some way, to give herself a really large, blooming, purple bruise on her cheek, or a gaping wide scar. None of that tiny flower-shaped birthmark or fading white scar nonsense. She had to make it look very horrifying.

    She canceled that idea in a split second, however. It wasn''t only because she doubted the makeup of this era and her skills, but also because some ripped scar or pigmented bruise would probably draw more attention to her face than to take away from it. The counterproductive nature of it all made Yujia particularly wary.

    Thinking back to the various personal maids she had come across, like Hui''er, A''ling, or Lingsu, those maids did look fairly decent. It wasn''t like any of them were ugly. They just kept their appearance plain and clean, without access to any of the pretty robes, accessories, and rouge that all the young misses they served had. Thus, it seemed like the best thing for Yujia to do was to keep away from the makeup. Going as simple as she could, without any extra makeup, might just be the non-solution solution to her problem.

    Despite these thoughts, Yujia was still quite insecure about her ability to go undercover as a maid. This time had higher risks than her previous infiltrations, in terms of how much contact she would be making with the people in the villa and the time she would spend there. If she already failed her second infiltration¡ª Yujia didn''t forget how terrified she was last night when Madam Zhang looked under the bed¡ª how would she be capable of executing what Madam Zhang wanted without any errors? A single, tiny error would cause her entire plan to fail, since if she couldn''t go undercover, then she couldn''t get the information she needed. And if she couldn''t get the information, she wouldn''t get to hear the story and perspective from Madam Zhang.

    Basically, it all came down to one thing. Yujia needed more real practice, dealing with real people.

    Yujia also had the perfect idea to get some practice in.

    A maid, about Yujia''s stature, passing by her room, caught Yujia''s eye. She called the maid over, and the maid obeyed.

    Yujia declared out of the blue, "Take off your clothes, or¡ª"

    "Sorry?" The maid cut in, taking a hesitant step back, her eyes wide and her jaw dropping. Sure, the two of them were girls, but for this disciple to give her this random command¡­

    "You didn''t let me finish," Yujia protested, folding her arms, "I was about to say, or get me a set of your robes. I need to borrow them for¡­ an experiment."

    The maid was still filled with hesitation at this strange demand. Yet, a moment later, she relented, turning to get Yujia a set of her spare robes. After all, she was still a servant, and servants always needed to listen to their masters.

    When Yujia got her hands on the maid''s uniform robes, a bright smile lit up on her face.

    It was time to prank the people around her master''s villa, for practice. That was her plan for today.

 Chapter 247 - The Detective, Mission: Testing the Disguise

    Yujia''s first test subject was Chef Hong, who finished preparing the breakfast for that day. Hastily, Yujia rushed to the kitchens. Usually, there were a few servants lined up there, each to deliver breakfast to the right courtyards. Yujia recognized the servant that usually took the food meant for her senior brother, Ye Yunhe. Before entering the kitchens, she managed to convince the servant to give the task to her.

    Just like that, Yujia blended in and followed the line of servants entering the kitchens to deliver food. She kept her head down as she entered. She kept her head down as she made her way to the table with all the boxes of food set out. She kept her head down as she grabbed the food, turned, and exited.

    The moment that Yujia stepped foot out of the kitchens, she looked up, a grin of triumph spreading across her face.

    Aha! She managed to sneak in and do servant-ly tasks without Chef Hong, who was only feet away from a disguised Yujia, even noticing.

    Yet in the midst of Yujia''s triumph, a voice suddenly called out, "Disciple Yujia?"

    Yujia''s grin dropped as she flinched. She looked to the side, seeing Lili, one of the workers in the kitchens, staring at Yujia with a puzzled expression across her face. She held a bucket of water, seemingly returning to the kitchens after drawing water from the well.

    "What are you doing, dressed like that? And the food¡­ why are you doing a servant''s job?" Lili questioned.

    "Ah¡­ I''m just practicing a little¡­ undercover work today," Yujia managed to say, awkwardly wincing.

    Lili nodded, not entirely convinced, but she had better things to do. After exchanging a few more words with Yujia, she went back to work.

    Yujia let out a deep breath of relief, even though she wasn''t exactly sure why she had been so nervous about getting discovered by Lili.

    She supposed that she learned her first lesson.

    Lesson #1 of the Day: One must keep a servant''s composure for the entire day. Even if one thinks that no one is looking, someone is always looking. Breaks don''t exist until one is completely out of enemy-territory (the Yang Villa) and back home (Lingxin).

    ¡­

    Yujia slowly made her way to Yunhe''s courtyard on the other side of the villa, making sure to keep her head down constantly this time. At the front of his courtyard entrance, Yujia paused, taking a deep breath.

    Once she stepped into the courtyard, if she wanted to keep her disguise intact, she couldn''t afford a single mistake.

    She stepped in.

    Proceeding with her servant tasks, she set out the breakfast of that day on the stone table in the courtyard garden. Yunhe liked eating breakfast outside when the weather was good, she recalled, so surely, the servants all knew that too.

    Once she put all the food down on the table, she resisted the urge to eat anything, then walked over to Yunhe''s room. Softly, she knocked on the door, and changing her voice to be a tad bit more high-pitched, she called out, "Young Master?"

    Young Master had to be the right thing to call Yunhe, right? She couldn''t call him "Disciple" or "Noble", so "Young Master" seemed to be the right choice.

    Sure enough, a moment later, Yunhe opened the door to his room. He didn''t bother to properly glance at her, only listening as she reported, "Young Master, breakfast is ready."

    "Alright," he answered nonchalantly.

    At this response, and the fact that he didn''t spare her more than a glance, Yujia realized the magic of the servant robes. As long as she wore these robes and kept her face down, no normal young master would bother looking at her for too long. To them, all the servants were the same, so even if the ones that usually took care of them were replaced, if they never formed a true bond with that servant, they wouldn''t even notice, or care to notice. Seeing Yunhe''s response and gaining these facts was reassuring knowledge.

    He went back into his room to do something, and a few moments later, he stepped out. Yunhe walked to the stone table in his yard, taking a seat. Yujia, playing her role of a servant, dutifully followed behind him, making sure to stand by the side in case he needed something while he ate.

    She watched him scoop up a bit of congee with his spoon, eating it before reaching with his chopsticks to grab some of the vegetables off the dishes on the table. He placed a slice of white carrot onto his spoon, then ate that along with his congee. Bits of soft steam rolled off the congee, so it was still definitely hot. Yunhe, who ate carefully, was never bothered by the temperature.

    Yujia could only stare at Yunhe as he ate.

    She had congee like this for breakfast everyday. Except, now that she was in a situation where she hadn''t had breakfast yet, the congee suddenly looked all so wonderful. Paired along with the dishes on the table, Yujia found herself drooling a bit as she imagined how wholesome and fulfilling the meal must taste.

    Yujia imagined the warm congee melting on her tongue. Then, she imagined the savory taste of the stir-fried white carrots and their crisp texture. After that, she imagined the preserved vegetables, with their combination of its tangy and salty taste. In between the preserved vegetables, there were some slices of pork, and Yujia could almost taste the tender, juicy, and delicate slices of meat in her mouth.

    Ah. She was really, really hungry.

    Her body knew that as well. Involuntarily, she found out that her stomach let out a growl.

    Immediately, Yujia clutched her stomach and cursed in her mind. She found her face becoming flushed. She hoped that Yunhe didn''t hear.

    Only, who was she kidding? That rumble was loud enough for him to hear, definitely.

    Yunhe turned to her, asking, "Did you not have breakfast yet?"

    And then, he noticed her face.

    It took a few seconds. For one, tense moment, the two of them just made eye contact.

    In the next moment, Yunhe burst out in a wave of laughter. He dropped his chopsticks, laughing as he exclaimed, "And I was really thinking that this poor maid didn''t get fed this morning¡ª heavens, Junior Sister, why is it you? Why are you dressed like this?"

    Yujia threw her hands up, completely giving up on her act. She swung around to take a seat across from Yunhe.

    "I wanted to practice my undercover skills, alright?" she explained with a bit of frustration how she failed again.

    This was how she learned another lesson yet again.

    Lesson #2 of the Day: To do proper undercover work, one must make sure that one has a full stomach. Working on an empty stomach can be not only embarrassing, but also a giveaway of one''s identity. So, always be sure to eat breakfast!

 Chapter 248 - The Detective, Mission: Refining the Disguise

    Yujia ate half of Yunhe''s breakfast, which he insisted that he didn''t need to eat all of. Chef Hong did tend to always make a little more than a typical breakfast portion, and there was an extra pair of chopsticks. Hence, Yujia found herself finally getting to put some food into her system.

    Now, if only she had some chocolate¡­

    Yujia quickly pushed that thought away when Yunhe gestured at her.

    "So, tell me," he said, "Why this disguise? Are you really so bored that you would do this for fun?"

    She decided to be honest. "So you know how I told you a while back that my parents tried to force me to marry some old man?"

    "Ah. Yes." Yunhe nodded, tapping the table. "I¡­ do recall something of that sort."

    "Right. So there were some complications, and now I''m stuck in a situation where I have to go undercover in the villa as a maid to figure out the identity of some thief that keeps stealing from the villa. I''m going to do some practicing here so that I''m completely prepared."

    "Sounds interesting." At this point, Yunhe was pouring himself a cup of tea.

    "There''s more to it," Yujia went on, "but it would be difficult to explain."

    It really would. How was she supposed to tell him everything about Madam Liu, Madam Zhang, the poison, and everything?

    Yunhe replied, "Alright then. You don''t have to explain."

    "You''re not curious?" Yujia asked, tilting her head.

    "Not really. It seems like a lot of personal business, and I''m not interested in getting involved with too much of that. Some things people deserve to keep to themselves," he answered.

    Yujia cracked a grin. "Ah, we''re so different. If someone only tells me half of the story, I would be dying to know the other half."

    "I just think that sometimes, it''s better to not know than know." He finished his cup of tea. Setting the pale jade cup down on the table, Yunhe suddenly suggested, "Are you going to try to trick Master?"

    She nodded. "Definitely. It''s good practice." She suddenly thought of an idea and leaned forward. "Do you want to help me?"

    "How can I?"

    The cheerful grin on Yujia''s face was replaced by a mischievous smile. "Well, all you have to do is¡­"

    ¡­

    Moments later, Yunhe was paying a visit to their master''s villa while Yujia followed behind him, playing the role of a maid carrying a bunch of scrolls.

    Her plan was simple. Yunhe was about to troll their master with a pile of ridiculous "abstract art", and Yujia would try to be as unnoticeable as she could, acting as a servant. She came up with the idea on the spot, but Yujia still had to pat herself on the back, thinking about how genius it was.

    They arrived fairly quickly.

    Once inside and finding their master, Yunhe greeted, saying, "Master, I discovered a new style of painting and couldn''t stop painting it since last night. I came to ask for your opinion."

    The old man nodded, waving his hand. Yue Ze expected to see some innovative and half decent techniques, so he was really more focused on Yunhe than the maid behind his disciple.

    The maid¡ª Yujia¡ª quietly walked to the side of the table, keeping her head down. She untied the first scroll, rolling it across the table without any flourishes or unnecessary, attention-catching movements.

    Their master''s eyes were greeted with a blank scroll.

    The scroll was just blank paper. There was not a spot of ink on it, and as a result, obviously, nothing was drawn. No ''new techniques'' were used. The paper was slightly wrinkled and damp, but other than that, it was just blank.

    Yue Ze stared it for an awfully long time.

    Then, slowly, he looked up at Yunhe, quietly saying, "Do you take me as a fool, brat?"

    Even though Yujia gave Yunhe specific instructions to remain as serious as possible, she already noticed him beginning to crack up from the corner of her eye. He looked like he was trying so hard to hold back laughter.

    "This is¡­ water painting, Master," Yunhe explained, using the exact words Yujia told him, "It''s a complex process that involves painting without substance. I thought about the principles of painting for a long time before arriving at this conclusion. The only way that one can create true, spiritual art is if one works with nothing but the image within one''s own mind. Using ink and solid substances takes away from the creativity and limitless freedom of one''s artistic spirit. Once one puts a single line down on paper, the ink is already beginning to chain down one''s mind and ability to take the art to further places. Thus, through painting with water¡ª something that the eye cannot see?? one can finally unleash the true spirit of painting."

    Yunhe''s chest was shaking with held-back laughter, especially towards the end of his speech. It sounded ridiculous. He knew it. Yujia knew it. And of course, their master knew it. But he was still not done.

    "Furthermore," Yunhe shakily said, "water painting only leaves the faintest of impressions onto the pages. As a result, it creates a boundless, immeasurable space for the viewer to perceive what they wish to take from the paintings. This allows every single piece of water art to become incredibly priceless¡ª it not only unlocks Spirit Resonance for the painter, but also provides anyone, from the most beginner of artists to the true masters, the ability to perceive equally as much Spirit Resonance. For example, I¡­ I can see a landscape painting here, with the curves of the paper following the shapes of the mountains. But Master, you may see something entirely else. Hence, this painting style and kind of artwork is priceless."

    Once Yunhe finished, their master was silent for an awfully long time.

    When he finally spoke up, he became increasingly more quiet, his words barely more than a mumble. "Priceless, hm¡­?"

    Yunhe nodded. The behavior of his master confused him. He expected to be instantly berated angrily, but could it be that the bullsh*tting speech his Junior Sister conjured up for him actually made sense to their master? He glanced over at Yujia for help.

    "Priceless¡­" their master continued, "Priceless, my a**!" His quiet voice suddenly changed into a bold roar, making even Yujia jump back. "You think I''m an absolute idiot? Who would actually believe this to be true art? It''s just water on paper! Even a child¡ª no, even a baby can do something like this!" He huffed, standing up. "This scroll, bring it to your father or something! Maybe someone like him will actually fall for something like this, but I am not."

    Yunhe hastily said in reply, "Wait, Master, I have more of these paintings! Let me show you the rest of them. Maybe then, you will understand¡­"

    Yujia took this as a signal to step forward and roll out more scrolls.

    She realized that her master was so fuming and focused on Yunhe that his strong emotions prevented him from noticing her existence. Was this some sort of psychology trick that she was discovering? As long as she looked and acted like a maid, she was practically ignored, which was a good thing, in Yujia''s perspective.

    Only, the more scrolls Yujia rolled out, the angrier her master seemed to become.

    "I didn''t wake up early today to see this kind of bullcrap!" With a wave, her master pushed one of the scrolls onto the floor. "To call these blank pages artwork is an insult to the painting world!"

    Yunhe couldn''t hold back his laughter anymore. A wave of laughter came out of him, and he clutched his stomach with how hard he laughed. "Master¡ª" he managed to exclaim between his laughter, "It''s just a joke¡ª Junior Sister came up with it¡ª you were so angry¡ª"

    Then, completely out of both of their expectations, the anger seemed to vanish out of their master''s gaze in an instant. He burst out in loud laughter as well, pointing at Yunhe. "You finally admitted to it! Did you think you got me angry, brat?" He patted the table. "This old man has experienced too much to get angry at just some blank pieces of paper! You wanted to get this reaction from me, so I gave it to you. Do you seriously think that I couldn''t tell how much you were holding back your obvious laughter? The moment you started speaking, I knew. You''ve always been terrible at lying. Who''s the true fool now, hm?"

    "No way, Master!" Yunhe replied indignantly, "Besides, if anyone''s the fool, Junior Sister is. She was the one who came up with the idea. She said that you would definitely get irritated over it."

    This was the moment Yujia was waiting for. Since her master didn??t realize that she was here yet, seemingly, what kinds of gossip could she get from him?

    "Your Junior Sister, hm?" Yue Ze smirked. "Why am I not surprised? That kid has a good brain, but she wastes it on coming up with ridiculous ideas like this one. Actually though¡ª go tell her to propose the idea of ''water painting'' to some of the other people in the painting world. I promise you that those pompous bastards would lap up that idea so quickly."

    Yunhe''s eyes lit up. He turned to Yujia, agreeing, "Junior Sister, you really should¡ª"

    His words cut off as he realized the grievous mistake he committed.

    Yujia''s eyes widened.

    Their master turned to her, noticing her existence, his eyes widening too.

    That was how Yujia came to yet another lesson.

    Lesson #3 of the Day: When choosing a partner to work with, don''t choose someone like Ye Yunhe with a short memory span, who forgets the whole purpose of the collaboration the moment his attention gets diverted.

    ¡­

    Plenty of berating from her master, apologies from her senior brother, and fun conversations involving all three of them later, Yujia found that her morning passed rather productively.

    She still thought that she needed more practice though, and for some reason, one name kept appearing in her mind:

    Yu Zixu.

 249 In Which the Detective Gets Exposed

    There were many uncertainties for how Yujia could test out her disguise in front of someone like Yu Zixu. The first issue she thought of was that Zixu wasn''t a part of the residential area in Lingxin. Thus, she couldn''t just pretend like a maid and find him in his villa. ;

    Yujia turned to stare at Ye Yunhe some more. ;

    After what happened with her master, she wasn''t so sure that she wanted Yunhe as her helper. She lost most of her trust in his capabilities to keep up with her disguise.

    Except, other than Yunhe, who could help her? Her master?

    Yujia glanced at her master, who was talking to Yunhe at the moment, while Yujia listened and ate sunflower seeds. ;

    Her master noticed Yujia''s stare, then spoke up. "What are you scheming now, kid?"

    She had already explained to him the deal about the Yang Villa. So, Yujia decided to just speak her thoughts. "I want to figure out a way to practice on Senior Brother Zixu."

    A wicked smile appeared across her master''s face. "Ah, so you mean that you''ve been missing your senior brother''s face for so long that your heart aches to see him; as a result, you''re thinking of excuses to see him¡ª" ;

    "Um. No," Yujia''s face scrunched up in distaste, "Master, why are you like this?"

    "Me?" He crossed his arms. "I''m perfectly normal. On the other hand, let me guess¡­ you''re out here trying to get me to call over your senior brother?"

    Yujia nodded. "How did you know?" ;

    "I''m your master. Of course I know," he stated with a scoff. "I also happen to have a free morning, so I''m quite open to these kinds of things." He turned to face Yunhe. "Brat, nice talking to you, but you got to go."

    Yunhe didn''t seem all that reluctant. "I told my father that I''d go talk to him today, so I was about to leave as well. Good luck with your disguise, Junior Sister," he stated.

    Yujia thanked him, and after bidding farewell, Yunhe left the courtyard.

    Now, it was just Yujia and her master, who had this eerie smile on his face that just didn''t give good vibes. She was a bit scared of what he was going to do.

    Zixu was summoned over an hour later, when he dropped by Lingxin and was told that Master Yue wanted to see him.

    Yujia and her master moved to Lingxin Pavilion, instead of the villa. They had a decent plan too. Yujia would act as an ordinary servant. The test would be to see if she could stand behind her master without being noticed. Then, she would have to go fetch a plate of pastries from the kitchens, bring them back, and serve them, all while trying to be disguised. ;

    The moment Zixu neared the pavilion, Yujia tensed up. She took a deep breath, stepped into the shadows as much as she could, and looked down. ;

    She felt like as long as she passed the first test of looking like a background servant, then she would be happy even if her other two objectives failed.

    Zixu stepped into the pavilion, and her master grinned brightly at the sight of him. "Yu Zixu," he said, "How have you been?"

    Zixu bowed politely and greeted, "Master Yue, I''ve been well. I heard that Master was looking for me?"

    Her master continued his smile. "Yes, in fact. I just wanted to talk. Do you enjoy being a disciple under your Master Ye?"

    "Master Ye is skilled and knowledgeable. This disciple learns well under him," Zixu replied as an answer.

    Yujia didn''t dare to look up, not even by an inch. She just stared at her feet while the conversation went on.

    "Ah, that''s good, that''s good. Are you using the resources provided by the school? Are they helpful?"

    Zixu nodded in agreement, so her master went on.

    A flood of questions began escaping her master. "I am here to just talk today, so you should tell me more about yourself. Like¡­ for example¡­ things you enjoy doing outside of art. Surely, you have interests other than just painting. For example¡­ do you have an interest in good food, like roasted duck and fine wine? How do you feel about the Three Inks store that''s opened across from Lingxin? They''re quite innovative with their art supplies, aren''t they? Do you like their products? This is a purely hypothetical question, but if your family members, like¡­ your future wife, for example, were interested in inventing new art supplies, would you support them and their hobby?"

    The questions were bombarded at Zixu without mercy. Yujia almost visibly winced at some of them. She knew exactly what her master was doing, and she didn''t like it. She already had suspicions about her master trying to matchmake either her or Ye Yunhe. Now, she finally realized that she was the one he was trying to matchmake. ;

    She had to put lots of mental effort into controlling herself from stopping her master from spewing all of this nonsense. Zixu definitely must''ve been super uncomfortable right now, and Yujia felt pity for him. Except, when Yujia glanced up at Zixu''s face for only a brief second before flinching her gaze away, she noticed that his expression hadn''t changed from his calm smile.

    Patiently, Zixu waited for all of Yujia''s master''s questions to cease. Then, once her master was finished, Yu Zixu asked, "Master Yue, that''s a lot of questions. Yet, before I get to answering them, may I ask you one myself?"

    Her master nodded and waved his hand. "Go ahead."

    "I''ve been wondering for a while now," Zixu began, "but why is it that Junior Sister is standing behind you, dressed like a maid?"

    Yujia blinked. Her head jerked upwards, making eye contact with Zixu for the first time since he walked into her sight.

    His calm smile had changed the slightest, with his eyebrows raising upwards, becoming something more like a knowing grin. And that was when Yujia knew, right from the very start, maybe before he even walked into the pavilion, he had known that it was her.

    She wanted to cry. ;

    Lesson #5 of the Day: Some people are just too observant. When around these people, there is no such thing called hope. ;

 250 The Artist Gets a Bit Embarrassed

    "Master, I think that Senior Brother and I need to step aside and talk for a few moments," Yujia blurted out with a frustrated sigh. She needed to explain herself, and there seemed to be no other choice for now.

    Her master looked at her with raised eyebrows and a smile spreading across his face. "Of course. In fact, you two should stay here. I''m old and get tired easily, so I will just retire back to my courtyard. You two can just stay and talk in the pavilion." He leaned closer to Yujia, whispering in a voice loud enough that Zixu could definitely hear, "I''ve arranged it so that no one should pass by this pavilion. You two should have some¡­ privacy, if you know what I mean." He chuckled after this sentence.

    Yujia gawked at the old man in front of her, wondering why in the world she chose someone like him to be her master. Words could not describe how much her cheeks were flushing up at her master''s statement. Even for a modern woman like her, perhaps the things that her master implied seemed even worse.

    She swiftly glanced over at Zixu, who was just looking down and letting out a small cough. He didn''t seem all too flustered at her master''s sentence, but this was probably the extent to which Zixu was going to show a ''flustered'' expression.

    His master followed her gaze and went back to paying attention to Zixu. His gaze immediately turned into a glare, saying to the young man as he passed by, "And you¡ª don''t you dare do anything discourteous to my disciple. Even if I''m not here, if I catch word that you tried to do anything¡­" He sliced a finger across his own neck in one, swift sweep, clicking his tongue as he did so.

    This made Yujia begin to wonder if her master had some sort of attitude or mood swing issue. How could one be so suggestive yet protective at the same time?

    She was about to say something, but seeing her master exit the pavilion, a slight swagger in his walk, she bit down her words. It was useless, anyways.

    Once she was sure that he was gone, she immediately turned her attention to Yu Zixu.

    "I am so, incredibly sorry," she apologized. She wasn''t sure what exactly she was apologizing for. Maybe it was for her master''s behavior, or for the fact that she was trying to deceive Zixu into thinking that she was a maid, or for wasting time out of his day for something as silly as this. Maybe it was for all of those reasons. Regardless of what exactly it was, Yujia just knew that she felt an enormous need to apologize.

    "It''s alright," Zixu started with a laugh. The corners of his lips were turned up in amusement. "Your master¡­ he''s an interesting individual."

    "Isn''t he?" Saying so, Yujia took a seat. She made an attempt at changing the topic. "How¡­ did things go with your father?"

    "I''m required to inherit my family business now. Over the past day and a half, I''m learning to come to terms with it."

    To Yujia, it still didn''t feel like Zixu was coming to terms with it. At the topic of his father, his usual calm demeanor was shattering, the hints of frustration and hopelessness shining through. Or, maybe, he was beginning to open up more with her. He leaned forward, running his fingers through his hair.

    Yujia still didn''t understand exactly why Zixu''s father was so bent on getting him to inherit the business, especially with the social class of merchants being much lower than a government official. There was probably a reason behind it that she didn''t know about, and she knew that it wasn''t her place to push for more details than what Zixu would willingly tell her without her prompting.

    "I know I said this before," she decided on telling him, "but are you really not going to talk with him? Sometimes, communication could help a lot."

    He admitted, "I did think about your words. A lot. I thought about what would happen if I went into the government and sought for the future I wanted, while Ziyang inherited the business. I thought about the possibility that Ziyang could just miraculously get better over time. Except, just yesterday while Ziyang drank his medicine, his grip was weak enough to spill the medicine all over his skin to the point that it burned him. I think that was it. It was a reminder that this was the constant reality that I am a part of, that Ziyang had been like this for his entire life. If there were any signs of change, it would be him becoming more and more sick¡ª not the opposite. Someone has to inherit the business. It can''t be Ziyang. My father is too proud to pass it off to any of my uncles or cousins or whatnot. And thus, it has to be me. It would be selfish of me, at this point, to keep pushing off the business."

    Yujia''s eyebrows were tightly knitted, her lips pressed into a thin line. She wanted to say something, but Zixu changed the topic as fast as she changed the topic from before.

    He smiled again as he spoke, "Let''s talk about why you were dressed like a maid. You can''t avoid this fact for an eternity."

    "Ah," Yujia groaned, stretching her arms out in front of her. "I didn''t want to, but I guess I really can''t avoid the question."

    She went on to quickly explain the situation she was in. It was the fourth time today, and this time, she didn''t hesitate to tell the full truth. First, she was too tired to think of anything false to tell, and second, it was Yu Zixu. If there was anyone she would talk to about the matters of the villa, it would be him.

    "I see." Zixu nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense. I must''ve ruined your test by seeing through it so quickly and pointing it out, right?"

    "No, no, no." Yujia instantly rushed to disagree, "Thank you for being honest, at least. I should''ve known from the first place that you, out of all people, would be able to tell, anyways. And I''m sorry for wasting your time like this. You probably have better things to do."

    Zixu shrugged at this. "Truthfully, now that the exam is over, I''m not too occupied anymore. The business and all the matters of it will be transferred to me slowly, so my days are now rather free."

    "Really? I still feel rather guilty for taking up your time before, though. I feel like I''m always asking you for help. Is there any way that I could pay you back?" The corners of her lips curled down.

    "Let''s see¡­" He glanced up and mused, "You were my teacher in the matters of art and human morals, my physician when I was sick, and my drinking friend when I was feeling quite down. Oh, and you treated me to some hangover soup. I think you''ve done enough."

    Yujia''s brows remained furrowed. "It doesn''t feel like much. And if all our debts from before were cleared, then today, I''ve also bothered you."

    "You''re really that hung up on repaying me?" Zixu tilted his head.

    She nodded eagerly in response. "I just can''t think of what I can possibly do to help you."

    He stood up, a smile crossing his face again. "Well, at least I have an idea."

 251 The Artist Becomes a Literal Maid

    Yujia figured out what idea Yu Zixu was talking about soon enough. He brought her to the Yu Villa, put her in a private room, gave her a set of the maid robes for the Yu Villa, and stepped out, leaving her alone. A few moments later, Yujia emerged, looking like a maid in the Yu Villa.

    Zixu glanced at her and nodded. "From far away, now, you look the part."

    Yujia stared at the robes she was wearing, made of a dark blue fabric. It was the kind of material that would not stain easily, due to its dark shade, and like the other maid robes she wore, the fabric wasn''t the finest. It was just comfortable and practical, which Yujia supposed was the point of it.

    She had a faint idea of what he meant, but she was still mostly confused. "Your idea of having me pay you back is by¡­ dressing me up as a maid of your villa?"

    He inclined his head, as if signaling for her to continue with her train of thought.

    Surely, Yu Zixu couldn''t just bring her here to put her in some maid robes. If she thought a little further about what he was trying to do¡­

    "You''re turning me into your maid?" Yujia exclaimed, her nose wrinkling up while she shrunk her head back.

    He began to walk to the other side of the courtyard they were in¡ª his courtyard¡ª beckoning for her to follow along. "Don''t you think," he said as he walked, "that the best way to perfect your disguise is to have experience playing the role?"

    She nodded, her face still making an expression. "Right. That''s why I dressed up to trick people around Lingxin in the first place¡­ for experience."

    "Exactly. So, if you act like my maid, you can get more experience. And," he spun around, gesturing his hand, "I can teach you, since I do have a few observations recorded in my brain. In the meantime, you''re paying me back by doing some manual labor."

    Yujia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I get that. I just don''t get how I''m repaying the favor if it''s mutually beneficial."

    Zixu raised a brow. "Wouldn''t you say that manual labor is harder than me giving advice?"

    "I guess?" Thinking back to her manual labor experience with Chef Hong in the kitchens, she couldn''t help but shudder a bit. She prayed that Zixu wouldn''t force her to lift sacks of flour.

    "If you''re still not convinced, then let''s just say that I''m bored," he drawled, observing her expression. "You''re entertaining, and I need someone to take my mind off things."

    "It''s hard to imagine you bored," Yujia muttered.

    At this, Zixu stepped forward, tilting his head. "Well, I suppose that''s the first lesson: servants don''t use the word ''you'' to address their masters. You''ll have to call me ''Young Master'' from now on."

    Yujia blinked, taken aback by how fast Zixu jumped into the teachings. "Alright, Young Master¡­?" she said, her words trailing off to sound more like a question.

    "Young¡­ Master."

    Now, he was tapping a finger against his arm. "There''s still that hesitation."

    "Young Master!" Yujia exclaimed, hoping that this time, she finally got it right.

    "There we go." Zixu grinned. "That''s better. But next time, tone it down a bit, will you? Too much enthusiasm is hard on the ears."

    She looked at his smile, seeing that it was the smile Zixu usually wore when teasing her.

    Manual labor? More like he was doing this to take amusement from getting to lecture her like this. She could see what he meant by "entertainment" now.

    But, if that was what made Yu Zixu happy, Yujia figured that she would oblige. She ended up relenting, except not before saying, "It''s just hard to get used to calling¡­ Young Master in the tone that a maid would refer to their young master, you know¡ª I mean, Young Master knows? I''m used to saying Senior Brother or Young Master Yu."

    "Then, to make it fair, I should think of something different to call Junior Sister too, shouldn''t I? If I can get used to it, surely you can too," Zixu contemplated.

    "What is Young Master thinking?" Yujia pursed her lips, deciding to crack a joke. "How about¡­ ''that irrelevant maid over there''?"

    "No, no." Zixu shook his head, his lips spreading into a smile. "I was thinking more of a normal maid name. Little Yu? A''Yu? Yu''er? Or Jia''er?" he suggested, the potential nicknames rolling off his tongue.

    Yujia''s eyes lit up. "Actually, Young Master has a point. I¡ª this maid does need a name when going undercover."

    "Then, it''s settled. Your name is now Shen Yuling, and your maid name is Yu''er," he told her.

    Yujia creased her brows. "That was sudden. Where did ''Shen Yuling'' come from?"

    "You have to be decisive about these things," Zixu advised, "And Shen Yuling sounds quite generic, so you''ll blend in with the crowd. Plus, out of all those nicknames, Yu''er suits you best. Do you have any better ideas?"

    "Not in particular."

    And thus, that was how Yujia changed her identity from Yang Yujia to Shen Yuling.

    Seeing that she agreed, Zixu smiled again. He turned to walk into his room. "Follow along then, Yu''er."

    Yujia was about to listen, but then, someone walked into the courtyard. His footsteps caught her attention, and she spun around, facing the personal servant of Yu Zixu. She recognized his face instantly, since she had interacted with him a bit a few days ago when she was in the Yu Villa, taking care of an ill Yu Zixu. The servant''s name was Shen Li, if she remembered correctly.

    Shen Li, who was holding a tray, fixed his stare on her. His eyes scanned over her, as if trying to remember when a maid like this existed in the villa, and why she was in his young master''s courtyard when Young Master Yu was always quite peculiar about the people he interacted with. Furthermore, he thought about why she was so familiar looking.

    Then, it hit him.

    "Weren''t you¡ª that¡ª that Noble Zhuang from the other day?" he declared, the words falling out his mouth immediately. "But you¡ª you became a girl? And you''re wearing¡­ the clothes¡­"

    Yujia wanted to facepalm. Right. She had been cross-dressing when she had first met Shen Li. What was she supposed to say now? It would be difficult to explain.

    Zixu noticed Shen Li''s presence too. Yujia turned to look at him, seeing exactly what Zixu would do next.

    Contrary to Yujia''s loss of words when being caught in this kind of awkward situation, Zixu''s expression was light and carefree as if he could not care about the scenario all too much. He spoke his next words in a nonchalant manner, similar to how one would treat an everyday occurrence.

    "Shen Li, meet your new cousin, Shen Yuling."

 252 The Maid Cleans Around

    Shen Li stared at his young master for a very long moment.

    Then, in a very matter-of-fact way, he stated, "I don''t have any cousin called Shen Yuling. Plus¡ª I could''ve sworn, that girl right there was Noble Zhuang a few days ago. And thinking back to it, I must''ve been dumb to believe that you were a man."

    Yujia nodded appreciatively. "I''m glad that you at least believed me back then. But yeah, I guess I''m your cousin now."

    Maybe Yu Zixu''s nonchalant attitude was rubbing off of her, since she was becoming so casual about this as well. Or maybe it was just fun to play along with this.

    "Can Young Master just be honest with me?" Shen Li demanded, his mouth twitching into something close to a scowl and his eyebrows furrowing.

    Zixu looked up, then said, "Didn''t you say that you might need a helper to organize the paintings I told you to take care of the other day? There you go. Your cousin can help you. Treat her like you would any other maid."

    Leaving it at that, Zixu spun around and walked back into his room. There was no room for anymore questions.

    Yujia turned to stare at Shen Li. Shen Li turned to stare at her. She shrugged in response. His scowl grew a little wider, reminding her of Bo Zhizhong and how Zhizhong scowled all the time like this too.

    But unlike Zhizhong, who was always scowling, Shen Li wiped away his expression quickly, his face smoothing out. He sighed, giving up. Gesturing for her to follow him, he headed towards a separate room in the courtyard. "You heard Young Master. Let''s go organize some paintings."

    Yujia followed along obediently.

    Shen Li pushed open the doors to this small room, and she stepped inside too. Her eyes were greeted with the sight of numerous shelves, with scrolls resting on all of them. This room must''ve served as some sort of painting storage space. While she observed her surroundings, Shen Li went around to open the windows, letting in more natural light into the room.

    The shelves at the front were clean. As Yujia walked further down the rows, she noticed that the back rows were much more dusty. They likely hadn''t been touched anytime soon.

    She knew that these paintings were probably all the works of Zixu, and it amazed her at how many paintings there were. From the hundreds of scrolls in the room, it seemed like he created quite a new painting every other day, for a very long period of time. His dedication towards the craft and practice was what truly stunned her.

    No wonder he was skilled at painting. He practiced daily. The effort clearly showed in the quality and skill of his work.

    Now that the two of them were alone in the room, Shen Li spoke up again. "Can you¡­ just be honest with me?" He requested. "I would really like to know what''s going on."

    "Oh." Shen Li gave a quick nod. He already began to work, pulling down a few of the scrolls from the shelves onto a tray he picked up. "I suppose I can accept that."

    Not many signs of surprise were displayed on his face. Yujia realized that Shen Li was one who generally kept calm, similar to Zixu''s serene attitude but to a lesser degree. Even in scenarios that might take him by surprise, he managed to calm down quickly. She could only remember seeing Shen Li truly shaken up when he received news of his constantly-ill younger sister.

    Drawing her attention to these scrolls, Yujia started to mimic the things that Shen Li was doing. "Are we just organizing scrolls?" she asked for clarification.

    "Yep, as well as cleaning this place up. Young Master wants to make some more space for future paintings, so he thinks that if the scrolls are placed in a more organized fashion, new room will automatically appear. He''s picky with things like dust, so after we clear this shelf, can you go grab a towel and a basin to wipe things down?"

    Yujia agreed with a brief word. She was careful as she stacked the scrolls up in her tray, making a triangular shape.

    While the two worked, Shen Li started conversation again. "You must have a close relationship with my Young Master."

    Pausing, Yujia responded with, "We''re fellow disciples, so it''s only natural."

    "You have a point, but Young Master doesn''t get close with too many disciples, as far as my knowledge goes. So, your relationship with him is a rare sight. And if I''m going to be honest, I''m a bit shocked that you''re¡­ well¡­ a girl," Shen Li said, "Not because of the fact that you were dressed as a man before, but just that¡­ it''s not very typical to see a female disciple. I also didn''t think that if Young Master was going to make another friend, it was going to be a girl. Apologies if this is too forward."

    She understood his thinking, especially in this time period. Even if he questioned it, he wasn''t rude about it, which Yujia would be alright with. She assured him, "You''re fine. He did tell you to treat me like another maid, so being forward like this is okay. I appreciate people who are straightforward with their thoughts."

    Shen Li exhaled deeply. He bent down to clear the bottom of the shelf. "You''re just like Young Master. Out of all the servants, he likes to keep me around because he says that I tend to be a bit more honest." His words trailed off, then picked back up. "I''m glad that Young Master is making more friends."

    "He doesn''t keep many people around him," Yuja noted. This was the case for friends and servants alike.

    "Indeed. Since you''re close with Young Master, you probably know about Young Master''s past."

    Yujia''s eyebrows raised, but she looked down. She nodded slowly, dragging her words out. "Yes¡­ I definitely do."

    She had no idea what kind of past Yu Zixu had. He kept that, for the most part, a complete secret to her. There were only a few hints of his past floating around in her mind, mostly from when she was taking care of him and he blurted out some words in his sleep about his mother.

    "His mother¡­" Yujia brought up with heistance laced through her voice.

    "Ah." The volume of Shen Li''s voice grew quieter. "Madam."

    Based on Zixu''s behavior, it felt like he was missing a motherly figure in his life. Yujia wasn''t too clear on the situation in the Yu Villa, besides the fact that the Old Master had many concubines. Could it be possible that Zixu''s mother had passed?

    "She''s no longer here, right?" Yujia asked.

    "You''re correct." Shen Li shook his head. "She passed when Young Master was still young. I had just begun to serve Young Master back then." He then jerked his head up, forcefully brightening up his expression. "Anyways, since this is an experiment, I need to stop treating you like Young Master''s junior sister. You''re my maid-cousin, aren''t you? Then, you should go grab that basin of water like I said earlier."

    Seeing that she could not prod the conversation any further, Yujia decided to listen. She got up, heading outside to go fetch that basin and towel.

    ¡­

    Cleaning and organizing the storage room took a little less than an hour. The two worked efficiently together, and with Shen Li treating her like a maid, Yujia thought that this experience was quite valuable. It taught her a few of the nuances of working with other servants that she didn''t quite notice before, or, at the very least, made her familiar with them.

    There was also something quite fulfilling to seeing a very organized and clean storage room, filled with scrolls. Along the way, Yujia managed to also admire Zixu''s works, becoming more familiar with his style of painting and how he developed through the years. She decided that Zixu was wise to send her to work with Shen Li. This session was rather productive and educational.

    At the end of it, Shen Li took a look out the window, estimating the time.

    "You should probably serve Young Master his tea. It''s around time."

    Yujia agreed. She went to the kitchens to go get some tea, finding with delight that she blended in spectacularly. She simply said that she was fetching tea for Shen Li to serve Zixu, and the kitchen staff didn''t question a second time.

    Minutes later, she walked back to the courtyard with a pot of fresh tea. She walked up to Zixu''s room, knocking on the doors gently.

    "You may enter," Zixu''s voice called out from the inside.

    With this confirmation, Yujia entered with the pot of tea. While she poured Zixu a cup by the side, Zixu didn''t spare her a second glance. It was only when she brought the cup up to him that he looked up.

    "I have something for you," he stated, out of the blue.

 253 Tests for the Maid

    Yujia lifted her brows. "What?"

    Zixu rose up from the desk he sat at, turning to grab a box from the shelves behind him. From within the box, he retrieved a small and flat container, no larger than the palm of his hand, made from smooth jade. He faced her again, opening the container to show her the contents within it.

    There was a pale, snow-white ointment cream packed tightly within the container.

    "Like I told you before, Ziyang burnt himself the other day. I bought him some ointment, but it seemed like he already had some, so this was useless. I just recalled, you burnt yourself a while back too while you were here, didn''t you? The scald should not have healed completely yet, so perhaps this ointment will be of use, especially to prevent scars" Zixu explained.

    A smile crossed Yujia''s expression. She held out her hand to look at the splotch where she had been scalded at. "Thank you, but I''ve already been putting some ointment on it, so it''s doing alright. Also, the physician had said that the burn shouldn''t scar."

    It was odd to think that Zixu still remembered that her hand was scalded by some hot tea. After all, Zixu had a fever at the time, so she thought that he would forget things like that.

    Except, then again, it was Yu Zixu. She needed to stop underestimating the extent to this man''s observational skills.

    Zixu tilted his head. "You never know with these kinds of things. Sometimes, they can leave unexpected scars, so it''s better to be safe than sorry. The ointment the physician prescribed to you was likely better for treating it at the beginning. The one I bought is for more long-term treatment. It''s made of the finest herbs; therefore, it will certainly help."

    Yujia stared at the little jade container for some longer. It definitely looked high quality, considering that it even came in a container made of jade.

    "I don''t have any use for this," Zixu went on, "since Ziyang has the same exact medicine. You might as well take it, lest it go to waste. The ointment will make your scald feel immediately better¡ª if you don''t believe me, try it."

    He swabbed a finger into the cream, then reached for her hand.

    "Wait¡ª" Yujia shrunk back, completely hesitant at the idea of Zixu touching her hand based on all the social standards of this era that she spent hours hammering into her head in the past. "This isn''t proper, is it?"

    The corners of Zixu''s lips twitched. "You''re my maid, Yu''er. Why wouldn''t it be proper?"

    He held out his open hand this time, waiting for her to place her hand in his.

    Besides, he was right¡ª she was supposed to be a maid. There was also the fact that this man in front of her drew all over her face already.

    So, Yujia gently placed her hand on his open hand.

    Neither of them said a word as Zixu dabbed the dollop of ointment onto the part of her hand which had been burnt. His touch was gentle, or more so delicate, as he spread the cream over her skin, careful to not cause any pain to the tender, scalded part.

    Zixu was correct. In comparison to the ointment Yujia had used last time, this ointment felt much more soothing on her skin. There was also a very faint herbal fragrance to it, almost nothing compared to the strong herbal scent the one she had been using held.

    It was a brief moment between the two of them, one that lasted no more than a few seconds, but in that moment, Yujia''s heart skipped an extra beat.

    And just like that, the moment ended as quickly as it occurred. Zixu drew his hand away, closed the lid of the container, and placed it in Yuija''s hands.

    "You can keep this, and be sure to apply the ointment at least two times a day," he instructed, his gaze serious.

    Yuija couldn''t help but grin. She tried holding the grin back, but she really couldn''t. "Alright, will do everything according to your instructions, Physician Yu. Thanks."

    Zixu seemed like he was about to say something, but he paused, burying down a smile by raising his eyebrows.

    "That was a test," he immediately announced, completely taking Yujia by surprise, "and you failed."

    The expression on Yujia''s face fell. She tensed up, straightening herself as she demanded, "How?"

    Turning, Zixu went to put the box from which he retrieved the ointment from back to the empty space on the shelf, where it once was. He told her while doing so, "When you''re going undercover, you should be prepared for all sorts of situations. Even for the ones that take you unexpectedly and even for the ones which you don''t believe that you have to continue upholding your disguise for, you should still stay in character. Allowing yourself moments where you can excuse yourself by slipping away from your disguise will only lead to more mistakes in the future. The best way to prevent something from happening is to not practice that certain action or put yourself in that situation, at all."

    He faced her again, gesturing with his head at her hand. His reprimands continued flowing from his mouth.

    "Because I referenced something that happened to you when you were not in the state of a maid, you immediately forgot to hold up your disguise. You thought that I was interacting with you as if you were my Junior Sister again, and so, you dropped your maid persona. In the future, when you actually go undercover, will you drop your maid persona if you run into someone talking about the Fourth Miss?"

    "Hey¡ª but¡ª" Yujia instantly retorted, "That''s a mind game you played. You wanted me to fall into the trap."

    "If I dug a pit in front of you right now and told you to jump down, would you listen to me?" Zixu shook his head, sighing.

    At this, Yujia agreed that Zixu had a point. She shut up, allowing him to continue with his berating.

    "From the moment that I began talking to you, telling you that I had something for you, you already began to make mistakes upon mistakes. First, the attitude of a maid responding to their young master telling them that they had a gift should not be a ''What?''. Speaking casually like that is incorrect. You must always remember to keep a more formal attitude."

    Yujia thought of something to retort with, but she bit her words down, deciding to be more accepting of the advice. It would be a wiser decision to hear him out before saying anything.

    "After that moment, you continued to use the word ''you'' when addressing me, instead of ''young master''. That''s, again, one of the most telling signs that you are not a maid, since any servant who has worked for years would take on this habit of speech."

    Zixu went to take a seat, but he wasn''t finished yet.

    He had many more points¡ª talking about her attitude, her word choice, her body language, and the emotions she displayed on her face. Yujia found herself agreeing with everything he said, recording these down in her mind as mental notes.

    Towards the very end of it, Zixu concluded with how she made a joke about him being her physician, which would be very unsuitable for a maid to tell. Finding herself regretting that joke, Yujia honestly wished that she had the power to turn back time to correct all her errors.

    At the start, Yujia wanted to retort. At the end, she realized that there was really no point in retorting. She ended up bowing deeply, assuming the persona of a maid as she said, "This maid is sincerely apologetic for the incorrect behavior this maid displayed in the past and would like to thank Young Master for the tips."

    Zixu nodded, waving for her to rise. She looked up carefully, barely daring to make eye contact yet finding that he was smiling.

    "Good. You passed the test of accepting criticism. Congratulations on not failing this one, Yu''er," he applauded.

    Yujia remained silent, her lips pressing into a thin line.How many tests were there? It seemed like at the end of her every word, Yu Zixu was about to erupt into speech about how she passed or failed a test that she hadn''t even known that she was taking two seconds ago.

    But, perhaps that was the lesson he was trying to teach her: that every moment in life was a test and keeping one''s guard up was essential.

 254 A Very Internally-Flustered Maid

    There was a pot of tea in Yujia''s hands, and Yu Zixu was correcting her every way of pouring it.

    At first, the speed by which she worked was wrong. She was pouring it too fast, then too slow, then too fast, then too slow. She worked on correcting her speed for a solid few minutes, cups after cups of tea poured. Next, the issue was the angle by which she poured. And then, there was the exact way she held the pot. She was standing with the wrong posture. The distance between the table, Yu Zixu, and her, was completely wrong. The way she presented the cup of tea, finally poured properly, also turned out to be wrong.

    There were many seeming nit-picky details, but Yujia knew that if she was going to be pouring tea anytime soon in the Yang Villa, at least she had become a master at it.

    She didn''t think that she had this many issues before she stepped into the Yu Villa and adopted Yu Zixu as a teacher. She thought that she did fairly well during her time pretending in the Yang Villa and Lingxin. Only, in front of someone like Zixu, more and more issues appeared out of what felt like nowhere.

    At the very least, Yujia was learning to correct every mistake. She was becoming perfect.

    What was, possibly in the past, a decent disguise that she had, was becoming a full on second identity. Yujia had the sensation that she was developing a second ego.

    After working on her tea pouring skills, Zixu gave her advice on many other things. The two went out to the middle of the courtyard again, where she walked back and forth in front of him. He, as usual, offered plenty of corrections. He then brought Shen Li out, who ran through the list of ways for servants to greet their masters and more laws involving interactions. Yujia knew most of them already, from her experience interacting with servants, but going through them acted as both a way to refine and reinforce her knowledge.

    Once that part was over, Yujia was given many miscellaneous tasks to carry out, from wiping tables, chopping vegetables, sweeping the yard, dusting shelves, washing clothes, polishing antiques, carrying trays and baskets, and many more. Whatever Yu Zixu could think of, Yujia practiced.

    A few hours passed like this. Zixu spent half the time reading a book, barely supervising her. Except, every single time Yujia began to wonder if he was even paying attention, he always looked up and gave her another tip that she hadn''t noticed before.

    Reaching the end of doing all that she could manage to practice, Yujia arrived at two major accomplishments. One, she was extremely well-trained in the art of being a maid now. Two, Yu Zixu''s courtyard, which was already spotless before, was now shining in how clean it was.

    She found herself exhausted at the end of the day, both physically and mentally. She could see what Zixu meant by manual labor now, since this was definitely it.

    Finally, he faced her with a smile. "You''ve definitely become a good maid, Yu''er."

    With the sign that there was no more manual labor coming up for her, Yujia threw a mini celebration in her head. She didn''t let any sign of this relief show on the outside, in fear that it would become another point for Young Master Yu to pick on. Looking up at Zixu, Yujia waited for him to say anything else.

    "I¡ª" Opening his mouth, Zixu seemed like he was about to say a word, but he quickly bit it back. He turned away, taking a few more steps in the opposite direction.

    Yujia followed, keeping always a perfect distance between her and Zixu. There was a very specific distance that a maid should keep between her and her master, from what she learned.

    Zixu was always someone who mused over every single word before he allowed it to roll out his mouth. He spoke with few stammers, few mistakes, and few moments of hesitation, giving him an eloquent way of speech that was difficult to copy. It was also what Yujia believed to be the reason for why Zixu had a way of drawing attention and respect to him when he spoke.

    Seeing him stutter like this¡ª to say something, and halt in saying it the moment after uttering the first word¡ª was definitely a rare sight. He wasn''t drunk or discussing an emotional topic either.

    In a tentative manner, Yujia urged, "Young Master, is there anything else you need?" She was curious to see why Zixu faltered like that.

    "I wondered, for a brief moment, if I should tell you something. But I decided not to. Not yet." He faced her again, a small smile across his lips. His eyes looked at her with a different gaze, one that was sly and knowing, as if he knew that keeping a secret like this from her would frustrate her.

    And he was right. It bothered Yujia. A lot.

    "Young Master, this maid would recommend telling it now rather than later," Yujia continued to urge, "Perhaps later, Young Master would forget."

    She knew Yu Zixu would not forget. But still, she wanted to know right now. There were enough mysteries in her life already.

    "Would you really like to know?"

    Yujia nodded to his words in response.

    "Alright then. But don''t blame me for speaking too early." Zixu took a step closer and leaned forward to her. One of the last dimming rays of sunlight filtered through the paper windows, catching perfectly on his strong features. His next words were soft, stuck between a whisper and a confession.

    "I think, the more time I spend with you, the more I like you."

    Yujia wanted to check if she heard right.

    So many memories flashed in her mind, from countless times in the past where she heard wrong or misinterpreted Zixu''s words in wrong ways. Most of the time, he meant innocent things that she took in completely incorrect ways.

    This had to be another one of those situations. Yujia was more than wary. Zixu probably meant it in a friendly way.

    "Young Master¡­" Yujia began, her voice trailing.

    "I''m being serious," Zixu continued, "Let''s step outside of this entire Young Master and Yu''er deal. The more time that I spend with you, the more that I think that I''m falling in love. What should I do about these feelings, hm?"

    Yujia''s emotions promptly skyrocketed into emergency mode.

    She was pretty sure that she wasn''t hearing wrong this time.

    But at the same time, Yujia had been traumatized way too many times in the past with Yu Zixu''s antics. She really couldn''t believe him anymore. He was probably messing with her. This was another test.

    Gritting her teeth, Yujia managed to blurt out, "Young Master, please do not mess with this maid like this." It was difficult to keep her composure, but she managed to.

    She thought about it some more. Zixu had to be messing with her. There was no way any normal person would make a confession like this, in the same manner that he did.

    Only, Zixu''s next words made Yujia really rethink.

    "Do you seriously think that I would joke about something like this?" Zixu stated, "I know that you may think of this as another test, but it''s not. Yang Yujia, I think I''m falling in love with you."

    ''Oh sh*t,'' was the only phrase going through Yujia''s mind.

 255 Trust System of the Maid

    For a few moments, Yujia gathered her thoughts, which were now flying all over the place, back to herself. She forced them on one specific task, one that had been drilled into her the entire day.

    She was not Yang Yujia. She was Shen Yuling. She was just supposed to be some maid. And if she wasn''t Shen Yuling, if she really was Yang Yujia¡ª then she was a full grown woman, not the hormonal nineteen-year-old teenage girl that Zixu probably thought of herself as. She wouldn''t allow herself to be flustered by someone like him.

    Heck, she swore that she didn''t even like him in the sense of more than friends. They were just supposed to be fellow disciples. And there was nothing more than that, so there was no point in getting stirred up over any of this. Period.

    Yu Zixu was definitely just testing her.

    Just like that, Yujia controlled her demeanor in a manner that Yu Zixu certainly would''ve been proud of. She stepped back, bowed, and informed with a steady voice, "Young Master, you really shouldn''t make fun of this maid like that."

    Not daring to look up since she was following the rules of a maid, Yujia waited for Zixu to say something.

    Instead, the sound of applause was what made her raise her head.

    Zixu was applauding her, his lips curled up in amusement. Yet with his eyebrows lifted, he looked pleased. Proud.

    "You passed the final test. Congratulations, Junior Sister," he stated.

    At this, it was a sign that all the tests were finally over.

    Yujia bit her lip, exhaling deeply. Her hands were clenched by her side, and she practically jumped up to say, "Senior Brother, what kind of psychopath are you? Who tests people with¡ª with love confessions?"

    Zixu spread his hands open in something that looked like half a shrug."I was thinking all day about what I could do for a final test, since I really wanted to put you in a situation that would test your composure. I thought of many different tests, but I settled on this one, the easiest one."

    "The easiest one?" Yujia repeated in disbelief.

    She was about to roll up her sleeves and beat Yu Zixu up for attempting to play with her feelings like that. Or at least, she wanted to.

    "What other tests did you think of, hm?" she continued to push.

    "Well," Zixu stated, "I considered calling my father over to the courtyard, and looking at your reaction to seeing him for the first time."

    Yujia had flashbacks to how she was technically supposed to be married to the Yu''s Old Master right now. If he called his father over¡­ that definitely would''ve made Yujia much more panicked than how she was with this love confession test.

    He was right. It would be harder and even riskier.

    "Senior Brother, you''re really messed up," Yujia said, shaking her head.

    Yujia crossed her arms. "Alright. You can say that all you want. But I know that you just like to mess with me, and this is your perfect opportunity and excuse."

    Zixu replied, "Didn''t I say before that I found you entertaining? Now, consider the debts between us cleared."

    "... Alright." Yujia wasn''t sure what else to say after that. All she knew was that Yu Zixu was seriously crazy. He definitely wasn''t any normal person. "Your acting skills are too good," she ended up muttering.

    "You think so?" Zixu''s expression lit up. "Though, how did you know that my ''confession'' before was just a test?"

    Recalling her reasoning, she realized that it was rather simple. Yujia sighed, then explained, "You give me trust issues. Of course I''m going to think that anything out of the blue like that is a test, especially considering the context of the situation. It''s just too unrealistic to think that out of all people, you, Senior Brother, would confess to me."

    "Is that so? Then, how do you know that the conversation right now is not the actual, final test? I could still be tricking you, yet you switched to your old self quickly," Zixu suggested, his eyebrows lifted.

    "You have a point, but¡ª" Yujia paused, looking him straight in the eye, "You told me before that the confession was the final test. So I trusted you. Plus, what''s the point of still testing me now? I think that I''ve proven myself capable."

    "I thought you have trust issues with me?" The corners of his lips twitched upwards.

    Yujia retorted, "I might have trust issues with you, but at least I still have basic trust for things like these. I betted that you would not be so demented as to continue testing me, even after you declared the final test complete."

    "Ah. I see." Zixu sighed.

    About to say something more, Yujia paused when she heard barking noises in the courtyard.

    The next moment, a friendly, golden-coated dog¡ª Mimi¡ª burst into the room, leaping towards her and Zixu at boundless speed.

 256 End of the Maidâ€™s Day

    Being a dog person, it was impossible for Yujia to not grin upon seeing Mimi. It seemed like there was just a natural instinct within her which made her feel the urge to just run her fingers all through Mimi''s fur, along with giving the cute dog a million pats and "who''s a good boy"s.

    Mimi seemed to recognize her as well. Either that, or his friendly attitude towards all humans made him act the way he did. He immediately fixed his attention on Yujia and was full of doggy-kisses and tail-wagging, barely paying attention to Zixu. Maybe he just found Yujia, who was still very unfamiliar, more interesting than someone who he already knew very well.

    Yujia found Mimi''s energy and happiness contagious. Though she was already tired from everything she did today, being around Mimi was like being around a natural charger, replenishing all of her lost energy.

    She didn''t understand how people could be around dogs without giddy smiles bursting across their face.

    "I love your dog," Yujia said as she turned around to look at Zixu.

    He was staring at her, not Mimi, his gaze somewhat different, in a way that Yujia couldn''t quite describe. She blinked, and the gaze disappeared, replaced by his usual one. "Hm? You do?" he asked, in a more rhetorical way.

    Yujia nodded, her eyes narrowing. She considered asking Zixu about his stare, but she decided against it. Maybe she saw wrong. Or maybe she just misinterpreted him, yet again.

    "Mimi is so sweet. I really missed him since the last time I saw him," she ended up telling him, all the while petting Mimi over and over again.

    "In the future, if you miss him, you can come over to visit," Zixu carelessly replied.

    "Really?" Yujia glanced up at him again.

    Zixu paused. He tilted his head, then told her, expressionlessly, "Actually, it may not be a good idea for you to visit often, considering your identity."

    "Ah. Right." Yujia''s hands froze. She straightened herself, sighing. "You have a point."

    There was some bustling noise outside in the courtyard, which Yujia noticed after tearing her attention away from Mimi. The noise ceased after a while, and Shen Li was the one who ended up peeking in from the open doors that Mimi burst through in.

    "What''s going on outside?" Zixu asked.

    "Young Master, they''re some servants from Second Young Master''s courtyard who say that they were trying to give the dog a bath, before it escaped. They wanted to know if the dog ran into your yard, considering that they heard barking¡­" Shen Li''s words fell off when he noticed Mimi, cowering behind Zixu.

    Yujia stood up, dusting off her hands. Mimi''s eyes went to meet hers, a sort of pleading within his expression. He definitely didn''t want to take that bath.

    Zixu definitely noticed Mimi''s unwillingness as well. He let out a soft breath, informing Shen Li, "Tell them the dog is not in my room."

    "Why didn''t you tell them?" Yujia questioned while Mimi fell in her arms again.

    Zixu bent down and scratched the back of Mimi''s ears, which the dog seemed to like. He explained, "Mimi is stubborn enough to not take that bath if he doesn''t want to. He would need a few people to drag him out, and it would be inconvenient and noisy." He glanced at the paper windows, seeing the dimming light filtering through. "Anyways, it''s not early anymore. You should get going, through the back. Mimi can send you off."

    Standing up again, Yujia agreed. "Alright."

    That was the end to her day with Yu Zixu.

    ¡­

    Zixu sent her out of his courtyard, but he didn''t follow her after that. She was still dressed like a maid, after all, and it would be strange for a young master to send off his maid. Mimi followed after her happily though, running along without a worry in the world. That was just Mimi''s personality, eager to spend time with every new person he met.

    The moment he saw her leave the courtyard, he went back to his room, sat at his desk, and stared down at the table.

    Something was really wrong with him.

    He told her that confession as a test. That was all it was. There were no feelings attached, no underlying meaning behind it. It was hilarious seeing her reaction as well, though Zixu did his best to not burst out in laughter.

    Yet now, once everything had long been said and done, he was finally beginning to think about his words. Most of all, he thought about a single moment with her, pressed into his mind. It was a simple one, where she was just absorbed with petting Mimi.

    And in that moment, Zixu wasn''t sure why, but she suddenly seemed different to him.

    Maybe it was the fact that she seemed to love Mimi as much as he did. Maybe it was the lighting, with the warm, orange sunlight framing her expression. Maybe it was the way she smiled so brilliantly, comfortably, and genuinely¡ª not at all a smile that was forced.

    When he arrived at that last thought, Zixu realized that this was it.

    It was her smile.

    Thinking about the image of her smile right now, he realized that he was grinning himself. It was a smile that was spread wide across his face, unlike his usual, reserved one. He couldn''t wipe it off either, no matter how hard he tried, just like how he couldn''t get her off his mind.

    As he grinned, almost laughing at how ridiculous this all was, he leaned forward and buried his face with his hands.

    What were these feelings going through him, right now?

    It wasn''t like anything he had ever felt before. It couldn''t be compared to the love he felt for his family. It couldn''t be compared to the affection he felt for Mimi. It couldn''t be compared to the few true friendships he had kept in the past.

    It was a foreign feeling. It was terrifying, but at the same time, thrilling. Exhilarating.

    Above all, he couldn''t stop thinking about her. Even after she left, even after he had much better things to do, even after he did everything he could to distract his thoughts, she was the only person on his mind. He began to recall so many things that occurred between the two of them in the past, from drinking together, to painting with her, to helping her out, to all those countless conversations between them in the past. At the same time, he began to wonder if he started to see her differently only because of that one smile, during that one fragment of time¡ª or, if from the start, from all those interactions between them, he had been falling into these spiraling emotions, deeper and deeper.

    Could it be that only just now, he actually started to realize his true feelings? That he, Yu Zixu, someone who prided himself over his observation skills and his ability to notice things about people, couldn''t even notice these growing feelings within himself?

    He wanted to say that this was nonsense. Yet painfully¡ª tragically¡ª he knew perfectly well that it was likely the truth.

    While he debated all these things in his mind, the events of the day kept replaying, and he mulled over the tiniest of details.

    He began to regret that confession.

    It was just supposed to be a test. None of it was supposed to be factual. None of it was supposed to spiral into the current emotions he had rushing through himself.

    He wondered if he chose a different final test, he wouldn''t be feeling these things right now. But then, he realized that he was destined to fail.

    Yu Zixu arrived at the conclusion that he had fallen in love, for the first time in the twenty-two years of his life, with Yang Yujia¡ª and all because of her smile.

    Lastly, he was not happy with this conclusion, at all.

 257 The Detective Returns to the Villa

    Once she left the Yu Villa and returned to Lingxin, Yujia decided to change out her Yu Villa''s servant robes for the ones worn by servants in the Yang Villa. After all, she did agree to return to get a list of suspects and stolen items from Madam Zhang in the evening. She was already a little late, with the sun dropping low behind the horizon, so she rushed to change robes. Thankfully, servants wore simple robes, so Yujia was capable of changing rather quickly.

    However, before she could go run off to the Yang Villa, her master called her over. As a disciple, Yujia couldn''t possibly reject, so she hurried to see what he wanted, all the while keeping an eye on the dimming sky. She tried to sit through his speech as patiently as she could, all the while grabbing a few bites which would suffice as her dinner for that evening.

    By the time that she escaped out of Lingxin, it was all getting rather dark. Especially because of the distance between the villa and the school, Yujia had to rush. People were already beginning to light up a few lanterns within their homes and on the streets.

    She made it into the Yang Villa right at the last rays of sunlight, slipping through the back doors easily as usual.

    As she passed through, Yujia took note of how weak the security was in this servant''s area of the villa. Even outsider thieves could easily sneak into the villa if they wanted to. There was supposed to be a servant posted here, looking for the people who entered and exited, but he seemed to slack off most of the time and run off elsewhere.

    Because of all her practice, Yujia found this brief visit to the villa rather stress-free. She easily walked out of the courtyard, heading to Madam Zhang''s without any nerve-wracking feelings. After everything she went over with Zixu, Yujia was sure that her maid disguise was on point, so she didn''t really see a need to keep the fear of getting caught placed too high on her thoughts. Maybe this confidence was a good thing, allowing her to think critically without any fear bordering her mind. Maybe this confidence was actually bad, making her careless.

    At these thoughts, Yujia made sure to keep herself alert. Confident but attentive would surely lead to the best results.

    Making it into Madam Zhang''s chambers, Yujia noticed the candles were lit, but the madam was nowhere to be seen. The paper slips were still scattered on the floor. She closed the door behind her, sat down at a table, and waited for the Madam to arrive. It should be near the end of dinner now, for the Yang Family.

    Sure enough, a few minutes of wait later, Madam Zhang entered the room. There were no servants following her¡ª it seemed like she told her personal servants to wait outside, or gave them some sort of other assignment.

    Small details like these were what made Yujia pleasantly surprised. Even to her ex-unsatisfactory-daughter, Madam Zhang was still always courteous.

    "You''re here a bit late," the madam began speaking first, her voice controlled and volume low, "In case you haven''t noticed, the back doors are locked shortly after the end of dinner. You won''t be able to enter or exit then."

    "Is that so?" Yujia mused, keeping her voice barely more than a whisper as well. She surely couldn''t enter from the front either. Nor did she think that she had the capabilities of flipping over the tall outer walls of the villa. "Thank you for the reminder, then, Madam," she ended up saying, after sipping from the tea, "I will surely keep that in mind."

    "Good." Madam Zhang reached into her sleeve, pulling out a folded piece of paper. She slid it across the table. "Here is the list I promised you. Perhaps you can tell something from it."

    "I''ll do my best," Yujia admitted, "But I doubt I''ll be able to notice anything more than what Madam has."

    As a response, Madam Zhang pointed out, "You never know. A new pair of fresh eyes might just see things differently."

    She had a point.

    Yujia thought about if this was the right time to rise and leave. But Madam Zhang scanned Yujia over, from top to bottom. She tapped her fingers on the table. "Your maid robes are a bit worn out for the role of a new maid."

    Thinking about how she stole these robes from Hui''er, Yujia figured that they would be a bit worn. "Does Madam happen to have another set?"

    "Not in the room with me right now." Madam Zhang''s thin lips pursed. "Tomorrow, do not come to the Yang Villa wearing these robes. Put on more simple, plain clothes. I have arranged for it that there will be three new servants introduced into the villa, including you. Around the corner of this villa, if you turn right, then left, and walk a decent distance, you should come across a place where servants are bought and sold. I already told the owner of that place for you to blend in with the batch of servants that I will be buying. Arrive there at the hour of Chen[1] and talk to the owner. She will naturally ''sell you off'' to our household."

    "That''s quite meticulous," Yujia noted.

    She repeated those directions in her head, knowing that though they were simple, someone as bad at finding her way around as her would need to carve those directions in her head. Around the corner, right, then left.

    Madam Zhang gave a brief nod, informing, "This entire plan needs to be meticulous. It needs to look as natural as possible, and this way, your existence is explained."

    She went over what she had in mind for the rest of the plan, keeping it brief and concise. Then, once she was done, she didn''t hesitate to shoo Yujia out of the room, saying that Yujia should probably leave before they lock the back door.

    But this time around, instead of exiting through the room doors, Yujia had to climb a window out of Madam Zhang''s chamber. There was apparently one of her personal servants waiting outside, and Yujia had to sneak out through the window to avoid detection.

    It seemed like Madam Zhang truly trusted no one but herself. And maybe Yujia, but only in some matters.

    Thus, in the next few moments, Yujia went through a process of fumbling out of windows in a very awkward, ungraceful manner. She didn''t know how people in the movies did it by just flipping themselves out so easily. Even though Yujia exited through windows before, she really did need more practice.

    She added window-exiting to her list of things to master.

    Once Yujia tumbled out of the window, landing on the wooden porch around the room with a soft¡ª but uncomfortable¡ª thud, she looked back in the windows one last time at Madam Zhang.

    The two met glances.

    And then, Madam Zhang closed the windows. Yujia fell back into the shadows, silently turning to leave the courtyard and the villa.

    [1] 7 A.M.

 258 Final Preparations of the Detective

    At some moment in time, Yujia realized that once she began her infiltration, it was likely in her best interest to not leave the Yang Villa. Madam Zhang set up the entire servant-infiltration process to give her a new identity in the villa, so if Yujia just went and left the villa at night, for example, it would be very suspicious.

    In other words, once Yujia began the detective work, she would not be going back to Lingxin until all of it was complete.

    She estimated that she would spend a week, at most, in the Yang Villa. Pretending to be a servant for that long would be a test of her skills, but it wouldn''t be too bad.

    After explaining the reason for her absence to a few key people in her life, like her master, Yunhe, and Chef Hong, Yujia borrowed a set of very plain clothes from Lili. With these clothes, she woke up early in the morning to get ready. She brushed her hair into a neat and simple style and dressed up in those robes quickly. Looking in the mirror, though Yujia couldn''t see her full reflection, she definitely felt like she passed the mark of a potential servant-to-be-sold.

    An interesting fact was that in her process of getting ready, Yujia received one small dagger from Chef Hong. During the time Yujia spent in the kitchen explaining to Chef Hong what she would be doing and upon hearing that her "favorite girlie" was going to be doing a spy mission, Chef Hong had told Yujia to pause. She had shuffled to a shelf behind her, pushed it to the side, and revealed a full wall of weapons.

    Yujia could only gape, her jaw completely dropped, at the wall of weapons back then. Thinking about it now, however, it did make sense for Chef Hong to have a collection of weapons like that, considering her backstory as a criminal that she shared with the other kitchen workers.

    Chef Hong had slowly dragged her fingers across each weapon, pausing at a few of them. There were axes, sabers, swords, daggers, crossbows, and more. While she looked at all these weapons, she eyed Yujia up and down before declaring, "Girlie, you''re too weak to wield half these weapons."

    Hearing this, Yujia could only scrunch her face up. "I''m just an artist."

    "And so am I¡ª an artist at cooking, and an artist at hacking people up," Chef Hong had remarked in response.

    She ended up stopping her hands at the rows of knives. They were rather organized, with the largest dagger to the left and the smallest dagger to the right.

    Chef Hong picked two smaller daggers, nodding and clicking her tongue in satisfaction. She turned back to Yujia, spinning one of the knives in her hand and unsheathing it.

    "If you''re going to be a spy, take this for self-protection. You might need it, you might not. But it''s better to have something than nothing," she explained to Yujia, then handed a dagger over to Yujia.

    "This¡ª" Yujia stared at the dagger, a bit wary with the idea of stabbing someone.

    Yujia mentally braced herself for what she would hear next.

    "For an unskilled person like you, it''s better to stab them straight into the neck. Angle it towards the center back, and once you have the blade in, slice it sideways and cut through those blood vessels." Chef Hong demonstrated these motions in the air, her movements surprisingly agile. "That''ll kill them quickly, and these knives are sharp enough to do it. Slicing the outside flesh of the neck will do nothing. Be prepared for a lot of blood though¡­ A lot, alot, a lot."

    Wincing greatly, Yujia had retorted, "What if¡­ I don''t want to kill anyone?"

    She wasn''t a saint, but she also wasn''t a killer. With how Chef Hong demonstrated, it seemed easy to kill someone, but Yujia knew that if things came down to it, she wasn''t sure if she had the capability to¡ª both mentally and physically.

    Chef Hong groaned. "Aiya, girlie, if someone is trying to kill you, don''t give them any pity. Just stab stab!"

    "You make it sound so simple."

    "It is¡ª" Chef Hong straightened up, continuing, "but I guess for a weak-hearted girlie like you, you''re not ready yet. Just know that without any experience, it''s difficult to strike with perfectly lethal results. You''ll end up with someone half-dead, likely, not fully dead. Or, at the very least, in enough pain so that you can run. Do you want to know the other places where you should strike?"

    Figuring that it was better to know than to not, Yujia beckoned for Chef Hong to continue.

    The woman had gone on to explain about the armpit, the leg, the back of the knee, and how if Yujia planned to strike the liver, the heart, the lungs, or anywhere else protected by the ribs, she should hold the blade flat to ensure that the blade slides right through. It was definitely morbid to hear all of this, but just a little bit fascinating. A teeny, tiny, miniscule bit.

    Lastly, Chef Hong concluded with, "Overall, however, the best form of self defense is to run. Don''t think about attacking someone if you can run. Got that?"

    And so, that was how Yujia ended up with a small dagger in her possession.

    The dagger wasn''t anything fancy, but it came with a neat strap that attached well to her arm. Keeping it sheathed, Yujia strapped the dagger to her forearm. The knife was comfortable enough against her skin, tight enough to be kept in place, but not the point where it was digging into her flesh. She tried moving around and doing things with it, finding that the existence of this dagger didn''t bother her in any way.

    She didn''t think that she would have to stab anyone in this mission. She was just snooping around. Nothing should be life-threatening.

    But, Yujia supposed that it was like what Chef Hong said. It was better to be safe than sorry.

    Just like that, dressed up in the right disguise and knife strapped to her arm, Yujia was ready to go. She felt like with all of Yu Zixu and Chef Hong''s training combined, she had prepared herself to the max.

 259 First Interactions of the Detective

    The servant-selling place that Madam Zhang described was a worn-down, rustic building nestled amongst rows of similarly deteriorating structures. There was a sign with peeling paint, designating that it was the right place, but Yujia almost missed it when she passed by due to how faint the lettering had become. With the gray skies above her¡ª it seemed like it would finally rain, something quite rare in the near-summer weather¡ª the entire environment around this building appeared gloomy.

    She stepped through the front doors carefully. Finding the person who seemed to be the owner that Madam Zhang described, Yujia quickly told her what she had arrived for.

    The owner was an aged woman, with graying hair and a dead expression. She didn''t seem all that enthusiastic about her business, but at the same time, she spoke without any hesitations, her voice firm and her words fast. This was definitely the composure of a professional who had been buying and selling servants for decades.

    She didn''t waste too many words with Yujia, merely leading her to a secluded room in the back. Before entering, Yujia peered inside through a crack in the door, seeing two girls huddled in separate corners of the small room. In a quiet voice, the owner explained to her, "Just wait here with them. You''ll be fetched when it''s time."

    Then, Yujia stepped into the room, the door shutting behind her with a squeak.

    At first, Yujia wasn''t sure of what to say. She just helped herself to a corner by herself and sat down, taking a good look at her surroundings. The room was perhaps more dreary than anywhere else she had been at in the shop, with grime covering the walls and floors. Up high on the walls, there was a small block which was cut open to allow light in, but the lighting barely did anything to illuminate the dim room. It reminded her of a prison cell, just without bars.

    The two girls sitting across from her barely spared her a glance before looking down again. The one on the left was dressed in brown fabric, and the one on the right had on a pale maroon set of dirt-stained robes. Yujia looked at her own robes, which were made of a washed-out green cloth.

    Seeing that these were the two servants that she would be sent into the villa with, Yujia decided to strike up a conversation.

    "Do you think that all three of us are going to be sent to the same place?" she started with a conversation.

    The girl dressed in brown looked up, her eyebrows raised. "You''re new to this, aren''t you?"

    Yujia nodded. She already had a backstory thought up. "My father¡­ he sold me. I only found out today." After saying these words, a slight tremble in her voice, she forced her eyes to water a little, just to sell the emotions behind the backstory.

    All Yujia could say was, "Oh." She then decided to push on, saying, "My name is Shen Yuling. You all are?"

    She figured it would be good to at least know the names of these other servants.

    "Xie Yufeng," the narrow-faced girl in brown said briskly.

    The girl in maroon looked up again. She was the opposite of Xie Yufeng, with wide-set features and large eyes. In a way, her eyes reminded Yujia of Hui''er.

    "Lin Xin, but you can just¡­ call me Xin''er." Her voice was quiet and timid.

    Yujia took to memorizing their names. From her predictions, she would be spending a decent amount of time with these two girls for the rest of her infiltration, so knowing their names would be good.

    Turning her eyes back to Xie Yufeng, Yujia found that the girl had been staring at her. She tilted her head and waited for the girl to say something, since she seemed to have some words resting on her tongue.

    Yufeng ended up telling her, "If I were you, I''d find some sharp rock and slice up that face real bloodily." As she spoke, she jerked her head in Yujia''s direction, clearly referring to Yujia''s face.

    The moment she heard these words, Yujia tensed. Her eyebrows knitted. "What do you mean?"

    When it came to physical appearance, Yujia obviously tensed. Did she look too much like a young miss, even in clothes for servants?

    A curt, high-pitched laugh escaped from Yufeng. She flicked her gaze upward. "Just that pretty, weak faces don''t last well amongst maids. I''m surprised your father didn''t sell you to a brothel. You probably would do better there."

    Yujia had to admit that these words from Yufeng confused her greatly. She wasn''t sure whether it was solid advice or some sort of mockery. Overall, it was just jarring to be told by someone that she should carve her face up. She definitely was not used to dealing with people like Yufeng, but Yujia figured that she had to, sooner or later.

    She decided to just give Yufeng a smile. If it was advice, her smile could be taken as a sign of appreciation. If it was intended to rile her up, then Yujia wouldn''t need to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her emotions splayed out in the open.

    The conversation died after that, and Yujia didn''t make any more attempts to bring things back up. A few moments later, the doors to the room opened. A man with a frown that seemed to be stuck permanently across his face leaned in, calling for them to follow him with a hoarse voice.

    Xie Yufeng was the first to stand up. Yujia followed after the girl, and Xin''er came last. They found themselves taken by the man to the front of the building, where a young man waited. Yujia recognized the robes worn by the young man to be the servant''s uniform of the Yang Villa. She quickly took a glance at his face when they were still a decent distance away, taking in his appearance with his strong jaw, defined features, and tan skin. Thankfully, she didn''t recognize him, so he seemed to be new enough or someone who had never interacted with the Fourth Miss.

    The man who led them there, with the frown, explained, "These are your servants." Leaving it just like that, he turned and went to work on something else.

    The young man had seemingly paid already. He took a good look at all three of them, a friendly smile crossing his expression. "I''m A''Yan. Most of the other servants in the villa call me Brother A''Yan, so you three can do so too. Nice to meet all of y''all."

    Yujia thought back to the list of suspects Madam Zhang had given her. She had already looked over the list, memorizing all the names in her mind earlier on. A''Yan was not on the list.

    While she thought, A''Yan began to walk out of the building, signaling for them to follow. Seeing that the other two didn''t say anything, Yujia decided to stay quiet too.

    A''Yan didn''t seem bothered by it, continuing to explain, "I serve the Yang Villa. It''s a merchant household, and I assure you, as long as everyone does their job, there are no problems. The Old Master has been having a turn of good luck recently, so we servants are always well-fed and clothed. We even receive a bit of an allowance if we''re hard working enough."

    He seemed open and ambivalent enough, so Yujia decided to follow his friendly approach, using this as a disguise to find more information. "Brother A''Yan, if I may ask¡­ what do you do in the villa?"

    He turned his head around, observing her for a brief second before saying, "Just some miscellaneous stuff around the villa. I help around wherever people need me, so they all know me pretty well, even though I''ve only been in the villa for a little more than three weeks." All the while he spoke, he kept his bright smile across his face. "If y''all need any help, don''t hesitate to come find me. We''ll all be working together in the future, so I always like to help out where I can. Also, what are all of your names?" he asked.

    "I''m Yuling," Yujia informed.

    Yufeng followed, telling him in the same manner she told Yujia with her briefness, and Xin''er was, once more, last.

    "Yuling, Yufeng, and Xin''er," A''Yan repeated, nodding. He turned his focus back to Yujia. "Yuling, do you have a nickname?" He paused, glancing at Yufeng. "Yufeng too."

    Once she heard that, Yujia''s mind immediately slipped to Yu Zixu and the way he called her "Yu''er." She thought about the way he leaned forward in that one memory of the confession test he gave her, the way that the name "Yu''er" rolled off his tongue, and the way that he spoke it so delicately, yet with so much warmth.

    So, Yujia immediately replied, "I go by Ling''er."

    It seemed to be a decent answer. A''Yan grinned a little more. "Nice. Ling''er is a pretty nickname. He then faced Yufeng. "What about you?"

    Yufeng kept her expression flat, not at all moved by the charming grin A''Yan wore. "I would prefer being called Yufeng," she answered.

    "Sure, sure, that''s all fine." A''Yan blinked, resuming with his walk forward.

    A bit more walking later, they arrived at the Yang Villa.

 260 Laundry and the Detective

    Entering the Yang Villa as an official maid was a different experience that Yujia wasn''t used to. After A''Yan brought them into the villa, another female servant took over, taking them to various places and showing them around the villa.

    Once the entire villa was toured, they were brought back to the South Courtyard where she, as the Fourth Miss, used to reside. That was when Yujia discovered that her old room had been converted into another maid''s room.

    There was space for six maids, but it seemed like only her and the other new maids would be living in this newly set up room. There was a sense of familiarity as she was brought into her old room.

    The female servant gave the three of them two sets of maid robes, then left them alone to let them get dressed. When they were done, they were expected to go across the courtyard to take care of laundry.

    Yujia changed her clothes quickly. Neither of the two maids beside her wanted to talk, so she kept quiet as well, no longer attempting to start up a conversation like she did before. Once they were settled, they went over to the place were laundry was kept. The maid who led them before gave the three of them large and deep buckets filled with clothes that needed to be washed, each bucket topped with various soaps, wooden washing paddles, and lengthy wooden beams almost as tall as Yujia herself. The bucket was a tad bit heavy, but it wasn''t anything that Yujia couldn''t carry. She was luckier than Yufeng, who was given a long, rectangular wooden box, filled to the brim with clothes.

    With everyone holding supplies, the maid gestured for them to follow her. She took them out of the villa, through a long walk along the streets, and soon enough, Yujia found herself standing at the banks of a river.

    She gulped.

    The river cut through the capital, with many canals extending out from it. She passed by it a few times in the past, wandering around in the city, but after that incident, she never tried to get near any large body of water.

    Clearly, none of the three people around her were the slightest bit aware of the deep fear embedded within Yujia''s mind. They didn''t notice her clear hesitation. And though Yujia was very aware of her inner turmoil, she quickly masked over all of it with a few deep breaths.

    Especially when beginning an important mission like this, ruining it because of her apparent fear was pathetic. She had to think about it logically, instead of letting fear control her mind. The water she would be interacting with was shallow water. She wouldn''t be falling into it or drowning. Rationally thinking, her chances of drowning in the riverbanks were close to none. It wasn''t like she was waddling to the center of it, or like before, where she had fallen inside, standing on a ledge that hung over deep water.

    Somehow, when she focused back to the scene in front of her, she was already standing at the very edge of the river, water almost lapping at her feet.

    Yujia had never washed clothes at a river like this before, in the past. She hadn''t even watched people do it, but she quickly looked at Yufeng and Xin''er to see what they were doing. They moved quickly, familiar with the act of washing clothes. First, they picked a few robes to place inside the wooden box which Yufeng had carried, using the bucket they brought to fill the box with river water after they placed the clothes into it. Then, with the long wooden beams, they began to strike the robes to beat the dirt and soil out of them. It looked like a manual version of a washing machine.

    The maid who brought them here¡ª likely a head servant¡ª immediately snapped at Yujia, seeing that she hadn''t done anything yet. "How about you stop staring and start working?" she declared with a glare, "We don''t have all day. Have you never seen clothes being washed before?"

    Not willing to get on this servant''s bad side, Yujia hastily muttered a sorry and went to gather the clothes in her basket. There still seemed to be some space left in the box that Yufeng and Xin''er were washing at, so she went over and tried to place her robes in there.

    The moment Yufeng noticed her movements, she stuck out a hand, raising it in front of Yujia. "What are you doing?" she exclaimed.

    "Trying to wash these clothes¡­?" Yujia replied, raising her eyebrows.

    The expression on Yufeng''s face twisted into a scowl. "Look carefully. The robes we have here are for servants. Your robes are silk. Do you think that these two kinds can mix so easily? And do you think that silk robes should be washed in the same way?"

    Yujia backed away a step.

    Out of everything that she prepared for, she hadn''t readied herself for the details of washing laundry. Zixu did have her scrub a few things, but those were all small fabrics, nothing near the scale of the clothes she was washing now.

    She felt her cheeks getting flushed, but apologizing was the best solution for now. Yuija muttered quickly, "Apologies."

    She backed away some more, staring at the pile of robes in her hand. She didn''t have a box like that. What was she supposed to do now? Place the clothes in the bucket and beat at them there? This seemed to be what they were supposed to do. But was she supposed to use the soap? Was she supposed to wash them one by one, or all together? Or?

    Yufeng, who had her beady eyes fixed right onto Yujia, saw Yuija''s clear doubt. She groaned, set the beam in her hand down, and walked over, crossing her arms. "Shen Yuling, you''ve really never washed a single set of robes in your life?"

    Exhaling, Yujia kept her expression plain. She decided to be honest. "No."

    A high-pitched laugh came from Yufeng. She looked back at Xin''er and the other head maid, then at Yujia, shaking her head. "What did I say before? You''re nowhere near suited being a maid. Tell me, how mighty was that aristocratic family you used to be a young miss in, before your father decided to sell you? You must''ve never even touched a pair of robes with hands like that."

    Yujia could hear a snicker coming from the head maid, who appeared to be paying attention to their conversation.

    She thought of quite a few retorts, but still, again, she decided to keep her cool. She was just a maid. A timid, fearful maid, who would never try to give a comeback. Besides, Xie Yufeng seemed to be saying these things with her harsh tone to get a rise from Yujia. Giving a heated response was only delivering what Yufeng wanted to see to her. There was no point in doing that.

    "You tell the truth. So, will Sister Yufeng teach me how to wash these clothes properly?" Yujia asked, keeping her tone polite.

    Yufeng stared for a moment, but then, she bent down, grabbing one of the silk robes. "Watch carefully," she declared. Yujia listened. Yufeng placed the silk on a smooth-surfaced rock, half-submerged in the chill river water. She lathered a bit of soap onto it, took a small wooden paddle from the basket, and began to beat at the clothes. She hit it with enough force so that it was cleaned, but she kept her force controlled enough so that it wouldn''t tear or damage the delicate fabric.

    A few more beats later, she took the silk and dipped it into the water, washing the soap all off. She rinsed it a few more times, then wrung it dry and placed it into a separate bucket.

    "Get it now?" she questioned.

    Yujia nodded. "Yes." She reached forward to take the wooden paddle from Yufeng.

    At the very least, Yujia was a quick learner.

    ??

    Yujia passed the morning like that, washing those silk robes. Xie Yufeng and Xin''er washed their designated robes too, and the head maid simply watched over them like a hawk. If she saw Yujia pausing for the slightest moment or any small mistake, she didn''t hesitate to call her out.

    While she washed, Yujia practically forgot about her mission of being a detective. She was just too focused on getting the clothes washed correctly.

    Once the morning had passed, the robes were finally finished, Now, they were about to carry all of them back to the villa to hang and dry.

    Yujia stood up, her lower back aching a bit from the long period of time which she squatted and bent over to wash the clothes. As she stretched out a little bit, she saw the other maids beginning to take off, so she picked up her own basket of clothes and hurried to follow.

    Yet before she could get too far, the head maid declared, "One of you three need to go fetch two buckets of water from the city''s well, instead of bringing the laundry back. You look strong enough, so how about you do it?" she pointed at Yufeng.

    Yufeng frowned. Yujia was thankful that it wasn''t her who was doing it¡ª carrying two buckets filled with water from the city''s well to the Yang Villa would be a decent distance, and she didn''t think that she was strong enough to do it.

    However, Yufeng turned to Yujia. "Shen Yuling, you do it. Xin''er and I washed all those servant robes, and you only washed a few silk ones. It''s only fair that you go fetch the water."

 261 Helping out the Detective

    Carrying two buckets filled with water was not fun.

    Yujia knew this fact for a very long time, but today just proved it even more.

    Somehow, just somehow, she managed to make it to the Yang Villa alive. Now, that may have been an exaggeration, but Yujia felt like her arms were falling off. First, the buckets she had to carry water in were large and deep, so the water weighed quite a bit. Second, she still had very weak arms, which was not a good combination with the heavy buckets. Third, she had to carry two buckets at the same time. It was a true test of her biceps. And lastly, the distance between the Yang Villa and the well she was sent to was a long, long walk.

    Setting the buckets down numerous times throughout the walk didn''t help too much. Yujia also almost spilled the buckets of water numerous times, catching herself before making this horrendous mistake. She couldn''t imagine how much more of a pain it would be for her to have to go back and refill the buckets with water.

    Arriving at the back door of the villa, Yujia had never been happier to see that crooked wooden door.

    Along the walk, she had also made a silent resolution to begin working out the moment she was complete with all of this investigation business. The Fourth Miss may not have needed strong muscles, but Yang Yujia did. She wanted to be prepared for whatever was to happen in the future, expected or not.

    Thankfully, the doors were open, so Yujia walked in, her arms still dragged down by the weight of the buckets. She looked around for anyone¡ª Xin''er, Yufeng, or even the head maid¡ª but she didn''t spot them. Instead, she saw A''Yan, the servant from this morning, who was holding an axe in his hand and splitting wood.

    He looked up too, eyes lighting up when he saw her. "Ling''er, right?"

    And then, his eyes trailed down to the buckets of water Yujia was attempting to drag.

    "Brother A''Yan, hello," Yujia managed to say, forcing a smile on her face while she continued lurching forward with the buckets.

    He immediately set the axe in his hand down, rushing forward to help her with a bucket. Yujia didn''t hesitate to give him one, but when he reached for the other one, she paused.

    At her hesitation, he quickly assured, "Just let me carry both of them. You must be tired, carrying those all the way here. I have stronger arms than you too, anyways."

    Upon hearing this, Yujia relented, handing him the second one as well. She straightened her back and stretched out her arms, an expression of gratitude crossing her face. "Thank you so much," she said, almost out of breath.

    A''Yan carried the wooden buckets with ease, nothing like how Yujia was half-dragging, half-carrying back there. He kept moving forward with them, so Yujia followed.

    Yujia bit her bottom lip. "It was the maid who was supervising me and the other new maids. I don''t think she ever told me her name. We were washing clothes earlier, so I guess she thought that it would be convenient to have one of us fetch it."

    Purposefully, Yujia omitted the part about how Yufeng pushed the job onto her. She didn''t want to seem too whiny or start any conflicts. Regardless, though, Yujia did have a feeling that Yufeng did it not because she was lazy, but because she wanted to genuinely put Yujia through a tough experience.

    She would have to keep an eye out for Xie Yufeng, even if this maid was new to the villa.

    With a sigh, A''Yan arrived at the place where water seemed to be usually stored. He set the two buckets down and covered them with a fitting wooden lid. "The person managing the new maids¡­ that should be Biyao¡­" His voice trailed off, but then he continued, "Do you want me to go talk to her?"

    Yujia shook her head immediately, waving her hands in front of her too. "No, don''t. She didn''t do anything wrong. Since I''m a maid now, what''s a little extra work?" A grin spread across her face.

    "Well, yeah." A''Yan smiled as well. "But if you feel like anyone is purposefully making things difficult for you, you can always come find me. I know what it''s like to experience a tough time as a newbie."

    "Thanks, Brother A''Yan," Yujia agreed and nodded.

    A''Yan seemed like a genuinely nice person. After all the people she had come across so far today, with Yufeng and her sharp attitude, Xin''er and her dull silence, and Biyao, who Yujia didn''t get the best vibes from, receiving some kindness was refreshing.

    "Shen Yuling!" a voice suddenly called out.

    Yujia spun around, seeing Xie Yufeng leaning out of the kitchen door. Yufeng''s eyes were fixed on her, but they glanced over to A''Yan, noticing that the two were together. Her eyes narrowed.

    "You take so long to even fetch water," she complained. Yufeng then waved her hand, gesturing for Yujia to get into the kitchen.

    "Sure, sure," Yujia replied, nodding and waving to A''Yan with a smile before following Yufeng into the kitchen.

    In the kitchen, she was given more things to do, mainly washing vegetables. And although Yujia was still very exhausted, washing vegetables wasn''t anything too new. She took this time to think carefully about things.

    A''Yan told her that the head maid was Biyao. Biyao was a name on the list of suspects.

    Lu Biyao¡ª one of the maids who had stayed longer in the villa compared to the rest of the newly brought in servants. She was in charge of management, mostly, and never did much actual work. Yujia could see that much from her interactions with this maid today.

    Since her name was on the list of suspects, Biyao had every bit of a possibility of being a thief. Yujia decided to watch out for her.

    Yujia wondered when she would have time to do some actual investigation. So far, she had been too occupied. But the day had just begun, and there was still a long day ahead of her.

    She could take things slow.

 262 A Plan From the Detective

    While Yujia worked in the kitchen, she glanced over at the maid next to her. It was yet another face she couldn''t recognize, making Yujia truly glad that the Yang Villa changed out all their servants for new ones. Her undercover process was going well.

    The maid looked fairly young, in her twenties, with tan skin and soft features. She was also washing some leafy greens. Yujia glanced at the young woman''s hands, noticing that on her wrist, a pretty light jade bracelet hung. She then glanced over at the hair of the young woman. There was a hairpin stuck in there, keeping her hair up in a bun.

    What was unusual was not the presence of the hairpin. It was that the hairpin seemed to be made of pure silver. A vivid blue jewel was encrusted at the tip of the hairpin. It was the sort of hairpin that would not catch too much attention from far away, but from up close, one could definitely tell that it would sell for a decent price.

    Yujia turned her focus back on the basin and the vegetables she washed. She thought about the jewelry the maid wore carefully.

    Then, she looked up again. "Sister," she asked, "the greens that I wash seem to have a lot of sand and grit in them."

    The young woman looked up, nodding. "Those vegetables do have a bit of grit. Just make sure you wash them through more than three times. If you rinse them enough, the sand will naturally go away."

    "Ah, I see." Yujia smiled. "I''m new to here. You can call me Ling''er. May I know what to call Sister by?"

    "Calling me Nuonuo is fine," she answered, returning the smile. Seeing that there was nothing else to talk about, she went back to focusing on her task. Yujia did so as well, thoughts running through her mind.

    Xu Nuo¡ª that was yet another name on the list of suspects.

    ¡­

    The day passed quickly. During the day, Yujia did a bit of more observation whenever she could, as well as some asking around. Through subtle questions she wove into conversations with other servants, she found out both a decent amount of useless gossip as well as a key piece of information.

    Xu Nuo, the young woman wearing fancy jewelry from before, apparently came from a poor family. Her mother and father were both very ill. That was why she sold herself to the life of a maid to support her parents. As a result, all of the money she earned from her work was also sent to her family, covering both their living costs, the medicine fees, and a bit of debt her father had accumulated.

    By all logic, she shouldn''t have had enough spare money to buy fancy jewelry for herself. Thus, it made Yujia highly suspicious of the bracelet and hairpin she saw the young woman wearing.

    She considered the possibility of the jewelry being family heirlooms. However, Yujia considered the chances small. If she had debt, surely, a higher priority would be to sell off the heirlooms to make some money.

    For now, she decided to keep a closer watch on Xu Nuo.

    But as Yujia laid in the still night, staring at the ceiling, the gears in her brain were spinning furiously. A plan was beginning to cook up in her brain.

    Slowly, in the darkness, a smile began to spread across her face.

    ¡­

    The next day came early, with all the servants required to wake up quite early. Thankfully, Yujia had developed this habit from all her time in Lingxin, so she didn''t mind waking up at the crack of dawn too much.

    As servants began to busy themselves across all the courtyards, Yujia stayed in the room to do some cleaning. She made all the beds, swept the floors, and pushed open the windows for fresh air.

    Part of what she anticipated about going undercover in the Yang Villa was meeting Hui''er. She wasn''t sure if she wanted to, or if it was better to avoid meeting her former servant. Except, during her entire first day, she hadn''t seen Hui''er. Maybe she had been assigned to another courtyard. Maybe she had been kicked out of the Yang Villa, sold off to another place. There were quite a few possibilities for Hui''er and her whereabouts.

    If she didn''t see Hui''er at all during her entire stay in the villa, Yujia planned on searching for the whereabouts after she solved the case of the thieves. It was yet another thing added to her future to-do-list.

    When the sun rose up a little more in the sky, Yujia was called out by Xie Yufeng.

    Yufeng was holding a bucket of clothes again, shoving them in Yuija''s direction. "Go wash these," she said bluntly. "And you can fetch the water again too, after you''re done washing."

    Traumatic flashbacks of yesterday surfaced in Yujia''s mind. She already woke up with sore arms and an aching back. She had to carry water again?

    Her eyes narrowed. If the maid who was managing all the tasks, Lu Biyao, really wanted Yujia to do it, surely she would''ve told Yujia that herself. What was the point of calling Yufeng to then call Yujia?

    "Why am I doing it?" Yujia blurted out.

    Yufeng rolled her eyes. She set the bucket on the floor, crossing her arms. "I told you to do it, so go do it. You can''t even wash clothes properly, so here''s some decent practice."

    Some people passing by were stopping to look, making Yujia relent. She wasn''t trying to draw attention to herself. With the plan she had thought up of last night in her mind, perhaps it was even good luck that she was given a task which would involve leaving the villa.

    And so, Yujia put on a sweet smile, grabbing the two buckets from the floor. "Then, I''ll go wash them. Thank you Sister Yufeng for giving me this wonderful ''practice''."

    ¡­

    Once outside the villa, Yujia didn''t go directly to the river. Halfway through, she switched paths, turning to a marketplace center near the river. She walked with a bucket of clothes on her arm and a slight hum in her voice.

    It was time to find some pretty little necklace, bracelet, or hairpin to call her "family heirloom", and a pawn shop looked like a perfect place.

    What Yujia expected to happen next was to find something she liked, pay for it with a satchel of taels she had buried in her deepest pockets, then carry out her plan later on that day.

    What Yujia didn''t expect to happen was to run into Yu Zixu.

 263 The Detective Breaks Character

    Upon seeing Yu Zixu, Yujia was about to blurt out "Senior Brother!" before she caught herself. She bowed her head down, respectfully saying, "Young Master, what a coincidence to see you here."

    They were still in public, after all. Breaking character would not be good.

    Zixu, a hand behind his back and another hand fanning himself lightly with a foldable fan, glanced at her. "Yu''er, what are you doing at a pawn shop? Did you find some valuables to sell?"

    "Well, I think it would be better to step aside to tell Young Master," she gestured her head outside.

    Zixu was alone, but the store owner behind the counter was definitely listening in on their conversation. The manager wasn''t subtle about it either, his eyes completely fixed on Yujia without moving. He must''ve thought that she had some good valuables he could buy for a deal.

    Hearing this, Zixu was quick to oblige, taking a step outside while Yujia followed.

    Once outside, in the shadows by the side of the building, Yujia thought of it as perfectly excusable to break character. She pulled out her satchel of taels, explaining to Zixu, "Senior Brother, I''m just trying to buy some pretty hairpin or necklace to call my family heirloom."

    Zixu, who wasn''t testing her this time, didn''t point out her act of breaking character. The expression on his face morphed into a crooked grin. "Couldn''t you just steal something from the Yang Villa and call it your family heirloom? Technically, you''re not in the wrong."

    "And get caught as the thief?" Yujia crossed her arms. "I would prefer not."

    He tilted his head. "Then, what do you need a fake family heirloom for?" She told him her plan. At the end of it, another smile bloomed across his face. "That sounds decent," he agreed.

    "Now that I''ve told you why I''m here, it''s your turn," Yujia replied.

    He answered in a straightforward manner. "I''m looking for paintings that may have been pawned."

    "Oh. Well then, you can go look for your paintings. I''ll go buy my fake heirloom." With that, Yujia turned to step back into the shop.

    Zixu''s arm reached out, gently grabbing her arm. "Wait."

    She stopped, and he dropped his hand just as quickly, moving to untie a pendant from his waist. It was made of precious white jade, but unlike the Lingxin one, which was circular, this pendant was a rounded rectangular shape. Attached to this block of jade were two rings of white jade that were locked together in a chain. From the chain, an elegant, dark, and twisted string hung. The bottom had a green jade bead and an attached tassel made from the same threads as the threads at the top.

    He pressed the pendant into her palm. When she raised her eyebrows at him, pushing the pendant back, he immediately responded, "Take it. I originally planned to sell this anyways in exchange for a few paintings, but it seems more useful to give to you."

    "Think about it. If the pawnbroker sees someone dressed as a poor maid pulling out a full, bulging satchel of silver taels like that, would he not see you as a thief? It''s better to just take this pendant from me." That was how Zixu explained his logic.

    "But¡ª" Yujia, with a pendant in one hand and a satchel of taels in the other, suddenly thrusted the satchel in Zixu''s direction. "Take this then. I can''t take something without paying for it, and if you were to give me the pendant like that, you wouldn''t have any money to buy paintings either."

    Zixu took the satchel, nodding with a smile. "Thanks. I''ll be sure to buy a few good paintings."

    "You better. Part of that money is from my hard earned funds," Yujia pointed out, pocketing the pendant. "You made a good point about the pawnbroker getting suspicious too," she added on, "Thank you for that. And the pendant."

    "No problem," he informed her, dismissively.

    "Then," Yujia raised her bucket of clothes, "I still have to do some washing. I''ll be leaving, Senior Brother."

    "Of course. Hope that all things go well for you. " He waved his hand.

    While Zixu went inside the pawn shop, Yujia ran back off towards the river.

    ¡­

    Once inside the shop, Zixu reached into his pocket, pulling out his own satchel of taels, which was more than full. He raised his other hand, looking at the satchel of taels his junior sister just forced him to take.

    He didn''t plan on selling the pendant at all. It was one of his favorite pendants that he wore on most days. But there was nothing else on him that could pass for a decent family heirloom.

    What could be the reason behind him giving Yang Yujia his favorite pendant? Well¡­

    While he looked through the paintings, he glanced through his peripheral vision at the pawnbroker who sat behind the counter that Zixu and Yujia talked near earlier. The middle-aged man sitting there looked normal now, but moments ago, during the conversation, Zixu saw something different in the man''s gaze¡ª something really quite lecherous that his junior sister either didn''t notice or chose to ignore.

    He waved his fan at himself a few times, pretending to be occupied by the lackluster paintings on the walls. From the corner of his vision, he continued to watch as a maid¡ª seemingly employed by the store¡ª walk into the room. And then, he watched as the pawnbroker stood up, going behind the young girl, leaning a little too close, and reaching over with his hands. She visibly stiffened up.

    Bile rose up in Zixu''s throat. He didn''t need to continue looking to know that his previous observations were definitely correct. Who knew what the filthy old man would try to do to his junior sister if Zixu didn''t stop her from going back to the store?

    The world was filled with disgusting people who would dare to do such acts even in broad daylight. Zixu had known this for a while now, with today only enforcing this knowledge some more in Zixu''s mind.

    The thought of buying any sort of painting completely wiped from his mind, Zixu shut his fan with a flick of his wrist and took a step back. He gestured at an object on a shelf and called over the maid who was being harassed to come help him with it. The girl immediately scurried over, glad to be given a reason to move. The pawnbroker stared at Zixu, fuming, but seeing that Zixu was a customer, he didn''t dare to do anything. He turned his attention way soon enough.

    As Zixu asked the maid a few questions, he passed some taels into her hand. She looked up, eyes wide and filled with bewilderment, but she understood his meaning soon enough.

    Once finished with that, Zixu tapped his fan against his chin and headed out the shop.

    On his way out, the pawnbroker jumped up, alert. His eyes were fixed on the two large satchels of taels Zixu had in one hand. "Noble, you''re not going to buy anything?" He clasped his hands together. "I saw you looking at paintings earlier. You were not interested in any of those?"

    "Hm?" Zixu stopped in his steps, raising his eyebrows. "Your items were all garbage, just like the person who sells them. Apologies, but I have no interest in buying things from human trash like you," Zixu hummed, a wide smile across his face.

    The man flinched, raising his voice and shouting, "You¡ª"

    Zixu didn''t have any interest in staying and hearing whatever this pathetic excuse for a human wanted to say, so he simply walked out.

    On his way back to the villa, he thought about why he helped that maid out. He didn''t usually help people if it didn''t benefit him to some degree. But in that situation, he just helped her out without thinking.

    Something within him had changed.

 264 Fishing Time and Bait from the Detective

    At the river, Yujia stared at her bucket of clothes. She thought about having to carry water again, but at least this time, she only had one bucket.

    Before she began, she stared up at the sky. It was humid today, more than it had been yesterday. She thought that with this gray, cloudy weather, it would rain. Except, it seemed like the rain gods just didn''t want too much rain touching this land, for other than a slight drizzle at midnight, it hadn''t rained any more. There were just clouds, clouds, and more clouds.

    She hoped that it wouldn''t rain while she was still out, washing clothes.

    Being near the river again wasn''t as nerve-wracking as it was yesterday. She got to work quickly without getting too afraid. She noticed how the river was slowly becoming normal in her mind. This was a good thing.

    As Yujia washed, her actions delicate but enough to get the grime out, she realized that the clothes weren''t cleaning all too well. She thought it was her lack of skills in the past, but perhaps that wasn''t the issue. Perhaps it was the soap that she was using.

    For a long, long moment, Yujia stared at the soap.

    Then, she decided to not pay it too much heed, scrubbing away at her clothes.

    ¡­

    Part of the morning had passed when Yujia finished. She stood up, stretched herself out, and gathered all her washed clothes. These would be rinsed and hung again in the Yang Villa, from what she noticed from yesterday.

    Previously, when she was supposed to carry water, she had to move the clothes to another bucket taken back by the other maids. That was when Yujia noticed how she had no way to fetch water if she only had one bucket, which was occupied by the wet clothes.

    A bright grin spread across Yujia''s face. She wouldn''t have to carry water.

    Yuija wondered if they even needed her to fetch water. Perhaps Xie Yufeng came up with it as another excuse to give Yujia extra work.

    At the thought of Yufeng, Yujia scrunched up her face. Then, she began to walk back to the villa.

    ¡­

    A''Yan was chopping wood again when Yujia walked in. Seeing that she wasn''t dying and dragging her arms, A''Yan didn''t rush over to help, rather setting another block of wood on a platform and splitting it with a swing of his axe.

    She went to go hang up the clothes on the racks she saw other maids dry out their laundry at. Part of this made Yujia miss the conveniences of the modern washing machine and dryer.

    When she was done with that, she headed in the direction of the kitchen to see if there was anything else she had to do. While she passed by A''Yan, exchanging a greeting, she noticed that the skin on his hand was scraped. He must''ve cut it somehow while chopping wood. The cut in the flesh was bleeding¡ª it looked like it hurt quite a bit¡ª but he wasn''t doing anything about it.

    Yujia pointed it out. "Is your hand okay?"

    It didn''t look like a small cut to Yujia. The part of the flesh that bled was about the length of a finger. Narrowing her eyes, Yujia said her thoughts out loud. "Is that so?" She spun to the kitchen. "Wait a moment."

    The next moment, she retrieved and brought out a bandage and some medicine. The kitchen had that, at least. She held the medicine out for A''Yan, instructing, "Be careful with these things. You might think it''s nothing, but what if the cut gets infected?"

    He took it from her, smiling. "Really? I didn''t think that far about it. Cuts like these happen all the time."

    "Then, you should take better care of yourself," Yujia retorted.

    Though A''Yan objected at first, with Yujia''s persuasion, he took the medicine soon enough. Carefully, he applied the ointment to his hand, all the while saying that he really didn''t need it. Next, Yujia handed him the bandages, but he paused.

    "Ling??er, I don''t mean bother you, but I really can''t tie a bandage with one hand. The ointment is already enough. Can we skip the bandages?" A''Yan suggested.

    Gathering her eyebrows, Yujia responded, "The bandages are the most important part. If you can''t do it yourself, then here¡ª"

    She reached forward, stretching out the strip of bandage and wrapping it around his cut. He winced, a tiny bit, at the tightness she applied the bandage at, but Yujia knew that some pressure was necessary to make the blood begin to clot. She wrapped the bandage a few more times, tied a knot, then dusted her hands off, complete.

    A''Yan held the bandaged hand in front of him, speculating, "I didn''t know Ling''er was knowledgeable in medicine."

    "I''m not," Yujia admitted. This was the truth. She could see how clumsily she tied the bandage. The only reason for why she knew that one needed to bandage up a wound was with common sense from modern times. "You really need to be more careful with your hand from now on," she advised.

    "I know, I know." He put on his cheeky grin as always. "Thanks Ling''er."

    "Of course." Yujia returned his smile.

    She exchanged a few more words with A''Yan, then went back to the kitchen.

    Establishing good relationships with other servants was always a good thing.

    ¡­

    Towards the evening, Yujia was making her way back to her room when she saw Xu Nuo, walking across the courtyard. Picking up her pace a little, Yujia walked until she was close enough to Xu Nuo, then purposefully tripped over a rock embedded in the dirt.

    In a series of rapid movements, Yujia threw her arms forward. From another perspective, she looked like she was holding her arm out to break her fall, but in reality, she was flipping her sleeve to make the pendant that Zixu gave her fall out.

    Sure enough, it worked like she wanted it to. The pendant flew out of her sleeve and got tossed a few feet away, in the grass.

    Immediately, Xu Nuo who just walked nearby, rushed forward, exclaiming, "Are you alright?"

    Yujia grimaced, her expression partially acting and partially real as well. Falling face-forward into the ground in such an aggressive manner wasn''t a comfortable action in any way, shape, or form. She propped herself up on one arm, then accepted Xu Nuo''s hand, which was reaching out.

    Once standing up, Yujia nodded and covered her face, as if she was embarrassed. "I''m okay, Sister Nuonuo. Thank you."

    "Not an issue." Xu Nuo smiled. She was about to head off, now that she saw that Yujia was fine, but Yujia couldn''t have the girl leave just like that.

    Yujia''s hand flew into her sleeve, and she cried out, "Oh no!"

    Xu Nuo paused, her eyebrows knitting. "What happened?"

    "I¡ª my pendant¡ª" As she said this, Yujia dropped to her knees and began searching in the grass. "Where did it go?"

    Xu Nuo looked around to help her search as well. Then, her eyes caught on something white in the grass, and she picked it up, handing it in Yujia''s direction. "Are you referring to this?"

    Yujia''s eyes widened the moment they saw the pendant in Xu Nuo''s hands. "Yes! That!"

    In a rushed movement, Yujia reached over to take it from Xu Nuo''s hands. She then quickly cleaned the pendant with the back of her sleeve, carefully looking at it from all angles to check for any cracks. Seeing that there were none, she let out a huge sigh of relief.

    "It seems like the pendant is really important to you," Xu Nuo pointed out.

    Eagerly nodding, Yujia responded, "It''s the only thing left that I have from my mother¡­ although it would get me a lot of taels on the market if I sold it, even if I was in complete poverty, I would not sell it¡­"

    She hoped that her little underlying message carried through to Xu Nuo''s ears. The pendant was worth a lot of money.

    Xu Nuo nodded as well. "I see. You should take better care of it, then."

    "I will! Thank you for the reminder, Sister Nuonuo!" Yujia put on an innocent grin.

    "Mhm."

    With that, Xu Nuo parted, and Yujia placed the pendant back into her sleeve, taking steps towards her room again. She was still smiling, this time with triumph that everything in her plan went well so far.

    Furthermore, Yujia also managed to do one extra thing this time around¡ª something unplanned for but something that would benefit her. This entire time, through her conversation with Xu Nuo, someone else was watching, and this someone was a person Yujia noticed in her peripheral vision. The head maid from before, with the sharp attitude towards her: Lu Biyao.

    This evening, Yujia managed to lure two fish near her hook. Tonight, she would see if one would really take the bait.

 265 A Fish for the Detective

    It was late. The candles were all blown out, and only the barest bit of light could be seen from a sliver of moonlight escaping from clouds. Yujia raised her hand in the darkness, faintly capable of seeing the outline of her hand amongst the shadows.

    In one hand, she clutched Zixu''s pendant. She laid on her side, her eyes wide open. Even though there was nothing to see, she wanted to be sure that she wasn''t going to fall asleep tonight. She had to stay awake, to see if the fish would take the bait.

    All around her, she could hear as the breathing of Xie Yufeng and Xin''er grew softer and softer, until they sounded like they were fast asleep.

    It was getting later and later, and in the darkness, doing nothing but staring at the pendant in her hand, Yujia felt like she was about to doze off too. She pinched herself, then dug her fingernails into her palm, preventing herself from doing so.

    She hoped that someone would come to steal her pendant soon. It would be horrible to stay awake the entire night, only to find that her efforts were in vain.

    In the darkness of the night, she began to doubt her plan. What if the fish decided to take the bait another day? What if the fish didn''t even take the bait in the first place?

    But then, right in the middle of her doubts, she heard footsteps.

    At first, Yujia thought she heard wrong, and that it was only the rustling of wind. The sound of footsteps was just so slow and muffled. But as the sound grew closer and closer, along with the slight creaking of wood, Yujia was sure that someone was coming.

    She bit down her smiler and forced her face to fall slack. Simultaneously, she closed her eyes and steadied her breath, mimicking the rhythm of the other sleeping people.

    Her ear twitched. Yujia focused more on what she could hear, envisioning the things that were happening.

    The person walked closer and closer to the place where Yujia slept. There was the sound¡ª a rustling of fabric¡ª signifying that they leaned forward. At this point, Yujia no longer relied on her ears. She could feel their hands leaning forward, shuffling in the darkness.

    They touched her arm, and she had to do her best not to flinch. She was a stone. A cold, lifeless stone. Being still was all she ever knew how to do. The god of rocks was watching over her tonight¡ª she would not move, she would not move, she would not move.

    While Yujia pretended to be a rock, the person''s hands patted down Yujia''s entire arm, at last landing on the pendant. Their skin brushed against her hand, and Yujia found that it was warm.

    The moment they grabbed onto her pendant, leaning back forward, Yujia broke out of her boulder-state. Her hand whipped out, latching onto the person''s wrist. She could hear a startled, but deep, yelp from this person.

    Deep?

    She shrieked.

    She shrieked as loud and long as she could, making her voice shrill and high-pitched. The scream pierced through the night, making even Yujia jump a little from her screech.

    Along with her screech, she leapt out of her bed and practically tackled the person. She grabbed onto both of their arms. They struggled, flailing their limbs to push her off, but Yujia wasn''t going to let go. Even if she had no muscles, she would hold on.

    In retrospect, Yujia wasn''t sure how she managed to hold on. Maybe it was the adrenaline rushing through her, giving her muscles that she didn''t know she had.

    Regardless, the eardrum-bursting screaming seemed to do its job. Both Yufeng and Xin''er woke up. Soon enough, the room became a mess of shrieks, screams, and shouts.

    Yujia wasn''t sure how long she held on for. She wasn''t sure how long she screamed either. But by the time she was pulled off this person, someone had already lit a few candles and lanterns. A crowd was drawn over, people squeezing into the room to see what happened in the middle of the night for sounds of a pig being slaughtered to echo from the old room of the Fourth Miss.

    Two people had dragged the person Yujia was clutched onto away from her. She fell to the floor on her knees, looking at the pendant which the person had dropped in the chaos. Hastily, she threw herself forward to grab it, dusting the pendant off.

    Then, she looked up, taking a look for the first time at who the thief was. Their face was masked before, and in the mess, she hadn''t been able to focus on their face. Now, someone had pulled off the black fabric covering their face.

    She expected to see the face of Xu Nuo or Lu Biyao.

    Instead, she saw the face of some unfamiliar man.

    What?

 266 If the 2 Was a 6, Thatâ€™s the Devilâ€™s Number

    Amongst all the chaos, someone had alerted Madam Zhang. A few moments later, Yujia found herself being led by a group of servants into the madam''s courtyard, where she then knelt, her eyes cast down. By her side, the servant who had stolen from her was tied up with ropes and similarly kneeling.

    Yujia glanced up for just a second, finding her eyes meeting with Madam Zhang''s cold gaze. There was no sign of recognition found in the woman''s eyes. She simply looked at Yujia with a blank stare, her eyebrows slightly raised in interest. In the dim candlelight, she slowly poured herself a cup of tea.

    It was late. It was so late that only the madam of the household was awakened. Not even Yujia''s father had been called for this.

    Yujia thought back to that time she followed Madam Zhang''s servant to the medicine shop, and discovered that Madam Zhang suffered from a bit of insomnia. Drinking tea would only keep her more alert and awake. So if she was an insomniac, why would she drink tea, knowing that it wouldn''t help her sleep later? Yujia found herself puzzled by that.

    The silence was tense. No one dared to say anything, waiting for the madam to speak.

    Madam Zhang clearly felt the stares of everyone on her, but she proceeded with taking a slow, long sip from her tea. She then placed the cup on the table, the soft clicking of porcelain against wood echoing in the silent room. After that, she folded her hands in her lap.

    And finally, at last, she spoke, her voice a slow drawl.

    "You were caught stealing from this maid. So, you are the thief?"

    Yujia viewed the thief, the man, through the side of her vision. He gulped, not even daring to look up. Yujia''s eyes slid down to his hands at his side. They were shaking.

    Seeing his lack of response, one corner of Madam Zhang''s lips curved up. "Who would''ve known that the thief turned out to be a mute? You will not even spare the effort of arguing for your case? Very well; that makes things easier for me as well."

    This urged the man to speak up. "Madam!" He threw himself to the floor as well as he could with his rope constraints, knocking his head against the wood. "I¡ª I really am not the thief!"

    Madam Zhang reached over to fill her cup of tea again while he spoke.

    "I¡ª I¡ª" the man stuttered, "I was not stealing anything! I was just in¡­ her room because¡ª because¡ª"

    "Because what? I don''t have all night to listen to you stutter," Madam Zhang snapped.

    "Well¡­" he took a deep breath, "That maid is very beautiful, and I¡­ had my eyes on her, so¡ª"

    Yujia felt her stomach lurch. Her eyes widened, threatening to pop out. The stares of the other servants in the room all fixed on her.

    What bullsh*t was this?

    She couldn''t help herself but to call out, her tone fuming, "Stop lying! It''s clear that you were trying to steal my pendant."

    Was it Yujia''s turn to argue her case? She took a deep breath and directly turned to face the man. "Your lie won''t help you. When I caught you stealing my pendant, I immediately called for help. Other servants must''ve seen how you were holding onto my pendant."

    "Is that true?" Madam Zhang fixed her gaze on a maid in the back: Xin''er. The madam reached out a finger, beckoning. "You, over there, tell me."

    Xin''er wrung her hands together, bowing deeply. "Madam, I¡­ wasn''t paying attention to the pendant at the time. All I know is that when they pulled away, the pendant¡­ it was on the floor."

    "Then!" Yujia immediately followed up, "If that evidence does not work, the entire time where I was yelling for help, I was clutching onto you to prevent you from running away. If you were truly harassing me in the middle of the night, do you not think that my first response would be to get away from you as far as possible? Why would I throw myself at you?"

    "That¡ª" the man scrunched his eyebrows together, at a loss for words.

    Yujia was not finished yet. "And lastly! I just woke up, but my immediate response is to call you a thief and that you stole my pendant. As I am the victim here, I think that I have the most right here to say what you were doing versus what you were not doing. Never have I brought up the possibility that you were harassing me. All along, I have only been claiming that you are a thief. Why would I do that if you were doing anything else?"

    Madam Zhang tapped her fingers against the table. "She has a point."

    The thief threw himself onto the floor again. "Madam¡ª I¡ª really, I''m not the thief!"

    "The evidence is clear," the madam waved her hand dismissively. "Tell me, were you also the thief who stole all those things from the villa prior? If you admit to your crimes, perhaps I can lighten your inevitable sentence."

    "No, Madam, I was not! I swear, I wasn''t!"

    In a disappointed manner, Madam Zhang sighed. "Alright then, denial to the end. Come, someone take this man away and lock him in the shed. Tomorrow morning, send him to the magistrate to get both hands chopped off."

    "Madam!" The thief exclaimed, his voice becoming a desperate cry. "No¡ª I¡ª I''m innocent! Please! Believe me, I am not the thief!"

    Madam Zhang raised two fingers to her temple, rubbing it, her eyebrows furrowing. "So noisy. What are you all doing? Has sleep addled your brain? Take him away already," she commanded the servants standing at the side.

    He continued to scream, "I wasn''t a thief¡ª this was all a¡ª"

    Two servants rose up, grabbing him and muffling his mouth, as per the madam''s statement that he had been too noisy. He flailed his body as best as he could, but in the end, he was dragged away by the servants.

    "Now," Madam Zhang smiled a malicious smile, watching the servant get dragged off, "Excellent job finding the thief." Seeing that there were still a few servants in the room, she mused, "What is your name, maid?"

    "Ah, this maid is Shen Yuli¡ª" Yujia began, but she was cut off by another servant hastily scrambling into the room, throwing himself on the floor.

    "What is it?" Staring at this unexpected servant, Madam Zhang asked, her tone sharp.

    "Madam!" the servant called out, a bit breathless, "Just now¡ª just now, the Fifth Miss was awakened, saying that she heard a commotion! And that her matching jade bracelets have disappeared!"

 267 Heavy Disappointment for the Detective

    Hearing that a new thievery case occurred in the Fifth Miss''s villa, Madam Zhang blinked. Then, slowly, she rose up from her chair, an eyebrow cocked. She opened her mouth but bit back the words before they came out. Instead, she chose to say after a pause, "The Fifth Miss is safe?"

    "Indeed, Madam," the servant responded, his voice holding a tremble.

    She continued her interrogation. "And you say that only a set of jade bracelets disappeared?"

    "Yes, only a set of bracelets. The Fifth Miss says that she only noticed because that set was precious to her. If it was any other set, she said she might not have even realized, even if there had been a commotion."

    "The commotion occurred while that other thief was in this room, being questioned?"

    At this, the servant nodded in agreement.

    Madam Zhang fell silent. She sat down again. The only sound in the room was the sound of her nails tapping against the arm of the wooden chair.

    A long, tense moment passed.

    The madam looked up, eyes fixing on Yujia. She then glanced at the other servants in the room, waving her arm with a swoop. "All of you, exit. Except for you¡ª" She pointed at Yujia. "You stay behind. I still have things to ask you."

    Without any objections, all the servants left the room. The moment the doors closed, Madam Zhang beckoned for Yujia to take a seat. Yujia listened.

    "Tell me what you''re thinking of," the madam ordered.

    Yujia looked at the table. "There has to be more than one thief, obviously. And¡­"

    She paused, thinking about the events that happened during the evening. She thought about her set up, with the pendant. She thought about how she clearly dropped it in a time where only two people should''ve seen it: Xu Nuo and Lu Biyao. She thought about how the thief from before claimed so fervently that he hadn''t been the thief in all the past cases. She thought about the list of items in all the past cases, with some of them being large vases that couldn''t be easily stolen away by a single person. She thought about Manyu, stealing necklaces. She even thought about the time where her taels were stolen¡ª the strange scent in the air at the time, the way she blacked out¡­

    An idea struck her.

    "There''s a network of thieves," Yujia blurted. "There has to be a network of them. There''s no way that all of this is the act of a single thief. Or even two thieves. There has to be many of them."

    Madam Zhang folded her hands together, noting, "I was thinking that as well."

    Yujia found her words coming out rushed now. "It would explain why everything in the villa has been happening without end. Even after changing servants, the few thieves that were kept behind could''ve recruited new thieves. Even after tightening security, there was no purpose if the thieves bribed the security to turn a blind eye."

    Yujia agreed to this statement from Madam Zhang.

    Following this, Madam Zhang sighed. "I originally thought that you would be done with this, but things were not as simple as I calculated. Keep staying in the villa, I suppose. Keep going undercover. See if there''s anything that you can dig up. Tomorrow, before that thief in the shed is sent over to be punished, you may interrogate him for clues if you wish."

    "Alright."

    ¡­

    In the silence of the night, Yujia made her way back to her room. The candles were all blown out again, but Yujia knew that neither Xie Yufeng or Xin''er were asleep. Unlike before, their breaths were now shallow. The events of this night had been too chaotic to fall asleep easily afterwards.

    Just like them, Yujia laid down in the darkness. She went over every single detail that happened today in her thoughts. She also went through so many past details she had memorized.

    Tonight, her pendant was almost stolen. If she was just an ordinary maid, just a clueless Shen Yuling, she probably would''ve let it happen without noticing. This proved the greedy, merciless nature of the thieves. Instead of stealing from just their masters, they would not spare their fellow servants either.

    Tonight, Yang Xiaoyi also had her bracelets stolen. But there had been a commotion¡ª one that was loud enough to wake her up. Based on the cautious nature of the thieves, they shouldn''t have made a commotion loud enough to wake the Fifth Miss. Was the Fifth Miss just a light sleeper? Or did some mistake occur?

    Or, did the thieves possibly plan to wake her up?

    Perhaps this was planned. Perhaps the thieves wanted to wake Yang Xiaoyi up, but for what purpose? A distraction?

    Sh*t¡ª she completely forgot.

    Yujia flinched. She sat up. Her eyes widened.

    Cursing under her breath, she pushed the blankets off of her and scrambled out of her bed. Not even bothering to wear her shoes, she dashed to the doors, running outside.

    Shed. The shed that Madam Zhang ordered for that thief who tried stealing Yujia''s pendant. The shed that the servant was supposed to be locked in, until tomorrow morning, where he would be escorted to the magistrate to be punished. It was supposed to be a shed in the current courtyard Yujia was in. There were no other sheds in other places.

    Grass crumpled underneath Yujia''s bare feet as she raced across the courtyard, in the direction of the shed. She didn''t have time to think.

    By the time she made it to the shed, the front door was already left swung open¡ª not locked. Yujia looked inside. There was no one in the shadows.

    She turned, her heart racing as she made her way to the back doors of the courtyard. The lock that was usually there was gone. There were clear traces that someone opened it and left.

    At the sight of this, Yujia''s heart sunk.

    The fear that had suddenly stricken her mind came true.

    The thievery at the courtyard of the Fifth Miss was planned to be a distraction. Seeing that one of their fellow thieves had been exposed, the team set forth a plan to distract. And so, they caused a commotion. They woke the Fifth Miss up. They organized a servant who ran over to Madam Zhang''s room, reporting the case. And while Madam Zhang and everyone else was distracted with this new occurrence, they snuck the thief locked in the shed out of the villa, away from danger.

    Tomorrow morning, no one would be escorted to the magistrate. No one would be punished for their crimes. No one could even be interrogated.

    The thief had escaped, and Yujia''s elaborate plan tonight could''ve possibly been for nothing.

    Why, just why, hadn''t she realized this sooner?

    ¡­

    After a few more moments standing at the back doors, staring at the opened lock, a chilly night breeze made Yujia shiver. She made her way back to the room, her heart heavy.

    Once again lying down, Yujia realized that though it was disappointing that the thief had escaped, her plan definitely hadn''t been a waste. At least through doing this, she managed to figure out that there was some sort of network of thieves. The escape of that thief proved her point even further. There was definitely a team working together on all these acts of thievery.

    She pondered how to figure out who was in the group of thieves.

    Would it be a better solution for Yujia to just tell the Madam to fire all the servants in the villa? Though Yujia could probably discover one thief, she wasn''t confident of her skills to find every single person in a group of them.

    A strand of cold moonlight filtered through the clouds, beaming through the window. Yujia pulled the pendant in her sleeve out, holding it up to the faint moonlight. The light caught perfectly on the white jade, making it almost glow in the darkness.

    What would Yu Zixu do in this situation? What would he plan?

    Thinking in that way¡ª in the perspective of Zixu¡ª a strategy began to come together in Yujia''s mind.

 268 A Location Change for the Detective

    Eventually, Yujia came to the conclusion that the end goal was to infiltrate the ring of thieves. Therefore, the first step was getting out of the South Courtyard. Yujia realized that after what happened with her crazy screaming and thief-exposing, the thieves in the South Courtyard would have their defenses up against her.

    She needed to find a way to get into some other courtyard. The main courtyard where Madam Zhang resided was a no. She felt like it would be very suspicious for her to transfer over there. This also meant that since the First Miss lived in the same courtyard, Yujia only had one choice left: the North Courtyard, otherwise known as the courtyard of the Fifth Miss.

    And so, Yujia began to scheme ways to get into that courtyard through any possible means.

    A few days passed by, without Yujia taking much action to keep herself low on the radar. Besides subtly digging up more information, she focused on her maid duties. Xie Yufeng continued pushing difficult and undesirable tasks onto Yujia, like scrubbing chamber pots. Xin''er continued being quiet. Lu Biyao, the head maid, seemed more sharp than before. Xu Nuo, who Yujia wanted on the hook, stopped talking to Yujia.

    The behavior of Biyao and Nuonuo only made Yujia more suspicious. Even if she couldn''t catch these people red-handed yet, she was positive that they had to be involved with the thieves in some way.

    The only person who continued to treat Yujia well was none other than A''Yan. He was the only one to show concern about the thievery case after her pendant was almost stolen. For the next few days, Yujia also relied on him for just socializing purposes. She could see why he was so popular around the villa now¡ª with a personality that kind and friendly, it was impossible not to like him.

    One morning, after those slow days before, Yujia finally found an opportunity.

    Xie Yufeng passed another bucket of laundry to her¡ª clothes from the North Courtyard. Yujia never thought she would be happier to see that she was given laundry tasks again.

    Humming under her breath, she made her way to the river. Halfway, after making sure that no one was following her, she deviated from her path, heading to Lingxin.

    It had been a while since she stepped into the academy. Yujia knew she couldn''t stay for long, however, so she went through the back entrance. Once in the villa, she didn''t try visiting her master or senior brother. Even though she wanted to, she knew that they would definitely enter a long conversation, and when people in the Yang Villa discovered that she was gone the whole morning and afternoon, she would end up appearing even more suspicious.

    She went straight to her purpose. Sneaking into the bathroom of her courtyard, Yujia grabbed a whole lot of soap and detergent, all the while throwing the soap she received from the Yang Villa to the side.

    At the river, Yujia used the new soap to wash the clothes. Immediately, she could see a difference.

    The soap that Yujia used previously was low quality. She noticed it the second time washing clothes, how it didn''t work that well.

    Now, the soap she used now was formulated specially by her master''s late wife and fellow transmigrator like her, Wei Yunjing. Not only was it made of higher quality ingredients, but the way that the soap was created was also at a higher level than whatever technology was used to make the Yang Villa''s soap.

    Yujia found the stains washing from the clothes with much more ease. As she washed, she also noticed that the soap was scented, like how she remembered it to be. The delicate floral scent within the soap freshened the clothes, clinging onto it even after the robes had been rinsed in water. When they dried, the clothes would definitely still hold some of the floral scent of the soap.

    Some of these robes belonged to Yang Xiaoyi. Yujia recognized the silk that her younger sister liked to wear. Xiaoyi habitually used the kinds of perfumes that were around during this era, but Yujia was confident that Xiaoyi never had her clothes washed with soap this nice.

    If her plan worked out well, then perhaps she would find herself moving to the North Courtyard as early as tomorrow morning¡­

    ¡­

    The next morning, the Fifth Miss, Yang Xiaoyi, got out of bed as usual, stretching her arms in front of her. She waited as her maid, A''Ling, carried over a set of robes for her to wear.

    As she put them on, Xiaoyi raised the sleeve to her face, a faint floral scent greeting her nose. Upon noticing that, she paused, paying more attention to the scent, which was a refreshing fusion of jasmine, rose, and sandalwood. Whoever paired the aromas together had an obvious skill in fragrances.

    She dropped her sleeve, a light smile tracing her lips. She glanced over at A''Ling, asking, "Did you add some sort of fragrance to the clothes?"

    A''Ling shook her head. "No, Miss. These robes were washed by the South Courtyard servants yesterday and sent over. I haven''t done anything."

    "I see." Xiaoyi nodded, raising the sleeve to her face again. The fragrance was light, nowhere near overwhelming or obvious. She liked that, how it was more subtle. "Ask for who washed the clothes yesterday, and bring them to this courtyard. I want them to work for me," she informed A''Ling.

    A''Ling nodded and headed out, likely finding a servant to send to fetch that maid who washed the clothes.

    ¡­

    Yujia was washing vegetables when a servant came to fetch her. She apparently came from the North Courtyard.

    Hearing this, Yujia slowly set the greens in her hand down in the basin.

    Then, she smiled.

    ¡­

    What Yujia did not expect was being brought in front of Xiaoyi.

    She wanted to work in the shadows, yet the Fifth Miss requested for a personal audience with her. Yujia couldn''t refuse. She would be an insane servant to refuse going to your master when called for.

    Her plan of getting into the North Courtyard went well, but a little too well.

    So, in the next moment, she was alone in the room with her younger sister, an awkward smile spreading across her face. Yujia could only think of six words to say.

    "Hey Sis; it''s been a while."

 269 Moving and the Detective

    From the moment that Yujia stepped into the room and when Yang Xiaoyi registered her face, Xiaoyi had been gaping. Immediately after Yujia passed her lackluster greeting, Xiaoyi looked like she had an ocean of words she wanted to blurt out.

    But, after glancing around the room, Xiaoyi seemed to have the discretion not to yell. Instead, she lowered her voice, hissing, "Older Sister, how¡ª what are you doing here? Or no, ignore that question, rather¡ª where have you been?"

    Yujia helped herself to a chair. It was nice to not have to pretend the status of a maid right now. She thought about Zixu. After all those lessons, he would be disappointed to see her break character in the villa.

    A sense of dread rose up with Yujia. Zixu''s lessons did have a point. Breaking character in the villa was a bad idea, even if Yujia was in a private place. Perhaps a maid could come bursting into the room. If an outsider saw Yujia, who was presumably a maid, sitting in the seat where a master was supposed to be, that would definitely raise questions.

    So not even a second of sitting passed before Yujia went back to standing.

    Xiaoyi seemed like she wanted to question that, but Yujia spoke up ahead of her.

    "I''ve been in Lingxin. It''s actually fairly nice living there, in comparison to this villa. Xiaoyi, you should come over to live with me."

    Xiaoyi''s jaw dropped. "You''re joking, in this situation?"

    "You''re upset with me?" Yujia asked in response.

    Eyes widening as if she couldn''t believe that Yujia asked such a question, Xiaoyi retorted, "You just vanished off the map without leaving a single word. I didn''t even know if you were dead or alive. Do you know how worried I''ve been? And now, you come back, looking like this¡ª how do you expect me to process all of this without getting upset?"

    She had a point.

    Yujia closed her eyes and bowed deeply. "I apologize, Younger Sister. But back then, I really didn''t have time to leave a note. You understand me, right? And besides, who am I? Do you really think that I''m the type to die that easily?" Yujia couldn''t help the corners of her lips from twitching upwards.

    "Gosh, you sound just like her¡ª" Xiaoyi groaned, waving her hand for Yujia to stand. "Older Sister Yichen, I mean. Those are almost the exact same words that she told me after she came back for the first time."

    Yujia raised her brows slightly. The more she heard about this Second Miss Yichen, who ran away to the army, the more intriguing she was. If possible, she would really like to meet Yichen sometime.

    "But, does Father know you''re here? And the Madam?" Xiaoyi pressed.

    Yujia answered, "I''m here secretly. Doing some¡­ things for Madam Zhang. Father doesn''t know. I''m just another maid in the villa to everyone else."

    "What things? Can you explain?" Xiaoyi continued asking.

    At the end of her explanation, Xiaoyi was gaping again. She didn''t reply immediately, instead choosing to pour herself a cup of tea and to raise the cup shakily to her lips. At the end of her drink, she finally spoke up. "Sorry, this is just¡­ a lot to take in."

    "I know." Yujia let out a small sigh.

    Who wouldn''t be surprised to find out that their half-sister was going on an undercover infiltration mission to dig up a bunch of thieves in the villa you''ve lived in all your life?

    "Anyways, want to help me?" Yujia blurted out to break the silence that followed her words.

    "How?" Xiaoyi''s eyebrows knitted.

    "I need to stay in your courtyard for a while. Your personal maid, the one always around you, knows my face, I think. So, I need to stay away from her. For the next few days, just keep her near you at all times, if possible. That''s all I need," Yujia informed, then smiled. "You can help me with that, right?"

    ¡­

    Xiaoyi agreed. After chatting with her some more, Yujia was sent back to the South Courtyard to fetch her belongings. She was going to move into the North Courtyard from now on, perfectly fitting into her plans.

    Inside her room, Yujia really had little to take. She was simply folding a set of robes when Xie Yufeng walked into the room.

    "You''re moving out?" Yufeng casually asked.

    Yujia nodded, continuing to fold her robes silently.

    Yufeng didn''t mind the coldness, replying, "Well, great. Glad that you''ll be gone."

    "Great"? "Glad that you''ll be gone"?

    Yujia really wanted to ask what this girl meant by those words. Did Xie Yufeng really just dislike her that much? But why? What had she ever done to offend her?

    Again, Yujia knew that Yufeng was likely trying to get a rise out of her. That was what she had been trying to do all along. Because Yujia never gave Yufeng the response she wanted, that was also why Yufeng had continued testing her boundaries. That had to be the reason why, right?

    "We probably won''t be interacting much in the future," Yujia responded, her tone calm, "So wishing you good luck." She bit down the ''hoping we never talk again'' that she wanted to say.

    Yufeng nodded in response. "Good luck to you too."

    At least this time, she was civil.

    Yujia grabbed her robes and few belongings, heading out the room and leaving it at that. On the way out, she ran into A''Yan.

    A''Yan glanced at the belongings in her arms, noting, "You''re moving to another courtyard?"

    "Yep." Yujia smiled. "I''ll be in the North Courtyard if you ever need to find me in the future."

    "Sure," A''Yan agreed with a smile back, "and I''ll just be here, always. If you ever need anything, don''t hesitate to ask as always. I''ll do my best to help."

    "Thank you for always caring." Yujia bowed.

    As she left the conversation at that, heading in the direction of Xiaoyi''s courtyard, Yujia couldn''t help but think of Xie Yufeng again. In comparison to the normal, human interaction Yujia had with A''Yan, Xie Yufeng''s snappish attitude seemed even more apparent now.

    Ah, really, what was wrong with that girl?

 270 New Friend of the Detective

    Once life in the North Courtyard began, Yujia''s day-to-day tasks were much easier. She went from scrubbing chamber pots and carrying buckets of water to watering plants and gathering flower petals. In fact, Yujia even dared to say that she enjoyed doing some of the tasks she was given. Playing around with creating fragrances was actually quite fascinating and enlightening.

    Of course, consequently, these small tasks weren''t very time consuming. Yujia discovered that she had a lot more time to work on case-related things. Clearly, the free spaces in her schedule had to be the work of Yang Xiaoyi¡ª and Yujia was infinitely grateful to her younger sister for that.

    She came up with the theory that there had to be a few thieves in the North Courtyard. When she asked Xiaoyi about items that have gone missing, the younger girl managed to pull up a whole list of items just from her courtyard Therefore, Yujia knew that there had to be a few thieves lurking around.

    As a result, for the next few days, Yujia got closer with a few new faces. In particular, there was one girl, Lianye, who Yujia talked the most with. There were two reasons for why Yujia became close with her.

    Firstly, Lianye was on the list of suspects which Yujia memorized.

    Secondly, Lianye was a naturally¡ª and perhaps overly¡ª chatty person.

    The moment Yujia moved into the North Courtyard, Lianye immediately latched onto her, eager to make another friend. She was excited to meet a new face just as how Yujia was excited to meet another suspect. It ended up with Lianye being the one who introduced Yujia to the daily schedule of the Fifth Miss and the one who accompanied Yujia in most of her tasks. During the time that she interacted with Yujia, even if she had the dullest topics to discuss, Lianye also always had something to say. She could weave an engaging story out of the most mundane of things, so it wasn''t like her rambles were boring to listen to either. Her chatting skills may have been a bit overwhelming at times, but in most cases, Yujia found it nice to have someone to talk to.

    If Yujia could describe the sort of energy that radiated off of Lianye, she would acquaint it to the hyper energy of a puppy.

    While the days passed, Yujia admitted that she didn''t want Lianye to be one of the thieves. She knew that because Lianye''s name was on the suspect page, it would really be a pity to see a young girl¡ª Lianye was barely fifteen¡ª corrupted by the path of thievery.

    ¡­

    It was one calm morning when Yujia had a surprising conversation with Lianye.

    Yujia had been watering some flowers, deep in thought, when Lianye popped out of nowhere, holding a pastry in her hand. She greeted Yujia with a bright smile, her usual large, doe-like eyes shining with excitement.

    "Sister Ling!" Lianye called out, skipping in front of the plants that Yujia was watering, "Guess what?"

    "I was just dropping by the kitchen to fetch tea for the Fifth Miss, and I ran into Brother A''Yan! And then¡ª and then he gave me this pastry!" She raised the pastry up. Instead of waving it around, her movements were careful and delicate as if she didn''t want to lose a single crumb.

    Yujia continued watering. Hearing about one of A''Yan''s kind acts was not anything new. "That''s nice," she remarked simply, "Hope the pastry tastes good."

    Lianye turned the pastry around in her hand, looking at it from all sides. "I almost can''t bear to eat it! Hehe. I know it''s just a pastry but it''s a gift from Brother A''Yan¡ª so it''s really precious, right?"

    At this, Yujia raised an eyebrow. "You think so?" A smile graced her lips. "Don''t tell me¡­ you have a small crush on him?"

    "What?" Lianye immediately exclaimed, jumping. "No! Who says that I do? I would never¡ª no¡ª never ever! Brother A''Yan is just like ah¡ª uhm¡ª an older brother!"

    Yujia held back a laugh. Based on the flustered blush creeping across Lianye''s face, Yujia would be surprised if she was expected to believe Lianye.

    She closed her eyes and nodded. "Alright, alright, whatever you say. So, tell me, what do you like so much about him?"

    Lianye continued denying. "No! I really don''t like him! I mean¡ª I like him, but not that way! Definitely not! Why would you even suggest that? What made you think so? I¡ª we¡ª this is impossible! It''s impossible for me to have a crush on him!"

    "Sure¡ª" Yujia slowly continued nodding. "Lianye, you are a really bad actor."

    Hearing this, Lianye fell silent for a few moments. She bit her lip and scrunched her face up, then looked up. "Alright, okay! I admit it! I do like him¡­ a little bit! But just a little bit! Okay?"

    "Yes, yes, just a little bit." Yujia grinned.

    Ah. Young love. Yujia remembered her days back in high school, with her crush on Yu Zixu''s lookalike, Wu Hao. Wasn''t she also easily flustered like this?

    Yujia was about to remark that perhaps A''Yan was a little too old for Lianye. He was around twenty, after all, and she was only fifteen. Yet after thinking her comment through, Yujia decided against it. These were the ancient times, so she supposed that their age gap standards were slightly different. Besides, Lianye''s adoration for A''Yan seemed to resemble that of a fangirl to their idol. The chances of an actual relationship between Lianye and A''Yan seemed fairly nonexistent.

    It might be a better decision to not say anything too against this crush, or anything too supportive towards it.

    Before Yujia could decide what to remark on, Lianye started talking again. "Sister Ling, don''t tell anyone about this, okay? You better not. Especially not to Brother A''Yan!"

    "Of course," Yujia agreed.

    "But! Can I admit something to you?" Lianye leaned forward, her eyebrows knitted.

    Yujia answered, "Yes. I''m always willing to listen. What is it?"

    "I think I lied before¡ª" Lianye blurted, "I don''t like him just a little bit¡ª I think I like him a lot! What do I do? It was just a few days ago when I started realizing this because he was really kind and helpful and he lent me a hand with carrying fabrics for the Fifth Miss and then I started having these feelings! But it''s so awkward to face him now and I don''t like how my face gets all heated up or anything! Except at the same time it''s kind of exciting yet also depressing ''cause I feel like if I say anything about it, he won''t like me very much or return my feelings and I don''t want to risk that!"

    Yujia stopped watering the plants. She reached forward and patted Lianye''s shoulder, advising, "Just let those feelings sit for a few days. Maybe you''ll come back to it and realize that they aren''t as passionate as you thought they were. Young love is always like that."

    "You sound like a grandma!" Lianye declared with a snicker. "Sister Ling, should I begin calling you Grandma Ling instead?"

    Pretending to pout, Yujia said, "I''m just telling you from experience."

    Lianye''s eyes lit up again. "What experience? Tell me, was there maybe¡ª hehe¡ª a guy you liked in the past? Who?"

    Yujia thought about Wu Hao. Obviously, she couldn''t tell Lianye about him.

    And then, for some reason, Yu Zixu''s face surfaced in her mind¡ª perhaps because he shared the same face as Wu Hao.

    The moment when Yujia realized that she was thinking about Zixu at this question, she immediately straightened up, blowing those thoughts away.

    Her lips curved up, deciding to answer Lianye by saying, "Maybe you''re right. I don''t know much about love anyways, so I really am not qualified to give advice."

    ¡­

    Towards late noon, Yujia was sitting at the same spot where she was at in the morning, staring at the flowers she had been watering earlier. She was thinking about the case and methods to perfect her strategy when in the corner of her vision, she saw a familiar face peeking through the front arch of the yard: A''Yan.

    Seeing it was him, Yujia stood up. She walked over and called out, "Brother A''Yan, what are you doing here? Looking for Lianye?"

    His eyes met with hers. "Lianye? Why would I be looking for her?" he asked, tilting his head.

    "Nevermind¡ª" Yujia quickly said, realizing that she shouldn''t have brought up the name of the younger girl.

    "Oh, okay," A''Yan responded, "Actually, I was looking for you."

    "For what reasons? Did you need my help in anything?" she questioned with a puzzled smile.

    He pressed his lips into a thin line. "No, well, there''s a small light festival coming up tomorrow. I was wondering if you were interested in going to see the lanterns with me.??? A small smile now traced his expression.

    Yujia paused. "We''re allowed to, as servants?"

    A''Yan nodded. "All the other servants are planning to go look. It''s one of the rare occasions, you know?"

    Then, Yujia definitely could not go to look at some lights. As fun as it sounded, she knew that this was one of the opportunities that she had been looking for¡ª one where most of the servants were out of the villa and she could snoop around without fear.

    So, she had to apologize with a lie, "Sorry¡ª but I don''t really like large crowds." Seeing how A''Yan''s expression immediately fell, Yujia hastily added on, "It''s nothing against you¡ª I just really don''t like crowds."

    He scratched his neck, looking down. "Alright. That''s fine. I understand."

    "I''m really sorry," Yujia continued to apologize profusely.

    "Nah. You''re good," A''Yan assured, now looking up with a smile¡ª one that didn''t seem as bright as before. "Sorry for bothering. I''ll get going now."

    The moment he left, someone leapt out in front of Yujia¡ª Lianye.

    Her eyes were wide, and she pointed back in forth between Yujia and the place where A''Yan was just standing. "What was that, just now?" Lianye demanded to know.

    "Nothing much." Yujia began walking back to her previous spot, a bit guilty at making A''Yan this disappointed. "He just wanted me to go with him to the light festival tomorrow, and I said no."

    Lianye''s eyes threatened to pop out. "Are you crazy? I¡ª you''re so lucky! And you just said no?"

    What could she say? Yujia really just needed an opportunity to explore the villa.

    Lianye went on, "Even if you didn''t want to go, you should''ve passed the opportunity to me¡ª ah¡ª"

    "You want to go watch lights with him?"

    "Of course I do!" Lianye proclaimed.

    Yujia pursed her lips together, thinking of the strategy that she had been cooking up in her mind. She thought about how Lianye was a potential thief, even if she didn''t want that to come true.

    "Well then, shall I do you a favor?" Yujia mused. "I can maybe set you two up¡­"

    She knew that this was completely against her prior decision of not directly supporting or going against Lianye and A''Yan, but for the sake of her mission¡­

    Lianye seemed more than eager at the idea. "Sister Ling, if you really do, I will be eternally grateful to you!"

    Yujia cracked a small, guilty smile, knowing that she was doing so for manipulative purposes. "Alright. So if I never need any help in the future¡­"

    "Come ask me! I''ll try to do anything, as long as it''s something that I can do!" Lianye immediately answered.

    Just like that, the deal was set.

 271 Weak Heart of the Detective

    Yujia admitted that she felt a wave of guilt whenever she met up outside the villa with A''Yan and brought Lianye along. She felt even guiltier whenever not even twenty minutes into walking through the festival, she pretended to be carried away by the crowd and secretly snuck away.

    A part of herself tried to convince her that though she was ditching her friends, she was creating a better situation for them. They wouldn''t have to know that she ditched them on purpose. She could already imagine the concern A''Yan might hold the moment he realized her absence, but surely he wouldn''t mind it that much. On the other hand, Lianye would surely have plenty of excitement at being left alone with him. She definitely wouldn''t mind. Yujia could also imagine her carefully woven lies about being carried away by the crowd, and how she went back to the villa afterwards since she truly did not enjoy crowds.

    Yujia realized that up to this point, she had lied a lot. It did make her feel like she was a bit morally twisted, but once more, she justified it with the fact that this entire disguise-detective-agent work was just one big lie. A few more lies wouldn''t damage her overall morals.

    Thus, a moment later, Yujia was sneaking back into the villa.

    Just like A''Yan said earlier, because of the light festival, everyone was gone. The South Courtyard, which was usually filled with servants busying around, was completely silent. Yujia''s ears would pick up some background noise from the festival, but other than that, there was truly nobody in the courtyard.

    As Yujia made her way to the kitchen, she wasn''t sure what she was looking for, but she supposed that any hints would work. Passing by the front door of the kitchen, she picked up a lantern that was sitting by the side, using the faint light within it to see in the evening''s darkness.

    She moved through the room slowly, looking over everything and stopping to examine some shelves and areas in specific. Besides finding sacks of grain, pickled vegetable jars, bottled spices, and a notebook of records, she really couldn''t find anything else. Yujia even made sure to look through the records, reading the pages, but even then, nothing stuck out to her as suspicious.

    Clearing the kitchen off her list, Yujia moved onto the other parts in the courtyard. She examined the sheds, the rooms of the other servants, and even the room that she used to sleep in. In the shed, she found a whole lot of hay and stacks of firewood. In the rooms, other than personal belongings which didn''t look like they belonged to the villa''s masters, she also couldn''t find anything else.

    Next, Yujia moved onto the East Courtyard. She already examined Xiaoyi''s North Courtyard, so she figured that the courtyard where Madam Zhang, the Old Master, and the First Miss lived would be the next best place to investigate.

    Using the same lantern as the one she took from the South Courtyard, Yujia first made sure that no one was in the room. Once she was certain it was empty, she quietly crept in and began searching.

    Like the previous results Yujia encountered, she didn''t find anything too suspicious. There was a glimmering necklace with gemstone beads that Yujia dug up in a jewelry box, but after thinking about the list of items Madam Zhang recorded as missing and discovering there was no jewelry with earthy-colored beads like the one Yujia discovered, she assumed that the necklace must''ve been either a heirloom, something the owner was gifted, or something that the owner bought on their own. She tucked the necklace back into the jewelry box and quickly left the room.

    Outside, Yujia was a bit bummed. She leaned against the wall, wondering if this way of searching for clues was truly unproductive. Her eyes glanced up at the dark, starry sky, and then, they slid over to the side.

    To the back of the courtyard, even behind the room the servants lived in, there seemed to be a well.

    At first, Yujia thought that it was just any old well. Except then, she realized something crucial:

    If they had a well right in the villa''s East Courtyard, why had Yujia been forced, a while back, to carry buckets of water all the time, from the well far away in the city and back to the courtyard? Wouldn''t that have been a huge waste of time?

    She contemplated the idea of the well simply being dried up, but the detective part of her still had a gut feeling that the well was anything but ordinary.

    Yujia took a few steps forward, walking right next to the well. There was a wooden cover, which she slid off. She held the lantern in her hand cautiously over the edge, trying to catch a reflection in the water and noticing that there wasn''t any shine. The well was indeed dried up.

    With narrow eyes, Yujia thought about it for a few more moments. After that, she glanced all over her surroundings again. There was a stack of hay pushed up in the corner. She approached the stack and stuck her hand into the pile, rummaging until they found something with a different texture: a rope.

    Yujia''s eyes lit up. She pulled the rope out of the stack. Placing the lantern to the side, she used both hands to pull the tangled pile apart. The dusty rope was not any random rope. When held straight, one could clearly see that the rope was tied into a ladder, wooden rungs threading through both sides.

    In a few swift actions, Yujia brought the ladder over to the edge of the well. She tossed the ladder down, making sure that she held onto the top rope. The sound of the last wooden rung hitting a solid, dry surface echoed back to her. It fit just perfectly, giving enough spare rope for someone to fasten the ladder and climb down.

    This was definitely suspicious, and by far, the most suspicious thing Yujia had come across up to this point.

    Her heart thudded in her chest, partially out of excitement that she seemed to discover a major clue and partially out of a bit of fear. She knew that she wanted to climb down the ladder to see what was exactly down there, but was that a good idea? Could she really fasten the rope to the edges of the well tightly enough? What if she didn''t, and the ladder fell halfway through? Wouldn''t she fall to her death?

    It was an unsettling idea. Yet Yujia knew that if she wanted to find any clues, she would have to go down this shady well. It was now or never. She wasn''t going to find an opportunity to explore alone as good as this one tonight.

    She came to a resolution in her heart. Yujia took a deep breath and began to tie the rope around the edges.

    That was when she heard footsteps.

    Immediately, Yujia stopped tying, her arms frantically pulling the rope ladder back up. She couldn''t even think properly once she heard these sounds. All she knew was that she moved in a flurry of movements¡ª toss the rope ladder back under the hay, blow out the light in the candle, and hide, hide, hide.

    But where to hide? This back corner of the courtyard had nothing to hide in!

    The sounds of footsteps grew louder and louder. Yujia couldn''t think this through anymore.

    She threw herself into the opposite corner of the pile of hay, faced the wall, and pretended to be a tree.

    She prayed that the darkness would not expose her. She prayed that whoever was coming over didn''t have a light, or was blind enough to not notice her. She prayed that the sound of footsteps wasn''t going to enter this area she was in.

    At the same time, she racked her brain for excuses if she really was caught. What would she say? She was just lost? Or should she immediately beg for mercy?

    As she thought, she suddenly realized that she hadn''t closed the lid of the well over it. Once she came to this realization, her stress levels skyrocketed by about four-thousand percent.

    She was an idiot. An absolute, panicked idiot. Why did she forget such an important detail in the midst of her panic? What was she going to say now?

    Yet thankfully, the sound of footsteps stopped, right before they walked behind, into the little back corner Yujia was at. The person who was here pushed open the door to the room Yuja was investigating a few moments ago. They vanished inside, but not before Yujia heard them mutter to themselves, "Why did I forget money for the festival? Ugh."

    She was relieved that the person was not here to look at some suspicious wells. She was also not-at-all relieved that the person might still walk over to the back for absolutely no reason as well.

    Yujia had approximately three seconds to decide if she was going to keep hiding in the corner or make a break for it, while the person was distracted in the room.

    She decided on the latter.

    Yanking the lid of the well over it as quietly as she could, then grabbing her blown-out lantern, Yujia ran. She ran for her life, out of the back and out of the courtyard.

    Thankfully, the person in the room didn''t seem to notice anything at all.

    Yujia was already all the way inside the North Courtyard before she stopped to catch her breath.

    That¡ª just now¡ª was a horrible, nerve-wracking experience. Maybe Yujia really wasn''t cut out for this investigation work, proven by the mess that her brain went through during that brief incident.

    It was a pity that she could not investigate the well. Judging by the panic that was still coursing through her, Yujia decided that it probably wasn''t also a good idea to go back. She couldn''t risk the idea of getting caught.

    She glanced at her sweaty palms and the lantern from the kitchen she held. Thinking about her past blunder with the lid of the well, Yujia knew that making careless mistakes like that would never be alright. She had to pay more attention to detail and figure out a way to completely maintain her cool, even in an unexpected and terrifying experience like that.

    This meant that she needed to return the lantern she snatched from the South Courtyard back to the place it originally was, in front of the kitchen.

    Yujia allotted herself a few minutes to calm her heart first. During this time, she went through everything that happened tonight, making sure that she didn''t make any other mistakes or forget any details. She also poured herself a cup of cold tea to soothe her parched lips.

    When she thought everything through, Yujia calculated that everything that happened so far probably took a little less than two hours. She wasn''t sure how long the servants would take to explore the festival, but she better conclude tonight''s investigation around now.

    Yujia picked up the lantern and hurried back to the South Courtyard.

    Upon making it to the front of the kitchen, she carefully hung the lantern back to the place it was originally at, making sure to also borrow the flame from another lantern to relight the candle within the one she borrowed. After that, Yujia planned to head back to the North Courtyard and call it for the night.

    That was when she heard strange sounds coming from the shed in the back.

    Yujia paused.

    The thief who tried to steal her pendant from her was locked in that shed, previously. At the thought of that, she knew that she had to check the sound out.

    Approaching the shed for the side, Yujia had her guard raised, yet nothing could prepare her from the sight she was going to come across next.

    Her blood ran cold.

 272 The Detective Brings Out the Knife

    In the darkness, there was a man pushing himself up on a girl. It was not a scene of love and affection¡ª the girl was struggling, so obviously saying, over and over again, "No¡ª stop¡ª", but her words were slurred, her voice weak.

    The man only replied, "Shut up. You''re not even the right person. Stop moving so much, will you?" and he continued, his hands fumbling all over her.

    Upon taking all of this in, Yujia couldn''t think twice about her actions. This wasn''t the modern era. She couldn''t dial 110, couldn''t call the police. So, she did the only thing she could possibly do.

    She grabbed the widest, unchopped log of wood that she could find, rushing forward and bringing it down onto the head of the man.

    He crumpled to the ground.

    Yujia''s hands were shaking, eyes glancing at the body on the floor before sliding her gaze back over to the girl. She knelt down, getting a good look at the girl''s face through the moonlight. She knew this girl.

    It was none other than Lianye.

    Lianye''s stare was unfocused, her skin flushed, but she seemed to recognize Yujia. Tears were pricking at the corners of her eyes. "Sister Ling¡ª save me¡ª"

    Eyes widening, Yujia turned around. If this was Lianye, then the man¡­

    He was standing now. Maybe Yujia didn''t hit him hard enough. Yet she couldn''t think about that now, since he had already reached over to grab an axe.

    Yujia didn''t even realize that there was an axe nearby. It was too dark to notice specific items in the shadow from just a glance. One would have to be familiar with the environment to locate items so easily like that, and there was only one person who knew these surroundings well. He was the person who worked here daily, chopping wood. He was the young man who Yujia used to greet daily, and return his bright grin with a smile of her own.

    He was the person looming over her right now, axe in his hand, cold moonlight glinting off his face.

    "Brother" A''Yan.

    Yujia felt a wave of nausea. She leapt up, grabbing at Lianye and dragging the young girl up. Lianye could barely move. Yujia only managed to pull the girl away just in time, before with a growl from his throat, A''Yan''s hands swung the axe and broke through the wooden wall, splintering the wood with a loud crash.

    It was going to be her neck in that spot a few seconds ago. It was going to be her neck that he was driving his axe through.

    Stumbling a few feet backwards, Yujia tried to put as much distance as she could between her and A''Yan. She tried to keep Lianye safe as well, letting the girl slouch on her, but the girl was impairing her movements too much. Yujia was incapable of carrying a person and keeping herself nimble at the same time.

    A''Yan moved forward, pulling his axe, which was lodged, out of the wall and raising it in the air, ready to strike again.

    Within a second, Yujia drew the dagger out of her sleeve, raising it and pointing it at him. "Don''t come closer!" she threatened, noticing a slight tremble in her voice. Raising her volume to mask the tremble, she continued, "If you take another step, even if you manage to axe me in the neck, I will simultaneously stab you. And then, you and I will both bleed out to death here."

    His movement paused. A''Yan slowly set the axe in his hand down, his gaze clearing. The dangerous glint in his eyes vanished, replaced by a twisted smile across his face. What was once a smile Yujia regarded with warmth was now a smile that looked more menacing than ever.

    "Oh, so it was Ling''er. I was wondering who struck me across my head like that." He raised his hand to the back of his skull, rubbing it.

    Yujia needed to think of a way to get out of this situation. If she screamed for help right now, would anyone be able to hear her?

    She needed time. Time to think about what to do. Time to figure out how to save Lianye and escape safely.

    "You¡ª" she yelled, "I never thought you were this kind of person!"

    For now, she had to distract him with a conversation. She hoped that by speaking loudly, hopefully someone would hear.

    "What do you mean?" A''Yan was still smiling. "Ling''er, am I not still Brother A''Yan?"

    No. He wasn''t. She wanted to tell him that he was a monster. She wanted to tell him that he was worse than human scum. Yet agitating him was probably not a good idea.

    She decided to say, "Lianye just turned fifteen. She''s a child. Yet you¡ª you¡ª why would you do that?"

    "It wasn''t supposed to be her. But you just happened to disappear halfway through the festival. So, maybe you were the reason for why this happened to innocent little Lianye." He chuckled. Yujia realized the meaning behind his words and felt more nauseous than ever. Then, his smile dropped in a split second, replaced with a heavy sigh. "If you were going to disappear, couldn''t you have just disappeared the entire time? I didn''t even get to have my fun yet before you interrupted things."

    She took another step back. He took another step closer.

    "Put down the knife, Ling''er. You won''t stab me. I know you won''t," he cooed, eyebrows lifted.

    Her hands were still trembling. Yujia could still feel them shaking, but she wouldn''t let that drop her dagger. The blade was the only thing lying between her and that man now.

    "Who says I won''t?" she declared.

    Assuredly, he replied, "You don''t have it in you to do something like that. I know you well."

    "Well then, maybe you don''t know me as well as you''d like to think." She put on a smile now, an icy one that she hoped would cover up all her doubts.

    Was he right? Would she really be incapable of stabbing him?

    She didn''t think so. If anything, she really wanted to drive this knife through his throat right now. She just wasn''t certain about her capabilities when he held a weapon with a much larger range. That was the doubt she wanted to cover.

    Disregarding her words, A''Yan raised his axe in the air again. "I wanted to talk things out and maybe have some fun with you too, but seeing that you''re unwilling to cooperate, I can''t have you ruining my reputation around the villa," he mused. "You''ll have to go."

    Yujia brought her knife closer now. The sound of her heartbeat pulsed in her ear. She could foresee it all happening¡ª his axe would swing downwards with a swoop. She would push Lianye aside and duck, aiming for the artery in the leg that Chef Hong taught her about. And then¡­ and then, she would see how things would go from there.

    But that didn''t happen.

    The moment the axe almost came down on her, the moment where Yujia was prepared to stab someone for the first time in her life, the loud sound of something cracking echoed through the air. A''Yan suddenly froze. He crumpled to the floor, just like before, but this time, he stayed there.

    Standing behind him, a long plank of wood still raised in the air, was Xie Yufeng. She looked at the body on the floor with distaste, then looked up at Yujia, an expression of distaste on her face.

    "I knew he was nothing good from the start," she scoffed.

 273 An Angry Detective

    At the sight of Xie Yufeng, Yujia''s jaw dropped.

    Out of everyone she expected to appear¡ª if that was anyone in the first place¡ª she did not expect Xie Yufeng. But now that Yufeng was here, Yujia couldn''t be more grateful.

    Yufeng didn''t say anything else, immediately looking around. She took a few steps to the left, her eyes keeping on the body of A''Yan on the floor every few seconds to make sure he wasn''t stirring. Then, she grabbed a pile of ropes. Pulling A''Yan''s hands up, she loosened one coil of rope, looped it over his wrists a couple of times, and tied a solid knot. She did the same with his ankles. Lastly, she dragged his body to a pole which helped to prop up the shed, strapping him onto it with the longest coil of rope.

    At the end of this process, she dusted her hands off. Once she made sure he was tied securely, she switched her attention to Yujia and Lianye.

    "You''re still here? I think you should get her some help," Yufeng remarked, "Take her back to her room at least."

    Yujia blurted in response, "Thank you."

    "No need." Yufeng waved her hand.

    After this, Yujia paused for a moment¡ª just a brief moment¡ª before she turned around. "Lianye?" she called out, nudging the girl with her elbow.

    Earlier, while Yujia watched Xie Yufeng tie A''Yan up, she tried calling out to Lianye, and the girl was barely conscious. Yujia suspected that Lianye could''ve been drugged in some way. Now, though, the girl seemed to be struggling even more to stay awake. She barely let out a noise when Yujia nudged her.

    Sighing, Yujia bent her knees, and in a half-carrying manner, brought Lianye back to the North Courtyard.

    ¡­

    Once Yujia placed Lianye on her bed, straightening her clothes and tucking the girl underneath her blankets, she sat by the side of the bed for a few moments, staring at Lianye''s face.

    The things that happened tonight were alarming, to say at the least. The more she thought about it, the more disturbed she became.

    Yujia had already known for a long time that there were plenty of immoral people in the world. It just felt different to have someone who she knew personally to suffer from these actions.

    The guilt on Yujia''s heart only layered some more knowing that she was part of the reason for why what happened tonight happened.

    Even if Yujia saved Lianye just in time, before things developed even further, it didn''t make Yujia feel any better. She recalled the way Lianye described A''Yan in the past, with such adoration.

    Instead of guilt, now, she felt angry. She felt rage at A''Yan, for being so wretched. She felt rage that he had manipulated her, and all the people around him like this, the entire time. But most of all, Yujia felt rage at herself, her mistakes, and her incapability of doing so many things.

    Seeing that whatever drug that was used upon Lianye completely took her out, and that she was fast asleep, Yujia stood up. She exited the room and began walking in the direction of the South Courtyard.

    ¡­

    In the meantime, Xie Yufeng was sharpening an axe. In the moonlight, she scraped the blade of the axe against a sharpening stone, making harsh scraping noises.

    That was the sound A''Yan groggily opened his eyes to. His vision was blurry, and his head was pounding. He tried to move his arms, but he discovered that they were tied down.

    "What?" he called out, moving his head to look around. Memories of what had happened flashed in his mind. An annoyed scowl crossed his face, and his eyes glanced in the direction of the sound. "Who are you? What are you doing? Untie me, right now."

    Xie Yufeng, hearing that he had awoken, simply continued sharpening the blade.

    The noise bothered A''Yan. It didn''t help his headache. "Stop doing that, whatever you''re doing," he demanded again.

    Yufeng paused this time. She replied, tersely, "I''m just sharpening my blade."

    "For what?"

    She stood up, tilting the axe in her hands and staring at the reflection of the moonlight on it. "For pig slaughtering."

    A''Yan froze. What pigs? It was this late already.

    He then realized the meaning behind her words. A cold sweat broke out on his back. "Let me go, this instant!" He pushed against the bounds of the ropes.

    Who was this girl? How dare she threaten him?

    Rolling her eyes and taking a few steps forward, Xie Yufeng tested a swing of the axe awfully close to A''Yan''s face. He flinched, shouting out again.

    Yufeng pursed her lips, her unamused gaze fixed on him. "Listen. Right now, I am the one with the axe, and you are the one all tied up. I''d advise you to stop screaming, demanding, and testing my patience¡­ or my hand might just ''accidently'' slip."

    A''Yan immediately shut up.

    "Good," Yufeng said, "Now tell me, what exactly was your plan tonight?"

    Brows furrowing, A''Yan thought about his plan. Originally, it was supposed to be that maid¡ª Shen Yuling¡ª who had a fairly pretty face that he had his eyes on since the first day. He thought she would be easy prey, like other girls he had dealt with before. Except, his plans just had to be ruined when she disappeared, and he was left alone with that annoying girl she brought along with her. He didn''t want to make all his efforts go to waste, so he just went along with it, using a drug he prepared on the girl, just to make things easier. It would''ve gone even better, yet another maid in the villa had run into him and the girl in front of the alley, and seeing how the girl was so drowsy, she demanded for A''Yan to take the girl back to the villa.

    And from there, everything started to go wrong.

    Just the thought of it brought great frustration within him. Who was that Shen Yuling to ruin everything like that? But more importantly, who was this maid in front of him right now? His blurred vision made things difficult to see, and he couldn''t recognize her voice.

    A''Yan spent a second thinking about this, then immediately changed his expression. Turning his gaze into something pleading, he said, "I¡­ I really didn''t know what I was doing. I was drunk. I didn''t mean to hurt anyone, and I''m sorry if I did, but I really wasn''t thinking straight."

    Xie Yufeng nodded very slowly. "Ah. Yes. You were drunk. Right¡ª that excuses things."

    A''Yan nodded.

    In the next moment, a burning sensation ripped through his arm. He yelped, feeling the warm blood trickling down his sleeve. Right next to his arm, the axe he held earlier splintered into the wall, wedging there. It cut him along the way.

    "Oh, did I cut you?" Yufeng asked, pursing her lips again. "I''m sorry, I did have a few drinks as well this evening, and I think my hand slipped. Didn''t I warn you before that my hand might slip if you tested my patience?"

    The pain in his arm was sharp, immense. How deep did the axe cut? A''Yan groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. He would hold his hands up, but he couldn''t move at all right now.

    "Alright, alright, I''ll tell the truth."

    And so he did. He left out a few details, such as his past prey, but for the most part, he kept things honest about what happened tonight.

    At the end of all of this, he hastily called out, "But you have to let me go. You can''t kill me. You''ll be charged with murder. If you leave me tied up like this, someone will untie me. If you don''t untie me, I''ll call for help and tell everyone that you¡ª you¡ª were one of the thieves, and I caught you, so you tied me up."

    "And they''ll believe you?" Yufeng replied, an eyebrow raised.

    "Of course! Everyone in this villa trusts me," he boasted, "You better let me go now. I promise if we both act like nothing has happened tonight, then I won''t expose you."

    Yufeng scratched the side of her head. "Well then, if you put it like that¡­ I suppose I have to kill you. You leave me no choice."

    "What?" A''Yan said, his voice sharp, "Didn''t you hear what I just said? You''ll be charged with murder!"

    "Not unless they find your body."

 274 Mercy and the Detective

    An edge of fear was beginning to creep into A''Yan''s voice. If it was anyone else saying this to him, he might not believe them. She was just a weak girl, after all. But from what he had seen tonight so far, this maid was not an ordinary person. She sounded like she would follow on her words.

    "You can''t kill me¡ª" he blurted, desperately looking for excuses now, "There will be surely someone walking by around this time. They''ll spot you trying to kill me or hide my body. And there will be blood stains¡ª you¡ª you can''t kill me¡ª"

    "There''s one kind of person that I hate the most in this world, and that''s the kind of person you are. So, you must die tonight."

    Her voice was calm, completely devoid of emotions. And perhaps that was what terrified A''Yan the most.

    She raised the axe in her hand. The shadow of the axe loomed over him. He squeezed his eyes shut.

    The axe never came down. Her movements were stopped the moment there were footsteps in the yard, a voice calling out, "Wait!"

    Just like that, Shen Yuling appeared from the entrance.

    ¡­

    Yujia entered a scene where someone was about to hack another person up.

    She stopped them just in time, calling out a hasty "Wait!" Running up to them¡ª Xie Yufeng and A''Yan¡ª Yujia glanced at the axe, then at A''Yan''s who still had his eyes squeezed shut, then back at Xie Yufeng. "You''re really going to kill him?" she asked.

    Xie Yufeng set her axe down. She smiled. "No. Just playing around for a bit while I decide what I want to do. Or, I guess, now that you''re here, what you want to do."

    Yujia let out a breath of relief.

    It wasn''t like she wanted A''Yan alive. In fact, she might be a bit happy to find him dead. She just wasn''t sure if it was a good idea to kill him. There were too many uncertainties surrounding the idea of him dying¡ª too many risks.

    A''Yan''s eyes opened up now. Upon seeing Yujia, he immediately called out, "Ling''er, help me!"

    Yujia''s expression fell. She raised her eyebrows. "Help you? Why?"

    "Because¡ª" he said, eyes wide with disbelief, "I don''t want to die? I know what I did wrong! I''ve repented! And I won''t do it again. And¡ª" He managed a shaky smile. "I''m your Brother A''Yan. Could you really have the heart to kill me?"

    She thought back to his every action before, how he raised the axe and almost killed her, simply because she posed a risk to his reputation. This wasn''t the behavior of someone sorry. Neither was this a matter for something which could be dismissed with a simple apology.

    A wave of nausea overcame Yujia again. She was silent for a few seconds, knowing that if she spoke up right now, it would be unstoppable, furious yelling.

    When she gathered herself enough to speak up again, she was trembling with anger. Her volume was contained, except her tone was anything but kind.

    A look of desperation filled his gaze when he heard her words. "Ling''er, how could you say that? I''m¡ª I''m your Brother A''Yan¡ª"

    "You are not any ''brother'' of mine," Yujia cut in, "If you say that one more time¡ª"

    "Alright, alright!" He shook his head, "But, still, how could you say that I don''t feel any guilt? I''m incredibly sorry for what I did, and the thing is, I didn''t even go too far, so¡­"

    Yujia let out a short breath of air, unsure if this man was being real or not. She knew perfectly well what was going to happen if she didn''t intervene in time. She also wasn''t sure if there was any point in talking to this person for a moment longer. Being in his presence, listening to his voice, sickened her.

    "You do know that you were his original target, right?" Yufeng, seeing the silence, chimed in. "And judging by the methods he used, it doesn''t seem like this is the first time he''s doing this."

    Thinking back to the words Yujia caught before, how he told her that it wasn''t supposed to be Lianye, Yujia knew. She nodded, looking away.

    It was all so horrible.

    "Anyways, enough chatting." Yufeng weighed the axe in her hand. "What do you propose to do about this body? Turning him in won''t do anything, likely. Killing him¡­ might be a hassle to explain the blood stains. Maybe we could strangle him instead. I would suggest torture, but time is short on our hands. Of course, there is the alternative of letting him go, but I know that neither of us want that."

    Yujia thought about these options. She didn''t know what to do either, frankly. She could already foresee issues coming up with each route.

    Seeing their lack of decision, a maniacal laugh suddenly burst out of A''Yan. It started as a slight tremble in his chest that grew into a large, heaving laugh. As he laughed, he managed to spit out, "You''re pathetic. All pathetic. I thought you may have been different, but I suppose all women are weak and indecisive like this."

    It took Yujia by surprise how quickly his attitude changed. One second, he was ignorant and pleading, and the next second, he was acting this way.

    She didn''t have to say anything, since Yufeng was already on it with the axe. This time, she pointed it at his neck, positioning it at his flesh. If he moved, just the slightest, his skin would be cut on the blade.

    "You don''t listen, do you?" she said, "I''m giving you the grace of discussing your fate instead of instantly subjecting you to death, but instead of being grateful¡­" Yufeng pulled the axe away, planting it into the ground. She raised a finger, a giggle of pure delight spreading coming from her. "I seemed to have remembered something." She turned to Yujia. "I happen to know a place that deals with preparing eunuchs for the palace, what do you think about sending him there?"

    Eunuchs?

    Eyes lighting up, Yujia nodded thoughtfully. "That¡­ actually does not sound half bad. Fitting."

    "You wouldn''t dare¡ª" A''Yan shouted, a panic sliding back into his voice. He struggled against his rope bonds, but Xie Yufeng tied a secure knot. "Let me go, untie me, right now¡ª" His eyes slid over to Yujia, filling up with dread. His voice was now diminished into a bare squeak. "Please. Please. I really know what I did wrong. I swear on it, I swear on all the gods above, I swear on my life¡ª I will never do it again. Just let me go¡ª please, please, please. I will not pick up any trouble. I will be indebted to you for eternity, I swear on it."

    "Really? Will you tell me the truth?" Yujia blinked.

    "Any truth. I will tell you everything¡ª" he promised, leaning forward.

    "Alright." Yujia''s voice became softer. "Then tell me, was Lianye your first victim?"

    His eyes widened. Yujia could see the hesitation passing through them¡ª the flash of a debate in his mind of whether or not telling the truth would benefit him, the hesitation reflecting his internal measuring of the potential outcome of what would happen if he was truthful and admitted to past victims, or if it would be better to just lie about it.

    That was all the answer Yujia needed.

    "Enough," she stated, "I don''t need your debt. And though I like how you''re acting right now," Yujia tilted her head, a small pause in her voice and a curl in her lip, "I think I''d like you better as a eunuch."

    He showed Lianye no mercy. He showed his previous victims no mercy either. Did they not beg him to stop as well? Did they not beg him to let them go? Yet how did he respond?

    Yujia was only repaying him with his own mercilessness.

 275 Aftermath and the Detective

    Yujia helped Yufeng stuff A''Yan''s mouth up with rags, throw him into a wheelbarrow, and cover him up with a large stack of hay. Then, she stepped back.

    The festival was going on, so Yujia figured that even if any strange noises or movements came from the wheelbarrow, no one would be too suspicious. Besides, Xie Yufeng tied up A''Yan awfully well, so Yujia doubted that A''Yan had the capabilities to move too well.

    As Yujia stared at the wheelbarrow, she made a comment. "You''ve done this before?"

    Yufeng turned around to her, eyebrows slightly lifted. "No. Why?"

    "Just¡­ you seemed experienced."

    "Well, I''ve seen many things, so I suppose you could consider that my experience." Yufeng dusted her hands, then went to push the wheelbarrow.

    She didn''t need to exchange any more words with Yujia, so while Yufeng went to deliver someone to a nice location, Yujia decided to head back to the North Courtyard.

    ¡­

    Lianye was still asleep.

    Yujia took a seat on the side, pouring a cup of cold tea, her hand almost slipping. She blinked, straightening her back, and stared at Lianye.

    She already did everything she could at the moment, Yujia assured herself. But still, a part of her heart wished that she could do something more. There was a heavy feeling in her heart that was difficult to describe, a feeling that was tight, stifling, and uncomfortable.

    Yujia wanted to say that Lianye was safe. That nothing too bad happened. Except, she knew that this was just a lie.

    How could things possibly be fine?

    Raising the cup of tea to her lips, Yujia paused. She didn''t have the stomach to take anything in right now. The cup was lowered back to the table.

    ¡­

    It was a festival of lights, yet there was only darkness underneath the hay. It smelt horrible in the barrow, damp, molded wood pressed up against his face. The strands of hay all around him poked at his skin and face. A''Yan tried to move, twisting his wrist to fumble at the ropes tied around them, but the bonds were too secure. He couldn''t move more than just a wriggle.

    He struggled for a few minutes before giving up.

    The creaking wheels of the wheelbarrow squeaked. Coupled with that sound was the noise of people walking and chatting. He knew that they had entered the general streets already.

    Attempting to cry out for help, A''Yan discovered that he truly couldn''t move his mouth at all, with the rags stuffed in them.

    Dammit. Dammit all.

    Helplessly, A''Yan thought about his belongings. He wished that he had a knife on him, except, he only had a satchel of a few taels, part of his savings.

    He didn''t even do anything wrong. That Lianye asked for it. She was practically throwing herself over him all the time. He reckoned that she would''ve even enjoyed it. Women were liars like that.

    The sound of chattering grew quieter and quieter, replaced by the irregular clicking of the wheel on the ground. Finally, the wheelbarrow came to a stop. The hay tossed all over him, pricking at his eyes, was lifted, and he was grabbed by the ropes around him.

    "Stand up," that girl commanded him, pulling him out of the wheelbarrow.

    She tied ropes around his legs and ankles too. She knew that he couldn''t stand, not when those ropes were bound like that.

    A''Yan fell to the ground, struggling to rise with difficulty, a curse he couldn''t mutter stifled by the rags. He glared up at her, fueling all the seething hatred in his glare.

    "Well then," she said, "I must''ve forgotten that you were tied like that. You''ll have to crawl like a worm, I suppose."

    He didn''t break his glare. She would regret it. He swore that she would. Once he was unbound, he would slaughter her. He would kill her, slowly and painfully, cut by cut.

    Seeing that he didn''t move, the girl went up to the door they were next to, knocking at it. A few seconds passed, and then, the door opened with a creak.

    A heavy man stood at the other side, his round cheeks red and a jug of wine by his side. He took a look at the girl, and instantly, despite his drunken look, recognition appeared in his eyes.

    "Why, isn''t it the prince''s Xianyue? How is the Prince of Qing[1] doing?" he asked.

    She visibly stiffened up. "I no longer serve under the Prince of Qing. And if anyone asks, do not mention our meeting today."

    The man seemed to understand her immediately. He nodded. "Of course. I am indebted to you. This, I can do."

    Hearing their exchange of words, thoughts were furiously racing in A''Yan''s mind. Prince of Qing? Xianyue? What was this? This girl¡ª he was pretty sure her name was not Xianyue.

    "What are you here for today? Paying me a visit during the festival?" the man continued. He waved his jug of wine. "I do happen to have some good wine."

    "Perhaps." She smiled. "But I actually have another request for you." Her eyes slid to A''Yan. "Please castrate him."

    The man''s gaze followed hers, widening when he noticed the existence of A''Yan. "Right now?"

    "Preferably, yes."

    "But I have been having a few drinks, so my skills might be a bit sloppy. Also, it has just rained a while back¡ª the damp air is not safe for the procedure. He could die," the man''s voice trailed off.

    She shrugged her shoulders. "If he dies, then all the better. And if he doesn''t, then you have a eunuch to earn some money with."

    The man nodded thoughtfully. "Alright. I like the sound of that."

    He took a few steps forward, gripping at the ropes around A''Yan and pulling him up to a kneeling position. The man bent down, observing A''Yan''s face and pulling the rags stuffed in his mouth out.

    Immediately, a string of words came out of A''Yan. "Please, save me! That woman is insane. I didn''t agree to this!"

    The man pressed his mouth into a line. "Young man, I don''t know what you did, but Xianyue would not send someone here without reason. You might as well cooperate with the procedure instead of struggling. It will go easier for you."

    He untied the ropes around A''Yan''s legs, allowing A''Yan to stand.

    By the side, the girl remarked, "Perhaps you should stuff his mouth back up. His words are a nuisance."

    "Perhaps," the man agreed, reaching to stuff A''Yan''s mouth up again.

    Before he could do so, A''Yan cried out, "I can pay you! Please, just let me go."

    The man paused at this, to A''Yan''s relief. "Pay me? How much?"

    A''Yan glanced over at the girl. Not a fleck of worry could be seen in her expression. He ignored that, going on, "I have five taels on me right now, but I have more savings back home! Just let me go, and I can give you all of that."

    Upon hearing this, the man almost instantly broke out in a large roar of laughter. A''Yan could smell the alcohol in his breath. When the man''s laughter finally ceded, he grinned at A''Yan with yellow teeth.

    "Five silver? Please, the palace pays me at least a hundred taels a month for supplying eunuchs to them. Your measly money is nothing."

    At the end of his words, he forcefully stuffed the rags back into A''Yan''s mouth. The hope in A''Yan''s eyes vanished, replaced by pure terror. Muffled sounds of pleading came from him, along with a lot of struggling.

    "You are right, his words are a nuisance. But an amusing one, I must say. Five taels¡ª the best joke I have heard in a long while," the man guffawed.

    "I''ll leave you with him, then. Thank you," the girl said.

    "Of course," the man replied.

    She bowed slightly, then turned to leave. A''Yan''s head twisted from the man to her, almost wishing that she took him with her.

    He couldn''t believe this. This couldn''t be happening right now. This couldn''t be real.

    He turned back to the man, who was grinning again.

    "Come along now," the man beckoned, "There is a long night ahead of you. I never use any numbing medicine on my patients, and my wine supply is running low, so be prepared for some pain, alright?"

    [1] "Prince", in this context, refers to "Wang". He is not discussing a son of the current emperor, but rather the current emperor''s brother, who was given the title of the "Prince of Qing".

 276 Misunderstandings of the Detective

    Yujia was still staring at a sleeping Lianye when Yufeng came back.

    The sound of Xie Yufeng entering through the door startled Yuija. She nearly jumped, but seeing that it was just Yufeng, her heartbeat steadied.

    "She''s asleep?" Yufeng asked, her voice soft.

    Yujia replied with a nod.

    Yufeng took a few steps forward, setting a bundle of medicine on the small table next to Yujia. "Here is some sleeping medicine I picked up along the way. If she has trouble sleeping later on, this should help."

    "That''s¡­ very kind of you," Yujia thanked, taken aback by the sudden kindness.

    "What do you mean? Am I not the kindest person you have ever met before?" Yufeng scoffed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

    Yujia couldn''t stop a smile, then said a few moments later, "Let''s talk outside."

    ¡­

    "I thought you hated me," Yujia immediately blurted once the two of them were standing in the yard. "Do¡­ you?"

    She really had to know.

    Yufeng appeared puzzled, a frown curving on her lips. "Why would I hate you? There are only two people in this world which I hate, and you are not on the list."

    "Just the things you''ve done in the past," Yujia admitted, her words becoming slightly rushed now that she realized she was wrong, "You''ve said some things that come off in a very off putting manner, ever since when we first met."

    "What did I say?" Yufeng narrowed her eyes, recalling the past. "That comment about how you should cut your face up?"

    Yujia nodded. That was a comment she still remembered: "If I were you, I''d find some sharp rock and slice up that face real bloodily."

    Yufeng burst out in laughter. "Oh, come on. You took offense to that? I simply spoke the truth. What did that worm¡ª what was his name again? A''Yan?¡ª originally intend? Don''t forget that his first target was you. And why was that? Is it not because you have a pretty face? I gave you some valuable advice, alright? It was your mistake for not listening to it."

    This revelation was making Yujia more flustered by the second. "What about the time with the clothes? And washing them?"

    "I taught you, did I not? And perhaps I did make some slightly sharp remarks, but that was just the truth, again. The truth is not always beautiful."

    "What about the buckets of water?" Yujia continued to question.

    "To help you build your muscles. You can''t be a good servant if you don''t have any arm strength."

    "Then¡ª that one last comment. You told me that you were ''glad that I would be gone'' when I said I was moving courtyards. What did that mean?"

    Yujia really wanted to see how Yufeng could justify that.

    The things that Yujia was hearing right now¡ª she really found it difficult to believe. So, she had misunderstood Xie Yufeng all along? Except, Yufeng''s words did make sense.

    Seeing the incredulous expression Yujia wore, Yufeng stated, "Alright, alright. I know that I come off a bit sharp. But you won''t find another person as brutally honest as me."

    Yujia couldn''t help but laugh, her cheeks heating up. "No¡ª I''m sorry for misunderstanding you all this time. That was¡­ immature of me."

    "Well, I am glad that these misunderstandings are settled," Yufeng exhaled with a nod.

    The words that Yufeng spoke before echoed in Yujia''s mind. She couldn''t help but to ask again, "You said before that you had a lot of experience. What exactly do you mean by that? What.. had you seen before?"

    "I may be honest, but there are some things that I would still like to keep to myself," Yufeng answered, a lazy smile on her lips. Though her expression was relaxed, Yujia could tell how her body still tensed up. This was, very obviously, not a topic that Yujia could pry from Yufeng no matter how much she prodded.

    "I understand," Yujia said, "That''s fine."

    "Regardless," Yufeng went on, "You can rest assured that a certain someone will be castrated. He might die in the process, but he''s getting castrated. That''s for sure."

    Words tumbled out of Yujia''s mouth. "Thank you. I know I said thanks earlier, but I want to thank you again. I really don''t know what would''ve happened if you didn''t appear. And thank you for everything before."

    "No need to thank me, like I said before. I only did what any normal human would do." Yufeng blinked, sighing. "It''s getting late. I''m heading back. See you around."

    They exchanged their farewells, and Yufeng left the courtyard.

    ¡­

    When Yujia got back to the room, Lianye had awakened.

    Lianye was pressed up against the wall, her back hunched and her legs gathered to herself. She was visibly shaking, clutching her blankets closer to herself. Yujia couldn''t see her expression. Lianye had her head tilted down.

    Yujia sat down next to her, extending out a hand, but Lianye flinched from her touch.

    The young girl looked up, her eyes watering.

    Seeing that it was just Yujia, the tears from her eyes fell, streaking down her face. She was crying, uncontrollably, and as she did so, she pulled the blankets back over herself, curling up tighter and tighter as if she could just disappear that way.

    Yujia tried reaching forward to comfort her again, but Lianye only cried out, "Don''t touch me¡ª please¡ª leave me alone¡ª"

    Recoiling back, Yujia stood up and took a few steps away. Her fingers curled up, nails digging into the flesh of her palm.

    She didn''t know what to do. She didn''t know if it was a good idea to leave Lianye alone, like how the girl asked, or if she was supposed to stay.

    Lianye, underneath the blankets drawn over her face, was still crying, but it sounded like she had her hands pressed up against her mouth, smothering the sobs. It was almost like she didn''t want Yujia to hear her cry, but her tears were relentless, unstoppable.

    It pained Yujia to see the younger girl. She felt guilt earlier, but now, it was even worse. The frustration was suffocating.

    Quietly, Yujia finally spoke up, "Do you want to talk about it, or would you really like me to leave you alone?"

    "For now¡ª I just¡ª I just want to be alone. Please."

    Yujia closed her eyes. "Alright. I''ll be sitting outside. If you need me, call for me."

    Lianye didn''t respond. Yujia turned, walking out and closing the doors behind her gently. She slumped down, on the wooden porch, leaning her head back against the wall. She looked up at the moon, staring at the lonely half-crescent. Only moments later, wisps of gray clouds loomed over, covering up the moonlight and leaving nothing behind.

 277 The Detective Listens

    As Yujia sat there, she thought about the knife, resheathed back against her arm.

    She pulled it out, staring at the blade. The cold metal caught the warm glow of the lanterns above, glinting with a reflection.

    The dagger, in a way, also saved her life today. Even if in the eyes of A''Yan, she was a stupid, weak girl, she was still a girl with a blade. Yujia wasn''t confident that she could hold him back for so long if she hadn''t held a knife up to him.

    If she hadn''t escaped earlier to investigate the villa, would she be in the position of Lianye? In that scenario, if she was drugged, would she be able to use the dagger? Yujia found that thought a bit terrifying. She might have to invent pepper spray for future purposes, but even then, under the influence of drugs, she might be too defenseless.

    In the end, this came down to a fundamental problem of trust. She had trusted the wrong person. She told herself before to never truly trust someone, but perhaps she didn''t listen to her own words. Otherwise, why would she feel so betrayed, at this very moment?

    She stared at the dagger some more.

    Could she even trust Xie Yufeng?

    Yufeng had saved her life today, but Yujia was feeling uncertain. There was something strange about Yufeng''s unknown past, something that made Yujia feel wary. Xie Yufeng didn''t even question why Yujia had a dagger on her. What normal maid would carry knives up her sleeve? Wouldn''t a normal person question the existence of such weapons in the hands of a maid?

    Yujia set the dagger next to her with a clatter, leaning her face into her hands.

    Did she just blow her cover?

    Groaning and scrunching her face up, Yujia decided to resheath the dagger. Regardless of what Yufeng thought of her, from what Yujia knew about that woman, she wouldn''t go around telling others. She was simply not the gossip-loving type. Her cover could be considered secure for now, even if she didn''t trust Xie Yufeng.

    Yujia reached in her other sleeve, taking out the pendant that belonged to Yu Zixu.

    On the topic of trust, her mind had inadvertently wandered to his name.

    She trusted him.

    It was a thought that jumped to her mind immediately, without a second thought. She couldn''t quite put her finger on the exact reason why she trusted him so much. Perhaps there wasn''t an exact reason in the first place. Perhaps, in the end, it all came down to the fact of everything that she had seen so far about him. After being saved by him, getting taught by him, drinking with him, and taking care of him when he was ill, she knew that she could trust him.

    This was the same kind of trust she had for her master and other people in her life. It was impossible to navigate this world without any trust in any individuals. Yujia decided that she would allow herself to keep this trust, for now.

    It was all her fault.

    She put the pendant back in her sleeve, closing her eyes.

    Yujia wasn''t sure how long had passed, but eventually, a maid tapped at her shoulder. Looking up, Yujia saw that it was the face of a maid who shared the same room as her and Lianye.

    "What are you doing, sitting out here, Ling''er?" the maid asked. "It''s so late. Why not sleep?"

    "I was just¡­ getting some fresh air. I must''ve fallen asleep," Yujia replied, rubbing at her eyes although she hadn''t dozed off for a single moment. The sounds of the festival had died off. "You''re coming back from the festival?"

    "Yes! It''s over now, and I''m exhausted. But fun." The maid went to go inside the room.

    Yuija was about to stop her, but noticing that the sound of Lianye crying had stopped, she didn''t. She followed into the room with the maid. Lianye had fallen asleep.

    Washing her face with a damp cloth, Yujia decided to call it for the night as well.

    ¡­

    The next morning, as Yujia got dressed for the day, Lianye had gotten up, getting dressed as well, her movements careful. She was slow, so Yujia changed slowly as well, staying back until all the other maids had left the room.

    When they were alone, Yuija turned to ask, "Would you like to talk now?"

    Lianye looked at her with red, puffy eyes.

    There was silence for a few moments, so Yujia added, softly, "You don''t have to if you don''t want to. I''m just here to listen, if you need that."

    At this, Lianye burst out into tears again. Sitting down on the bed, she covered her face up with her hands, as if she was ashamed to face Yujia. "I¡ª it''s all my fault. I shouldn''t have liked him, shouldn''t have gone to the festival¡ª I practically asked for it."

    "No, no, no." Yujia rushed to sit down next to her. "It''s not your fault. At all."

    Lianye went on, some of her words blurred by her sniffles and tears, but she went on, venting out all her emotions to Yujia. And Yujia listened, sitting there. She passed Lianye a handkerchief, but otherwise, she simply listened.

    At the end of all of it, Yujia only asked one thing. "Can I do anything for you, or get you anything? Just let me know."

    A few seconds of silence later, Lianye said, "I want to take a bath."

    "Alright."

    And so, Yujia went to fetch two buckets of water, no other questions asked.

 278 Perfect Plan of the Detective

    The first half of the morning quickly passed as Yujia gave Lianye as much support as she could. When Lianye had finished her bath, and gone out, she had asked Yujia what happened to A''Yan.

    This question stumped Yujia. She wasn''t sure if she was supposed to soften the truth or tell Lianye about the reality of things. In the end, she decided that cushioning facts wouldn''t go well, so she simply told Lianye about what really happened.

    Lianye was silent for a few moments, but then she nodded. They did not talk about things after that.

    ¡­

    While Yujia did her daily tasks of watering plants, she realized that she needed a new plan.

    She originally thought that if Lianye owned her a favor, she could do some manipulation and dig up some more facts about the thieves. However, that was clearly not an option anymore, especially considering how much it guilted her.

    Thus, Yujia had to formulate a new plan in her mind.

    She tried to piece together the clues in her mind, weaving together her old plans with her new discoveries to see if she could figure anything out.

    As her thoughts spun in her mind, she absentmindedly poured water over the white flowers underneath her hands.

    The North Courtyard was a quiet one. Only three maids, other than Yujia, worked in the courtyard, with one of the maids being Xiaoyi''s personal maid and the other one spending most of her time in the kitchen anyways. Lianye had gone to do something, so Yujia was pretty much alone in the yard.

    She liked the silence¡ª it helped her think¡ª but she could see how Yang Xiaoyi might have been lonely. What was serenity to Yujia must have been isolation to the Fifth Miss.

    When footsteps sounded near the courtyard, Yujia was alerted. She lifted her head up, seeing who it was.

    It was the First Miss.

    Yujia hadn''t seen the face of Yang Qingxia in a long time, but it didn''t mean that Yang Qingxia would not remember her face. Thinking back to the last time Yujia had a long discussion with Qingxia¡ª where Qingxia revealed the animosity she held towards Hui''er¡ª Yujia quickly ducked her head down, bowing in an inconspicuous manner.

    She could trust Xiaoyi with her identity, but the First Miss was a different matter.

    The First Miss passed by, not even sparing an extra glance at Yujia. She headed in the direction of the main room in the courtyard, where Xiaoyi was at, likely reading a book or painting a picture. As Qingxia walked by, Yujia let out a breath of relief and sneaked a glance up at this half-sister of hers.

    She noticed a pair of earrings on Qingxia, earrings made of a few glossy, earth-toned beads. They weren''t too marvelous, something that would be easily skimmed over by the eyes, but the way that the warm morning sunlight reflected off of the earrings caught Yujia''s eyes.

    ¡­

    A half-hour of chatting later, Yang Qingxia departed. Xiaoyi''s personal maid, A''Ling, also left to go buy some more paper and ink for the Fifth Miss in the marketplace. A maid brought over some pastries from the kitchen, which Yujia took to deliver to her sister, since A''Ling, who usually did these things, was gone.

    She entered the room to see Xiaoyi sitting at her vanity table, looking through her jewelry box. Seeing that it was just Yujia, Xiaoyi commented, "The summer season is getting hot, and Father says that he will buy some new, lighter silks. I''m thinking about what jewelry might match them."

    Yujia set the plate of pastries down and walked over, leaning her hands on the table as she looked at the various bracelets, earrings, and necklaces Xiaoyi had in her jewelry box.

    "Jade always works well," Yujia suggested, "Especially green jade like this." She lifted a light-green jade bracelet, holding it up to the light. "Besides, jade stays cold to the touch, so it should be nice to wear during warmer weather."

    "Right!" Xiaoyi nodded, taking the bracelet from Yujia and slipping it on her wrist. She held it in front of her and looked at it, smiling.

    Yujia looked at the necklaces Xiaoyi had, noticing a familiar one. It was a necklace made of woven string, and at the bottom of the necklace, a smooth, circle of jade hung. She lifted the necklace up, a grin spreading across her lips. It was the same necklace Yujia had bought Xiaoyi a long while back, during a festival. She could still remember that festival¡ª it was an eventful evening where Yujia got both a master and an investor in her pencils.

    "You still have this?" Yujia exclaimed in delight.

    Xiaoyi took a glance at what Yujia was talking about. "Of course!" she turned to face Yujia. "Give me¡ª I want to put it on." As Yujia handed it over and Xiaoyi draped it around her neck, Xiaoyi explained, "It''s a gift from my older sister. Of course I will keep it."

    "Looking at all your other jewelry, I was afraid you might have found it too rustic," Yujia said with a laugh.

    Xiaoyi took a look at it in the mirror, tilting her body to get different angles. "I don''t think it''s too rustic. It''s charming. You know, right now, necklaces like these are in style. Extravagance isn''t too good. But even if it wasn''t, I still wear it all the time. How could I not like a necklace picked by you?"

    "You honor me," Yujia joked, bowing in a teasing manner.

    With a giggle, Xiaoyi patted the box and looked at Yujia. "Here. You should pick anything you want from here."

    Yujia ran her fingers along the edges of the box, but she shook her head. "That''s very generous of you, but a maid shouldn''t be seen with too many precious things."

    "Oh come on, it would make you more of a target. Wouldn''t the thieves want to steal from you more, if you''re wearing a pretty necklace?" Xiaoyi looked through the necklaces, pulling one from the bottom of the pile with glossy gemstone beads, the color of a pale, blue egg. "This one. Do you like it? I think it suits your complexion well."

    Yujia picked up the necklace, staring at it. It looked familiar.

    And then, it hit her.

    Seeing the necklace jogged her memory. She recalled last night, how during her explorations of the villa, she saw a similar necklace, with the same-shaped beads, in the jewelry box of a maid. She didn''t think much of it before. The colors of that necklace were neutral colors, but the shape and texture of the beads were exactly the same as the necklace Yujia held in her hand now.

    That necklace¡­

    Yujia thought about the colors. They were the exact tone as the earrings she saw on Yang Qingxia today. That was why she thought the earrings Qingxia wore looked oddly familiar.

    "Where is this necklace from?" Yujia asked, her tone suddenly serious.

    Xiaoyi noticed the shift in Yujia''s attitude, hesitantly replying, "I think it was from a business trip Father took last summer. He bought me this necklace with these matching earrings." She pulled a pair of pale-blue earrings out.

    "Did the First Miss also get a set?" Yujia continued to ask.

    "Yes, I believe so," Xiaoyi answered, "She was even wearing the earrings today, if I remember correctly."

    "Would she give the necklace, by itself, away?"

    "No. I would imagine that she would give away the entire set, if she was going to give it as a gift."

    "Would you be able to buy this set anywhere else?"

    "Father went all the way to the far north, near the border of Northern Zhou, I believe. I don''t think you would find a similar craftsmanship anywhere near here."

    Yujia set the necklace in her hands down, pursuing her lips together. "Interesting," she murmured.

    "Why?" Xiaoyi questioned, her eyebrows knitted.

    A large, excited smile growing across her face, Yujia responded, "Little sister, I believe I have discovered a thief."

    ¡­

    With a little more investigation, Yujia soon discovered that the jewelry box with the necklace belonged to a maid called Zhu''er. She was a hard-working and friendly maid, always willing to lend her good will to others. Her job was just a maid that carried out daily tasks in the East Courtyard. But more importantly: her name was on the list of suspects.

    Yujia also discovered, with even more investigation, that Zhu''er had a distinct daily schedule. The only part that Yujia was interested in was that every evening, Zhu''er went over to the back of the South Courtyard for a bucket of water. This was for the First Miss to wash her face and the like.

    At this discovery, Yujia''s plan finally clicked into place.

    With a few requests to Xiaoyi, Yujia launched the start of her next major plan.

    This evening, she voluntarily went out to fetch water right before the time that Zhu''er went to fetch her water. As a result, whenever Yujia came back, under the setting sun in the sky, she came across Zhu''er, holding an empty basin.

    "You''re here for the water?" Yujia asked, placing the bucket on the ground.

    "Ah, yes," Zhu''er answered. She set the basin on the ground, and Yujia helped her pour water from the bucket into the basin. Zhu''er took a closer look at Yujia. "I haven''t seen you around before. Are you new?" she brought up.

    Yujia nodded with a small smile. "Yes. I came here around a week ago."

    Zhu''er smiled back. She lifted the full basin up, saying, "I hope you''re finding life serving in the villa comfortable."

    "It is a good place," Yujia lied through her teeth. She unwittingly glanced at the shed and the place where A''Yan used to chop wood at.

    "I am Zhu''er," the girl greeted.

    Although already knowledgeable of this fact, Yujia still greeted back, "You can call me Ling''er. Hoping that Sister can guide me in the future."

    "Of course!" Zhu''er cheerfully responded.

    She then went on her way, and Yujia headed back to her own courtyard soon enough, knowing that the first part of her plan was executed flawlessly.

    ¡­

    The next day, Yujia specifically asked to be given a task that would send her to the marketplace, and sure enough, Xiaoyi gave her a task. She was asked to fetch some candied fruits from a newly opened shop in the capital.

    Yujia walked a certain distance to the shop, but halfway, she spun and took a dramatic turn in the direction of the Yu Villa.

    This time, however, she was not paying a visit to Young Master Yu Zixu.

    ¡­

    Shen Li, the First Young Master''s servant, was just preparing tea for his young master when he received news from a servant.

    "Your cousin is looking for you."

    Shen Li paused, setting the teapot on the table. His dark brows furrowed. "But I don''t have a¡ª"

    Suddenly, his young master coughed by the side. For a moment, Shen Li thought that his young master''s illness from a while back had returned, and he had a sore throat again. Except then, he realized that the cough was very purposeful.

    "Shen Li," his young master said, tapping a closed fan against his chin, "I remember your cousin. Wasn''t that the¡­ what''s her name again? Shen Yuling? She was a nice girl."

    The name echoed in Shen Li''s mind.

    How could he forget? That was the name of the junior sister of his young master, who for some reason, his young master brought all the way over to the villa to teach her how to become a good maid. Shen Yuling was the identity that she held.

    "You should go see her," his young master went on, "see what she wants."

    Shen Li nodded slowly, full of hesitation. "Yes¡­ I suppose¡­ I should?"

    "Send her my greetings," his young master mused, then went back to reading.

 279 Infiltrating and the Detective, Again

    Yujia greeted her "cousin", Shen Li, at the back of the villa with a smile. "Hello, cousin!" she cheerfully exclaimed.

    Shen Li regarded her with suspicion, but likely due to the fact that she was on good terms with Yu Zixu, he didn''t stare at her with silence for too long. Briskly, he replied, "Hello. Did you need something?"

    "Actually, yes. May I perhaps request that you¡­" Yujia''s voice grew quieter as she whispered what she needed from him.

    When she finished, she looked up at him with expectation, hoping that he would agree.

    Shen Li was silent for a few long moments. Then, he repeated, "So, you want me to head over to the Yang Villa at the initial hour of Xu[1] tomorrow?"

    "Yes. If you could possibly do that, it would be great."

    "And that''s all?" he continued.

    She nodded again. "Indeed."

    Shen Li took a step back. "Alright, I can do so. I still need to serve my young master his tea, so I''ll be going." He bowed politely. Before turning to leave, he added on, "Oh, and my young master wishes to pass you his greetings."

    "Ah." Yujia smiled. "Tell him I said hello too."

    ¡­

    Shen Li returned to the courtyard, resuming his previous task of preparing tea.

    Zixu looked up from his book, asking, "So? What did she say?"

    Respectfully, Shen Li repeated the words that she told him while pouring the steaming tea into the cup. As he carried it over, he added on, "She says ''hello'' too."

    Zixu couldn''t help smiling. He quickly covered up his smile with an open fan, focusing back on his book. He was slipping up too often these days.

    "Young Master?" Shen Li set the cup of tea down, his eyebrows knitted.

    "Hm?" Zixu looked up again.

    "You just seem happier than usual," Shen Li replied.

    Setting his fan down, Zixu reached for the tea but didn''t drink from it. He responded, crafting a blank expression again, "There''s been good news about Father''s business with some group of merchants from the south. News like that would put anyone in a good mood."

    "En, sure." Shen Li exhaled and took a few steps back, focusing on the flutter of wind in the yard outside. "I have been serving Young Master for so long¡­ for more than ten years now¡­."

    Zixu knew the meaning behind Shen Li''s words. ''I have been serving you for ten years now; do you think that I''d seriously believe that this is the thing that makes you happy?''

    At this, Zixu simply smiled again.

    ¡­

    Towards the evening, Yujia could only hope that Shen Li would follow through on his agreements to cooperate with her. To her assurance, he didn''t back down from his words.

    At the exact time planned, Yujia was informed that someone was looking for her. She hurried to the South Courtyard, seeing Shen Li, looking very out-of-place in the corner of the yard, scratching the back of his neck.

    "Cousin!" Yujia immediately called out, raising her eyebrows and putting on a hesitant smile, in hopes of portraying the emotions of a girl who was uncertain why her cousin came to visit her. "What are you doing here?"

    "Actually," Shen Li replied, his voice monotone, "I have bad news."

    At this first line, Yujia could already tell that Shen Li lacked acting skills. She cringed a little on the inside.

    "What is it?" she loudly replied. In the corner of her eye, she saw her intended audience, Zhu''er, by the side, fetching water.

    Continuing on with his emotionless words and stiff body language, Shen Li answered, "I don''t have enough money to repay the debts and the debt collectors are on me. They said that they were going to chop off my hands and feet if I don''t pay them back in time. What can I do?"

    She prayed that whoever might be listening in on this conversation didn''t pay too much attention to Shen Li''s delivery of the lines. He spoke as if being in deep debt and in danger of amputation was a common, everyday topic. The robotic voice he used wasn''t much help either.

    Yujia ended up acting more enthusiastically to cover up for his lack of emotions. Her hand flew up to her mouth, concern filling up her gaze. "That''s horrible. But¡­ I don''t have any money on me right now that can help." She fumbled in her sleeve, pulling out the pendant that Zixu gave her. "This¡­ it means a lot to me." Tears pricking at her eyes, she pushed the piece of jade into Shen Li''s hands. "But since you really need the money, please sell it. Your life is more important than any money."

    In another way, this was Yujia''s way of returning the pendant to Zixu. She didn''t feel right to keep it forever, even if they made an exchange.

    "What¡ª"

    Shen Li, recognizing the pendant, broke character a little. He seemed shocked to see the pendant in Yujia''s possession.

    "Please take it." Continuing to insist, Yujia forced him to take the pendant. "I will see what other ways I can do to help you earn enough money to pay back your debt."

    "It''s a whole fifty taels, and they need it by the end of the week," Shen Li said, back to repeating his lines like a machine. "How could you possibly come up with this sum?"

    "I-I will try," Yujia stammered, covering her face up. "You have always helped me out, Cousin. It is my turn to help you now."

    With that, after exchanging farewells, Shen Li set off, glad to be able to stop acting.

    Yujia turned back around, sighing deeply.

    On the outside, she appeared to be in deep turmoil, yet on the inside, she was considering if the fish was going to take her bait this time. She was fairly positive that Zhu''er heard the conversation, which was right next to her.

    Sure enough, after Zhu''er finished filling her basin, she directed her attention to Yujia, calling out, "Ling''er, right?"

    Yujia looked up from her pondering, nodding. "Y-yes."

    Fidgeting with the corner of the basin, Zhu''er said, "I couldn''t help but overhear your conversation with your cousin. You are in need of money?"

    "I¡­ yes, that''s true." Yujia''s eyes widened. She grudgingly nodded.

    "Well, I cannot give you any money," Zhu''er stepped closer, whispering, "but I know of ways that you can earn taels quickly."

    "How so?" Yujia pretended to be puzzled. In reality, this was following the exact script of her plans.

    Eyes glancing around, Zhu''er explained, "It''s not convenient to discuss right here, right now. But if you can go into the East Courtyard tonight, at midnight, I can help you out."

    ¡­

    Yujia ended up playing the gullible act, thanking Zhu''er and returning back to the North Courtyard. Xiaoyi was there, waiting for Yujia, and the two talked for a while to pass the time.

    Eventually, Xiaoyi went to sleep, and Yujia pretended to go as well. Tonight, if all things went well, she would figure out who the thieves were.

    Everything that happened up to this point proved one thing: infiltrating the villa was not enough. If she wanted to figure out who the thieves were, she had to infiltrate their group herself. And so, that was her plan.

    By the time midnight struck, Yujia slipped out of the courtyard, towards the location that she agreed upon with Zhu''er. She arrived quickly, seeing Zhu''er standing with a lantern, at the front of the East Courtyard.

    Zhu''er, oddly quiet¡ª perhaps in order to not wake anyone up¡ª waved her over, and Yujia followed the girl as she walked across the yard, in the direction of the dried up well Yujia came across last time. Seeing the well, Yujia was certain that her theories had been correct. The well definitely had some sort of connection to the thieves.

    She turned to Zhu''er, about to say something. Except, that was when she noticed a shadow¡ª a person¡ª looming over her.

    Before Yujia could even react, something heavy slammed down on her head, and she fell into darkness.

    [1] 7:00 P.M. / 19:00

 280 The Detective Strikes Some Small Talk

    A splash of cold water over her face woke her up.

    Yujia''s eyes flinched open, shock setting in as she stared at the group of people surrounding her. Water dripped down from her face, and she reached to wipe it off, only to find that her hands were tied behind her back. In fact, she was tied to a chair, rendered incapable of moving.

    Before she could say anything, a man spoke up. "That''s definitely her. The one who sold Big Bro out."

    Big Bro?

    "Who did I sell out?" Yujia asked, completely confused at the situation she was in.

    "You don''t know?" the man scoffed. "Were you not the one who kept crying ''thief''? If it wasn''t for some quick planning on our side, he would''ve had his hands cut off because of you!"

    Oh¡ª so they were talking about the first bait Yujia threw, with the pendant and the thief who stole the pendant. He sadly escaped, so Yujia''s plan had failed there.

    "I was merely reacting like any normal person would. The pendant means a lot to me," Yuia retorted.

    The man rolled his eyes, clearly unwilling to see her viewpoint.

    Yujia''s eyes slid over, analyzing every one of their faces and memorizing them. The lighting was dim, but she could make out their faces well enough. Among them, she saw the head maid Lu Biyao and Zhu''er, who nervously looked away.

    Zhu''er''s face was the one that pieced it together for Yujia. It all made sense now. Yujia was supposed to infiltrate the group of thieves, yet they seemed to want to take revenge on her for ruining their plans before. Thus, they intended to let Zhu''er convince her to meet up late at night. Then, they would knock Yujia out and carry out whatever sort of revenge they wanted.

    Even if she intended to infiltrate as a thief, originally, Yujia didn''t mind the current predicament she was in all too much. Her end goal, to get into the thief base, was essentially accomplished. The only thing that made her wary was the possibility of being harmed by this group.

    "Where am I?" Yujia asked, trying to strike conversation to delay a potentially dangerous fate of hers.

    "Why does it matter?" Another man spoke up. He then turned to the man who spoke to Yujia earlier, saying, "When is he arriving?"

    "Soon, he said," the man replied.

    They seemed to not want to do anything until this mysterious person arrived. Yujia guessed that he was probably the leader of some sort.

    In the meantime, she looked at her surroundings more. It seemed to be a circular room, with torches hanging by the walls to illuminate the dim area. When she looked up, there was only darkness above her. The lack of a visible ceiling and the circular shape of the room made her realize that this was probably the bottom of the well, acting as a secret room for the servants to store things and to meet up.

    Just like that, a man from behind, in the shadows, walked out in front of her, arms crossed.

    She registered her face the same time that he registered hers.

    He was Steward Liu¡ª the steward of the household¡ª and a person who definitely knew Yujia''s face.

    "The Fourth Miss!" he exclaimed, eyes widening and mouth parting.

    Yujia inwardly cursed. She didn''t expect this to happen. This wasn''t a part of her plans, so now, she was a bit put off by what to do. However, thinking about it now, it did make sense for the manager of all the servants to be involved in all of the thievery business. That was how things could happen right under the masters'' eyes, and how the thieves were always well coordinated.

    "Steward Liu," Yujia ended up saying with gritted teeth, "I didn''t expect to see you here."

    The servants¡ª thieves¡ª were all whispering amongst themselves. Fourth Miss?

    "Neither did I," he replied, a deep frown now tracing his lips. "Shen Yuling¡­ that¡­ is you?"

    "My cover is blown," Yujia relented with a sigh.

    He continued, wringing his hands together. "You were supposed to be married over to the Yu Villa."

    She replied, "And here I am now, busting a group of thieves."

    Assured that no one was standing behind her, Yujia''s hands fumbled a little bit with the ropes around her hands. They were tied, but not too tight. If she pressed her wrists together, she could wiggle out of them, bit by bit. She just needed to be subtle about it, along with a healthy dose of time.

    "Which, by the way," she added on, "I would like to thank you all for stealing my five gold taels. You nearly ruined my future there for me, but thankfully, I managed to escape the marriage without paying off the taels."

    Steward Liu said, "The ones¡­ that stole your taels¡­ those servants are not present right now."

    "Ah, interesting. Mind telling me who it was, then? So I can take revenge later, of course," Yujia replied, passing a charming grin.

    "Nice try," the steward chuckled, "but you won''t be able to take any revenge."

    A quiet sound of a night watchman''s gong sounded in the distance. Yujia took note of that. She just needed to carry on the conversation a little more now.

    "Why do you think so?" Yujia questioned.

    "Well, Fourth Miss, I''d hate to break it to you, but you must die."

    "Die?" Yujia feigned terror. "Steward, how could you say that?"

    Steward Liu clasped his hands together. "You may forget that you are not the status of a Fourth Miss anymore. I am not your servant. Therefore, in order to maintain the lovely business going on in the villa, you must die. I can''t have you leaking my secrets."

    "What if I swear to never tell anyone?" Yujia hastily added, forcing an edge of panic into her voice. "Please don''t kill me. I''ll do anything." She hoped that she sounded earnest enough.

    "I''m not quite sure if I can trust you," he mused, "since you have been going under this false identity for so long, and so successfully. Who are you doing this for?"

    She replied effortlessly. "Myself. I wanted to figure out who stole my taels." Biting her lip, Yujia continued, "Steward, I don''t care if things in the villa go missing. I just want my taels back. You can believe me when I say that I won''t expose this group. There''s no benefit in doing that."

    The steward laughed now, again. "Why, I don''t think I can believe that. It is under my impression that you have met with the Madam, have you not? On the evening where that unlucky servant tried to steal from the person who we all thought to be Shen Yuling. If you have had a face-to-face discussion with her, she surely recognized your face. How do we know that you do not work for her?"

    Damn. Yujia had to admit the logic in that. She didn''t think so far about her lie.

    "I am a¡­ woman of my word. I truly won''t tell anyone. I swear on it."

    Steward Liu simply shook his head.

    Yujia grimaced. She didn''t know how much longer she could maintain this conversation. It wasn''t like she could incite an evil monologue out of the steward.

    When was her backup plan going to come into play? It should happen anytime now. Yujia prayed that it would come in and save her life.

    The moment this prayer passed her mind, shouts came from above. At first, they were blurry shouts, but the shouts grew more clear.

    "Fire!" one of them cried out.

    Just like how Yujia heard this shout, the others in the well with her heard it as well. They tensed up, glancing amongst each other.

    Fire? How did that happen? What were they supposed to do now?

    A deep scowl crossed the stewards face. He glanced at Yujia, then back at the top of the well. "I need to go up. You all should too. Why is there a fire now, out of all times?"

    "What about her?" a servant called out.

    "Leave her, for now. She''s not important. Keep one person behind, but otherwise, everyone else needs to go up," the steward commanded.

    They listened, leaving Zhu''er and Yujia behind. A small smirk traced Yujia''s lips.

    The fire had been planned.

    This was Yujia''s backup plan. Earlier that evening, when she returned from the situation with Shen Li and the acting, she had a conversation with Yang Xiaoyi. In that conversation, they talked about normal things, but at the end, Yujia asked one last thing of Xiaoyi.

    If by the time that the night watchmen strikes the gong late in the night, and Yujia still hadn''t returned, Xiaoyi was supposed to light up a stack of hay in her courtyard on fire.

    The moment her younger sister heard the plan, she had immediately winced."What? You want me to¡­ burn the courtyard down?" Xiaoyi had asked.

    Yujia simply replied that she needed enough of a fire to draw attention away from her. It was the backup plan anyways¡ª if all things went wrong.

    She hoped that the backup plan would not have to come to reality. Yet looking at this situation now, Yujia was thankful for the existence of this backup plan.

    Everyone else had left through the rope ladder to the top of the well. Yujia stared at the girl in front of her¡ª Zhu''er¡ª for a few, long moments.

    Then, mustering the brightest smile she could, she asked, "So, how''s it going?"

    What a wonderful evening for striking up small talk¡ª when a part of the villa was burning, when a section of the servants wanted to kill Yujia, and when she was stuck at the bottom of a well, tied to a chair.

 281 Escape of the Detective

    Once Yujia asked her question, Zhu''er immediately bowed and blurted out, "Fourth Miss, I''m sorry."

    "Sorry for what? No need. You were just doing your job, just like how I was doing mine," Yujia quietly said.

    Zhu''er wasn''t looking at her, seemingly too ashamed to make eye contact. Yujia had already slipped out of the ropes around her wrists, which fell to the shadows on the floor. She maneuvered her arms a little, as if she was trying to get a comfortable position, when she was just pulling the dagger out of its sheath.

    "This is under a well, right?" Yujia asked, keeping the conversation going.

    "Yes," Zhu''er replied simply.

    "If I''m going to die," Yujia sighed, "let me at least die with clarity. How does this entire thievery-process work?"

    Zhu''er looked up now, regarding Yujia with a bit of suspicion. "I can''t¡­ tell you that."

    Yujia smiled. "You don''t have to go into the details. Do you all just randomly steal things, or is there some sort of organization to it? I''ve been pondering this question for a long time."

    In the meantime, she managed to saw through one of the ropes with the dagger. Now, there were a few more to go. Thankfully, there was a lot of sound of chaos and fire coming from above, so the sounds of her knife against the rope wasn''t too noticeable.

    "There''s some organization."

    "Ah, neat. How long have you been a thief?"

    Zhu''er squeezed her eyes together. "I was pressured into it.

    "Oh? How so?" Yujia looked at the girl with interest. She didn''t mention Yang Qingxia''s necklace, which was discovered in Zhu''er''s jewelry box.

    "A lot of the girls in the operation are," Zhu''er explained, "People let their guard down easier with maids. So¡­ they need us for some of the plans, at times, or for sending messages. Personal maids are usually not coerced, but maids like me who just do random tasks around the household will be forced to work with them."

    Yujia thought back to the time where she, the Fourth Miss, was stolen from. Those five gold taels vanished after Manyu directed Hui''er away, and Yujia was put asleep by some sort of drug. Thinking of Manyu, Yujia asked, "Is that so? Do you know a maid called Manyu?"

    Zhu''er, who was slightly more comfortable discussing things now, answered, "Her name sounds familiar, but I don''t think I know her personally."

    "She was one of the thieves involved in stealing my taels," Yujia told Zhu''er, "I think, hearing your explanation now, she must''ve been coerced. How do they threaten you all?"

    "There are many ways. Many servants in the villa are involved in it, so if you don''t cooperate, they can easily make your life horrible until you do. They also can''t have anyone leaking their secrets, so¡­ there are some death threats along with it."

    A second rope was cut behind Yujia''s back. Her arms were mostly free of movement now.

    "Steward Liu¡­" Yujia brought up, "He really caught me by surprise. I didn''t think he would be involved. After all, back in the days, there was a case with my personal maid. He was the one who brought her to the family and accused her of being a thief."

    Zhu''er said, "As far as I know, he didn''t always work with the thieves. It was only recently, about a few weeks back, that he got involved. I don''t know how they managed to convince him, though."

    Yujia let out a deep breath. "The temptation of wealth was probably too much."

    "Likely."

    "What about A''Ling? I saw her in the group. They are very involved in the process, aren''t they?"

    Zhu''er nodded. "Yes, they¡ª"

    Before Zhu''er could finish her words, Yujia sawed through the last rope. The fibers broke, and the ropes fell. Yujia stood up, slowly, dusting off her sides and flipping the knife in her hand.

    Zhu''er recoiled, her eyes widening at the site that Yujia managed to break free.

    "It is quite convenient to hide a dagger up your sleeve," Yujia explained, focusing her gaze on the blade in her hand. She then looked back up at Zhu''er. "I did like our little conversation, so I really don''t want to fight or harm you. It seems like you''re not all too loyal to this thieves'' group either. What do you say about helping me?"

    Zhu''er backed away, her posture tensing. "I¡ª that¡ª" she stammered, eyes fixed on the knife.

    "If you help me, I won''t harm you," Yujia said, then realizing that her words sounded very threatening. She quickly added on, "I''m not too keen on stabbing people."

    It didn''t seem to be very comforting. Zhu''er''s face paled.

    Continuing on, Yujia assured, ??Relax. As long as you let me walk out of here, no harm will come to you. If Steward Liu and the others demand for an explanation, just say that I had a dagger on me, and you were defenseless."

    A tense moment passed. Finally, Zhu''er pressed her lips together and decided, "Alright. The¡­ the rope ladder. It''s behind you. You can go."

    "Let me look around, first," Yujia stated.

    She realized that she was on a tight schedule. When the fire was put out, the thieves would likely return. Yet she had such a perfect opportunity in the den of all the thieves. Wouldn''t it be a waste to not explore it?

    Up against the walls of the well were many shelves, some of them filled with a few unsold treasures. As Yujia walked past them, she recognized a few of them as items that were labeled as missing in Madam Zhang''s records. They were mostly small trinkets.

    Yujia theorized that the thieves stole small things each time, storing them in here and then selling them in larger batches. This made the process much more efficient and the act of stealing less noticeable.

    In the back of one of the shelves, there was a locked chest. Yujia sized it up with a glance. It was big enough to hold paper records.

    She grabbed the box and asked Zhu''er, "Do you know what''s in here?"

    Zhu''er shook her head. She might''ve been lying, but considering that her position was shallow in the entire operation, it made sense that she wouldn''t know where the records were kept.

    The idea of thieves keeping records was strange. However, Yujia figured that with someone meticulous as Steward Liu running everything, he was probably going to have some sort of organization on paper to make sure that everything went smoothly.

    She grabbed the box. "I''m going to take it."

    Zhu''er didn''t say anything against it. It wasn''t like she could stop Yujia from taking the box anyways, with Yujia still holding the dagger and all.

    Yujia looked through a few more shelves to see nothing else of interest. She bit her lip, then walked across to the rope ladder.

    "Thanks for your help," she acknowledged to Zhu''er before she turned and began climbing the ladder.

    Zhu''er still didn''t say anything.

    The bottom of the well was hollowed out, creating a wide room, so when Yujia began to climb, the ladder was not entirely pressed up against the wall. As she climbed upwards, she entered the area of normal thin walls of the well, feeling safer once she reached this area. If she fell backwards, she would be able to catch herself by throwing an arm out to the other side of the well.

    Thankfully, her arms were not entirely weak anymore, so she managed to pull herself up. The moment her head popped up to the surface of the well, she looked around. There were no servants standing around, and sounds of commotion in the villa still occurred.

    Perfect.

    Now, Yujia supposed, it was time to make a break for it. Her identity was busted. Steward Liu wanted her head rolling on the floor. She had all the clues that she could find. There was no more need to dawdle in the Yang Villa.

    ¡­

    Once the Fourth Miss climbed up, Zhu''er took a few deep breaths before deciding that she had to find Steward Liu and tell him. Like the peculiar Fourth Miss said, she wouldn''t be entirely blamed for the escapee, yet she would be blamed if she didn''t do anything about it.

    She didn''t entirely agree with the ways of the thieves. But they had their ways of controlling people, like hiding stolen objects within the belongings of these people they wanted to control. If the person did anything out of line, they would get reported, and thus get their hands chopped off.

    For the sake of her safety, Zhu''er had to help them, even if she didn''t think that they were in the right.

    She took a glance at the well one more time, then reached for the ladder and began to climb.

    ¡­

    Yujia didn''t have time for goodbyes.

    As she ran out of the East Courtyard, she didn''t see Xiaoyi, which was probably a good thing. She would feel a need to stop and thank Xiaoyi for what she had done to help Yujia, if that was the case, which would delay her escape greatly.

    Servants were rushing with buckets of water to put the fire out, so Yujia managed to blend in with the chaos. She was just one of the many faceless servants, running back and forth.

    She wanted to take advantage of the chaos to escape through the front doors of the villa originally. However, when she arrived at the center yard of the villa, she noticed Steward Liu standing at the front doors with a hawk-like gaze, looking at all the servants running through the doors to fetch or bring water.

    Yujia immediately spun around, making a direct turn for the South Courtyard. Back doors it was.

    Heart drumming, Yujia arrived at the South Courtyard to find one thing: the back doors were locked.

    She stared at the back doors, panicking. Why were they locked? Shouldn''t they be opened?

    The idea that the South Courtyard was furthest away from the North Courtyard surfaced in Yujia''s thoughts. Because of speed, it would be impractical to use the South Courtyard to carry water to help the fire. Judging by the quiet courtyard, all the servants had rushed to go see the fire too. Thus, the doors were locked, and had stayed locked.

    Madam Zhang''s words from much earlier on rang in her head as well. "In case you haven''t noticed, the back doors are locked shortly after the end of dinner. You won''t be able to enter or exit then."

    Yujia really wanted to facepalm right now.

    She looked at the locked door, the box in her hands, and then, the scraggly tree growing next to the door. Since things came down to this point, and she needed to leave the villa, maybe she had to climb the tree and vault over the walls.

    That did not sound safe at all, but what could she do? She had no other options.

    She didn''t know how to climb a tree, but Yujia stuck the box underneath her arms and wrapped her hands around the trunk, trying to figure out how to take the first step.

    Half a minute of trying to climb later, the sound of footsteps nearing the yard alerted her. Yujia, who made no progress on climbing the tree, panicked even more.

    She couldn''t hide behind the tree. It was too scraggly. What was she going to do?

    Her feet raced to behind the nearest building, seeing if she could duck inside a room. Just as she did so, the footsteps entered the yard. She barely managed to open the door.

    She was not going to make it. She was not going to make it. She was not going to make it.

    They were going to notice her.

    Then, someone suddenly grabbed Yujia by the sleeve of her robe, yanking her into the room. She almost yelped out of surprise, but looking over, she saw the face of Xie Yufeng in the moonlight. Her hands flew over her mouth, and Yujia immediately shut up.

    The set of footsteps, belonging to two people, neared. One of them said, "I think I heard something over here."

    Yujia cowered, shrinking down and curling up against the wall. Meanwhile, Xie Yufeng took a look at her, then a look at the door.

    Yufeng sighed, opened the door, and looked out. Yufeng seemed to see the two, saying, "What''s all the commotion?"

    "Ah? There''s a fire in the North Courtyard?" the other voice replied.

    "Oh, I didn''t know." Yujia heard the sound of Yufeng yawning as she replied, "I just woke up."

    "You''re a deep sleeper." A pause. "She''s not the one we''re looking for, right?"

    The other voice answered, "Nope, definitely not."

    "Well," Yufeng said with exasperation lining her voice and possibly an eye roll, "I''m exhausted. What''s so interesting about a fire? Going to go back to sleep."

    "Alright. Have a good night."

    With that, Yufeng closed the doors. She didn''t say anything until the sound of footsteps distanced. Then, once she was sure that she was gone by checking outside one more time, she faced Yujia. "What are you doing?"

    Yujia, who managed to catch her breath from that stressful, tense moment, "I''m¡­ running away." She looked at Yufeng, who seemed awfully well-dressed for someone who was supposed to be in bed at this hour. "What were you doing?" She didn''t imagine that Yufeng was too interested in seeing a fire.

    "I''m running away too," Yufeng admitted, "or, I was supposed to, until you came tumbling inside."

    "Ah." Yujia stood up now, wincing. "Thank you for helping me out again. You really saved my life back there."

    "Mhm."

    Yufeng didn''t seem like one who liked too many "thank you"s. She opened the door again, slipping outside. Yujia followed.

    The two both walked towards the back doors, and Yujia pointed out, "The doors are locked. I¡­ I was trying to climb the tree earlier."

    "Well, I happen to know how to pick locks," Yufeng replied, a small smile gracing her lips.

    She reached in her hair and pulled a pin out, going forward to pick at the lock. Except, before she could get too far, the sound of footsteps came back. Yujia, hearing them, hastily tapped Yufeng on the back.

    "Ah." Yufeng fidgeted with the hairpin some more, barely paying attention to the footsteps.

    The same two people entered the yard. Seeing Yujia and Yufeng standing at the back doors, they stopped in their tracks, one of the yelling out, "You two! Stop!"

    F*ck.

    Yujia backed up a step, eyes racing back and forth. She reached in her sleeve, ready to whip her dagger out.

    What to do now? The lock¡ª the people¡ª

    The moment the two ran towards Yujia and Yufeng, there was the sound of a loud click. In Yufeng''s hands, the padlock fell apart, and Yufeng tossed it aside, pushing the door open. She looked at Yujia, then at the people, only uttering one word.

    "Run."

 282 Run, Run, Run, Detective Yang

    Yujia swore that her heart was about to leap out of her throat.

    Out of all the stressful things that have ever happened in her life, perhaps this one was the one that struck her with the most intense physical and mental fear. Adrenaline coursed through her, being the only things that kept her legs pumping, feet thudding against the ground.

    Being chased was genuinely, horribly terrifying.

    Yufeng was faster than her, running with what seemed like ease. Because of the three-second head start they had, Yujia managed to keep herself from being caught. For now. She wasn''t sure for how long she could keep the distance between those servants and her. In fact, she couldn''t even spare the energy to think about the probabilities of being caught and what would happen afterwards. All of her strength was directed at the act of running, and running alone.

    As the one in the lead, whenever Yufeng took turns, Yujia followed. She wasn''t sure where Yufeng was taking her. All senses of direction had flown out of her head by now, but she trusted¡ª or at least, hoped¡ª that Yufeng knew what she was doing.

    To Yujia, it was easy to trust Xie Yufeng. The turns that the girl ahead took were all sharp and calculated, without a moment of delay. It seemed like she already knew the route of escape planned out in her head, but surely, that was impossible. Perhaps Yufeng memorized a map of the entire capital city, but that had to be impossible as well. There were so many nooks and crannies in the streets. How could one person possibly know all of that?

    Regardless, Yujia ran and ran and ran.

    After an eternity of running, Yufeng slowed down ahead, and Yujia followed suit, her legs collapsing under her. Even if there were people behind her right now, Yujia truly couldn''t take another step. Her legs felt like lead. Her lungs burnt in her chest. She would take being captured over running now.

    However, as Yujia turned her head, looking with worry, she saw no one behind the two of them. No shadows or sounds of footsteps remained.

    Somewhere along the way, the two of them had managed to shake off those servants. And Yujia hadn''t even noticed.

    Yufeng was slightly out of breath now too, but she was in a much better state than Yujia. At this point, a ridiculous thought surfaced in Yujia''s mind. She had to start working out as soon as this entire thief-deal was over. It was time to lift weights and begin running exercises.

    Glancing over, Yufeng leaned against the wall of the alley the two ran into. "Where now?"

    "I¡ª" Yujia panted, "was going to¡ª ask you¡ª that."

    "I didn''t have a plan after escaping, really," Yufeng said with a shrug, "Probably going to exit the capital. What was that, by the way? Why were those people chasing you?"

    "You¡ª wouldn''t believe me if I said¡ª that those people were just chasing us¡ª because they didn''t want us to escape¡ª right?"

    Yujia grimaced. "Okay. Yeah. There are thieves in the villa¡ª I uncovered their plans. And now they want to¡ª hunt me down¡ª so I don''t leak their secrets."

    "Makes sense." Yufeng didn''t question this story at all, or show any signs of surprise, which took Yujia aback. She followed up by asking, "Do you have a place to go?"

    The first place that surfaced in Yujia''s mind was Lingxin Pavilion. The academy was the closest thing that she had to home, and over the weeks, she had learned to see it as her home as well.

    "Yes," she ended up answering. "Do you?"

    "Like I said before, I plan to just roam the lands."

    "You don''t have any money on you?" Yujia knitted her eyebrows together.

    "Just a few taels. It''ll last me."

    At this, Yujia paused. She thought for a long while, before saying, "It''s dangerous to travel out of the capital at night, as a lone woman. If you don''t mind, I have a place that you can stay at. Take it as a way for me to thank you for everything you''ve done to help me."

    "Is that so?" Yufeng showed a flash of interest, not necessarily at the part where she had a place to go, but more of curiosity towards the kinds of connections Yujia had. "Where is it?"

    Yujia rose up now, straightening her back and taking a deep breath.

    "My name is not Shen Yuling. I am Yang Yujia, former Fourth Miss of the Yang Family and current direct disciple of Master Yue Ze, founder of Lingxin Pavilion. The academy is my home, and you are welcome to come with me and stay there, if you desire."

    ¡­

    Xie Yufeng ended up going with Yujia.

    When Yufeng heard Yujia''s revelation, she showed a few signs of surprise: a raised eyebrow, a slight tilt in her head, a slight parting of her lips. Yet she didn''t seem all too shocked to hear what Yujia had to say¡ª or at least, not as shocked as other people might have been.

    Yujia had long arrived at the conclusion that Xie Yufeng was not a normal person with normal responses.

    Her theory that Yufeng had somehow managed to memorize the map of the city was further proved. With only a few twists and turns, Yufeng led Yujia out of the alley, down a few streets, and right to the side doors of the academy.

    It was so late in the night that the doors were locked, no doorkeeper in sight. Yujia knocked a few times, getting a skeptical look from Yufeng when no one came to answer the door.

    Yujia frowned. She knocked loudly a few more times.

    From the other side, the sound of someone fumbling over could be heard, opening the door up by just a crack. It was the familiar servant who always guarded the doors, a cheerful man who looked anything but cheerful right now. Who enjoyed being awakened so deep in the night like such?

    Yet when he raised a lantern up, seeing Yujia''s face through the crack, the expression he wore immediately dropped, replaced by wide eyes and a few blinks of disbelief. He reached up, rubbing an eye.

    "Disciple¡ª I didn''t expect you!" he exclaimed, pushing the doors open fully. "What are you doing here¡ª in the middle of the night¡ª"

    "A lot of things happened," Yujia explained awkwardly. She wasn''t sure if it would be a good thing to tell him. "Could you please let us in? This is my¡­ maid. She will be serving me from now on." She gestured at Yufeng.

    For a moment, Yujia had debated how she should introduce Yufeng. "Friend" would not work. It would raise too many questions. Neither could she pass Yufeng off as "family"¡ª with Yufeng''s sharp and narrow features, the two of them looked nothing alike.

    "Maid", in the end, worked best.

    "Of course, of course," the doorkeeper stepped aside, letting Yujia and Yufeng walk in. Thankfully, he did not ask for more details.

    She exchanged a few more words with the servant before he went back to his room. After that, she led Yufeng to her courtyard, slipping in without alerting a single person. The good thing about sneaking back to Lingxin, so late at night, was probably that no one was awake to see her.

    Borrowing the light from a lantern, Yujia lit a few candles in her bedroom. As she did so, she told Yufeng, "Sorry about calling you my ''maid'' earlier. I wasn''t sure how to introduce you otherwise."

    "It works," Yufeng said, nodding, "I don''t mind."

    "You don''t seem all that shocked about my identity." Yujia paused, raising her head.

    "We all have our secrets. No one is always exactly who they say they are. Where I come from, secret identities and investigations like what you were doing are more than common," Yufeng stated with a tight-lipped smile.

    Yujia couldn''t help asking, "Oh? Where is it that you come from?"

    Eyes looking at the bed, Yufeng diverted the topic. "Where should I sleep for the night?"

    "There''s only one bed in the room¡­ and there are no servant beds open." Yujia reached to the side, pulling out a large roll of extra blankets. "Are you okay with sleeping on the floor?"

    "Better than sleeping in the forest, with my face pressed up against dirt," Yufeng said with a laugh.

    Yujia smiled. "Alright then."

 283 The Detectiveâ€™s Return to the Artis

    It seemed like Xie Yufeng''s identity as a maid was set into stone. The next morning, the servant guarding the door passed along the word that Disciple Yang had a new personal maidservant. The sun barely rose when another maid dropped by with the servant robes of Lingxin Pavilion. Although it was so early, Yujia woke up and noticed this delivery. Going undercover in the Yang Villa made her adjust to an early waking schedule.

    Yufeng was awake as well, going to pick up the robes. While the maid talked with Yufeng for a while about "serving in the villa", Yujia stretched her arms and got out of bed, heading towards the bathroom.

    She had spent around a week in the Yang Villa, and during that entire time, she hadn''t managed to take any baths. Sure, there were ways to clean herself with a cloth dipped in water, but there was nothing like a bath befitting modern-time-luxuries. So, right away, Yujia wanted to take a bath.

    After spending a good while cleaning herself and once again feeling grateful for the technology in her courtyard, Yujia got dressed and went along with her day. Informing Yufeng that she could pretty much sit around and do whatever she would like, Yujia went to go find her Senior Brother.

    She tracked down Ye Yunhe at Lingxin Pavilion. When she skipped over to see him, a look of pleasant surprise crossed his face.

    "Junior Sister!" he exclaimed, "You''re back?"

    Yujia nodded and grinned. "Did you miss me?"

    "Of course. You were gone for so long," he said, "How did things go? Did your plans work out successfully?"

    "I guess there was a bit of success."

    Yujia thought back to all of her operations, in particular the box she returned back to Lingxin with. She then thought about the dagger, which saved her twice. If she wasn''t able to cut through the ropes that tied her to that chair, she didn''t want to think about what predicament she would be in. One thing was for sure¡ª she wouldn''t be sitting here and chatting with Yunhe like she was right now.

    At this, Yujia brought up, "You remind me! I have to return something to Chef Hong."

    The two chatted for a few more moments. Then, Yujia ran off to the kitchens.

    ¡­

    "Girlie!" Chef Hong greeted, setting down the chopsticks that she was using to stir-fry some vegetables in a wok. "You''re alive!"

    "What, did you expect that I would die?" Yujia joked.

    "No. I knew my girlie wouldn''t die just like that. Glad you are back in one piece." Chef Hong went to stir the vegetables again.

    "I came to greet you and return the dagger. It really helped me out. Thank you for teaching me how to use it, " Yujia explained, pulling the blade out.

    Chef Hong raised an eyebrow, interested. "Oh? By that, did you perhaps¡­ stab someone like I taught you?"

    "No, no!" Yujia immediately rebutted, waving her hands in front of her.

    Changing the topic, Yujia leaned forward, looking at the wok. "What''s for breakfast?"

    She was hungry, not only because it was around time to eat, but also because of the lack of decent food during her infiltration. Maids did not exactly get the best food for meals. After eating steamed bread for meal after meal, day after day, Yujia admitted that she didn''t want to see steamed bread anytime soon again. She missed Chef Hong''s cooking.

    "The usual porridge. I''m making some pickled vegetables and minced pork as a side dish¡ª you should like it. I pickled a new batch of long-beans a few days ago, so the taste should be perfect," Chef Hong informed, a proud smile crossing her face. "And then, maybe I will prepare some fermented bean curd, fried egg, or fry some slices of tofu¡ª what do you think? Which one would you prefer?"

    "Fermented bean curd!" Yujia chose. The saltiness of the bean curd always paired best with porridge. Thinking about all these tastes, Yujia found herself drooling a bit.

    Ah. She was finally back to eating delicious food. This was the best news yet.

    ¡­

    Late in the afternoon, when Yujia heard news that her master was awake, she hurried to go greet him. She arrived at the courtyard to find him with his back turned away, seemingly speculating at something.

    The moment she walked up to him, he spun around. The moment he noticed her presence, he jumped back, eyes widening.

    "AH!" he yelled out.

    The sudden shout took Yujia aback. She recoiled back, wrinkling her brows.

    In the meantime, her master held his hand to his chest, taking a deep breath and spitting out words as he did so. "Heavens¡ª you startled me! Kid, I''m an old man! My heart is weak! You can''t just walk up to me like that?"

    Seeing that it was just this, Yujia scratched the back of her neck, laughing. "Master, I wasn''t even trying to sneak up on you! You should''ve heard my footsteps!"

    "What? I''m going deaf. Aging does things to your senses." He waved his hand and scrunched up his face. "Just wait until you''re my age. Then, you''ll see all the misery I have to go through. Be grateful that your joints are all working and you don''t have constant back and neck pain. And then, to top all of that off, you''re probably going to have some annoying grandchildren that sneak up and scare the living daylights out of you."

    "Okay, okay, I''m sorry Master," Yujia continued to laugh, bowing deeply. She then peeked upwards, a mischievous grin replacing her laughter. "Did you miss me?"

    He made a face. "Miss you? No, the time I spent without you messing around with your shenanigans was absolutely wonderful. Finally, I got to have some tranquility. Why are you back?"

    "En. Sure," Yujia snickered, "I''m back because you missed me so much. You don''t have to lie."

    "You''re crazy," he said gruffly, then turned to have a seat.

    Yujia ran along and went to go have a seat too. She thought she missed good food the most, but in the end, she probably missed interactions like these more. It was fun to deal with her master''s nagging. She definitely missed this banter.

    ¡­

    She talked to her master for a long while, about things that happened during her investigations, about the discoveries she made, and about life in general. After all that discussion, Yujia decided to head back to her courtyard. She needed to go back to work with the remaining bits of the mystery she had to solve.

    Xie Yufeng was sitting on the porch, staring at the surroundings in the courtyard. At first, with just a glance, Yujia thought Yufeng was simply bored, but with another glance, there were certain things about her posture and gaze that made Yujia think that the young woman was deep in thought.

    Yufeng noticed her the moment she stepped into the entrance. When they made eye contact, the first thing she said was, "Let''s talk."

 284 The Artist Looks Through Files

    "About what?" Yujia took a seat beside Yufeng.

    "You''re an idiot," Yufeng said.

    Yujia raised her eyebrows, and leaned back. She didn''t expect to hear that, out of all things. "And¡­ why do you say that?"

    Admittingly, Yujia entirely forgot about this sharp-tongued side of Xie Yufeng. She reminded herself that this time, she would actually listen to what Yufeng had to say, instead of blindly jumping to conclusions like her past self did.

    Yufeng propped her chin up on her hands, her elbows pressed against her leg. She then turned her face, looking Yujia straight in the eye. "You shouldn''t trust me. You barely know me, yet you invite me into your home. What if I was a thief? Or worse, a serial killer?"

    With a blink, Yujia replied, "You saved my life twice. If you stole a few things, I wouldn''t particularly mind. Life is priceless. To give up a few lost valuables in exchange for being saved twice¡­ I wouldn''t call that a loss on my side." She cracked a grin.

    "Then, answer the second half¡ª what if I was a serial killer?"

    "Have you killed someone before?" Yujia inclined her head, observing Yufeng''s expression, which hadn''t changed.

    "Yes." Yufeng answered in a heartbeat.

    Yujia didn''t exactly see that answer coming. She stiffened, drawing herself back and feeling goosebumps rising on her skin. Forcing a smile to mask her discomfort, Yujia asked, "What serial killer would admit to being a killer? Would you not want your victims to lower their guard?"

    Yufeng tapped her fingers against her face. "Perhaps it''s part of my strategy, to make you think that."

    "Well, if you are a serial killer, I''m sure you can''t do too much." Yujia thought about the duo in the kitchen¡ª Chef Hong and Old Wu, who were criminals in the past before they were hired by Yujia''s master.

    "Why do you say that?" Yufeng questioned.

    For a second, Yujia considered bringing up Chef Hong, but she decided not to. "If you were a serial killer, you wouldn''t want to kill me, at least. Last night, we were sleeping in the same room, and you could''ve easily killed me. I was defenseless. But you didn''t. And, again, you saved my life twice."

    "I still don''t think that''s enough reason to trust me," Yufeng insisted.

    "Okay, sure¡ª but I still have one more reason," Yujia blurted.

    Yufeng eyed her with suspicion. "What reason?"

    Standing up, Yujia dusted her skirt and said with a wink, "Gut instinct."

    "..."

    "What?"

    "This is why I think you''re an idiot."

    "Alright!" Yujia laughed. She gestured inside of her room with a nod. "Then, help this idiot out, will you? There''s a lock I need picked, and if I remember correctly, you know how to pick locks."

    ¡­

    "You''re too strange," the young woman said, narrowing her eyes in concentration at the box in her hands.

    Yujia crossed her arms. "How so?"

    "Many ways." Yufeng turned the box to get a better angle of the lock. "I had my speculations that you weren''t an ordinary person ever since you pulled a dagger out that night, but I didn''t expect that you would be¡­ the Yang Family''s Fourth Miss, or a disciple at Lingxin Pavilion. Tell me, how did you end up investigating for your family?"

    "It''s a long story," Yujia stated.

    "Well," Yufeng looked up, replying, "the good news is that this lock on the box is incredibly tiny and will take me forever to pick. I have time for a long story."

    "Fine," Yujia relented with a sigh, "I suppose it all began when my father tried to marry me off to an old man."

    She went on to explain everything that happened after that¡ª the agreement to save up five-hundred silver taels in exchange for her freedom, how the thieves stole the taels from her, how she ran away, how she ended up in Lingxin, how she landed herself in a sticky situation with Madam Zhang, and lastly, how she agreed to investigate the case with the thieves.

    "So you see, I have a bit of a personal grudge with these thieves as well. It would really make me happy to see them get exposed and suffer for their crimes," Yujia admitted, wrinkling her nose.

    "A little bit of inclination towards revenge is not necessarily a bad thing," Yufeng pointed out. At this point, she pushed her hairpin a little further. There was the muffled sound of a click, and she drew the hairpin out. Satisfied that she managed to open the lock, Yufeng slid the box across the table and smiled.

    "Thanks!" Yujia took the box and opened it. "I would''ve had to ask someone else for help, if you hadn''t helped me out here."

    That "someone" was Yu Zixu. And indeed, it would be a bit shameful for Yujia to ask Yu Zixu for help yet again, even if he was skilled at picking locks.

    Yufeng gave a short nod while Yujia turned her attention to the contents of the box. Like her predictions, when she opened the box, she saw stacks of papers. Her fingers brushed against the pages, flipping through them and reading the content.

    Sure enough, there were plenty of records, listing names, items stolen, and the amounts they sold for. The records were meticulous, carefully written to detail every little thing, which suited the careful manners of Steward Liu.

    "Records?" Yufeng asked.

    Yujia agreed. "Yep." She showed a few pages to Yufeng, who looked at them briefly without much interest.

    The list of stolen items was much grander than the list Madam Zhang had given Yujia, showing how many items had truly been taken from the villa without falling under the radar. However, the list of names was the most useful. It listed every single person involved in the operations, which essentially fell under the category of most servants.

    Pushing her chair back, Yujia put the records back in the box and stood up. "I have to pass this information on to Madam Zhang."

    "How are you going to arrange a meeting? It might be difficult."

    Yufeng was right. Yujia didn''t want to risk going into the villa. It wasn''t just because of Steward Liu. She speculated that Steward Liu might''ve informed her father already, which was not good news. She didn''t want to get caught and married off again. Then again, it would also be difficult to call Madam Zhang over too. How could a madam of a household leave the villa and enter some art academy she showed no previous connections too just like that? It would raise suspicion.

    She thought back to how Zixu easily called for a meeting with Madam Zhang. Yujia didn''t want to trouble Zixu, but perhaps¡­ she could learn from his ways.

    ¡­

    Ye Yunhe was just minding his own business, painting in the pavilion, when his junior sister came running up to him, waving her hands.

    "Senior Brother!" she called out excitedly.

    "What is it?" he asked, a bit puzzled at her energy. He set the brush in his hand down.

    "I need to borrow your identity," Yujia openly declared.

    Yunhe blinked.

    He didn''t like the sound of that. He knew, for sure, that she was up to no good again. And there was no way that he was going to agree to her.

    ¡­

    After a millennium of pleading, Yujia managed to convince her senior brother to pass her his name.

    It took a combination of promises of extra good art supplies, food, and puppy eyes for Yujia to make Ye Yunhe, the most no-nonsense person she could think of, to agree to her demands.

    But then again, she also managed to convince Yunhe to help her with that "water-painting" prank they played on her master a week or so ago, so maybe she just really knew how to exploit her senior brother''s soft spot for her.

    In the end, the only important thing was that Yujia walked out of Lingxin, dressed like a man. She waved a fancy fan in front of her face and climbed up a carriage in that guise.

    As "Ye Yunhe", she informed the driver that she was going to pay a nice visit to the Yang Villa, just to talk to the Madam of the villa about her talented "daughter", the Fifth Miss, who was naturally gifted at painting.

    Things were going to be fun.

 285 The Artist, as the Noble

    The Yang Household did not expect the visit of "Ye Yunhe", someone who should''ve had zero connections with the family.

    Yujia was thoroughly enjoying every moment of masquerading as her senior brother. As she stepped out of the carriage, cooling herself off from the hot weather with a painted fan, servants she grabbed from Lingxin carried two trays behind her.

    She learned from Zixu that usually when paying visits, it was common courtesy to bring a few gifts. So, Yujia definitely came prepared, using her own gifts.

    Once upon a time, after facing a very traumatic experience on a horse, Yujia was gifted an entire treasury of precious items by a certain someone called Bo Zhizhong. She liked some of the gifts, such as the art supplies and the food, but there were other gifts, particularly the decorative ones, that didn''t match the environment Lingxin Pavilion had. In particular, there was one red agate statue that truly didn''t fit, so at the time, Yujia pawned it off for some extra taels. There had also been an emerald jade vase, that had manageably fit with the theme of her room.

    She still didn''t like it too much, so today, she figured that she would give it away. It definitely looked expensive and valuable.

    The other gift¡­ it was a secret.

    When Yujia walked up to the front door, she was stopped by a servant running outside. With a glance, Yujia saw that it was Steward Liu. It made sense to send a steward to welcome a guest who came from a seemingly decent background.

    She quickly covered her face with the fan and averted her gaze, taking interest in the passing clouds. Nonchalantly, with the haughty airs of a noble, she passed the servant beside her the disciple pendant strung on her belt. The servant bowed and rushed forward, declaring to the steward, "This is my young master, Noble Ye, First Young Master of the Ye Family and head disciple of Lingxin Pavilion. He would like to request an audience with the madam of your household about certain prospective talents."

    Steward Liu bowed deeply, nodding. "Yes, of course. I will arrange a meeting right away. If Noble will follow me." He stepped to the side with a turn and gestured with his hand. Then, he began leading Yujia into the villa.

    This was another perk Yujia discovered. As a maid, infiltrating, no one would notice her simply because she easily blended in with the background. As a high-ended young master, on the other hand, no one would notice who she truly was either because they didn''t dare to make eye contact with her.

    The thrill of this was absolutely wonderful. Just knowing that Steward Liu, who threatened her life a day ago, was now obediently guiding her through the villa, was thrilling by itself.

    A few moments later, Madam Zhang walked in, plastering a smile on her face until she saw that it was just Yujia. The second the two exchanged gazes, her smile faltered just a bit, before she hastily covered it up and took a seat at the front.

    "Noble Ye, I don''t believe we''ve ever met!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "What brings you here today?"

    Yujia, deepening her voice, responded, "I happen to be acquaintances with the Fifth Miss of the household. We had an artistic discussion weeks ago, and today, I would like to catch up on a point that I missed."

    "Oh! Of course." Madam Zhang agreed immediately, waving at Steward Liu, who waited at the back of the room. "Go, go fetch the Fifth Miss. Also, what tea is it that you are serving Noble Ye? Bring the finest quality leaves and exchange it for this tea."

    It had been a while since Yujia saw the madam like this. She was so inclimated to seeing a stern, solemn woman, who concealed her true thoughts behind a narrow gaze.

    When Steward Liu left, Yujia gestured for the servants to present the gifts. They brought over the vase first, which Madam Zhang marveled at and expressed her deepest gratitude for such a precious gift.

    Then, Yujia gestured for the other servant to present the secret gift. When they took off the fabric cover, the only thing lying on the tray was a flat, ordinary-looking box.

    This was the exact box that Yujia stole from the thieves, carrying all of their records.

    "Madam, the box may look ordinary, but the gift inside is priceless," Yujia explained.

    "Oh?" The madam raised an eyebrow. "Do tell, what is inside?"

    "Well," Yujia lowered her voice, raising the fan to cover the side of her face as if telling a secret, "It is a precious item that only the receiver should lay their eyes on. You will understand when I show you."

    "Interesting," she mused upon hearing that. Glancing at the servants in the room, Madam Zhang quickly ordered, "Everyone, leave the room."

    The servants obeyed, backing away. Yet, the moment one closed the doors behind them, someone pushed them open again.

    Peeking into the room, with eyes full of excitement, was none other than Yang Xiaoyi.

    Right¡ª Yujia may or may not have forgotten that this youngest sister of hers had a bit of a crush on Yujia''s senior brother. It was just a pity, considering that Yunhe would never be interested in her.

    When Xiaoyi saw that it was just Yujia, her expression dropped. Gone was the embarrassed anticipation, replaced by pure confusion. Her lips parted, as if she was going to call out Yujia''s name, but Xiaoyi was not an idiot. She stopped herself, then tentatively called out, "Noble Ye?"

    Yujia nodded. "Ah. Yes. Wonderful to see you, Fifth Miss."

    Madam Zhang pursed her lips, standing up. She said, "Noble Ye, would you mind taking a step aside to a more private place to speak?"

    "Of course. That would be great," Yujia stated, grabbing the box which was left on the table by the servant who carried it in. "We can discuss later, Fifth Miss."

    "Alright. I''ll just¡­ wait here," Xiaoyi murmured, taking a dejected seat. At the same time, she looked up at Yujia and gave a small grin, which Yujia knew the meaning to¡ª Xiaoyi was glad to see her safe, especially after the chaos and fire from last night. Yujia passed her younger sister a nod, one of appreciation and to show that she understood.

    ¡­

    Madam Zhang brought Yujia to a more private room in the same courtyard, likely one where the Old Master held more secretive meetings. She closed the door behind her, then walked deeper into the room. Yujia followed.

    "What is it?" she asked quietly.

    "I have a list of the suspects," Yujiareplied, dropping the act.

    She opened the box and handed it to the madam, who looked at the papers inside with varying degrees of suspicion. As she shuffled through the last page, she glanced up and nodded.

    "Alright. Wonderful job."

    "What do you plan to do?" Yujia asked, out of pure curiosity.

    "Seeing that so many servants are involved, it''s difficult to trust that these are the only ones, or that the evidence is completely accurate. I will send all of the servants to be interrogated, and exchange all of them for new ones."

    Interrogation was definitely not going to be an easy process. Yujia bit her lip, then said, "Can I make one request?"

    "Yes?"

    "There is one maid who serves in the North Courtyard. Lianye. She was a suspect, but she does not appear on the list. And I know that she has good morals in her heart. If possible, please give her to me. I would like to take her away," Yujia requested.

    Madam Zhang didn''t even hesitate before agreeing. "Alright. Anything else?"

    "No," Yujia stated, shaking her head, but continued afterwards, "although, I do believe that you owe me an explanation. You did not forget about it, right?"

    "No, of course not." Madam Zhang sighed and took a few steps back, sitting down.

    They had agreed¡ª as the price in exchange for her services, Madam Zhang would explain to Yujia what really went down between Yujia''s birthmother, Liu Yuxi, and a younger Madam Zhang.

    Liu Yuxi had claimed that Madam Zhang was a backstabber, a cruel woman, with no heart or soul. She stole her husband, ruined her family, and even poisoned her to kill the child in her womb¡ª Yujia.

    Hui''er, Yujia''s past maid, had claimed that Madam Zhang was merciless as well. She had enough cruelty in her heart to kill the unborn baby her own daughter, Yang Qingxia, bore. Anyone who could do that was a monster.

    Yet, Yujia wanted to see who Madam Zhang truly was. She wanted to hear from this woman herself, about her story and motivations, and exactly what pushed her to do the things that she did. There were already hints about a deeper, more secretive story, in the letters that Yujia discovered in a hidden compartment Madam Zhang kept.

    Madam Zhang could lie to her. Yujia was familiar with the ease of rolling lies upon lies off her tongue.

    Except still, she wanted to hear what this woman had to say.

    Thus, Yujia took a seat across from her, plainly stating, "I''m listening."

 286 The Madamâ€™s Story

    She had been "Madam Zhang" for so long. "Madam Zhang" to some, "Mother" to others, and the meaningless "Dearest Wife" to another. It was easy to forget that a long, long time ago, she had another name. It was a name of a simple-minded girl, who never experienced the cruelties of life, sheltered by her precious family.

    "Zhang Ruoyu" ¡ª that was her name.

    Zhang Ruoyu was a girl with loving parents. Her father was an imperial physician, her mother a virtuous wife. And above all, there was her sister¡ª Zhang Ruoqing.

    Her sister was older than her by two years, but the two were like twins. Throughout their childhood, Ruoqing and Ruoyu were practically inseparable. Everything they did, they did together.

    Then, there was an outsider. A friend. Her name was Liu Yuxi, the daughter of a fourth-rank official, who was also a physician like her father. Ruoyu''s father and Yuxi''s father got along well, as coworkers. The families were extremely close. Ruoyu''s father always talked to her about the importance of treating everyone around her kindly, even if he was at a higher rank than them. She always listened attentively, memorizing his beliefs.

    To be kind was the key to life, not arrogance. To have mercy was true justice, not cruelty. To give forgiveness was the greatest strength, not a weakness.

    Kind, merciful, and forgiving¡ª those were the traits that the sisters were raised upon.

    So, even though her father was at a higher rank, Ruoyu frequently played with Yuxi. She would invite Yuxi on the habitual walks she took with Ruoqing. She would let Yuxi join in their conversations, their silly games. She would play dress-up with Yuxi, borrowing the jewels and robes of her older sister.

    Liu Yuxi and Zhang Ruoyu, born in the same year, became friends as close as sisters that way.

    Of course, Ruoyu still saw her older sister as the most important. There was something about family that friends just couldn''t replace. She would talk about everything and anything with Ruoqing, and her sister always listened patiently, telling Ruoyu all of her secrets as well. And when Ruoqing called her over, Ruoyu always chose her older sister over Liu Yuxi. Although at times, the young Ruoyu would catch a glance of something different in Yuxi''s gaze as she watched Ruoqing pass a secret to Ruoyu by the side, Ruoyu would choose to dismiss it as a trick of the light.

    Time passed quickly and happily this way. Within the blink of an eye, Zhang Ruoyu turned seventeen.

    One summer day, as the two of them dipped their bare feet into a secluded pond, playing with the water, Liu Yuxi leaned over, a serious expression crossing her face.

    "I have something to tell you," Liu Yuxi had told her.

    "What is it?" Ruoyu had responded, smiling in anticipation.

    A flush crept over Yuxi''s face, an embarrassed grin spreading across her lips as well. "I have someone that I like."

    "The Yang Family''s first son," Yuxi admitted, lowering her voice to a whisper.

    "Him?" Ruoyu had giggled, out of pure excitement for her friend. "I have not seen him before, but the Yang Family¡­ they are the same standing as your family. You two will make a good match."

    "You can''t tell anyone though, alright? Promise?" Yuxi demanded.

    "Of course! But tell me¡ª what is he like? How did you two meet? Does your father know yet? I''m sure he will approve."

    At all of Ruoyu''s questions, Yuxi gave a shy smile and began explaining.

    ¡­

    Yuxi had not informed her father about her crush. That was expected. But if her father knew, like Ruoyu said, he would likely approve. The Yang Family had a loyal history of working in the government, their Old Master a fourth-rank official just like the Liu Family''s.

    Ruoyu was genuinely happy for her friend.

    At the same time, her sister was also given an engagement, with a family at a higher standing than the Zhangs. It was a marriage created by parents and matchmakers, yet Ruoyu''s older sister was not unhappy with it. Her suitor was a handsome young master, holding a gentle demeanor just like her. Ruoqing would surely be treated well in that household.

    Ruoyu was genuinely happy for her sister as well.

    ¡­

    Things only began changing when Ruoyu met a young man, while browsing through the marketplace with her maids. He had bumped into her by accident, making her drop the pastry in her hand.

    Instead of holding a single bit of arrogance, the young man had apologized greatly, a look of concern crossing his face. When she got a better look at his face, he was handsome, with evenly proportioned features and a lively gaze in his eyes.

    One of her maids berated him, scolding about how the pastry was from a shop all the way across the canals, nearly on the other side of the city, and that it was expensive as well. He only continued to apologize, but after a short second, he held his hand up, telling them to just stand there and wait, while he ran off. His own servant ran off after him, calling out "Young Master!" the entire time.

    Ruoyu had been puzzled, wondering if he was really going to just run off like that. She waited for around fifteen minutes, then decided to start going. Yet the minute she turned to take a step, she heard his voice again, calling out.

    Panting and waving a brown paper package in his hand, the young man came back, skidding to a stop in front of her.

    "I hope I didn''t make you wait long," he said, a charming smile across his lips. Then, he handed her the package tied with string. "I wasn''t exactly sure what kind of pastry you had been eating, so I picked a few that looked similar. I hope that''s alright."

    She shook her head, shyly accepting the package.

    At that, he gave her one last apology, bowed politely, and set off in the opposite direction.

    Ruoyu turned, watching his back figure walk away.

    He didn''t need to do that. Any other person, if they wanted to make up for it, would just give her the monetary value. Yet he had dashed all the way to the other side of the city, just to fetch her that pastry again. He had a servant by his side, but instead of ordering the servant to go do it, he did it himself.

    She felt her heart skip a beat, unaware of this foreign emotion.

    Later on, when she returned home and opened the package, there were indeed an array of pastries, carefully selected to match the one that looked like the one she dropped. He had been careful in his selection.

    A strange story appeared in her mind, one that she would tell her grandchildren. "When we first met, your grandfather ran all the way across the city to buy me a pastry, simply because he made me drop mine by accident."

    This idea was ridiculous, and she quickly brushed it away. However, time and time again, throughout the day, she would think of his smile, wishing that she knew his name, at the very least.

    Little did she know how much she would regret it when she discovered his true identity.

    ¡­

    About two weeks later, Liu Yuxi and Zhang Ruoyu were just taking a walk through the marketplace when Yuxi suddenly tugged on Ruoyu''s sleeve, freezing mid-step.

    "That''s him¡ª" Yuxi whispered, gesturing with a nod of her head.

    Ruoyu followed her gaze, seeing a young man walk by on the other side of the street. As he passed by, without noticing the two girls, she got a good look at his face, the familiarity apparent to her. It was the young man who bought her the pastries a while ago.

    "That''s¡­ who?" Ruoyu asked, uncertainty lacing her voice.

    "The person I told you about. Young Master Yang Chen."

    She felt her heart plummet upon hearing that name.

    Out of all people, why did it have to be him?

    "You''re joking, right?" she managed to ask, when he was already long gone.

    "No." Yuxi frowned. "Why would I be joking?"

    "Nothing," Ruoyu quickly dismissed.

    "You''re hiding something from me," Yuxi pointed out, crossing her arms. "I know you so well that I can tell, alright?"

    That made Ruoyu pause.

    Yuxi was right¡ª she couldn''t hide anything from her friend without it being noticeable. If she refused to say anything, it might be interpreted as something more suspicious than the actual reality of what happened. Therefore, Ruoyu then decided to tell Yuxi everything, focusing on the fact that it wasn''t anything special and that it was just a fleeting emotion.

    Yuxi was taken aback, her face paling when she heard everything Ruoyu had to say. At the end, she stated, voice trembling, "You''re¡­ sure you don''t like him." It wasn''t a question.

    ???Yes," Ruoyu said, biting the inside of her cheek.

    Hearing this, Yuxi was assured, a smile blooming across her face. "Okay. Good. I knew you were my best friend."

    Ruoyu smiled as well, nodding.

    This was the right thing to do. Kindness was the key to life.

    ¡­

    On a quiet evening, a month later, where Ruoyu was eating dinner with her family, her father said something. "Since Qing''er''s wedding is coming up soon, Ruoyu, I have found you a suitor as well. It is about time that you get married."

    Ruoyu, who was reaching forward to pick up a slice of bamboo shoot, had set down her chopsticks, staring at her father with a smile. "Who, Father?"

    "The first son of the Yang Family, Yang Chen."

    Ruoyu''s smile immediately fell. "W-who?" she asked, even though she had heard correctly the first time.

    Her father, noticing her expression, looked at her with worry. "His father is only a fourth-rank official, yes, but you two would make a good match. I''ve already seen the boy¡ª he is a reliable and responsible young man. You will be happy with him."

    Wordlessly, Ruoyu blinked a few times.

    She thought that Yuxi talked to her father already. She thought that Yang Chen already promised Yuxi to marry her. She thought that everything was final.

    How could this engagement appear, just like that? Out of everyone, why did it have to be him?

    Chair scraping against the wooden floor, Ruoyu stood up. In front of her family, she bowed deeply, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Please excuse this daughter''s disrespect. I''m not feeling well, and I will have to retire early for dinner. Please continue on with your meal."

    Like that, she left, walking slowly out of the room, before breaking out into a run back to her courtyard.

    Moments later, her mother entered the room, asking Ruoyu what was wrong. Ruoyu didn''t mention anything, only assuring her mother that everything was alright.

    Moments after that, when her mother had left, her sister went in to check on her. When Ruoyu laid her eyes on Ruoqing''s face, she burst out into tears. Ruoqing immediately rushed forward, cradling Ruoyu into a hug, desperately asking Ruoyu what was wrong. Was she unhappy with the marriage because of the lower rank the Yang Family was at? Or did she already have someone in mind before this?

    Ruoyu could only shake her head, saying in between her tears, "I don''t know¡ª I don''t know¡ª I don''t know¡ª"

    She should have been happy.

    But when she thought of Liu Yuxi, how could she be? How was she ever going to face her closest friend again, with this engagement in place?

    ¡­

    Ruoyu had avoided Liu Yuxi, and she never gave Yuxi an explanation why. Her sister''s marriage occurred, and days later, she couldn''t avoid her friend for any longer. Yuxi demanded an explanation. She demanded to know why she was being treated this way.

    When Ruoyu told her, Yuxi stumbled back, shaking her head. The amount of betrayal and pain flashing in Yuxi''s eyes¡ª Ruoyu had never seen an expression like that before. She was unwilling to accept any of this, believing it all to be a lie.

    Ruoyu tried to explain. Explain that it wasn''t her fault, that she did nothing, that her father was the one who set the engagement in place¡­ and at last, she managed to get Yuxi to calm down, to listen.

    But at the end of the meeting, when the two walked away from each other, Ruoyu clearly felt that things were different. After this day, things would never be the same again.

    ¡­

    The day of her marriage finally arrived. Ruoyu was dressed in red, carried by the sedan to the house of the groom.

    She gave Liu Yuxi an invitation to the wedding, not to spite her friend, but that she genuinely wanted to see her closest friend on such an important day.

    At the end of the day, when Ruoyu waited in the bridal room, she asked a maid of someone by the name of "Liu Yuxi" ever attended the wedding. The maid told her that there wasn''t.

    Ruoyu gave a small laugh of defeat. What did she expect? Of course Yuxi would not attend the wedding.

    Only later on would she discover that on the day of her wedding, Liu Yuxi''s father was thrown into jail for being incapable of treating the illness of the Empress Dowager. And only much, much later after that, when decades had passed, would she learn that her father, the man who always taught her kindness, mercy, and forgiveness, was the cause of the Liu Family''s downfall.

    ¡­

    Ruoyu adapted well into married life.

    Her parents had taught her how to be a kind, merciful, and forgiving person, so she made a filial, virtuous, and loyal wife.

    Yang Chen was a good husband. Just like before, during the time with the pastries, he was always patient, gentle, and generous. And although it guilted her, Ruoyu did love him. It came naturally, not just as one of her responsibilities.

    She thought that he loved her too, for the briefest of moments, until one night, he came back home, staggering like a drunk. She could tell by his red face and the alcohol on his breath that he had been out drinking.

    It was then, while she helped him onto the bed and took care of him, that he called out one name: Liu Yuxi. He rambled about how he forsake her, how he hurt her, how he still loved her, and how he regretted everything.

    Ruoyu stopped.

    She lowered him gently, allowing him to slump onto the bed. Without covering him up with blankets, she stepped back, walking out of the room. The doors closed behind her with a soft thud.

    There, in the darkness of the night sky, she slumped down, leaning back on her head and hiding her face behind her hands.

    What had she expected? Yet again, she should''ve known better.

    But it didn''t stop the reality from hurting any less.

 287 The Madams Story, Finished

    Two years passed. Ruoyu did not know how Yuxi was doing. The two did not stay in contact.

    Due to homesickness, she was permitted to visit her side of the family on the same day that her older sister came to visit. Seeing Ruoqing again, after so long, Ruoyu cried tears of happiness.

    Her sister had changed, her belly now round. Ruoyu could not run into her sister''s embrace like she did in the past anymore because of this. Ruoqing was pregnant at around seven months, and Ruoyu could not be happier to learn that she would be an aunt in just two more months.

    The two sisters talked for a long, long time, in the old courtyard they used to share. Ruoqing, a considerate and gracious older sister as always, brought two silver hairpins with her, topped with a blue bead. She slid one of the hairpins in her own hair and gave the other one to Ruoyu. It was a gift, which Ruoyu wore in her hair happily.

    When the family gathered around the table for lunch, the meal was wonderful as well. Ruoyu had missed her father and her mother. To eat with them again felt like she was back to her days of just being a girl, even though she knew that this couldn''t be the case. Once married, a girl would never belong to her old family again.

    As Ruoyu ate her meal, the kitchen sent over a bowl of fish soup just for her, just the way that she liked it, blander than normal. She had always drank soup mostly unseasoned, even when young. It was just a bland taste that she had grown to like, and Ruoqing always made fun of her for drinking soup that was really no different than water. Ruoyu always argued that this was the only way one could taste the true flavor of the ingredients.

    Again, today, Ruoqing made fun of this special bowl of soup, and Ruoyu laughed it off. Ruoqing demanded a sip, just to see if the flavors would jump out to her since now she was pregnant, and reluctantly, Ruoyu let her older sister drink a spoonful.

    Ruoqing wrinkled her nose up and shook her head. "It''s still as disgusting as I remember it."

    Ruoyu only giggled some more, but after taking a sip herself, the taste did seem off, so she set it aside. Her taste in food had changed.

    She would not have let her sister drink the soup if she knew what was to happen. This moment, this specific action, this specific bowl, and this specific spoonful of soup, would come to be the biggest regret of her lifetime.

    An hour passed, and right before it was time for their departure, Ruoqing suddenly clutched her stomach, her expression pale. Ruoyu noticed, asking with furrowed brows if something was wrong. Ruoqing shook her head, sweat beading on her forehead, that nothing was wrong.

    Then, the pain got worse. Something was clearly wrong. Ruoqing spoke up about it, and her mother and father had already called for a physician.

    Ruoyu panicked. Everyone panicked.

    Physicians were hurried, midwives were called, and in the chaos, she only managed to make out that her older sister was giving birth, two months too early.

    How could this be? Ruoqing was always careful in nature. She wouldn''t have done anything risky or stepped out of the guidelines the physicians had laid out for her. And she had been perfectly healthy as well.

    But Ruoyu could not afford to worry for too long. As she stood there, in front of her sister''s closed room with worry, a wave of dizziness overcame her, and she slumped to the floor.

    ¡­

    When she woke up, on a bed in her old room, the first words escaping Ruoyu''s mouth was a question about her sister.

    Her mother was by her side, and she couldn''t say anything, her voice choked up. She shook her head silently, tears slipping out of her reddening eyes. Ruoyu turned her face to her father, who was standing by the side. His eyes were lined with red too, and with difficulty, he told her the truth.

    Ruoqing passed during childbirth.

    It was Ruoyu''s turn to shake her head. She opened her mouth to speak, finding her voice hoarse.

    No, no, no, no, no¡ª this couldn''t be real. It had to be a nightmare. It had to be a lie.

    Ruoyu stumbled off of her bed, legs collapsing under her. She had so little strength, but she couldn''t even bother to stop and consider why. She pushed herself up, staggering across the room. Her parents rushed forward, holding her back, but she clawed at their arms, begging to see her sister.

    Finally, they relented, and Ruoyu pushed open the doors, stumbling into the courtyard. Her feet carried her to the room that she last saw Ruoqing enter. When she walked inside, her sister wasn''t there¡ª only a body covered with a white cloth. Still shaking her head, Ruoyu delicately reached over and lifted the sheet, seeing who it was.

    The moment her eyes saw that face, she dropped the cloth and fell back, sinking to the floor. She curled up and covered her head, pleading for this nightmare to end, pleading to wake up. But when she opened her eyes, the white sheet was still there, the person laying under there still unmoving. On the person''s hair, slid in on the side, was a silver hairpin, topped with a blue bead, an exact matching one with what Ruoyu wore right now, an exact matching one with what Ruoqing gave Ruoyu only a few hours ago, when they first reunited.

    Ruoyu, with trembling hands slid two hairpins out, clutching them tightly. The sharp point of the pin dug into her skin, enough to draw blood, but she didn''t notice.

    She just wanted to wake up.

    ¡­

    In her memories of her sister, Zhang Ruoqing was always warm and smiling. Now, there was nothing left except for memories of that face, eyes closed, peacefully still. Chillingly still.

    Years later, the pain of that moment would still be fresh. Even when those distant memories of taking strolls and softly chatting with Ruoqing were blurred, the anguish remained, ever-so-vividly, like the cuts of a dagger on her heart.

    They said that time would heal all wounds, but time still left its unfading scars.

    The physician said that he could not detect why Ruoyu passed out, merely concluding that the emotional distress at the moment caused her to faint. Her poor health afterwards, which consistently seemed to worsen, was also attributed to grief.

    They said that Zhang Ruoqing underwent premature labor due to pure chance as well. They said that the conditions were horrid, with the baby being born so early, numerous complications rising up. They said that the midwife told Ruoqing that she could only save the life of her child or preserve her own life. They said that without even hesitating, Ruoqing insisted on delivering her child safely.

    Ruoqing''s baby survived. Moments later, just like the midwife said, Ruoqing passed away.

    When the baby, a girl, was born, she was born with dark, hideous splotches over her right arm and back. A divine seer had been hired by the father''s side of the family to take a look at the girl, and the seer determined that with the splotches and the reading of her palm, that the child was destined to doom her parents. Her mother had already died for her. If her father chose to raise the child, he was sure to arrive at a quick death as well.

    At the news that the child was so inauspicious, the family would not take the child. So, she had been abandoned at the place where she was born.

    Days later, when Ruoyu had enough strength again, she went back to her parent''s home. She wanted to see the baby. She wanted to see the monster that her sister sacrificed her life so pointlessly for.

    They allowed her to. And as Ruoyu stared at the wrinkled, ugly face of the baby, she expected to feel more pain, more disappointment. Instead, she felt nothing. Her heart was blank.

    Later on, she asked her parents what they were going to do about the baby. They said that they didn''t want to draw inauspicious energy to their home, even if it was their grandchild, so they were likely going to give up the baby to a monk, or something of that sort.

    Ruoyu wanted to laugh.

    Her sister gave up her life so that this baby could come into this world. Yet it had all been for nothing. The baby was unlucky and unwelcomed. It would be a child that grew up without the love of either parent.

    In the end, with a turn of events, Ruoyu found herself walking back to the Yang Villa, holding a bundle with the infant in her arms.

    She wasn''t sure why she did it. She hated the child. It was the cause of her grief, her misery. It killed her sister. But she didn''t have the heart to abandon it, knowing that everyone else in the world had already chosen to turn their backs on this newborn life.

    Years later, she would grow to love this child, even though she never wanted to. She would find moments of joy in the small accomplishments of this child. She would take pride in seeing the child slowly grow older and older. She would come to view this niece of hers as her own daughter. And so, over those years, the child became known as the First Miss of the Yang Household, given the name "Yang Qingxia"¡ª "Qing", after her mother, Ruoqing.

    Years later, she would also discover that she was infertile. Yang Chen would take another wife, one who died within a few years due to disease. He would simultaneously have affairs outside of the household. The first child he brought back was another daughter, one who Ruoyu would claim as her own daughter, just to give the child a status that she could never own if she called another woman her mother.

    The second child he brought back was the daughter of a woman, one who she had also grown to hate along those years. That child, she extended no mercy to.

    But that was getting ahead of the story. To rewind, one would have to go back to not a few weeks since Zhang Ruoyu adopted the child who would eventually be called "Qingxia". That would be the day where her world upside down, yet again.

    ¡­

    The more Zhang Ruoyu thought about it, the more peculiar everything became. Could it really be a coincidence that her sister went into early labor? Could it really only be grief that caused her health to worsen so quickly?

    She went through many tests and many physicians. At last, one told her that she had been poisoned. He said that the poison in her body was so faint that it would be almost impossible to detect. He said that despite the low amount, the poison was so potent that any dosage higher would surely cost her her life.

    The news brought a cold shudder down Ruoyu''s back.

    Could it be that her sister was also poisoned? Who would do it, though? Surely, her parents would not have the heart to kill their own daughter.

    With more deduction, Ruoyu realized that it was the bowl of fish soup. Her bowl of fish soup. That was the only thing that she shared with her sister that the rest of her family did not also share.

    And after some thorough investigation, she came to one name¡ª a name that she had not spoken of in years.

    Liu Yuxi.

    This news came suddenly to Ruoyu. She could not believe her ears. Yet there was a maid who confessed to it. Liu Yuxi was the one who bribed that maid to poison the soup.

    Ruoyu had tracked Yuxi down, discovering that the Liu Family had fallen apart, and that Liu Yuxi now lived alone, in a run-down hut.

    At the time, Ruoyu had barged in, demanding an answer, an explanation from this old friend of hers. She did not trust that maid. She knew that it couldn''t be the truth. No matter how much Liu Yuxi despised Ruoyu for marrying the man she loved, she was not the type who was cruel enough to scheme and kill her.

    Yuxi was sitting at a table, almost as if she expected Ruoyu''s arrival. When she saw Ruoyu again, for the first time in two years, instead of saying anything, she began laughing. It was maniacal laughter, the laughter of an insane person. She laughed until she couldn''t breathe, and only then did she stop, a giggle still caught in her throat.

    Ruoyu stared at the woman in front of her, no longer recognizing the Liu Yuxi she used to know. She asked the question that she had wanted to ask, all this time.

    Liu Yuxi only answered in one way. "It was supposed to be your father. But I don''t mind that you and your sister were the ones who drank it either."

    Upon hearing that, Ruoyu did not want to be there anymore. She didn''t want to be in the same room, in the same vicinity, as this woman. She didn''t even want to know what Liu Yuxi meant. All she wanted to do was to leave.

    So, she spun around and walked out.

    ¡­

    When she went back to the villa, the first person she went to find was her husband.

    She told him the truth, the fact that Liu Yuxi was a murderer, the fact that Liu Yuxi killed her sister, the fact that Liu Yuxi was the true monster all along. Tears streamed down her cheeks, staining her skin. She was a mess, nothing befitting of the image of a perfect wife. Except, she couldn''t control her emotions. She couldn''t control the feelings rising up within her. And at this moment, she could not care about a composed and proper image in front of him.

    Yang Chen had leapt up, fear struck across his face. She thought, at the time, that it was fear of Liu Yuxi, or fear for Ruoyu''s well-being. Yet, later on, she would realize that it wasn''t fear of any of those, but rather, concern that the woman he loved so badly, Liu Yuxi, was getting accused of such horrid things. From the start, he had never believed her, not even for a bit. He had seen her as a crazy woman, gone mad from grief to the point where she would spew nonsense accusations.

    At the time, he had reached over to comfort her. She let him comfort her, all until he murmured, "Where is the proof?"

    She stepped back in bewilderment, thinking of the maid who confessed. She called for someone to hurry over to her parents'' villa to fetch that maid, yet they came back with the news that the servant who confessed hung herself.

    There was no witness anymore. There was no evidence.

    Yang Chen, upon hearing that, looked at her with pity. He cupped the side of her face, gently saying, "I think you must be tired, Dearest Wife."

    She shook her head, continuing to repeat the same words she had been saying all along. Even if there was no evidence, Liu Yuxi was a murderer. Even if there was no witness, Liu Yuxi killed her sister. Even if he didn''t believe it, Liu Yuxi was the monster all along, and he had loved a monster.

    He only echoed his words from before, saying, "You''re too tired." Then, he called over a servant, ordering for the Madam to be escorted back to her chambers to rest.

    She continued to struggle, to repeat the truth, but he was no longer willing to listen. She had lost him, perhaps much longer before this, already.

    That was the reality of things. Her sister was dead, and her husband loved the woman who was the murderer over her, his own wife.

    At that moment, she lost all hope.

    ¡­

    The servants did escort her back to her room. She sat down in front of the mirror and stared at her reflection.

    It was a mistake. It was all a mistake.

    Her eyes dragged over all the rouge and cosmetics on the vanity table.

    Why did Yang Chen love Liu Yuxi?

    Yuxi had always been the prettier one. That was a fact that was always clear in her mind. There was a type of beauty that Yuxi had, one which didn''t need jewels or silks to shine. It was a beauty that she could not even try to compare herself with. When standing next to Liu Yuxi, her faults became clear. Her chin was too sharp, her nose too long, her eyes not as wide and pretty as Liu Yuxi, her lips not as soft and naturally pink as Liu Yuxi.

    This was a fact that she knew so clearly, yet so many times in the past, she had tried her best to cover up her flaws with powder, to redden her pale lips with rouge. She had tried to hide her insecurities behind beautiful silks, all in hope that she could be more beautiful. She had swallowed every complaint silently, acted out the role of a quiet, obedient, and open-minded wife to perfection, all in the hope that she could be more desirable.

    Except, in the end, she was neither more beautiful nor more desirable. Yang Chen did not love her. The only thing holding their marriage together was that cursed agreement between two families, a decision which doomed her to this fate.

    She was stupid, doing all of these things for someone''s love which she could never get. From then on, she would no longer remain a fool. She would no longer crave for pathetic love.

    She wanted power. Enough power to take revenge. Enough power to ruin Liu Yuxi''s life.

    Her hands reached under the vanity table, opening a drawer and taking out a small box. In there, there were the two hairpins¡ª the hairpins that Ruoqing gave her on the day that she passed. She slid the cover open, then opened a hidden compartment. She drew out a blank slip of paper, getting a brush and ink to write, "Liu Yuxi, I hate you."

    And then, she smiled.

    ¡­

    A few years passed. During that time, she no longer remained an obedient, non-interfering wife. She became Yang Chen''s advisor, pulling strings for him in the background and slowly increasing his position in the government. He was unwilling to think too deeply about the schemes of the government, but she was willing to get her hands dirty for him. She was willing to be the one with blood staining her hands.

    She did it not for love, but for power. If he had power, then she would have power.

    She knew that Yang Chen still met with Liu Yuxi. She didn''t do anything to stop them. On the outside, she seemed like a virtuous wife for not being jealous. On the inside, she saw it as giving them a taste of happiness before taking it all away.

    On a rainy day, Yang Chen returned to the villa with a baby, saying that it was Yuxi''s. She had stared at the infant, knowing that the time had come.

    The baby would stay in the villa and grow up, as an illegitimate daughter with no worth in the family. Liu Yuxi was not allowed to come into the villa, forever known as an outside lover. For someone like Liu Yuxi, who cared about a title, this was sure to be shameful. Liu Yuxi would also be a mother who would not see her child grow up. She hoped that Liu Yuxi would suffer, separated from her newborn infant only a few days after its birth.

    It puzzled her that Liu Yuxi''s child seemed to be so sickly, from the moment she entered the villa. Yet she could not concern herself over this. She had a toddler Qingxia to take care of, after all.

    ¡­

    Despite all of her planning, the Yang Family had its failures in court. Their government position was stripped from them, and only because of all the work and scheming she had done behind the scenes, Yang Chen managed to preserve his life.

    She fell to her backup plan, supporting Yang Chen to become a merchant. Yet he had never been good at finances. Luck had never been on her side.

    So, instead of wrapping her mind around power and revenge, she fell to taking care of Qingxia. The child meant everything to her. As long as she could get Qingxia a happy and content future, she would consider her life fulfilled.

    Years and years and years went on. She watched as Qingxia grew from a baby, to a toddler, to a girl, to a young woman.

    Time slipped by so fast that it was already time for Qingxia to marry. They found her a good match, from the Huang Household. The birthmarks on Qingxia''s skin had faded. The rumors about her birth and bad luck had vanished, replaced by the identity that Madam Zhang crafted for this "daughter" of hers. She was going to have a happy marriage¡ª or so the madam thought.

    After a month into the marriage, Qingxia''s husband passed due to illness.

    The thought of her daughter facing an unhappy marriage, forever stuck at a household that didn''t fully welcome her, was a thought that disturbed her. She would not have Qingxia suffer that kind of fate. With some strings pulled, she managed to get Qingxia to return home, safe and sound.

    Except, fate had always been an enemy. Soon enough, the madam received word that her daughter was pregnant. Qingxia had been feeling unwell, so a physician went to check on her. The physician kept the truth from the young woman, but he reported back to the madam. The physician also brought more news¡ª by the looks of it, her body was too weak. She would not be able to bear the child safely. At best, either the child or mother would survive. At worst¡ª the more possible outcome¡ª both would die.

    The news struck the madam terribly, memories of her dead sister, memories of her sister''s choice, memories of the pain and agony, rising up. Could it be that the poison her sister ingested had carried over to her child? Was Qingxia truly going to suffer the same fate?

    She had already lost her sister. She didn''t want to lose this niece and daughter of hers either. A part of her mind could already see the events playing out. If Qingxia was given the choice, Qingxia would save her child over herself. That was a fact that she knew for sure. But even that part, she wasn''t sure if that would happen. The physician said that both would likely die.

    For months, she struggled with this idea, unsure of what to do.

    Then, she remembered the box. The box with her deepest secrets, which she had hidden all this time. She went to find the box, opening it and reading its old letters. There were only two, anyways, and the one she looked for was one she wrote a few years back.

    ''After all these years, you still haunt my dreams¡­ I wonder why?

    I miss you. I miss you so much that it hurts, that when I wake up after these dreams, I find tears on my cheeks.

    Back then, why did you make that choice? Why did you choose to save her?

    I know that you will call me selfish. You were always the more selfless one. But if I were the one making the decision, I would''ve saved you. And this many years later, I still wish that I could''ve been there to make the choice.

    You would hate me. I know you would. Only, if you were still alive, why would it matter if you hated me or not? I think it would''ve been worth it. I would make that sacrifice for you.

    It''s spring again. Yet another year has passed, but I still think of you.''

    The end of the letter gave her the answer.

    She could not afford to lose anymore. She knew that it was selfish of her. She knew that it wasn''t her decision to make. But she would rather have her daughter alive, than to deal with the possibility that her daughter would die.

    She was always willing to play the villain''s role, regardless.

    Thus, one morning, she called over the First Miss''s maid and handed over a vial. The unborn child would have to be gone.

    ¡­

    Her father had been wrong at best, a liar and a hypocrite at worst.

    Kindness was not the key to life. It was a tool of manipulation. Mercy was not true justice. Only cruelty would provide justice. And if forgiveness was a strength, then she would rather be a weakling for the rest of her life.

    She could never bring herself to forgive that woman, the cause of all her grief.

    ¡­

    She had been "Madam Zhang" for so long. "Madam Zhang" to some, "Mother" to others, and the meaningless "Dearest Wife" to another. It was easy to forget that a long, long time ago, she had another name. It was the name of a girl, untarnished by the darkness alongside her, living in a land of light.

    "Zhang Ruoyu" ¡ª that was her name.

    If someone called this name out, she would treat it no differently than the name of a stranger.

 288 Facing Reality and the Artis

    The end of the story left Yujia a bit speechless.

    As if thrown back to her feelings from more than a month ago, when she found out about Hui''er and her involvement with the First Miss. She wanted to sympathize with the woman in front of her. If she was placed in the same situation, she wasn''t confident if she could say that she would act differently. Yet, at the same time, after seeing the amount of misery Yang Qingxia went through¡ª the emotional trauma she carried to this day¡ª she didn''t think that the madam was completely justified either. It shouldn''t have been her choice to make.

    But again, when Yujia thought about the things Madam Zhang went through, she couldn''t blame the woman either.

    She was glad that Madam Zhang didn''t break out crying or show much emotions. Throughout the entire story, she kept her composure, unflinching even during difficult topics. If Madam Zhang was like Hui''er, who would burst out into tears, Yujia would be even more conflicted.

    Finally, when she gathered her voice again, she asked, "What about¡­ the poison? You mentioned¡­ my mother is poisoning you." That part of the story explained how Yujia saw Madam Zhang''s personal maid fetching medicine from the store that one time. She probably carried health problems all this time. "But what about how¡­ I''m poisoned? You didn''t poison me?"

    "No," Madam Zhang answered, the corners of her lips turning up, "though it is very interesting, the case with your poison. I confronted Liu Yuxi again, a few years after you were brought into the villa. That was where I found out about the betrayal my father committed. She blamed me for poisoning her, while she was giving birth to you. The tragic reality, however, that she refused to face, was something I dug up after her accusation. She kept many poisons in her vials of pills and medicine. On the day that she was giving birth to you, by herself, she grabbed the wrong vial by accident¡ª the exact same vial that contained the poison she fed me and my sister."

    Lips parting, Yujia asked with bewilderment, "Wasn''t that poison made to kill? How can I be alive, if she is alive as well?"

    "I am under the impression that she realized her mistake the moment she took the wrong vial. She kept an antidote as well, so she likely quickly took that afterwards. Of course, that did not mean that you would keep your perfect health, but both of you managed to survive," Madam Zhang explained. Her smile grew a little wider as she folded her hands. "Isn''t it amusing how life does this? Poisoned by the same poison you gave¡ª it is karma, I believe."

    Yujia bit her lip. "I¡­ see."

    So, that was the entire story.

    After hearing all of this, Yujia also found herself feeling conflicted about her birthmother''s character. She could understand how Madam Liu felt deep hatred for the Zhang Family for ruining her family, yet people like Zhang Ruoqing were innocent. Zhang Ruoqing didn''t deserve this. Yang Qingxia didn''t deserve it either. Except, when Liu Yuxi had discovered that she had harmed the innocent, she didn''t show any signs of guilt¡ª at least, according to Madam Zhang''s side of the story.

    Because of these thoughts, Yujia decided to maintain a distance from her birthmother. Perhaps she would still pay her visits, but Yujia wouldn''t go out of her way to visit Liu Yuxi frequently¡ª the same way that she wouldn''t visit Madam Zhang for company''s sake all the time either.

    As Yujia thought, Madam Zhang unfolded her hands and tapped her nails against the table. "I have one other speculation as well. Would you like to hear?"

    Yujia nodded.

    "The time that you were poisoned at birth may have been by accident, but it is possible that your birthmother continued to poison you as you grew up."

    Upon hearing this, Yujia froze. "Please¡­ explain," she whispered.

    "It is only a speculation¡ª so do not take it for fact¡ª yet it is very possible. You were separated from your birthmother for a long time, as a child. Only when you were slightly older, a little less than a decade later, were you finally permitted to pay visits. But to you, at the time, Liu Yuxi was nothing more than a stranger. Even when the Old Master would explain to you that she was your true mother, you would be unwilling to leave his side to spend time with her. This is what I''ve heard from things he''s told me. Liu Yuxi is an insecure woman¡ª you should know that by now¡ª and so, perhaps, in order to obtain your love, she would poison you. You would suffer poor health, and when you visited her again by chance, she would slip you the antidote. You would feel better after visiting her, and after doing this a few times, your mind will naturally be impacted to associate good health with visiting your birthmother, and develop positive feelings after that."

    Yujia thought about that. She thought about what the physician said, about being poisoned since childhood. She thought about how after not visiting Madam Liu for around a month after transmigrating, her health had improved by bounds.

    Suddenly, she felt a wave of fear and disgust.

    Would Liu Yuxi really do that? Would she really have the heart to poison her own child, just to get some manipulated love like that?

    "I only thought so," Madam Zhang continued, "after observing some of your health patterns, as well as the willingness you had for visiting your mother increasing by leaps and bounds. But again¡ª this nothing more than a speculation. You should ask her yourself."

    "I¡­ will," Yujia stated, clenching her hands.

    Thank the heavens that she didn''t eat or drink anything when she visited Madam Liu last time.

    "One last thing," Yujia decided to ask, changing the topic, "my personal maid¡ª Hui''er. Li Huiyu. She served the First Miss before me. You asked her to poison the First Miss for you. I could not find her during my time undercover as a maid. What happened to her?"

    "She stayed in the villa for a while after your disappearance. After that, she came to me and asked to be freed from her servitude. I considered what she had done, and permitted it."

    "Oh."

    Yujia felt her heart sink. Hui''er knew that she was at Lingxin. She made sure to drop hints of that in her note to Hui''er that she scribbled before she escaped, on her wedding day. Other than those hints, Hui''er had always known about Yuija''s status as a disciple.

    Despite this knowledge, Hui''er still didn''t go find her, after freedom.

    Yujia didn''t blame the girl. She had spent more than five years in servitude, growing up as someone stepped over by society. Not to mention: the Fourth Miss had abused her daily, and even if Yujia treated her kindly once transmigrated, she still had to deal with the trauma.

    Thinking of the possibility of if Yujia was in that situation, she would feel hesitant about facing her old young miss too. Regardless of the friendship, Yujia still wore the face of her old abuser.

    If Hui''er was free now, then that was good for her. Yujia hoped that the girl was in a good place, and that despite their diverging paths, perhaps they could meet again in the future. If they never crossed paths after that, then it was just fated to be. That was the reality of the situation.

    Standing up, Yujia stretched her arms. She gave a small smile, then said, "Thank you for your story. Now, though, I think I should go. The Fifth Miss is still waiting outside."

    Madam Zhang nodded. "Talking of the past has fatigued me. You may have your discussion with her, but I would advise to not stay for long. I will retire to my courtyard, with your information." She picked up the box of records.

    "Alright. Good luck," Yujia said.

    With that, the two of them left the room.

    The feeling of closure, knowing that all of her hard work investigating, finally led to this moment, where the majority of the mystery had unraveled itself, was indeed something satisfying.

    Of course, not all the mysteries were solved. Yujia still had questions, about her dreams, about transmigration. Except, those were mysteries that she didn''t necessarily need to focus on right away. They were mysteries that she didn''t even know if she had the capability to solve, or even needed to.

    So, for the first time in a long time, Yujia could finally relax. And that was the best part of closure, for her.

 289 Coincidentalâ€ Arrangements of the Artistâ€™s Master

    "Master wants to see you."

    That was what Yujia heard upon stepping foot into Lingxin and running into her senior brother. She nodded at Yunhe, then made a turn for her master''s courtyard.

    It seemed like Yunhe was her master''s errand boy, considering how many times he had sent Yunhe to fetch her. While Yujia walked to his courtyard, she wondered what her master needed. He always wanted to see her for some reason, be it art-related or just to have her company.

    This time, however, it seemed like he just wanted to tell her something. "I left a nice paintbrush in the pavilion," he mused when she walked in, "you should go fetch it for me."

    "Lingxin Pavilion?" Yujia asked for clarification, then added on, "Why can''t you send a servant?"

    "Kid, why can''t you just listen?" he sighed with deep disappointment. "I''ve never come across a disciple as unruly as you are."

    "Alright, alright, I''ll go," Yujia relented, shaking her head with a grin.

    ¡­

    She should''ve realized that her master was up to no good when he wanted her to fetch a paintbrush. She should''ve questioned it some more, truly considering if he would really send Yunhe to call her over just to get her to run a simple errand.

    The issue was: she didn''t question it.

    So, when she walked up to Lingxin Pavilion, seeing Yu Zixu in there, Yujia wanted to smack herself.

    She should''ve known better.

    Zixu spotted her the moment she appeared. She had no choice but to walk up into the pavilion, a nervous smile on her face. Except, thinking that she had wanted to see Zixu as well, her smile relaxed. This was a good opportunity.

    She spoke up first, getting to the point without any pretending, "Senior Brother, did my master pull some sort of trick again?"

    He gave her a grin. "I came into the school and ran into your master by accident. He insisted that I stay in this pavilion until he sent someone to see me. Are you the one that he was speaking of?"

    "I suppose so." She leaned back against the railing of the pavilion. "He asked me to fetch a paintbrush that he misplaced here."

    "There seem to be no paintbrushes in sight." Zixu glanced around the empty pavilion. "On another note, though, how did things go?" He leaned forward.

    Yujia exhaled. This is what she wanted to see him for, to talk to someone in depth about the events that had happened. "It went well, for the most part. I solved the mystery. Though, I wouldn''t be here if I didn''t solve it," she laughed.

    "I do believe that you promised me an answer if I helped you with the mystery, no?" Zixu brought up, eyebrows raised slightly in amusement.

    After hearing her explanation, Zixu pointed out, "No wonder you were dressed as a man again."

    "Based on your genius deduction skills, I''m sure you already developed a vague idea of why I was dressed like such whenever I walked into the pavilion," Yujia said, to which Zixu replied with a small smile.

    "Thank you for the story," he said after a moment of silence, "albeit the fact that it ended up being a tragedy."

    "Well, what matters is that I now know the truth," Yujia acknowledged.

    Zixu nodded in agreement, then responded, "Your story reminded me." He pulled out a pendant from his sleeve¡ª a rectangular, white jade pendant that Yujia may or may not have been in the possession of until she returned it back to him. "This is yours."

    Yujia stared at the pendant for a moment, saying, "I gave it back to you, though."

    "I recall that we made a transaction, where you gave me taels in exchange for the pendant. You said that those were your ''hard-earned funds''. How can I take the pendant back again?"

    "I didn''t feel right to keep it. If you feel uncomfortable that I gave you those taels for nothing, treat it as a gift, then, Senior Brother."

    "Ah." Zixu bowed slightly, extending out his hands with the pendant to hand it to her. Then, he looked up, echoing her words. "Treat this as a gift, then, Junior Sister." And then, the corners of his lips twitched upwards, as if he couldn''t hold back his smile.

    Yujia was wordless. She stared at the pendant in his palms, and seeing that he was unwilling to rise until she accepted the pendant, she grudgingly reached forward and took it. "Fine, fine," she murmured.

    "If you would like, you can sell it," Zixu suggested.

    Raising the pendant up, she observed the white jade, glittering in the sunlight. "I don''t think I will. It''s pretty." The beauty of the pendant brought a soft smile to her lips.

    "Alright then. Whatever pleases you," he hummed.

    The two chatted for a few more moments, and then, it was time to depart. Zixu had a business meeting to attend, and Yujia wanted to change out of her disguise. As lovely as the idea of chatting for the rest of the day was, it was merely a lovely idea and not reality.

    ¡­

    Yu Zixu walked out of Lingxin with a soft smile, yet the moment he exited, the smile dropped.

    This was not realistic. He knew that it wasn''t. He was merely indulging himself with the idea that it could be, even if only for a brief, passing moment. How much longer could he continue to have carefree conversations with her like what happened today? It was a dream, slipping away, second by second.

    He went to that meeting alongside his father, wearing the charming smile again while his thoughts were anything but joyous.

    At the end of the meeting, returning to the deeper courtyards in the Yu Villa, his father pulled him to the side for a discussion about marriage, yet again. He was old enough. It was about time for him to find a wife. There were a few young misses in a few other families that would make a good match.

    Zixu only silently nodded, avoiding any specific discussion by dismissing the topic with another "let''s discuss this later."

    Walking back to his courtyard, he thought of her, and the side view of her face as she held the pendant up to the sunlight, observing it.

    A future with her would be impossible. Perhaps it would be better to bury these emotions and move on. It would be easier that way.

    Shen Li was by his side, waiting patiently for any orders. Zixu glanced over, expression blank.

    "Go over to the Bo Villa and ask Bo Zhiyuan if he''s in the mood to have a drink," Zixu said.

    Then, he sat down behind his desk and leaned the side of his face against his hand, sighing.

 290 A Nameless Friend of the Artis

    Considering that her schedule was mostly clear, Yujia began humming as she went to fetch her oil painting supplies. She called out to Yufeng, asking, "Have you ever painted?"

    Yufeng shook her head. "Nope."

    "Are you interested?" Yujia asked, setting out the supplies on an outside table.

    "Never tried," she replied tersely. "People like me have no point in learning the arts."

    Yujia was about to say something about "no self-depreciation", but she realized that Yufeng was not insulting herself, rather telling the truth. Yufeng did seem to have a strange background, but she currently held the identity of a maid, and maids definitely didn''t have any purpose in learning art.

    "You should still give it a try," Yujia ended up suggesting, "Who knows? You could be a secret genius."

    Yufeng gave her a look of great disbelief. She then looked down at the paintbrush Yujia held, and the glass palette with the peculiar oil paints. "Your supplies¡­ look strange," she noted.

    Replying with a short nod, Yujia said, "These are not typical painting supplies. It''s oil paint."

    "Oil paint?"

    "Let me demonstrate."

    With a small smile, Yujia propped up the canvas and began painting. After not painting for more than a week, it was truly relaxing to get back into the activity.

    While Yujia mixed her paints¡ª she decided that she wanted to paint a waterfall which would require both light gray-blues and dark, vivid greens¡ª she asked Yufeng, "So, what are your plans? You are welcome to stay here for as long as you need, but are you going to depart anytime soon? And where will you go?"

    Yufeng looked to the side, thinking. "I''m not sure."

    "You''re not sure?" Yujia echoed.

    "I¡­ had plans. But these plans changed. And now, I''m not sure. I would have to think about them some more."

    "Is that so, Yufeng?" Her paintbrush dipped into white paint, beginning by applying some onto the canvas.

    Yufeng was silent, watching her paint. During the few times that Yujia glanced back, she noticed that Yufeng didn''t seem all too focused. Her brain seemed to be thinking of something else.

    As Yujia began to form the general shapes of her waterfall and mountains with the dark, vivid greens, Yufeng suddenly spoke up, blurting a phrase that took Yujia by surprise.

    "My name is not Xie Yufeng."

    Slowly, the paintbrush in Yujia''s hand lowered, bending away from the canvas. She turned around just as slowly, asking one word:

    "What?"

    The young woman behind Yujia repeated, her voice steady and firm, "My name is not Xie Yufeng."

    "I don''t have a name."

    "How can that be?" Yujia no longer stood, taking a step to sit across the table from Yufeng.

    "That has just always been the case," the young woman explained, her tone calm as if not having a name was an everyday subject, "My first memories are being called ''girl.'' And then¡­ someone else gave me a name. But it is not my name anymore. So, I have no name."

    "Where did¡­ ''Xie Yufeng'' come from, then?" Yujia insisted, still utterly confused.

    "It''s the name of a dead girl. I wore her identity."

    The young woman was not smiling, but she was not showing any other signs of emotion either. She seemed detached, almost, as if her experiences were merely the story of a stranger. Yet again, it was one of those times where she didn''t explain right away, and Yujia didn''t feel like it would be appropriate to ask either. However, the distant attitude the girl wore didn''t seem to help.

    Who was this person in front of Yujia? How many of the things that Yujia knew about her were solely lies?

    "I was supposed to take her identity and leave the capital, when the time came," she went on, "only now, I don''t think I want that."

    Yujia bit her lip. The palms of her hands were sweating, a bit, out of pure nervous energy. Her wariness of the person in front of her only continued to grow. "What do you want, then?"

    "I''m not sure, like I said before." Finally, "Yufeng" smiled. "I''m still thinking."

    "How long will it take for you to make a decision?"

    "I''m not sure of an answer for that either. Perhaps I will decide in days. Or perhaps months."

    Thinking back to how "Yufeng" saved her life before, and how "Yufeng" was being straightforward and blunt right now, Yujia folded her hands on the table. Even if the person in front of her was not "Yufeng", "Yufeng" was only a name that she wore. Yujia still knew about this young woman''s morals. She still knew the kind of person that "Yufeng" was, from the bits and pieces she picked up throughout their interactions. Her wariness receded while she came to this conclusion.

    Yujia informed, her voice quiet, "Well then, you are welcome to stay here for as long as it takes for you to make a decision."

    "I appreciate that. Greatly." To show her thanks, the young woman stepped aside, bowing.

    Hastily gesturing for her to get up, Yujia added on, "But you must tell me a name. I can''t call you ''girl.'' That would not work."

    "You could give me a name. Any name," the young woman replied.

    "No¡ª that¡ª the honor is too great for me," Yujia denied, shaking her head and hands.

    "Then, refer to me as ''Xie Yufeng'', like you have always done. It may be easier that way."

    Yujia looked at Yufeng, observing the girl''s expression for a few moments before going, "Alright." She supposed that would work. "You have to tell me a name of your own later, though," she added on, "If you think of one, that is."

    "Of course." Yufeng agreed without a moment of hesitation. She then leaned to the side, looking at the oil painting Yujia had barely started on. "Are you going to finish it?"

    Standing up, Yujia picked her paintbrush up again and smiled. "Yes. The paint does not dry fast, so conversations like these are alright."

    After saying that, she dipped her brush in paint and began to add on layers to the shadows.

 291 Gullible = The Artis

    Zhou Luowei, now Madam Zhou since she was the wife of Bo Zhiyuan, was Yujia''s first commission portrait subject in this world. Yujia was on friendly terms with her, going to one of her social gatherings before. At the meeting, she had met many kind and young ladies that were friends of Luowei. Yujia acted as an art instructor there, but when an incident occured, where one of the attendees, Rong Tianyu, fell into the pond, Yujia had saved Tianyu.

    Even though that part of the meeting had been very unpleasant and terrifying, Yujia still found herself overall enjoying the company of those young ladies. It was nice to talk with other women around her age.

    So, when the messenger came by with an invitation to attend one of their gatherings again, Yujia didn''t hesitate for long before accepting.

    Remembering how Luowei gifted her a beautiful set of silk robes, made of pale teal fabric and embroidered with glowing iridescent threads, Yujia decided to wear that along with the matching veil that came along with it. After placing jade hairpins in her hair, Yujia realized that the dark blue threads her Lingxin Pavilion pendant had didn''t match the outfit very well, and without a pendant, the belt area looked empty.

    She glanced over at her vanity table, realizing the best pendant she had was the jade pendant Zixu gave her. The green jade beads at the end of the pendant matched the colors of her robes much better.

    With a small smile, she unclasped her Lingxin pendant and strung Zixu''s pendant onto her belt. The Lingxin pendant could go in her pocket.

    ¡­

    The gathering went well this time around. The banisters were fixed, so no one fell into the water, which was definitely a plus.

    The first person Yujia was concerned about was Rong Tianyu, and if she had recovered. The good news was, it seemed like the young girl was perfectly healthy, greeting Yujia with a bright smile, lots of grateful "thank you"s, and plenty of gifts. Overwhelmed by the platters of things Rong Tianyu had to give her¡ª it was close to the level of Yujia''s business partner''s, Bo Zhizhong, elaborate procession of gifts when he tried to apologize for nearly killing her with a horse¡ª Yujia quickly rejected most of it, insisting that saving someone was something she should''ve done. Of course, Tianyu would not take a declination as an answer, so at the end of the meeting, Yujia ended up going back to Lingxin with many servants carrying gifts behind her.

    At the end of the gathering, Yujia left with a significantly improved mood, along with an invitation to come to their next gathering, only three days later, since it would be Jing Juan''s birthday, and they all wanted to celebrate it.

    ¡­

    Back at Lingxin, Yujia looked through all the gifts Rong Tianyu gave her. The one item that caught her eye was a calligraphy brush set. It wasn''t like her courtyard didn''t have good brushes for calligraphy, but the set Tianyu gave had such elegant matching parts that simply looking at the brushes, made of white jade, made Yujia want to become invested in calligraphy.

    Usually, perhaps Yujia would''ve been more fascinated by the gift platter of small pastries and cakes, but she focused entirely on the brushes. She passed the cakes onto Yufeng, then took the brushes and went over to her master''s courtyard, ready to ask him for some tips.

    Upon seeing the set, her master also noted that they were fine brushes. However, before he gave her any actual tips, he pulled out a random topic out of thin air.

    "So," he asked, leaning forward, a smirk across his face, "yesterday¡­ when I sent you to fetch that paintbrush in the pavilion¡­ which, by the way, I found under my desk. I didn''t actually lose it¡­ cough cough¡­ Did you run into anyone interesting at the pavilion?" He raised his eyebrows up and down, but then coughed again, flattening his expression. "I mean," he pointed out, "not that I''m asking about anyone in specific¡­ or that I set you up to meet with anyone¡­ or anything of that sort."

    Yujia knew where this conversation was going, covering her face with a hand. "Yes, Master. I ran into Senior Brother Yu."

    He knew this. She knew that he knew it! He was the one who set it up, and here he was, acting completely innocent and even demanding some gossip.

    "Hm?" Her master stroked his wispy white beard. "You don''t seem all that happy about it? Do you not like him?"

    Yujia looked up, in protest, "Of course I like Senior Brother¡ª"

    "Aha!" he interrupted, grinning.

    "No¡ª I meant like¡ª" she hurried to explain, but then gave up, mid-sentence. Whatever. Let her master interpret how he would like to. It was hopeless and pointless to try to explain. Besides, it made him happy, and why would she deprive him of this happiness?

    He continued smiling, tapping his chin. "I noticed that you returned rather quickly. Why did you not talk for long?"

    Thinking about why they departed, which was that both of them had things to do in life, she realized that her master would likely be very depressed and discouraged to hear that. Yujia decided to entertain her master, going with a partial truth. "Someone walked into the pavilion and interrupted our conversation, so we had to go."

    There was definitely someone, a random servant, who came over with a broom towards the end of their talk

    "Oh?" His nostrils flared, seemingly taking great offense at this person. "Who is this insolent brat, interrupting conversations like that?"

    Yujia, who didn''t want to blame an innocent servant, blurted out the first name she could think of, at the description of insolence.

    "Disciple Rong Yuan."

    Holding Rong Tianyu''s gift in her hand, Yujia did feel a twinge of guilt for throwing Tianyu''s brother under like that, but the two of them were truly different. While Tianyu was bubbly, her brother was just downright annoying. The fact that he always tried to figure out where Yujia was at all times to follow her around, along with his persistent personality, and the reality that he even tried to bribe people to figure out her likes and dislikes, made it so that her impression of him really wasn''t all that great.

    "Ah, that kid under the old man?" Her master meant the current head of the school, Ye Yunhe''s father. Yujia gave him a brief nod in response. "I''ll chew him out later," he continued with a scoff.

    On the inside, Yujia gave a silent cheer. On the outside, she gave a solemn nod, then prodded at the box of brushes. "Master, about calligraphy¡­"

    "Right," he mused, turning his attention back to the brushes, "Kid, you really want to learn calligraphy?"

    "I just want to have better penmanship." This was a fact¡ª her modern-styled writing really didn''t work well with a calligraphy brush.

    Giving another look at the brush, her master then said, "You know, if you want to learn, you have to observe from the great masters first." He coughed. "You should¡­ come with me to the library. There are some calligraphy works I want to show you."

    Yujia''s eyes lit up. She liked the idea of that.

    ¡­

    Yujia should''ve known, again, not to be gullible. She should''ve known, again, that her master would never be up to any good.

    She followed him to Lingxin''s library, not thinking much about it. The moment she stepped aside, ahead of him, he suddenly gestured at a wall to the far right, telling her to observe the calligraphy on those shelves for now, without his guidance, since he wanted to talk to Yunhe''s father about school matters temporarily, before getting to teaching her.

    Leaving it at that, he closed the door and walked away. Yujia was now alone in the quiet library.

    She walked through the shelves, familiar with the layout, looking for the wall and calligraphy that her master told her to observe.

    When she arrived at the shelf, which she remembered to be the shelf with calligraphy works, she realized that she was facing the wrong direction. So, she turned around and reached over for the scrolls on the opposite shelf.

    Without realizing that someone was actually on the other side, her hands brushed against warm skin. Yujia flinched, wondering who it could be, before looking up into the eyes of Yu Zixu.

    And then, she mentally face palmed, realizing that she fell for her master''s tricks, yet again.

    ¡­

    Yue Ze walked away from the library with a very happy grin plastered across his face. He saw the face of Ye Xuanhe, standing on the opposite side of the room, and walked to reach over, gripping onto the shoulder of that old man. He muttered, under his breath, "You and I¡ª let''s get out of this building."

    Ye Xuanhe looked at him with absolute exasperation, gesturing at the row of disciples in front of him. "I''m having class right now."

    Yue Ze didn''t care. He barely cast a glance at the disciples, saying, "Go have class outside, or something. I won''t have anyone going into the library." He gestured at the door to the side of the building, which led to the library.

    "Are you drunk again?" Ye Xuanhe gave him a frown.

    Yue Ze crossed his arms. "No, I''m just trying to ensure that my precious disciple gets to have a perfect future, alright?" Seeing Xuanhe''s puzzled expression, he quickly added on, "No need to ask what that means. Just get out of here. Not taking any risks of my disciple getting interrupted again. Which, by the way, any of y''all Rong Yuan?"

    He turned his attention to the disciples, who shook their heads.

    "Eh," Yue Ze grunted, then waved his hands for them to get out.

    Very grudgingly, Ye Xuanhe took his disciples and exited the room. Yue Ze paused for a moment, the sly smile on his face appearing again. He then stepped to walk behind them, closing the doors himself and pulling out a set of keys from his pocket. With a solid click, the door to the building was locked, and Yue Ze was satisfied.

    Ah. She complained about getting interrupted, didn''t she? Well now, no one would be able to interrupt her. No one could even get into the same building. She could have her lovely discussion for as long as she wanted. And surely, she would appreciate that.

    He would unlock the door sometime later. For now, there was some new imported wine that he wanted to try out¡ª not that he would get drunk. He would be careful about what he drank.

    Whistling, he walked away, spinning the ring of keys on one hand.

 292 Calligraphy and the Artis

    Yujia quickly leaned over to the end of the bookshelf, facing Zixu and saying, "Senior Brother!"

    He kept his calm smile, asking, "What are you doing here? We keep running into each other."

    "It''s all my master¡ª" Yujia gave an exasperated sigh, pressing her lips into a flat line. "I was trying to ask him for tips on calligraphy, and he sent me to the library. What about you? Did he summon you again?"

    Zixu shook his head slowly. "In the morning, when I''m usually free, I like to visit Lingxin''s library to read some of the books and scrolls here. Your master may have observed this habit in my schedule. I was visiting the library yesterday too, when he called me over to the pavilion."

    "I see."

    Her hands clasped in front of her, Yujia inclined herself to look at the scrolls on the shelf. Meanwhile, Zixu, turning slightly away from the shelf, glanced down.

    He pointed out, "You''re wearing the pendant."

    Yujia, who was about to grab a scroll, paused, moving her hand down to raise the pendant. She smiled. "Yes. It matched my outfit today, and I didn''t have a better option."

    "It does match. The colors of your dress really suit you," he commented quietly.

    "Thank you," Yujia replied, a light blush across her face. Then, she suddenly thought of a conversation she had with Ye Yunhe in the past. "By the way," she continued, "I heard that you were good at calligraphy?"

    Zixu tilted his head. "I suppose I know a thing or two."

    "So humble, as always."

    He smiled a little more. "Would you like me to teach you, Junior Sister?"

    Yujia straightened herself, eyes lighting up. "Could you?"

    "Of course."

    He stepped aside and gestured for her to walk forward, then followed after as Yujia went towards the direction of the table area. She took a seat at a table with ink, paper, and brushes on it. Zixu sat opposite of her.

    Without wasting any time, he picked up one of the brushes, demonstrating the proper method of holding it to her.

    "Hold the brush straight, like so," he explained, his voice quiet but firm, "with these two fingers at the front, and the rest behind." He turned his wrist, allowing Yujia to see the proper way herself, which involved supporting the brush with her index and middle finger. "Place your thumb like such," he went on, moving his thumb down to grip the brush.

    Yujia picked up a brush of her own, fumbling with it a little. It felt slightly unnatural, to think that she would be writing words in this way, so she made some motions with her wrist, in an attempt to relax her hand and get used to the motions.

    Staring at the brush, Yujia uncurled her fingers, watching the brush fall onto the table with a small thud. A small laugh came from Zixu, and she looked up, smiling as well.

    Seeing her incompetence, he stood up, moving to her side of the table. He showed her how to hold the brush from her point of view, in hopes that it would make it easier for her to understand. However, as Yujia tried again, he had more things to point out, about the distance and positioning of her grasp.

    At last, he extended out his hand, placing the brush he held onto the table. "May I?" he asked.

    Yujia nodded, not exactly sure what he was talking about, until he reached for her hand that held the brush. His hand clasped over hers, he adjusted the position of her fingers until he felt like it was good enough.

    While he moved her hand, she tilted her head, observing him from her peripheral vision. His gaze was concentrated, a slight crease in his defined brows, and up close, she could truly tell how focused he was on correcting her brush-holding posture. It was admirable, how closely he paid attention to details like these.

    "Now," he suddenly said, moving his hand away and bringing his gaze to her eyes, "that''s better."

    She dropped her gaze, slightly flustered that he caught her staring, even if it was only for a brief second.

    While she pretended to focus on observing her hand and the brush, he pulled a sheet of paper over, along with preparing some ink with the water and inkstone by the side. Then, he dipped his brush into the water, smoothing the shape of the brush on the side to remove the excess moisture, and dipped the entire section of the brush hairs into the ink, removing the excessive ink on the side of the container like he did with the water.

    On the sheet of paper, he began to demonstrate to her the ways of proper calligraphy, explaining all the while he did so. He explained how by applying different kinds of pressure, the strokes of the brush could become bolder or finer, how the movements should be fluid and not shaky, and how she should move her entire arm as she wrote. He also explained how there was spirit within the calligraphy, just like how there was spirit within painting, and that since she had some experience in art, calligraphy should come a little more naturally to her than someone who had zero experience.

    Following that, he allowed her to test it out. When she had made enough brush strokes, under his careful observation, he picked up his brush again, on a new piece of paper.

    "What are you going to write?" Yujia asked, looking over with interest.

    He smiled slightly, replying, "You''ll see."

    So, she watched as he wrote three, perfectly-written characters down on the page.

    Yang.

    Yu.

    Jia.

    The way by which he wrote was as careful as the way that he liked to observe people and details. Each motion of his arm was smooth, bringing the ink along with it as if each stroke was gliding on wind. Yet, at the same time, there was an immaculate level of precision along with it, one that clearly acted as evidence to the sheer hours upon hours he must''ve spent perfecting every small stroke. The lines were all planned to fit each other perfectly, connecting together to form beautiful, perfect words.

    Or, at least, they looked perfect in Yujia''s eyes. When she commented with awe on his work, Zixu simply replied, "I am often told that my writing is too careful, to the point where all the concern and thought makes it lose spirit¡ª so I can never accomplish true calligraphy of the heart."

    Yujia quickly shook her head, retorting, "I still think it''s amazing, though. It''s clear how much effort you''ve put into it, and that''s really admirable."

    "Thank you." Zixu''s smile grew a little warmer, though the look in his eyes held a tinge of melancholy, if Yujia had to describe what she saw. He added on, "Now, you should try. Copy it as well as you can."

    Gulping, Yujia picked up her brush and attempted to channel her inner non-existent perfectionist, remembering the way Zixu wrote the characters and mimicking what she remembered.

    It turned out decent in her eyes, but when a slight chuckle escaped from Zixu, she knew that she was way too far from his level of skill. When she looked at the two versions, hers and his, side by side, she could see ways that her calligraphy lacked as well.

    Zixu hovered the end of a brush over each character, pointing out the flaws she made. Under his meticulous guidance, she wrote her name again. This time, he noted that it was much better, but he still had corrections to make. When she had perfected her name after a few more tries, he took another piece of paper and picked up his brush again.

    "We talked about Tao Yuanming''s poetry before, didn''t we?" he said.

    Yujia nodded, remembering the discussion they had a while back in the library. It was before Zixu went to take the imperial examinations. He had been studying Tao Yuanming''s work.

    "There is another poem that he has written, which I admire," Zixu went on, "The depth of the image he paints with his words is stunning."

    His brush began to write on the page while he read aloud the lines.

    "The mountain air is fine in the evening of the day,

    And flying birds return homewards together.

    Within these things there is a hint of truth,

    But when I start to tell it, I cannot find the words."

    He set his brush down at the end of the four lines, saying, "I wonder, sometimes, if the leisurely life and a heart of serenity that he describes is what I truly want, but I do not know." Sliding the page across the table, he instructed, "You should practice copying these."

    Yujia picked up her brush, about to write like he instructed, but she heard a rustling noise. When she looked up, she saw that Zixu had stood, crossing to the other side of the table. He held his hands in front of him and bowed.

    "I have to get going now, Junior Sister. I hope that you will excuse me."

    She blinked and stood up, bowing as well. "That is fine, Senior Brother. I will work hard on practicing, so I''m afraid I won''t send you off. Farewell."

    Exchanging nods, Zixu then went on his way, exiting the private library. As she sat down, she heard sounds of a door being rattled from outside the library, as if some door was locked, but she didn''t pay it much heed.

    A few moments later, Zixu reentered the library and appeared in front of her again. She widened her eyes in surprise. He informed her of something that definitely caught her off-guard.

    "The doors of the main building are locked."

 293 The Artist Admits to Her Denial

    Zixu simply gestured his head at the room outside, so Yujia followed him, walking out.

    When she entered the building first, with her master, there had been plenty of people in the room. The private library was built right inside the building where Master Ye taught his students, after all. Except, now, the room was completely evacuated, not a single person besides her and Zixu inside.

    Yujia took this in. She went up to the door, rattling it a few times to see that it was indeed, like Zixu said, locked. She took that in too.

    The two facts, pieced together, could only mean one thing: her master was trying to do something stupid again.

    Suddenly, words from earlier that morning, where she told her master about getting interrupted in her conversation with Zixu yesterday, came echoing back in her mind. She could not regret any words more right now.

    She didn''t need to explain anything to Zixu either. He looked like he had a similar idea in his mind, the quiet amusement that he wore earlier completely gone from his face.

    Furiously, Yujia knocked on the doors a few times, calling out in hopes that someone passing by heard. After a few minutes of doing so, she gave up, slumping down against the door. When she got out of here, she was really going to kill her master.

    Yujia looked up at Zixu, who had his head tilted, like he always did when he was thinking. "What now?" she blurted out.

    He placed a hand on the door, saying in an all-too-serious tone, "Let''s break it down. It''s wooden, so if we apply enough pressure, it''ll probably fall apart."

    Yujia stared at Zixu. Zixu stared back at her.

    She narrowed her eyes. He shrugged his shoulders.

    And then, laughter burst out of him. "Just a joke," he said between a chuckle.

    Yujia stood up, throwing her hands up. "I knew it! You always do this thing when you''re trying to tease me, almost like you''re trying to hold back a smile, so your expression isn''t natural."

    Zixu made a face, moving his eyebrows and stretching his mouth. "Is that so? My acting skills have become rusty, then."

    "No, correction¡ª my observational skills have just improved," she corrected, holding up a finger.

    "Alright, but you have to admit that you did fall for it, even for just a second," Zixu answered back, now with a close-lipped smile.

    Yujia squinted at him. "Okay. Yeah, I did."

    And that was the truth. She believed him for a split second before she observed his face.

    Zixu seemed happy to hear that, leaning back and holding his hands behind his back. Yujia, on the other hand, faced the door for a moment, then walked towards the front of the room Zixu was about to walk after her, but she held up a hand, ordering, "You should stay there. Just in case you hear anyone coming by."

    Yujia pursed her lips, then gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Just exploring around."

    The room that Master Ye taught in was fairly simplistic. There were windows, but those were built up high, near the ceiling of the tall room, which would be difficult to reach and impossible to climb out of without breaking a leg. At the front of the room, there was the elevated floor where Master Ye stood and lectured, complete with a desk of his own. On the wall behind the desk was a large and grand painting, depicting what seemed like an artistic rendition of Lingxin. The rest of the room was populated by a few desks for students.

    Yujia walked up to the wall with the painting, scanning it and seeing all the details up close. It was an absolutely magnificent work of art, the details nearly taking her breath away. When she was done looking at the artwork, she spun back around, seeing Zixu still standing where she told him to, observing her.

    A new idea popped into Yujia''s mind. She bent down to Master Ye???s desk, picking up a fan that must''ve belonged to him. Tapping the fan against her arm, she summoned the imposing presence of the head of the school, drawing herself up to full stature. With a cough and deepening her voice, she raised her eyebrows at Zixu.

    "Disciple, you are late to class," she called from across the room, her gaze stern.

    A smirk appeared across Zixu''s face, and he replied, cheekily, "I am not late¡ª Master is simply too early. Do you see any other students in the room right now?" He waved his arm to gesture at the empty room.

    Seeing his smile and hearing his words, she couldn''t hold back her own laugh. She quickly placed the fan back down, rushed down from the raised area, and shook her head in disbelief that she even attempted to do an impression of the head of the school.

    She managed to say between a giggle, "That was really bad, I''m sorry."

    "No, no, no." Zixu replied quickly, "I thought it was a good impression.???

    "I haven''t talked to him very much," Yujia admitted. "Actually, I think we''ve only had one conversation before. So the image in my mind of him is just very stiff and domineering."

    "As his disciple, I can confirm that you''re not wrong. He''s like that, even around his personal disciples."

    "Really? So, very different from my master''s personality."

    "Indeed."

    Yujia bit her lip and looked to the side. "I hope Senior Brother Yunhe won''t take after his father when he''s older."

    "Who can say for sure what any of us would be like, decades later in the future?" Zixu mused.

    "Well, I think we might be able to know for ourselves, don''t you think? It''s impossible to control our future completely, but I think we can at least make efforts to shape it."

    Zixu looked down, as if contemplating her words. Then, in a quiet voice, he said, "And yet, it seems like the most important things we desire to change will never be altered by our decisions."

    Thinking back to her past, Yujia nodded slowly. There was a time in her life where she felt like that. Hopeless. Stuck. That no matter what she did, her fate was set into stone, and it was impossible to escape. It was a self-destructive mindset, looking back at it. And now, Zixu seemed to be in the same mindset, probably about his dream of working in the government and his father forbidding him from escaping the task of inheriting the family business.

    But now, at least for Yujia, things were so clearly different. Given a second chance at life, she finally took steps to make changes to her fate. She was no longer a meek Fourth Miss, forced into a marriage that she would never be capable of escaping out of. She was a disciple of Lingxin Pavilion, the co-owner of an entire store for art supplies. She had gone against her fate, breaking the path laid ahead for her that others considered as impossible to deviate from.

    And so, she advised him, "Perhaps you should still try, though. You never know until you try to change things."

    "You think so?" He tilted his head, sighing. "Though it''s easier said than done."

    "I know," Yujia assured, "I know how difficult it is. But I still encourage you to try. Because if anything¡ª you have my support. It might not mean much, but I really do support you."

    Zixu fell silent, his gaze dropping again. Silence hung between them for a few moments, and then, he looked up, his expression blank. "Can I ask you a favor?" His voice was barely more than a whisper now.

    Yujia nodded, putting on a bright smile. "Of course! You taught me calligraphy, so I owe you yet again. What do you need? If it''s within my capabilities, I''m more than happy to help!"

    "My father talked to me yesterday," he said, "and he says that it''s time for me to get married. There''s a young miss that I think I like, but I don''t want to force her into an engagement if she doesn''t return my feelings. So, I just wanted to ask you for advice and perhaps some help for getting closer with her."

    Yujia''s smile fell.

    She stared at Zixu, observing his face as well as she could, yet he was perfectly serious. There was no smile hidden behind his expression, no hints at his words being a joke.

    "Who is it?" she asked. There was a slight tremble in her voice. She didn''t know why it was there, and she didn''t like the fact that it was there.

    "The only young miss of the Jing Family. Do you know her?" Zixu answered.

    Yes. Of course she knew the young miss of the Jing Family: Jing Juan, one of the young misses at the social gatherings Yujia attended. It would be her birthday, three days from now. She was pretty, intelligent, and talented.

    Yujia realized, with the image in her mind, that Jing Juan and Yu Zixu would look like a perfect couple.

    "What''s wrong?" Zixu suddenly asked, seemingly noticing that something was off.

    Knowing that it would be difficult to convince Zixu, who was observant as always, Yujia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, forcing a smile onto her face. She shook her head, replying, "Nothing. It''s all good. I was just a bit¡­ shocked." Hugging herself, Yujia went on, "I know her. We are close to friends, I suppose. So I''ll be happy to help." She smiled a little more now, trying to mask her feelings with pretend happiness.

    Finally, Zixu smiled again, his smile calm as always. "Thank you, Junior Sister. I don''t have any other female friends or sisters, so I really wouldn''t know what to do without your help."

    "En." Yujia didn''t know what else to say. They were just friends, after all. Fellow disciples and friends.

    What was once a cheerful mood in the room quickly fell into something somber. There was dry silence for a moment, before Zixu spoke up, "I''ll ask you about it later. But I just remembered¡ª the library has a few windows that we could climb out of. Shall we try that?"

    With a nod, Yujia followed him into the library. Sure enough, they could push open the windows and get out of the building. They each bid the other farewell, and left it like that.

    ¡­

    Yujia didn''t go to her master''s courtyard, to complain about how he locked her into the school center. She didn''t talk to Xie Yufeng either, when she returned back to her courtyard.

    She only went back to her room, closed the doors behind her, and sat down on the floor.

    Earlier on, she had been holding it back. But now, she couldn''t anymore. Tears slid down her face, her hands going up to wipe them away as they fell. She looked up, as if that would make her tears go back into her eyes. It didn''t help.

    She wanted to say that she didn''t know why she was crying, but she knew perfectly well. It was a stupid reason, stupid enough that it made her cry, and it was a reason that she had been in denial about for a while now.

    She liked Yu Zixu.

    More than a senior brother, and more than a friend.

    Only, it was too late to realize and admit to these things now, when he already liked someone else.

 294 Priorities of the Artis

    She thought things had changed. She thought that she had improved. But maybe she really hadn''t, since it was that unrequited love all over again. She was still the same as before, never speaking up about her true feelings.

    When had she started liking Yu Zixu?

    Not when they first met, that was for sure. It wasn''t love at first sight, even when he shared the same face as her old crush. Perhaps it was after he saved her from drowning, and when she caught a cold, he bought medicine for her. Perhaps it was after the two of them drank wine under the stars. Perhaps it was after they were lost in the woods for a night. Perhaps it was after she took care of him when he was ill.

    She couldn''t name an exact moment. All she knew was that she liked him, that it hurt to do so, and that she didn''t want to feel these messy emotions anymore.

    It was stupid to cry over this, out of all things.

    Yujia let out a deep sigh, then stood up. She went to fetch a towel and basin in her room, wiped her face with that cool water, and stopped her tears from continuing to fall.

    The world was big and beautiful, and she had plenty of things to do. Twenty-four years of her life before had zero romance, and things didn''t need to be different now. If anything, she should continue focusing on her career and paintings.

    She wanted to continue to improve in her art. In the past, she hadn''t cared for her skill level at all too much¡ª as long as it earned her money¡ª but now, her passion for art which had died so long ago was finally beginning to be rekindled. Ruining her excitement for painting from crying and heartbreak all day long was not what she wanted.

    Yujia was positive that Zixu didn''t like her romantically, but besides that, Yu Zixu was the son of an old man she was supposed to be married to. Even if they mutually liked each other, the two had no chance. Love was irrational, so she hadn''t considered this in the past. But now, she could look through things with a logical lens. In this day and age, they were never fated to be together to begin with.

    This was the reality that she faced, and she wasn''t one to continue pointless delusions forever. And if there was one thing Yujia had always been good at, it would be cutting her feelings off and moving on that way. It wasn''t the most ideal coping method in life overall, but in this case, it was the best and easiest.

    She would try to do that for now.

    ¡­

    Yujia took a walk to her store, Three Inks Shop. It had been a long time since she last paid a visit, but when she stepped into the store, with its traditional but cozy wooden walls and the scent of art supplies in the air, it felt as familiar as home.

    Yujia greeted him politely. "It''s really been a while, Gao Yi. How has the store been?"

    Reaching behind the counter, Gao Yi pulled out the records. He laid them open on the table and showed her, reporting the sales and profits made during her absence. Looking through them, Yujia nodded thoughtfully with his explanations. Things were going well.

    The trend for pencils did begin to die down a little. Especially after the Emperor''s orders to mass produce and distribute the pencils around, pencils were slowly beginning to be seen as a common object. At this rate, the business wouldn''t be able to rake in the tremendous amount of profit for much longer, especially when Yujia had seen a few other vendors and smaller brands beginning to make their own cheaper pencils as well.

    When naming Three Inks Shop, she had intended for three different kinds of "ink": traditional ink, pencils, and lastly, oil paint.

    After receiving the gift from her master of oil paint created by his late wife, Yujia begged him to pass her the formula, yet she had been brutally denied. His reasoning for not telling her was simple: he wanted her to figure out how to make it herself.

    Thus, Yujia definitely needed a while to experiment with different materials to see how to create oil paint that would be good enough to sell. In a time like this, where her life had finally cleared up, it seemed like the best thing to do. She would work hard to figure out how to create oil paint, and then introduce it as the new art trend for the empire. Sales for her store would be boosted yet again that way.

    The thought of earning more money brought a small smile to Yujia, her mood finally improving. It wasn''t even that she needed extra taels. Lingxin Pavilion provided her with all the resources she would ever need. Yujia just liked the idea of earning lots of money.

    She was really too materialistic.

    As Yujia laughed on the inside at her own greed, the beaded drape that divided the storage room of the shop to the main area was lifted. The rustling sound caught Yujia''s attention, and she glanced over to see none other than her co-owner and good friend, Bo Zhizhong.

    She smiled brightly and turned around, bowing. "Hello, Zhizhong."

    "You finally paid a visit to your store?" Zhizhong replied, his usual scowl plastered across his face. "I visit it at least a few times a week, but you didn''t even visit for weeks."

    Yujia crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. If only he knew about what she had to go through, infiltrating the Yang Villa and all. "In my defense," she protested, "I had things to do, and," she decided to joke, "this is why you earn eighty percent of the profits, no?"

    With a smile from her side along with the joke, the scowl on Zhizhong''s face finally vanished, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. He waved his hand dismissively and shook his head, as if giving up, but knowing how stubborn of a person Zhizhong was, Yujia was pretty sure he was simply acting as if he gave up.

    Taking a step forward, Yujia observed Zhizhong carefully. He looked different today, compared to the last time she saw him a while back.

    Was he always this skinny? Though he already had very defined features, his face looked narrower than usual. His complexion was a bit sallow. There were bags underneath his eyes.

    Something was definitely off with him.

    "Have you been starving yourself?" Yuija demanded to know, worry striking her gaze.

    Zhizhong stepped back, shaking his head. "No, do you think that this¡ª I mean, I starve myself? I eat better than anyone. Feasts for dinner every day, with good meat and good wine."

    Pressing her lips together, Yujia continued, "You look horrible."

    "Gee, thanks." Zhizhong put on a sarcastic smile.

    It was Yujia''s turn to lean back. Her eyes widening, she went on, "What happened to you? The old Bo Zhizhong I knew would go, ''No way! I have the most handsome face in the capital. How could I be horrible?'' But now¡­"

    He laughed dryly. "I''ve just been busy. There''s been lots of work, dealing with the¡­ family business. I may have stayed up a bit¡­ late, I suppose, on a few days, here and there."

    "What''s your definition of ''late?''" Yujia asked. The dark bags under his eyes made him look like he hadn''t slept in ten days.

    Zhizhong reached to scratch the back of his neck. "Alright, alright, I pulled a few all-nighters."

    Yujia had sudden flashbacks to college and all-nighters she pulled, working on art projects or other studies. Zhizhong was eighteen¡ª around the age of college. She supposed that even ancient times,

    people could not escape the curse of no-sleep.

    "You''re getting rest now though, right?" she continued to question.

    He nodded with a groan. "Yes, yes, yes." An exasperated scowl resurfaced. "I escaped¡­ the villa to not hear my mother chide about these things, but here you are."

    Yujia scoffed and raised her eyebrows. "Only because I care."

    "Well, thank you for your concern." He clapped his hands once. "But now, life has pretty much cleared up for me. I will be getting rest, so no worries. Plus, I''ve even had time to do some studying recently."

    "Studying? For what?"

    "Why, I''m glad you asked!" Zhizhong exclaimed, as if he was just waiting for her to give that question. His features lit up in his usual grin again. "A little more than a month from now, there will be an entrance exam for Lingxin Pavilion. And as great as this young master¡ª I¡ª am, I still have to take the test for some reason. So, I''ve been studying for that when I''ve had the time."

    "You''re going to try to become a student?" Yujia''s eyes lit up.

    "Not try¡ª" he corrected, "I will. You see, I am just too wonderful to fail."

    "Okay," Yujia snorted.

    She had flashbacks to the exams she took to get into Lingxin. The knowledge part was the most difficult for her, yet that was because she had no idea about the art principles. Zixu, who took the exam with her, said it was easy, but then again, it was Zixu. She figured that it would be leaning towards the easier side, regardless.

    The true question was if Bo Zhizhong knew how to paint. She had seen him play around with pencils and ink, but he never did any serious painting.

    Thus, she decided to ask about it. "Do you even know how to paint?"

    "Of course I do!" he declared indignantly, glaring at her.

    "Show me."

    "Then come along with me to the back. I''ve been painting there." He waved his hand. While she followed him, he continued to boast, "You''ll see¡ª I think I''m good enough to become a direct disciple. You''ll be calling me Senior Brother soon!"

    "Junior Brother," Yujia corrected under her breath. After all, she was nineteen in this body, and he was only eighteen.

    "Whatever," Zhizhong retorted, seemingly having heard what she said.

    They arrived at the back of the storage. Amidst all the cramped shelves, a small space had been cleared out with a low table. Yujia wondered why he worked in such a cramped space, but perhaps Zhizhong had his reasons.

    Zhizhong sat down, turning the scroll he had been painting on to face her. "Take a good look at my masterpiece."

    Yujia sat down across, staring at the monochrome painting laying on the table. She looked at it for a very long time, then looked up, at an expectant and proud Zhizhong.

    He looked like he wanted praise. He looked like he wanted her to immediately burst out into amazement at his "masterpiece." He looked like he was confident that there was no way she could offer any sort of negative critique on his incredible work.

    Wearing a very blank expression, Yujia glanced back down at the painting, then looked back up at him.

    "Sorry to break it to you," she blurted out, "but this painting is pretty bad."

 295 Mere Joke of the Artis

    There were droughts in the south, leading to a dangerous risk for famine. There were complaints of bandits terrorizing the government-sent resources for the civilians suffering from the drought. There were complaints about one of the major tax collectors Yushang appointed committing fraud. Those against him took it as another chance to tear the Crown Prince down, even if Yushang did not have any hand in the swindling. The logic that he appointed said tax collector was enough to bring mass criticism.

    Conspiracy rumors were arising about a coup and so-and-so official, but those were nothing special. His father''s rule over the empire was not the best. The Emperor was a military genius, had a passion in the arts, yet was not the wisest ruler. His cruelty when dealing with matters garnered plenty of objection and dissatisfaction amongst the government officials. As a result, rumors about conspiracies were more than common. Nevertheless, they did not have much harm¡ª only when they spun into reality would it be dangerous, but even then, that was when the Emperor''s military genius came into play.

    Out of all the rebellions attempted during the Emperor''s rule, the number far exceeding any prior record in recent history before Yushang''s father''s rule, not a single one succeeded. All who participated were executed. Not even family or children were spared, even if they were innocent.

    Although rebellions were common, the thing that made it difficult about this one was that the rumors involved Yushang himself. Yushang, meanwhile, had no interest in overthrowing his father. It had been a hassle to smooth everything out, uncover the true perpetrators for starting the rumors, and proving his loyalty to the Emperor.

    Besides the drought and the rumors, news had also arrived of numerous military reports involving the Xiang Empire''s greatest enemy, Northern Zhou. Yushang had to sort over all of those himself to formulate an overall report to present.

    The three major issues stacked upon each other meant that Yushang barely had a wink of sleep for so many nights, spending his time by candlelight, reading and marking papers.

    Times like these were what made Fu Yushang wonder if this was the life he wanted.

    All his life, he had sought after his father''s approval. He was the Crown Prince, yet it only seemed like that was the case because he was the first and only son of the Empress. The Emperor preferred his other sons more, despite all of Yushang''s efforts.

    In certain moments of his life, Yushang experienced a sort of ease and happiness that made him crave for more. He used to seek these moments through ventures outside of the palace, the fresh air and interactions with unknowing civilians providing him with an outlet for his stress. Recently, he liked to put his time into his shop and interactions with the co-owner, Yang Yujia.

    Because of this, Fu Yushang learned how to carry himself in two different ways. Inside the palace, he was the honorable Crown Prince. Every move had to be calculated. Every word had to be planned. Mistakes were not allowed. Only when he was in the privacy of his room, with only Si Shen waiting by the side, could he express his true self. Outside of the palace, on the other hand, he did not have to worry about who he was in front of. He was allowed to relax, laugh freely, and be as stupid and childish as he wanted. They were brief, stolen moments that would never last for long, but they would be enough for him.

    And so, Yushang really did appreciate the moments he spent with Yujia.

    What he didn''t appreciate so much, though, was her comment from two seconds ago, about how his art looked like trash.

    ¡­

    "What?" Bo Zhizhong exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table as he stood up. "Bad? You think this painting looks bad?"

    He raised it, stepping back and staring at it. He painted a simple mountain range, but it was definitely not bad. His father''s interests in the art forced him to learn how to paint as well. He had learned how to paint from masters, and even they said he painted well. So, even though he didn''t feel that much passion for art, the skill was still there. He knew it.

    Meanwhile, a small laugh escaped Yujia, seeing how outraged Zhizhong sounded when he heard her words.

    She placed a hand on the table, stating slowly, "Calm down; I''m just joking."

    "Joking?" Zhizhong snapped back.

    She nodded in response.

    Zhizhong''s painting was not bad. There was a good sense of balance and unity. His control over ink to produce various values along the mountain range also hinted at signs of skill. The painting was a bit bland, nothing too special or notable about it, but it definitely was not bad. She merely said that to see his reaction, something that she predicted to be hilarious. She didn''t guess wrong.

    Snickering, Yujia explained these things to Zhizhong while he gaped at her in disbelief. At the end of her explanation, she added on with a grin, "Did I scare you?"

    Zhizhong huffed, sitting down again. "I was just shocked that you could possibly criticise my work," he replied arrogantly, his tone clearly joking as there was a small smile he was trying to suppress with a typical scowl.

    With a giggle, Yujia relented, "Whatever you say."

    ¡­

    The two talked for a while longer, but then, Zhizhong had to go. Yujia, thus, returned back to Lingxin as well. She saw Yufeng as she entered her courtyard, and she greeted the girl with a wave.

    Yufeng, her expression flat as usual, reported, "A servant dropped by, saying that someone came looking for you with a message."

    "Who? When?"

    "Only a few minutes ago. They''re still waiting outside, I think. Might be someone from the Yang Villa?"

    A name appeared in Yujia''s mind: Lianye. After all, Madam Zhang promised that she would send Lianye to Yujia, instead of making the young maid suffer the same fate as the rest of the fellow servants, who would be interrogated under the law. It was one of Yujia''s requests. She wanted to take the girl away from the villa with all of her trauma.

    Could it be Lianye? Yujia immediately spun around, hurrying to the back of the villa.

    Yet when she arrived, she saw the unfamiliar face of a servant, wearing the Yang Villa robes. Yujia wrapped an arm around herself, her posture stiffening. "What is it?" she asked.

    "I bring a word from the Yang Villa," the servant obediently replied, "from the words of the Madam. She says that she has asked for the maid that you wanted to give her opinion on leaving, She does not want to."

    Yujia blinked, processing the words.

    Lianye was not going to be leaving the villa?

    She thought that Lianye would be happy to leave the Yang Villa. She thought that their friendship was good enough. But maybe, Yujia realized, she was the person reminding Lianye of her trauma. She had been there that night, after all, even if she was there to save Lianye.

    Yujia bit her lip.

    The servant who came to pass the message added on, "The Madam also wants you to know that the maid can choose to stay or leave the villa, and regardless of her decision, she will be treated well. So, you don''t need to worry."

    Slowly folding her hands together, Yujia replied with a nod.

    It would be selfish of her to demand Lianye. If Lianye wanted to stay or leave, it would be her decision. Yujia didn''t want to force the girl to do anything. She only hoped that Lianye could find happiness again.

 296 Oil Paint, Made by the Artis

    Though her master was hesitant to provide her with the specific formula or technique of creation for oil paint, he was still very open to giving her access to his full warehouse of supplies. In a smaller courtyard of the villa, there was a room with a tall ceiling. Lined against the walls were shelves with all sorts of ingredients and materials, all neatly labeled and stored.

    She went to a shelf with pigments, specifically picking a soothing shade of yellow ochre that would be easy to work with. She also picked up a vial of linseed oil, which she discovered with delight and surprise.

    When she left the storage room and passed by the courtyard with the kitchen, she noticed a chicken running across the yard, making her think of eggs. Tempera paint was made with eggs. She didn''t work with this medium of paint that frequently in the past, but perhaps after mastering the formula for oil paint, she would test out some tempera paint.

    As Yujia reached her room, she sat down in the middle of her courtyard and began to tinker with things. First, she placed some of the yellow pigment powder down on a flat stone surface. Then, she pulled a palette knife from her set of supplies. She took a vial of linseed oil and pulled the airtight stopper open.

    Last time she tried making oil paint, she did buy a variety of oils. None of them worked particularly well or achieved the consistency that she preferred and was familiar with. This was likely because she hadn''t managed to get her hands on linseed oil. Linseed oil was a European product, but it was the best oil to use as a paint binder because of its chemical composition that allowed it to dry faster than all the other oils out there.

    She imagined that the oil in her hands right now was a specially imported product, which explained why she could not find it in the ordinary markets. After all, besides painting, Yujia wasn''t sure what linseed oil was used for. Perhaps it had its purposes, but in Chinese cuisine, where animal lard was more commonly used, linseed definitely didn''t belong near food. A strong, unpleasant odor also radiated off of drying linseed oil, making it even more undesirable.

    Yet again, Yujia had to thank her master''s late wife for preparing supplies like this ahead of Yujia, even if she didn''t intend for Yujia to use them or know that decades into the future, a fellow transmigrator was going to be experimenting with the same things. If Yujia could meet Wei Yunjing, she would definitely thank the woman. It was saddening to think that she had passed, so many years before.

    The second try, she learned from her past mistake, only adding in a few drops of the linseed oil as she worked. The pigment and oil under her knife slowly blended into a thick paste. She mushed the paste back and forth under her knife, until it was somewhat smooth and reached the thickness that she wanted the paint at.

    Looking down at the vivid yellow paint, Yujia thought that she had accomplished it. It looked okay to her. The high quality pigments and specific oil that she used must have also helped with that.

    However, when she tested painting with the newly made paint on a primed piece of paper she prepared days ago, she found out that the pigments were still rather clumpy. It was not applying quite as smoothly as she imagined that it would. The pigments hadn''t fused with the oil yet.

    Sighing, Yujia went back to smearing the paint with her palette knife, hoping that the pigment and oil would bind properly.

    It ended up being to no avail. Ten minutes of solid blending later, the paint still applied strangely.

    Brows furrowed, Yujia pushed this clump of paint to the side. She put more pigment onto the stone plate and tried a variety of different oil to pigment ratios. Blending for more than a good half hour, she tried all of them out and still saw nothing that worked.

    Yujia stared at the mess of "paint" she had in front of her. She tried different amounts of ingredients, but why was it that it still didn''t work? Could there be something wrong with her chosen materials? Was there another ingredient needed for oil paint that she didn''t know about?

    She decided to take another trip to the warehouse. Once she walked in the room, she looked carefully at all the materials again.

    Could it be that linseed oil was not the type used in oil paint? She could''ve sworn that she remembered learning about linseed oil being the main type of oil for this kind of paint. Her eyes trailed over the various vials of different oil, safflower and walnut oil being a few of the many kinds. She also looked at the other colors of pigments. Was choosing yellow ochre a bad choice?

    Yujia looked at a beautiful shade of sapphire blue pigment, envisioning that it would look stunning as a color of paint. She scooped some up into an empty wooden container by the side, deciding to test out this pigment. Following that, she was about to grab all the different oils¡ª even though she was confident from her past failures testing other oils that it might not work¡ª when she noticed something in the corner of another shelf.

    It was a smaller shelf with tools. Backup palette knives, empty containers, paintbrushes, and many other tools rested on the shelf. On the very edge, what caught Yujia''s eye was a paint muller. There were actually two of them. One was pure glass while the other one was made of stone that was polished as smooth as glass.

    An idea appeared in her mind. The paint muller may just be the item that she was looking for.

    Grabbing the stone one, Yujia rushed back to her yard. She couldn''t wait to test and see if this was the solution to her problems.

    The stone muller, carved to have a flat bottom and a handle to hold, was designed to glide across the stone slab Yujia took to make her yellow paint on. She took the palette knife and scraped one of her paint trials to the center. Then, she took the muller and placed it over the paint, beginning to grind the paste. She wanted to put force behind it, so she stood up and leaned her weight against the muller while she moved it back and forth.

    Grinding the paint was tedious, but as she did so, Yujia grew more and more confident that she was doing the right thing. She treated it just like a workout for her arm muscles.

    After a long while of grinding and scraping, Yujia finally lifted the muller and used her palette knife to get all the paint back onto the stone slab. She could see the difference as she worked, but it was all clear now, when she looked at her unmulled paint by the side. The paint which had been mulled took on a glossy sheen, resembling the oil paint she was used to.

    Pulling the paper over again, Yujia tested the application of the paint. It went on the page as smooth as butter. The pigment was completely dissolved into the oil. It looked like the paint she was used to. It felt like the paint she was used to.

    Triumphantly, Yujia cheered to herself.

    She finally made her first successful oil paint!

    ¡­

    Without cheering for long, Yujia tried to make the sapphire blue paint now. Something she discovered as she made the paint was that each kind of pigment required a different amount of oil. Furthermore, although she was grinding the paint, based on the pigment, a different final consistency could also be made. Because of the different color and amount of oil, neither her yellow ochre or sapphire blue paint turned out the same consistency. They did, however, both make excellent kinds of paint.

    Yujia was more than excited. She couldn''t wipe her smile off her face when she went to fetch more pigment to make more paint.

    Her morning and a good part of her afternoon passed like that, experimenting with making paint. She tested different amounts of oil and pigment for each color, recording down the ratio that she discovered to make the best paint for each kind of pigment. This information would be necessary when she decided to make oil paint a commercial product.

    As she worked, she wasn''t exactly the neatest person. She did roll up her sleeves and borrow an apron of a sort, but that didn''t stop her from accidentally smearing paint all over her hands or accidentally¡ª accidentally¡ª dropping a container with purple pigment and having a purple cloud completely swarm her, leaving her with purple dusted on her robes, skin, and hair. That was the messiest part yet.

    By the time that she finished, she was starving for lunch but looked like a mess.

    Turning around, Yujia was about to call a servant to fetch lunch, but that was when a servant came to her, telling her Ye Yunhe wanted to see her. Thinking that it was just her senior brother who needed something, Yujia didn''t bother cleaning herself up. She went over to his courtyard.

    Upon entering there, she saw Yunhe sitting at his stone table, lunch by his side. There was another man next to him, wearing Lingxin disciple robes. He had his face turned away originally, but when Yujia walked closer, her footsteps alerted him.

    The moment he glanced over, Yujia met eyes with none other than Yu Zixu.

    She froze in her steps. Out of all people, what was he doing here? She didn''t want to see him. Not right now.

    Looking down at her ruined clothes and paint-stained hands, she wanted to walk backwards and exit the courtyard like she never existed in this dimension, but she knew that this would not work.

    Yujia instead gritted a smile and sat down across the table, giving Zixu a nod before addressing Yunhe. "Senior Brother, what do you need? I heard you wanted to see me?"

    "Ah, yeah. I just wanted to eat lunch together," Yunhe explained, "We hadn''t in a while. Junior Brother Zixu was just paying a visit too, and I happened to grab him."

    Yujia stared at her senior brother.

    If she didn''t know better, she would think that Ye Yunhe just got possessed by her master.

    "He brought pastries too, so I decided to invite him for lunch," Yunhe went on.

    "Pastries?" Yujia repeated.

    Zixu nodded. There was a bamboo basket at the center of the table, which he lifted the lid of. In the first of the stacked layers were pastel-colored cakes with delicately molded petals fanning out at the top of them.

    Yujia stared some more at the pastries. She had to admit that they looked delicious.

    After a brief moment, Yunhe suddenly stood up, placing his chopsticks down. "I think that Master wanted to see me, actually, and I forgot. I must¡­ go."

    Yujia stood up as well. Pastries were not good enough of a bribe to keep her here, even if she was starving. "Master must want to see me too," she echoed.

    "Nope." Yunhe placed his hands on her shoulders and sat her back down. He smiled at her. "I''m sure he doesn''t. You should just stay here. I''ll be back soon."

    And with that, he speed-walked out of the courtyard, waving at Yujia.

    Gawking at how her senior brother just left like that, Yujia turned back to Zixu. What just happened? Did her senior brother really get possessed?

    ¡­

    Yunhe walked into his master''s courtyard. His master was in there, waiting for him with a look of anticipation.

    "Did you do what I asked of you?" the old man said.

    Yunhe gave a solemn nod of affirmation, which his master gave a proud chuckle at.

    Yunhe may have been dense, but he could tell that his junior sister didn''t really want to be left alone with Yu Zixu. Regardless, he had been bribed¡ª or, well, more "properly" stated, carefully persuaded¡ª by his master that if Yunhe carried out this one task of getting Yujia and Zixu to meet up, his master would teach Yunhe a new painting technique that was never before seen.

    Was it worth selling his junior sister out to learn more about art? Yunhe pondered for a moment, then decided with a nod.

    Definitely.

    Besides, he was sure that his junior sister would be okay with it. She might have seemed a bit unwilling at first, but Yunhe was sure that she would relax and have fun eating lunch with Yu Zixu in no time. Maybe this could even be the best day of her life, with the surprise.

    ¡­

    Yujia wanted to die.

 297 Lunch and the Artis

    Yujia relaxed her expression, calmly facing him and wiping all internal screaming from her mind. "What for?" she asked.

    "Didn''t you promise me before to help me out? I heard that Young Miss Jing likes sweets, but I don''t have much of a sweet tooth. So help me try these out and see which one is best, alright?" His hands reached over to the basket, pulling apart the layers to reveal a variety of different pastries.

    Yujia pursed her lips together. "Could you not ask your younger brother? Did he not have a sweet tooth?"

    Zixu leaned backwards, blinking. "Ziyang is sickly. I''m sure he would like to eat all these sweets, but I don''t want them to upset his stomach."

    She looked at the food, then shrugged. Though she was reluctant to help, it was free food. Besides, she promised to help as well, and she couldn''t really go back on her words without it being awkward.

    "Alright, alright," she relented. "I''ll taste test for you. What''s the first row?"

    "They''re a variety of cakes," Zixu explained, "They all have different fillings. The light violet colored ones here," he pointed, "is black sesame paste. Over here, with the pink ones, are red bean paste. The green ones are lotus seed paste. The yellow ones have a salted egg center with bean paste."

    Yujia reached her hand forward for the pink cake, but she paused when she looked at all the paint smeared over her fingers. Zixu, meanwhile, pulled out a pair of chopsticks and picked up a pink one for her, lifting the cake up to her face.

    She stared at him. He looked at her innocently, eyebrows raised.

    There was no way she was going to let him feed her.

    Yujia stood up, raising her hands up and saying, "I''m going to find a basin of water. Will be back soon."

    Zixu chuckled, setting the chopsticks and cake back down. "Take your time."

    Upon hearing his laugh, she narrowed her eyes. He was teasing her again. Regardless, Yujia went to wash her hands¡ª it took a little bit of extra soap and scrubbing to get all the oil paint off her skin¡ª and moments later, she came back with clean hands and an open mind to try all the good food.

    This time, she used a pair of chopsticks, carefully picking the tiny pink cake up. It was still warm when she bit into it, the soft red bean filling crumbling into her mouth. The cake, being bite-sized, fit into her mouth entirely, and her eyes lit up when she ate it, her head nodding enthusiastically. When she finished chewing and swallowing, she exclaimed, "It''s really good!"

    Zixu smiled. "That''s good to hear. I did buy these pastries from a new shop this time, and though I haven''t ever tried them, they said that the red bean paste cakes were some of the best." He nudged the basket closer to her. "Try the other flavors too."

    Hearing this, Zixu gave a thoughtful nod. "Do you not like the sesame flavor in general? The second layer has some sesame balls. It''s a recipe from the imperial palace, or so I''ve heard."

    Yujia had sesame balls in the past, and she did enjoy them. So quickly, she pointed out, "I do like sesame. Let me give those a try."

    As Zixu pushed forward the layer with the sesame balls, Yuija''s eyes were greeted with perfectly-round desserts. The dough of sesame balls were made with glutinous rice, which was then rolled in white sesame seeds and afterwards deep-fried into a crispy perfection. Inside them, while she took a small bite, there was a sweet red bean paste filling. The contrast of textures from crisp to soft and chewy made it a delight to eat. Yujia had to give her approval for this classic snack.

    Next to the sesame balls were more pastries, some an outer shell of thin golden layers and an inner sweet filling, others with stamped patterns and beautiful dyed colors. Below that layer, there were cakes that were translucent like crystals, molded into delicate patterns and looking almost too beautiful to eat. After that, there were even more pastries, cakes, candies, custards, and jellies.

    As Yujia sampled through all of them, Zixu just kept on bringing out more and more layers of baskets and varieties out of seemingly thin air. It felt like he was presenting a whole store¡ª no, a whole street¡ª of snacks and desserts to her.

    She could never stop eating. There seemed to be no end to the amount of pastries that Zixu had brought.

    At one point in time, after sampling another kind of dessert, Yujia really had enough. She was too stuffed, and Zixu was pulling out yet another layer, explaining about the peach-blossom-shaped cakes on the plate.

    It was too much. Really too much. This was not what she imagined for lunch, and at first, she didn''t mind sampling the pastries, but she could not be more full than her current state of being. Even a foodie like her had a breaking point.

    Yujia held out a hand, another hand resting on her stomach. She declared, "I''m stuffed. If you give me any more desserts, I will die."

    "Ah, really?" Zixu grinned, his eyes shining. "I was afraid I didn''t bring enough."

    "You''ve got to be kidding me," Yujia managed a laugh.

    Zixu only shrugged a shoulder, not giving an answer. He pulled the layer of cakes back, closing it with the other layers as a lid. Once he stacked that basket up, he leaned forward, resting his arms over the basket and his chin on his arms.

    "So," he questioned, "which one did you like best?"

    Thinking back to all the sweet things she just ate, Yujia winced. She was going to get diabetes at this rate, and right now, anything not sweet sounded awfully good.

    "Probably the first layer," she admitted, "with the salted duck egg."

    "Great. I''ll keep that in mind." Zixu smiled a little more now.

    Yujia thought back to the original reason for why he asked her to sample all these cakes and brought it up. "You''re going to buy those for Miss Jing?"

    His smile faltered by a slight degree. "Yes. Probably."

    "I hope she''ll like them," she replied.

    There was brief silence for a moment, then Zixu suddenly said, "I''ve been wondering for a while now. Junior Sister, you looked quite¡­ interesting when you walked in here. What were you doing?"

    Yujia looked down at herself, staring at all the purple pigment powder that dusted her robes. "I was inventing," she confessed honestly.

    "Inventing what? Would you mind telling me?" Zixu asked, giving a charming smile and looking into her gaze attentively.

    "It''s hard to explain, but another kind of ink, I suppose." Yujia stood up, turning to face the courtyard''s exit. "Would you like to come along with me to see? It''ll be easier to understand then."

    He blinked, then stood up as well. "Of course. I would love to see."

    ¡­

    Yujia brought Zixu to her courtyard, waving at the messy table of paints, mullers, paper, brushes, pigment, and oil.

    "This is it," she declared, "It might not look like much, but I promise you¡ª it''s revolutionary."

    Zixu walked to the opposite side of the table. He lifted a page where Yujia had tested her colors on, brushing his long fingers over the blue shade. When he lifted his hand, the blue paint had left a stain. "It''s not dry?" he mused.

    "No. It''s a kind of ink made of oil. Oil paint. This kind of paint will be different than all the water-based ones, since water dries fast in air, yet oil takes much longer to dry," Yujia told him.

    "I see." He set the page down. "A slower drying time would give the painter more time to paint, wouldn''t it?"

    "Exactly! That''s one of the benefits of painting with oil. You could leave a painting overnight and come back to it." Yujia propped an arm on the table, using the other arm to wave at certain things in her messy station. "By mixing the oil and the pigments, I managed to create the paint. It''s stored in a liquid state, so it''ll be much more different than traditional inkstick and inkstone." She grabbed a paintbrush, dabbing it in a bit of the sapphire paint she managed to create. "You can give it a try on the paper over there."

    He took the paintbrush from her, the warm skin of his hand brushing against hers for a brief moment. Very carefully, he moved the brush against the page, watching the way the paint transferred and observing the smooth application of paint.

    "Isn''t it amazing?" Yujia proudly stated.

    "I''ve never seen anything like it before," Zixu responded, "It''s marvelous. You''re marvelous."

    Yujia looked down, unable to hold back her grin. Her cheeks reddened, and she murmured, "Thanks."

 298 Liking the Artis

    While he drank tea and poured some for his master as well, the old man didn''t seem too interested in tea, intently focused on the nature in the courtyard. In particular, he had his eyes fixed on the leaves fluttering in the wind, as if he was counting seconds.

    Sure enough, when the leaves had fluttered enough, his master suddenly placed a hand on the table and blurted, "What do you think they''re doing?"

    Yunhe set down his cup. "Hm?"

    "I keep trying to make opportunities for them," the old man explained, "but my plans keep getting thwarted. One time, someone cut in the conversation. The second time, they escaped a locked room through windows. Who does that?" He frowned deeply. "There should be a law that states if you are locked in a room with someone, you should stay there until you are let out through the front doors."

    Looking at his master with a deep gaze of judgement, Yunhe pointed out, "But Master, that time¡­ you got so drunk with wine-testing that you completely forgot about locking them until the next day. I still remember how you came running through the villa mid-afternoon, the next day, clamoring that you completely forgot to let them out. If you forgot, then surely they would''ve been stuck in there for an entire night¡­"

    "Dense! You''re too dense!" his master replied with a roar, slamming his palm down on the table again.

    Yunhe blinked.

    "Can''t you see that I intended¡ª" His master paused, waving his hand. "Nevermind, a dense brat like you wouldn''t understand. Anyways, enough time has passed. Do you think that my plan has been thwarted again? Surely, they''re enjoying each other''s company. I specifically ordered that no servants should pass by¡­ and no outsiders as well."

    With a sip of tea, Yunhe replied, "Master, I mean no disrespect, but you should probably let their relationship progress naturally."

    "Bah! All I hear are words of disrespect from you, brat. Do you think that I am interfering too much? Think of a flower. To let the seedling bud and bloom into a beautiful flower, it needs delicate watering and care. Only then can the flower achieve its full beauty. A wild flower could be beautiful too, yet it cannot compare, especially considering that leaving it unattended will allow others to trample all over it. So do you see? It is not interfering. It is assistance. Assistance to nature to create something marvelous."

    Yunhe took a long sip of tea. To think that his master could make a whole speech about flowers and nature and whatnot based on a single sentence from him. But then again, what else did he expect? This was his master, after all.

    At his silence, his master abruptly ordered, "Go check on them."

    "What?" Yunhe replied, almost choking on his tea. "Did you not worry that someone would interrupt them? Why would you send me to check on them?"

    Completely reluctant to go, Yunhe tried to look all-too-mesmerized with his current cup of tea, but his master shooed his hand, impatiently continuing to demand. At this rate, Yunhe couldn''t not listen to his master for any longer. He had to go.

    ¡­

    Yunhe did not find his junior sister with his junior brother, Yu Zixu, in his courtyard. He found a table with many empty baskets of pastries, but no signs of life. At this, Yunhe wondered if the plan was indeed thwarted, so he went over to his junior sister''s courtyard to check on her. Even if his master''s plans didn''t turn out like what he expected, Yunhe at least had to know if his junior sister was in the villa or not, just so he could give his master an explanation.

    ¡­

    Yujia was still sitting at her table of paints. Zixu sat across from her, hands wrapped around the paint muller and mulling the paint to see its effects. He seemed quite interested in the art of making oil paint, and after talking about paint for a while with Zixu, along with all the cakes she ate, Yujia felt much more relaxed around him.

    Then, all of a sudden, as Zixu mulled some green paint, he proposed, "If I give her some pastries and announce that I like her, is that a good way to begin courtship?"

    Yujia, who was applying paint to paper, lowered her brush and looked up. "I guess it depends."

    "How so?" Zixu lifted his brows.

    She placed an elbow on the table and leaned her chin on her hand. Her other hand was turning the brush slowly between her fingers. "It''s not just the cakes. Perhaps the way that you say it¡­ that will be important too?"

    She thought back to when Zixu pretended to confess to her, as a test for her disguise as a maid.

    "I think, the more time I spend with you, the more I like you."

    She was flustered back then. And thinking back to it, she would still become flustered now.

    Zixu had it easy. He had a handsome face, one that would make any girl blush. No matter what he said, with his face coupled along with his composed stature, anyone would feel their heart skip a beat.

    At the thought of his forever composed self, Yujia pursed her lips.

    "Actually," she advised, "just be sincere about it. Don''t wear a fake smile or anything. I''m sure she will be happy to hear whatever from you, as long as you are sincere."

    "Sincere, hm? That is quite a difficult demand that you request of me," he joked. She almost laughed but held it back.

    Zixu took his hands off the paint muller and gave her a calm smile. "I like you." He blinked after that statement. "Is that about right?"

    "Come on." She rolled her eyes. "Not that calm smile. You don''t sound very sincere."

    "I don''t know what you''re talking about. I??m being very sincere about my true feelings for Miss Jing right now." Zixu sighed.

    Yujia sighed too. "Well, it just¡­ doesn''t feel right. You''re confessing to someone you love, aren''t you? Would you say it in such a dull manner?"

    "Confessing to someone I love?" he mused, as if taken aback by that idea.

    Yujia slowly raised her eyebrows and nodded. "Aren''t you¡­? How would you do that? I don''t think I can tell you myself. You''d have to figure it out on your own."

    "Then, you have to tell me if I sound alright."

    "Fine."

    Zixu leaned forward, propping an elbow on the table like her and tilting his head on it. In a slow, gentle voice, no longer wearing his calm smile and looking deep into her eyes, he whispered, "I like you."

    Yujia looked back at him, not drawing her gaze away. She knew that the words were not meant for her, but she could not help but pretend, if only for a split second. If only.

    Then, the fragment of that moment passed by. She blinked, leaning backwards. Just like that, the words vanished into the air, becoming nothing more than a soft memory.

    "How was that?" Zixu asked, giving her an excited grin. "Good?"

    "Yeah, yeah." Yujia waved her hand and nodded.

    He continued to grin, tilting his face down so that his smile would be covered by the hand he rested his chin on. "I''m glad to hear that," he muttered.

    ¡­

    Yunhe peeked into her courtyard and saw that Yu Zixu was there, with her. The fact that the two moved over to her courtyard surprised him, something that he had never thought of being a possibility.

    And then, Zixu''s next words caught him off guard.

    "I like you."

    Yunhe''s eyes flew from his junior sister to his junior brother, in pure shock. Their relationship had progressed to this point already?

    Quickly, he ducked back behind the walls. He wanted to see his junior sister''s reaction, but then, he would be invading her privacy, and he didn''t want to be one of the people ruining the moment.

    Without another thought, he began speedily, albeit quietly, walking back to his master''s place.

    ¡­

    "Master, they confessed!" he exclaimed.

    "What? Really?" the old man yelled back, leaping to his feet.

    "I heard it myself," Yunhe assured.

    His master pumped his fists in the air. "Finally! Finally! All my hard work has paid off!"

    Yunhe wondered if the matchmaking ferver was rubbing off on him, since he was grinning non-stop as well. "Yes!" he enthusiastically chimed in. "Finally!"

    ¡­

    Eventually, after a few more words, Zixu had to go. The moment he left, Yujia didn''t hesitate to run over to her senior brother''s courtyard, ready to pick a fight.

    To her disappointment, Yunhe was not there. He must''ve still been at her master''s courtyard. She went there next without a second thought.

    The moment she stepped foot into her master''s courtyard, she saw him rushing towards her, arms open wide.

    "Kid! My girl! When is the marriage going to happen?" he demanded.

    "Marriage?" Yujia gawked at him, complete bewilderment in her gaze.

    He nodded enthusiastically, eyes sparkling.

    ¡­

    It took a lot of effort for Yujia to explain to her master that there was not going to be a marriage happening.

    It also took a lot of effort for Yujia to hold back the urge to punch Ye Yunhe, who was sitting by the corner, sipping his tea.

 299 Shopping With the Artis

    Yujia had promised to attend the special gathering for Miss Jing''s birthday, and it wasn''t like she could politely decline. Thus, she brought an ink painting she had been working on the other day, mounted on silk, as a birthday gift, then went on over to the location of the gathering.

    The gathering began fairly well. All the other young ladies presented their presents, and when it came for Yujia''s turn to gift Jing Juan her painting, Jing Juan looked at it with admiration and great joy.

    "To receive a painting from the great Artist Yang herself¡ª I am truly lucky," she said with a bright smile. "This is the best present I''ve received yet."

    Yujia returned her gratitude with a warm smile.

    She had to admit that she was jealous. However, it wasn''t like she could hold a grudge against an innocent person like Jing Juan, especially when the other girl was being so nice. The smile she gave Jing Juan was genuine.

    Rong Tianyu, who had presented her gift before Yujia, quickly spoke up after Jing Juan''s words. She declared, "The best present? So my jewelry set wasn''t good? I got your favorite colors though¡ª the purple jewels were hard to find and very expensive, alright?"

    Jing Juan giggled, replying, "Alright alright, I take my words back. I love all the presents equally."

    "Good. That sounds better," Tianyu relented with a scoff.

    The party went on, with just snacks and chattering as usual. In fact, other than the gifts, the gathering didn''t seem all too special.

    The ladies were discussing Luo Xiya''s engagement when Yujia saw the perfect opportunity to play her role as an unwilling wingman. She slipped into the conversation, asking, "Sister Jing Juan, do you happen to have an engagement in place?"

    Jing Juan shook her head.

    "Ah, then do you have someone in mind?" Yujia put on a tight smile, ready to get into full-on extremely-polite-interrogation mode.

    With a laugh, the girl replied, "No. What about you? Does Sister Yujia have anyone in mind?"

    Xiya chimed in, "With all your fellow disciples from respectable families, I''m sure there''s someone right, Sister Yujia?"

    "What about my brother?" Rong Tianyu suddenly blurted. "He''s a disciple too!"

    Yujia shuddered at the idea of the persistent Rong Yuan. In comparison to her brother, Tianyu was a thousand times better.

    Giving an awkward laugh, Yujia answered, "I haven''t really paid attention to any romantic things. Besides, many of them are married already."

    "What about Young Master Yu?" Zhou Luowei brought up. Her husband, Bo Zhiyuan, was Yu Zixu''s closest friend. There was no doubt that she would think of Zixu, when the topic moved to Lingxin disciples, and Yujia was glad that it only took a little bit of prodding from her to get the topic on Yu Zixu.

    "We are just friends," Yujia admitted.

    "But¡­" Yujia continued, "what do you all think about him?"

    Zhou Luowei, Sima Qianzi, and Luo Xiya did not seem to have much input, given that they were either married or engaged. That left Rong Tianyu and Jing Juan left, which was definitely the direction Yujia wanted to steer the conversation in.

    Jing Juan replied briefly, "He''s alright, I guess. Does Sister Yujia really have no feelings?" she teased.

    Yujia responded with a calm smile, the one she learned from Zixu. She shook her head.

    "Nope. I have no feelings."

    ¡­

    At the end of the gathering, Yujia had some new intel on Jing Juan. She debated if she should report this information back to Zixu, then thought back to how a while back, the pesky Rong Yuan had tried to get intel on Yujia by using Zixu. Though Zixu never told Rong Yuan anything, Yujia still felt very creeped out by the fact that someone was trying to bribe information on her.

    Zixu wasn''t bribing Yujia, but when she thought back to it in the perspective of Jing Juan, she wondered if Jing Juan would find what Yujia was doing as creepy.

    Part of Yuija''s inner voice argued that finding out the interests of another person for a friend was a normal favor. Yet then again, she thought back to how she was creeped out by Rong Yuan and wondered if this sort of mindset would apply in this situation. Similar to how Yujia had zero interest in Rong Yuan, Jing Juan also seemed quite disinterested in Yu Zixu, after all.

    She really didn''t know for sure.

    And so, upon the next time that she saw Zixu, two days later, at Lingxin Pavilion, she told him, "I don''t think that I can give you any specific information on Miss Jing."

    Zixu paused, then gave a curt nod. "Alright. Not a problem." He smiled. "I''ll just ask you to give your input on what you think is good, then. Surely, that is fine?"

    Originally, Yujia thought that by telling that to Zixu, he would stop coming to her for advice, but it seemed like he twisted her intentions in a way that she could not refuse. Damn it. She didn''t think it through.

    Giving a reluctant nod, Yujia ended up agreeing.

    "Great." Seeing her agreement, Zixu''s smile grew a little brighter. "Then, do you want to go shopping in the marketplace with me? I want to pick out a few gifts."

    ¡­

    Although she didn''t end up going, after the prior conversations, she really had no choice. And so, a few minutes later, Yujia found herself walking down the streets of the marketplace. She was wearing a veil with a simple set of light robes. The weather was already getting extremely hot, but because of her light robes, it didn''t feel all too bad.

    Zixu walked by her side, wearing robes made of a light-green fabric. Yujia looked down at her own robes, noticing that she was wearing green as well. The two looked like they were matching, making Yujia wonder if couple outfits existed in ancient times, or if that was just a modern thing. And then, she mentally slapped herself for thinking about such pointless things.

    While they walked, Yujia let the idea of the marketplace carry her thoughts away. She always liked shopping, so this easily distracted her from other thoughts.

    Only a few minutes after entering the center of the market, Yujia had her attention caught by someone selling ink. She thought about it for a second, and upon deciding that Jing Juan would probably not be interested in ink, she looked over at Zixu and explained, "I''m going to go look at the ink over there! You can go browse for gifts."

    Zixu raised his eyebrow and closed a fan in his hand that he had been fanning himself with. "Why can''t I consider ink as a gift?"

    "Oh, she won''t like that," Yujia hastily explained, "since honestly, even though she likes art, ink won''t be all too fascinating." Leaving it at that, she went over to the stand with the ink and presumed that Zixu would stay behind or go look at something else.

    She presumed wrong. Zixu followed right after her, stopping at the ink stand.

    Yujia gave him a strange glance, then focused back on the ink, examining all the different inksticks. What caught her attention about this vendor was that his inks were all very colorful and delicately made. They looked even better than some of the ones at Lingxin, so she really wanted to talk to the vendor and examine the ink up close.

    The vendor seemed more than happy at her appearance, glancing at her, and then at Zixu. He paused, and Yujia could practically see how an assumption registered in his eyes.

    Thankfully, he didn''t say a thing, directly going to advertise his inks. Yujia listened with appreciation, but she didn''t really need to be persuaded. She could tell that he had high quality supplies.

    At the end of his description, she informed, "I''ll buy a set. How much is it?"

    "Only ten taels, Miss," he answered happily.

    Ten taels was a decent price for ink of this quality. Yujia reached to pull out her satchel of taels, more than willing to pay. Except then, Zixu, who was standing by the side, leaned forward and took out his satchel, one step ahead of her.

    "I''ll pay." He was already shaking some silver out into his hand.

    Yujia held out a hand. "No, since I''m buying, I''ll pay."

    He stopped, turning to her. With a soft smile, he told her, "Since you''re doing me a favor here, let me pay."

    Was picking out gifts and shopping really doing Zixu that much of a favor? Yujia knitted her brows, thinking about exactly how much she had done for Zixu so far, which really wasn''t that much. She ate his food, which didn''t seem like that much of a favor, now that she thought back to it. She also gave him advice to confess, and perhaps that was the only thing that could be counted as a favor. Now, she was just enjoying herself in the market.

    Something didn''t seem all that right. Though, again, because Zixu worded it the way he did, she would make it awkward if she still insisted on paying, so she stepped back, letting him.

    The vendor packaged up a set of inks and handed it over to Zixu. Yujia gave him a smile, saying, "Thanks." Then, she reached forward to take the set from him.

    Zixu didn''t hand it over, stepping aside and beginning to walk through the marketplace again. "You''re the one giving advice and picking out gifts, so it''ll be inconvenient if you have to hold it."

    "Ah. Alright then." Yujia was skeptical, but hey¡ª if he wanted to carry things for her, she wasn''t going to say no.

    As the two continued to walk, he leaned over and asked, "What do you think makes a good gift?"

    Yujia clasped her hands in front of her and explained as she walked, "A good gift is not just monetary value. I''m sure you already know that. You could pick all of the most valuable jade, gold, and silver, yet it would mean nothing if no sincerity was put behind it. It''s really the thought that counts." Her eyes caught on a small jewelry vendor. "Like this!" She went over. "These necklaces and hairpins aren''t worth much compared to the treasures the Yu Villa probably has, but don''t you think that they have a unique charm?"

    Zixu walked over too and nodded thoughtfully.

    Eyes scanning over all of the jewelry, Yujia''s hand picked up a hairpin that caught her attention. Amidst all of the hairpins, the one she picked up was made of wood for its base. The dark wood was carved to have a slight curved design, and a string of beads were attached to a small hole at the end. From the beads, there was an ornament made of three flat, teardrop-shaped, soft pink beads to create the shape of a flower. A few more delicate beads hung from underneath the flower.

    An old woman, seemingly the vendor, noticed Yujia''s choice and exclaimed, "Young Miss has a good taste. All of my hairpins are hand-made, so you won''t find another one like this one."

    Yujia thought back to her wardrobe, realizing that she didn''t have any pink clothes that would match this hairpin very well. And besides, the hairpin was too delicate and pretty. Yujia hardly had chances or a need to dress up in Lingxin, so she really didn''t need it. It would be nice to have, but since she was sure that Zixu was going to insist on paying again, she didn''t want to inconvenience him.

    She gave the vendor a smile, then placed the hairpin down. Recalling how at Jing Juan''s birthday party, Rong Tianyu declared that Jing Juan''s favorite color was purple, she picked up another wood-carved hairpin with an amethyst purple bead embedded at the end, showing that to Zixu. "I think she''ll like this one."

    Zixu nodded, reaching for his taels again.

    While he paid and was distracted, Yujia turned her attention to a vendor that sold candied hawthorn, heading over there to buy a stick. She didn''t want Zixu to pay for that, so she had to do it speedily while he wasn''t paying attention.

    ¡­

    Zixu didn''t observe the purple hairpin that Yujia handed him for too long. He set it down and picked up the pink one she was looking at earlier.

    "How much will that be?" he asked the vendor.

    She gave a price, and he paid. After that, he slipped the hairpin into his pocket and turned to go after Yujia.

 300 The Artist Amongst a Sea of Flowers

    When it came towards the end of their trip, Zixu offered to walk her back to Lingxin, which she didn''t particularly oppose the idea of.

    At the front door of the villas in Lingxin, Zixu handed off the boxes of things that he purchased for Yujia to a servant that opened the door for them. Then, he asked her, "Do you have time for the rest of today?"

    Yujia actually already had plans to bring her oil paint to Bo Zhizhong and to discuss that. She shook her head, answering, "Sadly, no. What''s up?"

    "It''s nothing too serious. I thought hand-picked flowers might be a good gesture, and I heard that the summer flowers outside of the capital had bloomed. I wondered if you would be interested in going with me. It would be the last favor I would want to ask from you."

    "Last favor?" Since he put it like that, she could, yet again, not reject. Yujia gave him a smile. "Alright. How about tomorrow? I will be free then."

    "Tomorrow sounds great." He smiled back at her.

    ¡­

    The two exchanged farewells, and Zixu left after that. Yujia went back to her courtyard, looking at all the gifts Zixu got her.

    She noticed that amongst the things she picked out¡ª mostly art supplies¡ª the box of pastries was there as well. Pursing her lips, Yujia opened the basket and looked at all of the little cakes.

    Wasn''t this supposed to be for Jing Juan? She didn''t intend to buy any cakes today. Zixu must''ve accidentally given her the box.

    Regardless, Yujia wasn''t too hungry, nor was she craving anything sweet. The candied hawthorn from earlier was enough for her. Xie Yufeng, who happened to enter the courtyard at the time, was handed these cakes. Yufeng looked at the pretty cakes inside of there, then gave Yujia a brief word of thanks. And then, she walked into her room in the courtyard.

    Yufeng had a way of making herself discreet, as Yujia had noticed. Some days, she entirely forgot that the girl even lived in the villa with her.

    Once she had all the new items sorted out, Yujia went to grab her oil paints. With the papers containing ingredients and formulas and a box of sample paint, she took off for Three Inks.

    ¡­

    "This will surely become a new fad in art!" he asserted boldly.

    "You think so?" Yujia grinned with pride.

    "Definitely. It''s unlike anything the art world has seen before, and surely it will become a trend like the pencils. You know how the nobles just love anything new¡ª you''re a genius."

    With Zhizhong''s approval, the two quickly began to plan how they were going to market oil paint. Yujia passed over her careful notes about the production side of things. Zhizhong read over them and decided to take over the manufacturing side of things, as usual. He would bring her a prototype of what the artisans Three Inks employed would produce by next week. Yujia, on the other hand, needed to begin working on a few big pieces of artwork to advertise the oil paints.

    The matter was set like that. Yujia felt pleased knowing that she was one step closer to becoming filthy rich.

    Truly, who needs love when you can have stacks of gold and silver?

    ¡­

    The next day came quickly. Seeing the slightly warm but bearable weather, Yujia put on an ordinary set of robes made of pale silk and arranged her hair in a simple fashion. Like that, she met up with Zixu, who brought a carriage over to pick her up.

    As she pushed aside the door-curtain, stepping into the carriage, she told Zixu, "Could we not have walked there?"

    "It''s a long walk," he replied nonchalantly. " If we were to walk, it would take us hours. Disregarding exhaustion, there is the weather as well. It''s still early in the morning, so the temperature is alright, but when it goes into the afternoon, it''ll be warm. We should get to the flower field as quickly as possible, don''t you think?"

    His logic made sense, making Yujia reply, "I guess so."

    "Besides," Zixu added, leaning forward with a slight smile, "we''ve been in a carriage together before. So it shouldn''t be improper or embarrassing."

    She thought back to the time where she literally fell over Zixu in a carriage ride, instinctively straightening herself and making sure that she was sitting in a steady place of the carriage. Cheeks warm, she responded, "I''ve long accepted that whatever you say has undeniable reasoning."

    A small chuckle left him. Zixu propped open the curtain of the carriage''s window, looking outside.

    ¡­

    Not more than forty minutes later, the two arrived at the flower field Zixu was talking about. Yujia stepped out of the carriage first. She expected a small field, dense with grass and only a few flowers growing here or there.

    Instead, her eyes were greeted with a sea of flowers.

    There was a field that stretched all the way to the distant horizon, with hills upon hills of flowers. Underneath the bright blue sky, a blanket of pale purple flowers covered the green of the grass. Further from that, she could spot patches of other colors of flowers, a few yellow, white, pink, and red ones waving in the breeze. Even beyond the flowers, the billowing blossoms of white magnolia trees could be seen.

    The colors of nature, paired together with the blueness of the sky, took Yujia''s breath away.

    She stood there, unmoving, her eyes still taking in the beauty in front of her. It looked like a scene out of paradise, not reality.

    Zixu stepped out from the carriage after her. When she heard the creaking of wood, she turned to him, eyes shining.

    "It''s¡­ ethereal. That''s the best word to describe it. Ethereal."

    "Isn''t it?" He smiled. "I''m glad you find it lovely."

    She looked back at the beginning of the sea. Carefully, she took a step towards it. When she arrived at the edge of the flowers, she noticed a path that had already been walked by someone through the flowers. Raising her hands forward, she softly brushed her fingers against the flowers and began to walk through the sea. Zixu followed behind her.

    While she moved through the parted sea of flowers, she turned her head as best as she could, asking him, "How did you find this place? Surely with somewhere so beautiful, I should''ve heard of it by now. It is every artist''s dream to capture a place as breathtaking as this in a painting. Who owns this field?"

    Zixu answered, "They''re actually wild flowers. I believe there was a project by the Emperor many years ago to decorate some places outside of the capital, but the project was believed to be too inefficient and got cut off. The flowers blooming here today are the remnants of the seeds scattered here in the past, before the project ended. There is a smaller but more organized field on the other side of the city, one where the project was continued. People prefer to visit there, with the carefully gardened flowers."

    While he explained, Yujia began to select a few of the purple flowers she found the prettiest, although the more she looked at them, the more she felt like they were all equally beautiful.

    Even if these were supposed to be a gift of flowers to Jing Juan, she wanted to pick a few on the side for herself. She also thought over Zixu''s explanation, realizing how much more of a pity that people preferred the other garden over nature''s natural fields. She already found these flowers so stunning. How much better could the other garden be?

    As if on the same page, Zixu then continued, "This one though, with the touch of nature, is what I believe to be more beautiful. As for how I found it¡­" His voice became softer. "When I was much younger, my mother liked to take me to this field. She''s gone now, but I still have many memories of this place. I wanted to share that with you."

    Yujia paused in her steps. She never knew what really happened to Zixu''s mother, but by his words, she now knew that his mother had really passed.

    Turning to face him completely and eyebrows knitted, she murmured, "I''m so sorry."

    He shook his head. There was a touch of melancholy in his eyes, but it was the sort of faded grief from many years back, the pain of the memories replaced with the peaceful nostalgia of reminiscing the past.

    "It''s alright," he said, looking over to the side. "These flowers are beautiful, but the magnolia grove ahead are just, if not more, magnificent."

    "Then, shall we go look?" Yujia''s lips curved up into a smile, and she hurried her pace through the field, only occasionally stopping to add another flower to her small bouquet of purple blossoms.

    It only took a little bit to arrive at the magnolia trees. Indeed, like Zixu said, the magnolia trees were blooming in the early summer weather. There were white flowers and pale pink flowers, nestled amongst each other, making a small grove. With the slight breeze in the wind, rippling through the loose strands of her hair and rustling through the leaves and flowers, the sweet fragrance of magnolia also drifted along.

    Yujia walked under the shade of one of the tall trees, crisp grass crunching underneath her feet. "You''re right," she commented as she walked along, "this place is even more lovely."

    She didn''t turn to look at Zixu, but she could imagine that he would be faintly smiling.

    Underneath the trees, there were a few more flowers. Yujia saw a delicate white blossom growing from the ground, a few steps away. She reached over and plucked it, holding it up to the light. Then, she faced Zixu, a mischievous grin across her face.

    "Since this is the last favor I''m doing for you, will you let me have a favor as well?" she asked, eyebrows raising.

    "What are you thinking?" he asked, tilting his head, the smile on his face not vanishing.

    "Here." Yujia took a few steps closer to him. "Let me just¡ª" She raised her arm and pushed herself on her toes to reach higher. With the white flower in her right hand, she slid it through his hair, and fell back, giggling. "You look amazing now."

    The moment he realized what she was doing, a laugh escaped from Zixu as well.

    His hand went up to touch the flower in his hair, and Yujia, with fear that he would pull it out, quickly yelled out, "No, no, let it stay there! For just a few seconds. I want to remember this."

    Zixu sighed, but he didn''t look frustrated. Instead, she only saw amusement in his gaze, if anything. "Really?"

    Yujia stepped backwards, nodding thoughtfully. She held her hands forward, fingers making a rectangular frame and imprinting that image of Zixu into her brain. She wished she had a camera.

    "There we go. I can''t even tell the difference between you and the flower; you''re just so pretty," she sarcastically teased.

    "I know, I know," he replied, his tone dripping with just as much sarcasm. He then reached in his hair and pulled out the flower, looking at it and laughing.

    "Where did the humble Yu Zixu that I knew before go?" Yujia remarked, then, touched her chin. "You know what? I want to make you a flower crown."

    "You''re serious?"

    "Absolutely." She turned and hummed, eyes searching for more pretty flowers that would make a good crown, outside of the flowers she had already picked. It would be fun to mess with Zixu this way. And besides: she really did think that he would look pretty with a flower crown.

    When she had a few more picked, Yujia sat down by a tree and spread the flowers on her lap. She took one with a long stem and began weaving a flower crown, in an attempt to make one without prior experience. Surely, it couldn''t be that difficult.

    Zixu took a seat next to her as well, carefully observing her as she wove the flowers together.

    And then, he spoke up, saying, "There''s something you should know."

    His tone was still soft as usual, so Yujia didn''t think much of it, casually asking, "What is it?"

    The next words that came out of his mouth took her by surprise.

    "I don''t really like Miss Jing."

    Time seemed to stop. Yujia dropped the unfinished flower crown the moment she heard those words. Her eyes widened, fixing on Zixu.

    "What?"

    "She''s actually my distant cousin. And¡­ I''m not really interested in that sort of relationship, if you get what I mean?"

    Yujia stared at Zixu.

    She stared at him some more.

    And then some more.

    There was only pure confusion going through her mind right now.

    "What do you mean?" she demanded, "All those things you said before¡ª I mean¡ª you¡ª that¡ª just¡ª It just doesn''t make sense?"

    Zixu repeated what he said before. "I don''t like her romantically, at all. She''s a decent cousin, but I want things to remain that way."

    "Then, who do you li¡ª"

    Her voice trailed off. Her scrunched up eyebrows unfurled. Her eyes blinked.

    Things flashed in her mind. The pastries. The way he told her that he liked her, with complete sincerity. The gifts that he brought her when shopping together at the marketplace.

    "Isn''t it somewhat clear now?" Zixu said.

    He wore a soft smile, his hand which he had held behind his back reaching forward. She had assumed that he was just being normal, since Zixu had a habit of walking with his hand behind his back, but now, there was a bouquet of delicate pink flowers in his grasp.

    Zixu, with the flowers in his hand, looked her straight in the eye. "No more jokes or lies," he said, voice resolute, "I like you, Yang Yujia. You, and only you. There is not another person in the world that I would give my heart to, and that is the final truth."

 301 The Young Masterâ€™s Plan of Confession

    It was in the evening, after his father talked to him about marriage again. Zhiyuan was surprised that Zixu wanted to have a drink, but he did accept, so Zixu went over to the Bo Villa. There, with a cup of wine down, Zixu told Zhiyuan that there was a person he liked.

    Zhiyuan practically spat out his drink the moment he heard those words leave Zixu''s mouth.

    "You¡ª what¡ª" he stuttered.

    "I have someone I like," Zixu repeated. "Are you growing hard of hearing now?"

    "Who? Who''s the lucky girl? Or¡­ well, guy?"

    Zixu stared at his friend for a long moment, wondering why he was friends with someone like this.

    "What?" Zhiyuan exclaimed defensively. "You never talk about these things, so who knows your taste in love?"

    "You know her, " Zixu decided to say,  "My Junior Sister, Yang Yujia."

    "Oh,   so Artist Yang!" Zhiyuan nodded appreciatively,  pouring the two of them another cup. "I approve, I approve. I feel like a proud father who''s finally seen his stone-hearted son feel an emotion called ''love'' for the first time."

    Zixu only stared at Zhiyuan blankly some more, giving a slightly disappointed shake of his head.

    And then, Zhiyuan paused, setting the small jug of wine down. He looked up at Zixu, eyes widening. "Wait¡ª Yang Yujia¡ª wasn''t she supposed to be¡­ married to your father?"

    Not everyone in the world knew of this news that Yang Yujia technically married the Yu Family''s Old Master, but a few families that had close ties with the Yu Family did. The Bo Family was one of them.

    "Indeed. And that''s where the problem comes in." Zixu raised his cup to his lips.

    "So you like your relationships messy¡­" Zhiyuan mused,  which earned another glare from Zixu. He quickly corrected, "I mean¡ª what are you going to do now? She''s your father''s concubine in everyone''s eyes."

    "I''m not entirely sure either. And that''s why I''m drinking with you."

    "Well, to be fair, if she''s good enough to make your heart skip an extra beat, then she''s someone you shouldn''t let go of just like that."

    "I know." Zixu looked at the rest of the wine in his cup. "I''ve thought about that. I''ve thought about all of it a lot. At the end of every scenario,  it seems hopeless. I want to be a filial son, and so I cannot bring disgrace to my father like that. I want to be a good husband, and so I cannot bring shame to my future wife either. Our story will become the world''s laughing stock if it is ever revealed. Imagine that: father and son, fighting over a woman."

    Zhiyuan frowned. "Surely there must be a way."

    "What way?"

    "That''s true," Zixu agreed. "Though then, the problem becomes: I don''t even know if she likes me or not. As far as I know, it''s not mutual? She seems to treat Ye Yunhe the same way, and she''s also kind to the rest of her senior brothers."

    "Communicate, my friend, communicate." Zhiyuan pounded the table with a fist. "For all you know, she''s bottling her feelings up just like you. And for all I know, if you two do not communicate, these feelings will stay buried until the end of time. Miss Yang is a woman. You can''t expect her to be confessing to you first."

    "What would I do if she doesn''t share the same feelings?"

    Zhiyuan pointed at Zixu. "Right now, you''re letting your pride overshadow everything. You think I just sat around and married Luowei because I was prideful and never told her about my true feelings? No way. And besides, if she doesn''t like you, just look at yourself. Yu Zixu, you''re from a good background and handsome. Besides the shallow things, you''re talented at practically everything, skilled at art, highly intelligent, and though¡­ well¡­ your personality may be a little demented, I know you have a good heart in the end."

    "You think that I''m kind and compassionate?" Zixu raised his eyebrows, almost laughing.

    "Well, no." Zhiyuan blinked. "Actually scratch out the part of having a good heart. You only have a good heart towards a few certain people. But at least having a heart is better than none at all."

    "I appreciate your honesty."

    "Anytime." Zhiyuan nodded, before continuing, "Anyways, as I was saying, if she doesn''t like you, you can always make her like you." There was a brief pause, before he added on, "And no, I don''t mean holding a knife up to her throat and saying, ''fall in love with me or else.'' You know that, right?"

    "You think I don''t know that?" Zixu stared exasperatedly at this friend of his.

    Zhiyuan threw his hands up. "I don''t know¡ª I''ve known you for so long and I still have no idea what exactly goes on in that brain of yours. You seem so clueless about this, so who knows which direction you will choose to take my words in?"

    "I do admit to not having as much experience as you in terms of things like this," Zixu responded, "but I have common sense." He thought for a moment, then said, "Tell me, how did you make your wife fall in love with you? What tricks did you have up your sleeve?"

    "Ah, I do have one trick." Zhiyuan leaned forward, lowering his voice although the two of them were alone, and no one could''ve possibly heard what he was about to say next. "It is the secret technique of the Bo Family. My father used it, my grandfather used it, and the grandfather of my grandfather also used it."

    Zixu looked skeptical. "Did they really?"

    Zhiyuan returned Zixu''s gaze but quickly dropped it, scratching the back of his neck. "Well, no. I came up with it. But it''s still a good technique. It''s why I''m in a happy marriage today."

    "Alright then. Enough with the suspense. What is it?"

    "The idea is simple. If you want to make someone like you, you need to know their interests. And then, once you know everything they like, just put it all in one big, surprising, and heartwarming proposal."

    "Finding information like that takes time," Zixu retorted, "and I have a business trip coming up soon. You know that."

    "I know, I know. And that''s why the secret technique comes in. To keep it a surprise, just pretend like you like someone else. Then, you can get all the info you need about the person you like under this pretense."

    Zixu narrowed his eyes. Something about this plan seemed very, very wrong. "Are you sure that even works?"

    "It worked for me, so it must, right?" Zhiyuan grinned brightly. "Trust me on this one. It''ll definitely work. And once you get to know if she likes you or not, take it from there. Work things through together. Don''t try to do it all alone."

    After a brief pause, Zixu nodded. "Alright."

    He would give it a shot.

    Seeing that Zixu agreed, Bo Zhiyuan went and poured another cup of wine for the two of them, raising his cup up high. "Cheers, then! In hopes that you''ll win her love."

    ¡­

    Later that evening, when the two had long finished drinking and Zixu had returned to his home, Bo Zhiyuan was getting ready to go to bed, washing his face.

    Luowei, meanwhile, was finishing the last few stitches on a piece of embroidery she had been working on. When Zhiyuan finished, he walked over to look at what she was doing, sitting down by her side and leaning his chin on her shoulder. She explained the piece she embroidered¡ª a handkerchief¡ª and then asked him how his day was.

    "Good," Zhiyuan replied, "really good. I had a drink with Yu Zixu."

    "Ah, really?" she looked up. "How was that?"

    "He has a person he likes, so I gave him some advice on that."

    "What advice?"

    "I told him to use the same trick that I used to win your heart. Pretty good, ay?"

    At this, Luowei''s expression fell. She set the embroidery in her hands down. "You do realize that I hated you when you did that, right?"

    "Huh?" Zhiyuan sat back, jaw dropping.

    Luowei nodded indignantly, continuing, "You upset me so badly. How could you not remember?"

    Flashes of memories of Luowei being furious came back to Zhiyuan''s mind. He drew in a sharp breath, realizing his mistake. But then, he relaxed. "You have to admit my proposal was pretty darn good though."

    She sighed. "Fine. That was the only decent part of the whole thing."

    "End result was also that you ended up with me, no? So¡­ maybe the process does not matter, as long as you get good results."

    Luowei gave him a look of complete bewilderment.

    ¡­

    Five days ago from the confession under the magnolia trees, Yu Zixu began the plan that Zhiyuan advised him with.

    He hoped that it would go well.

    Except, when he returned back from Lingxin, the plan already set in action, that was when he received word that Bo Zhiyuan wanted to see him urgently. The moment the two met up again, Zhiyuan immediately blurted out, "Friend, I have done you wrong."

    "Explain."

    And so, Zhiyuan did, about how his plan may have been utter trash.

    Upon hearing all of this, Zixu wanted to facepalm.

    He had already begun the plan. How could he take it back now? He told these things to Zhiyuan, and his friend only had one thing to say, expression grim, "Good luck."

    ¡­

    Three days before his confession, Zixu tried to carry on with the plan as well as he could.

    He visited countless pastry stores, sampling and picking out the best ones to buy. While he did it, he could only feel regret, regret, and more regret, yet he tried to reassure himself that if he was already this far stuck in the plan, carrying on was the only possible solution for now. He had to try his best, in hopes that the end scenario was somewhat decent.

    ¡­

    Two days before his confession, Zixu began to grow a little more confident over his plan, but only slightly. Just a miniscule, tiny percentage more confident.

    He still felt like Zhiyuan set him up to fail.

    ¡­

    The day of the confession, Zixu tried not to think too much.

    Let things naturally unfold. Perhaps that would be the best choice.

    Except, the moment he confessed, all the dread from the past few days came crashing back when he saw the expression Yujia wore.

    "Yu Zixu," she said, the smile long gone from her face, "I hate you so, so much."

 302 The Furious Artis

    "You''re horrible," she told Zixu, voice almost trembling with rage. "Is this fun to you? Playing with people''s emotions like that?"

    Zixu stood up and blinked, wordlessly, which made her all the more furious.

    "Not only did you mess with my emotions, but now I''m essentially losing all the basic trust I had in you! I genuinely believed you when you said that you liked her, but now you just go and casually say that everything you told me before was all a lie? How am I supposed to trust you ever again?" she exclaimed.

    He glanced downwards. "I would like to genuinely apologize, " he said, "I did lie to you, but I didn''t intend to deceive you in a harmful way."

    "Even if you didn''t intend it, it doesn''t stop the fact that it happened. Do you have any idea how miserable I felt?"

    For some reason,   tears were bubbling up in her eyes,  and Yujia clenched her fists tighter,  willing them to go away. She wasn''t going to cry in front of him right now, like this.

    "It was all my fault. I should have thought things through more, " he replied in a soft voice. Then,  he looked up. "What can I do to fix my mistake? You can punch or slap me, if that makes you feel better. Or verbally berate me. As long as you feel better."

    Yujia seriously considered the idea of slapping Zixu for a moment, but after a tense period of consideration, she realized that she couldn''t bring herself to do it. Seeing how Zixu was just there, accepting all of her past yelling, she didn''t feel right to continue yelling at him either.

    "You know what?" she began,  her voice becoming a little more than a whisper, "Whatever. I want to go home."

    Then,  she turned, walking out of the grove and in the direction of the fields. As she walked through the path she took before, she moved less carefully, trampling a few flowers underneath her feet, but she could care less.

    Zixu followed behind her,   calling out,  "Wait. So before,  when you said that you felt miserable, did that mean that you had¡­"

    She spun around, snapping, "Yes, alright? Since we''re telling the truth now, I had feelings for you. Even before you did all of that stupid ''I like Miss Jing'' deal. And I feel like an absolute idiot for having them."

    "What about now?" he asked, hopefully.

    Was he really that shameless? Yujia stared at him for a brief second, at a loss for words.

    Of course she liked him. She liked him before, and she still liked him now. That was the reasoning behind her anger. If she didn''t care about Zixu at all, she would not feel any rage towards him.

    Zixu was intelligent. It wasn''t like he could not figure this out on his own, yet he must''ve wanted to hear her say it.

    She would not give him the satisfaction of that.

    He smiled slightly. "Alright. That''s fine. You don''t have to give me an answer right now."

    The wind rustled through the field, flowers rippling in unison. She looked at Zixu, the mess of emotions within her right now struggling with each other. One part of her liked him. She liked him so, so much. Another part of her, though, felt so incredibly hurt.

    "You do realize," she ended up saying, "that even if I told you right now, right here, that I liked you back, we¡­ still can''t be together?"

    "I thought about that. I thought about those things so many times," he answered.

    "Then¡­"

    The Yu Zixu she knew was not someone foolishly blinded by love. He was not someone who could sacrifice everything for the sake of just love. Perhaps the only solution the two of them had would be to elope, and that was certainly something she could not see Zixu doing. It would be selfish for her to demand that of him, too. She could not ask for him to sacrifice his efforts, his family, and his reputation, just for her.

    Zixu tilted his head. "After thinking things through, it only became more clear to me. You were there for me at my worst. You brought happiness to my life. You''ve taught me so many new things. You''ve made me into a better person. I can''t think of anyone else who can replace you in my life. So even if there was no solution to our dilemma, no space for ''us'' in the world, I will still be willing to take this risk for you. With you. Together."

    "I¡ª" she parted her lips, murmuring.

    "I know I''m not much," he continued, "I''m just a merchant''s son. I wish I could be someone better, of a higher status, so that I would be more deserving of you. But my feelings are a hundred percent genuine. There''s no doubt about that."

    "I don''t care about things like status," Yujia said, biting her lip.

    He smiled lightly, again. "I know."

    Yujia met his gaze for another second, then turned back around, walking slowly through the field again. There was now silence between them, the only sound of grass underneath their feet as they walked.

    When they got on the carriage, it was in complete silence as well. Yujia looked out the window on her side of the carriage, watching the outside scenery as the driver began to move the horses pulling the carriage.

    She thought about everything Zixu said carefully, going over every single word of his in her mind. That seemed to pass the time well, since soon enough, the carriage already arrived back at Lingxin.

    Sighing, she exited the carriage. Zixu stepped off with her as well, standing by the side.

    "I will be leaving," he said.

    "Alright," she responded, her expression unchanging.

    He went on, "I''ll be gone for a while, actually."

    This made her furrow her brows. "How long? Why?"

    "I''m taking a business trip with my father, to Northern Zhou to trade with the merchants of that country. The journey will take long, perhaps a little more than a month."

    A month? That was going to be a long time.

    "So, you can take your time." Zixu smiled again. "It''s fine if I don''t get an answer today. I''ll just get an answer after the trip. A month should be enough for a decision, isn''t it?"

    "Take care," Yujia murmured.

    "Am I allowed to send you letters by pigeon?" he asked, expression light.

    "I''ve never had anyone send me letters through pigeons before," she admitted, a slight laugh along with her words.

    "Then, I''ll take that as a ''yes,''" he concluded, leaning back.

    "Sure, sure," she said, finally smiling.

    "See you in a month, then."

    Zixu bid her a word of farewell, bowing deeply. She replied the same, returning the formal bow. Then, he left, returning back to the carriage. Yujia stared at the back of the carriage as it drove away, her smile falling away again.

    What was she going to do with Yu Zixu? Really, she didn''t know that he was so persistent. Everything that happened today felt so surreal as well. She almost couldn''t believe in the reality that she was in right now.

    But, well, she supposed that she really did have a month to make sense of things.

    Shaking her head and sighing, she stepped back into the villa.

 303 Letters for the Artis

    She didn''t waste the week, accomplishing many things. For the first few days of the week, her feelings were still a mess, but towards the end of the week, she had sorted them out enough to not think about Yu Zixu all the time. It was still a shock to her that he confessed, but at least, he wasn''t in her mind to distract her all the time either.

    Perhaps that trip was really a good thing. It was nice to have some time to sort out her feelings without Zixu appearing almost everyday in her life.

    Besides getting her emotions straightened, Yujia also did plenty of work. Bo Zhizhong sent two large canvases to her quickly, based on instructions she had also sent him for canvas-creation. It was perfect for working on, and she spent the majority of the week painting and painting and painting.

    The first painting she did was on a long canvas,     drawing inspiration from the common watercolor paintings out there,    in particular with the mountain paintings that she had plenty of practice with. Using oil paints,    she managed to create something that would look familiar to most artists. However,   because of the medium she chose to use,  the painting still looked unordinary. She hoped that this painting would draw curiosity amongst the artists that viewed it,  yet at the same time, not be foreign enough to cause reluctance.

    For her second painting on a wider canvas, she started painting a bird at first, but it didn''t feel right, so she morphed her sketch into a painting of a koi pond. Fish were symbols of wealth, after all, and Yujia did want to bring some of that prosperity to her shop.

    The rest of her time,    Yujia spent it with her master,    Ye Yunhe,   and Xie Yufeng. During a few of her many conversations with them,   she realized that despite everything that had happened,   she was happy now. It was just raw,   simple happiness. The knowledge that she had people around her which she could talk to,  trust on, and go to for help was something that truly brought gratitude to her heart.

    At the end of the week,  nearing an evening when Yujia made her final touches on the koi pond painting, Yufeng came to her door, holding a small scroll.

    "They said that a letter came for you," Yufeng said.

    Yujia''s eyebrows jumped up, but then she remembered how Zixu asked if he could send her letters. Standing up with her paintbrush set down, she accepted the letter from Yufeng, unrolling the thin paper of the scroll. Yufeng stepped aside, and Yujia went back to her table by the window to read the contents.

    On the delicate paper, written with the meticulous handwriting of Yu Zixu, there were the words:

    After taking in the last word, Yujia set the letter down, smiling faintly. A slight flush creeped up her cheeks, and she waved it away, still grinning.

    When he was being like this, how could she stay mad at him?

    Glancing back at Yufeng, who was leaning against the doorframe, Yujia folded the scroll up again, asking, "This was sent by a messenger pigeon, right?"

    "En," Yufeng replied, giving a nod.

    "Is there any way I can send a letter back?"

    "As far as I know, no. The pigeons used for the postal service in the city are only one-way."

    "Ah. I see." Yujia leaned back, unrolling the letter and reading through it again, a smile surfacing on her lips again. "Thanks," she told Yufeng, who promptly left now that there was nothing left for her to do.

    While Yujia went to her bed, falling back on it and holding the letter up to the ceiling, she couldn''t help but read it again and again.

    She smiled again, rolling over.

    Modern times made it so that communication was so simple, with just a few taps on the phone to send a text message. Yujia imagined what it would be like to get the same message from Zixu in a text, but then, she realized that it wouldn''t be as nice.

    There was something just special and pleasant about receiving a handwritten letter, even if the contents were brief and even if she couldn''t reply back.

    At a second thought, she stood back up and went to a set of cabinets in her room, taking out a small, empty box. It was the perfect place to fit the rolled up scroll. Yujia placed the letter there, deciding that for the rest of Zixu''s letters, she would store them there as well.

    ¡­

    Life continued to pass by.

    Yujia had her paintings hung up high on the shelf, replacing the framed pencil sketches. The artisans perfected the formula for oil paint. Yujia went to her fellow disciples and marketed oil paint with a seminar in oil painting. The oil paints were officially launched at Three Inks, boosting the sales of the store again as many marveled over the novelty. In fact, after the oil paints were launched, Yujia received a commission from a princess herself, who wanted to own a mountain painting created with oil paints. That was an incredible honor, and Yujia spent plenty of time painting a mountain range with waterfalls on an enormous canvas.

    Although it was honorable to paint for a member of the royal family, Yujia, above all, still liked one thing more: raking in the gold.

    Despite the split of profits between her and Bo Zhizhong, hundreds of silver taels still came rolling in Yujia''s direction. Yujia splurged with that money, buying pretty much everything she wanted in the marketplace. However, after all that, she still had plenty of funds left.

    Yujia had to admit that at one point in time, she stacked and counted her taels like a stereotypical rich man. It was just so satisfying to see how much money she had gotten.

    Furthermore, amidst all of this, she had also received her second letter from Zixu.

    When she read the first lines, her eyes widened.

    "Please send help. We have arrived in the far north, yet a blizzard has fallen upon us. Supplies are running low. The other pigeons have been eaten. I fear that Father will resort to cannibalism, if things continue on this way."

    Yujia couldn''t believe the things that she was reading. But then, she realized that there was a second page, continuing on with wide eyes.

    "Just kidding, Junior Sister. Did you believe that? It was a bad joke that I thought of when I heard stories of a blizzard in the north during this hot summer season. A tragedy like such has not befallen us, so do not worry. We''ve arrived at Northern Zhou''s capital, and all is safe and sound. Hoping that you have been doing well too¡ª have you begun selling the oil paints I saw last time? I''ll have to buy some when coming back."

    Yujia could practically envision the joking expression Zixu liked to wear whenever he teased her. She covered her face with a hand and laughed, out of just how gullible it was for her to take the first page of the letter seriously.

    Except still, the idea that the trip could be dangerous emerged in her mind.

    Yujia bit her bottom lip. She couldn''t help but worry. Even if there was no blizzard, traveling during this era surely had many hazards, ranging from bandits, to getting lost, or to running out of supplies. It couldn''t be compared to the ease of modern plane or train trips.

    She really hoped that Zixu would be safe.

    ¡­

    Towards the end of the month, a third letter came, reassuring her fears of Zixu being in a dangerous predicament.

    "Junior Sister, we are on our route back. I fed a homeless puppy a steamed bun and he began to follow me. I suppose Mimi could have a baby brother. What do you think?"

    Yujia paused, imagining a scene of Zixu feeding a stray dog, then the dog beginning to follow him. She imagined how he would tell the dog to stop following him, yet the dog just wouldn''t listen. She also imagined how ultimately, he would give up and end up having a dog following him for the trip all the way back to Chang''an.

    It was a hilariously cute scene to imagine.

    "We will be arriving back home in around a week. I tried wine from another merchant today. The aroma was still lacking compared to the wine sold in the capital. Perhaps I am too accustomed to the familiar taste of home. When I return, will you have a drink with me?"

    As Yujia folded the letter up, she tilted her head, thinking.

    ¡­

    News eventually arrived that Old Master Yu and Young Master Yu returned from their business trip.

    It was early in the morning, when the sun had barely even risen in the sky. Yujia heard the news from one of the early bird servants. She stopped what she was doing¡ª which was a sorry attempt at meditation that she began two days ago, in an attempt to incorporate that in her morning routine¡ª and stood up, going out of Lingxin without a second thought.

    Silver in her hands, she set off to a wine store in the capital, which she heard about the other day as the store that sold the finest quality of wine. When she arrived, she picked through the shelves and talked to the owner until she found a jar which she believed as best.

    Now that she had the best wine, she went back in the direction of Lingxin, a cheerful grin on her expression.

    On the way to the store, she had to cross a bridge. On the way back, she crossed the same bridge, noticing that the canal beneath her no longer brought any fear to mind. She didn''t even notice it the first time she crossed the bridge.

    The sky was blue above her, only a few wisps of clouds dotting the horizon. The morning air was crisp. Birds chirped atop of tree branches and the sound of the city, beginning to wake up, carried through the fresh air. It was a perfect start for the day.

    Then, partially to the top arch of the bridge, Yujia stopped, looking up.

    In front of her, standing at the top, was none other than Yu Zixu.

    He was dressed in white robes. And though she had not seen him for a month, he looked no different than the image of him she kept in her mind from that day, in the flower fields.

    "Junior Sister, it''s been a while," he called out.

    Yujia didn''t expect to see him here. In fact, she wasn''t even ready to see him. What was he doing here? Thinking back to the last letter, the reason behind her purchase of the wine in the first place, could that be what he was going to do? Was that the reason behind the crossing of their paths?

    Regardless, Yujia lowered the jar of wine she held to the wooden floor of the bridge, almost fumbling as she did such a simple action. Straightening herself again and putting on a smile, she replied, "Indeed it has. You''ve been well during your trip?"

    Her heart began to race furiously in her chest, and Yujia tried her best to not let her cheeks warm up.

    "I have. How have you been?"

    "I''ve been well too." Yujia paused, biting her lip. She looked down at the jar of wine, then glanced back at Zixu. Slowly, she began, "Last time we met, you asked for me to give you an answer when you returned. I think I have my answer now."

    His eyes met hers, the expression in them unfathomable. "Then, what is it?"

    Taking a deep breath, Yujia finally said the words she had been meaning to say, words that she had been holding back all along, and words that came from her heart.

    "Yu Zixu, I like you too."

    After blurting that, Yujia observed him tensely, her hands wrung together. It felt like time had stopped. She wasn''t sure why she was so anxious. Still, she couldn''t help but have a touch of fear in her heart, which was still madly thudding, perhaps even more than before.

    What if Zixu met a pretty girl on his business trip and forgot all about her? What if he moved on after seeing Yujia''s angry response that day, after his confession in the flower fields? What if, what if, and what if?

    Except then, Zixu''s next words chased away her fears.

    "I have been waiting so long to hear that."

    He smiled and looked down, as if trying to hide the hint of nervousness in his smile. It was so different from his usual composed and perfect demeanor, but in Yujia''s eyes, the worried, nervous Zixu that stood in front of her right now was not anywhere less perfect. Yujia realized that perhaps Zixu had the same fears and concerns as her, all along.

    She couldn''t help but let out a soft laugh of relief. And then, she rushed forward, throwing her arms around Zixu in a hug.

    She couldn''t care if the world was watching.

    Right now, at this moment, it was just the two of them.

    Zixu tensed up at first, but in the next second, he relaxed. He returned her embrace, hands gently resting around her.

    "I''ve been waiting so long to do this, too," she murmured into his shoulder. "I''m so glad you''re safe. If you died on the trip, I would''ve killed you."

    "I''m glad that I didn''t die, then," he replied with a gentle laugh. "If I did die, I probably would''ve killed myself afterwards, from the regret that I wouldn''t live long enough to hear your words. You wouldn''t need to get your hands dirty."

    Yujia grinned.

    She missed hearing his laugh.

 304 The Artist on the Walk Back

    "What should I call you from now on?"

    Yujia, who just picked up the jar, paused for a brief second. As she walked back to him, she pursed her lips, thinking. "You''ve called me many things in the past," she noted.

    "Now that you mention it,  I definitely have," Zixu agreed.

    The two began to cross the bridge, back in the direction of their homes.

    "Remember when we first met? I was pretending to be your younger brother, so that was certainly interesting."

    "Ziyang still doesn''t know that someone impersonated him in the past, " Zixu mused, raising a brow. " I should tell him sometime."

    "If you do, tell him when I''m not around." Yujia covered half of her face with her palm. "I''m still embarrassed by that."

    Zixu changed the topic,  noting, "Actually, the first time that we met was before the Lingxin entrance exam."

    Yujia''s eyes lit up. "Right!"

    The first time they ever ran into each other was when Yujia went to sketch out a commission for Bo Zhiyuan. Zixu was visiting Zhiyuan, and by chance, she ran into him when exiting the courtyard.

    "You still remember that?" Yujia asked, the corners of her lips curving upwards.

    "I remember every moment that I''ve spent with you," he replied nonchalantly.

    Squinting at him, Yujia said, "When''d you become so cheesy?"

    Zixu gave a short laugh. "Why not? I just speak the truth."

    Laughing as well,  Yujia shook her head to feign disappointment. "What am I going to do with you?" she questioned with a deep sigh. But still,  from the smile she wore on her face, it was clear that she didn''t mind.

    "Back on the topic of our first meeting," Zixu interjected, "I''ve been meaning to ask, but I''ve never had a good chance until now. You called me by a different name when we first met. ''Wu Hao'' ¡ª who is that?"

    Yujia froze in her steps, the smile on her face freezing as well. She blinked.

    "Ah, did I call you that?"

    "You most definitely did." Feigning ignorance didn''t seem to work with Zixu.

    She placed a hand on the back of her neck,  then resumed walking, moving a few steps ahead of Zixu. She really didn''t think that he would remember that slip-up of hers.

    When they first met, because of the fact that she was new to the world, she thought of her pre-transmigration life frequently. Yu Zixu shared the same face as her old high-school crush, Wu Hao. And thus, when Yujia ran into him, she accidentally called him by this name.

    "He''s no one," she ended up saying, "just an old acquaintance at most. You do resemble him, so that was why I mistook you for him when I first saw you."

    How was she going to break it to him that she came from a different world?

    "I see," Zixu replied, his voice calm.

    She cautiously observed his expression through her peripheral vision, and seeing that he didn''t seem too bothered by it, she let out a breath of relief. It was good that Zixu wasn''t going to continue hanging over the mystery of Wu Hao.

    Zixu then went on, "You said that he resembles me?"

    Nevermind. Yujia took back the statement that Zixu wasn''t too interested in Wu Hao''s identity.

    "Slightly, I suppose," she answered, biting back the truth that he shared nearly an exact replica of Wu Hao''s face.

    "Then, am I like him?"

    Yujia paused again at this question of Zixu''s. He stopped in his tracks as well. She turned to him, responding with a firm tone, "No. Not at all. I barely remember what kind of person he is now, but in my memories, he has always been cold and distant. You''re not like that at all, at least to me."

    He tilted his head, ever-so-slightly. "Then, what am I like, to you?"

    She had to think for a moment.

    A memory of Yu Zixu surfaced in her mind, one where he waited for her within the Half Moon Pavilion, the morning after the two had a drink. In that memory, a ray of sunlight cut perfectly through the sky, highlighting the edges of his angled features. At the same time, the sunlight wrapped him in a warm glow, paired with a soft smile resting on his lips.

    "You are¡­" she began, hesitating. Then, that memory of Zixu became a little clearer, and along with it, her confidence in her answer.

    "You are like the dawn of morning, Zixu." She tilted her head to match him, smiling a little brighter now. "Isn''t that what the ''Xu'' in your name means? Dawn. After the darkness of the night, daybreak appears, bringing the light along with it. To me, you are just like that. Though you may have been in the land of the night, dawn always arrives. Always."

    "You are like the dawn of morning, Zixu." She tilted her head to match him, smiling a little brighter now. "Isn''t that what the ''Xu'' in your name means? Dawn. After the darkness of the night, daybreak appears, bringing the light along with it. To me, you are just like that. Though you may have been in the land of the night, dawn always arrives. Always."

    He smiled faintly. Though he didn''t say anything, the warmth of his expression was enough to demonstrate what he was thinking.

    After a brief moment of silence, Zixu then added on, "I thought of the name that I should call you by."

    "And that is¡­?"

    "Remember the name I gave you when you disguised yourself as my maid?" He turned his head to face her. "Yu''er. It''s simple and nice to say."

    Yujia wrinkled her nose. "If you call me that, I''ll call you Little XuXu."

    "You may call me by whatever name you prefer," he responded with a complacent smile.

    The two somehow arrived at Lingxin already.

    As Yujia slowed in her steps, she couldn''t hold back a laugh. "Little XuXu? For real? You do not mind?" That was the most ridiculous name that she could come up with in her mind.

    "Yu''er, didn''t I say that any name is fine by me?" Zixu insisted, keeping that calm but smug tone.

    "Little XuXu it is then."

    "Sure, Yu''er."

    Yujia grinned and shook her head at Zixu. Then, she looked down at the jar of wine she carried in her arms.

    "I bought this jar entirely because you said you wanted to drink the wine in the capital again. It''s a welcome gift, I suppose. You should take it." She pushed it into his arms.

    Zixu accepted it, holding it in front of him so that he could have a better look. After that, he replied with a smile, "It''s thoughtful of you. I''ll take it, and we should drink together again sometime. It would be a pity to finish this jar without sharing it with someone."

    "Sounds nice." Yujia turned her head back to look at the door of the villa. Facing Zixu again, she bid, "I''ll have to go now, I''m afraid. I promised Senior Brother Yunhe to critique his art early this morning, and I''m running a bit late."

    "Alright," Zixu agreed, bowing. "I have to be going as well, to sort out the goods brought back from the trip. See you again soon, Yu''er?"

    "Yes, Little XuXu." She raised her eyebrows, then laughed again.

    She really couldn''t take that name seriously. It seemed like Zixu couldn''t either, since he cracked an amused grin whenever she said that name.

    ¡­

    After exchanging farewells, Yu Zixu departed, heading back to the short walk towards the Yu Villa.

    If he had to name the happiest day of his life, perhaps it would be today. Even though he was usually able to hold back his expressions, on the walk back, he couldn''t stop a grin from periodically surfacing on his lips as he thought about her. Yang Yujia. Yu??er.

    It felt like a dream. And if it was, this would be a dream that he would never want to wake up from.

    While he walked, thinking about the interactions of today, he recalled that mysterious name again.

    Wu Hao.

    A misspoken name like that would not have normally bothered him, but the mystery behind it was too great. When he thought about it, coupled along with the things Yu''er told him, he still couldn''t arrive at a clear answer.

    She told him something, one time, when she was drunk. It was likely a phrase that she didn''t remember telling him.

    While looking at his face, her gaze blurry, she had once said, "You know¡ª you look so much like him¡ª it almost hurts."

    Even if Zixu had no knowledge of the true story behind all of this, he could already gather the conclusion that the "him" she talked about before was none other than this "Wu Hao" they talked about today.

    Mysteries like these usually bothered him. He liked arriving at an ending, a truth.

    But in this case, when Zixu thought about it some more, he realized that he didn''t particularly need an answer to the identity of Wu Hao.

    Yu''er didn''t want to tell him about the full story of Wu Hao today. That was her right. Everyone had stories of their past that they didn''t want to always explain. Zixu did as well.

    When the time was right, she would naturally tell Zixu the full story. Until then, it didn''t matter who Wu Hao was. He was only a memory of the past, after all.

    Zixu would patiently wait for her to tell him that story, until however long that it would take. Furthermore, even if she never wanted to tell him about those events in the past, he had no need to pressure her to either. Whether or not she wanted to tell him the backstory was a decision that she could and should make on her own. He would respect that.

    Arriving at the front doors of the Yu Villa, Zixu smiled softly, then stepped back home.

 305 So Terrifying, the Artis

    "Little XuXu?" he quoted after her, "Yu''er?"

    Yujia stared at him. "You were eavesdropping?"

    "It''s not eavesdropping if I was just passing by and happened to overhear your conversation," he argued back.

    Yujia flattened her lips into a thin line. "Alright, Senior Brother." She began to walk into the villa.

    He followed behind her. "So¡­ I didn''t know that you two became this close. Isn''t Junior Brother Zixu just returning back from his business trip?"

    "I''m sure you''re glad that your efforts, along with Master''s, have worked out," she replied, giving him an implicit answer.

    "Really?" Yunhe understood. He grinned widely and rushed to walk by her side. "Does Master know?"

    Yujia stopped in her footsteps, her attitude becoming serious. "No, and don''t tell him yet, alright?"

    "Why? He would be the happiest to hear this news."

    Thinking back to how her master would likely overreact at the news¡ª it had already taken her forever to convince her master that simply because Yu Zixu practiced saying "I like you" to her, it didn''t mean that the two of them would be getting married¡ª Yujia shuddered a little.

    "Things just¡­ aren''t that final yet," she decided to say.

    It was true.

    Even though it would be nice to pretend like all of her problems in the world were solved now, Zixu''s father was a major issue.

    Yunhe continued asking his questions. "Since when did you two get together?"

    Resuming her strides, Yujia turned to look at him, giving him a smirk. "So, how about you tell me Jiang Muyun. Didn''t you like him?"

    Ye Yunhe immediately shut up after that.

    Feeling a little bad for bringing up one of Yunhe''s troubles, Yujia threw in a small joke to ease the tension that suddenly built up.

    "I didn''t know that Senior Brother liked gossip like this?" She cracked a smile. "Next time I go attend one of those gatherings with the other young ladies, I should ask you to come along."

    There were a few pieces of truth within her first sentence. Yunhe always seemed so dedicated to art, barely having any time or willingness for nonsense. She hadn''t seen much of this gossipy side of him until now.

    "It gets a little boring just studying all day long," Yunhe responded, sighing.

    "Then, Senior Brother, help me think of a solution." Yujia stopped again. "You know the issue my identity has with the Yu Household."

    He fell silent.

    "I have no idea."

    Yujia sighed. "Well then."

    She really needed to think of a solution soon. She had to.

    ¡­

    Some time passed. Things occurred as normal, with more art, more practicing, and more learning.

    Zixu, wearing his Lingxin disciple robes like her, was holding a scroll in his hand. When he entered the library, he still hadn''t noticed her, so she quietly set down her brush and snuck around the shelves, across from the one he was at. And then, she popped up, resting her chin on one of the shelves.

    "Yu Zixu!"

    He looked up calmly, not startled at all. While setting the scroll on a shelf below, he replied, "Hello."

    Yujia made a face, narrowing her eyes. "You weren''t surprised?"

    "I already heard you walking close," he answered, the corners of his lips twitching upwards. "It''s a silent library, and the sound of walking is still not completely quiet, no matter how hard you try to make it that way."

    She stepped back, moving across the shelf to his side. "Well, maybe you could''ve pretended like you were surprised. Entertain my horrible stealth?"

    "I''ll remember next time." He turned away, quietly shuffling through a few books on the opposite shelf.

    "What are you looking for?" Yujia asked, leaning forward with curiosity.

    "Ah!"

    Zixu whipped around, pure shock across his face. His eyes were as wide as they could be; his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "You¡ª you¡ª when did you¡ª get here?" he stuttered.

    An incredulous laugh escaped Yujia. "Skies, what are you doing?"

    The shock immediately vanished from his expression, replaced by blankness. "Didn''t you want me to pretend to be surprised? Your stealth back there truly blew me away. I didn''t even know that you were in the same room as me."

    And then, Zixu cracked a small smile, seemingly unable to hold that back.

    "You''re so¡ª" Yujia rolled her eyes, though a smile appeared across her expression as well. "I''m wordless."

    He took a book from the shelf, flipping through the front pages without much attention. Then, he explained, "I''m looking for just some good books on art history. It''s interesting to see the progression of history through the timeline of art. Lately, I''ve been fascinated with this topic."

    "I see." Yujia picked up a book on the same shelf too, one that also seemed to be about history. She opened it to the first page and read through it, finding nothing that seemed particularly enticing. "This is quite bland, I feel."

    Zixu grinned. "Once you read enough of these books, the ones that are slightly less boring than the other ones seem quite engaging."

    "How is Mimi doing? And the dog you picked up along the way, during your trip?" Yujia switched the topic, sliding the book in her hands back where it belonged.

    "Mimi has been wonderful, as usual. The puppy has been eating well and growing more, compared to when I first met him. He was skin-and-bones back then." Zixu closed the book in his hands as well. "He''s really adorable. You''ll have to meet him sometime."

    "I would love to!" Yujia exclaimed, eyes shining. Puppies were the cutest. "Do you have a name for him yet?"

    He thought for a second and replied, "Not yet. I''m waiting for the perfect name to appear."

    "I see, I see."

    "Actually," Zixu continued, leaning forward with his eyebrows raised and a small smile, "would you like to come with me to meet the puppy? I was planning to take both Mimi and him on a walk through the forest today. It would be nice for you to come along."

    Yujia parted her lips, about to respond, but then she froze. Flashbacks of the first time she walked with Zixu through the forest¡ª which involved being lost for an entire night, after the two of them cluelessly wandered off the normal path¡ª appeared in her mind.

    "Will you use a leash on the dogs? Or¡­"

    "Of course." He laughed. "I''ll use a leash, and I''ve trained Mimi a bit more since then as well. He won''t go taking off after a rabbit and lead us off the path. It''ll be a great experience for you to get to know the puppy as well."

    "Alright then!" Yujia nodded, having faith in his words. She did really want to meet the puppy, and if Zixu put it that way, then the incident that happened before surely could not happen again. Things had to turn out okay.

    ¡­

    Things did not turn out okay.

    For some twist of fate, some unforeseen reason, some unpredicted occurrence, Yujia found herself, along with Zixu, lost in the middle-of-nowhere again.

    She should''ve known better.

    After all, the idea of two directionally challenged people, in an expansive forest, led by two rabbit-crazy dogs¡­ was never a good idea.

 306 When Luck Goes Downhill for the Artis

    She got to meet the puppy, which was an adorable little brown dog, seeming like a similar breed to Mimi. His floppy, soft ears and a tendency to lick everything made him a hundred times cuter. Yujia practically fell in love with the puppy the moment she saw him.

    Zixu got leashes made for Mimi and the puppy, giving her the leash for the puppy. Like that, the two set off on their walk.

    Things began to go wrong when a rabbit appeared.

    About halfway through their walk, a rabbit leapt out of the bushes, skipping across the path in front of them. It stopped, freezing right there, staring at the two dogs as if it could stay invisible if it just didn''t move.

    Mimi, who Zixu claimed to be "trained", looked at Zixu, looked at Yujia, whined, and sat down. Mouth hanging open with his tongue stuck out, Mimi began to pant, staring at the rabbit with such intensity that Yujia swore that if Mimi''s gaze was fire, the rabbit would be completely charred into ashes right now.

    The puppy, on the other hand, completely untrained, lost it.

    He began to bark madly and tug on the leash, which Yujia managed to control him with, since a puppy didn''t have much strength at all. All the while, Zixu glanced back and forth, trying to figure out how to chase the rabbit away. It didn''t look like it wanted to move at all. It was almost like the rabbit wanted to be eaten. Even when Zixu pretended to lunge at the rabbit, it remained as still as a rock.

    Yujia bent down, gently grabbing the puppy in an attempt to soothe him. Zixu moved over in her direction, reaching out the leash and calling out for her to temporarily hold Mimi while he chased the rabbit away.

    For some reason, Mimi took that step towards Yujia as a welcome invitation to leap on her, since in the next second, the dog jumped at her. The "attack" startled Yujia. She fell back, eyes wide, hands momentarily loosening on the leash by reflex.

    And just like that, the puppy took off after the rabbit. The rabbit sprinted as well, suddenly having the guts to dash in the opposite direction.

    As a result of that dash, Yujia and Zixu had no choice but to chase after the puppy. During about the half hour that Yujia had gotten to know the puppy with, she had already gone far too attached to let it just run off like that.

    Moments later, the two were stuck in a ridiculously familiar scenario.

    They caught up to the puppy. The rabbit hadn''t gotten killed and ran away in time. Except, the tragic predicament was that the two of them were both stuck in the middle-of-nowhere, yet again.

    Yujia''s eyes circled the surroundings, and then she sighed deeply.

    "We are doomed to get lost in forests, so it seems." She glanced over at Zixu, almost laughing because of how comical their situation was. "Let''s not do this again, next time."

    "What to do now?" Yujia paused for a second, then replied, "Remember our strategy before? We walked in the same direction instead of making turns. That led us to the river last time. This time¡­ maybe we''ll find our way back to the path before the sun sets?"

    He glanced up and shrugged. "Sounds fine to me. Shall we?"

    Staring at the puppy on the leash in front of her, who was innocently wagging his tail like nothing ever happened, Yujia grinned and nodded. "Let''s go."

    She was sure that they wouldn''t get as lost as they did back then.

    Yujia began to walk ahead, taking a couple steps and looking to the distance, in hopes of catching a landmark past the trees. Distracted by the thought of how to get out of the forest faster, the one thing Yujia didn''t notice was a root of an old tree, extending past the surface of the ground.

    Her foot caught onto the root.

    And then she tripped.

    And then she fell.

    Unlike what may have happened in a make-believe world, where Yu Zixu would reach forward and catch her just in time, the fall was too quick.

    One second, Yujia was looking to the distance; the next second, she was face-planted into the grass and dirt.

    Yujia didn''t move for a few split seconds, sprawled on the ground. She could practically feel Zixu''s gaze fixed on her, and she could just imagine how red her face was, even if it was pressed into the ground and she had no way of seeing herself.

    "Are you alright?" he asked almost immediately, rushing in front of her.

    She wanted to sink into the soil and let the earth bury her. "Don''t look at me," she muttered, "This is embarrassing."

    "Are you sure? I could give you a hand¡ª "

    "Just¡ª look away for now and erase the image of me face-planting from your head," she blurted.

    Rising up slowly, Yujia felt a sharp pain in her ankle. The moment she fell, she did feel a tearing sensation in that area, but she was so overcome by embarrassment that she really didn''t even notice it. Only now, when she tried to move her leg, did she realize just how great the pain was.

    With very awkward movements, she managed to twist herself around so that she was in a sitting position. The ankle that she probably sprained or twisted¡ª her right one¡ª was refusing to move at all, so it had been extremely difficult to even push herself up.

    Zixu glanced over, peeking from the turned away position he stood at.

    "What just happened?" she interrogated him.

    "Nothing. We were just walking and you merely took a seat to rest."

    Finally cracking a smile, Yujia replied, "Nice."

    She crouched up, first placing her weight on her left foot, then testing to see if she could rise with her right foot. The pain was far too much, burning the entire area of her foot with a sudden flash. Letting out an involuntary gasp, she fell back, landing back on the dirt.

    At this point, Zixu dropped the act that "nothing had happened". He let go of the dogs'' leash and rushed by her side, eyes darting from her face to her right foot.

    "How hard did you fall?" he muttered, holding out a hand. "Let me see your ankle."

    Yujia could not care much about modesty right now. She wanted to see how her ankle looked herself. Gingerly, she took off the embroidered shoe she wore, observing the ankle. It was red, beginning to show signs of turning purple.

    "That looks terrible," Zixu noted. His eyebrows were tightly knitted in concern.

    "It feels terrible," she responded. Wincing, she placed the shoe back on her foot. "But¡ª " she continued, gritting her teeth, "I think I can walk."

    Raising a skeptical eyebrow, Zixu repeated, "You think?"

    "Yeah, if I just¡­ just put my weight on my left foot. And drag this one behind me."

    Yujia rose up, as if to prove her point. Zixu quickly stood up by her side.

    Pushing her screaming nerve fibers to the side, Yujia began to take a step with just her left foot. The moment she tried that, she knew that it was a bad idea. A bad, bad, absolutely horrible idea.

    She wobbled, her step unbalanced. And then, she toppled to the side.

    This time, Zixu caught her, arm around her.

    She glanced at him, face scrunched up with pain. He looked back at her, lips tightly pressed into a thin line.

    "You can''t walk," he informed her, though she already knew this deep down inside. "Don''t force yourself."

    "If I don''t walk, then what do we do? We have to get out of this forest somehow!" she exclaimed, hands tightly clenched by her side.

    She was furious¡ª but only at herself. She was just frustrated at herself for being clumsy enough to trip over a stupid tree root. She didn''t want to be a burden. If she had just been a little more careful¡­

    "It''s not like we have zero solutions." Zixu''s tense expression relaxed, eyebrows unfurling. He took a step in front of her, crouching down and holding his arms by his side. "Come on," he patted his back.

    Yujia paused, realizing Zixu wanted to give her a piggyback ride. "Are you sure? I might be heavy," she said. Her eyes narrowed.

    "Please." He looked back, laughing. "You look like you could be blown away by the wind. You must eat more. When we get out of this damned forest, let''s have a feast."

    "Alright," she muttered, "but don''t feed me a thousand pastries again. No human can eat that many pastries. After that one day, I don''t think I ever want to eat pastries again."

    "Anything you say goes. No more pastries," he hummed. He looked back over again. "What are you waiting for? Get on."

    Cautiously, Yujia took a step forward. This was the first time that she had ever gotten someone to carry her like this. She looped her arms around Zixu''s neck and got on his back. He hooked his hands behind her, making sure that she was secure while gently avoiding contact with her ankle. Then, he tilted his head back.

    "Are you ready?" he asked.

    Letting out a small, nervous laugh, Yujia replied, "Yep."

    "Let''s go, then." He grinned. "Hold on tight."

 307 Venting and the Artis

    Due to how impossible it was for him to hold dog leashes and give a piggyback ride at the same time, Zixu unleashed the dogs. They followed by the side obediently for now, but Yujia could only hope that a rabbit wouldn''t appear out of nowhere again.

    "It''s fine. Are you sure that you won''t get tired?" she answered, eyebrows knitted.

    "You''re incredibly light," he assured. "I''m just concerned that it''s not comfortable. I don''t want to worsen your ankle injury."

    She leaned in a little closer. "Don''t worry too much."

    The two of them were closer than ever now. She could see all the strands of hair on the back of his head, brushed up to make a simple top-knot. The thought that she could just lean forward and press a kiss on his cheek made Yujia''s face heat up.

    "Yu Zixu," she immediately blurted, to distract her thoughts, "thank you."

    "Between the two of us, there''s no need to say things like ''thank you,'' don''t you think?"

    "It''s a habit. Habits die hard," she retorted.

    Zixu gave a small chuckle. "Alright."

    There was a brief second of silence. Yujia thought about how Zixu was carrying her right now, arriving at the realization that she was incredibly lucky to have him by her side like this. He was caring, gentle, and all-around just lovely.

    Although she realized just how lucky she was, during these moments where she should''ve felt perfectly content with life, moments like these also brought out feelings of worry in her heart.

    She wondered if she was good enough for him. These worries inevitably rose up in most of her current relationships. She felt grateful for having all of them by her side, yet the darker parts of her thoughts always carried the concern of if she really deserved all of this.

    In her first life, in the modern-day, she had been so alone. In this second life, she had put forth every effort to correct her past mistakes, making as many friends as she could. Nevertheless, these worries were still ever-so-present, lurking in the most concealed areas of her thoughts.

    And so, in a moment like this, where her doubts were brought forth again, she really wanted to talk about it. It was unhealthy to keep them forever buried down¡ª even she could acknowledge that.

    "Can I rant to you for a moment?" she ended up asking Zixu, pursing her lips.

    "Anytime." He looked back as well as he could, and at this sudden turn, Yujia leaned back a few degrees.

    She faltered for just a second, wondering if she should speak the words that were resting on her tongue. Then, she decided that she had to. She could trust Zixu.

    He paused, silent for just a moment.

    Seeing his silence, Yujia immediately added on, "I''m sorry. I shouldn''t have asked that¡ª it''s just my first time being in a relationship, so I have no idea what I''m doing and¡ª"

    "Don''t be sorry," Zixu cut in. Slowly, he replied with an answer to her past question, "I like you for many reasons. You''re brave, witty, creative, and incredibly talented in the arts. Do I look like someone who''s interested in flower arrangements?"

    Yujia thought back to how she stuck a flower in Zixu''s hair, holding back a laugh. "Yes."

    "Be serious." She couldn''t see his face, but she imagined him rolling his eyes. "The most important thing for me is that someone who I choose to spend the rest of my life with either enjoys or supports my interests. Imagine if you had no interest in art, only knowing things like arranging flowers or preparing tea. How boring would our conversations be?"

    Thinking about the sheer amount of conversations they had because of just art, Yujia realized that he had a point.

    "In all honesty, I''m just as doubtful as you are," Zixu admitted.

    "You are?" Her eyes widened.

    Zixu stopped in his steps. "Of course. I''ve never been in a relationship before. I''m not some flirtatious and flamboyant man."

    "I bet you had a lot of admirers."

    "Even so, I''ve only ever had eyes for you."

    Yujia laughed, tilting her chin down.

    He began walking again, going on, "As I was saying, though, I have the same worries. I don''t know if I''m doing things right or behaving the right way. It''s as much as your first time as it is mine, so I think that it''s perfectly justified that we have these worries. Thank you for opening up to me about this. I''m not sure how I would''ve communicated this to you if it weren''t for the fact that you brought up the topic."

    "Hey," she interjected, "weren''t you the one who told me that there''s no need to say ''thanks''?"

    Zixu stopped in his steps again.

    Very slowly, he replied, "It''s a habit. Habits die hard."

    "You''re stealing my words!" she cried out.

    He laughed. "I''m simply ''borrowing,'' not stealing."

    "It''s not borrowing if you never asked for my permission."

    Turning his head so that she saw the profile view of his face, he looked at her through the corner of his eye and said, "Then, Miss Yang Yujia, may I formally request for your authorization to borrow your words involving the topic of habits?"

    "Yes." She giggled.

    "I thought so," he said with a grin, turning to look ahead again.

    Just like that, the two continued on their journey through the woods. Nothing had really changed on the outside. Zixu was still carrying her; her ankle was still stiff and painful; the dogs were carelessly trotting ahead.

    Yet on the inside, her heart felt much calmer. Without her realization, a small smile had crept onto her lips.

 308 Son of the Artis

    Compared to last time, at least she had lunch before going to the forest. It was also nice that she didn''t end up in the forest because of a crazy horse.

    She really wished that her foot wasn''t sprained, though.

    The two of them could''ve continued along the riverbank, in hopes of finding the path out, but they both needed a break.

    Zixu set her down, carefully, by the base of a tree.

    As he stretched, Yujia took off her shoe again to examine her ankle. It was even more purple now, the bruise running from her ankle down the side of her foot. When Zixu took a seat beside her, glancing over at her ankle, he frowned.

    "When we get out of here, let''s go see a physician first," he said.

    Yujia, slipping her shoe back on, grinned. "Whatever happened to having a feast instead?"

    "Are you hungry?" He leaned the side of his face against his hand, with his arm propped up on his elbow.

    "What, did you bring a table of food with you?" she jested.

    He glanced over at Mimi. "No, but Mimi knows how to hunt."

    Yujia slid her gaze over to Mimi as well, envisioning the smiling dog pouncing on a rabbit and bringing it to its death. "I¡­ don''t want to eat a mangled, half-devoured rabbit."

    "Well, I did some training with Mimi, since she came along with me for the business trip. Compared to last time, she knows how to bring her kills back without eating it. And I brought a knife."

    Reaching into his sleeve, Zixu whipped out a knife, Yujia stared at the blade, lips parting in slight surprise.

    "You like to keep knives on you?"

    He chuckled, twirling the knife in his hand. "Not usually. It was just that this time, I considered the possibility of getting lost. So, I wanted to be as prepared as possible." He then gestured at the knife, as if to say, "A knife is the perfect way of getting prepared."

    "If you wanted to be prepared, you should''ve brought a basket of food or something. Or you could''ve told me, so that I could bring something. Having a picnic would be nice," Yujia muttered.

    An unnerving smile appeared on Zixu''s face. "I really wanted to try skinning a rabbit, though."

    "Heavens." Yujia shuddered, cautiously peering at Zixu through the corner of her vision. "Don''t tell me you''ve always had these bloodthirsty tendencies?"

    "Ah, come on. It''s just a rabbit. I''ve only done it a few times on the trip. It won''t hurt to get some more practice in." He tapped his long fingers on the side of the knife blade.

    Zixu tilted his head. "Roasting rabbit is not all too difficult, though. It''ll also be a little bland. I feel like it wouldn''t be a good display of my cooking abilities."

    "You''ve cooked in a kitchen before?" she asked, eyes widening. When he nodded, she protested, "Really, how have you had experience in everything? Last time I found out that you know how to start a fire, pick locks, and the like. Now, I find out that you can cook."

    His smile fell slightly, but he quickly replaced it with a brighter grin. "I am secretly omnipotent." Sheathing the knife back in his sleeve, he then continued, "But truly, I only know the basics of cooking. Don''t have very high expectations for me."

    "Your level of basic is likely the average person''s level of highly advanced," she scoffed, shrugging a shoulder.

    He looked away, still smiling, and waving Mimi over. Mimi, who had wandered to the edge of the river, came running back, placing a paw on Zixu.

    "Mimi, go hunting, alright?" Zixu ordered, then gave a pet on Mimi''s back.

    Mimi was an intelligent dog. The words immediately clicked in his head, making Mimi run off almost the moment he heard Zixu begin the word "hunting". Yujia watched the dog scamper away and laughed.

    "He''s so enthusiastic," she noted.

    "Hunting is probably his favorite thing to do," Zixu laughed back.

    The puppy, seeing that Mimi ran away, wanted to scamper after his older friend. However, Zixu had refastened the leash around his neck, making the puppy pull to no avail. After a few more tugs, he came back to Yujia''s side, nudging her with his wet nose.

    Yujia picked the puppy up, running her fingers through his fur.

    "You don''t have any ideas for the puppy''s name?" she questioned, recalling how Zixu told her that the puppy was nameless before.

    "Truthfully," he answered, "I actually wanted to let you name him, and give him to you, if you wanted him and got along well with each other after today. But the puppy misbehaved too much during this walk, so surely you don''t want to keep him, right?"

    Yujia gasped, her hands still holding the puppy in her lap. "Are you kidding me? How could I dislike this lil'' cutie? He''s just a soft, harmless ball of fur."

    "Oh." Zixu let out a small breath of air, his head tilted to observe the puppy better. "I was worried for a moment that you would resent him for making us get lost."

    "I can be petty and hold a grudge, but not against dogs." Yujia picked the puppy up to her face. It nudged her again with its nose, making her continue to grin like an idiot. "They''re too cute to stay mad at."

    "Very true."

    "You said that I can keep him?"

    "He seems to like you quite a bit," Zixu responded.

    Yujia, with wide, watery eyes, looked at Zixu. "Aww. I''ve always wanted a pet dog. Spraining my ankle and getting lost in this forest sucked, but this really made my day better."

    He smiled softly. "I''m glad to hear that."

    "What do you think your name is?" Yujia scratched the back of the puppy''s ears. Obviously, the dog could not respond, but it was still fun to ask him the question. "You''re so soft and fluffy and cute¡ª how about meat bun? Roubao?" She turned her attention back to Zixu. "What do you think?"

    "Roubao suits him," he agreed.

    "Perfect." Clapping her hands, Yujia scooped Roubao back up. "From now on, you are my son." She snickered. "And that human over there," she continued, nudging her head in Zixu''s direction, "is your dad, okay?"

    In response, the puppy tried to lick her face. Yujia backed away, laughing.

    "Thank you," she called out, giving a bright grin in Zixu''s direction. "This is really the best gift."

    "As long as you''re happy," he replied, still wearing that warm smile.

    ¡­

    While Yu Zixu watched Yu''er play with the puppy¡ª or Roubao, as she named him¡ª his mind ran over the fact that his younger brother, Ziyang, was going to kill him.

    Ziyang had grown a bit emotionally attached to the puppy, ever since Zixu returned back from the business trip with the dog. Yet after seeing how upset Yu''er was with herself after tripping and spraining her ankle, he really wanted to find a way to brighten up her day. The puppy was just conveniently there.

    How was he going to explain this to Ziyang?

    Well.

    Zixu winced on the inside.

    What was done was done, he supposed, all as long as she was happy.

 309 Promises to the Artis

    By that time, Zixu already got a fire started. She looked away when he went to skin the rabbit. As an artist, she didn''t mind anatomy or any of that from a technical standpoint, yet blood and guts could still make her a bit queasy when excessive. It just wasn''t her kind of thing.

    When Zixu moved on from skinning to skewering the rabbit on a stick and roasting it over a fire, she turned to look, at last.

    During the time that Mimi was gone, he had set up a contraption made of sticks to stand over the fire he built. Now, with the rabbit impaled on a stick, he placed it over the fire and allowed it to sit there.

    "It''ll be done soon enough," he informed. "I really wish I had some salt or other spices."

    "I''m sure it''ll be fine," Yujia assured. Mimi and Roubao were playing together a few moments ago, but now, they were sitting and watching the cooking rabbit attentively. At this sight, Yujia had to ask, "Will we split it with them?"

    Zixu glanced over and shook his head. "Mimi probably already ate. She usually catches two rabbits, eats her first kill, then brings the second one back. We can feed Roubao some, though."

    "Alright."

    Slowly and meticulously, Zixu turned the rabbit over the flames, just to ensure that it would be evenly heated.

    "Didn''t you say you learned how to do this from your business trip?" Yujia decided to ask.

    "Indeed. Though, to be fair, I saw it being done before that specific trip I just came back from, but I got practice and experience through the trip. Funnily enough, the other merchants traveling along with us called me ''Chef Yu,'' once I cooked for all of them, despite my resentment of that nickname." Upon saying this, Zixu cracked a grin.

    She wrinkled her nose. "Is that so? It''s just evidence of your spectacular cooking skills, isn''t it?"

    He shrugged his shoulders. "I prefer your ''Great Chef Zixu'' more."

    Raising her brows and laughing, she declared, "You just want more compliments."

    Zixu raised his eyebrows as well, giving her a know-it-all smirk.

    Yujia leaned forward. "Tell me more about your trip."

    "It really wasn''t too spectacular. I covered all of the highlights through my letters," he replied lightly.

    "You wrote it yourself that you didn''t have enough space. Surely, there were exciting details that you left out."

    "You''re so curious," he pointed out, turning the rabbit on the spit again and tilting his head.

    "Fair." He kept his head tilted as he thought. "I guess I should tell you about the time when the boat traveling down the river to Luoyang almost sank."

    "What?" Yujia''s head snapped up.

    "Yes. There turned out to be a slight leakage in the boat that we boarded, and it was halfway swamped with water before we realized that it was sinking, halfway through the night when everyone was mostly asleep. A lot of our cargo ended up getting waterlogged and had to be dumped."

    Quite distraught, Yujia exclaimed, "You never told me about this!"

    "I didn''t want to make you worry."

    "You wrote me a letter about being forced to resort to cannibalism."

    "In my defense, that was a joke."

    "You didn''t think that it would still make me worried?"

    "You were worried about me?"

    "Yes?"

    "Aw." Zixu smiled brightly. "I''m glad to know that you care enough about me to worry."

    She stared at him, eyebrows deeply furrowed. Seeing his nonchalant and humorous tone, however, her eyebrows unknitted.

    "Ah, whatever," she finally replied. "Next time though, if anything dangerous like that happens, you have to tell me. You could''ve drowned in your sleep."

    "Alright. I, Yu Zixu, promise to tell you about everything dangerous in the future." Zixu held up his hand in an oath.

    She looked at his perfectly determined gaze and let out a small laugh. "No need to be so serious."

    He set his hand down. "Well, now that I gave you my oath, aren''t you much less worried? I just don''t want you to be worried."

    "It''s not necessarily a bad thing." Yujia pursed her lips. "Didn''t you say before that if I worry, it''s because I care?"

    "Fair enough, again."

    "So, tell me. Did anything else happen on the trip?"

    "Perhaps there was a brief moment on the trip where a horse spun out of control during a rainy day and almost rode off a cliff."

    Yujia stared at him again, eyes widening. How many more dangerous things were there that he hadn''t yet talked about?

    She didn''t need to ask him. He continued on, listing off every unfortunate event that happened during the trip. There were mountain bandits. There were more freak accidents. There were more unlucky incidents due to nature and weather. There was a merchant that traveled along with the group that attempted to scam them, and when he was discovered, he took a dagger and tried holding Zixu as a hostage for ransom.

    The sheer amount of life-threatening things that occurred on the trip seemed insane to Yujia. She had no idea how Zixu even came back from it, safe and all in one piece.

    Before she could say anything more about the huge list of events, Zixu conveniently turned to the rabbit. "Oh, it''s almost finished cooking," he said, changing the topic.

    Taking it off the flames and making a precise cut into the meat with his knife¡ª which he had cleaned and washed in the river after doing the skinning¡ª he took a careful look at how thoroughly the rabbit was cooked, through the light of the flames. What he saw didn''t seem to satisfy him, since he placed it back over the flames.

    "It''s edible at this point, but a few more minutes won''t hurt," he told her. "In the meantime, enough talk of all these risks and perils. Do you want to hear about the brighter parts of my trip?"

    Thinking of how horrendous her mental image of that business trip had become, Yujia agreed quickly. "I would love to."

    She would really like to listen to some positive things to lighten the mood, which had inevitably darkened due to all the talk of danger.

    "I suppose I should tell you more about Luoyang. The city has quite a lot of stories, actually," he said, sitting back.

    His tale about Luoyang began. Once he finished discussing the city, he went on, talking about other highlights of the trip. Yujia listened to him talk about the sights and wonders carefully, practically falling into the world that he had seen through his stories. She grasped onto his every word. Someday in the future, she wanted to be able to go with Zixu and revisit all of the places he had talked about.

    And for a few seconds, Yujia envisioned it.

    She could see the two of them throwing aside all the burdens of the city and going to travel the world. She could see the two of them growing even closer, starting from sharing their stories to sharing all of their worries, dreams, and secrets. She could see the two of them finding a picturesque small cottage near the mountains, waterfalls, and fields of flowers, then deciding to settle there. She could see the two of them dressed in red, bowing to the earth and sky, sharing a cup of wine, and falling under the red drapes. She could see the two of them growing older, their children playing beneath their knees, while they painted together. She could see the two of them aging under the faint sunlight until wrinkles lined both of their skin and their hair turned white, but at least they had smiles on their faces as they chatted with each other.

    But then, Yujia blinked.

    Zixu''s stories had arrived to an end, and they were back to the present.

    As he turned his attention back to the rabbit, she called out, softly, "I want to go traveling with you."

    "Let''s do it." He smiled. "One day, let''s go touring the world. I''ll take you to see all the places I talked about, and we can go beyond that, to anywhere you desire."

    "Just the two of us?"

    "Just the two of us," Glancing over at the dogs, he added, "and the dogs, of course."

    "Of course." She grinned. "How could we forget the dogs?" Roubao prodded her with his wet nose again. She had her gaze focused on Zixu''s eyes. "It''s a deal then. A promise."

    "A promise it is."

 310 Good Night to the Artis

    Even though it was admittingly bland, the lack of seasoning or spices brought out the natural earthy flavor of the meat. Compared to normal meat such as chicken, the flavor was much more intense, which surprised Yujia since she expected it to be incredibly bland. In the modern era, she had rabbit before, but due to the fact that it was both a long time ago and seasoned to be extremely spicy, the taste of this natural, open-fire roasted rabbit was definitely a new experience for her.

    In fact, Yujia had to say that over the time that she spent in this transmigrated world, her need for extreme flavors did decrease a bit. Fine salt was an expensive commodity, and so most of the common food was not heavily seasoned. Perhaps the Fourth Miss and her physical genetics also made it so that her tongue grew accustomed to eat less sodium and still taste great flavor.

    Ultimately, the rabbit didn''t taste bad at all. It was a good meal, for something out in the wild.

    Yujia passed on the praise in her thoughts to Zixu, applauding his ability to roast the rabbit. He seemed quite proud as well, a satisfied smile rising to his lips.

    When the two of them neared the end of the meal, Yujia fed some scraps to Roubao. She then leaned back on a tree, lightly giving her sprained ankle a massage and stopping almost immediately when she realized that it pained her far too much. She looked up at the dark sky, sighing.

    "I guess we really have to spend the night out here," she muttered. "I really didn''t want to, but it seems like there''s no other choice."

    "It''ll be fine," Zixu assured, "just like last time. I don''t believe that there are any wolves or bears in the area, so no worries about that."

    Yujia shuddered, pulling Roubao a little closer to her. "Why''d you have to mention bears?"

    "Why? Are you scared?" he replied, tilting his head with a slight grin.

    Yujia thought about a bear mauling her. And then, she had flashbacks to riding on a demonic horse which landed her in the "lost in the forest" scenario the first time around. The image of that horse, baring its teeth and rearing up into the sky, was practically seared in her mind.

    She shook her head and placed a hand behind her neck. "No," she answered, "not at all. I''ve seen far worse animals."

    "Horses?" Zixu asked. It was as if he read her thoughts.

    Yujia parted her lips, about to ask how he knew, but then she realized that she told him about it before. And thus, of course Zixu remembered, with that genius brain of his.

    She held her hands up. "Don''t get me started on how scary they are, alright?"

    "How are we going to go traveling around the world if you''re scared of riding a horse?" he continued with his questions. His eyebrows were knitted in concern.

    "If fear is the problem, how about I teach you how to ride sometime soon? I have some experience."

    "The last time someone tried to teach me, I almost died."

    He blinked. "It won''t be that way. Trust me. I wouldn''t let you get into danger."

    Yujia narrowed her eyes, wincing at the memory of Bo Zhizhong sending her flying on his demonic horse. Yet looking at Zixu, who was earnestly gazing back at her, she knew that an incident like that probably wouldn''t happen again. Zhizhong was like a kid that only knew reckless fun without thinking of consequences. Zixu was different. Everything she knew about him to this point made that clear enough.

    "What do you say?" Zixu pressed on, seeing her silence in contemplation.

    "I trust you," she finally answered, the corners of her lips curving upwards.

    He nodded. "We''ll add that to our to-do list, then, before traveling the world."

    ''We''.

    No matter how many times Yujia heard or spoke that word, it still brought a warm feeling to her heart when she thought about it.

    She knew that the two of them would have a struggle waiting ahead. Except right now, with Zixu looking at her so softly and smiles resting on both of their lips, she didn''t want to ruin it all and talk about those negative things. Her small venting session before was enough for the day. Besides, like Zixu said before, they would face those struggles together.

    ¡­

    It eventually came time to sleep. Yujia, leaning on the tree trunk, tried to make herself comfortable enough to doze off.

    Only then, Zixu, who was sitting next to her, on the adjacent side of the tree, took off the outer layer he wore over his disciple uniform robes. It was similar to the cloak he gave her last time, only thinner and more suitable for summer weather.

    Reaching forward, he draped the fabric over her, making sure that they covered her entirely.

    "Hey," Yujia said, sitting straighter, "you really don''t need to." Her hands raised up to the two edges of the "blanket".

    He didn''t pay much attention to her protests, leaning back. "I''m worried that you''ll catch a cold. It''s especially easy in this kind of summer weather, where you''d least expect it."

    "Last time, didn''t you catch a cold because you lent me your cloak?" Yujia made a face at him.

    "You have a point, but you should still take it," he insisted. "I won''t catch a cold."

    "If you do, it''ll be quite the ironic joke. I''ll be sure to laugh at you," she said.

    He snorted. "Then, I apologize ahead of time for depriving you of that joke, since I shall not be getting sick from lending you this layer this evening."

    Yujia''s expression fell when she thought about a sick Zixu, and how he did poorly on his examinations because of his poor health. She didn''t want something like that to happen again.

    Sighing deeply, she moved herself closer to him, nudging him with her shoulder. She could feel his gaze on her as she moved the fabric over, draping it to cover both of them.

    "There," she said, eyebrows raised, "doesn''t that work?" She turned her face to look at him, realizing that their faces were close now.

    Too close.

    He had turned his head to face her, and when she looked over, their faces became perfectly lined up. Even with only dim light from the fire, she could see the slope of his nose and the angles of his features perfectly, along with his dark pupils.

    Yujia stared for a second, eyes sliding down to the shape of his lips, then glanced back down the moment she realized what she was doing.

    "Do you have any complaints?" she asked, feeling her heart skip just an extra beat.

    He replied, as casual as ever, "This is fine."

    "You''ll be my shoulder pillow then," she hummed, distracting herself by leaning her head onto his shoulder. It was comfortable enough.

    As Yujia stayed in that position, she realized, slowly, that she was more awake than ever. She squeezed her eyes shut. What topics could she think about to make herself fall asleep?

    Her new puppy-son, Roubao? A new painting idea based on the sights she saw in the forest? Kissing Yu Zixu? Organizing her chaotic pile of paint supplies¡ª

    Wait.

    Kissing Yu Zixu?

    When did that idea slip into her mind? Yujia''s eyes flew open, and she stared into the darkness.

    The moment she acknowledged that thought as a resident in her mind, it was as if she could not chase it out. She promptly entered into mental-panic mode, all the while keeping her exterior self as calm as a rock.

    She had never been in a relationship before, nor had she received any advice on being in a relationship. Her experience with romance was that of modern media and hearing gossip from a few ex-friends in college. Surely, modern standards couldn''t be applied to ancient times.

    Wasn''t kissing taboo until after marriage? Or was it not? Wasn''t her using Zixu''s shoulder as a pillow completely taboo and scandalous too, if kissing was not until after marriage?

    At this thought, she stiffened up, recoiling away in a flash.

    "I''m sorry¡ª" she blurted, "I don''t think this is a good idea¡ª"

    "What?" Zixu, who had his eyes closed, opened them slowly. "Aren''t you going to sleep?" he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

    "I was trying to¡ª"

    "Then¡­" A soft smile still on his lips, his hand reached forward, cupping the side of her face. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. Once he did that, he pulled away, as if nothing just happened. "Good night. Sleep well," he wished her.

    Yujia''s face was completely flushed.

    As if her mental screaming could not intensify any more¡­ she knew that her brain was not going to calm down anytime soon after that. Yet how was Zixu just casually going to sleep like that?

    ¡­

    Zixu had his eyes closed, head leaned back against the tree, regulating his breaths to appear calm.

    On the inside, though¡­

    What had he just done what had he just done what had he just done what had he just done what had he just done what had he just done what had he just done what had he just done what had he just done¡ª

 311 Returning With the Artis

    Ouch.

    What did people say about falling asleep on shoulders as cute again? It was comfortable at first, but feeling a stiff neck in the morning might not have been the most worth it.

    She looked over at Zixu almost immediately after waking up, blinking when she realized that he was already wide awake, observing her.

    "How long were you awake?" she asked, all the while moving aside to stretch and gently massage the back of her neck.

    He pulled the "blanket" to his side, transforming it back to the outer robes he was wearing yesterday. "Not for long," he replied, focusing on straightening his sleeves.

    "Not for long?" Yujia repeated, pausing.

    In her recollections, Zixu always woke up early. She glanced up at the sun in the sky. It looked early, but it definitely wasn''t the crack of dawn.

    Putting two and two together, it was obvious that he woke up early but didn''t get up, likely not to wake or disturb her.

    She cracked a grin. "Alright. Sure. Not for long."

    Grabbing the side of the tree, she tried to help herself to stand up. Her ankle seemed almost worse than yesterday, or at most, just as bad.

    And so, with that current predicament of hers, it was back to letting Zixu give her a piggyback ride as they walked down the river bank. Unlike last time, where an old fisherman appeared rather quickly, they had to walk for quite a while before luckily seeing a patch of road. Then, with no other options, they began to go down that path. Yujia feared that at this rate, it would be late afternoon by the time that they hit the borders of civilization. The sun had been steadily creeping up the sky all the time.

    It seemed like fate had enough fun torturing them, though, since from the distance, the sound of rolling wheels began to travel to Yujia''s ear. Both her and Zixu looked up, with even the dogs and their ears perking up once they heard the sound.

    Sure enough, within a few more moments, a cart, pulled along by a single horse, emerged from the woods beyond them. A middle-aged woman was driving the cart, moving along slowly towards Yujia and Zixu''s direction.

    Yujia''s eyes lit up.

    This was good news: Zixu didn''t have to carry her any more! It was surely exhausting for him to carry her for so long, even if he claimed that she was light. If they could hitchhike a ride with the woman, then they could go back to the capital in a breeze.

    Yet with every good news, there seemed to also be bad news. The woman was driving the opposite direction of them. She was likely heading to a destination far outside of the city. Would she really be gracious enough to grant them a ride?

    "What are you two young folks doing, out here, so early in the morning?" she asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

    Zixu sighed deeply. "We were just taking a simple walk yesterday with the dogs, and by accident, we became lost in the forest. We had to stay overnight, and even worse, my wife tripped and sprained her ankle. It was only a few hours ago when we finally found this path out."

    He turned his head to look at Yujia with deep concern in his eyes. She willed her eyes to water, gazing back at Zixu, then the woman, with such a pitiful, watery gaze.

    "How bad is your ankle?" the woman asked, her eyes trailing down to Yujia''s foot, hanging by the side.

    "Very bad," Yujia responded quickly, forcing a slight tremble into her voice. She may have dramatized the performance, but the pain in her ankle was not a lie. "I can''t even walk."

    "I had to carry her all this time," Zixu made sure to add.

    "Madam, if possible, could you please have pity on us and give us a ride back to the capital?" Yujia pleaded. "We realize that it is inconveniencing you, but if you could¡ª"

    "Alright, alright," she interrupted waving her hand. She gestured for the two of them to get on the back of the cart. "I''ll do this for y''all out of the kindness of my heart."

    Both Yujia and Zixu thanked her profusely. Then, one by one, they got onto the back of the cart. First, Zixu walked over and set Yujia down carefully, making sure to not move her leg or foot in any way. Then, he got the dogs to obediently sit on the inside of the cart as well. Lastly, he himself got on.

    With all of the passengers on the cart, the woman coaxed the horse around and began driving down the direction to the city.

    Yujia glanced over at Zixu, about to say something, but the middle-aged woman cut in, pointing out, "You must be quite a loving couple for your husband to be willing to carry you this entire time."

    Zixu smiled faintly. "I just did what I was supposed to."

    The woman shook her head. "Aiya, if I sprained my ankle, my husband would not be willing to carry me the slightest. He''d keep complaining about my weight, his old back, and whatnot." She turned her head back at Yujia. "You are lucky, alright, girl?"

    Yujia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yep. I am indeed lucky."

    "How long have you two been together?" the woman then questioned. It was a rather forward question, but then again, this woman had demonstrated a direct personality ever since the moment they began to speak with her.

    "We were married just recently," Zixu decided to answer, upon seeing that Yujia faltered for a split second.

    "Ah, is that so? Well, you two do give off the appearance of newlyweds."

    Yujia thought about her and Zixu. Was this what newlyweds looked like?

    The ride continued onward, peaceful conversations going on between the two of them and the woman. Although the horse pulled the cart slowly, it seemed like barely any time had passed by the time that the forest slowly thinned out to the borders of the city. Time had simply slipped by so quickly.

    When they arrived at the city walls, that was where Yujia and Zixu decided to step off. They wouldn''t inconvenience the woman any further. She cheerfully bid them goodbye, and after thanking her a few more times, they parted ways.

    "She was quite kind," Yujia noted, once the woman drove off, back into the forest.

    "Indeed." Zixu bent over, ready to give Yujia a piggyback ride again. She got on quickly, rather familiar at this point with piggyback rides.

    "Last time with the fisherman, you claimed that we were siblings," she added on, "so why is it that this time, we are husband and wife?"

    Zixu began to walk, though he turned his face to give her a matter-of-fact look. "Well, that is closer to the truth, isn''t it? Anyways," he paused, giving her a smile, "let''s go get you some medicine."

 312 The Artist Wants a Wheelchair

    Yujia had her ankle checked on by a fairly old woman running a small apothecary near the edges of the city. The female physician prescribed her some ointment, wrapped a tight roll of bandages around the sprained area, then advised for Yujia to simply rest and give the ankle time to heal on its own.

    When Yujia first heard that the ankle would take nearly a month to completely heal, she was startled at first. It didn''t seem like something quite so serious to her. Yet she recalled the sound of tearing she heard whenever she tripped, as well as the extreme pain and bruising, realizing that the physician probably gave her an accurate estimate.

    After the checkup, it was back to Zixu carrying her to Lingxin.

    Along the way, though they never got to have that banquet of food they had talked about in the forest, Zixu bought two red-bean pastries that just came out of the rustic oven they were cooking in. They were piping hot, even when holding them through the paper wrapping the vendor sold them in, so Yujia could only hold it delicately while waiting for them to cool down enough to an edible temperature.

    By the time that they reached Lingxin, Yujia was in excellent spirits.

    Ye Yunhe had not been.

    To avoid the spectating looks of bystanders, Yujia and Zixu purposefully chose to use the side door to get into the villa. Even though it was all too early for many people besides the early vendors to spot them in the city, they didn''t want to take the risk of having some early-bird students spotting them.

    Who knew that out of all people, Ye Yunhe would be sitting on the steps of the side-door, an unpleasant scowl on his face?

    Upon recognizing him, Yujia widened her eyes and waved her free hand. "What are you doing, sitting out here, Senior Brother?"

    Yunhe looked over at the two of them approaching him, standing up. "What am I doing here? I should be asking¡­ what he and you were doing! You were missing for the entire day!"

    Yujia shrunk her head back. "We¡ª it wasn''t a whole day. Just most of the afternoon and¡­ night."

    "Right, so a day." Yunhe glared at Zixu. "What are you two doing right now?" He gestured his head at the fact that Zixu was giving Yujia a piggyback ride. "You better not have done anything to my Junior Sister."

    Zixu kept a blank expression. "She twisted her ankle. I''m simply here to escort her back home."

    "Your ankle?" Yunhe immediately fixed his attention back on Yujia. "What happened? How bad did you sprain it? Did you already go see a physician?" He didn''t give her a chance to respond, looking back at Zixu. "You can let her down now. I''ll carry her to her room."

    "This¡ª" Yunhe was wordless for a second, then followed behind.

    Yujia, eyebrows furrowed, whispered into Zixu''s ear, "Why didn''t you let me down? Yunhe could''ve brought me back."

    Zixu didn''t turn around, answering quietly, "It would be troublesome for you to get off and on again. This way, your ankle won''t be disturbed."

    Yujia pursed her lips, but didn''t say anything after that.

    ¡­

    Zixu dropped her off at her room, letting her take a seat at a chair, before stepping back. The two of them bid farewell, and Yujia was left alone with Yunhe.

    The moment Zixu left the room¡ª Yunhe didn''t send him off, which was surprising for the usually polite Senior Brother of hers¡ª Yujia frowned at Yunhe.

    "Senior Brother, I thought you were encouraging of my relationship with him?" she asked, honestly confused at why Yunhe was just so hostile at Zixu.

    "I was. Until you decided to go missing for an entire night. I respect Junior Brother Yu, but¡­ I now realize that I don''t trust him entirely," Yunhe answered her, in his usual straightforward manner. "He didn''t do anything inappropriate to you, right?" he then instantly jumped to ask.

    Yujia held her hands up defensively, eyes widening. "No. No, no, no."

    "Good. No more than holding hands until after marriage," Yunhe lectured.

    "You sound like a mom." Yujia laughed.

    Yet at that moment, she recalled how last night, Zixu pressed a kiss to her forehead. Her heart skipped a beat, and she blinked that image away. Now was not a good time to think about that.

    Meanwhile, Yunhe didn''t laugh. He continued, expression still unmoving, "I''m serious, though. If he does anything, just tell me, and I''ll¡ª"

    "Okay, I get it, Senior Brother."

    "Also, you promised me yesterday to critique my painting at the end of the day."

    Upon hearing Yunhe say that, Yujia slowly blinked.

    Had she¡­ promised him that?

    Her brain rewinded to the past as she pieced together memories of possibly¡ª just possibly¡ª promising Yunhe that she would give him a solid critique of his painting. And then, she found a memory of possibly¡ª just possibly¡ª throwing all recollection of that promise aside once she heard that Yu Zixu wanted to go on a walk with her.

    Ah. Shoot.

    So she had really promised her Senior Brother that.

    Yujia winced and put on an awkward smile. "Is this why Senior Brother is mad? Because I forgot about that promise, right? And not¡­ me vanishing for almost twenty-four hours."

    "Well." Yunhe paused for a second. "Both," he finally admitted.

    "Then, I am deeply sorry." She bowed as her smile transformed to a more teasing one. "Let this junior sister go critique it right now to make up for it?"

    She stood up, then realized the moment she did so that standing up suddenly on her own was not a good idea, because of a certain ankle that just had to be sprained. If not for Yunhe, who reached forward to assist her quickly, Yujia would''ve toppled on the floor and probably sprained her good ankle, for good measure.

    As she gripped his arm, shakily, Yujia sat back down.

    "You know what?" She looked at Yunhe, sighing deeply. "Do wheelchairs exist?"

 313 The Artist Gets a Wheelchair

    This was splendid news. Yujia went to her master¡ª who was very interested in hearing the gossip about what she did yesterday¡ª and got a wheelchair ordered for herself. Before the wheelchair arrived, for the past two days, she maneuvered around life with a walking cane.

    With a wheelchair, her life turned out much easier. Using a cane oftentimes caused her to accidently put pressure on the wrong foot. It was also difficult to get entirely used to, compared to the ease that a pair of crutches, which weren''t invented yet, might serve. A cane might have been effective for short distances, like grabbing a cup of tea. When walking long distances, however, such as visiting her master, it proved to be more of a hassle.

    Now that she had a wheelchair, made by artisans to be extremely comfortable to sit around in, she could just wheel herself to places.

    During the time when she tried to get used to moving around with a sprained ankle, she began to feel quite lucky that she didn''t need a wheelchair to move around in the past. It might''ve been the most comfortable and easiest option for her severely sprained ankle, but the mobility of a wheelchair still couldn''t compare to the ability to walk around on two legs. For the time being, however, she was grateful for this tool. The physician advised to rest the ankle as much as possible to promote faster healing and prevent dangerous complications. Having a wheelchair allowed her to follow the directions nicely.

    Regardless, Yujia knew that once her ankle healed, she would focus on working out. She thought that her health was improving, but the Fourth Miss must''ve still been far too weak for such a serious injury to rise up after tripping over a tree root. The pain of accidentally putting pressure on it was to such a degree that Yujia would''ve considered the bones in that area to be broken, if not for the assurance of the physician that her bones were fine.

    In fact, Yujia ended up making a deal with Xie Yufeng. The young woman who stayed with her, in disguise as a maid, actually did quite a lot to help Yujia get around with her sprained ankle. During one of her many conversations with Yufeng, Yujia settled on being taught by Yufeng on how to strengthen her muscles after completely healing.

    She was honestly tired of being unable to run¡ª in reference to the time when her ankle was fine¡ª for more than a minute before becoming a heaving mess. Once she could start exercising, Yujia was determined to get better cardio as well.

    Besides simply hanging out with Yufeng, Yujia also spent a lot of her time during the next few days getting familiar with raising a puppy.

    The servants of the villa loved him as well. Many maids lingered around Yujia''s courtyard more frequently, just to have a chance to give Roubao a few pats or treats, which he loved equally.

    He was quite the clingy dog. Once he realized that he was set with Yujia for life, he swiftly grew attached to her. If no one else was trying to play with him, he would always find a way to get to her side, prodding her with his head until she picked him up into her lap.

    She appreciated the fact that he was still tiny and decided to value these days while they were still there. Since he seemed like a similar breed of dog to Mimi, she imagined that he would grow up to be about that size. By then, he would be too large to climb into her lap, though by the looks of things, he might still forcefully find a way there.

    Raising a puppy did take a lot of care, including not just feeding but training as well. Yujia wanted to train him well, and according to Zixu''s words that he told her one day, upon giving her a visit, Roubao was about halfway potty trained. As a result, Yujia spent some time training him to use the outside courtyard as his bathroom, not the wooden floors of her room. This part didn''t take much: the puppy preferred the grass anyways.

    Once she was sure that he fully trained, she also moved onto basic commands like sitting and laying down. She never raised a dog before, but by the advice of one male servant, it would be better to start training them young.

    Roubao was bright. He learned fast. Yujia also recognized his passion for food, so having a few treats on hand to train him never hurt.

    Overall, having Roubao around truly brightened her spirits up. It felt wonderful to have a miniature companion around. It also brought many more tasks to her life, which she didn''t mind. She enjoyed keeping herself busy.

    On one day, as Yujia played around with pretty threads that Yufeng brought from the marketplace, in an attempt to weave a new, better collar for Roubao, she heard that Zixu came. Unlike what she might''ve done before, like skipping over to one of the pavilions to meet with him, he now frequented the villa, so that she would not have to travel far distances.

    He paid her a visit in her courtyard, right when she was beginning to weave. Upon seeing him enter, her eyes lit up, waving him to come over and have a seat at the stone table she was at. Roubao, who was chewing an old towel by the side, also scampered over, leaping on Zixu. He may have been young, but he still remembered Zixu, which made Yujia glad.

    Zixu glanced at the threads, nodding thoughtfully. "You''re weaving Roubao a collar?"

    "Yeah. How''d you guess?" She grinned.

    "By luck. Those look like quite high quality threads." He picked a spare lock up, running his fingertips against the surface.

    "My son deserves the best."

    "Fair." Scratching the back of Roubao''s ear, he smiled softly. "How is training going along?"

    Yujia lowered the lock of threads to the table. "It''s amazing so far!" She gestured her hand at the puppy and beckoned, "Come here."

    Roubao stopped licking Zixu''s hand immediately and turned to Yujia, jumping to the paved ground and taking a few steps closer to her. Looking at her expectantly, he waited for more directions.

    "Sit."

    Roubao sat.

    "Down."

    He laid down.

    "Now¡­ stay." She grabbed a ball on the table, watching as Roubao''s eyes became fixed on it. "Stay." After affirming her command again, she tossed the ball to the other side of the courtyard.

    Before the ball could even fully leave her hand, he was already chasing in the direction that she threw it at.

    Seeing this, Zixu let out a laugh of amusement. Yujia sheepishly laughed as well, placing a hand around the back of her neck.

    "Well, I guess he still needs more training with that," she murmured.

    ???He''s on the right track," Zixu assured, observing Roubao, who had already begun playing with the ball on his own.

    "I''m glad to hear that."

    After her words, Zixu propped his elbow up on the table, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. "By the way, on a completely unrelated topic, when is your birthday?"

    Yujia blinked. "It already passed. 12th of the Plum Blossom Month."

    "Ah, so months ago," he sighed.

    "Why?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

    Zixu tilted his head, putting on a nonchalant smile. "Just thought that I should know."

    "When is yours?"

    "There''s still a while. The 2nd of Winter Month."

    "I see. I''ll remember that!" She tapped the temple of her head.

    "And I''ll remember yours."

    "How is your ankle?" He changed the topic once more.

    "A lot better. Since two weeks have already passed, the pain is definitely not as prominent as before. I can walk with a cane for most short distances without too much struggle or discomfort, actually. But if I put pressure on it¡­ it''s still pretty painful. I can''t walk normally yet." She glanced down at her ankle, then back at Zixu. "You ask about it every time that we talk. Don''t you get tired of hearing my health reports?"

    "Not at all." The corners of his lips twitched up again. "Don''t force yourself too hard, though. If a wheelchair is more convenient, use it."

    "Alright, alright, Physician Yu."

    "The wine you gave me¡­" he then brought up, "I still haven''t taken a drink yet."

    Yujia thought back to the wine she bought him when he returned from his business trip. "Why not?" she couldn''t help but ask.

    "It''s too precious. I don''t want to waste it."

    "It''s such a large jar though. Even my master would have trouble finishing it all at once, and he''s a heavy drinker," she pointed out with a small laugh. "Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed, realizing. "Didn''t we promise to drink it together?"

    "We did. I guess so many things happened that it slipped our minds," Zixu mused.

    She clapped her hands. "Well then, sometime soon, let''s have a drink, alright? It''s been such a long while since I''ve had a good drink. Now that you''ve mentioned it, I crave wine more than ever."

    "Then, it''s a deal." Zixu nodded. "Let''s have a drink soon."

 314 Late Night Visit to the Artis

    Yujia knew that Zixu would not have much difficulty doing these things. She had full faith in his abilities. However, due to the sheer amount of work, he didn''t have as much time to frequent Lingxin like he did for the past few weeks.

    When a week had passed since they promised to have a drink, Yujia put that thought to the back of her mind.

    It was one evening, on a night with a full moon, when Zixu paid a visit.

    His appearance was completely outside of Yujia''s expectations. She had been sitting in the courtyard with Yufeng, enjoying the summer breeze and admiring the round moon. The weather had been getting steadily warmer, so on evenings like these, when the temperatures finally began to drop, she enjoyed spending some time outside.

    Then, while Yujia was observing the moon, she suddenly noticed a shadow against the backdrop, on top of the side of the courtyard walls connected with the outside. She squinted, recognizing it as oddly familiar.

    It was¡­ Zixu?

    Her mouth flew open.

    He had one arm propped up on the wall, the other one grabbing onto a tree that had grown close to the wall. Yujia stood up, completely shocked, watching as he swung over to be sitting on top of the courtyard walls.

    "Zixu, what are you¡ª" Before she could even finish her words, Xie Yufeng rose up, her posture tense. Yujia glanced over at Yufeng, putting a hand on the other young woman''s arm. "I know him."

    She could totally see how Yufeng seemed so defensive, though. A shadow over the walls was far too suspicious. Zixu seemed like a thief.

    Yufeng, hearing that, relaxed. She glanced at Zixu again, then at Yujia, and pieced two and two together. Bowing, she let out a small breath of air and said, "I''ll be leaving then."

    Without even waiting for a response from Yujia, she walked out of the courtyard speedily.

    Now that Yufeng was gone, Yujia, whose ankle was actually, for the most part healed, moved to stand by the walls. She looked up at Zixu, almost laughing at how ridiculous his choice of time to pay a visit and method of entering Lingxin was.

    "What are you doing?" she asked him, finally getting to finish her words.

    Zixu patted the large jar of wine he had in his other arm, gesturing his head at the moon. "I saw there was a full moon, so I wanted to view the moon with you. We did make that promise too, didn''t we? Father''s been keeping a tight eye on me lately, so I haven''t had a chance to escape and fulfill our promise. He doesn''t know that I''m here."

    "Skies," was all Yujia could mutter.

    "Besides, " he continued, now moving to the edge. In one, swift motion, he jumped from the edge, landing on the grass with barely a stumble. He then turned to her, finishing his sentence with a smile, "I missed you."

    Hearing this, all of the shock and wariness vanished from Yujia. She sighed and smiled faintly. "I missed you too."

    ¡­

    The two opened the jar of wine soon enough.

    Now sitting on the porch, with two cups by the side for holding the wine, Yujia poured both of them a full cup. She raised it up, saying, "Cheers."

    "Cheers," he replied.

    With that said, Yujia lifted the cup to her lips and drank the orange-toned wine. It was leaning towards the sweeter side of wine, made with glutinous rice and wheat. The subtle fragrance was something truly satisfying to experience, light and mellow. With just a tinge of sour to balance out the sweetness, the complexity behind the flavor made Yujia realize why she had fallen in love with drinking in the first place. The skill of the brewer behind the wine was evident, as it had been aged long enough for the flavor to shine wonderfully. This was a type of wine that would improve as it aged, and the brewer had been patient enough to age it just enough.

    "Good wine," Yujia stated.

    Zixu agreed, refilling both of their empty cups. "This is exactly what I was missing when traveling."

    Looking at the cloth, which had stuffed the opening of the jar, laying by the side, Yujia blinked. "I can''t believe you didn''t open it until now."

    "Since we promised to drink it together, I didn''t want to ruin things by getting to try ahead of time," Zixu responded, "and even if I wanted to drink, Father would not let me."

    "He''s been too strict with you. Everyone needs some breathing space."

    "I guess." Zixu finished his wine, pouring himself another cup. "Although it''s important to say, he''s always been like this. It''s only that recently, he''s been slightly stricter."

    Yujia bit her lip. "I see."

    She couldn''t tell Zixu, but her current impression of his father wasn''t the greatest. They had never met, but from everything that was going to happen, including her marriage to him, she didn''t think all too positively about him.

    Zixu seemed to read the unspoken words behind her gaze though, adding on, "He''s not a bad person."

    "I know," Yujia glanced down and replied, "but don''t tell me you''ll be like him, with all of those concubines and wives?"

    "Is that what you''re worried about?" Zixu let out a small laugh. "Don''t worry. I''m not that kind of person. And to tell you the truth about my father: he only married those women for show."

    "For show?" Yujia looked up now. She raised her eyebrows. "What does that mean?"

    "He doesn''t touch any of those concubines. Many of them are to improve his connection with a few families. A few others are to help them out from their past predicaments. They are treated well in the family."

    "Really? That''s rare to see, isn''t it?" Yujia thought about it some more. Taking a couple of concubines like the Yu Family''s Old Master was the most common of practices. Yet she had never heard of a case of a man marrying many women yet only doing it for outside appearances. "Your family''s backstory is much more complex than it seems on the outside," she admitted.

    At those words, the air around them seemed to stiffen.

    Zixu looked down. "Indeed."

    Yujia froze, recognizing the fault in her words. Even though Zixu had been opening up to her, he had always been avoiding going in-depth about his family''s past. She shouldn''t have brought that up.

    "I''m sorry¡ª" she blurted out.

    Zixu shook his head, setting down the cup of wine that touched his lips. "Don''t be. I think it''s about time that I talked about it. You deserve to know, and I can''t keep avoiding it forever."

    Yujia scanned his eyes, listening to his next words attentively.

    He began, slowly, "My mother was mentally ill. They called her insane."

 315 The Young Masterâ€™s Pas

    The earliest years of Yu Zixu''s life were perhaps the happiest parts of his childhood. His father loved him greatly. His mother loved him just as much. He had a younger brother, only four years younger than him, and they were the best that siblings could be.

    His mother adored flowers. She adored nature, all of it, from the sun to the rain, the wind to the soil, the leaves to the branches to the petals. She couldn''t stand staying indoors. At any opportunity, she would spend time in her courtyard. Zixu would watch her, from the perspective of a curious child, as his mother proceeded with her daily tasks.

    She would water and plant new flowers herself. Unlike the other madams and ladies who only did a little bit of trimming and snipping here or there, she didn''t like to cut the flowers. She liked the way the plants grew naturally, sprawling over the bed of grass in delicate little white flowers, or spiraling around her windowsill in curls.

    Most things could not keep her attention span for long either. She jumped from task to task, always searching for something new and exciting to do. Amongst the few things that could keep her attention, one of them was mixing the ink for her husband, Zixu''s father. While Zixu sat on the opposite side of the table, she would grind the inkstick against the stone, slowly making sure that enough ink filled the stone. His father, meanwhile, would paint with that ink. Zixu liked watching this as a child. He liked seeing the way the ink-dipped brush marked the page, revealing an intricate scene of nature. It was as if his father was crafting a slice of a small world, while Zixu watched and while his mother mixed the ink.

    The second thing that kept her attention were trips outside the capital. At any chance she could get, she would take Zixu out, to fields of flowers that she would weave chains of flowers and pick messy bouquets from. All of these times, she would take Ziyang along as well. Yet when Ziyang''s health began to show signs of illness, she would only take Zixu. The two would sit under the shade of the magnolia grove, quietly passing time with serenity. It was during these trips where his mother would finally relax.

    He didn''t realize it back then, but looking back at it, the flower fields were a temporary escape from reality for her. His younger brother''s continuously worsening health was a great concern for the entire family, but the one who took on the most stress was their mother.

    Zixu remembered his mother, during those days, as a woman who only smiled. She was like sunlight, forever warm and glowing. Most of his memories remained of her lying amidst the flowers, or watering the plants, or mixing the ink, light streaming through the paper windows to catch her soft expression.

    Zixu thought, back in those days, that everything was alright.

    Things began to change when Zixu turned seven.

    The Yu Family had a history of merchants for their ancestors, save for a few here and there, going into the government. His father was one of those, becoming a high-ranked official due to his friendship with a few prominent families. Yet around the time Zixu was seven, his older uncle and the one carrying on the business died from disease. Zixu''s father let go of his government career to carry on the family business.

    The world thought that he was foolish back then, to throw away a government position for the lowly status of a merchant. Except when Zixu thought back to these actions of his father, in retrospect, it seemed like his father had wanted to quit from the government for a long while now. This was just an opportunity for him to slip away.

    Along with this event, which was notable but didn''t seem too dramatic in the past, things began to slowly change in Zixu''s life.

    He remembered a fight between his mother and father. Sitting outside while that went on, he didn''t completely hear or remember what had happened. He just knew that they started arguing. It was the first time that he heard them fight so openly. The rest of the villa was hushed, awaiting in complete silence while screams and shouts and insults were thrown across.

    At the end of eternity, the shouting ceased. His mother stormed outside, door slamming to the side. Her cheeks were red, tears noticeably still staining her skin. When she noticed Zixu, standing by the side and staring at her with wide eyes, she came to a stop.

    Zixu came up to her, putting his smaller hand in hers. "What happened, Mother?"

    She froze up, her hand tensing.

    And then¡ª he would remember this look forever¡ª she stared back at him, not an ounce of warmth in her gaze. She whipped her hand away, clutching it close to her. With a trembling voice, she replied back, "Don''t touch me."

    He would remember this look, not just for the difference in the mother he once knew, but also for how he seemed to appear in her eyes. It was almost as if he was not her son, but rather a hideous creature that she had never known. It was different from the blank indifference towards a stranger. It was pure aversion. Hatred. Disgust.

    She walked away quickly then, leaving Zixu by himself, in the silence.

    Soon later, he would try to visit her, yet get turned away by the closed courtyard doors and maids informing him that she did not want to see anybody. He visited again, the next day, to get the same response. It was the same for the day after that. And the day after that. And the weeks after that.

    His mother did not step out of her courtyard. Not to greet his father, or to check on her sons. The doors remained closed, even if Zixu visited daily, desperate to see if his mother was alright.

    It went on like that, for over a month, until one day, the courtyard doors finally opened.

    Zixu rushed in, heart thudding in his chest.

    The mother that he saw was not the mother that he knew.

    She was no longer that woman basked in sunlight, humming a light tune on her lips as she watered the flowers. She was no longer that woman wearing a soft smile, gently combing through Zixu''s hair.

    She sat inside, in the shadows of her room. The room was a mess, books scattered everywhere. Her pale face was blank, devoid of any expression. She turned a page, hand trembling, then looked up upon hearing Zixu''s footsteps.

    "You''re here," she began, the corner of her lip twitching upwards before falling short. "Come, sit next to me."

    Zixu listened, sitting by her side. "What happened, Mother? How have you been?" he whispered.

    His heart stopped. He could not forget the last time he saw her, the distorted gaze in her eyes. He prayed that she would not look the same way.

    She didn''t. She still gazed at him oddly, yet it was different, almost detached. "I''ve been fine," she replied, just as quietly, "but¡­"

    When her voice trailed off, her gaze did too. Only then, all of a sudden, it snapped back to him.

    "Your father''s been trying to kill me."

    "What¡ª" He tensed up, drawing himself back upon hearing something so impossible.

    His father wanted to kill his mother? How could that be?

    "The books. They''ve been telling me," she insisted. "Just look¡ª"

    She turned the book to the first page, which was scrawled with inked notes by the side. Zixu''s eyes scanned over the contents. It looked normal. It was a normal philosophy book.

    "Mother, what''s wrong?" he asked, a growing sense of dread building up within him.

    "Read it. Read it out loud. Don''t you see?" she pressed on. When he hesitated again, she pushed the book a little closer to him. "Go on."

    Still in disbelief, he began, "In regard to extraordinary calamities, they say that, when an old sovereign in his administration departed from the right way, Heaven reprimanded him by visiting him with calamities. Those calamities are m-manifold."

    He stumbled on the last word of a sentence, and the moment he did so, she gripped his wrist. Bewildered, with wide eyes, he looked up.

    She said, her voice drawn to a sharp hush, "You cannot do that, do you understand? Mistakes. In this world, the smallest of mistakes will cost you your life. If you stumble when you speak, they''ll kill you. They''ll take you away, and they''ll kill you."

    "Who?" Zixu cried out, incapable of understanding. "Father?"

    "No. No, no." She shook her head madly. The strength of her grip tightened. His skin turned pale. All the while she shook her head, she began to cry, hot tears rolling down her cheeks. "They''ll take you away. They''ll kill you. They''ll take you away from me. They''ll kill you."

    The volume of her voice steadily increased. She kept repeating those words. Her hands only tightened around his wrist, more and more and more and more until¡ª

    "You''re hurting me!" Zixu exclaimed.

    The moment he said that, she let go.

    He whipped his hand back, recoiling and looking at the skin around his wrist. It was already bruising. He wrapped his arms around himself, gathering himself together. Fear reflected in his eyes at his mother.

    "I''m sorry," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "I''m sorry. I''m sorry. I''m sorry. I shouldn''t have. I never would''ve hurt you. You''re the only person I have." Gazing straight into his eyes, she whispered a final phrase, "I''m the only person you have."

    There was a mix of emotions within him. He was confused. So confused. What had his mother become? Where did the one he knew go?

    "You trust me, right?" she continued, beckoning him to come closer. "Everything I do is for your good. I would never do anything to hurt you. You trust me, right?"

    He paused. Did he¡­ trust her?

    She put on a hesitant smile. It was weak, but it was close to a familiar expression worn on a familiar face. He could see hints of her old self again.

    This was his mother. She was right. She was his mother that loved him with all of her heart. She was his mother that took him to the flower fields and the mother that always cared for him as much as she could.

    She loved him. She trusted him. And he loved her back.

    "Yes," he slowly replied, his gaze slowly changing. "I trust you."

 316 The Moment of Realization in the Young Masterâ€™s Pas

    He looked over the books she looked over. They were often scrawled over, with inked handwriting, yet he could not make sense of her notes. He couldn''t understand what she was doing or the messages she was trying to decipher. The things she saw such deep secrets in were nothing but ordinary texts to him.

    Regardless, he wanted to see that smile again. And so, he continued to read with her, in complete silence, the only sound coming from the fluttering of thin pages.

    She barely took breaks. In those moments where she did, they would speak. She would not tolerate any fumbling of words or hesitation from him. His speech had to be perfect, as if rehearsed.

    She demanded perfection. She needed perfection.

    She believed that mistakes were deadly. At first, she would only fear the mistake of speech. Then, as time went on, she would begin to fear mistakes in everything. She would fear disorganization in the placement of books. She would fear any specks of dust on her desk, scrubbing at it with a rag herself for hours on end, no matter how much Zixu pleaded for her to stop. She would fear mistakes in Zixu''s posture, his breathing, his every movement. He had to walk back and forth, over and over again, until she was assured that he would make no mistakes.

    The fear was not persistent. She would fear different mistakes on different days. Zixu could never predict what her next fear would be, and so, he slowly learned to adopt the perfection day after day.

    He thought, at first, that her actions were ridiculous. However, as he spent more time with her, listening to her tell him, in repeat, that mistakes would make them kill both her and him, he slowly began to believe her. Perhaps her fear had a true reason. Perhaps the "them" that she talked about all this time, the vague group of people that she could never completely name, were real.

    He absorbed her fears until they almost became his own. She was his mother, after all. If there was something she feared, how could he not fear it too, even if he didn''t understand?

    Like the inconsistencies with her fear, she would also be inconsistent about "them". Most times, she didn''t have names. Other times, she would be able to name them. His father, her husband for so many years. A personal maid who had served her since childhood. The chef that cooked the food she ate ever since marrying into the Yu Family.

    They were all out to stab, poison, or strangle her. The washcloth a maid held became a rope for strangulation. The innocent food the chef served became a vessel for poison.

    What she said back then was true. She only had him to trust.

    Zixu would occasionally catch the careless gossip of maids, not noticing his small figure slipping by, saying that the Madam had gone crazy. They said that she was absolutely insane.

    He didn''t think that they understood her. She was not crazy. She was just afraid. He saw her vulnerability. He saw fragments of the past mother he knew in her. If he just spent a little more time with her, she would recover from her fear.

    Months crawled by. Slowly, they transformed to years.

    He was twelve now. He knew a little better.

    One morning, he went to visit her as usual. It was early, but he had gotten used to waking up early. The courtyard was silent. Not even the maids were in there.

    When he stepped closer to her room, that was when he heard something.

    She was talking to someone. Her speech was murmured, hushed, yet in the complete silence, he could hear her. It was clear that she had something to say to someone in the room. Zixu, standing by the edge of the door frame, peeked in.

    No one was in the room.

    His mother was sitting at her table, back perfectly straight, talking to someone who didn''t exist. It wasn''t like she was talking to only herself. She had pauses in her speech, mimicking the flow of an actual conversation. The tone of her voice rose and fell, shifting as if her emotions were the waves of an ocean.

    All the words from the servants came back to echo in his head. His mother was insane. These doubts had already been growing within him for a long, long time. Now was the last straw. He shifted away, heart thudding, fingers curling up.

    That sudden movement, that flinch away, caught her attention. Her voice immediately fell silent.

    "Zixu," she called out, cautiously, "is that you?"

    He stepped out from the shadows, posture tense. Was it right for him to ask the question? Could he bring it up?

    "Mother," he began, "who were you speaking to?"

    He could not help it.

    "What are you talking about?" she questioned in return, raising her eyebrows in disbelief.

    ¡­

    The doubts continued to grow, layering upon themselves in heavier and heavier folds.

    Over the years, she had always been insistent that his father was plotting to kill her. There had always been a variety of ways that she would list. Now, however, it seemed like the method solidified into poison. Out of everything that she would say, poison was the most common.

    If the trust and belief he had in her over the years was not wrong¡ª if she was telling the truth¡ª there should''ve been some evidence of his father''s plotting in his room or study.

    Ever since his mother began to isolate herself from the rest of the family, Zixu had also slowly distanced from his father. His younger self held the same fears towards the man that his mother no longer viewed as her husband, but rather a killer. Zixu had not visited his father''s courtyard voluntarily for a long time now, but he could remember that the study was always locked when his father was away.

    For the past week, he had been practicing picking locks until he had gotten rather skilled. Tonight, he would give it a try.

    While the rest of the household was sleeping, Zixu snuck into his father''s study with a candle and a lockpick. He looked through everything in there carefully, shuffling through all the books, papers, and boxes.

    He could find nothing out of the ordinary in there. Everything, from the books to the brushes, belonged to a study.

    Taking a deep breath, Zixu moved on to his father''s room. He would not have another chance to search it during the day, when servants would patrol the courtyard. It was risky, considering that his father was sleeping in there, but it was a risk he needed to take.

    Except, just like with the study, he found nothing in his searches.

    As Zixu stood at the last bookshelf in the room that he checked, he suddenly heard a voice behind him.

    "What are you doing here?"

    He spun around, the dim light from his candle illuminating his father''s face.

    His father loomed over him, eyes unmoving and fixed on Zixu''s face. At that moment, all the fears his mother held came rushing towards him.

    This man was going to kill her. He was going to kill Zixu as well.

    Zixu was completely frozen. He didn''t know what to do or how to react. Terror spread throughout every nerve, he could only blankly stare back at the man in front of him. He could barely breathe, his lungs feeling like someone dragged him underwater.

    His mother was right. He made a mistake, tonight, going into this room. And now¡­

    The pure silence was broken when the man repeated, gently, "What are you doing here, in the middle of the night, son? What''s wrong?"

    At these words, the fear ebbed away.

    Zixu blinked, shaking his head. He noticed that his hands were trembling, and he worked to steady them.

    What was he thinking? The man in front of him was his father. It was his own father, by blood. This man could not hurt him. He would not.

    He felt that his eyes were beginning to water. Zixu looked back into his father''s eyes, words beginning to roll out of him. Words that he had held back for so long, by himself. Words that he did not dare to tell anyone.

    "Mother said¡ª she said that you''d kill her. You''d kill me. Everyone was going to. We were alone. I could only trust her. She could only trust me."

    His father visibly stiffened, voice dropping to a sharp hush. "What?"

    Zixu could not control himself. Tears began to come down from his eyes, and he held himself a little closer, still rambling, "I thought you were going to¡ª going to¡ª kill her. So I went and looked. I looked everywhere. But I don''t think that you will anymore, and I¡ª I''m so¡ª I don''t understand. What''s going on? What''s happening? I don''t get it. I don''t."

    His father shook his head, immediately stepping forward and pulling Zixu closer to him.

    "Son. Son," he said, "it''s alright. Breathe. I am your father. I would never do anything to hurt either of you. Don''t you believe me, as your father?"

    Zixu pulled away for just a second. "What about what Mother has said? Shouldn''t I believe her, considering that she is my mother?"

    "It is different. Your mother has changed," his father remarked quietly.

    "Are you saying that¡­" His voice trailed off.

    There was resolve in his father''s eyes, yet it was a painful resolve. For just the flash of a second, Zixu could see the agony behind his father''s perspective throughout all of this, with a woman that he had loved and married as his wife now irrationally fearing her, with a son that believed his mother and distanced himself. At that moment, Zixu felt immeasurable guilt.

    His father whispered, a sigh laced with his words, "Yes. Your mother¡­ something had gone wrong with her mind."

    She was insane.

 317 Concluding the Young Masterâ€™s Pas

    For five years, since he was seven, he had lived in her world, believing her every word. Now, after arriving at the truth, he still had to see her. He still wanted to know.

    The day began like every other day. The two of them sat at the table, reading the books she always looked through.

    Zixu stared at the scrawled notes of his mother. What seemed like unexplained, illogical desperation back then now all made sense, if he accepted that she was insane. Except, he just couldn''t. A part of him still wanted to believe her, despite every other fact pointing him towards the truth.

    She had been living in her own world of lies, and at some point, he had become just as delusional. She was afraid of the others who always sought after taking her life. He was afraid of losing the possibility of every faded memory of the mother he knew.

    "Mother," he started, his voice barely a whisper, "I visited Father''s courtyard yesterday."

    She dropped the book in her hand, staring at him with wide, wide eyes. "Why did you? It''s dangerous there. You shouldn''t have. No, no."

    "It''s dangerous? He''ll kill me?" He repeated the things that she had told him so many times in the past.

    "He will. He will kill both you and me. He has the capability of doing so. They have the capability of doing so," she insisted, wide-eyed.

    "Mother," Zixu breathed, "why are you lying to me? Why are you lying to yourself? The person you claim to be someone who wants your life is my father. He''s your husband. He won''t hurt any of us. You should know that, deep down inside, don''t you?"

    "What are you saying?" She shook her head, muttering "no"s between her sentences. She stood up now, backing away, still shaking her head. "Who told you these things? Why don''t you believe me? Why would I be lying to you?" she yelled.

    Zixu stood up as well. He did not expect this escalated response. The words he wanted to say were now stuck in his throat.

    She moved closer to him, grabbing his shoulders. Her nails of the hands clutching his shoulders dug into his back so tightly that even through the fabric of the robes, he could feel them. He tried to flinch away, but she held him there, shaking him.

    "When did you become like this?" she continued to scream, "Didn''t you say that you would believe me? Didn''t you say that you would trust me?"

    "If that''s the case, didn''t you say that you would also trust me?" Zixu shouted back, voice cracking. The sound of his heartbeat was pounding in his ears. "If what you said back then had any sort of value, then¡ª then¡ª why don''t you believe me when I tell you the truth? No one is trying to hurt you, Mother. No one in the world!"

    She shook her head faster than before, crying out, "You don''t understand! You don''t understand anything¡ª you¡ª you¡­"

    He fell back, staggering as he lost his balance and hit the floor.

    When he looked at his mother, she was frozen in place. She was still staring at him with those wide, stretched out eyes, but her gaze felt different.

    "You''ve¡­ become just like them," she quietly said, voice hoarse. "You''re trying to hurt me too, aren''t you?"

    "Mother, why can''t you hear what I''m saying?" he cried. His entire body was shaking.

    She continued, wrapping her arms around herself, "In the end, you were no different than them."

    "I just want to go back to how things used to be. Doesn''t Mother remember the days where we''d take walks through the fields and sit underneath the magnolia trees? Why can''t¡­ why can''t we go back to then?"

    "No," she shook her head, nothing but bitterness left in her eyes. "No."

    "Mother." He took a step forward, reaching out.

    She backed away by another step. "Leave," she commanded, voice rising again. "Leave."

    He could do nothing but listen.

    As he walked out of the courtyard, servants stopped in their paths. They surely heard what had happened. His mother''s outbreak had been loud enough. Except, none of them reached out to ask if Zixu was alright or offer help in any way.

    Nearing his courtyard, as well as Ziyang''s courtyard, he saw his baby brother standing at the arch entrance, holding a toy ball.

    Zixu looked at his brother, stopping in his steps. His pitiful, sickly younger brother, who from just three or so years old, was abandoned by their mother.

    "What''s wrong, Older Brother?" Ziyang asked, hesitation clear. Even someone as young as an eight-year-old Ziyang could tell that something had happened.

    Zixu realized that he had tears running down his face. He reached a hand up, wiping the tears and looking at his hand with surprise.

    "Nothing is wrong," he managed to choke out. "Nothing at all."

    Seeing the amount of concern in Ziyang''s eyes, he wiped at his tears again until nothing was left on his face. Then, he put on a perfect, calm smile, reaching forward and patting his brother''s head.

    "See?" he continued, still wearing that smile, "Nothing is wrong."

    ¡­

    He went to his father, who suggested that Zixu would go with one of his uncles, a younger brother of his father, on a business trip. Zixu agreed.

    It turned out that the trip was just what he needed. His uncle was a lighthearted, carefree man, always having a laugh on his lips. Taking a look at the world outside of the villa that he was trapped in made Zixu feel like a bird let out of a cage. It was beautiful to see the nature, the cities, and the sights.

    There were certainly parts of the trip that were new experiences for Zixu. For example, he watched and learned how to start a fire from his uncle, though anytime he tried without his uncle''s assistance, he just couldn''t get the fire going. It was alright. He could practice more later on, he thought.

    Zixu was genuinely happy for the brief three weeks that the trip took. He hadn''t felt such pure, unfiltered joy in so long.

    In the end, nevertheless, he should''ve known that the trip was just the calm before the storm. It was the good before the bad.

    ¡­

    When he returned to the villa, he went to his father immediately, sharing everything that he had seen and experienced on the trip. Ziyang was there too, and Zixu was brimming with enthusiasm to talk about what had happened.

    Remembering his mother, Zixu did hesitate. He didn''t know if he should visit her or not.

    However, after giving it much thought, he decided to enter her courtyard. He wanted to see her. Despite what had happened, she was still his mother. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to tell her his experiences on the trip, like he did with his father and brother.

    Yet when he walked in, she had a knife held up to her own throat.

    Zixu froze and yelled out, almost immediately, "Mother!"

    At the sound of his voice, she looked up, the hand holding the knife faltering. "You''re here," she murmured, "You came back."

    "Mother, please let go of the knife. Please." He held his hands up in front of him. He could not fully process what was happening in front of him, but he knew one thing for sure. He needed her to drop the knife.

    It was a moment that he never expected to happen. It was almost as unbelievable as a dream. Yet there was no doubt that this moment was reality. What he saw before his eyes was the complete truth.

    She slowly shook her head. "You should not have come here."

    "You don''t have to do this," he pleaded.

    "I was planning to do this for a while now." Her grip around the handle of the knife tightened.

    He needed to call for help. He needed someone¡ª anyone¡ª to stop her. He took a step forward, ready to grab the knife from her himself, yet she noticed and pushed the knife a little closer. The tip of the blade seemed to already dig into her skin.

    Everything horrifying¡ª every single moment of his life that caused any fear within him¡ª could not compete with the dread that overcame him at this singular moment.

    Desperation filling his eyes, Zixu dropped to his knees. "I''m begging you, Mother. Please let go of the knife. Please don''t do this. Please. Please."

    "I can''t do this anymore," she replied, voice soft. The usual tremble she may have held in her words was gone. "I can''t live like this anymore."

    "I''ll do anything," he begged, "just let go of the knife. Things will get better. I promise, Mother, I promise."

    She shook her head again. "No. I don''t need anything."

    He looked into her eyes. He had never seen them with such clarity before. Her gaze almost reminded him of the past mother he knew. She was truly awake, conscious of her actions, and calmly accepting them.

    "I''m sorry," she murmured. "I''m sorry, Zixu. But I have to do this."

    "You don''t," he pleaded.

    She smiled now.

    She smiled, for the first and last time.

    He saw the mother he knew again. Perhaps it was because of his faded, almost disappearing memories, or because of the trick of time, but he realized that the bittersweet distant smile was perhaps the smile she had worn all along, the smile that he had associated with her and viewed as untainted happiness back then.

    "I''m so tired; did you know?" she whispered.

    And then, before he could even react, she plunged the knife into the side of her own throat.

    She did it with unflinching force, her smile unfaltering. As she crumpled to the side, he rushed forward, grabbing her as she fell.

    Crimson blood was flowing everywhere, much, much more than he had anticipated. It stained his hands, his clothes. Death was a much slower process than he had anticipated as well. He cried and yelled for help, but none came in time.

    In his arms, as her heartbeat slowly drained away, blood choking her breath, she looked at him for one last time. Then, gently, she closed her eyes.

    They told Zixu, later on, when a servant rushed into the courtyard, that she looked like she was at peace.

    He still could not forget that image, though, of the knife sinking into her throat, the way her face looked in that moment of time. He could not forget his powerlessness. He could not forget her blood on his hands.

    They assured him that it wasn''t his fault. They said that he did everything that he could.

    Still, he couldn''t help but blame himself. If he didn''t go on the trip, if he was just a little more patient with her, if he was just a little more assuring, then she wouldn''t have gotten to the point of taking her own life.

    It was all his fault.

    At the funeral, his younger brother weeped. Even his father shed a tear.

    Yet Zixu, despite all the tears he had cried when holding his mother''s dying body, could not force out a single teardrop.

    He felt numb. Detached.

    From that day forward, he had changed. He constructed a solid wall around his heart, not just to protect himself, but to protect others as well.

    It was his fault, after all.

    It was all his fault.

 318 The Artist, a Bit Emotional

    Yujia blinked. Hearing his story made her wordless. She thought her childhood was bad. Yet in comparison to what Zixu went through, what could she complain about?

    "You were¡­ so young, when that happened," she whispered.

    "For the better, I suppose. I had time to process things. I had time to move on," he replied quietly.

    "Yet¡­" her voice trailed off. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes and she looked up, blinking repeatedly in an attempt to stop then from falling. When she looked back down, she glanced over at Zixu, who was staring at her with wide eyes. She immediately reached a hand up to wipe her eyes, sniffling her nose once before saying, "I''m sorry. I don''t know why I''m crying. It''s just¡ª"

    Imagining the pain that Zixu, as a child, had to go through brought tears to her eyes. She just couldn''t stop these emotions, no matter how hard she tried.

    Zixu, who wore a distant expression the entire time he was telling the story of his past, now put on an awkward smile. "Come on now. Don''t cry. It''s been ten years for me since those days. In just a few more months, it''ll be eleven."

    She glanced down. "I wish¡­ I wish I had been there for you," she said, "Even though I know it''s impossible. I can imagine how lonely it must''ve been."

    He agreed, "I admit that there were days of loneliness." With a brief pause, he continued, "I had Ziyang by my side, though. He didn''t fully understand, from how young he was and how distanced he was from our mother. Yet he had always been there for me. This is likely why we have such a deep bond. Later on in life," he mused, "I also drew from the solitude to develop hobbies in the things that I loved to do. If not for the fact that my mother separated from my life, I would not have developed my love for art. Those years with her were far too stressful for my child self to pursue any interests."

    "It''s amazing how you can find such light in these situations," she noted.

    "Time does that. I''m far too much of a pessimist, but enough time has passed for me to find the few bits of good that I can in this situation."

    At this, she scrunched up her face. "I''m going to cry again."

    "Don''t cry," Zixu said again, letting out a small laugh. "I wouldn''t know what to do if you cried."

    "I''m sorry for being so emotional," she apologized once more, covering her face. "I shouldn''t even be the one crying."

    "Hey," he said, gently, "it''s alright. Don''t worry."

    Then, he reached out his arms. She accepted the hug, burying her face into his shoulder.

    After a moment of silence, she murmured, "Thank you for telling me about your past, though. It really means a lot to me."

    Yujia pulled away. Gazing firmly into Zixu''s eyes, she told him, "I will never see you as any lesser because of your past. I want you to know that."

    "I know." He smiled, softly.

    She glanced down again. Reaching out and taking Zixu''s warm hand, lacing her fingers with his, she continued, "I''m truly, truly happy we had this conversation tonight."

    "Even if you were crying?" he teased.

    Glaring, she protested, "I cry because I get emotional easily at sad stories, alright?"

    Except, she then paused, realizing that throughout all the sad stories she had heard, she had never really cried like this. Even if she wasn''t truly crying in this situation, merely having her eyes water up, this wasn''t the typical case. There was just something about Zixu''s story which had tugged at her heartstrings, moving an instinctive emotion buried within the depths of her heart.

    "You are making me a more empathetic person," she muttered after arriving at this conclusion.

    "I am? I thought you were making me more empathetic," he replied, eyebrows raised.

    Yujia raised her eyebrows in return. "We are both going to become super emotional creatures, then." She poured both of them a cup of wine. "Cheers?"

    He gave a slight grin. "Cheers."

    ¡­

    The two shared a few more drinks, but either due to the small size of the cups or the giant size of the jar, a good portion of wine was still left behind.

    Yujia thought for a long while about what they were going to do, then arrived at a splendid idea.

    She patted the side of the jar, smiling brightly at Zixu. "Let''s bury this. Besides, this kind of wine is better the more it ages."

    "Where shall we bury, do you say?" he asked.

    She fastened the cloth stopper of the jar, holding it in her arms as she moved across the courtyard. Underneath the unblossomed white plum tree, she stopped in her steps.

    "Here. It''s an easy place to remember."

    Zixu followed behind her, looking up at the tree.

    She went on, "For your birthday, towards the end of the year, let''s dig it back and have a drink. Doesn''t that sound wonderful?"

    He nodded in agreement. "By that time, shouldn''t the tree also have blossomed?"

    "En. I can already imagine it, with the snow, the plum blossoms, and the wine. It''ll be straight out of a poem or painting, don''t you think?" she grinned a little more.

    "This is a plan for sure, then," he agreed.

    Because of the loose soil underneath the tree, after finding a shovel-esque tool in her courtyard, it was not difficult to dig a jar-sized hole, perfect for burying the wine. The two of them worked on that, content by the end at the knowledge of their future plan.

    Yujia stood back up. She glanced at the full moon, then glanced back at Zixu.

    He looked up at the moon too. "It''s about time that I have to go, isn''t it?" he said.

    "Are you going to go out the same way you came in? Through climbing?" she glanced back at the wall with disbelief.

    He eyed a corner of her courtyard, one with a stone statue in the shadows. She traced his gaze and saw his plan to climb over the wall, even if he did not explain it. "That would be the easiest and most discreet way."

    Yujia had to agree. "Alright."

    She walked him to the side of the wall, then stopped. Zixu turned around to her.

    "I''m really glad you came to visit me tonight," she said, giving him a smile, "but I''ll miss you. Try to visit again soon, alright? Or I might have to break into the Yu Villa next time."

    He laughed. "I''ll see what I can do."

    "But," she added on, "that doesn''t mean to come frequently. Especially not at night. You need to be sure to sleep more. Take care and get some rest. Don''t overwork yourself."

    "I will. You won''t be seeing any eyebags or dark circles," he assured.

    "Good."

    She moved forward and hugged him again, staying in his embrace for just one more moment. After that, she gazed up at him, pausing.

    Maybe it was because of the moonlight cast over them. Or maybe it was because of the wine that they had sipped at, not enough to take away their sobriety but enough to encourage what was about to happen. Or maybe it was the absolute silence in the moment.

    Zixu leaned down, their noses barely touching. And then, he was gently capturing her lips with his.

    His lips were soft, barely parted, brushing against hers. Her eyes fluttered shut. Time did not stop or slow down. But in that moment, all she could think about was him, the feeling of his fingers against the side of her face, his warm breath and hers, his lips caressing hers.

    The kiss was clumsy. Tentative. Simple. Yet she could not think of anything more perfect.

    For the two of them, it was just right.

 319 Wonderful Mood of the Artis

    She laughed. He laughed.

    Then, Zixu gave a small nod of his head, telling her, "Good night. Sleep soon."

    "You too," she replied, still smiling.

    He gave her a short peck on the forehead again before turning around. And just like that, one moment, he was still standing there with her, while the next moment, he was already gone, climbing over the wall.

    Yujia stood there for a minute. She touched her forehead, then her lips, and then dropped her hand. The smile she was wearing only grew a little larger.

    Yujia was grinning when she walked slowly back into her room. She was grinning when she went through her nightly routine, getting dressed in her sleeping robes and washing her face. She was still grinning when she fell into her bed, rolling herself up in the blankets.

    Even when she buried her face into her pillow, she still could not wipe that grin off. It was not like she minded it, though. If not for the fact that she was already in bed, she would want to jump up and celebrate.

    Yujia rolled back over to face the ceiling. Her fingertips reached up, brushing over her lips.

    What just happened felt almost like a dream. Except, based on how clearly it made a home in her memories, she knew that it could not be anything but reality.

    They kissed.

    It was that simple, yet her brain couldn''t stop mulling over it, repeating that phrase, that memory, over and over again. The kiss was something that she didn''t expect. Only when it happened, it didn''t feel abrupt at all. She liked it.

    She couldn''t help but wonder what Zixu was thinking right now. She wondered if he made it home yet. He probably did. Lingxin was close to the Yu Villa. She wondered if the memory they shared was also stuck in his brain, on repeat, like her.

    Yujia laughed again, rolling to the side and hugging an extra pillow.

    He told her, before she left, to sleep soon. With how wide awake her brain was right now, at this very moment, she seriously didn''t think that she could fall asleep anytime soon.

    If she couldn''t physically get up and dance, at least her brain was throwing a party. And it was going to be one festive party without any sleeping anytime soon, by the looks of it.

    ¡­

    It seemed like eventually, at some point in time, she got tired. The power of sleeping was just too great, and she fell into a dream that she would have no recollection of the next morning. The only thing Yujia knew when she blinked open her eyes was that she had a quality, quality deep sleep.

    She stretched her arms, washed her face, and got dressed. Amidst her wardrobe, she found a new set of robes that she had not yet had a chance to wear. With a white top and a lively orange skirt, the color was not one that Yujia typically wore, but she liked it quite a bit. It reminded her of the morning sun, rising over the horizon, with its brilliant orange hues. Originally, the intricate embroidery work on the ribbons was what caught her eye; however, now, she thought that the whole piece was quite excellent.

    As she got dressed, Roubao, who usually slept at the foot of her bed, started pawing her for attention again. Yujia bent down and looked at the puppy, then picked him up and swept him into a tight hug. Roubao yelped and licked her face, as if asking, ''What''s the occasion, Mom?''

    Yujia just grinned at her son, telling him, "My cute little Roubao, I love you so, so much." She planted a few kisses on his forehead, to which he responded happily. He surely did not understand, but at least he knew that kisses and affection meant good.

    Once she finished hugging, petting and giving scratches behind Roubao''s ear, she stepped outside. Xie Yufeng was already there, eating a typical breakfast of congee at the stone table. Yujia skipped over, as cheerful as she could be, hugging the young woman and catching her off guard.

    Yufeng put her hands up, demanding, "What do you want now?"

    In a humming tone, Yujia leaned back and replied, "Good morning! I''m just in a really good mood today."

    Yufeng narrowed her eyes. She opened her mouth, as if about to say something. But in the next moment, she seemed to decide that she did not care enough to know. She went back to eating, which was more of her priority. A bowl was already set aside for Yujia. Although she wanted to eat, she also wanted to skip around the villa first.

    Thus, instead of sitting down and eating breakfast with Yufeng, she went on over and skipped to the kitchens, where she greeted Chef Hong and Lili with a hug.

    Hugging Lili was fine. The young woman hugged and bid Yujia a good morning back. On the other hand, when hugging Chef Hong, the woman had crossed her arms, saying, "Girlie, you are not usually this affectionate. Tell me, what''s your underlying motive?"

    "Ah?" Yujia blinked innocently. "I''m just so, so happy. Can''t a girl be happy?"

    "You usually have underlying motives if you treat me with this kind of hyper joy. Don''t think I don''t know your tricks, girlie," Chef Hong replied with a snort.

    "You really think that I always¡ª always¡ª have to have some sort of motive?"

    "Always."

    Yujia pretended to get offended, though her mood was still as jubilant as when she woke up this morning. "That''s really the kind of person you take me as?" she asked.

    "Well, you''re a smart girlie. And smart girls do always have reasons behind everything they do. That''s why they''re smart, no?" Chef Hong answered.

    "Then¡­ if you put it that way, and insist on a motive from me, please make me some hangover soup! I''m not hungover but I''m craving that right now," Yujia replied with a wink.

    Chef Hong gestured to the ingredients she was chopping. "Already on that," she informed proudly.

    "Thank you then!" Yujia reached over and gave Chef Hong another tight hug. "You''re the best!"

    With that, she left the kitchen, still wearing a smile across her face that was foolishly wide. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and she could not be happier.

    Today was going to be such a good day. She could feel it in every precognitive cell within her.

 320 An Unexpected Surprise for the Artis

    She spent a good part of her day with her master. The old man was in a talkative mood. The two drank hangover soup together¡ª it turned out both of them were drinking the evening before¡ª painted around with some oil paints, and chatted about life all throughout.

    After that, Yujia realized that she hadn''t painted watercolors in a long time. These days, she was so focused on oil painting that she completely neglected this other medium.

    Truthfully, before she transmigrated, she didn''t practice watercolor much. After transmigration, she used it as a tool of survival as well. It was her ticket into Lingxin and to the success she currently had. It was only until she began genuinely loving art again that she began to appreciate watercolor as well.

    Recalling how the summer scenery of Lingxin Pavilion was beautiful¡ª or, to be more accurate, any season''s scenery of Lingxin was beautiful, considering how well-maintained every part of it was¡ª Yujia picked up her supplies and took a walk over to the pavilion.

    It was relatively empty, considering the time-of-day. But then, Yujia remembered a conversation she had with her master.

    Lingxin had entrance exams just three weeks or so ago. They were scheduled to be earlier, yet because of certain events and delays, they had been pushed back. Today, by the customary schedule, the masters of the academy would look through the new students in search of talent that they would select as their disciples. Thus, all the students in the academy were rushing to show off their artistic talent while those that were already disciples would watch from the side, for entertainment. This explained the pavilion''s serene emptiness.

    Yujia faintly recalled that Bo Zhizhong, her business partner, had taken the entrance exam. She couldn''t recall if he disclosed the results or not with her. They never talked about it. However, she didn''t doubt that he had gotten in, considering the amount of studying he had done. She just didn''t think that it was likely for him to become a direct disciple.

    Based on skill, Zhizhong was still lacking. His current style came from the result of hard work, not talent. On the other hand, based on background, The Bo Family was the most respected and wealthiest merchant family, but there were plenty of other students coming from respectable families. If she were to base his chances of being selected as a disciple off of that, he definitely wouldn''t qualify.

    Her master even noted that the new-students-turned-disciples were either based on extreme talent or incredibly honorable family backgrounds. Thus, Yujia came to the conclusion that Bo Zhizhong would not become a disciple as of the selection this round. Rather, he had a higher chance later on, after being in the academy for a while.

    Without hesitating for any longer, Yujia picked up a brush and dipped it into the black ink. She made her first stroke on the page, more than ready to paint the pond, covered by a lush blanket of lotus leaves and a paradise of lotus flowers, in front of her.

    ¡­

    Yujia didn''t paint for long before someone came to visit her.

    Since she was facing away from the entrance to the pavilion, she couldn''t see anyone approaching. Along with the fact that she was so focused on getting one particular detail of a lotus stem correct, she didn''t even hear the person approaching.

    It took a tap on her shoulder for her to snap her head up, shoulders jumping in surprise. The brush in her hand accidentally swiped against a part of the page where it was not supposed to touch, leaving a black mark.

    Yujia stared at the person who messed her painting up, Yu Zixu.

    "Zixu!" she exclaimed, turning to hastily dab water on the wrong splash of ink. "You made me accidently mark the painting."

    He raised his eyebrows. "It''s not truly damaged. There''s a solution."

    She narrowed her eyes. "Is there?" She was almost finished with her painting, and with that stray dot of paint, she couldn''t really see how to improve it. In the split second where she registered the accidental ink, she even considered cutting that part of the painting away.

    Without giving her a verbal answer, he decided to show her himself.

    The warmth from his palm clasped over the back of her hand. He took her hand and guided it to the area of the page where the ink had stained. His face leaning close to hers, he used simple movements to capture the shadow of a lotus flower. And then, he guided the brush up to paint the lotus flower itself, framed by the leaves around it.

    "Sometimes," he advised, voice gentle, "making adjustments to the painting, different from reality''s reference, is best. The pond''s natural beauty is undeniable, but there is also beauty in one''s own mind and creativity."

    She looked at the place where he painted a new flower. He was right. In that area of the pond, there were no shades of pink, entirely covered by lotus leaves. With Zixu''s addition of a flower that was never there originally, he brought a sense of balance to the painting. The balance brought on a sense of tranquility, and the tranquility brought on beauty.

    "You''re right," she admitted. "You really made it better."

    Zixu leaned back, a proud smile tracing his lips. "I''m glad I made up for my mistakes, then. I didn''t want to see you angry."

    "I could not stay angry at you for long," Yujia told him, the corner of her lips twitching up. "You know that."

    "If you did, I had a plan," Zixu continued, taking a seat next to her.

    She shifted herself to face him. "Really? What kind of plan?"

    "A surprise." A slight smile traced his lips. "Close your eyes and hold your hands out."

    Listening, Yujia did so, her heart skipping a beat out of pure nerves.

    She felt a box-shaped item touch her hand. Her eyes instinctively opened up, and there was a small box, made of dark cherry-toned wood, resting in the palm of her hands.

    "What''s this? I can open it, right?" She brought the box a little closer to her face.

    He nodded.

    When she opened it, she saw a gift that she never would''ve expected.

    The insides of the box were lined with soft, elegant fabric, similar to velvet. It cushioned the contents within the box: two seal stamps. One was of cold white jade, a splash of green curling around the corners. The other was a crisp jade green, the color of spring. Each one was only slightly taller than the height of her finger, yet the top of both had decorative carvings, forming a gleaming small lion at the top of each one.

    Yujia''s eyes marveled at the sight of them. "They''re beautiful," she murmured.

    Zixu smiled a little more. "Try looking at the bottom of it."

    Yujia picked one up from its place in the box, turning it over to see what it would stamp. There, carved in the jade, was her name.

 321 Payment from the Artis

    As for why she had never bought herself a personal seal: she never actually gave her seals much thought or appreciation, considering that she wasn''t a famous artist. Adding a seal on her artwork wouldn''t make it sell faster. However, now, considering that she was much more interested in pursuing the arts for reasons outside of finance, she was actually quite delighted to receive this present.

    From everything else that she had received in the past, be it other art supplies, jewelry, or even food, nothing could quite compare to this. Perhaps it was because of the fact that it was custom-made, bought as something just for her.

    Yujia picked up a small, flat, and circular ceramic container, lifting the lid to reveal the red cinnabar paste within. She looked at Zixu, as if asking "May I?"

    He waved his hand with a slight shrug of his shoulder, as if replying, "Why not?"

    Seeing that, Yujia gently pressed the bottom of the stamp into the ink paste. Once it was evenly coated in the red, she transferred it to her nearly finished painting, watching the red ink highlight the corner of that page.

    Seeing her name in the jade was slightly difficult at first, but now that she saw it on the page, as clear as ink, she could certainly recognize all the strokes and lines that made up her name. Yang Yujia.

    "The stamp you used," Zixu explained as he gestured at the green jade in her hand, "is the Yin seal. The Yang seal compliments it well. I picked two different colors, to make them both easier to differentiate."

    Tapping her fingers against the side of the seal, Yujia asked, "Did you just happen to see a set of good seals in the marketplace? How did you think of getting me this?"

    "Remember when I asked you for the date of your birthday?" he responded.

    "A week ago, wasn''t it?"

    He gave a brief nod. "I had purchased them around then. I noticed you didn''t have a custom seal stamp, so I wanted to give them to you as a birthday gift. Except, considering how yours had already passed, perhaps this is a late gift. I didn''t want to keep it until next year."

    Wiping the bottom of the stamp she used clean, Yujia slid it back into the box. She closed the lid and didn''t hold back the smile that was spreading on her lips. "Thank you so much. Really."

    "Is that so? I''m sure the wooden ones looked good. You can be a little too harsh on yourself."

    "They were really bad." He raised an eyebrow, reaching into his sleeve. "Take a look for yourself, if you don''t believe."

    From there, he pulled out a seal stamp that was about the same size as the jade ones. It was made of a similar-colored wood as the box Yujia held right now. Yujia took it from him and turned it over. Her name was carved there, in a similar style as the jade stamps, but there were indeed a few mistakes here or there. The bottom surface of the wooden stamp was just too small. The carving had been detailed, meticulous, yet there still were a few locations were the wood chipped or the knife carved a little too much. However, those mistakes were so miniscule that they required her to carefully observe in order to spot. Calling them bad was far too much of an exaggeration.

    Then again, it was also very fitting for Yu Zixu to label his near-perfect works as horrible simply because of a single mistake.

    "What do you mean?" Yujia ended up complaining, laughing. "This is wonderful! I barely see any faults"

    Zixu flattened his lips into a straight line. "If you try stamping with it, you''ll see. It''s not very perfect at all. There are far many stray cuts here and there." Leaning his head a little closer, he reached his hand forward and brushed a corner of the stamp. "Don''t you see how it''s slightly off-center there?"

    Yujia squinted her eyes, but she still couldn''t tell. Off-center was one of the things she did not notice about it. "Not at all." She then closed her fingers around it and held it a little closer. "Can I keep it?"

    "Why?" He seemed genuinely puzzled that she would want this "failure" of his.

    "Because it''s so cute. Plus, you made it yourself. So, it''s an infinite times more precious to me." She gave him a teasing grin. "Since you were carving it for me, isn''t it right that I get to keep it?"

    "Give it back." Zixu sighed, pretending to be irritated. "Let me burn it."

    "Never. I''ll keep it safe forever," Yujia quipped.

    He protested, "This is robbery."

    She answered, "Then, I''ll pay you."

    "How so?" Zixu raised his eyebrows. "I don''t lack taels."

    "If that''s the case¡ª"

    Yujia leaned forward, pressing a quick kiss on his cheek.

    Zixu paused. He blinked. And then, he blinked again.

    Seeing his reaction, she couldn''t help but laugh. "Why are you acting so surprised?"

    He let out a small laugh as well. "It was unexpected. This is payment?"

    "I believe I heard something along the lines of¡­ ''the almighty Yu Family''s First Young Master doesn''t lack taels,'' hm?"

    "Ah." He blinked and looked down, laughing again. After that, he swiftly looked up, putting on a bright smile. "Give me payment for all the two other seals, then."

    She wrinkled her nose and scoffed. "Shameless."

    "I''m merely being a good businessman, don''t you think?" he replied.

    She couldn''t help but laugh again.

    ¡­

    Fu Yushang had been missing for so long. He felt like he was missing in his own life, the past month or so. All the work piled onto him eventually got to the point where it made him feel like he was just floating through things without a brain. And now, somehow, he was back to himself.

    Today was a good day. A very, very good day.

    He had taken the Lingxin examination a while back, and of course he got into the academy, considering how he was just that skilled in art. After that, there came the task of becoming a master of the school''s disciple, so that he could call himself Yang Yujia''s fellow disciple. Even if he was younger than her, he wouldn''t mind being her junior brother either.

    He didn''t think that this task would be difficult. He was the crown prince, after all. How could anyone dare to reject him as a disciple?

    So, it was really to no surprise at all when he found out that the head of the school wanted to take him in as a disciple, along with pretty much every other master at Lingxin. His ego was inflated for a very good reason, such as this one.

    Regardless, now, holding the exclusive disciple pendant, Yushang happily skipped through the entirety of Lingxin.

    School center for disciples only? He got in. Private library which Ye Yunhe told him he couldn''t enter before? He was stepping into those library doors now, wasn''t he?

    Yushang never realized that there was so much thrill in exploring places which he had been forbidden from before.

    He really wanted to see his business partner, and to celebrate with her his new status as a disciple. It was not only so that he could increase his pride, but also that she was the only person who ever truly seemed to care. The others may have told him congratulations, but the sincerity behind their words was always directed towards his title as a prince. She treated him like he was an actual friend.

    Or perhaps more, Yushang did occasionally hope.

    He had arrived at terms with his feelings a long while back, no longer seeing it as "witchcraft" or whatever childish excuses he had thought of at the time to support his denial. Yet as he thought about it, he also realized that he didn''t want to rush things at all. He was fine with staying at just friends. He was afraid of losing this rare friendship that he had.

    Therefore, the reason he wanted to see her today was just to celebrate. It was a reason as simple as that.

    When he looked in the library and other places, he didn''t find her. He looked through the crowd of disciples and didn''t see her either. There was only one place he hadn''t checked yet, other than the villas, and that was the Lingxin Pavilion itself. As he approached, he hummed a light tune, quite pleased with the jade pendant he held in his hand.

    And then, he saw her.

    Yang Yujia was there, in the pavilion, sitting at a table. But she wasn''t alone. There was another person with her, someone dressed in disciple robes.

    Yushang paused, a good distance away. She had her back turned mostly away from him. But still, he could see what she was doing, clearly.

    She was leaning close with that disciple. He said something, and then she paused. After that, all of a sudden, she leaned forward and pressed her face close to that man. A kiss. She leaned back. She laughed. He laughed. They talked some more.

    Yushang looked away.

    He turned around and began walking back. His face burning, he tightened his hands around that jade pendant he was so proud of just a moment ago. His footsteps quickened.

    He felt angry. Not at her; the more he thought about it, the angrier he was at himself. He should''ve known better. All along, didn''t she just see him as a friend? A younger brother? Of course she would have someone else that she truly, romantically liked. Why did he expect more?

    It wasn''t only anger. Now, he felt more dumb than anything. Idiotic. Childish. Selfish. A wave of emotions overcame him.

    Yushang stopped in his steps, coming across a small pond. He walked to its edge and stopped there, staring at his reflection.

    He saw her as one of his closest, only friends. Yet she didn''t even know who he truly was. The image of him in her mind was nothing more than Bo Zhizhong, someone who didn''t truly exist. Their relationship was built up entirely on lies.

    Was it really right for him to feel this hurt? Yushang crumpled down to the grass, holding his head.

    He couldn''t help it. He really couldn''t.

 322 News of a Vacation for the Artis

    Zixu told her that he was only able to escape the claws of work by using the disciple selection ceremony as an excuse. Since he figured that he wouldn''t be able to see her often, that was another reason for his gift today. The two chatted for half an hour more. As a result of his limited time, that was all they could do before it was time for him to go away.

    After Zixu left, life went on as usual.

    Yujia spent a few more minutes touching up on her finished painting. Those minutes turned into hours of getting advice and critiques of her work. Those hours turned into days of conducting various painting and sketch studies. Those days turned into weeks of spending time at Lingxin, catching time with Zixu only occasionally.

    Within the blink of an eye, the end of summer was approaching. The green leaves on the tree outside her window were beginning to be tinted with edges of gold, hinting at the close arrival of autumn.

    During this time, Yujia had not heard much of Bo Zhizhong. He didn''t frequent the shop as much as he did before, and during the few visits where she did catch him, he didn''t seem to have time to exchange more than a few words. She understood that he might''ve been busy, and so, she left him alone.

    Yujia made herself busy as well. As the launch for oil paints was just dying down, she was beginning on working for a few smaller inventions. The inventing process did not need much of Zhizhong, so she didn''t mind his absence too much.

    ¡­

    On a sunny day, Yujia was simply strolling through the Lingxin gardens when she heard of an exciting piece of news. In the midst of trying to find inspiration from the various flowers and grasses¡ª she had been having a bit of an artist''s block the past few days¡ª she ran across Ye Yunhe, sitting on a boulder.

    Upon greeting each other, her senior brother revealed an interesting piece of news. "Master is thinking of holding a trip," he informed.

    "A trip?" Yujia raised her eyebrows, intrigued at the sound of that. "To where?"

    "Huangshan."

    Her brows raised up even more once she heard that. Huangshan, the Yellow Mountains, was the subject of countless paintings and poems. It was the most iconic mountain range, be it in the past or even modern times. She had always wanted to go visit back when she lived in the modern era, as it was a popular tourist destination, yet she never got the chance to.

    Yujia grinned brightly. "Does Master really intend a trip? Who will be going?"

    Yunhe thought for a second, replying, "He only brought it up to me during a casual conversation, so who knows for sure? Usually during these trips, though, any direct disciples that would like to go can get sponsored. That includes you and me."

    "We did have a trip around a decade ago to Huangshan. Five or six years ago, we also went to Mount Emei. Those are the two very long-distance trips that I can think of. Between those, we also had a few trips to closer mountains. So, even though going to Huangshan is only a possibility, it''s about time that we go on a trip," Yunhe explained.

    "That''s good to hear." This news made her eyes light up again.

    He smiled slightly. "So, you''ll be going on a trip for sure? You''re not afraid of how long the trip is? They usually take months."

    "If we go on a trip within the next week or so, we''ll be able to make it back by the Winter Month, right?"

    Yunhe agreed. He noted that the trip would take around two months.

    Yujia clasped her hands together. "Then, all is well. I''ve been having a lack of creativity lately. A trip to Huangshan would be wonderful."

    "I think so too. Let''s hope that Master will decide on a trip soon!" he cheered.

    ¡­

    Sure enough, when a day or so passed, Yunhe''s father, the head of the school, made an announcement that all direct disciples could join a trip to Huangshan, if they desired. It turned out that her master''s babbling wasn''t all just careless drunken words after all.

    All fees for the trip would be covered by the school, which had plenty of funds. Besides that, simply because it was an opportunity to visit such a scenic location, most of the disciples decided on joining. With Yujia in the mix, around fifteen or so individuals were going.

    Neither of the two main leaders¡ª the head and Yujia''s master¡ª were going on the trip. Ye Xuanhe had to take care of the school''s matters, and when Yujia asked her master, the old man waved his hand and grunted. He told her something along the lines of visiting Huangshan tens of times in his lifetime already, and that an old body like what he had wasn''t suitable for traveling. Most of the other masters in the school had similar reasons, be it work or personal, that prevented them from going on the trip.

    Thus, it really was a trip of mostly Yujia and her fellow disciples.

    Yujia also had the chance to ask Xie Yufeng if she, too, wanted to go on the trip. Yufeng had replied, in her typical nonchalant manner, "It sounds fun."

    Yujia had responded enthusiastically. "It will be fun!" She paused for a second before adding on, "So you''ll be going?"

    Yufeng ended up agreeing.

    As the other disciples all came from fairly decent families, some also brought a servant or companion. Yufeng wouldn''t stick out much.

    And so, it became a trip of Yujia, her fellow disciples, and some servants, with Yufeng thrown into that group.

    Originally, Yujia had also been excited to see if Zixu would come along. She wanted to go traveling with him, like they promised earlier on. Yet, disappointingly, he couldn''t. Work, yet again, weighed everything down for him.

    When she heard this news, she had nodded understandingly.

    Zixu replied, in turn, with a joke. "You''ll be traveling the world without me?"

    "Not the world. Just Huangshan. Besides, you had your business trip. Now, I get my vacation," she told him, grinning.

    "Will you write to me?" he asked, tilting his head.

    "Everyday, if I could bring that many pigeons." She imagined sixty or so pigeons shoved in a cage and shuddered. "I''ll be sure to send you a letter at every city that we stop at. How does that sound?"

    "Fine." He reached forward and took her hand. "Stay safe on the trip."

    "I will." Yujia''s lips curled up into a warm smile. "Don''t worry. I''ll be back in no time."

 323 Manipulation â€” Correction, Marketing Techniques of the Artis

    With modern tourism, there were definitely risks, such as plane accidents or train crashes, but they didn''t seem as terrifying as traveling across the control by foot and carriage. At the pace they planned to take, it was going to take nearly a month to-and-from Huangshan, and the prospects of that were fairly terrifying. Especially after hearing all the horror stories that Zixu had to encounter on his trip, Yujia wondered if freak accidents were going to happen on her vacation as well.

    She didn''t want to die on a vacation. That just seemed like no fun at all.

    In an attempt to distract herself from the prospects of death, Yujia decided to put good use to one of the inventions she had been working on the past few weeks.

    While her luggage and the belongings of the other disciples were being loaded onto carriages, she took advantage of the crowd of disciples that would be going on a trip with her. Picking up a box that had been sitting beside her, she approached her fellow disciples and bowed.

    Upon seeing her¡ª most of them knew her well, by this point¡ª they stopped in their conversation. Their attention turning to her, they exchanged greetings.

    Then, one of them¡ª Jiang Muyun¡ª pointed out the box in her hands. "What do you have there, Junior Sister?" he questioned with his quiet voice as usual.

    Yujia''s eyes lit up. Setting the box down, she took out a few of the contents at the top layer.

    "I''m glad you asked!" she declared, holding one of them up in front of her. "These are sketchbooks!"

    For the past few weeks, sketchbooks was one of the inventions she was working on. In the current art culture of Xiang, sketchbooks were not a prominent thing. However, ever since she invented pencils, Yujia was tired of drawing with loose leaf pages. Books, on the other hand, did exist, but it wasn''t quite as durable and waterproof as Yujia would''ve liked. And thus, she began to work on inventing a quality sketchbook to solve this issue.

    After contacting a few artisans, she produced the sketchbooks that were currently in her hand right now. Each sketchbook held four labeled sections, each section filled with a varying type of paper. One section was of soft Raw Xuan paper, excellent for blooming pieces of watercolor. The next one was of a stiffer kind of Ripe Xuan paper, which was better at absorbing water. Typically, Ripe Xuan paper was used for more detailed and meticulous paintings. As Xuan paper was made from elm and mulberry, with a highly complicated process, the high quality paper filling the majority of the sketchbook definitely raised the value of the book.

    Once she collected the four kinds of paper she wanted in her sketchbook, she fashioned a spiral-type design through punching holes, then thread a wire through all of the punched holes. For the two covers, she used a dark stained wood, which elevated the elegance and durability of the book. Furthermore, because of the solid wooden backing, sketching on-the-go would be relatively easy. The need for a table was gone.

    Precisely because of the adaptability, Yujia figured now was a better time to introduce the sketchbook than ever.

    Proudly, she opened one up and demonstrated the various sections to her fellow disciples. They marveled at it, like she predicted.

    She had long mastered the way of capturing the full attention of these disciples. As total obsessed artists, it only took some pretty art supplies to win over their hearts. After all, that was the same case for Yujia too.

    Once she completely explained the sketchbook, she began to distribute them into the arms of each disciple.

    The first one she gave it to, who was standing at the front of the crowd, looked at it with shock. "Junior Sister," he began, "this¡ª you''re giving it to me?"

    Yujia paused, nodding. "Of course! Since you all are my amazing fellow disciples, should I not share these wonderful supplies with everyone? Everyone can have one. There''s plenty to go around."

    At her generosity, they all thanked her greatly, but their attention was no longer on her as much once they got their hands on their sketchbooks. They became focused on this new supply instead. Yujia swore that the eyes of her seniors and juniors were all shining with excitement.

    Each sketchbook, with all the costly quality materials that she commissioned, cost almost twenty silver taels. As Yujia calculated the three-hundred taels slipping away from her hands, she realized that while in the past, she would''ve died at the idea of giving that amount out for free, this amount of silver no longer fazed her.

    The glory of being rich!

    If not for the fact that she was pretending to be all serious and professional in front of the disciples, Yujia may have started laughing. To think that she was all terrified this morning, and the one thing that completely changed her mood was the moment she realized that she was rolling in silver.

    Her previous idea that art supplies were the best things in her life was entirely wiped in her mind. It was really money. She was really that greedy. Or to put it better, greedy and shameless at being greedy.

    At these thoughts, she found herself unable to hold back a small laugh. It was just as she handed a sketchbook to Jiang Muyun.

    The corners of Muyun''s lips turned up. "What''s so funny, Junior Sister?"

    "Nothing." Yujia quickly denied, replacing the laugh with a calm smile. "I''m just so happy that you all, as my closest fellow disciples, are so excited to try out this product of mine."

    "We should be the ones thanking you," a disciple to the side chimed in. "Now, we can record drawings during the trip!"

    Yunhe, who had already gotten his sketchbook, agreed, "Junior Sister, I finally get to try out the thing that you were working on these past weeks. It''s an honor for me, and all of us."

    Yujia grinned a little wider. She liked the direction this conversation was going. Holding a hand up to her lips as to politely cover her laughter, she then replied, oh-so-cheerfully, "If everyone does enjoy using their sketchbook, after we return from the trip, be sure to recommend this product to all of your friends and family, alright? It will be selling in Three Inks by that time."

    Within a split moment, they agreed happily.

    On the outside, Yujia kept her serene smile. On the inside, she was madly cheering for herself.

    This was the reason, all along, for why she was giving them the sketchbooks for free. After all, what was better than promotion and advertisement than personal recommendations from a friend or family member? She could already picture the customers flocking into Three Inks after word got out on how magnificent the sketchbooks were after the trip.

    And then, all the silver in the world would be¡­

    Yujia coughed, killing off that piece of imagination from her brain. It was better to not get ahead of herself, or too caught up in the greed. She promptly threw "Idea: Filthy Rich" into the folder of "Daydreams for Later" in her brain.

    Now that her mood had improved drastically, and that she cut off the thoughts of money from her brain, Yujia discovered that her optimism for this trip had skyrocketed.

    She wasn''t going to die on this trip! It was just a casual vacation, after all.

    There was no way that she could possibly die, and even if she did, she would beat up the grim reaper himself if he dared to ruin her brilliant vacation.

 324 Boat Ride for the Artis

    An hour in a carriage? No problem. None at all. A day in a carriage? Slightly uncomfortable, but not that big of a deal.

    But a week in a carriage?

    Yujia felt like she was about to go crazy.

    She had no idea how people back then traveled long-distances so frequently, especially if they were traveling merchants. Carriage riding was undeniably uncomfortable, as much as they tried to make it decent with the thick seat padding.

    The discomfort was probably the result of one main issue: shaking.

    When traveling on a smooth road, it was already shaking. Furthermore, when traveling on an uneven road, it only became worse. It was a complete nightmare, with numerous bumps and tremors. In fact, it was so terribly difficult to move around in the carriage without losing balance that Yujia remained in a sitting position for awfully long periods of time. She just had to sit there, look at the window to trees, and feel the shaking of the carriage minute after minute after minute.

    It could not compare to the smoothness of a car traveling down paved roads. Bless mechanical engineers. Bless civil engineers.

    Yujia almost wished a genius civil engineer transmigrated over to this time fifty or so years earlier. If they did, she wouldn''t have to be traveling on this awfully uncomfortable road.

    But then again, this was the best condition of traveling there was. She was sitting in a luxury carriage, going on an indulgent trip. If the painfully uncomfortable carriage was the only trouble she would have to face for the next two months, she didn''t want to complain much. It was lucky of her.

    Yujia thought of the brighter side. Wasn''t she experiencing authentic ancient traveling? If she looked at it from a more positive light, it was a challenge that would enrich her experience. With that mindset, she found her mood improved by a lot more.

    Still, however, that didn''t make the relief she felt when she stepped out of the carriage to the site of a river any less satisfying.

    She never thought that she would see the day when she felt pure jubilant joy after seeing a river, the very thing that brought her terror for so long. Did she really hate carriage-riding that much?

    A guide that was meant to help them along the trip briefly explained to the group that they would be boarding a boat to travel down the river, which would be a faster pace than traveling by carriage. Yujia was more than happy to ditch the carriages behind and board onto the boat.

    Everyone got settled pretty quickly on the boat. There were even rooms for them to sleep in, if they would like. The trip, according to the guide, would take three days, with some stops in between. Thus, it was important to get cozy.

    Meanwhile, on the same boat, some fruit merchants were also coincidentally shipping their goods. As a result, within an hour, Yujia and the disciples were gathered at a few tables near the center of the deck, munching on fresh fruit. Yujia was eating a peeled pear, the crisp fruit quite refreshing to taste. Perhaps it was because of the fact that the fruit was being shipped, but it tasted fresher than the fruit she would eat in the capital.

    After that brief fruit break¡ª they had lunch as well during that time¡ª Yujia decided that she wanted to give painting the river landscape a try. The natural sights along the riverbank that they witnessed as the boat went down the stream would make for a good painting, or at least a sketch.

    At the same table she ate her fruit at before, Yujia took out her sketchbook and a pencil, beginning to do a quick sketch of the sights she saw. It was great practice, sketching objects that were moving by, since she had to do it fast. Since she didn''t have time to sketch the full thing, she merely chose objects she noticed, capturing their basic shapes with a few flicks of her pencil. When the boat passed by stretches of scenery that were less interesting, she then filled in the shading and details of her sketches based on her memory, populating the first few sketch pages of her sketchbook with drawings of little huts or long-rooted trees or birds flitting by.

    Now that she had these sketches down, Yujia decided she wanted to paint a full horizontal landscape of the riverbank, composed of the elements she had sketched down. She realized that though she had a pencil on her, her inks were within the room assigned to her on the boat. Thus, she set the sketchbook down and went down the deck, in search of her brushes and inks.

    When she came back, holding her materials in her arms, she found that a disciple had taken her seat at the small table she sketched at. He had some ink laid out and seemed to have begun a painting. He looked up as she approached, eyes widening.

    He blurted, "Junior Sister, were you sitting here?"

    Yujia took in the newly started painting on the table, responding, "I was, but you''re fine." Her eyes flitted over at a table near the railings of the deck, and she put on a smile. "I''ll just move there. You have your materials all set up, anyways, and it would be a hassle for you to move."

    The disciple thanked her profusely. She picked up her sketchbook and moved to that table. She didn''t mind this change of seating much. Now, she had a closer view of the waters for inspiration, and the table was larger as well.

    As she was setting her new workspace up, Xie Yufeng actually approached, peeling a pear with a small knife, and took a seat by the side. "Are you going to paint something?" she asked.

    Yujia twirled the paintbrush in her hands as she smoothed out a page in her sketchbook. "En! I was actually thinking¡ª"

    Before she could finish her sentence, the boat suddenly lurched to the side. Yujia froze up, hands clenching on the edges of the table. The sudden sway was not enough to throw her entirely off balance, but the materials on her table, still not entirely set up, tumbled forward, sliding down the table towards the direction of the railings.

    Yujia''s hands immediately shot out, grabbing what she could.

    But she couldn''t stop one thing from slipping over the railings: one of the seal stamps that Zixu had given her.

 325 Killer Reflexes Always Awe the Artis

    Then, the unexpected happened.

    Something flashed before her eyes, the color of someone''s hand. And in the next moment, Xie Yufeng uncurled the fingers of her right hand. The seal stamp that Yujia just saw slip through the railings was resting, safely, on Yufeng''s palm. Yujia looked up at Yufeng, wide eyes, then down at the stamp in Yufeng''s palm.

    "How¡ª" she mouthed, jaw practically dropped at this point.

    Yufeng nudged the hand a little closer, gesturing for Yujia to take the stamp. Yujia did, gripping the jade tightly in her hand. She expected to lose that stamp to the currents of the river and never see it again. Yet here it was, in her hand, the bottom still reading her name and the color still that familiar light green. It was the stamp that slipped through the railings, sure enough.

    "Your reflexes are on point!" Yujia had to clasp her hands and bow to Yufeng. That was far too impressive, for Yufeng to notice what was happening, set down the knife and pear she had, and stop the doomed fate of the seal stamp before it occurred.

    Yufeng went back to peeling her pear, spinning the small knife in her hand. Only now did Yujia realize exactly how precise Yufeng''s peeling was. She peeled the fruit with a perfect loop, but not only was the skin curling in one, intact line, her cutting was so precise that not a single bit of the pear flesh was taken off with the skin. She worked fast too, not even sparing a glance to look at what she was doing. That was the impressive part to Yujia.

    Yujia thought back to everything she had seen Yufeng do before. From combat, to tying people, to picking locks, up to all sorts of odd talents that you wouldn''t find on the average person, Xie Yufeng was definitely not a simple person, a fact that Yujia had realized a long time ago. The more she learned about what other odd skills Yufeng had, the more intrigued she was with Yufeng''s past.

    If this was a romance story and Yujia was the male lead, she might as well utter the cliche line, "What an interesting girl."

    Yujia snickered a little on the inside at her thoughts. She quickly brushed them aside, thanking Yufeng profusely. "If it wasn''t for you, I really would''ve lost something precious to me."

    Yufeng set the knife down, biting into her first bite of pear. She arched a brow. "Would you have jumped into the water for it?"

    Thinking for a moment, Yujia then pursed her lips. "I would say yes, but then again, I don''t know how to swim."

    "Well then, I''m glad that I catched it. It''s easier to save a fallen stamp than a drowning person," Yufeng remarked.

    "You know how to swim too?"

    After a brief thought, Yujia added on, "Remember how I bugged you back then to help me get a workout routine? Can we add swimming to that list when we get back from the trip?"

    "I don''t see a problem with that."

    "Thank you so much," she thanked Yufeng again.

    Yufeng grinned. "I get free food and free lodging. Teaching you a trick or two is the least I can do."

    ¡­

    Other than the boat-lurch incident, nothing bad happened for the rest of the boat trip. Yujia moved to a safer location and secured her supplies so that nothing like what had happened would occur again. She finished her painting too, pleased with the result. Because of all the observations and sketches that Yujia had practiced before starting the painting, she could craft a very detailed landscape of the river''s scenery. When she painted the figures of a few humans by the riverbanks, some boating, some fishing, some scrubbing at clothes, a bit of life was brought to the painting as well, improving the overall vibe of the work. Overall, it was definitely one of her favorite pieces that she had done for landscape.

    The boat traveled on for a few days before they arrived at their next destination, a fairly large city. It was evening when that time had arrived, so the group all got off the boat and headed to find a hotel to stay for the night. On their way there, Yujia asked around if there was a pigeon-mail system here, which she found to exist.

    Thus, before going to sleep that night, she sat by candlelight and laid out a thin scroll of paper.

    On it, she dipped her brush into black ink and began to write slowly, in an attempt to make her handwriting decent.

    ''Dearest Little Xuxu,'' she wrote, laughing before she continued, ''I mean, Zixu. We''ve finally arrived at a place where I have the time and opportunity to write you a letter. Wishing that the letter reaches you well. The trip has been good so far, though a bit tiring, I must admit. However¡­ I almost lost one of the seal stamps you gave me. Long story short¡ª long story when I get back and we have all the time in the world to talk¡ª there was a slight boating accident, but I didn''t actually lose it. It''s safe and sound. So no worries about that.''

    Yujia realized that she was running out of space on that paper. Quickly adding on, ''Miss you lots,'' she then signed her name, using the strokes and style that Zixu taught her how to write her name in. After that, she stamped below her name with the two seal stamps.

    Once she finished the letter, she waved her hand over the ink, hoping that it would dry soon. Except then, Yufeng, who was sharing the same room as her, called out, "Are you going to sleep soon?"

    Yujia stood up, putting the paper down. She picked the candle holder up, smiling with a "yes", and decided that she should just retire for the night.

    As she approached her own bed, blew out the candle, and slipped under the blankets to stare at the darkness above her, Yujia imagined telling Zixu about the dread and relief she felt with this entire stamp deal. She smiled a little at the thought of that.

    It had only been a little more than a week, but she truly did miss Zixu. There were so many words on her mind, and she couldn''t wait to go back to tell him all of them, even if they were more mundane than the crazy stories he had after his trip.

    Little did she know that her stories would be anything but mundane after what was to happen¡­

 326 Hot Spring Time for the Artis

    It was incredible.

    To see the towering mountains in person, Yujia realized that this was a moment she had been waiting for her whole life. Even from miles away, she could already see the distant range. Up close, it was even more magnificent.

    A forest of lush pine covered the ground, stretching out into the direction of the heavens. However, more of them could be found on the rocks, growing between the cliffs and ravines. In between the folds of green, tan edges of rock could be seen, forming the angles of the mountains. Yujia inclined her head, looking at the blanket of clouds above her, masking the tips of the peaks, and a soft sigh escaped her.

    It was amazing to see the range up close, but it would be even better to see it from high up, looking down. Huangshan was described as simply breathtaking to experience from the top, where one could witness the legendary Sea of Clouds. It was a sight Yujia did not want to miss, even if it meant difficult hiking.

    It was late noon when they arrived at this destination. She wondered what they were about to do now, with no lodges in sight. Would they really be hiking the range today? Yujia inclined her head to look at Ye Yunhe, who was standing at the front of the crowd with her.

    He noticed her gaze and seemed to comprehend her question, informing, "Junior Sister, we won''t be going up the mountains today. Where we''re currently at¡ª Purple Cloud Peak¡ª is famed for its hot springs. So, we''ll be spending the night here."

    "Oh!" Yujia''s eyes lit up. She heard of Huangshan''s hot springs before too. The range truly had plenty of natural wonders. It lived up to its fame. "So, we''ll get to enjoy the luxury of the hot springs?"

    Yunhe nodded smugly. "They say that the springs will bring anyone to their youth again."

    Yujia raised her hand and looked at its smooth skin. "If I become any younger, I''d be a child."

    "Well," Yunhe laughed, "I''m not as young as you. I''ll need it."

    Yunhe wasn''t even that old. Yujia stared at his face, remarking, "Keep talking like this and you''ll become an old man. Has being around Master impacted your brain or something?"

    They continued their bickering as the group began to travel down a paved stone path. After a few turns and steps, they made it to the entrance of the lodge that regulated the hot springs.

    Once there, the group got their own rooms, unpacked a few belongings, and separated to each do whatever they would like.

    And so, when Yujia got to lower herself into her hot spring, she felt like her life was complete.

    The water was hot, but not enough to burn. Thus, though the air outside was cold, upon sinking into the hot spring, all the chills vanished. Curls of steam rose from the spring. The moment she stepped into the water was like pure magic. Within an instant, all the weariness and stress of traveling melted away, leaving her feeling refreshed and reborn.

    She saw what Yunhe meant when he said that waters were springs of youth.

    It wasn''t just the springs either. The spring itself was fairly small, but the scenery around it was stunning. Purple Cloud Peak, she heard, was divided from Peach Blossom Peak by a small brook situated right next to the spring she got. Peach trees grew on the edges, some of their branches reaching into Yujia''s enclosure. She could imagine how picturesque the sight would be if the branches were in bloom. She also heard that it was another picturesque sight to experience the springs in the snowing months. Flurries of snow would fall from the sky but not bring its coldness due to the warmth of the hot spring, making for an unparalleled experience.

    Although neither of those sights were available to her, Yujia didn''t need them. The current experience she had, relaxing in the springs, was more than enough to make her happy. The calm environment was enough to put her to sleep.

    And she was truly about to fall asleep, if not for the fact that Yufeng slipped into the other side of the spring with a soft splash.

    Yujia immediately opened her eyes, grinning. "So. How is it?"

    She wanted to see if Yufeng''s reaction was as excited as hers. Sure enough, Yufeng''s face lit up, marveling as she moved a hand through the ripples of water.

    "This is amazing," Yufeng admitted.

    "I bet you''re glad you went on the trip now." Yujia happily replied, leaning her head back to rest against a rock formation.

    She glanced to the side, noticing a small jar of wine and two cups. A worker at the springs must''ve brought it over without her even realizing.

    But free wine? Yujia never said no to that.

    She opened the jar and let the wine flow into two cups. Once she poured it, she pushed the tray over and waded a little closer to Yufeng, handing her a cup.

    "Cheers," she said, raising her cup.

    Yufeng took it, raising it back. "Cheers."

    The two drank the wine. Yujia poured them both another glass. A flicker of light caught her attention. She turned her face and noticed the sun, which had begun to meet the horizon. From between the wisps of clouds, the last rays of its golden light scattered over the surroundings. Yujia took the view of this sunset in, pressing it into her mind. This would make a great painting.

    She looked back at her glass, sipping at the sweet wine.

    Ah. Enjoying wine, relaxing in a hot spring, and viewing a sunset. This was the life.

 327 Fighting Back is the Artistâ€™s Style

    She was just chatting with Yufeng as they walked down the halls to her room, truthfully not expecting anything to happen. Yet unexpectedly, she crossed paths with another group.

    It was a group of young men. She noticed the colors of their robes first. Though they were white and blue, like the Lingxin uniform, the white was on the inside of their robes, while the outside was a layer of darker blue fabric. The patterned embroidery on their sleeves was also different. She looked up at their faces, recognizing none of them.

    Seeing as they weren''t fellow Lingxin disciples, Yujia paused in her steps and bowed out of pure courtesy.

    That was when things went wrong.

    The person walking at the front of the group, seemingly the leader of his friends, stopped in his tracks as well. Instead of bowing like a normal person, however, he lurched forward and grabbed her arm.

    At this sudden touch, Yujia whipped her hand away, looking up at the gaze leering down at her. The young man in front of her reeked of alcohol, stronger than the fragrance of wine Yujia and Yufeng enjoyed earlier. He had a handsome face, but the expression that he wore brought nothing but disgust from Yujia.

    "Please watch your actions carefully, Noble," she said coldly, giving him a glare of equal frigidity.

    "Oh?" He blinked, though his eyes didn''t seem to improve in sobriety. "Do you work here? Spend some time with this Noble, and I''ll be sure to reward you for your time."

    Yujia rolled her eyes. She realized that she wasn''t wearing her Lingxin robes, as she was dressed in casual wear when she exited the hot springs. But still, the robes she currently wore were of high quality silks, and if the man in front of her had any eyes at all, he would''ve been able to notice that she didn''t carry the demeanor of an average worker. He was just too drunk, like the rest of his snickering friends behind him.

    Deciding it would be better to move on, she ignored his statement and began to walk past. That was when he grabbed her shoulder, his hand then sliding down her arm.

    Yujia''s eye twitched. She slowly turned around, using one hand to peel his disgusting hand off of her. She realized that maybe it would be a bad idea to keep giving this idiot drunk any attention, but perhaps the wine she drank earlier was kicking in for her confidence.

    Looking up and running her fingers through her hair, she scoffed, then replied, "You want to play with this Young Miss? Sure."

    He blinked, seemingly not expecting that response. "Young Miss?" He looked her up and down again, then grinned a little wider with that lecherous smile of his. "You tell me, what kind of game are you thinking of?" He reached forward with his hand for her chin.

    Two things happened next.

    Two, Yujia kneed him in the groin.

    The peaceful atmosphere of the hot springs lodging was suddenly cut by a loud howl of pain.

    Eyebrows raised, Yujia glanced over at Yufeng. A wide smile appeared on her face as she told Yufeng, "Nice!"

    She didn''t expect that Yufeng would strike as well, but now that she did, it was even better.

    Yufeng, with an expression of pure distaste, looked down at the man she still twisted the hand of. He was sobbing in pain, both holding a hand over his crotch and begging to be let go. "I can''t stand people like you," she scorned.

    His friends were not one to stand back and do nothing. Outraged, they rushed forward, but Yufeng bent that man''s hand back by another degree, with another crack. This was met by another yelp of pain.

    "His fingers are only sprained right now. Step forward again and I''ll break them for good, and then you won''t see him using his hand anytime soon," Yufeng informed, the side of her mouth curling up into a smile.

    "Let go!" The young man with his fingers bent cried out, "Please, I''m sorry, let go!"

    One of his friends with a face that looked like a rat exclaimed, "Do you know who he is? How dare you two¡ª "

    "Who he is?" Yujia shook her head and gave a shrug. "Why should I care? Judging by the robes you all wear, aren''t you some students of some school? I am a disciple of Lingxin Pavilion Academy. My status is not lower than any of yours."

    She thought back to her master, the master of the Emperor himself. If anything, she had a bigger backing than any of them. But then again, using that card so quickly would be no fun, would it?

    "When did Lingxin have a female disciple?" she heard one of the other friends murmuring, regarding her with skepticism.

    "I am Han Shiche, the son of General Han!" the young man, out of pure panic, spouted between a cry.

    Yujia blinked. Was that supposed to impress her? Or instill any fear?

    Before she could say anything, another voice interjected, "And I am Rong Yuan, the son of the commander of the entire military. Han Shiche, you dare to do anything unpleasant to my Junior Sister?"

    Yujia turned to this voice, seeing the Rong Yuan she perceived as so annoying in the past. For the entire trip, she had been avoiding him due to his pestering that was perhaps as annoying as Han Shiche''s, but right now, she was actually rather glad to see him.

    He entered from the other side of the hall, and Han Shiche''s face turned to see Rong Yuan as well. Yufeng dropped his hand at this moment, and Shiche fell to his knees.

    "Noble¡­ Rong," Han Shiche stuttered, face turned white. But then, after a second of breathing, he seemed to regain his wits, standing up. He backed away a few steps from Yufeng but kept his eyes on Rong Yuan. "Your father may be a rank higher than mine, but it doesn''t give you the right to excuse anything that happened today! I was openly assaulted by these two under the witness of everyone here! If word of what happened traveled out, I''m afraid your Junior Sister can''t withstand the consequences!"

    Yujia really wanted to roll her eyes again. "We''re competing with our family background now?" she questioned, almost laughing.

    "If you have the guts, name what family you come from," Han Shiche demanded.

    "Really, competing with names and history isn''t my style. I''d much rather make this a competition of skill," Yujia mused, "but if you must¡­"

    She gave a little dramatic pause. She tended to have a flair for these things.

    "My master is Yue Ze, founder of Lingxin Pavilion and master of the Emperor himself. I suppose you could call me the Emperor''s junior sister?" She gave a mock-courtesy nod of her head. "Greetings."

    Like that, she watched the face of Han Shiche and his friends drain again of color.

    Checkmate.

 328 To Have the Artistâ€™s Audacity

    The alcohol was really fueling her audacity. She loved it.

    Han Shiche, at her words, paused. He seemed to have realized that things were not looking the best to him. At the very least, he still had that basic common sense.

    Swallowing whatever other words he wanted to say, he stiffly turned around. It seemed like he wanted to leave the matter at that. Without meeting their gazes, he and his friends started walking away. As they passed by, Rong Yuan, who had his arms crossed, tried to stop them, but after a brief second of thought, he decided to let them pass as well.

    At their silent and shameful departure, Yujia raised her brows. Yufeng dusted off her hands.

    "I didn''t tell you before," Yufeng leaned in, saying, "but that was simply perfect when you kneed him."

    "Not as perfect as how you almost broke his fingers." Yujia replied with a gleeful smile. "You got to teach me that trick sometime."

    "Well, you have a lot to learn," Yufeng responded.

    "Thanks, Yufeng." Yujia saluted, then faced Rong Yuan. "I have to thank you too."

    "No problem, Junior Sister," he told her with a grin as wide as ever.

    At this, she seemed to remember something. Yujia narrowed her eyes for a second. "Wait." She tapped her chin. "How old are you again?"

    Rong Yuan''s eyes lit up, seemingly delighted that finally, after so long, she started to pay attention to him and the kind of person he was. "Me? I''m eighteen."

    "Oh!" Yujia tilted her head. So that sudden thought of hers was on the right track. "We''ve been addressing each other incorrectly all this time. You''re my Junior Brother."

    "Eh?" Rong Yuan''s eyes widened in disbelief. "You''re my¡­ Senior Sister?"

    "I''m older than you by a year." She nodded thoughtfully.

    It wasn''t that big of a deal, but Rong Yuan''s expression of shock reminded Yujia of her business partner, Bo Zhizhong. Come to think of it, both Zhizhong and Rong Yuan were eighteen as well. They also shared a few noticeable traits, but Zhizhong was more tolerable than Rong Yuan. He was studious, worked hard, and kept his brains on him. Rong Yuan, on the other hand¡­

    Yujia still shuddered at the thought of all the annoying ways Rong Yuan had pestered her in the past. There was also the fact that Rong Yuan attempted hiring Zixu to dig up information on her, which was likely the creepiest thing he did.

    Regardless, he seemed somewhat decent right now.

    Slightly puzzled at this question, Yujia told him in a simplistic manner, "Just back to my room?"

    "Since Senior Sister doesn''t have plans, I was wondering if you wanted to spend the night with me in my¡ª"

    Yujia''s disappointment skyrocketed at an unprecedented rate upon hearing this. What thoughts about Rong Yuan being decent? Why did those even exist in her mind for the briefest of seconds? She should not have considered them.

    Before Rong Yuan could even finish his sentence, Yujia held up her hands. "Junior Brother, we don''t have that kind of relationship, alright? And we never will. You saw what happened to that Han Shiche. Do you want to end up like that?"

    Although he was cut off, Rong Yuan didn''t show any signs of discontent. He let out a hyena-like laugh, waving his hand. "I was just joking. I''m shameless, but I''m a proper gentleman."

    Thinking of every non-gentlemanly thing Rong Yuan had done in the past, along with his reputation of being quite the flirtatious man with so many other ladies, Yujia could only give him a forced wince-like smile.

    "Sure, sure." She bowed, adding on, "Have a good evening, Junior Brother."

    He replied with the same greetings, and that was about the end of that conversation.

    Though Yujia wasn''t quite sure what to make of that entire encounter, she knew for sure that there was quite a lot that she wanted to tell Zixu that evening, and quite a small limit she had for a word count.

    At least she had Yufeng as a companion. That night, before sleeping, the two had a long, long chat, laughing about everything that happened that evening.

    ¡­

    The next morning, after Yujia took a bath¡ª other than the hot springs, the lodging offered excellent options for hygiene as well¡ª and got dressed in her Lingxin robes, she stepped out of her room to see someone unexpected.

    "You¡ª" she began, shocked by the person in front of her.

    The same young man who was harassing her last night, Han Shiche, was kneeling on the wooden floor and bowing, his head nearly touching the floor.

    Yujia took a step back. How was she supposed to react in a situation like this? She admitted that there were not many cases in her life where nobles were kowtowing to her.

    Seeing that she opened the door, Han Shiche exclaimed, "On behalf of my name and school, I would like to apologize for what I did last evening. I had a few drinks and was not in the right state of mind. My actions are unforgivable, but I felt the need to apologize."

    Blinking a few times, Yujia said with lots of hesitation, "Well, alright."

    She honestly didn''t expect this apology from him, and she had to admit, he had to let down a lot of his pride by doing this. However, recalling their conversation last night, where they essentially competed with their family and backings, she couldn''t help but feel suspicion. There was a decent chance that he was simply apologizing because of what she said last night, regarding how much shame he would bring to his family and reputation if a matter like this leaked out. Except, then again, if he actually cared about his reputation, that must mean that his harassment towards her was not something that regularly happened. If it were regular, he would be like Rong Yuan, far too shameless to care¡­

    After all of this consideration, she ended up saying, "Last evening, it was because of what I did that brings you here to apologize right now. If I had not stood up for myself, or if I were just a defenseless worker, you could have easily taken advantage of me. Being drunk is not an excuse for your actions. If you truly feel sorry for what you have done, then this apology towards me does not mean much. What matters is that in the future, something like this does not happen again, whether to me or some other poor girl that you stumble upon. It should not be the victim''s responsibility to defend themselves."

    He bowed a little more. "I will keep these words firmly in mind."

    "Good." Yujia paused, staring at how he was still bowing. "If you truly repent, you can get up now."

    Slowly, Han Shiche rose from his kneeling position, dusting off his knees. "Thank you," he whispered.

    Yujia nodded her head. She then waved her hand. "If that''s all, I''ll be going."

    "Wait, Miss¡ª" Han Shiche called out, "I also wanted to talk about something else."

    She looked over her shoulder. "And that is?"

    "I remember what you said last night about preferring a competition of skill. I know this is preposterous for me to request, and you have every right to reject. However, since we are two schools at one mountain, at the same time, as a representative of Guozijian School, I was wondering if Lingxin would be up for a friendly competition?"

 329 Friendly Competitions vs The Artis

    Upon hearing this proposal, Yujia couldn''t help but want to reject Han Shiche immediately. This was due to the fact that even though he apologized, her impression of him was still not very good. It wasn''t like it would be easy to trust his words, when he could be lying about learning his lesson for all she knew. Earlier, she accepted his apology simply because it would be a hassle to have someone kneeling at the front of her room door all day. Originally, her plan was that after she got him to leave, she would just move on with her life and forget about his unpleasant existence.

    Why did he even want a competition?

    Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she ended up telling him, "You may be a representative of your school, but I''m not a representative of my school, Lingxin. Due to that reason, I shall not be accepting your competition request. Have a good day."

    Once she said that, she went back to her room and closed the door solidly. She truly thought that would be all. She believed that it would be the last time she heard of such a matter or saw Han Shiche''s face.

    It wasn''t.

    When Lingxin disciples all gathered at the front of the lodging, Yujia noticed that by the side of her white-robed group, there was another group, wearing the blue robes of Guozijian. They were murmuring amongst themselves. Amidst that group, she spotted the face of Han Shiche and his friends she saw before. Han Shiche was leading the group, standing at the front.

    Why were they here?

    Yujia was about to ask that question when Ye Yunhe emerged to the very front. In a loud voice, he declared, "May I have everyone''s attention for a second?" The crowds quieted down, and he went on, "As you may have noticed already, we have the presence of another school with us right now. These disciples from Guozijian have also traveled from the capital, like us. And so, in order to bolster the relationships between the schools, we will be participating in a friendly competition."

    Her face paling, Yujia placed a hand on her forehead. She thought that after her rejection for the idea of a competition, that would be the end of those matters. How was she supposed to guess that Han Shiche was persistent enough to go find another disciple, like her Senior Brother Ye? And why, just why, did Ye Yunhe accept?

    A competition like this wasn''t going to improve any relationships. At most, it would ignite more intense feelings of rivalry.

    It didn''t take much logic to figure that out.

    As she listened to Yunhe speak, Yujia glanced over to the Guozijian crowd, noticing Han Shiche smirking. She made a face to herself and looked back at Yunhe. His gaze was not focused on her, but she drilled her eyes into him, waiting for him to just meet her gaze so that she could tell him how immensely disappointed she was with him.

    No. Not fun. It sounded like a lot of work.

    Yujia was about to voice her objection, but then, Jiang Muyun did instead. Although his voice was quiet, it was clear against the crisp morning air. "We come to Huangshan to allow our minds to be of peace and to comprehend deeper values of art. If we make it a competition, it destroys this purpose. Must we compete? Would it not be better to take our times exploring the mountain, instead of rushing our ways up?"

    Applauding, Yujia could not agree more with what Muyun said. He voiced everything she wanted to say, except for, well, the part about it being a lot of work and Yujia being a bit too lazy for that.

    Someone she didn''t recognize from Guozijian yelled out, "Those sound like a whole lot of excuses to me. Just admit it: you all don''t want to compete because Lingxin is afraid of losing to us! No shame in admitting that!"

    What an obvious attempt at instigating a fight.

    With a scoff, Yujia could not imagine how anyone would fall for such a basic, apparent trick. That Guozijian student didn''t even attempt to be subtle about his words. There was no way any of the fellow Lingxin disciples here with her right now were that dumb.

    "Haha, in what world is Lingxin, the greatest academy in all of Xiang, terrified of you all? If you want to compete, let''s compete! We''ll obliterate you all in this."

    Yujia turned with horror to the person who just spoke. Rong Yuan.

    She should''ve known.

    Although she wanted to face palm again, she realized that at this point, she couldn''t help but speak up.

    "Senior and Junior Brothers, I agree with what Senior Brother Jiang said. Let''s not forget our original purpose of coming here. Why should we waste our time and difficult journey on a silly competition of speed?" she suggested.

    Rong Yuan, who was close to her, said in reply, "Senior Sister, it''s alright. The competition may be taxing on someone weak like you. If you don''t wish to participate, no one will have any objections."

    Someone weak like her?

    Yujia looked at Rong Yuan with a seething glare. Obvious attempts at agitation weren''t good enough to get her, but when they were unintentional, like what Rong Yuan said¡­

    "Let''s do this damn competition," she declared.

    She had been working out with Xie Yufeng weeks before, after all. Now would be a great time to test how far her cardio had actually improved.

    And really, now that she thought about it, nothing would make her happier than winning first place and wiping that smug smile off of Han Shiche''s face.

 Chapter 330 - Hiking Time With the Artist

    They discussed their strategy as they made their way to their side of the mountain. From just one key leading figure that jumped out of the crowd¡ª Rong Yuan¡ª they arrived at a strategy quickly. Because the hike was long, and likely to take hours, rushing it and losing all of their stamina immediately was not a good idea. They would take it steady, but at a pace brisk enough to be counted as fast walking. ;

    Since the trail was only wide enough for around three people to walk together, the group was split into five lines. Ye Yunhe, Rong Yuan, and another disciple were at the front. Jiang Muyun was in the middle with a few other disciples. Yujia, labeled as someone who would definitely drag the group back, was sentenced to be in the last row, with Yufeng and a disciple that had looked very frail.

    She wasn''t very pleased with where she was placed, but she didn''t complain. Putting where they placed her aside, she had to admit that Rong Yuan had excellent leadership skills. He could come up with a decent strategy fast, and he had the charisma to command a large group. ;

    With another aspect of the game being that after the group made it to the top of the hills, they would begin an art competition, they also needed a representative artist. Yunhe was the first choice, obviously, as the most experienced senior brother of them all. However, as many members of the group were also present when Yujia did a "ten minute painting" demonstration months back, they decided to select her as backup. ;

    The second aspect of the competition didn''t only concern talent. Speed was important as well, due to the fact that the time limit would only be half an hour. What was even more pressing was that the winner from the first round could get a head start, since they arrived first. The rules did not prevent that. Thus, to ensure their ultimate success, it was important to win this first round.

    With this strategy in mind, the Lingxin disciples began their path up the trail.

    Yujia had her eyes fixed on the long path ahead, maintaining a focus of only noticing the way she walked and the way she regulated her breaths, a trick taught to her by Yufeng for conserving energy. But when Yufeng gently nudged her with an elbow and asked a question, her attention broke.

    "What are you carrying on your back?" Yufeng asked.

    "Oh, this?" Yujia raised her hand and patted a large fabric sack that she had tied into a makeshift bag around her back. It was a bulging sack and definitely could count as a decent weight. "Something very important."

    Yujia had lots of reasons for this, however, and that was to be proven soon. ;

    The group, fueled by their desire to beat Guozijian and win honor for their school, started off the hike at a great pace. They had energy and excitement, two factors enough to boost their adrenaline and speed.

    Yujia found no difficulty hiking as well. She moved with ease at the back. Since they marched in unison, as if they were a military squad, the people at the front didn''t slow her down. Cardio workouts really did pay off.

    The morning air brushing against her face was a bit chilly, which Yujia appreciated. This way, she wouldn''t feel overheated when she would sweat from this exercise. Besides, it was good for the object on her back to be in a cold environment.

    It was about midway when things began to get a little difficult. A few people, even in the middle of the group, began to slow down, their energetic marching beginning to lose its spirit. Yunhe noticed this and elbowed Rong Yuan, who yelled out, "Let''s keep going! We''re about halfway there!"

    With those words, a bit of energy was regained, and they went back to their old pace once more.

    It was when someone tripped that things went dreadfully wrong.

    Very unfortunately, there was a rock sticking out of the ground, and it managed to catch the ankle of a disciple. With a surprised yelp, he fell forward, pushing another unexpecting disciple forward. When that disciple staggered forward, he fumbled into yet another disciple, but that one thankfully stood his ground, and the general shape of the formation was preserved.

    However, that disciple which had tripped originally was now on the floor, holding his ankle. ;

    Everyone quickly stopped. They crowded him with worry at first, but soon afterwards, a few exchanged glances amongst themselves. Yujia took notice of those glances. They weren''t judgemental as much as they were filled with worry that this setback would lead to a delay. After all, another term of the competition listed that they had to have most of their members arriving at the finish line for the competition to be considered as a win. Only one was allowed to drop out.

    Seeing this, Yujia realized that now was the time for her to step in.

    She parted the crowd with a few "excuse me"s and "coming through"s, then slung the bag she had been carrying off her shoulder. When she untied the knot, the fabric parted to reveal jugs of water, along with a block of ice larger than her palm, wrapped in its own layers.

    Yunhe, who had his eyes on her, exclaimed, eyes wide and eyebrows narrowed, "You were carrying that large of a piece of ice on your back all this time?"

    She nodded quite thoughtfully. "The owners actually had some ice lying around, so I asked if I could take a chunk. It was much bigger before, but I guess it melted a bit." The fabric around the ice was quite damp to touch.

    "Why would you just¡­ carry that?" ;

    Yujia subconsciously glanced down at her own ankle, then at the rock that was jutting out the ground, which was the culprit behind why that disciple tripped. ;

    "Well, I had a feeling that hiking would mean chances of tripping happening. Sprained ankles are no good, and ice will help stop it from inflaming too much," she thoughtfully explained. While keeping one layer of thin fabric around the ice, she handed it to the disciple. "Here," she instructed him, "ice your ankle a bit. It will help."

    He thanked her with shining eyes, taking the ice from her. While he was doing that, she rose up, holding the contents of her bag in her arms.

    "The key to winning is not just strategy, but plenty of preparation as well." Gesturing down at the many jugs of water¡ª there were about six jugs¡ª she began to hand them out. "I figured we would all be thirsty." ;

    At the sight of water, the group cheered. Unanimously, they decided to take a quick break, both for the water and for the disciple who had sprained his ankle. They took turns passing the jugs around, each drinking the water they needed. Yujia, in the meantime, had her own jug, which she poured some into her mouth before handing it off to Yufeng.

    Jiang Muyun, who was standing next to Yunhe, peered at her with a curious gaze. "Junior Sister, we have to thank you for this."

    When she heard him, Yujia clasped her hands and bowed. "It''s nothing. I want us to win as well." ;

    "May I implore," he continued, "why you chose to carry the water on you, instead of distributing it around? It must''ve been quite heavy." ;

    She scratched her temple. "Well, I figured that it would be better to conserve our resources until the halfway point. That way, the water consumption can be easily balanced out. If I distributed them out at the very start, people could have consumed all of the water already, and that would mean that everyone would be exhausted and thirsty towards the more crucial ending of this hiking competition." ;

    The nearby Yunhe decided to chime in, saying, "This is why I admire Junior Sister''s ability to think ahead. Plus, you had no prior knowledge that we would be holding this competition. You managed to gather all of this water and ice within a few minutes after I explained the contest. That speed is truly admirable."

    She laughed. "All I did was bring some water. At least now, I have this weight off my back." ;

    "You are being too humble," Yunhe said with a grin.

    "I agree," Muyun said, "Junior Sister should give herself some more credit."

    Folding her hands in front of her, Yujia nodded with a polite smile. "Well then, I''ll take all of these compliments." ;

    More to feed her ego, anyways.

    It was around this time that Rong Yuan decided now would be a great time to throw himself in. He appeared between Yujia and her senior brothers, cutting into the conversation with a loud word of thanks. Yujia quickly told him no problem and turned her attention to the disciple that had sprained his ankle.

    "How is it?" she asked, "Can you stand?"

    He pinched his mouth into a straight line, then gritted, "I''m not sure. Let me try."

    Yunhe quickly went to offer an arm of help. The disciple took it, but it was a difficult process for him to stand up. At this rate of how things looked, even if he could walk, it would slow down the group. ;

    Rong Yuan seemed to notice that as well, patting the disciple on the back. "Senior Brother," he assured, "Go ahead and get some rest. We can have two people drop out, so no worries at all. You can wait for our victory here, or you can head back if your ankle heals enough!"

    "Really?" The disciple voiced his reluctance.

    Rong Yuan gave him a nod of assurement. "I know that Senior Brother wants to help us win, but our victory is your victory. Besides that, your health is more important. We can''t have your ankle sprained for the entire journey, so it''s best to not strain it right now."

    Those words seemed to do the trick of convincing that disciple. He solemnly agreed. ;

    Yunhe looked at Rong Yuan with a new light in his eyes. "Junior Brother, that was oddly mature of you," he applauded.

    "Eh?" Rong Yuan''s eyebrows shot up as he declared, "What kind of back-handed compliment was that? Oddly? Oddly? I am always mature!" ;

    Yujia couldn''t help but cover her mouth as a small snicker escaped her. She knew that with Yunhe being as dense as he was, he didn''t intend a back-handed compliment. Sure enough, he leaned back indignantly, and a small fight, nothing too serious and mostly filled with light-hearted statements, occurred between Yunhe and Rong Yuan. Yujia, in the meantime, sat back and enjoyed her water as if it was popcorn.

    ¡­

    The water break ended soon enough, and they were back on the trail. ;

    While they walked, with rejuvenated spirit, it seemed like the speed was even better now. Perhaps it was hydration working its magic, or perhaps it was because there was a slight adjustment in the rows. ;

    Instead of walking in the back, now, Yujia was at the front. Yufeng was close behind her, in the second row. ;

    She didn''t expect this change in position, but likely because of the poor performance of a few people in the middle rows, they got moved to the back. As for how she ended up all front, the reasons also probably had to deal with her act of carrying the water that amazed the group into letting her walk in the front.

    Regardless, she was very happy with being at the front of the line. The view ahead of her was better here, without heads to block her way. She was feeling good. The air as they went up higher didn''t restrict her breathing much either. The altitude was probably not high enough to cause that. Her lungs felt good, for the first time in forever, considering the original body''s poor health and days of consistent coughing.

    In fact, as she walked, she really had the time to think about how far she had gotten.

    She went from penniless, dying, and stuck in an unhappy life to someone currently leading a group of fellow artistic disciples on a hike up the legendary peaks of Huangshan.

    Things were so much better now, and she was grateful. Grateful for the people who had helped her along the way, and also grateful to herself for believing in the possibility of growth. For breaking the fear of the unknown.

    Before she knew it, she had a wide smile on her face. Yunhe, who was beside her and noticed that smile, asked curiously, "Junior Sister, what are you so happy about?"

    "All of this," she replied, "What isn''t there to smile for?"

    She shouldn''t have said that.

    As if that was a jinx, when they arrived at the top of the mountain, her smile fell soon enough. ;

    The Guozijian disciple group had already made it to the top, long before them.

 Chapter 331 - An Ethereal Dream the Artist Had Walked Into

    Yujia stared at the enemy school''s students in front of her, eyebrows tightly knitted. The rest of her junior and senior brothers were also fairly disappointed that they didn''t arrive first.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_11701767605489305/an-ethereal-dream-the-artist-had-walked-into_52032677682936373">#!_11701767605489305/an-ethereal-dream-the-artist-had-walked-into_52032677682936373</a> for visiting.

    Yunhe was the first one to step up. An old man, with a head of pure white hair, was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the flat mountain top. He looked like an ancient cultivator, with just how old he appeared. It seemed like he was the impartial guest that was invited to determine the winners. So, Yunhe approached him and asked, "Elder, do you know when that group arrived here?"

    The elder stroked his beard and chuckled, saying, "Why, more than an hour ago."

    The entirety of the Lingxin disciple group dropped their jaws at that.

    More than an hour ago? That timing was insane. It took them at least three hours to climb to where they were at now. How did Guozijian manage that feat with just two hours? That speed was inhuman.

    Yujia narrowed her eyes at those students.

    This didn''t feel right. There was no way they managed to beat her group by an hour. All the Lingxin disciples moved very fast, and their brief break only took ten or so minutes.

    She didn''t have much time to ponder this strange occurrence though, for the elder at the center reached over and lit a stick of incense.

    "When this incense burns up," the elder said with another low chuckle, "both groups must turn in their paintings. Since Guozijian already had an hour as a head start, I''d suggest that your group begins soon too. Thirty minutes is not much time."

    Yunhe, as the artist representative, hurried to the table where he could paint at and got to work. In the meantime, the rest of the group took it as a chance to catch their breaths. Except, while the rest of the disciples gathered amongst themselves and discussed how unfair it was that Guozijian got an hour head start, Yujia took this time to observe.

    She first looked at the scenery, taking in the view from the mountaintop.

    She could not say that she had ever seen any scenery more beautiful in her life. It was indeed like they said: a sea of clouds rolling over the land in its misty white expanse.

    She had seen photos. She had painted the same scenes. Yet to see it in person?

    It was as if she had walked into a dream.

    It was no exaggeration to call it a sea. From where she stood, the clouds stretched out to the horizon, creating a soft blend of blue blue sky and white wisps of cloud. Where other mountain peaks met the clouds, parting through them, they appeared like islands, stretching past the surface of the water.

    She did not like oceans of any sort, but this kind of sea? She couldn''t help but appreciate its tremendous, breathtaking beauty.

    And though there were the voices of conversation chattering behind her, in that moment, where she stood close to the ledge, looking out at that ethereal view, a wave of peace washed over her, capturing her soul in time. She knew, right at that moment, if there was any place she wanted to live for the rest of her life, it was here.

    It was just that beautiful.

    Yujia''s eyes dragged over to who they chose as their representative artist. It was Han Shiche. Her mouth flattened into a straight line.

    She then slid her gaze to how Yunhe was doing. Approaching him quietly from behind, she looked at his progress.

    He had barely gotten much done. There was the basis of a painting, but a basis was only a basis. The entire work was quite foggy, and not in the way of a purposeful stylistic choice. Not enough shadows nor highlights existed to balance the painting out, making it seem like one big mush of a shape. He was trying to paint the scenery in front of him, she could tell, but it didn''t seem like he would manage to get it complete in time.

    The movements of Yunhe''s brush were slow, his hands almost shaking a bit. Her brows furrowed at this sight.

    Yujia then leaned down, asking in a quiet voice, "Apologies for breaking your concentration, Senior Brother, but are you sure you''re doing okay?"

    "I''m just," he muttered, "I¡ª I don''t know. I guess the stress is getting to me."

    It seemed like he knew how poorly the painting was turning out right now as well, which made sense, considering the usual quality of his works compared to how the one below his brush was turning out right now. Then again, in those scenarios, he painted without stress or time constraints. Now, she could just imagine how much stress he was under. If he didn''t win this round, Lingxin lost. It would be very embarrassing, to say the least, as well as a big blow on the academy''s pride. Plus, what made it even worse was the psychological effect of thinking that the other group had an hour and a half to complete their painting, while he only had half an hour. That in itself was enough to make anyone stressed.

    Yunhe clamped a hand over his forehead. "I''m sorry. At this rate¡­ I don''t think I''ll be able to finish. Or do any good."

    Yujia patted his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don''t worry, Senior Brother."

    "How can I not worry?" His face scrunched up with frustration.

    "A little more than fifteen minutes left," the elder announced, his voice clear.

    Yujia looked up. Then, she rose up, facing the direction of the elder and declared in a loud voice, "Elder, may I replace my Senior Brother in this painting competition?"

    "Eh?" The old man turned his attention to her, stroking his white beard. "You''d have to restart on the painting, and you only have fifteen minutes. I''m afraid that won''t be enough time."

    Yunhe looked up at her as well, his eyes filled with bewilderment.

    "It will be enough time," she stated, not an ounce of hesitation in her voice.

    The elder glanced to the side and back. "Then¡­ you may, I suppose." He looked at her with far too much doubt, his eyes clearly saying what he didn''t outright tell her: "You''re setting yourself up for failure."

    A few disciples from Guozijian called out taunting words in an attempt to intimidate her. The Lingxin disciples stopped chatting and all fixed their attention on her. Even Han Shiche, who was still painting, paused, observing her with interest in his gaze. Yunhe stood up as well, eyes fixed on her.

    "Junior Sister¡­" he began.

    She gestured at the brush in his hands. "Senior Brother, do you trust me?"

    Yunhe was surprised, but he wasn''t doubtful. He didn''t even need to think as he replied, "Yes."

    He handed the brush to her. She took a seat in his place. She pulled out a new sheet of paper.

    "Then," she told Yunhe, wearing a smile on her face, "just sit back and watch me annihilate this competition."

 Chapter 332 - Borrowed Styles of the Artist

    In a way, Yujia figured that her countless studies in Lingxin paid off. All those hours she spent sketching and painting after real life models refined her attention to detail. It awakened the skills that she had cultivated during college, most of which had become rusty over the years.

    Now, after observing the scenery beyond the cliff, at the sea of clouds and the layered mountains, she didn''t even have to look up for a reference as she painted. She had memorized the look that she wanted to capture in her painting, with its ethereal lighting and dreamlike appearance.

    She moved at unprecedented speed yet kept her wrist steady and her brush smooth. With a few flicks of her arm, she captured the misty sky. Then, with another swoop, she brushed a mountain range onto the page. Through a few more strokes, she darkened the values to reflect the perfect lighting. It took shadows to bring out the light. She then dipped her brush into water, casting the diluted ink onto the page and forming the celestial clouds. While she did that, with her left hand, she prepared a thin brush, then switched to using that one to ink the details of small pine trees on the edges of the mountains.

    For the briefest split of a second, she glanced to the side. The incense had mostly burnt through. There were only around five minutes left.

    Looking back down at her painting, she couldn''t help but smirk. Five minutes was more than enough.

    It only took a few more brush strokes to create a close up tree, setting a focus to the distant scenery. As a result of her observations through the walk, she knew what the pines of this mountain looked like as well as the back of her hand, placing it onto the page with no difficulty. It was as if she slipped a memory onto the page. In her last few minutes, she placed another branch of pine, balancing the one she had painted on the other side of the page.

    The time wasn''t even up when she set down her brush and stepped back. Her painting was complete.

    ¡­

    When the incense had completely burnt out, the elder who acted as the impartial judge didn''t even give a glance to her work. He immediately turned to Han Shiche, who stood and bowed.

    "Elder, this is my finished painting," he presented.

    The old man took it, laying it out on the center table. Both Lingxin and Guozijian disciples gathered around. While Lingxin disciples looked at it in silence, Guozijian disciples loudly complimented the painting.

    "Senior Brother is truly the most talented!"

    "To create such an amazing painting in such a short time, Senior Brother, I wish I had half your skills!"

    "Senior Brother, this painting is perfect!"

    Yujia looked down at Han Shiche''s painting as well. He painted a similar mountain range, though without pine at the front. It seemed like more of a distant capture of the scenery. The painting was indeed not bad; she had to give him that. He did a good job at layering his ink.

    Except, after seeing it, she truly had no worries. She knew her painting was better.

    "This is indeed a very good painting," the elder said, not hesitating to put on a smile. He pointed a finger to trace the range. "Look at the way you highlighted the peaks of the mountains, and the way you faded them out at the bottom. To create this in such a limited time¡­ I am thoroughly impressed."

    Limited time? Yujia couldn''t help but smile as well. Guozijian had an hour and thirty minutes to paint. She had fifteen minutes. Who had the actual limited time?

    "Does Elder wish to judge my painting?" she proposed, having enough of their meaningless compliment session.

    The elder glanced over, losing the smile as he looked at her, unamused. "I suppose you can display yours," he permitted with a careless voice, "but I will not blame you if you choose not to."

    What was that supposed to mean? Telling her to just admit to a loss? Yujia''s eyebrow twitched. Could his bias be more clear, at this point?

    Although she didn''t particularly like the composure of this elder, she kept her cool. Turning, she went to pick up her painting, then placed it on the table.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_11701767605489305/borrowed-styles-of-the-artist_52196380881508537">#!_11701767605489305/borrowed-styles-of-the-artist_52196380881508537</a> for visiting.

    "My fifteen-minute painting," she mused. "Looking forward to seeing Elder''s critique."

    The elder was originally turned to Han Shiche, presumingly still giving a compliment. His disinterested gaze flashed to her painting for the briefest second, before flashing away, as he was about to resume his compliment.

    But then, his words fell off halfway. He stopped, turning fully to her painting. It was as if the brief view that he had seen through his peripheral vision had finally processed in his brain. Yujia expected him to say something quickly, like he did before he even saw Han Shiche''s painting for a full second. However, he remained silent, eyes fixed on her painting in a long, long stare.

    Moments passed.

    The Guozijian students stopped in their chatter, noticing his silent observation. They looked at her painting, and Yujia could see the moment they saw it through the ways their eyes widened in awe. The Lingxin disciples looked very, very closely as well.

    Pure silence. More moments passed.

    Yujia honestly expected this reaction. What could she say?

    She had spent hours upon hours during her first month of transmigration painting generic mountain paintings. Speed, to her, was not a challenge. Even if she didn''t like to paint scenery, it was more than easy to paint mountains of any sort now, due to all of that muscle memory and training. Furthermore, this time, she had actually taken her time to enjoy the view from Huangshan''s peak. As she incorporated her memories to the page, she was sure that the painting was brimming with Spirit Resonance.

    Besides all that, she also had a cheat that Han Shiche could''ve never had. He could''ve painted thousands of mountain paintings like her, studied the Huangshan scenery to extreme detail like her, but never in his life could he have ever¡ª ever¡ª lived in the modern world and seen the paintings of countless famed painters that would rise up in the future.

    Huang Binhong''s luxuriant style. Wang Hui''s rhythmic elegance. Ju Ran''s tendency to use light ink. Mi Fu''s wash and horizontal stroke technique. Zhang Daqian''s and Wang Mo''s splashed-ink technique.

    Yujia held the power to channel all of this, and it was a power enough to elevate her fifteen minute painting from a messy splatter to an awe-inspiring piece. Be it an hour and a half or ten hours, without techniques and methods like this, Han Shiche could not compare to her.

    Sure enough, the silence was finally broken when the elder looked up at her, eyes shining.

    "This¡ª" he began, voice a stammer, "how?" He looked back at the page, then at her. "How did you¡ª how did you paint something this amazing?"

    Yujia gave him a close-lipped smile. She glanced over at Han Shiche, observing his expression. His face had paled. Yujia decided she liked that look on him.

 Chapter 333 - Conclusion to the Competition

    "At Lingxin," Yujia said with a slight drawl in her voice, "These are but the most basic of techniques taught to students. We are an art school, after all."

    The elder kept glancing at the painting. His hands trembled. "The way you painted the entire composition, the contrast between details and mystery¡­ it is a painting that reflects the inner soul, a painting of true Spirit Resonance! I have not seen a painting of such caliber in¡­ so, so long. You, girl¡ª no, Lingxin disciple¡ª you have true, shining talent."

    While her fellow Lingxin disciples were quite smug, as most of them knew of her skill with painting before, those from Guozijian were practically gaping. They muttered amongst themselves, and Yujia knew what they were discussing, though she could not hear them clearly this time. It had to be disbelief. Disbelief that she, as a female, was able to create a painting of this level.

    "The winner is clear." The elder announced, "You¡ª Lingxin Pavilion wins!"

    A loud cheer immediately rose up from the Lingxin disciples. Meanwhile, the Guozijian students frowned greatly, shaking their heads and throwing their hands up.

    Han Shiche moved forward, slamming his hand on the table with indignance. His eyes darted around as he bit his lower lip. "Teacher¡ª" he hissed under his breath, too quiet for others that were standing at a distance to hear, but to Yujia, who was standing right across, she heard what he said clearly.

    "Teacher?" Yujia immediately echoed, raising an eyebrow.

    The disciples around her caught on quickly, murmuring the word that Yujia had heard.

    Han Shiche stopped. He stepped back, realizing his grave mistake. Yujia wasn''t about to let him go so easily, though.

    The corner of her lip twitched up. "So, this elder here is your teacher?" Before he could respond, she turned to Ye Yunhe, asking, "Senior Brother, if I remember correctly, didn''t you say that the judge for this round would be an impartial outsider? How could it be a teacher from Guozjjian?"

    Yunhe confirmed her statement.

    At this, Rong Yuan declared, "This is unfair! A teacher of Guozijian will naturally hold bias towards their own students. If not for my Senior Sister''s immense talent, then we would''ve lost this rigged competition."

    Han Shiche held his hand up, hastily replying, "There must be a misunderstanding! It was a coincidence¡ª "

    "What misunderstanding? What coincidence?" Rong Yuan scoffed. "Let me guess, the fact that you arrived a whole hour before us was simply a ''coincidence'' as well?"

    "That''s not a coincidence! It was skill. You all were just slow and incapable. Can''t even admit to your losses," a disciple of Guozijian remarked with disdain.

    "Incapable? Who''s incapable?" Rong Yuan leaned forward, eyes filled with pure rage. "You dare to call this Young Master incapable? You''re the one who''s incapable. Your entire family¡ª"

    "That''s enough." Yunhe stepped in front of Rong Yuan, holding a hand out. He mediated, "Let''s remain civil. But¡­ since you claim it to be just a misunderstanding, please explain. Coincidentally, the judge for the second round of the competition is your teacher. Coincidentally, Guozijian also arrived ahead of Lingxin by a full hour. If it was only one of those coincidences, I might believe, but don''t you think that these two coincidences, both intended to make Lingxin automatically lose the competition, are too¡­ coincidental? The world does not have perfect coincidences like that, don''t you think? Please do clear up the misunderstandings for us, Noble Han."

    Yunhe''s words left Han Shiche speechless.

    Yujia looked at Yunhe through her peripheral vision, smiling on the inside.

    Now, that was a good way to put it, compared to Rong Yuan''s emotionally heated language. Although Yunhe appeared to be looking for a civil explanation, it was clear that he was grabbing onto the weakness of Han Shiche''s argument. No matter what excuses the disciples of Guozijian spoke after this point, the fact would remain clear to all: Guozijian cheated on both rounds of the competition. Yunhe''s words set the truth in stone.

    She was proud that her typically dense senior brother had moments like these. He was getting better with his leadership.

    In search for an explanation, Han Shiche fumbled with his words. It was quite painfully obvious that he didn''t intend to be exposed like such. He likely never guessed that his very own teacher would be so moved by a piece of artwork that he would even turn on his own students.  Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_11701767605489305/conclusion-to-the-competition_52358384363562019">#!_11701767605489305/conclusion-to-the-competition_52358384363562019</a> for visiting.

    After a bunch of blabbering on Han Shiche''s end, which Yujia did not pay much attention to¡ª she did not care for his flimsy excuses¡ª  Yunhe gave his input, saying, "Since so many faults happened within the competition, I say that we cancel it. Let us not hang ourselves up over winning or losing schools."

    Han Shiche was silent for a moment, then grudgingly replied, "Alright. The competition is canceled."

    There were exclamations of anger from the groups of students in both schools, seemingly upset that their hard work climbing up the mountain was simply dismissed with a canceled competition. However, since the leaders of both groups had arrived at this conclusion, there was nothing much that they could do. It would be awkward to continue pressing for a competition at this point. The students exchanged spiteful glares across to their rival group, and after that tense stare-down, Guozijian students finally decided to be the first to go, turning to leave the mountain top.

    Their teacher, that biased elder, lingered behind for an extra moment. Holding the edges of Yujia''s painting in his hands, he approached her and bowed. "Lingxin Disciple, may I request that you give this painting to me?" he asked.

    Seeing such an old man bow down to her, Yujia panicked, swiftly reaching forward to get him to stand straight. "Elder¡ª" she began, then paused.

    This was the same man that moments ago looked at her with the same disdain as the rest of the Guozijian disciples. This was the same man that was barely willing to spare her work even a glance. And now, this man was bowing to her, putting down his pride and requesting that she give him the work she only spent fifteen minutes on.

    He was already lowering his pride to this level. For a split moment, Yujia considered rejecting his request and damaging his pride even more, but then, that idea flitted away. She did not want to be so petty and hold grudges against an old man like this. She didn''t think that humiliating someone in a situation like this would bring her any good or joy at all, even if it was the same person that dismissed her so easily.

    "Elder, you may take it," she told him, giving a solemn smile. "It would be my honor for you to see so highly of my work."

    With a purely courteous statement like that, the matter ended. The elder took her painting and left. The Lingxin disciples spent some more time at the top, observing the view and doing some extra art practice, before they, too, decided to leave.

    The mess of that competition ended in a surprisingly calm manner. Yujia was quite happy with how things ended up as well. Even though there was no winner in the end, she felt like the experience had been enriching.

    However, her viewpoint did not seem to be shared by the other disciples. As they made their way down the mountain, Rong Yuan protested to Yunhe, "Senior Brother, I just don''t understand! Why did you have to cancel the competition? We probably could''ve gathered enough evidence to see exactly how they cheated on the first round to completely destroy Guozijian''s face in the art world. Are relations between Lingxin and Guozijian really that important?"

    To reply, Yunhe shook his head, speaking loudly that everyone could hear, "This is not a matter of what the relationsh.i.p.s between two schools are like. We had the upperhand in this situation. So indeed, we could''ve gone through with the competition, but the third round was a luck contest. There''s no telling what cheating may occur, or the fact that our luck is simply too bad, which could lead to our loss. That would be like handing a win to Guozijian. Of course, we could''ve also exposed them for cheating on the spot, but which rumors sound better? Guozijian cheated on a competition, and Lingxin heatedly exposes them, or Guozijian cheated on a competition, and Lingxin deals with it with grace? Rumors are bound to be spread about the competition that has occurred today. We might as well seem as the bigger people in these stories. Stepping back is not always a loss."

    Rong Yuan had to agree. Yujia, too, observed Yunhe with admiration. She didn''t expect these words to ever come from her senior brother.

    Nudging Yunhe with her elbow, she gave him a small round of applause.

    He grinned back at her, proudly, leaning to the side and telling her, "Thank you for doing what you did today, Junior Sister. If not for your actions, I''m not sure what would''ve happened."

    "Anytime." She grinned back at him. "Next time, Senior Brother, just know that if you need any help, don''t be afraid to speak up. You don''t have to carry everything on your own."

    His smile softened. "En."

 Chapter 334 - The Artistâ€™s Trip Back Goes Wrong

    The group spent two more days exploring Huangshan. For one of those days, Yujia went climbing a mountain peak with Xie Yufeng, getting to see and draw more of the wondrous scenery. For the other, she decided to relax some, taking advantage of the excellent tourist conditions to just take a break from all the traveling and moving.

    Although she caught a few Guozijian disciples through her peripheral vision at times, she no longer ran into any of them, which she found to be quite nice. After what happened between the two groups, tensions were high, and running into them would make for quite an awkward meeting.

    It wasn''t like talking to them would make Yujia''s impression of that school improve either. First, there was that unpleasant encounter with Han Shiche. After that, though Han Shiche appeared apologetic and all, he just wanted to cheat to win his pride back. Those two things added up were enough to permanently ruin her impression of Guozijian students and their morals.

    Regardless, Yujia didn''t choose to think about those people all too much. She would rather enjoy her experience and have fun. It would be a pity to have her trip ruined by these people.

    On the last day of staying at Huangshan, Yujia picked up a slip of paper and some ink, preparing a letter that she would mail to Zixu when they arrived at the next city.

    "Huangshan was amazing to experience. We did have a competition with Guozijian students. Curious to how it turned out? I''ll tell you when I get back. All is well. I''ll be back within the month. Miss you lots."

    As she concluded her letter by signing it with her name, she gave a heavy sigh. Yufeng, who was lounging by the side, raised an eyebrow at the sound. "Why the long sigh?" Yufeng asked.

    Yujia rested an elbow on the table and propped her chin up on her hand. She tapped her fingers against the side of her face. "Actually, I''m not quite sure," she replied.

    There was quite a foreign feeling within her. It was one of longing, not just Zixu, but rather all of the things she left behind in Chang''an for the trip. She missed Lingxin Pavilion, and she missed talking to her master, Chef Hong, Lili, and the others. Huangshan was beautiful and otherworldly, yes. But she would give anything to snap her fingers right at this instant and be teleported back home.

    Home.

    A wry smile surfaced on her lips. Was this what homesickness felt like?

    "I guess I just miss being home," she ended up continuing with her words, upon arriving at this realization. "What about you?" Her gaze shifted to observe Yufeng.

    Yufeng''s expression was unchanging. "I''ve been moving from place to place for so long. I can''t remember where my original home was."

    Thinking about how this was the first time she felt homesick, after all her experiences back in the modern world, Yujia suggested, "The place you originally came from is not always your true home. Home is a place that you choose. Or perhaps¡­ a group of people that you choose."

    "You think so?" Yufeng tilted her head by the slightest degree.

    "Of course." Yujia looked down for a second, tapping her fingers against the side of her face again. After a brief pause, she continued, "I know you said that you are staying with me so that you have a place to go until you get the chance to fulfill your goals, but¡­ if you want, you can stay at Lingxin forever. You are welcome to treat it like your home, if you would like."

    She liked Yufeng. Although her first impression of Yufeng was not the greatest, over time, she had grown to truly view Yufeng as a friend. At the end of her offer, she looked back up, giving the girl a smile.

    Yufeng''s expressionless face shifted, reflecting a smile back. "Thank you. I appreciate the offer, but I don''t think I can stay permanently. Once I complete my goals, I''ll be leaving. Not because of you, but rather, I don''t want to be a burden."

    A burden?

    Yujia''s smile faltered just a bit. She had a feeling that the burden was not referring to just food and housing. "Well," Yujia added on, quickly putting her smile back up, "if you ever change your mind, my offer is still up."

    "I''ll keep that in mind," Yufeng affirmed with a nod.

    ¡­

    The journey back home began.

    The group loaded the carriages up. Yujia, dressed in a fresh set of robes¡ª she had just taken a last bath at the lodging¡ª sat back in her old carriage with Yufeng. She braced herself for the long traveling that was to come.

    Although the trip back was smooth, it did not stay that way for long.

    It was a sunny day when things began to go wrong.

    The weather had been perfect. Just enough sun was out to keep the chilly temperatures from getting too cold. The group was passing by another mountain range, carriage wheels rolling evenly on the dirt path. Yujia was looking out the window, bored at the passing scenery despite the perfect weather.

    Trees¡­ bamboo¡­ trees¡­ bamboo¡­

    She almost fell asleep at the repetitive scenery flashing by her eyes. It was to be a day of pure traveling like no other, in her mind.

    But then, a different color flashed by her eye. Something dark. The loud sound of people tearing through branches and trees, shouting at the top of their lungs as they did so, jolted her awake.

    With terror, she stared at the sight through the carriage window. It was a sight that she would have never expected to see. It was a sight that belonged in stories and films, not real life.

    A horde of people¡ª hundreds of them¡ª were rushing down the mountains, running right towards their carriages.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_11701767605489305/the-artist%E2%80%99s-trip-back-goes-wrong_52381967777321320">#!_11701767605489305/the-artist%E2%80%99s-trip-back-goes-wrong_52381967777321320</a> for visiting.

    It wasn''t just her who noticed it. At the same moment that her eyes caught it, all of those in the traveling group did. Before she could even make sense of what was happening, one of the drivers called out an alarm, hollering, "M-mountain bandits! They''re coming! Run!"

 Chapter 335 - Escape for the Artistâ€™s Life

    As soon as one of the drivers yelled that, Yujia felt the carriage suddenly lurch forward as the horses pulling it were forced from their slow pace to break out into a sprint. She flinched, turning to look at Yufeng.

    Yufeng was stiffly sitting, eyes alert. She shifted herself closer to the window on Yujia''s side, pushing the fabric flap aside to look out for her own. At the sight of the bandits approaching, she cursed under her breath.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_11701767605489305/escape-for-the-artist%E2%80%99s-life_52403955040308132">#!_11701767605489305/escape-for-the-artist%E2%80%99s-life_52403955040308132</a> for visiting.

    Heart rate speeding up, Yujia''s fingers dug into her palm. "How are there bandits?" she exclaimed.

    Yufeng didn''t reply. Her hand slipped into a pocket fold in her robes, pulling out a dagger about the length of Yujia''s forearm. At the sight of the knife, Yujia''s eyes widened. Yufeng kept something like that on her all this time? Did she have this knife the entire time, from the moment Yujia met her? If not, then where did it come from?

    But now was not the time to be wondering why Yufeng had a knife. Yujia''s hands clenched tighter. She lifted the flap of the curtain again. The horses were pulling the carriage faster than ever, but the bandits were swarming in from the front and from the back. Could they make it?

    Although Yujia had that question in mind, by the way things looked, she already had close to an answer in her heart.

    There was the sound of something suddenly whistling in the air. Then, a thud. Before Yujia could even process it fully, an arrow had ripped through the curtain fabric and embedded itself into the opposite wall of the carriage.

    Yufeng reacted the fastest. She quickly shot an arm out, pulling Yujia down and ducking herself as well. Yujia caught on, dropping to the floor of the carriage and holding her hands over her head. There was the sound of more arrows striking the outer walls of the carriage. Thankfully, the wooden material was thick enough to stop them from breaking through.

    Yujia felt her hands trembling.

    Everything was happening so fast. So, so fast. And it was an absolutely dreadful feeling, knowing that there was nothing that she could do to save her life except to pray.

    As more arrows sailed through the air, they struck the horses and drivers, out in the open. Screams ripped through the air. Yujia''s carriage lurched forward in yet another violent, jerking motion. Then, it lost balance, toppling over to the side.

    She let out a cry. Out of instinct, Yujia''s hands flew forward, grabbing the first thing that she could see: the edge of a seat. Yet that was not enough. Her body was flung over by the motion, crashing along with the carriage to the ground. Her head was thrown in one harsh movement against the carriage wall.

    There was a blank moment. The tremendous noise died away in a flash, and Yujia''s vision turned white.

    But then, she blinked, and it all faded in: the splintered wooden walls. Her body, twisted at an uncomfortable angle. Yufeng, who had fallen on top of her. The yelling and sounds of metal slashing through the air.

    Yufeng pushed herself up. Yujia gathered her wits and moved herself as well, pushing herself up. There was a pressuring pain in her head, and she lifted her hand, groaning.

    She had to get out. Yujia dragged herself to the curtain flap door, only a short distance away from her. Pushing it aside, the first thing her eyes saw was the body of a man, arrows impaled in his face and c.h.e.s.t. Blood was oozing over his skin, his eyes frozen open and glazed over.

    Yujia fell backwards. Her hands had changed from trembling to shaking. She shook her head, voice coming out hoarse as she whispered, "No."

    A wave of nausea overcame her. She could not get that image of that dead man over her mind, the image of his broken skin and bleeding face and eyes lifelessly wide in his last minutes of terror searing into her brain. She wanted to throw up. One of her hands flew up to her mouth, holding herself back as she gagged.

    Yufeng moved in front of her. She, too, pushed the flap open, just enough so that she could see what was happening outside. She took a good, long look.

    After that, Yufeng turned back to Yujia. Looking Yujia in the eyes, Yufeng said in a low voice, "We need to get out of here. There are bandits at the front and back of the group, but since we are in the middle, if we are careful enough, we can escape."

    Yujia felt her eyes watering. How could this happen? How? It was just supposed to be a calm trip back. The traveling had been going well. How did this suddenly just¡­ happen?

    Yufeng gripped a hand on Yujia''s shoulder. "Get yourself together," she ordered. "If you want to live, follow me. Now."

    With that, Yufeng pushed open the flap and slipped out, not waiting for Yujia''s response.

    Seeing this, Yujia gripped a hand on top of the other one to stop them from shaking. She squeezed her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and opened her eyes again. Yufeng was right. Staying in this carriage could only mean death. Now was not the time to cry. They had to escape.

    Yufeng was crouching down, using their bodies to hide herself from the view of the bandits and the rain of arrows, which had mostly ceased by now. Yujia followed suit, dropping to the ground. She took a tentative look at her surroundings. Yufeng was right: the carriages in front and behind hers were being pillaged by the bandits. She caught a flash of white as a bandit yanked one of her senior brothers out of the carriage, and her breath caught. She turned back to Yufeng.

    Giving a gesture of her hand, Yufeng began to crawl away. Yujia did the same. A mixture of mud and blood stained the palms of her hands and the ends of her robes. The pungent, metallic scent of blood had completely permeated the air. She could hardly breathe.

    They crawled like that, knees and hands on the ground, until they reached the edges of the last carriage. At this place, Yufeng tentatively glanced over the edge of the carriage. Yujia wasn''t sure what she saw, but she heard Yufeng curse.

    Yufeng turned to face Yujia, saying, "From here, we have to run. There are too many of them. They''ll see us as soon as we move out from behind this carriage. But there''s no other choice."

    "I can run," Yujia answered, finding as she spoke that her voice sounded oddly detached from her body for some reason.

    "Good."

    They stayed behind the carriage for just another second. Yujia''s heart felt as if it was about to leap out of her throat.

    And then, Yufeng waved her hand, leaping up and breaking out into a sprint. Yujia went after her, running faster than she had ever before. Her mind had cleared, leaving nothing to focus on except for the knowledge that she had to get away, as far as possible. Her legs moved mechanically, one after the other, pushing herself forward. Yufeng was only a few steps away from her. The two of them tore through the grass and trees, barreling into the forest.

    The sound of bandits hollering and slashing into the carriages faded into the background.

    But then, Yujia heard footsteps outside of hers and Yufeng''s, crunching in the grass and fallen leaves. She looked behind, seeing bandits¡ª five¡ª no, ten of them¡ª running after them.

    Her hopes fell.

 Chapter 336 - Bandits Capture the Artist

    It was only a matter of time.

    They ran and ran and ran, but for what purpose? It was like the time that they were running away from the servants of the Yang Villa. The difference was that while the servants were ordinary people, and that there were twists and turns in the alleyways of the city to throw them off, the ones currently chasing Yujia and Yufeng were bandits, trained to have strong physical endurance. They were also running through a forest, in the terrain and landscape that mountain bandits knew well. The two of them had no upper ground.

    So, it was just a matter of time.

    Yufeng comprehended this as well. While the bandits were still a bit of a distance away, she came to a stop. Yujia saw Yufeng pull out the dagger from earlier again, which was previously sheathed on her belt.

    Upon realizing that Yufeng intended to fight this large group of bandits all by herself, Yujia quickly cried out, "You''re sending yourself to death''s door."

    "What else can I do?" Yufeng tightened her grip around the handle of the blade. "It''s either we keep running until we fall and have no energy to fight the bandits, or fight them right now."

    Her eyebrows knitted. "It''s two versus ten. We can''t win this." She didn''t know how skilled Yufeng was, but the reality of facing off against ten people was too terrifying to consider.

    "What do you suggest, then?" Yufeng snapped.

    They were turned away from the bandits. Yujia glanced over her shoulder. The bandits had almost reached them. Now that she stopped to look at them, they had their blades strapped over their shoulders, but didn''t appear to be holding or swinging them.

    "Put the knife away before they see. From the looks of things, they don''t intend to kill us. We let them capture us. Save the dagger for an upperhand later," she quickly told Yufeng.

    Yufeng paused for a brief second before deciding that Yujia had a point. In a flash, she stuffed the knife back into her pocket.

    They turned around. The bandits had arrived, circling them.

    "Not running anymore?" one of them, with a streak of blood across his face, remarked.

    Yujia''s hands tightened into fists at her side, but she slowly relaxed them. She forced herself to look at the bandit straight in his eyes, wiping all signs of fear from her expression. Putting on a calm smile, she replied, ""What use is there in running? You were bound to catch up sooner or later."

    The one who spoke earlier seemed taken aback that she spoke with such composure. He paused for a moment, exchanged glances with one of his fellow bandits, then gestured his head backward in a sharp jerk. "You two are going to go back with us."

    "Sure." Yujia nodded her head. "Lead the way."

    The bandit froze again, observing her for a second. He then stepped forward, moving closer to her. Yujia instinctively wanted to back away, but she stopped herself. With a slow and deep breath, she stood still as he leaned forward, reaching out with his grime-covered hand. His fingers clenched around her chin and yanked it closer. His face was so close that she could smell the blood on his face.

    Taking a slow, long look, he then sneered, "A looker, ay? Our king will like you."

    Yujia kept the same expression on her face, unchanging.

    "This is the first time I''ve seen a girl like you," he snorted, "They usually be all screamin'' and kickin''. But all the easier for us." With a wave of his hand, he commanded, "Brothers, let''s go. Escort our valuable guests back to camp."

    The bandits who were circling her and Yufeng moved forward, grabbing their arms. Yujia paused, not moving. She looked to the left at the bandit who was gripping her arm, casually telling him with her eyebrows raised, "Do you mind? We can walk on our own."

    "You have to¡ª" he began to reply.

    However, the bandit standing at the front that commanded them waved his hand dismissively, interrupting, "If they want to walk by themselves, let them. Just keep an eye out and don''t let them run!"

    Roughly, the bandit dropped his hold on her arm. The one "escorting" Yufeng did the same.

    As they began their trek back to the roads and presumably the camp, Yujia looked over at Yufeng. Yufeng seemed to be quietly observing the bandits, so Yujia looked back at the path ahead of her.

    ¡­

    Eventually, they walked back to the main road.

    As they reached there, Yujia had a good look at the destruction the bandits'' pillaging had caused. The carriages were toppled over. Some of them were yanked open, c.h.e.s.ts of belongings carried out and stacked upon each other. Bodies of servants and drivers had fallen to the ground, a bloody mess.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_11701767605489305/bandits-capture-the-artist_52439461266514306">#!_11701767605489305/bandits-capture-the-artist_52439461266514306</a> for visiting.

    Yujia''s hands slowly flew down to a pocket on the inner side of her outer robes. She placed her hands over it, checking to see if the belongings were still in there. She could feel two pieces of jade, and at that, her heart calmed by just a little.

    Ever since the time that she almost lost the seal stamps Zixu gifted her on the boat, she kept them both in a pocket in her robes. They were safer there. And now, she was glad she made that decision.

    Her eyes traveled a little further, seeing a group of young men being rounded up by the bandits. As she stared at that crowd, she recognized the faces of her senior and junior brothers. She saw Rong Yuan and Jiang Muyun amongst them. Her eyes met with Ye Yunhe''s.

    His eyes widened when he saw her, and though he parted his mouth, he took a slow look at the group of bandits that surrounded her. Then, he held himself back from yelling out any words. He gave her a silent nod. She gave him a nod back.

    They acknowledged to each other that they were safe, right at this moment. In fact, the rest of her fellow disciples all appeared, for the most part, unharmed.

    This made Yujia let out another breath of relief. Yet still, she could not help but feel sick to the stomach when she saw all the dead bodies on the ground.

    Seeing a dead body in real life wasn''t like seeing it in a film. It was raw. Brutal. Messier. And much more¡ª so much more¡ª sickening.

    She forced herself to speak, asking the bandit leading the group, "What are you going to do to the others over there?" She gestured with her head at her fellow disciples.

    The bandit looked over, then answered, "They all seem young and healthy. We''ll probably put them to work; maybe hold a few hostage if they come from decent families."

    Yujia''s fingernails dug into her palm as she informed, "They are all from respectable families. If you keep them safe for ransom, you will definitely win a good price."

    "Is that so?" The bandit turned back to look at her. "And how do you know? Who are they to you? One of them your husband?"

    "No," she replied plainly, "merely friends that I was traveling with."

    "Friends, eh?" He swung the blade on his shoulder down, dragging it in the grass behind him. Yujia noticed the rusted blood stained on it. "And are you of any young miss, young lady of some big family?" He eyed her up and down, observing her robes.

    "If I was, would that make any difference for what you plan to do with me?" she responded to his question with another question.

    "Nah." He shook his head and laughed. Yujia had a good look at his crooked, yellowing teeth. "We haven''t found any pretty girls like you in a while now. Our king will be pleased with our find this time. We won''t be letting you go back to some family, even with the ransom paid."

    Yujia blinked, then smiled. "Alright, then."

    Seeing her calm response to his words, the bandit almost appeared a bit unnerved. It was as if he wanted to see her struggling and crying. He bit his thumb and said, "You know, you''re a strange one."

    "Is that so?" She kept that smile. "You did say that cooperative ones make it easier for you, didn''t you?"

    "But none as¡­ cooperative as you." He shook his head, then barked, "Whatever. Back to the camp."

    As soon as he turned away, Yujia let out another breath, wiping her palms against the side of her robes. This was the hardest act that she had to put on yet, but she hoped that this plan¡ª a plan that she had thought of at the split second where she told Yufeng to hide her blade¡ª worked.

 Chapter 337 - Observational Plans of the Artist

    Yujia went on an unplanned hiking trip.

    The mountain climb would''ve honestly been decent if there weren''t men holding large, sharp, and bloodied blades surrounding her. Thankfully, although their eyes were all glued on her for the first few minutes of the walk, soon enough, they came to the assumption that she was truly not going to run away, going to mess around and chat with their fellow bandits instead. With their focus no longer so strictly on her, Yujia took this time to allow her eyes to wander around. She observed the bandits, but more so the path that they were traveling on. There was no distinct road, so she wanted to keep track of any notable landmarks that they might pass. The information might come to use later.

    It was just tragic that she was completely clueless when it came to directions.

    Regardless, Yujia tried. She tried all the way until they arrived at the camp that the bandits had talked about earlier. It turned out, by "camp", they meant an enclosure with wooden gates and watchtowers. The height of the gate walls were a little taller than her, but nothing too tall. Overall, the camp was much bigger than she had imagined, but definitely not as drastically large as a full town. It seemed more like a temporary fortress than anything.

    The sun was still up when they arrived, but it was close to becoming dawn. The sky began to hold hints of gold. Yujia took note of that too.

    Since they arrived, Yujia, Yufeng, and the rest were herded through an entrance guarded by a few bandits. All this time, Yunhe and the rest of the disciples were traveling behind her. At this point, once they entered the camp, they split up. Yujia was moved to the path on the left, while the others went to the right. Only Yufeng stuck with her.

    Most of the bandits seemed to have tasks of their own to complete, so they moved away as well. Only two were left to escort Yujia and Yufeng, walking them to a wooden house. As they swung open a loose door without a padlock, a musty wood smell came from the interior. Yujia wrinkled her nose. The scent was quite strong.

    Continuing her act of cooperation, she went into the small house. There was hay covering the floor and essentially nothing else. It might as well have been a stable, she supposed.

    Once she was in, one of the two bandits nudged the other with his elbow, asking, "Should we just leave them here?"

    They looked at her. Yujia made her expression into a friendly smile.

    "She don''t look like the type to run away, don''t you think?" the other muttered under his breath.

    "Just what I was thinking. But¡­" He hesitated for a moment. Then, he went outside for a second, bringing back two coils of rope. "We should do this in case."

    Yujia''s expression fell when she saw the ropes, but she quickly regained her composure before the bandits noticed it. This would make escaping certainly a bit more difficult. She should have expected it, however. These bandits were used to tying up their victims, who would usually be thrashing around at this moment. Even if she was oddly complacent, it was natural for them to carry out their typical habits.

    Thus, Yujia still remained the same. She held out her hands, cooperating even more as the bandit wound up the ropes around her wrist. To Yufeng, the other bandit was doing the same thing. Then, they gestured for her to get near a wide wooden pole that helped to hold up the building''s ceiling and sit down. Yufeng sat on the other side of her. They took out an even larger coil of rope, wrapping it around her, Yufeng, and the pole so that they were stuck there. Yujia subconsciously tensed up a bit as they did so.

    Now that they were fixed in place, the bandits stopped. Asking the other one for advice again, one said, "We don''t need to¡­ stuff their mouths with anything, right?"

    "Do you see them screaming or crying right now?"

    "No."

    "Well then, why do extra work like that?" The bandit who said that leaned forward, tapping Yujia. "You and the other one don''t start screaming, and we don''t mute you, fair?"

    "Sure." She smiled.

    The bandit paused for a moment. "Damn," he muttered, "it is kinda creepy that they''re like this." He leaned back.

    The other one replied, "I been thinking that since the start. As long as our king likes the pretty one?"

    "What about the ugly one?"

    "You think she''s ugly? I think she''s not half bad."

    "You can take her then!" He chuckled, smacking the other bandit on the back. "Tonight, after the feast. They should give you first dibs for our guarding work."

    "Then, I''ll thank Brother for your generosity." The bandit approached Yufeng''s side. "You want to keep my bed warm tonight?"

    Although Yujia could not see what happened, she heard the noise of the brief shuffling of fabric. And then, there was a large yelp from the bandit as he jumped back. Yujia turned her head and saw him grabbing his hand, red blood trickling down from it. The red was bright, nothing like the other crusted blood on his skin and sword from the people he had hurt.

    "I''d pull out your teeth for that, b*tch." The bandit seethed, still tightly clutching his hand. His companion stepped forward, but the bandit shook his head. "But I won''t. I don''t want to make that unattractive face of yours even uglier."

    Yufeng replied, her tone light, "I would have cut off your hands if I could."

    He laughed. "As if you could."

    Yujia could not see Yufeng''s expression at this moment, but she imagined a smirk across her face. And though the bandit only saw it as a joke, from what she knew of Yufeng, that young woman was not joking when she said that she would do it. Yufeng never joked when her tone was like that: quiet but deadly.

    "Well, at least this one got some spirit. I''ll have fun with you tonight. Just you wait," he spat.

    With that, the two exited the room, slamming the door shut.

    Once they were gone, Yufeng immediately muttered in a voice low enough, "What''s your plan?"

    She was straight to the point, so Yujia didn''t bother asking what exactly happened for Yufeng to bite that bandit or for those threats to be exchanged either. "As I expected," Yujia replied, her voice equally low, "because of our cooperative act, they won''t guard us too tightly. From their words, those two will be the only ones outside of this specific door. There''s no lock. We just need to get rid of these ropes. Tonight, there is a feast. They will likely be distracted by that, so that is our only and last chance, to escape."

    She was glad that Yufeng and her were tied so closely, only separated back-to-back by a pole. They could communicate quietly without the bandits outside from catching on.

    Yufeng informed, swiftly, "The main entrance and exit of the camp is through the gate we came through. However, there is a smaller door towards our right. Two bandits guard that door. It has less of a risk than the main door, but the area around it is entirely open space. It would be difficult to reach there without being noticed."

    "Yet less of a risk?" Yujia pursed her lips together.

    "The main door has watchtowers nearby. There are three bandits up each tower. It has four bandits that cycle in shifts around the gate. The chances that they notice an escape are high as well, and it would be more difficult to handle so many bandits. Thus, more risk."

    Yujia marveled, silently, at how Yufeng gathered all of that information and kept the numbers of bandits in her brain through the brief few moments that they passed through the area.

    "So, side door it is," Yujia ended up agreeing. "How fast can you get out of these bonds?"

    "Less than five minutes."

    "Good. We should stay like this for now, then, so they don''t notice."

    "I was thinking the same."

    Now that they had communicated the main gist of their plan, the two of them fell silent. Yujia, who had relaxed from her tense position, found the ropes that were tightly wrapped around her earlier becoming looser. Though her hands were still tightly bound together, she could at least move her whole body by a little.

    In the silence, as they waited for time to pass by, she had time to contemplate the events that happened up till now. Maybe it was because all that acting occurred, but she was much calmer now than when the bandits'' ambush first broke out. She was still terrified, for sure, but at least now, her hands were not trembling. It was just so unbelievable, to her, that she was currently in this situation.

    But, well, at least she had an even more exciting story to tell Zixu. As soon as that thought popped into her mind, Yujia realized that she would facepalm if she could move her arms at how ridiculous that positive light was.

    Her mind, then, inadvertently traveled off to her fellow disciples. She wondered how they fared ever since they went off in the opposite direction.

    "What will happen to my senior and junior brothers?" she brought herself to ask Yufeng in a whisper, though she knew the answer already.

    "They''ll have to fend for themselves. We don''t have the privilege to track down where they went and save them as well," Yufeng responded.

    Yujia squeezed her eyes shut. As expected, that answer. She drew in a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. Perhaps a part of her delusion was that Yufeng, the multi-talented Yufeng, could think of a way to save all of them, yet then she realized that this was not a fanciful daydream, but rather a brutal reality. And to escape this reality, she could no longer have any more hesitation. Yufeng had been working all this time to ensure their safety. She needed to play her part as well.Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_11701767605489305/observational-plans-of-the-artist_52497996838913208">#!_11701767605489305/observational-plans-of-the-artist_52497996838913208</a> for visiting.

 Chapter 338 - Escape 2.0 for the Artistâ€™s Life

    From the cracks of light that shone through the wooden planks, Yujia could see night slowly fall. The light of the sun was replaced by the light of men carrying torches.

    And then, the time came.

    Yufeng had sawed through the ropes on her wrist. Because of the way the bandits tied her, she had perfect access to grabbing the knife she had hidden earlier in her robes. It only took some time to unbind her hands, and even less time to chop off the ropes around the pole. Once she was free, she helped to cut away the ropes around Yujia''s wrists as well.  Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#!_11701767605489305/escape-2.0-for-the-artist%E2%80%99s-life_52682026003790670">#!_11701767605489305/escape-2.0-for-the-artist%E2%80%99s-life_52682026003790670</a> for visiting.

    The success of escaping these binds was likely due to Yujia''s advice of hiding the knife. Yujia could only imagine how much more difficult it would be if the bandits didn''t underestimate them from the start, like they were doing right now.

    Once they were free, and once it was night, it was time to escape.

    Yufeng and Yujia both crouched by the door, listening to the noises outside. When there were sounds of one of the bandits stepping away, perhaps temporarily to check on something, that was when Yufeng pushed down the door. Yujia didn''t hear what happened afterwards, but she heard half a cry, silenced by the following sound of a blade slicing through skin.

    The body fell backwards, into the doorway. Yujia, who had been sitting by the side, flinched backwards as it was thrown inside, her eyes catching the gutted red line carved deep into that bandit''s throat. He was still alive, gurgling, fingers clutched up to his neck, and Yujia could only look away as that bandit choked on his own blood.

    There were more sounds. One pair of footsteps crunching against the grass as he returned back, the same half cry, the same slicing sound. This time, that bandit was not tossed back. Yufeng dragged him into the wooden shack herself, then threw him against the wooden pole. He was the one, Yujia recognized, that touched Yufeng and threatened to pull Yufeng''s teeth out.

    "Didn''t I say that I would cut off your hands?" Yufeng whispered to the bandit.

    Yujia could only look away again as Yufeng lifted the bandit''s own sword up to his wrists. A chopping sound of blade cleaving through flesh and slamming against wood rang in Yujia''s ears.

    Once those two bandits were taken care of, it was time for them to run.

    A path was lit by torches within the camp, yet they walked amongst the shadows, darting from wall to wall and using the buildings the bandits built as cover. It was a risky act, and Yujia followed Yufeng carefully. She found that with every step that she took, it was like stepping on a landmine. She feared the sound of grass crunching under her feet, the sound of accidentally bumping into a barrel, the sound of footsteps approaching and passing by without notice.

    Despite all of this and out of her expectations, they made their way to the exit without being noticed.Now came the hard part. Or, Yujia supposed, it would be hard for Yufeng, and not necessarily her.

    Yufeng and her crouched in the shadows behind a building. It was a place that conveniently had a few barrels to block the view from behind, while the arrangement of torches allowed no light to touch where the two stood. They observed the two guards at the exit, a good few yards of open space away. Both of the guards clutched open jugs of wine by their side, likely their compensation for having to guard on the night of a banquet.

    The bandits should''ve realized that handing guards alcohol was not the wisest choice. They would only realize, however, in the next moments that were to happen, when it was too late.

    One moment Yufeng was standing next to her, and in the next blink of an eye, she was gone. Yujia''s eye could only catch the flash of a shadow. Yufeng was faster than anything Yujia had witnessed before when the two were running together.

    With another blink, Yufeng had already reached the guards. One was turned around from her, and he had his neck slit first. Before that other guard could even call out an alarm, Yufeng had grabbed the sword of the bandit she had just killed¡ª it had been propped up on the wall by the side¡ª swinging it as it ripped into the arm of the bandit. He dropped his own sword in shock, and likely before he even realized what had happened, the blade dragged through his neck. He crumpled to the floor.

    It was different to see Yufeng kill in person, with her own two eyes. Yufeng moved with machine-like speed and precision, every move calculated, efficient, and deadly. This was not something that an average person could accomplish. Nor was it something achievable by even the most athletic of people, without experience. How many times had Xie Yufeng practiced the art of killing, to the point where she could take care of two armed men within a minute''s time?

    The thought was terrifying.

    Yet Yujia didn''t have time to be scared, or to think much about it at all. Yujia merely ran, pushing herself up and away from the barrels, across the open ground. Yufeng had pushed open the gate doors, and once Yujia was there, out they went.

    For the first few moments of running, there was only the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears. They were running into darkness, away from the light of the camp, into a forest of shadows. It was a moonless night; not even the light of the stars could illuminate the direction they went in. Perhaps because of Yujia''s lack of ability to see anything, the heartbeat in her ears seemed even louder. Or perhaps it was just the fear and adrenaline doing its job.

    The beating drowned out when Yujia felt something touch her hand: the warmth of another hand. It was Yufeng, reaching back for her.

    Yujia took the hand, and onwards they went.

    Unlike last time, Yujia didn''t hear any footsteps behind her. This knowledge was only a temporary relief, upon realizing that in another second, the bandits could realize that their brothers had been slain and that their hostages had escaped. They would send their men after them. Yujia knew this for sure.

    Because of this uncertainty, the two of them ran on, for as far as they could, for as long as they could. Yufeng''s hand was tightly gripped around Yujia''s, their fingers locked, as she led the way.

    Finally, after much running, they saw light ahead.

    It was not firelight, but rather what looked like the sort of pale light that would come from the sky, signaling an opening from the forest. The two went that way, parting through the thick bushes and branches, until they stumbled out into the opening.

    It was not something to celebrate for more than a split second. For before Yujia could even look ahead of her, her feet slipped. Down she lurched.

    They had rushed right to the broken edge of a cliff, and now, Yujia was falling.

 Chapter 339 - The Artist is Falling

    Just like everything else from this day, it all happened faster than Yujia could process it.

    She was falling through the air for just the briefest of a second. Then, there was a sharp jolt.

    Yujia looked up. Feet dangling weightlessly, she was hanging in the air. The only thing keeping her from falling was her hand, tightly clenched around Xie Yufeng''s.

    Yufeng had saved her life, but¡ª

    A sliver of faint light from the stars was just enough for Yujia to see Yufeng grabbing onto the edge of the cliff they had just stumbled off of. Yufeng had lurched over the cliff too, the only thing keeping them suspended in the air being her hand on the edge.

    Yufeng glanced down at her, gritting her teeth. "Hold on to my hand," Yufeng ordered. Her voice, for the first time, sounded breathless to Yujia. "Don''t let go."

    Yujia''s palms were sweating. Or was it Yufeng''s?

    She couldn''t find a voice to respond to Yufeng with. She could barely breathe. She could barely think, even.

    She was hanging at the edge of a cliff. It was a cliff that hung over a chasm of darkness. She couldn''t see how high up it was, with the shadows that swallowed her feet, but she wouldn''t have the guts to look down either.

    Yufeng was hanging, too. Yufeng was hanging for her life at the cliff''s edge, but she was hanging for Yujia''s life as well. If she fell, Yujia, too, would fall.

    At this point, both of Yujia''s hands had gone up, holding onto Yufeng''s hand. They were trembling. Every fiber of her muscles were tensed, strained. She could not let go. She could not let go. She could not let go.

    Yet simultaneously, with such pain, she could already envision herself falling. It only took a slip of a hand, a moment of hanging that went past their strength. And then, she would be falling, falling, and falling.

    She could not let go.

    As Yujia held on for her life, she felt Yufeng''s attempts to pull them upwards. It was of no use. Yufeng may have been strong, but she was clutching the crumbling edges of a cliff by the fingertips of one hand, all the while another person''s weight dragged her down. Yujia was not sure for how much longer she could hang on either.

    It was impossible to hang on forever. It was even more impossible to expect Yufeng to pull them up, back to safety. It would be a different matter if Yujia was not weighing Yufeng down.

    Yujia''s lips parted. She could not let go.

    Or¡ª could she?

    There were only two options: she could sacrifice her life to let Yufeng save herself, or both of them would fall to their doom.

    She knew this. Yufeng knew this as well.

    A leaf that fluttered past in the wind caught in Yujia''s hair. An extra heartbeat skipped in her c.h.e.s.t. Resolute passed through her gaze.

    She could let go. She needed to let go.

    Slowly, Yujia let her second hand drop, so that she was only hanging onto Yufeng by one hand.

    Immediately after feeling this, Yufeng yelled, "What are you doing?"

    It was difficult to find her voice, but she did. With something caught between a harsh whisper and a breath of air, Yujia told Yufeng, "Let go of me."

    Yufeng''s head twisted towards her again. "Are you insane? I''m not going to. I can pull us up. Just¡ª I''m not going to let you fall. I''m not going to let us fall."

    "Yufeng," Yujia said, finding her voice rising, "you know you can''t. Not with me like this. Let go of me. Save yourself. Please."

    "I won''t¡ª" Yufeng''s hands tightened around Yujia''s even more, her nails digging into Yujia''s skin.

    Yujia found words tumbling out of her mouth in a rush. "I beg of you, please¡ª let go of me. I need you to save yourself. I can''t drag you down with me. You just¡ª please¡ª let go."

    "If I let go now, I can''t live with this guilt."

    "There''s no other choice. You have to." Her last words came out loud and sharp, something close to a yell.

    Yufeng replied back, her voice equally loud with a shout, "YANG YUJIA! Today on this cliff, I swear that I will never let you go. If we''re falling, we''re falling together."

    "Yufeng¡ª"

    Yujia''s words were cut short. She saw something above. A flicker of light. Yellow light. Light from a torch.

    There were sounds. Footsteps. People were coming. They were running through the forests.

    People. Bandits?

    Yujia couldn''t afford to care as of this moment.

    At the top of her lungs, she hollered, "HELP! HELP US."

    The burning light grew brighter. She could hear the voices of men. The footsteps, along with the voices, grew louder.

    And then, she felt the sensation of being pulled up.

    It was like a miracle, but Yujia didn''t have time to let out a breath of relief. If these were bandits, her and Yufeng could be going from one life-threatening situation to the next.

    But when she was finally pulled over the ledge, her knees touching soft grass again, she saw the faces of those who had saved her. Illuminated by the golden light of their torches, they were men dressed in the armor and uniform of soldiers.

    One of the soldiers held his arm out, helping her up. Another helped Yufeng to her feet.

    The one facing Yujia asked, "You¡ª what are you two women doing on a mountain like this?"

    Yujia''s eyes were fixed on his, scanning his face over and over again. "You are soldiers. You all are soldiers," she spoke breathlessly. "Not bandits." Her hand gripped tightly around his arm.

    "No, not bandits," he replied. "We are loyal soldiers that serve Xiang."

    Hearing this confirmation, Yujia felt a breath that she had been holding escape her. Her entire body was trembling, so much. Her legs felt weak; her knees could collapse under her at any moment.

    Before she could fall over, Yujia let go of the soldier''s arm. Then, she spun to Yufeng, pulling Yufeng into a hug. Yujia buried her face into Yufeng''s shoulder. She felt Yufeng''s arms wrapping around her as well, pulling Yujia even closer.

    For the first time, Yujia could feel her own face again. She finally noticed the salted tears running down her cheeks. Even if she tried, she couldn''t stop them from spilling out. They were tears coming from somewhere deep inside of her, tugging at her heartstrings. The tears fell and fell and fell.

    They were safe.

    It felt like a dream.

 Chapter 340 - To Enter a Safe Camp With the Artist

    Yujia & Yufeng were escorted back to the camp where the soldiers resided. With soldiers carrying torches to light the path ahead of them, the dark forest no longer seemed as terrifying. Yet still, Yujia was gripping Yufeng''s hand, unwilling to let go.

    As they walked through parted woods, one of the soldiers explained to her, "You should consider yourselves lucky. If we had not been there just in time¡­"

    His words trailed off, but Yujia knew exactly what he implied.

    She was truly ready to fall to her death moments ago. Her heart had set. She was fully prepared to sacrifice herself to save Yufeng''s life.

    But now, she was walking on solid ground, on a path to safety.

    To consider herself lucky was almost an understatement. She was someone who had escaped death''s grasp by a mere hair''s breadth.

    "What are you all¡ª soldiers¡ª doing in this mountain?" she ended up asking the soldier who had spoken to her.

    "You muttered bandits earlier, didn''t you? These bandits had been terrorizing all passersby in these mountain paths the past few days. We are sent, by imperial decree, to rid & ambush the bandits. Another part of our team has already gone to take care of the main bandit camp. Our team was supposed to be patrolling these mountains for any anomalies, which is how we found you two," he answered her.

    "I see." Yujia exhaled. "We were actually captured by the bandits as well. We were escaping, and then we stumbled off the cliff. I cannot express my gratitude enough¡­ for saving us."

    "No need. We just did what was morally correct. And, I figured that you two were abducted by those bandits. It''s odd to find women like you two in these areas."

    "It must be." Yujia looked down.

    After hearing the explanation of this soldier, she admitted that she felt more relieved. Another group of the soldiers had gone to take care of the main bandit camp, which meant that Ye Yunhe and the other disciple brothers would also likely be saved soon.

    In the end, they would all be safe.

    In the middle of these thoughts, the feet of the men ahead of her suddenly stopped. Yujia turned her head up.

    The group had arrived at a clearing in the forest. In contrast with the bandit camp, however, it was not a fenced in space. Instead, there was a bonfire at the center of the clearing, a single tent behind it, a flag of Xiang behind the tent, and a few soldiers standing around. The setup was clearly a temporary camp, which matched with what the soldier had informed her about.

    This relaxed Yujia a bit more. She had to admit that even after being saved, she still had her suspicions. At this point, it was difficult for her to trust anyone, even men dressed and acting like soldiers. However, once she saw the camp and flag, it won a little bit more of her trust.

    "When do you estimate that the bandits will be vanquished? And the other hostages can be saved?" she turned and asked the soldier again.

    He thought for a moment, scratching his chin. "In a few hours, I suppose? In the meantime¡­ Miss, can we get you some water, some food, or maybe some bedding for rest?"

    She looked at the soldier, tired weariness plain across her face. "I think rest is all we need. Thank you."

    ¡­

    The tent was reserved for the commander of the soldiers, Yujia heard. However, from within it, they fetched a few rolls of blankets, stacking it upon a grassy area under a tree. Yujia didn''t take long to sit on it, leaning her head back against the trunk of the tree. Yufeng did the same.

    Neither of them said anything. Yujia imagined that they were both too exhausted to speak.

    ¡­

    In around half an hour''s time, a messenger soldier rushed into the camp, carrying the scent of blood on him. He seemed to have something he wanted to report.

    That was when the commander of the soldiers stepped out of the tent for the first time.

    Yujia, who had been observing the messenger soldier, noticed the commander immediately when he exited the tent. He was dressed in not armor, but fitted black robes embroidered with golden threads. When he stepped out, his chin was tilted up by a degree¡ª not enough to appear arrogant, but paired with the way he held himself, carried a regal air. He peered at the messenger with hooded eyelids, lips parting in a slight yawn.

    "My prince¡ª good news¡ª" she heard the messenger exclaim.

    So, a prince?

    Yujia observed this man a little closer.

    She wasn''t familiar about the princes of the empire, but she knew that they were likely young. The man who stood before her now looked to be in his thirties. She guessed that he was not a prince through being a son of the Emperor; the chances of him being given a prince title was higher.

    Yet regardless, this prince was a member of the imperial family. It was the first time that Yujia had seen royalty in person, so she was certainly curious about this man.

    That was when she glanced over at Yufeng and noticed Yufeng''s expression.

    It was a look that she had never seen on Yufeng''s face before. Her expression was flat, but Yufeng stared at the prince even more intensely than Yujia. It was almost as if she recognized and knew him. As Yujia looked at Yufeng some more, she noticed subtle parts of Yufeng''s expression¡ª parts that she would not have noticed if not for observing so carefully. Yufeng''s jaw was tensed, the muscles of her face even more rigid, as if she was trying her best to hold back any signs of emotion. Yujia''s eyes traveled down to Yufeng''s hands. They were clenched, fingernails digging deeply into skin.

    If there was one word that she could give to describe the emotion she was witnessing Yufeng experience right now, Yujia didn''t have to think to settle on one.

    It was hate.

    Pure, undeniable, and seething hatred.

 Chapter 341 - A Safe Reunion of the Artist

    Yujia swore that if anyone looked at her with such a gaze, she would be dead by now. Furthermore, it was Yufeng, out of all people.

    It wasn''t like Yufeng ever hesitated to hide any of her emotions from Yujia. Most of the time, when she was happy, she would laugh. When she was frustrated, she would frown. When she was irritated, she would roll her eyes. And still, never had she seen Yufeng wearing this current expression, one where she carried so much seething rage yet simultaneously sought to suppress it.

    Suddenly, Yufeng''s words from far, far ago came echoing back to Yujia.

    "There are only two people in this world which I hate."

    Could it be?

    Seeing how the prince that just emerged from the tent was about to glance in their direction, Yujia quickly reached over a hand, gripping Yufeng''s arm. Yufeng flinched at the touch, her expression immediately dropping.

    The anger vanished within a split second.

    It was startling how quickly Yufeng masked over her animosity. In fact, Yujia could even compare it to that of Zixu''s near-perfect control of expressions.

    Just as Yufeng''s expression vanished, the prince turned in their direction, beginning to walk over. Another soldier rushed over, kneeling and clasping his hands to report, "My prince, those two are hostages we saved."

    She rose up from her sitting position, then lowered herself back down to her knees, knocking her head on the ground. "This common citizen greets the Prince." As she did so, she felt Yufeng shift behind her, masking more of herself in the shadows of the night and the tree and bowing as well.

    The prince asked the soldier, "How are these hostages here before we have saved the rest?"

    "Reporting back to the Prince, we found them in the forest, while they were escaping."

    "How can two girls escape a guarded bandit''s camp?" The prince had a mellow voice. When he spoke, there wasn''t much of a rise or fall with his inflection. Yet with these words, it was clear that his suspicions of them had risen. "Raise your head," he commanded.

    Yujia could only listen, raising her torso, but not meeting her gaze with his. It would be considered an offense to look him in the eyes.

    "Explain how you escaped," he continued with an order.

    For the briefest moment, she paused.

    She didn''t know much about this prince. If Yufeng regarded him with so much antagonism, he had to have done something to hurt Yufeng in the past. Even if she did not know their backstory, she knew what kind of person Yufeng was. Yufeng never held grudges against an innocent person. They had to have wronged her somehow. And to wrong Yufeng¡­ did that not make him a dangerous man?

    If she gave the wrong response, what would happen to her?

    Yujia blinked. She drew in a breath.

    If Zixu was in this situation, she would deal with this man calmly.

    And so, she let his mask of calmness settle over her. With a slight dip of her head and her hands folded in front of her, she responded, "Reporting back to the Prince, my maid and I were kept in a separate room from the rest. The bandits that were guarding us were drunk, so we managed to sneak out without their notice. It was luck and timing that got us out of there."

    She could''ve taken on the emotions of a naive girl. That girl would''ve been blubbering, tears welling up in her eyes, and terror stricken across her face.

    But Yujia knew¡ª and she was sure the prince in front of her did as well ¡ª that even if they were lucky, even if the guards were drunk, a girl that was scared out of her wits would not be able to even think of escaping. It took composure, a brain that was capable of thinking straight even during high pressure situations, to do so. And so, composure she had to show him.

    She hoped that this analysis was correct.

    The prince did not respond at first. She felt his eyes scan her up and down.

    Then, he said, "Look up at me."

    Yujia faltered for a moment. She raised her eyes slowly, until they met his gaze.

    He leaned over, head arching over hers as he observed her face carefully. Then, his eyebrows raised, ever-so-slightly, as he stated, "Is that fresh blood?"

    To anyone else, it may have sounded like he was noting if she was injured. Except, Yujia knew that he wasn''t asking about her well-being. He wanted to know if it was someone else''s blood. He wanted to know if she killed anyone.

    She made sure that her face didn''t allow any ounce of hesitation or wariness to slip through. As easy as it always was to lie, she tilted her head, then answered, "It is not. Earlier on, when the bandits attacked the carriages, I got some of the blood of the servants on me."

    Now, a corner of his lip curled up.

    "Alright," he mused, "alright. And who did you say you were?"

    "This common citizen is nothing more than a simple disciple of Lingxin Pavilion, Prince." She bowed again. "I pray for the safe return of my fellow disciples."

    "Safe return shall be guaranteed for them," he said in a brisk reply.

    It seemed like he had enough. Yujia caught the corner of his robe shifting, and he was gone, walking off across the camp.

    Once he was finally gone, Yujia raised her head again. Her palms had been sweating. She glanced back at Yufeng. Yufeng''s expression was grave.

    "You know him," she said to Yufeng. Statement. Not question.

    Yufeng looked at Yujia. "I suppose." She glanced back down. "You replied well back there."

    ¡­

    It wasn''t like Yufeng wanted to talk more, so Yujia again, chose not to press for more details.

    Within the next hour, she rose up again, this time from sounds of a troop returning back. Blood was in the air again. Yet this time, it was a relief to see the soldiers.

    In the middle of them, escorted, were her senior and junior brothers. Yujia didn''t hold back from rushing to them. They were safe. All of them. Ye Yunhe, Jiang Muyun, Rong Yuan¡­

    She pulled Yunhe into a hug. It wasn''t proper decorum, but she could not care. It seemed like Yunhe didn''t either.

    ¡­

    All seemed to be good again.

    The soldiers promised that they would set off the mountains tomorrow morning, and that most of the looted items the bandits stole could be returned. They were truly, truly all safe.

    But as Yujia rested, her head on her arm as a pillow, eyes squeezed shut, she could not find herself falling asleep. It wasn''t because of her lack of trust for the army, or because of the discomfort of sleeping on the ground, but rather¡­

    Flashbacks.

    Flashbacks to earlier that day rang in her mind. The crashing sounds, the metallic scent of blood, the look of that dead corpse of the carriage driver, lying like a limp doll, arrows studded within his flesh. Then, there were more recent memories, the ones with the bodies of the bandits tumbling back through the doorway, the crimson cut of Yufeng''s knife clear across their necks, the gurgling sound of their blood rising up their throats¡­

    She could not stop those images from rising up in her mind. It was horrendous. She wanted them out, away from her memory, so, so, so, so much.

    And yet they kept replaying, like a stuck tape.

    She knew these feelings well. She recognized them. It was the same as the water, that goddamned water, which she thought she had gotten out of her brain by now. Except this time, instead of drowning in a bottomless river, she was drowning in the stench of blood.

    Her eyes flew open.

    She could not take this anymore. Laying down, trying to fall asleep when she clearly couldn''t, only allowed those thoughts to remain longer in her mind. She had to do something¡ª take a walk, wash her hands, find something else to think about¡ª anything.

    The night was quiet. No one else was awake, save for a guard soldier facing away from her, in the far opposite distance of the camp.

    That was when Yujia noticed Yufeng.

    Yujia immediately pushed herself up, grabbing Yufeng''s arm. Yufeng flung around, facing her.

    "What are you doing?" Yujia hissed under her breath.

    "Going to kill a person," Yufeng replied, not an ounce of emotion across her face.

 Chapter 342 - The Artistâ€™s Attempt to Stop Someone From Committing Murder

    "You''ve gone crazy," Yujia whispered, drawing in a sharp breath. She didn''t need to guess to know who Yufeng wanted to kill. Without letting go of Yufeng''s arm, she continued, "Do you have any idea how ridiculous this idea is? You ¡ª you, armed with one small dagger ¡ª are trying to kill a member of the imperial family, in a camp full of soldiers that follow his every order?"

    Yufeng didn''t relent. "I''m going to do it."

    "You can''t do it," Yujia insisted.

    "How do you know?" Yufeng''s eyebrow twitched upwards. "You don''t know me."

    Yujia admitted that she was a bit taken aback by the statement. She faltered for just a moment, her heart wincing, before ending up saying, "You and I, we''ve been through life and death together."

    "Then consider it a favor, and let me go do what I need to do."

    "I won''t let you go send yourself to death''s door¡ª"

    Yufeng turned away, exhaling deeply. "If you''re afraid that I will drag you down, don''t worry. Even if I get caught, you won''t be brought into any of this. You''ll be safe."

    What was that supposed to mean?

    Yujia let out a scoff, her lips curling up, even though it was clear by her gaze that she was anything but joyful. "Do you really think that poorly of me? If I was that selfish, on the cliff, would I have told you to let go of my hand?"

    Yufeng now paused. For a moment, she didn''t seem to come to an answer, and Yujia could tell by the shift of the look in her eyes that the emotions within Yufeng changed, ever-so-slightly. Yufeng looked down, muttering, "I never asked you to do that."

    Hand moving down, Yujia grabbed Yufeng''s hand. She repeated the words that Yufeng told her, only hours ago, on the cliff.

    "If we''re falling, we''re falling together."

    Yujia then drew in another breath before adding on, her voice slow, "I won''t let you go kill him. Not because I care about my life, but I care about yours. When you told me those words on the cliff, did you not mean that you would not let me die, at the cost of your own life? That is how I feel now."

    Yufeng, with her free hand, covered part of her face, squeezing her eyes shut. Both of their voices were low, but Yufeng began to speak faster now, her tone carrying a sense of urgency. "You don''t understand. This is quite possibly one of the only chances I have to do this. I don''t know when another opportunity like this will come again. I need to¡ª I must¡ª"

    "Not now." Yujia shook her head. She kept her calm, so that Yufeng would not feel further agitated. "There is still a long time ahead of us. Right now, don''t rush ahead without thinking. Take things slow. And I will be here for you. You''re not alone."

    "Why?" Yufeng looked up now, eyes scanning over Yujia''s.

    It was a one-word question. It seemed simple enough. Yet with another thought, Yujia realized that Yufeng must''ve never heard something like this from another person.

    Although Yufeng put on the appearance of someone too straightforward for her own good, she kept more secrets than anyone. Despite all the time that Yujia had known her, she actually didn''t know much about who Yufeng truly was. All these secrets¡­ Yufeng must''ve had to shoulder them by herself. They weighed her down, but she never dared to tell them to anyone else. She was alone all this time, never having another person on her side.

    Yujia knew what kind of answer she should give.

    "Well," she pressed her lips into a smile as she answered, "I just consider us family. And I wouldn''t let family face all this by themselves."

    After saying this, Yujia took a glance at the soldier standing patrol on the opposite side of the camp. He was still facing away. Their hushed conversation was most likely too quiet for him to hear. But still, it wouldn''t be good for him to catch a glimpse of the light reflecting off of Yufeng''s blade.

    "Put that away now, alright? Let''s sit down and talk," Yujia gently advised.

    She nudged her head in the direction of Yufeng''s dagger. Then, she looked up, catching a glimmer of something sliding down Yufeng''s cheek.

    Tears?

    This was bad. Yujia wasn''t good at dealing with crying people.

    Before she could think, she ended up blurting, "Skies, don''t cry." She then reached for both of Yufeng''s arms. "Let''s sit down, okay?"

    Yufeng followed her, sitting down, and indeed putting away her knife. She then raised a hand up, fingers grazing against the tear. Looking down at her hand, Yufeng murmured, "I''m sorry. I don''t know what''s gotten into me. This isn''t proper¡ª"

    "If you''re going to cry, I''m going to cry," Yujia declared, her expression pinched in an attempt to stop her eyes from watering.

    "Why are you crying?" Yufeng now showed hints of a hesitant grin.

    "I don''t know!" Yujia threw her hands up. "I''m an empathetic person, alright?" She bit her lip and covered her eyes with her hand for a minute, before she was sure that she wasn''t going to cry. "Let''s just both calm down."

    "I don''t think I can go back to sleep," Yujia admitted.

    She wasn''t happy to hear that Yufeng wanted to go assassinate someone in such a precarious situation, but she didn''t want to go back to thinking about what happened earlier today. At just the idea of recalling those memories, her heart began to race again to an uncomfortable level. The feelings of nausea from before threatened to come back.

    "Neither can I," Yufeng replied. She had her legs gathered to her c.h.e.s.t as she rested her head against the tree trunk.

    Yujia imagined that this made sense. Yufeng was fully prepared to commit murder just moments ago. Which person would be capable of falling asleep after that?

    "Then¡­" Yujia began, "do you want to tell me? Why do you want to kill him so badly? What happened between¡­ you two?" After a brief pause, she quickly added on, "Though, if you''re not comfortable, you don''t have to. I was just¡­ curious."

    "No," Yufeng shook her head as she replied, "it''s fine. I feel like you deserve to know."

    ¡­

    It all began with a nameless girl.

 Chapter 343 - The Nameless Girlâ€™s Name

    Her first memory was not like any other''s. Perhaps a typical person might recall the face of a sibling, a parent. Or perhaps one might recall exploring an outdoor garden as one crawled on all fours. Or perhaps the first memory would be crying over some reason that one can''t even think of.

    In her first memory, she could not cry.

    She wanted to. The emotions within her were akin to a deep well, pooling until they were at the brim, threatening to spill with just an extra drop. Yet she couldn''t feel her eyes pricking with tears at all.

    In that moment, she felt helpless. So helpless, so incapable, so paralyzed, that she could not even cry.

    She was sitting¡ª collapsed¡ª in the midst of ruins. Although she could not recognize it, it felt like it must''ve been a village at one point. It was a village that had been ransacked, a village that had been torn apart, the people slaughtered, the valuables stolen, until nothing more than some crumbled straw, splintered wood, and ashes upon ashes were left behind. She was collapsed onto a doorstep¡ª or what appeared to be a doorstep¡ª where the door had been slammed open. Her eyes looked inside.

    There were bodies fallen onto the floors of the house, bodies of a man, a woman, and two young boys. They were all killed, red lines drawn upon their necks, blooming red patterns woven across their c.h.e.s.ts.

    They were the first things she saw. She did not recognize them, did not pair any names to their faces, yet when she saw them, there, the urge to cry, was again, swelling up within her.

    Why? Why did she want to cry so bad? Who were these people? And who was she?

    She turned away.

    As she stared at the destruction before her, her legs still too weak to stand, she realized she could not recall her name. She did not know who she was, why she was here, or anything else. With horror, she reached into her mind, searching for anything¡ª a sliver of information, a flash of a memory, anything¡ª yet nothing appeared. Her memories were as dark as a fathomless night sky. No lanterns, no stars, no moons. It was the sort of darkness where not even shadows existed, when everything was blanketed in pitch black.

    Venturing in the darkness, she thought she caught something for a moment, a flicker of light, a word left unspoken, yet when she reached out for it, her head split open. Pain shot through her mind in a burning white flash, forcing her to fall back, opening her eyes.

    She sat there for a few moments, clutching her head. Following that, she stood up. She somehow managed to find strength in her legs, pushing herself up. Staggering a few steps forward at a time, she made her way through the ruins. Everything was demolished, and all around, she could see no living, only corpses.

    And then, she saw him.

    He tossed aside that woman''s body and charged towards her.

    Now, she could see his face. It was a terrifying view, when she saw all the scars across his bulging eyes, crooked nose, and dirt-stained cheeks. He was a large man, taller than the one dressed in armor from behind, his body ripped with muscle. When she saw him rushing to her, only one word appeared in her mind. Bandit.

    She froze. She could not summon the urge to run or to even move, frozen as still as a statue to the spot.

    The bandit shot his arms out, about to grab her, but that was when his large eyes bulged out even more. The tip of a sword protruded from his c.h.e.s.t, red spilling out, and he froze as well. The bandit crumpled to the ground.

    From behind, the armored man stepped forward. Pulling out his sword from the flesh of this bandit, he swung it down again, and again, stabbing it into the bandit''s c.h.e.s.t until he stopped moving. She could only watch this bandit get slaughtered, witnessing his limbs twitch and body struggle until there was no more. Until he became as still as something that never knew life.

    Her eyes traveled back to this armored man. He locked his eyes on her as well. He drew the sword he held back out of the bandit''s body. Scarlet blood dripped down the side.

    She could finally move, but she only fell back, toppling onto the dirt ground. He approached her, step by step. She was sure that this man just saved her, yet she could not explain the fear rising up within her. It was a feeling of her gut, perhaps similar to the reaction of a rabbit spotting a wolf.

    Before he could get any closer, she squeezed her eyes shut and found her voice. It was barely more than a whisper, but in the quiet air, her words were clear.

    "Thank you."

    At this, the man paused. He had his eyes fixed on her, still, but he inclined his head to the side by just a degree. "Thank you?" he repeated.

    "F-for saving me. From him. The bandit."

    She cast her eyes at the body of the bandit behind that man. Again, she could feel the urge to cry rising up within her, the same feeling as when she saw the bodies inside the house. She could not place her finger on why she felt this way. Perhaps it was a strong response to being saved. Perhaps it was relief.

    "I saved you from a bandit, you say," the armored man mused. He also looked at the body, then snapped his eyes back to her. "Who are you?"

    The question took her aback. She stared at him, blankly. She did not know the answer to that herself. How was she supposed to answer him?

    She decided to be honest. "I¡­ do not remember," she whispered. "I can''t. When I opened my eyes, I was here."

    "Do you know your name?" he continued.

    She shook her head.

    "So, a nameless girl." He placed his sword down, sinking it into the dirt ground.

    "Who are you?" she asked in return. "Who was he? And¡­ she?" She gestured her head at the bodies.

    He paused for a brief moment, then answered her latter question first. "He was a bandit. The bandits were pillaging this village. When we arrived, it was too late. This bandit was one left behind by his group. He was raping that woman, and held her as hostage when I approached him. He killed her in an attempt to save his own life, and I imagine that he was ready to kill or take you as hostage as well."

    She thought back to that bandit, the man with the bulging eyes. She thought back to how she first saw them, where the bandit was clutching the body of the woman. She thought back to how he charged at her when he saw her.

    There it was again¡ª that feeling of tears that would not come out.

    "And you?" she managed to utter.

    "I," he replied, taking a step closer, "am a prince."

    "A prince?" she echoed.

    He was now very close to her, eyes peering down to examine her every feature. She saw his face as well, his high-bridged nose, his perfect slope of a jaw, but what caught her attention the most were his eyes. They were pools of darkness, reminding her of the everlasting, inexplicable abyss she saw within her own mind. When she looked into his eyes, she felt a sense of familiarity, yet also hesitation. She did not understand this man. When he looked into her, on the other hand, it felt like he knew everything. It felt as if he was peering into her soul, flipping her like the blank pages of a book. He eyed her with such caution yet such detail, reading every bit about her and perhaps more that she did not even know of.

    "You say you are a nameless girl," he murmured, "one with no family, no past, do you not?"

    She managed a nod.

    "You have no place to go."

    "Then, would you like to come with this prince? Follow me, and I shall give you a place to live, food to eat, and water to drink."

    "Why?" She may not have had any memories, but she knew that all favors were to be paid.

    He explained, "I need a shadow. An extra hand. A set of eyes for the back of my head. And you¡ª" He reached out his hand, brushing it against her chin. His touch was as cold as ice. She shivered but did not flinch away. "You would be perfect." Like his touch, his words were of ice, emotionless.

    She repeated his implications, "You would like me to work for you."

    "Yes," he affirmed. "What do you think?"

    He drew his touch back, placing his hand in front of her, just within reach.

    She looked back at him. First, at the sword he held in his other hand, red still stained on the blade. Then, at his armor, so pristine despite the ashes. And at last, in those eyes, ones which she could fall in and be dragged into an eternity of darkness by. They captivated her, as the one thing she could recognize in this place with no memories to call her own.

    There was no other answer to choose. She reached out her hand, accepting his.

    At this response, he seemed pleased, a smile spreading on his lips. She did not know it at the time, but later on, that would be a smile she would yearn for, a smile she would sacrifice anything to see him give her. She did not know it at the time, but this would be a man that she would take hundreds of lives for, a man that she would rip away her humanity for, and a man that she would consider her only reason for living.

    But for now, he was just a prince promising security, and she was just a nameless girl with nowhere to go.

    As he turned, gesturing for her to follow him, they walked through the destruction. They passed by the ravaged houses. They passed by the shattered lives. Evening had settled upon the lands, a half moon beginning to fade into the violet-tinged sky. They walked for just a few more steps before he turned, raising his eyebrows.

    "You have no name, but I must have something to call you," he said.

    "I have no personal preference," she told him.

    He gave it some thought, head looking up at the sky. His eyes fixed onto the moon, then blinked. "Xianyue. Half moon. What do you think about that?"

    Xianyue.

    She liked how it sounded on his tongue. The way he said it was almost melodically soft, a breath of sound slipping through his teeth, a note left hanging in the air as he finished the name.

    And so, that was how the nameless girl earned her first name.

 Chapter 344 - When the Nameless Girl Can be Enough

    It didn''t take her long to realize a few things.

    He was the Prince of Qing, Fu Hansong. As the younger brother of the current Emperor, people flocked to him naturally. He did not need to do anything. With a sweep of his hand, a word off his tongue, hundreds would be willing to bet their lives and trust their families in his hands, all for the sake of fortune and power. He did not lack people, nor did he lack support.

    Because of that, once he brought her back to his palace, she did not see him for months.

    He had graceful maids to serve him, each one prettier than the next. He had trained soldiers to fight for him, each one stronger than the next. He had tacticians to scheme for him, each one wiser than the next.

    She was not beautiful. She was not skilled. And nor was she wise.

    As someone the prince did not favor, there was barely a place for her in the palace, as grand and large it was. The food she ate were scraps, the tasks she completed the dirtiest and least desirable. She lived serving the servants of servants, but at least, she figured, it was better than living on the streets, with no knowledge and no connections. Out there, anything could happen to her, but in this lonely palace, at least no one would dare touch the girl the prince brought back. They only dared to give her the worst tasks, the worst conditions.

    The longer she spent in that palace, the more she came to know of this. The longer she spent in that palace, the more determined she grew to change. Staring at the golden walls, the vivid silks, and the priceless jewels, she knew she did not want to live her current life, dressed in rags, forever. She could not remain content with her current lifestyle.

    Palaces did that to the hearts of people. It whispered the promises of prestige; it sang the melodies of luxury. Anyone in there for long enough would grow to yearn for power. And there was only one way for that power: to prove oneself.

    So, to prove herself, she trained.

    She knew that with a face like hers, she could not win favor with beauty. Access to the library for someone like her would also be too difficult. But picking up a sword? Mimicking the movements of soldiers from behind an edge? She could do that.

    Time spent in the palace taught her how to walk in shadows without being seen. It taught her strength and stamina with lugging water and manure barrels. It also taught her tricks of the hand: how to nick an item without being seen, how to pick a lock. Learning swordsmanship, compared to all of those, was not difficult. Fashioning her own straw dummies was not a struggle either. Practicing at the break of dawn, at just the slightest splinter of daylight, was hardly a hassle.

    More months passed. Seasons came and went.

    On the day she became good enough to provide a good fight for the top soldiers, she knew she was good enough.

    And so, she went to find him.

    He was sitting in his palace, reading a scroll. When she went to him, he looked up. In his eyes, there was no surprise. He knew eventually, she would come find him. All this time, he had been waiting for her.

    She asked him if she could serve him.

    She told him it was not enough.

    He replied that neither was she enough.

    At this, she blinked. Then, she went back to training. She needed to be stronger.

    She trained until her hands bled, but that was not enough. She trained until she could barely move from soreness, but that was not enough. She trained in the snow, in the rain, in the blazing heat of the sun, but that was not enough.

    When she became good enough to take down countless soldiers in a row, all by herself, she went to him again.

    It was the same response. Not enough.

    She asked him when it would be. He told her they would both know when it was.

    She trained until she was one with the sword. She then trained with daggers, with spears, with bows, with sabers, with halberds. She trained without a weapon, pushing her body to the limits day by day until she was stronger than all the soldiers, faster than the wind itself. After that, as much as she practiced in the light, she practiced more in the darkness. She learned the art of completely melding in the shadows. She learned how to scale walls, how to hang from rooftops, how to know her surroundings even in the darkest of nights, how to run in pure silence, and how to slaughter things¡ª animals¡ª  without making a sound.

    Seasons came and went again. At the end of all of this, when she was sure that it was enough, that was when he agreed. It was enough.

    He gave her the name of a government official. She knew what he needed her to do. It only took a quick blade and an extra trip outside at midnight to get the job done.

    It was not the first time she had seen someone die. Yet it was the first time she had taken a human life with her own hands. She thought she was mentally prepared. But as she did so, she recalled something: a flicker of a memory like a warm smile, then the image of that bandit from when the Prince of Qing saved her dying by his sword. It cut through her head in burning pain, but she did not allow it to disturb her task at hand.

    Days later, she would forget it even happened.

    From then on, she would serve the prince with all her loyalty. He would give her names, and she would take care of them. He would give her orders, and she would carry them out without even blinking her eyes. She followed him from the comforts of the palace to the brutal battlefield. There was not a second where she left his side. She became known as the prince''s shadow, but only to a few. Just like a good shadow, most did not know of her existence.

    The longer she spent with him, the more she knew about him.

    She learned that the Prince of Qing was not a position as luxurious as others may have thought. He may have been the brother of the Emperor, but that placed him in the battle for the throne. He could choose to sacrifice his life by openly going against the Emperor, or he could choose to keep his neck on his head by leading a humble life. He chose neither. Just like how she was his shadow, he worked in the shadows as well. He may have had all the people he needed, but they treated him with only greed in their eyes: the most easily bought and the most easily sold value.

    The others may have been more beautiful, more wise. They could have even been stronger than her. But she had something none of them had, and it was her loyalty to him. He needed someone like her, just as much as she needed him.

    She was there for him in his darkest times. She was there for him when he felt the most alone, the most helpless. She was there for him whenever he needed her.

    Over time, she realized she did not do this for the temptations of power the palace offered. The prince awarded her power, awarded her titles, awarded her gold and silver, awarded her every precious item he came across. But she did not need those.

    From the very start, from the moment she first saw him, standing in his armor, in the midst of the ruins and wreckage, dust billowing in the wind, it had all been for him.

    His smile was more precious than any jewel. His praise was more valuable than any power or title.

    He gave her her name. He gave her her life. He gave her a sense of purpose. In all of her memories, the only person that shone was him. Fu Hansong. The Prince of Qing.

    She needed him. And yet¡­ he did not think the same.

    When she thought that she could express her feelings, he only smiled. Gave a light laugh. He patted her head, then said, "Xianyue, my Xianyue, do you not know that lovers are blinded fools? To yearn is to distract. To cherish is to inevitably lose. And so, let us not."

    She realized, at that moment, that what she mistook for his need for her was simply his need for a girl with no past. He needed her namelessness, her apathy, and her loyalty. He did not need her. It was never her. From the start to now, it had never been her. And it never would be.

    But at that point, it was too late.

    He called lovers blinded fools. That was what she was: a blinded, crippled fool, blurred by the thought of intangible, unrequited love. She realized love was impossible, but this realization was all too late. She had been falling into this spiral for years now, and there was no way out.

    She continued serving him. She continued having her fingertips stained with blood. She continued practicing the art of the blade, in hopes that it would be enough. That she would be enough.

    She thought her blindness could never be cured. She did not want it to be cured either. She thought she would be happy serving him until the end of time. She thought if she could not have more, she would be content with what she had. His smile. His praise.

    But she could not keep walking in darkness forever. The day when she opened her eyes came.

 Chapter 345 - To Return to Namelessness

    They¡ª the memories¡ª came as sparks at first. They were fireflies of light, glimmering for the barest moment before dissolving back into the eclipse they came from. They drifted along the waves of time, emerging with the ebb and flow, dipping into the pool of her mind for a splinter of a second, a crack in the walls of her barricaded past.

    But with time, fractures could only grow; stone could only crumble. Bit by bit, the threads of fissures wove together, until not even the strongest barrier could withstand the rift.

    The memories came crashing down like a flood, a sea of light rupturing past the denial that had been holding it back for so long.

    On the evening where she remembered it all, it was no different than any other. One moment she was standing guard for the prince, and the next moment, she remembered.

    She remembered it all.

    She knew her name before Xianyue. She knew her past before the Prince of Qing. She knew her family, she knew her friends, she knew herself. She was just a simple village girl, one with a happy family of her mother, father, and two younger brothers. She had friends so close that she would call them sisters.

    They all knew her in the village. The place was so small that it would be difficult to find an unfamiliar face. She knew the grandmother from next door, who always had some wisdom to tell. She knew the twin sisters from a few blocks down, who always had new shenanigans to play with their similar faces. She knew the farmer and his family, who she always bought the vegetables for dinner that night from. She knew the handsome artisan, who sold clay figures that almost jumped to life. She knew the beauty of the village, who was deemed a flower for her graceful looks. She knew the seamstress with the best embroidery in the village, who was skilled enough to make her mother jealous.

    She knew the beggar who hung around the corners, a retired soldier with a scarred face that would be no prettier unscarred. The children joked of his crooked nose and eyes that seemed too large to fit his face. His peculiar look was enough to make her remember him when she first met him, stumbling into the village with a limp in his leg. Since his leg pained him at every move, he couldn''t do any of the heavy work in the village, giving him, an outsider, only an opportunity as a beggar.

    When she passed by him, she would give him some leftover steamed bread she had made, or perhaps a few coins from her pouch. He, in return, gave her stories. He said he left the army because that sort of life didn''t suit him. She never knew how he found this village, so secluded, so unheard of. But he said he was happier here than any of his days before, even as a beggar. He confided in her his unrequited love for that seamstress. Finding his easy smile and unfaltering honesty pleasant to talk to, she befriended him readily, just like everyone else in the village she found a friend.

    He was a good man, one who would even save the children that mocked him upon a time where an unrestrained oxe came charging down the road. Everyone in the village was good, always willing to help out at any time. It was how the village maintained its peace.

    She was happy, then. So happy that not a day would pass without something to smile for. It was a simple life back then, but a simple life meant a life without worries. And that was all she needed, back in those days.

    Then came the day where she went out to pick flowers. It was a silly pastime, finding flowers in the fields far behind the village.

    She knew she would come back to a life no different. Her mother would still be embroidering a new set of clothes. Her father would still be at home, skinning his catch from his latest hunt for dinner that night. Her two little brothers, both of them young children, would still be playing in the front yard. And she would be back with a fresh basket of flowers to decorate the house with iridescent, dreamy colors.

    But when she returned, that peaceful expectation was shattered.

    The village, her peaceful little village, a daydream, a paradise, was now a hellscape. The wooden walls of houses were splintered, broken into through brute force. The sky was gray, clouded with the billowing curtains of smoke. The dirt paths, bordered with green grass and delicate wildflowers, once laid beneath the feet of villagers happily coming and going. Now, it was all barren, no signs of life in sight. The moment she stepped foot through a rickety wooden gate, she noticed this.

    That was when she saw the body. She saw the body before she saw the blood, but when she recognized the red oozing from his neck, she knew it was a corpse. The face of the corpse belonged to the handsome artisan, the one who sculpted life from mud. The air around him always carried the earthy scent of clay and paints. Now, there was only the metallic, pungent tang of blood.

    She gagged, stumbling to a corner and leaning on the wall of a house for support.

    What happened?

    She wanted to curl up and hide. She thought that if she squeezed her eyes hard enough, she would wake up. Perhaps it was a nightmare. A fever dream. When she opened her eyes, she would be lying in bed, her baby brothers tugging at her hair.

    She opened her eyes, and saw the same. Smoke, dust, blood.

    Somehow, she found the strength to keep moving. There was only one thing keeping her going, and that was the thought of her family. They had to be alright. They had to be safe at home. Perhaps it was just an unlucky bandit raid from a faraway mountain. Perhaps it was only the artisan that had died.

    As she passed by more and more bodies, their faces belonging to names she recognized, she could only continue to hope. Perhaps it was only the farmer that died. Perhaps it was only the grandmother. Perhaps only the twin sisters.

    It was hopeless faith, but that was all she had left. She could not lose it.

    When she arrived at her home, she was afraid that she might''ve needed to open the door. Yet there was no need for that fear, for the door had already been broken down, axed and splintered like all the others.

    Inside, she saw them.

    Her brothers were clinging onto her mother, who had her arms around them in an attempt to protect them from the inevitable. Her father reached out helplessly, his fingers a centimeter away. They were all lying on the ground, crumpled like discarded puppets.

    Red. Red splattered on the walls. Red splattered on their faces. Red across their necks. Red seeping through their robes.

    She had been too late.

    When even hope abandoned her world, she had nothing left. She sunk to the ground, her vision turning black.

    ¡­

    The memories that followed this one were ones she knew. Yet now, when she remembered everything else, they weren''t familiar memories at all. The truth distorted the past that she once knew. Or was it the other way around?

    She thought he had been her savior. She thought that in that moment, the Prince of Qing, with his clean shining armor, the one light amidst the dust, had saved her from the bandit, the one that had assaulted that one woman and rushed to kill her.

    But now, wandering in her past, she could no longer see the halo of light caught on his armor. She could only see the coldness, as unmoving as ice, in his eyes.

    In his last moments, he had wanted to save her. He ran at her not to kill her, like she thought, but to keep her from harm. To keep her from the Prince of Qing.

    And she had watched him be slaughtered in front of her eyes. She watched Fu Hansong gut that man, his sword mercilessly plunging into the man''s c.h.e.s.t, all the while doing nothing. All the while feeling relief that she had been saved, by the very murderer of her true savior.

    Looking at her past, she could barely breathe. At this point, she had fallen to the ground again, caught too deep within the overwhelming memories of history.

    She had held gratitude towards the prince. She had worked so hard to please him, to change herself to be enough for him. She had loved him¡ª no. She still loved him. Amidst all the hate, amidst all the anger, amidst all the betrayal ripping into her heart, clawing into her mind, she still loved him.

    Right now, the pain of this fact was worse than the pain she had felt when seeing the corpses of her family, the corpses of her friends.

    Years. She spent years serving, pleasing, and loving the murderer of every other person she ever loved. She had done so willingly, gotten the blood of innocent lives on her hands for him, carved out her own humanity for him.

    And still, she loved him.

    She could not understand herself. She could not understand her mind. The pain in her heart was immeasurable, but she felt less betrayed by him, and more so of the girl that she was, serving him so blindly.

    She was disgusted at herself. She hated him, but at this moment, she hated someone else more.

    She cried. For all the tears that she could not shed back then, for all the tears left in someone no better than a monster, she cried.

    ¡­

    When she went to him, he was reading again. It reminded her of the countless times she went to him in the past, wishing for his approval, his smile. She imagined her past self then, realizing that amidst all the smiles he gave her, how many were true smiles? And how many were smiles of amus.e.m.e.nt, concealed delight at her foolishness?

    He did not look up until he finished reading the scroll. And then, he had inclined his head, setting the scroll down with a soft thud.

    "My Xianyue, why do you wear such an expression?" he asked. What she thought was once a tone filled with so much gentleness only seemed like cold calculation to her ears now.

    "Why?" she managed to choke out, her voice splitting. "Why did you kill them?"

    He paused, his dark eyes fixed to her face. She could see the thought travel across his mind, the realization of who she was talking about.

    "So you remember," he said.

    "Why?" she repeated again. It was the only word that she could make out. She had to know. For what reason did he have to slaughter an entire village? For what reason did he have to take all of those innocent lives, when they had never done anything wrong?

    "You know," he answered, his voice still so soft, "that was so many years ago. I don''t think I even remember." He raised another scroll, unrolling it across the table to begin reading.

    "My family. My people. You killed all of them¡­ without reason?"

    He looked up again, the corner of his lip curling upwards. "Reason? Xianyue, when did you ever need a reason? Have you not also slit your blade across so many throats, took the lives of so many families, as well?" He paused again, letting the words sink in. "And for what reason, may I implore?"

    She knew this. He did not need to remind her. But her reason was him, was it not? It was all for him.

    They had returned to silence. Yet while he resumed his reading, paying no mind to their conversation as if it was just passing idle chatter, she was arriving at another realization.

    There was only one way to set this right.

    Before she could even think any further, she drew out a blade from its sheath. A dagger that he had gifted her, one gift amidst the countless things that he had taken away. The movement of the dagger in her hand came naturally to her, a motion that she had practiced countless times for him.

    And now, she had the blade poised at his throat.

    She leaned across the table, the metal of the knife biting into the flesh of his neck. Now, he was staring at her, expression still unchanging, eyes still carrying those dark irises. The scroll he was reading was still in his hand.

    "Are you going to kill me?" he asked, unflinching.

    She was so close that she could feel his breath. It hadn''t changed, still remaining as steady as ever. She couldn''t read him. After all these years, she still couldn''t. But one thing was for sure: he held no fear.

    A light breeze swept into the room through the paper windows. The candle resting on his table flickered in the wind.

    "Why are you not afraid?" she breathed, her voice lower than a whisper. When they were this close, there was no need for more than that.

    "Because I know you can''t. Even if I," he grabbed her hand with a sudden movement, digging the metal deeper into his neck, "tell you to do so, you can''t."

    She furrowed her brows, a stricken expression across her face. "How do you know?"

    "Is it not ''love'', what you''ve been saying all along?" He smiled. "Go ahead. Do it. Kill me, right here, right now. I''m defenseless. Your knife is at my throat. Can you?"

    He knew he was right. He knew the answer. She did as well.

    As much as she held the blade to his throat, as much as she claimed that she could kill him, she could not. For a reason no simpler and yet no more complicated than love.

    She thought she hated him, but it was not enough.

    So, as helpless as she was, there was only one other thing she could do. One other person she could kill. One other hatred she could sever.

    She flicked the dagger around, the blade spinning to point towards herself. Without tearing her eyes from him, before he could even comprehend what she was about to do, she plunged it into her own c.h.e.s.t, piercing it into her own heart.

    She could not bring herself to avenge her past by killing Fu Hansong, so let her kill Xianyue instead. Xianyue, the prince''s shadow, the waning moon in the sky, the person who betrayed herself more than anyone else in the world.

    It was odd, how the air in the room stilled. How the realization passed through his gaze, as his eyes traveled from the dagger to her face. How the pain, albeit ripping through her nerves, was not worse than what she felt before.

    In the last few moments before she lost consciousness, she thought she heard the prince clamor out "Xianyue". She thought she felt him grab her as he dropped the scroll. She thought she caught a glimmer of a teardrop in his eye.

    But that was probably all her imagination, the delusions she still kept as a fool blinded by love.

    He was always right. To yearn was to distract. To cherish was to inevitably lose.

    And so, let her not.

 Chapter 346 - The Artist Finally Reunites

    "Though I was set on dying, I did not die. He saved me, kept me alive on my last breath, for reasons I cannot fathom. Perhaps it would''ve been easier to convince an old tool than to sharpen a new one, especially after all these years. Yet my heart was set. At the first chance I had, I left," Yufeng concluded her story.

    Yujia realized she had been holding her breath in anticipation towards the ending of the story. She slowly exhaled, wiping her palms against her skirt.

    Yet again, it was another past to leave her wordless.

    After hearing all of it, she found no surprise in how Yufeng tried to keep her secrecy. If she, too, had experienced that, she wouldn''t want to dig up the past. To tell the story again was akin to peeling back the flesh of a half-healed scar, digging at an unhealed wound, leaving it to bleed and bleed and bleed again.

    When Yufeng told her story, Yujia saw a shadow of herself within Yufeng. Yufeng was so young when her story began to take that dark turn. Like Yufeng, both of them were forced to grow up faster than their times, but Yufeng perhaps more.

    "How did you end up in the Yang Villa?" Yujia found herself asking.

    Yufeng replied, her voice mellow, "I didn''t know where to go. I wandered outside the capital for months, town by town. And then, by some mistaken encounter, I took on the name and identity of a dead girl. Xie Yufeng. It appears that taking on other names, new masks, is all I know. But it was better, I thought. Better than staying in that palace. If I wanted revenge, I should''ve stayed. Yet I knew if I stayed there for a second longer, I would sooner suffocate than find closure." Yufeng paused for a drawn-out moment before admitting, "I thought I was ready now. Except it seems like yet again, I wasn''t."

    "How can you be so sure?" Yujia thought back to how much she needed to convince Yufeng.

    "If I had been truly resolute, I wouldn''t have let you convince me." Yufeng sighed. They were silent. And then, Yufeng murmured, "I sometimes also wonder if revenge is necessary. I wonder if it would be better for me to move on. This doubt brings me such shame. I''m ashamed that I''m not even willing to avenge the death of my family. It makes me question myself, my every action. Back then, when I dug that knife in my heart, was it truly to avenge them? Or was it my own selfish d.e.s.i.r.e to bring an end to the grief I felt? I''m ashamed at how much grief still remains, and how much I still want it all to go away. I''m ashamed that some days, I think it would''ve been better if I never remembered. If I never knew their faces."

    Yujia tentatively reached over and took Yufeng''s hand. "I understand that. But you know, someone wise once told me it wasn''t about making the grief vanish. Grief is grief. It does not go away. It doesn''t ever stop being painful. But part of moving forward is accepting and acknowledging that the pain is there, not running away from it. And then, we can move forward. There are no guidelines or timelines or right or wrong ways of doing so. You have to look into yourself, and only then will you know the best way." She gave a small smile. "Those words truly helped me, back in the days. I hope still, today, they can help you."

    There was more silence to let those words sink in. Then, Yufeng blurted, "So, you approve of murder as a way to move forward."

    Yujia could not hold back a laugh at that joke. "Skies," she exclaimed, seeing a smile spread across Yufeng''s face too.

    It seemed like those words did help, since Yufeng could make a joke like that. Yujia was glad the tensions eased.

    Yufeng''s smile fell a little when she spoke up again, but it was still there, tracing her expression. "Thank you. For, well, listening to me. I didn''t want to tell it before, but now that I have, it feels¡ª I''m not sure how to explain it. Somehow, better."

    "Like a weight has been lifted, no?" Yujia suggested. "I often think of it like a boulder that we have to carry. No matter what we do, the weight of the past is glued with us. It won''t disappear. Except you can either choose to hold onto it by itself and feel the weight, or put it up into the air and let the wind chip away at some of the stone for you. It takes courage, you might fear that the boulder will come crashing down on you, and it''s not always easy to lift the weight up for others to see. But even if the breeze just sweeps a pebble, the weight feels lighter."

    "That, I agree," Yufeng affirmed.

    "Well then." Yujia yawned and stretched out her two hands in front of her. "Would you like to talk about something else?"

    "There''s nothing else in mind."

    "Then, I''ll try to go to sleep. Don''t go around murdering while I''m asleep," she implored.

    "I''ll try," Yufeng replied, and this made Yujia snicker.

    Yujia hoped that tonight, if she could sleep, it would be dreamless.

    And dreamless it was indeed.

    ¡­

    When Yujia woke up again, the sun had begun to rise. It didn''t feel like she slept much, not after all the talk she had with Yufeng, but some sleep was better than none.

    Now that it was daytime, Yufeng was more careful to not show her face around the camp. It wasn''t like the Prince of Qing left his tent much, however, so she didn''t have to worry much. However, even though Yujia didn''t see the prince, by the fact that the camp was not in full panic meant that he had not been assassinated over the night. Yufeng had kept up with her agreement.

    Yujia took this time to catch up with the other Lingxin disciples. Even though it had only been a few hours, she still couldn''t believe how long it felt like she hadn''t seen them. At this thought, she imagined what it would be like to see Zixu again, after so long.

    The idea that she would be able to see Zixu in about a week, proven that the rest of the travels went well, made Yujia inexplicably happy. She missed him so, so much.

    The Lingxin disciples, like she confirmed last night, had all returned safe. There were no casualties, except for a slash across Rong Yuan''s right arm, the brutal work of a bandit. It was already bandaged and taken care of, but Rong Yuan was boasting loudly to her.

    "This is the result of me facing down with the leader of the bandits. I had pullen out a spare sword from another soldier and engaged in a violent battle with him to save the life of the soldier I took the sword from. But in the end, it was me who sliced that wicked bandit''s head off!" he bragged.

    Upon hearing this story, Yujia scoffed. "You and the leader of bandits?"

    "Why are you scoffing?" Rong Yuan protested in a w.h.i.n.e.

    "Well, let''s just say it''s very believable."

    Ye Yunhe added in by the side, "I confirm it was just an ordinary bandit."

    "Who said?" Rong Yuan spun around in a fury. "You weren''t even there!"

    "I was definitely there. Did you forget that we were all gathered together, Junior Brother?" Yunhe laughed.

    "Proof? Do I seem like the type to be injured by those uneducated, weak bandits?"

    Yunhe and Yujia''s eyes met, and they could not hold back their laughter.

    Rong Yuan protested more, but thankfully, Yunhe simply patted Rong Yuan''s left shoulder and managed to shush that junior brother of his up. If not, Yujia imagined that Rong Yuan could go on all day long about his supposed legendary battle with the leader of bandits.

    When the morning passed, and the camp was all gathered, the soldiers rounded everyone up. Off they began on their trip back.

    It was good news that the soldiers had retrieved some of the belongings the bandits had stolen from the original carriages of the disciples. Most of the belongings, Yujia''s included, had hardly been touched, with the bandits too busy celebrating before examining their goods.

    When they made their way down the mountains, the soldiers bought a few carriages and extra horses. For people like Rong Yuan, who had experience horseback riding, they were put on horses. Yet for Yujia¡ª who was adamantly terrified of the thought of horse riding after what Bo Zhizhong put her through back in the days¡ª she was given a carriage.

    Yujia found that the carriage, similarly, was difficult to get into. Not because of how it was built, or anything physical¡ª rather, whenever she went to step in, she could not help recalling the bloody driver, the arrow-struck horses, and the splintered woods of the wagon. When Yufeng noticed this, she had squeezed Yujia''s hand. And with that, Yujia managed to tear herself away from those flashbacks, forcing herself to stumble into the carriage.

    As their journey progressed, Yujia had tried writing a letter to send to Zixu and her master. Yet a soldier informed her that they could not make any delays for that, and that they had already sent a messenger to pass the good news to the capital. So, she had to return back with her letter folded in her pocket.

    Traveling with the soldiers was relieving because it meant safety and protection from the threat of bandits. Except, simultaneously, it meant a rigorous schedule of traveling, barely any time given for rest. Yujia found it unbearable in the carriage; she could only imagine how much worse it was for Rong Yuan, Yunhe, and the others, stuck on horseback from dawn to dusk.

    At least the progress of the travels were fast.

    ¡­

    When Yujia made her way back to the capital, she never thought she would be so relieved to recognize the city. When she stepped foot into Lingxin, it was coming home.

    She could not express how many emotions it brought her, a spiral of relief, bliss, and reminiscence. Every step that she took closer to it was like another step of anticipation. The soldiers that saved them from the bandits promised safety, and Yujia did feel safe. Yet to be at home was something even that could not compare to. Nothing in the whole world could compare to how secure being home made her feel.

    She recognized the flowers, the plants, the stone path, the villa walls. Lingxin had not changed during the brief time of the trip. She wondered if the people had changed too, but seeing the state of the academy, she knew it had to be all the same.

    Passing through the path in a rush, Yunhe following behind her, that was when she stumbled into her master.

    The old man was standing at the entrance of the villa. He wasn''t drunk, like he usually would''ve been at this late time of day, the sun beginning to set behind the horizon. Yet with the sunlight striking his features, Yujia swore he looked thinner, his hair whiter.

    It seemed like he had been standing there for a while, perhaps ever since he heard the news the disciples were returning.

    He saw them the moment they saw him. He rushed forward, hobbling¡ª had he always walked with a limp like that?¡ª with his arms outstretched. Yujia rushed equally forward, running into his arms.

    Her master clutched her, his hands trembling. And then, he pulled away, getting a good look at her face.

    "Kid," he spoke first, his voice breaking with emotion, "you''re back."

    Yujia nodded vigorously, her face scrunching up into a smile, her eyes watering. "Yeah. I''m back. Safe."

    Her master gripped her arms tighter, then turned to Yunhe. Moving to grab Yunhe, he also pulled Yunhe into a hug. "You''re back too, brat."

    Yujia turned to observe Yunhe''s expression. He seemed as emotional as Yujia, tears already spilling out of his eyes. "Master¡ª" he sputtered.

    "You two¡­ Have you any idea what you''ve done?" The old man covered his eyes for a few seconds, then lifted his hand and looked at them, hands still trembling. "We thought you were dead. We all thought you were dead for a whole three days, and then we suddenly get news¡ª"

    "What matters is we''re all fine, right?" Yunhe cut in.

    "No," their master breathed sharply, "you have no idea. You both have no idea. We got news from some desperate messenger, telling us that there had been a bandit ambush on carriages marked as Lingxin''s. That it was a bloodbath. That there were no survivors. If it had been a hostage situation, we would''ve gotten some demand for ransom quickly, but there were none. Families¡ª everyone¡ª we were all prepared to begin funeral preparations. And then we suddenly get news from the military that they had saved a few disciples from the bandits, but they did not let us know how many survived. You could''ve been dead. You both could''ve been dead. But we had no clue, no information, for a week, until¡ª now¡ª" He choked up to the end. "I''m an old man. I''m truly too old. I can''t take shocking news like this¡ª"

    Yujia stepped forward again, helping her master stand strong. "Master, we''re truly, really sorry. I had wanted to send you all letters, yet the soldiers didn''t let us."

    "Of course I don''t truly blame you." He held up a hand. "But still," he whispered in a hoarse voice, the hand going to cover half of his face again, "I''m just¡­ so glad you two have returned safe."

    Yujia pulled her master into a hug again, and Yunhe joined in for a group hug.

    But then, she suddenly pulled away. "Wait, Master¡ª" she began, "you said the news from the military did not say exactly who had survived?"

    "They didn''t. Can you believe how stupid that choice of theirs was? Why not let us know a number of disciples saved?" he responded, fuming.

    Yujia couldn''t hear the rest of her Master''s rants. Her mind had trailed off, thinking of Zixu. Yu Zixu. If her master didn''t know that she had survived, Zixu didn''t either¡­

    Zixu didn''t know that she was alive.

    Stumbling back, Yujia backed away, her head shaking. "I''m sorry. I have to go."

    "Where? Oh¡ª" her master replied.

    Yujia did not capture what he had to say next. She had already spun around, dashing in the direction of Lingxin''s front gates.

    Her heart was thudding. She passed by those walls, those paths, those plants, those flowers¡­

    And then, she saw him.

    Zixu was standing at the front gates of Lingxin, lingering with his head looking down, the last rays of sunlight enough to illuminate the features of the face Yujia had missed so much. He looked the same as before. He still held a hand behind his back. He still had his head partially tilted, as if in thought. He still wore his robes ever-so-neatly, his hair tucked in a similar fashion.

    Her footsteps stopped in front of him.

    He looked up.

    His eyes scanned across her face, taking her in. He was tentative, wary at first, as if she would disappear if he looked too much. But she was still there, standing, her lips partially curled up in a warm smile, yet slightly parted, out of breath from how fast she ran.

    They did not need to exchange any words.

    Zixu reached out, grabbing her and pulling her against him. She buried her face into his shoulder, closing her eyes. Her arms wrapped around his back, holding him. Making sure he was really there. With his other hand, he had reached up, gently cradling her head. He, too, was assuring himself that she was really there.

    There were so many words that she wanted to tell him. There were so many things that she wanted to say, so many things that she could say.

    Yet in the end, all she could force out was the breath of a whisper, letting his name roll off her tongue.

    "Zixu."

    He, too, replied in such a manner, his voice soft.

    "Yujia."

 Chapter 347 - A Hairpin and the Artist

    When Zixu pulled away, he kept his eyes on her face. His lips parted softly, as if he wanted to speak, but it seemed like words were caught in his throat. Zixu, the Yu Zixu that was usually unparalleled in eloquence, was at a loss for words.

    The corner of Yujia''s lips turned upwards. She took both of his hands, looking down and murmuring, "I didn''t expect what to happen to happen. I tried to send you more letters, but the soldiers didn''t let me. I apologize for worrying you."

    "There''s no reason for why you should be sorry." His hands gave hers a squeeze. "That was out of your control. You did nothing wrong."

    "But still," she replied, looking up, "you must''ve been so worried."

    "Of course. When I heard the news, and when I stopped receiving letters¡­" Zixu''s voice trailed off with a slight tremble. Then, he shook his head, putting a smile on. "All of that was the past. It doesn''t matter now. As long as you''re safe and back."

    "I''m more than glad to be back too. All that carriage riding¡ª"

    He laughed at this. Yujia blinked, then grinned. She missed hearing his laugh.

    Then, her eyes lit up. "So much has happened on the trip that I wanted to tell you about! Do you want to take a walk and maybe have some tea?"

    He was about to agree for a second, but then he seemed to change his mind. Zixu glanced up at the sky, going, "It''s late and you just came back from such a long trip. You should rest, above all. How about tomorrow?"

    "Ah," Yujia''s expression fell for a second, but at the sound of tomorrow, she nodded. "Tomorrow sounds good."

    She was so excited to see Zixu again that she completely forgot about how exhausted she was. Right now, with his reminder, a hot bath and a comfy bed sounded heavenly.

    "Then," he smiled with a tilt of his head, "I''ll see you tomorrow."

    Withdrawing her hand, Yujia waved and replied, "Alright, tomorrow."

    Zixu was about to leave, already turning to walk the opposite direction, yet that was when Yujia recalled something important. She reached into her pockets, pulling out a small stack of tied papers. Running after him, she caught up to him with a tug on his sleeve. Zixu turned, eyebrows raised.

    "I¡ª" Yujia gave him the stack, "I wrote these on my way back for all the letters I could not write you. Read it when you get home. And don''t judge my handwriting; I had to write them on a bumpy carriage."

    "I said to read it when you get home," she sputtered.

    "Ah, but I can''t wait to see what they say," he responded with a slight smile.

    Yujia crossed her arms. "I just know that if you were going to read it right now, you would read it out loud, and that''s embarrassing to hear my chaotic thoughts coming from your mouth, alright?"

    "Fine, fine." He laughed and slipped the folded letter back into the stack. "I''ll have fun reading later." He paused for a moment. "And this is for you."

    Out of his sleeve, he pulled out a hairpin, carved from wood and with pink gemstones arranged into delicate flowers hanging from it. It took Yujia a second to recognize it: the hairpin was from way back, during her time shopping with Zixu in the marketplace. She saw it back then, thought it was pretty, but didn''t want to buy it to inconvenience Zixu from buying her yet another item for her.

    "You ended up buying it?" a soft laugh slipped past her.

    "Of course. Back then, I was shopping for you, after all." A little bit sheepish, he nudged it in her direction. "I wanted to give it to you earlier, but I never found the right chance. When I heard the news, I was worried I would never see you again. Except I''m glad that I have the opportunity to give it to you now."

    She took it, her fingers running against its edge and marveling at the craftsmanship. It was this delicate work that caught her attention in the marketplace in the first place. Reaching up in her hair, she pulled out the ordinary hairpin she already wore in an attempt to replace it with this one, but with two hairpins in her hand and no mirror, she ended up fumbling with her hand and messing up.

    "Ah." Yujia let her hand drop, giving Zixu a hesitant grin. "I don''t think it''ll match my look today either¡ª all these robes are so worn out from traveling¡ª but I''ll put it on when I get back. I love it."

    "Here, let me." Zixu reached forward, his fingers brushing faintly against hers as he reached for the hairpin.

    Yujia relented, giving it to him. She spun around, nervously glancing up before realizing, obviously, she could not look at Zixu while he threaded the pin through her hair.

    He didn''t say anything, only brushing two strands of her hair back, braiding them one by one, lastly securing them with a pin. Making sure that he wouldn''t pull harshly on any strands, his movements were so gentle that she could hardly feel a thing, only the light sensation of his touch going through her hair. When he was finished, he stepped back.

    Yujia spun back around. Her hands raised to her head, she felt the simple hairstyle and beamed. "How does it look?"

    "A bit lopsided. I have too little experience with this," Zixu sighed.

    "Really?"

    "But you," he paused, looking down, then continued, "you look pretty." He then muttered something else that Yujia couldn''t quite hear.

    "Sorry, what was that?" Eyebrows raised, Yujia stepped forward, tilting her head and leaning to the side to look at his face, shifted away. Was that a slightly flushed complexion she caught on his expression?

    Zixu covered part of his face. "It was nothing."

    "No, what was it?" she urged him to continue.

    "I said nothing," he insisted.

    "Is that so? Really?"

    "Ah, fine." Putting down his hand, Zixu looked her in the eye. As serious as if he was delivering grave news, he informed, "I said you always do. You always look pretty."

    His expression was so somber when he spoke those words that Yujia could not help laughing. Yet it was her turn to be flushed.

    "When did you become this smooth?" she covered her mouth to cover her laugh. "I was only gone for two months, and you¡ª"

    "I haven''t changed." Zixu straightened himself again. "I''m the same as I was two months ago. I''ve done nothing but wait for you since then."

    "And I the same." A sigh came along with Yujia''s smile. "Nothing''s better than being home."

    "So our tour-the-world trip is canceled?" Zixu raised a brow.

    Yujia paused for a second. That wasn''t what she intended. She remembered Zixu''s promise with her to go exploring all the sights the world had to offer. Despite what happened on this trip, she still wanted to do that in the future.

    That was when she thought of her response.

    "The trip is still on. Home is where the people I love are, no?"

 Chapter 348 - Ball of Fluffiness and the Artist

    The moment Yujia stepped foot into her courtyard, after exchanging farewells with Zixu, she was attacked by a giant mass of brown fur. The giant leapt in her direction in such speed that she saw no more than a flash of brown before being tackled to the ground, her face getting slobbered with dog kisses.

    She immediately knew who this was.

    "Roubao, skies¡ª" she managed to call out, trying to force herself up but getting pinned to the ground by the weight of the dog''s body.

    Out of all the people she looked forward to seeing again, back at Lingxin, the pet dog that Zixu gifted her, who she named Roubao, was definitely one of them. Before she left, he was still a puppy. He did grow a bit while she fed him, but not this much. In the past, she could pick him up with no problem at all, but now¡­

    Yujia, amidst all the excited barking from Roubao, managed to push him off of her and sit up. She finally had a good look at the puppy she hadn''t seen for a few months, eyes widening.

    Roubao was significantly bigger now. If he stood on all fours, he would go past her knees. If he stood on only his two back paws, like how he tackled her before, he would be tall enough to reach her stomach. As Yujia reached into his thick fur, vigorously petting him while he panted happily, Yujia realized that not only had Roubao grown taller, but wider as well.

    Yujia grabbed a chunk of fluffiness, she blinked a couple of times. When did this puppy grow to have so much flab? Even though she would love him no matter what, this transformation was truly shocking.

    She glanced with a hint of confusion towards a servant that was carrying a lantern, likely going around to light the candles. She recognized him; he worked around her courtyard frequently and enjoyed the company of Roubao as well. While continuing to pet Roubao, she asked the servant, "How did he grow so fast?"

    He grinned and shrugged a shoulder, "You know, Master took care of him all this time while Miss was gone. And if I must say¡­ he fed Roubao quite a bit."

    "Oh dear." Yujia could already imagine it: Roubao and her master sitting on a porch, sharing a greasy roasted duck. Judging by her master''s unhealthy eating habits, he probably passed the same habits onto her dog.

    She had to admit Roubao, in all his fluffiness, looked way too adorable. Except, was this healthy for him, when he was barely more than a puppy?

    Yujia sighed, scratching Roubao behind his ears. "I should''ve known Master would do something like that¡­" she muttered.

    "What did this old man do, eh?"

    All of a sudden, Yujia heard her master''s voice echo out from behind her. She spun around, seeing her master walk in through the front arch of her courtyard.

    "Master!" she exclaimed. "I was just talking about how you were overfeeding Roubao."

    The old man crossed his arms, a displeased frown crossing his expression. "Overfeeding? You should thank me for how much I took care of him while you were gone!" he spat out. "Besides, you name your dog a literal meat bun and you expect me to not feed him well? He''s a growing child! What''s wrong with putting a little extra meat on those bones?"

    When Roubao saw her master, he bounded towards the old man with as much speed as he used to tackle Yujia with. Yujia was worried that Roubao would knock her master over¡ª despite all his fiery attitude, her master still looked rather frail for being at such an old age¡ª but Roubao skidded to a stop at her master''s feet. He plopped himself down on the ground and wagged his tail, begging for pats.

    It seemed like Roubao had grown rather close to her master in the time where she was gone. It also seemed like despite all his added weight, he was no less his usual hyper, lovable self.

    "Anyways," her master continued, rubbing Roubao''s head, "kid, you ran off without explaining a single word. That rushed to go see your husband?"

    Yujia''s drew in a sharp breath, almost laughing. "We''re not married¡ª"

    "¡ª yet," he added on, pointing at her. Dramatically sighing, he lamented, "To think that you would abandon me and your senior brother to go see him. I should''ve seen this day coming¡­"

    Yujia looked down. "I was worried, Master. But¡ª you''re right. That was wrong for me to run off like that. I should''ve properly explained to you beforehand. I''m sorry."

    "Kid, kid!" the old man exclaimed, waving his hands. "I was just joking with you. No need to get so serious."

    "Ah." Glancing back up with a brightened expression, Yujia replied, "I''m glad to hear that it''s all fine, then!"

    His eyebrows jumped up as he declared, "By how quickly you changed faces¡ª so you weren''t truly remorseful!"

    Yujia leaned back indignantly. "What are you talking about, Master? I was remorseful. You have forgiven me. And now I am back to my usual wonderful self." She cupped the two sides of her face and grinned.

    He shook his finger at her. "Kid, sometimes I wonder why I call Yunhe ''brat'' instead of giving you that name."

    "Because I''m your favorite disciple?" Yujia suggested.

    "I have no favorite disciple," he responded with a huff.

    Yujia skipped over to the side, peeking over the side of her courtyard walls to take a look at the walkway outside. There was no one there. "It''s alright, Master," she whispered, "Senior Brother is not lurking outside. You can admit to the truth."

    "Psh, alright, then here''s the truth¡ª I like the brat better than you."

    "What? That''s a lie!"

    "You wanted me to admit to the truth, and now you''re not happy hearing it?"

    "There''s no way that''s the truth." Yujia crossed her arms, pretending to be offended. However, she couldn''t hold that face for long, and ended up letting out a wave of laughter. She really, truly missed this bantering with her master. Waving her hand between her laughter, she admitted, "Alright, I''ll stop troubling Master now. In all seriousness, I''m happy to be back. I missed Master. And Lingxin."

    Grudgingly, he replied, "I''m happy you''re back too. No more trips like that in the future. My old heart can''t take it."

    "En, en. I don''t plan on going anywhere anytime soon. The trip was not worth everything bad that happened."

    Her master stroked his beard. "Did you not learn anything from the trip?"

    Yujia shook her head quickly. "Oh no, I did learn a lot. In particular, we had a brief competition with Guozijian students. I''ll tell you more about it later. What''s actually important is that I discovered a sudden idea from the experience¡ª it''s a favor I''ll have to ask Master."

    "A favor?" He seemed intrigued by that idea. "Do say."

    Yujia leaned forward, whispering what she had in mind. It was an idea that appeared in her head after the conflict with Han Shiche at Huangshan. She had been keeping the idea for a while now, ever since it first appeared. It wasn''t really a big deal on her master''s end, but if he agreed, a huge dilemma in her life could be solved.

    When her master heard this favor from her, he took a step back and nodded. "Kid, of course I can do that for you. It would be my p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e." He agreed without waiting a single beat.

    Yujia was elated to hear his instant agreement. "Thank you, Master."

    "En, anything for my fav¡ª I mean, my disciple." His eyes widened when he realized his mistake. But it wasn''t something he could take back now. The word, or some portion of the word, had been said.

    Yujia didn''t fail to catch the slip of his tongue, a broad smile spreading across her face. "So I am your favorite disciple!" she exclaimed.

    "Ah, kid, haven''t you had enough of that?"

    ¡­

    Yujia gave Roubao a few more pats and back scratches, then decided too that she was ready to get some good sleep. Before that, however, she went over to the bath that the servants had prepared, sinking herself into the steaming water with great bliss.

    The hot water bath was like a long-waited relief for her muscles, sore from all the endless traveling. She finally had a good chance to clean herself too, which was not an option when she was traveling back home with the soldiers. It was chilly outside, but the bath was just such a cozy, warm place. Yujia wanted to stay in there forever, if she could.

    As her thoughts were given a time to finally collect, a crucial reminder popped into her head.

    Zixu''s birthday was coming up soon, wasn''t it?

 Chapter 349 - Birthday Planning of the Artist

    As Yujia thought about what she could do for Zixu''s birthday, numerous ideas popped into her head.

    In modern times, because of the globalization of culture, cakes and candles were widespread practices for celebrating birthdays. But in this time and era, birthday cakes were not yet a thing. Instead, foods such as peaches and long noodles existed as birthday traditions. Nevertheless, a priority was placed on the birthdays of the elderly and the young. For someone at Zixu''s age, a big birthday celebration would be quite inappropriate.

    Regardless, Zixu would definitely get a bowl of long noodles to wish him longevity, no? Yujia briefly considered learning how to make noodles for him, but she didn''t want to stuff him with yet another bowl of noodles if he already had one before.

    She did like the idea of making him a birthday cake, the problem being that she had no idea how to bake. His birthday was coming up in a week, and she highly doubted that she could learn how to bake a cake in a week. Her knowledge with baking was near zero, after all. Baking was also a rather western concept, something the people in this era weren''t entirely familiar with. Traditional pastries were all steamed.

    Of course, there was also the fact that Zixu once told her that he didn''t have much of a sweet tooth. It was his younger brother Ziyang, he said, which led to his many visits to pastry shops. Thus, a cake might not have been the best idea either.

    Did salty cakes exist? No, that was just bread.

    Then¡­ did birthday bread exist?

    The idea sounded ridiculous in her mind already. In fact, most of these ideas sounded ridiculous. If only she had more experience with cooking before. Why wasn''t she a chef in her past life? Yujia clutched her head in frustration.

    The two did agree to share a jar of wine that they had buried beneath the white plum earlier on in the year. Except that didn''t feel exactly like a gift. Yujia wanted to do more for him.

    When she set her hands back down, the water in the bath splashed. She tilted her head back, staring at the tall wooden ceiling of the bathroom.

    As a late birthday present, Zixu gave her two seal stamps made of jade. He had tried carving wooden ones himself, but "failed" by his terms¡ª though Yujia still pocketed one of the wooden ones he made before, since she thought it looked perfectly fine. In a way, it was like how he called the hairstyle he made for her with the hairpin "lopsided", when it was nearly perfect the moment she checked in a mirror before undoing it.

    Still, there was so much thought behind his act of choosing the seal stamps, considering that they were essential to painting and she hadn''t had very personalized ones before.

    Yujia wondered if she could do something like that. Food was her first response for birthdays, but now that she thought about it, someone like Yu Zixu probably never lacked food. Besides, food, although carrying great sentiment, only lasted until it was eaten.

    What would make a good permanent gift? She figured that he probably didn''t want her paintings. Except, other than art, what else could she do? It felt like she had no useful skills when approaching the dilemma of a birthday.

    A wild idea suddenly appeared in her mind.

    The previous owner of this body, the Fourth Miss, was rather skilled at embroidery, according to her information sources. Was it possible that those skills carried over to her current self? How well did muscle memory work?

    She never tried embroidery ever since she transmigrated. There wasn''t an exact reason. Perhaps it was simply because embroidery seemed so daunting, and she never had any real use for it.

    Though now that she thought about it, and it seemed like it could have an actual purpose, Yujia was a tad bit excited. It would be incredible if she could just embroider beautiful scenes without having any actual practice.

    Yujia quickly got out of the bath. She wanted to give this a try. Surely, even if she stumbled a bit in the beginning, she would get the hang of it quickly?

    ¡­

    Yujia s.u.c.k.e.d at embroidery.

    She discovered this after running to Yufeng, asking if Yufeng had any materials for embroidery on hand. Then, sitting by candlelight, needle, thread, and cloth in hand, Yujia proceeded to carry out her attempt at embroidery.

    Needless to say, it didn''t turn out exactly like how her imagination expected it to be. Once she learned how to tie a basic knot for her needle, the process of dipping the needle back and forth through the front and back of the cloth felt familiar. Muscle memory indeed played a factor there, helping her familiarity with these motions. The difficult part was the formation of an actual picture.

    Having no experience with embroidery, Yujia''s mind wasn''t familiar with the various stitches and patterns. And thus, her quick hour-long attempt at embroidery turned out to be a jumble of thread and a variation of shapes that didn''t resemble a picture.

    Under Yufeng''s observations and words, Yujia seemed to "know what she was doing yet simultaneously know nothing at all", which was, in fact, exactly what Yujia felt like.

    It was an odd sensation. Her fingers knew what to do. They knew how to grip the needle. Completing basic stitch patterns under Yufeng''s rusty guidance were also motions that felt smoother than ever. Yet when it came to piecing her brain with these memories of the hands, it all fell apart in a chaotic mess.

    At this rate, it didn''t seem like embroidery was a viable option for a birthday gift either.

    Zixu was a perfectionist. Yujia was less of one compared to him. Yet when it came to something like a birthday gift, she did want it to turn out perfect, not a messy, half-done one.

    Embroidery was quickly crossed off her list. Cooking, still¡­

    It was still an option?

    Yujia figured it would be best to talk with Chef Hong about this tomorrow. As the resident chef at Lingxin, surely, Yujia could receive some good advice by looking for her.

    With a sigh, Yujia stuffed her ruined embroidery in a corner and prepared to go to sleep. Considering how late it was, sleep should''ve came easily to her, yet it was anything but that. These past few days, sleep had always been difficult. Ever since the encounter with bandits, the blood and bodies were all she could think of whenever her mind had a chance to be free. On a rickety carriage, this made sleep even more impossible on the trip back. Yujia was under the impression that once she was back and sleeping on a warm bed, it would make sleep easier, even if just by a bit.

    It didn''t.

    Turning in her bed, she pulled the thick blankets over her head, burying her face into her pillow¡ª as if that would do anything to stop the sounds, the smells, and worse, the images.

    ¡­

    When morning came, it was a blessing.

 Chapter 350 - When the Artist Has an Innovative Idea

    Xie Yufeng''s first remark upon seeing Yujia''s face that morning was "You look horrible."

    Yujia gave a tough smile as she went over to the side of the room to wear some thicker robes today. When she stepped out of her blankets that morning, she noticed just how cold it was. It had already been getting chilly the past few days. With the temperature being so frigid this morning, it was a clear sign that winter was arriving.

    The capital, being fairly northern, meant that along with less sweltering summers, bone-chilling winters were bound to arrive. It would be Yujia''s first winter in this world. Back in her old life, although heating was expensive, at least it existed. She didn''t know how bad things would get in this era.

    Regardless, Yujia went to take out a set of thick robes from drawers at the side of her room. Wrapping layers upon layers around herself, she ended up in a set of light jade robes. The good part about ancient wear was probably the excellent insulation so much layering provided.

    "Did you not sleep well?" Yufeng continued as Yujia finished dressing.

    While now moving to brush her hair, Yujia sighed. "Not sleeping well is an understatement. I didn''t sleep at all."

    Yufeng was silent for a few minutes, then said, "This evening, I''ll prepare you some medicinal tea that can help with insomnia."

    "Ah." Yujia looked up, pausing for a moment in brushing her hair. She gave a soft smile. "I''d appreciate that."

    "It''s nothing." Yufeng waved her hand. "I used to make it for myself all the time. I''m glad we''re back. At least here, they have the ingredients I need."

    "I''m glad we''re back too."

    Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Yujia sighed yet again.

    While stepping outside of her courtyard, Yujia noticed bits of frost sprinkled over the grass at her feet. Was it really that cold last night? It didn''t feel that cold under her blankets, and it was cold but not as cold in her room as well.

    Taking a glance back at the courtyard, Yujia thought of the previous inhabitant, Wei Yunjing, her master''s deceased wife. She had all sorts of complex inventions lying around. If she was skilled enough to create indoor plumbing and a fanning system for the summer, perhaps she also implemented some archaic form of a heating unit inside the room that Yujia didn''t know about. It would explain the difference in temperatures.

    Hugging her arms a little closer to her, Yujia hastened her steps. Perhaps if she moved more, the generated body heat would keep her warmer, until she reached her destination: the kitchens. The good news was that it didn''t take much of a walk to get there.

    Once she pushed open the doors of the kitchens¡ª the sounds of chopping and stirring could already be heard from outside¡ª Yujia''s face was flooded with a gust of hot air.

    Chef Hong was inside, chopping minced meat that looked like pork. Lili, the other worker in the kitchens, was feeding a large crackling flame that sat in its hearth. Old Wu, another worker, was stirring a pot simmering over the hearth. Along with the steam in the room, an aromatic scent drifted along.

    When they heard the doors creak open, Chef Hong was the first to see Yujia. She immediately slammed the blade in her hand down, declaring, "Girlie!" Hastily wiping her hands down on the apron she tied around her waist, Chef Hong rushed forward, faster than Yujia could interact. The large woman clasped her hands down on Yujia''s shoulders, face beaming with pure joy. "You''re back!"

    Lili stopped tending to the flames and approached Yujia too, waving her hand with a grin.

    Yujia couldn''t help but grin back. "Yeah, I am."

    While Lili went to shut the doors behind Yujia, Chef Hong now grabbed Yujia''s arms, looking up and down. "Girlie, did you lose weight? Look how thin you are now, aiya."

    "And your face!" Chef Hong stepped back, shaking her head. "My girlie must not have rested well. Traveling is quite exhausting, isn''t it?"

    "Well, yes," Yujia agreed.

    "Old Wu!" Chef Hong turned around, barking at the man stirring the porridge. "Ay, ladle a bowl of congee for her, will you?" She turned back to Yujia before waiting for a response. "Upon hearing you returned last night, I specially made sure to give you something extra replenishing and nutritious. Eight Treasure Congee, with glutinous rice, black rice, pearl barley, red dates, lotus seeds, peanuts, mung beans, and Chinese yam. It''s been simmering all night. You''re sure to like it."

    Yujia did find herself drooling at that description. Eight Treasure Congee was a delicious classic, and nothing sounded better at the moment.

    As Old Wu placed a bowl of the congee in front of her, Yujia gave him a word of thanks before digging in. The moment she ate a spoonful, her face lit up. The texture of the porridge was perfectly creamy, paired with a slight crunch from the lotus seeds or peanuts. With a touch of sweetness, it was warming and delicious to eat. In the bites that contained red dates, an extra hint of sugar touched her tongue. As a combination, the bowl was simply irresistible. She finished it quickly and helped herself to another bowl.

    In the midst of her eating, Chef Hong nodded appreciatively, saying, "This is why I''m glad you''re back, girlie. No one eats quite as well as you in this villa."

    Yujia called out, "What about Lili?" The girl turned her head in Yujia''s direction while Yujia went on, "Don''t you like eating Chef Hong''s dishes? Have you tried a bowl of this congee yet?"

    Lili nodded while smiling brightly. "I had a bowl earlier this morning!"

    Chef Hong wrinkled her nose, remarking, "Don''t be fooled at how she claims she ate. That girl is nothing like you. Look at you, having two bowls. This is why you''re my favorite person to cook for."

    Yujia sheepishly finished her second bowl. "And you are my favorite cook," she replied.

    With a smug look, Chef Hong said, "There''s nothing better than a steaming bowl of congee on a winter morning."

    "It is definitely getting colder," Yujia responded. The interior of the kitchen was considerably warmer, with fires for cooking burning and doors closed. This was the reason for why she rushed to get in here. She knew it would be warm.

    "We''ll be bringing out winter cloaks soon. Got to stay warm¡ª falling ill in winter is never a good sign."

    "Winter cloaks¡­" Yujia mused.

    She was excited to try them on. Her experience with cloaks was rather limited, the only one she wore before being Bo Zhizhong and the dark red cloaks he liked wearing. Then again, whenever he gave her his cloak as a "gift", she did end up selling it for quite a decent amount of taels¡­

    Her master bought her a winter cloak months ago when providing her funding for her wardrobe. It was one lined entirely with furs on the inside, appearing quite heavy when she lifted it. Of course, because it was still summer at that time, she never actually wore it, though she imagined that movement in it would be rather limited with how heavy it was.

    It would certainly keep her warm, though the heaviness was a downside.

    Yujia remembered down coats from the modern era. She owned one as her default winter wear. Considering how lightweight and insulating it was, it was one of the best purchases she made. Down feathers didn''t seem all-too-popular during this time, however. She hardly saw it around.

    For a moment, she imagined what it would be like to have a down coat in this time, imagining the puffy synthetic look on her. She couldn''t help but snicker at that idea. It looked too ridiculous, to pair modern fashion with the clothes of ancient times.

    Except still, those coats and jackets were wonderfully warm. She wouldn''t mind wearing it in private, if only it existed¡­

    That was when it hit Yujia.

    She liked staying warm in the winter. Who didn''t? It was a universally shared inclination.

    So, what would be a more heartfelt gift than a hand sewn winter cloak, perfectly innovative to be extra warm and lightweight?

 Chapter 351 - The Artist Runs Into an Old Friend

    The idea was a bit strange in Yujia''s mind, but it was an idea that would hopefully work well enough.

    First, she would gather the materials needed to make a down jacket: goose down and quality satin cloth. Then, in a quilting manner, she would sew pockets of the down insulation, similar to creating a long blanket. Once she had that finished, she would encase the material within two layers of thick fabric on the outside. That would mask the peculiar and puffy look of the down insulation, making it seem just like any other fur-lined cloak. Embroidery and fur decoration could also be added.

    When she had all of those steps completed, wouldn''t she be able to make a down jacket in the form of an innocuous cloak? It would be light-weight yet warming, certainly something Zixu could use to stay warm in the winter.

    The test run with embroidery from last night proved to Yujia that she had the muscle memory for stitching. It was the assembly of stitches to beautiful stitched pictures that she had no capabilities of. As a result of that, with enough guidance, Yujia believed that she could make the cloak herself.

    Now that she had this idea in mind, it was time to get her plan started. The sooner she could begin, the better.

    After bidding farewell to Chef Hong and the others, Yujia left the kitchens and headed towards her courtyard. Perhaps it was because she spent so long in the cozy room of the kitchen, or perhaps it was because the sun had risen, but it was not as cold as it was in the morning. Nevertheless, she still went to her courtyard to grab a satchel of taels, her budget that she would use to buy materials to begin her gift-making with.

    Once she had her taels, she was ready to leave Lingxin. The moment she stepped out of the villa, however, she saw a face that she hadn''t seen in a long time. He was pacing back and forth in the villa entrance, eyes meeting her the moment she saw him.

    "Bo Zhizhong!" she called out.

    "I heard the news," he began, his honey-brown eyes scanning over her face. "You''re¡­ you''re alright."

    "How widespread was this news?" Yujia muttered, although she remembered how many sons from influential figures went on the trip. Bandits capturing them was likely a big scandal in the capital. "But yes, I''m well. You came all the way here because you worried about me?"

    "Worry?" He immediately scowled, denying, "No, why would I walk all the way over here for just you? I just.. had some business in the area."

    "Ah yes, business," Yujia grinned, totally buying into his excuse.

    Truthfully, even before she went off to her trip, she had been seeing Zhizhong less. Although he was her business partner for the art supply store they shared, Three Inks, for a month or so before the trip, he had disappeared for the most part. She assumed he was busy with his own life, considering how before, when she did see him frequently, he always wore dark circles around his eyes and looked as though he could fall asleep any second. Now that she saw him standing in front of her, dark circles gone, she was glad that life eased up on him.

    Except, although Bo Zhizhong looked better-rested, his expression was now weighed down with darkness. "I knew the southern regions had bandit issues. I''m sorry. I- I should''ve done something about it."

    "Why are you apologizing?" Yujia tilted her head, puzzled by this sudden apology from him. Ultimately, Zhizhong was just the son of a merchant family. He couldn''t have had any connections with people that could stop bandits. "It''s not like you could''ve actually done anything about it. There''s no need to be sorry."

    At her response, Zhizhong fell silent for a few minutes.

    He gazed at Yujia. Lips parting as if he wanted to say something, yet no sound coming out, he then closed them and swallowed. She could tell there was something he wanted to say, but in that moment, she did nothing to beckon him to do so. She, too, faltered, taken aback by the shift in his gaze.

    This moment should''ve been nothing special. It was just a brief split in time, a second where he was at a loss of words. Except Yujia knew, somewhere deep down inside, that things weren''t that simple.

    When that moment passed, he looked down, a hand going up to his neck.

    "I meant," he explained, a bit quieter now, "I knew about those bandits from a business report of my family''s merchants. I should''ve told you ahead of time so you knew. It was shocking, right?"

    "Ah." Yujia mustered a cheerful tone, replying, "It was shocking, but I''m fine now. Don''t feel sorry about it; it really isn''t your fault at all."

    "Thanks," he mustered a response, shifting his eyes to the side. "Well," he then said, "I have to get going."

    Her expression fell. "So soon? You don''t want to stay for a cup of tea or anything?"

    "No, I have¡­ things. Things to do. It was nice seeing you, though," Zhizhong declined. He turned and was about to leave.

    Something was definitely up, and Yujia wasn''t going to stand by without doing anything. She went after him, catching up and moving so that she was in front of him. Zhizhong stopped in his tracks.

    "Is something wrong?" she asked, eyebrows knitted. "How have things been for you?"

    "Me?" Zhizhong smiled, as bright as ever. "What are you worrying about? Everything has been great for me."

    If he wasn''t going to say anything, Yujia couldn''t force him. However, she still added, "Are you sure? You know, even if you don''t want to say right now, you can come find me anytime in the future, if you want to talk or anything. You can tell me anything. I''m here for you."

    He paused. For a second, Yujia saw a flicker in his smile. And then, he said, "Thanks. I appreciate that."

    ¡­

    She didn''t know it at the time, but she should''ve pushed a little further. Perhaps he would''ve said something more, or perhaps, even despite her insistence, he wouldn''t have. Perhaps regardless of all his hesitation, his lips were sealed shut from the start.

    He couldn''t have told her everything, after all. There were so many things he couldn''t tell her, from his identity to his feelings.

    After all, to her, he was just Bo Zhizhong, a son of a merchant, her business partner, and a good friend. Fu Yushang, the crown prince of the empire, didn''t exist.

    She was used to the days of carefree joking with a younger-brother-like-figure. She was used to the days where he would scowl playfully at the things she said. She was used to the days of simplicity. But those days were already long gone. Long, long gone.

 Chapter 352 - When the Artist is Blinded by Wealth

    While Yujia was out buying materials for the cloak, she came across her first dilemma.

    She didn''t know what Zixu''s favorite color was.

    Or, to put it in more exact terms, she had a faint idea of what his favorite color was, but she didn''t know what it exactly was. It was either teal or blue. It had to be one of those two: she only ever saw those two colors around him, and besides, they were the most common colors in his paintings.

    He did wear both colors in almost equal frequency, which also made the decision difficult.

    As Yujia stood in front of rows of fabric, she found herself stuck between two shades. One was a rich shade of blue. The dye was so vivid yet dark, akin to the deepest layers of the ocean. In fact, Yujia imagined in dim lighting that it could look almost black. Nonetheless, when light struck it in just the right way, the complex shades of blue could be seen. Meanwhile, the other one was a teal green, similar to jade in its hues. It was also dark, but not nearly as dark as the blue. It was the same shade as the leaves amongst shadows in the forest.

    Comparing the two, Yujia figured she liked the blue more. The green one was lovely, but it would be better as silk for a set of robes. As it was brighter, it would be more difficult to match with other robes when it was worn as a cloak. The dark blue was more versatile.

    Therefore, Yujia picked up the roll of blue satin. The texture was smooth against her hands, and when she went to check its thickness, it also seemed relatively sturdy. It did seem like a good pick for winter robes, and considering the season, it also made sense for the store she chose to begin selling fabric for winter.

    Overall, she found the fabric-choosing process to be highly entertaining. It was wonderful to look at the various kinds of colors and cloth types. For example, the idea of making Yu Zixu neon pink robes sounded ridiculous, but it was a fun idea to picture in her mind.

    When she went to the front counter to purchase the roll of fabric she selected, the store owner, an old woman, gave a nod at the sight of the cloth. "Young Miss, you selected a good piece."

    "I was thinking of sewing a cloak with it," Yujia explained.

    "There''s not a better type of fabric to make cloaks with," the grandma explained, running her fingers along the cloth. "This one is both lightweight, insulating, and easy to clean. Not to mention its quality of course¡ª it can last seasons upon seasons without a problem, as long as it''s stored well when not in wear."

    Yujia reached to pull out her satchel of taels. "That sounds lovely. How much is it?"

    "For a roll of this quality¡­ fifteen taels."

    Fifteen taels was not a bad price at all. Yujia began to pull ingots out of her bag, before she was stopped by another word from the store owner.

    "Young Miss, if you want to spare an extra tael, I''ll sell you threads for embroidery as well. I have some excellent silver ones."

    "Ah, embroidery?" Yujia bit her lip, thinking of her inability. "Would those threads be good for sewing the cloak together too?"

    "Oh no, the embroidery ones are far too fine for work like that. If those are the threads you need, I can sell those as well."

    Upon hearing this, Yujia replied, "Then, could I get some of both? Two taels?" Two taels was a tad bit expensive for some strings, but Yujia thought it would be appropriate to give a little extra when expecting a little extra as well. "And, I was thinking of buying some furs to line this cloak. Could you direct me to a good place?"

    The old woman hastily assured that she could, then went behind the counter to look for threads. She came back a moment later with an unwrapped package. There were spools of silver thread and a few more smaller spools of various other colors. Along with that, there were also loops of dark blue thread, essentially the same color dye as the cloak itself. Furthermore, she also included some strips of cloth that looked like they could be sewed to make straps for fastening the cloak.

    Yujia thanked her for this, exchanged the money, then exited the store. Before she left, the old lady had also given her some instructions to a store that sold furs, assuring her it was the best place. However, it was all the way across the capital, so Yujia had some ways to go before getting there. She also now carried two parcels, one large as it was the roll of blue satin, so Yujia considered first heading back to Lingxin to drop things off somewhere.

    Her plans ended up changing, for on the way back to Lingxin, that was when Yujia ran upon Three Inks.

    She hadn''t entered this art supply store of hers when she first left Lingxin. Yet now that she was passing it, she figured she might as well drop a hello.

    The moment she wandered in, she was taken aback by how different everything looked.

    Three Inks was originally a store that looked high-end, from the wooden paneling to the various ornaments. It generally gave a modest yet elegant look. Except now, when Yujia walked in, was it just her eyes, or did everything look like it was glittering in richness? The wood looked more polished, but beyond that, the decorations were more expensive and numerous. Every table seemed to hold a different decoration; every display was now framed with precious metals. It almost hurt to look at how extravagant everything was. Every corner was oozing with gold and silver and gemstones and crystals.

    Yujia felt broke just walking into the store, although she certainly wasn''t wearing anything poor.

    Even the clerk they hired, Gao Yi, seemed to radiate pure wealth. From just a glance, one could tell that the silks he wore were of the highest quality, intricately woven and embroidered. It didn''t look any worse than the quality of palace-wear. A hefty jade ring circled his thumb, while the abacus he calculated values on was also made of precious jade¡ª a far upgrade from his old simple clothes and wooden abacus.

    Yujia blinked a few times. If it weren''t for Gao Yi standing there, his face the same as usual¡ª albeit a bit plumper¡ª Yujia might''ve doubted if she walked into the right store.

    Gao Yi, on the other hand, was more than pleased to see her. He immediately set his brush down, running to greet Yujia with a deep bow.

    "Owner, you finally returned!" he exclaimed.

    Yujia nodded, exchanging pleasantries before observing, "I see that¡­ business has gone well the past few months?"

    Gao Yi agreed vigorously, "Business is better than ever. In the past months, we''ve made a few partnersh.i.p.s with other merchants here and there, which allowed us to access high quality materials quicker for our products, and thus better quality products. Better quality products at cheaper production prices also led to more sales."

    "And this business partnership discussion was with¡­ Zhizhong?"

    "No, no." Gao Yi proudly crossed his arms, explaining, "The other owner explained that I could take whichever liberties I would like with making business decisions. So I pulled a few strings here and there with my connections and got these amazing deals."

    "Is that so?" Yujia thoughtfully tapped her chin. "I assume he paid you well?" If she remembered correctly, Gao Yi was hired in the first place and considered trustworthy because Zhizhong paid him a never-before-heard salary in terms of generosity.

    "Oh, of course. He is always so generous with pay, but this time, he said I could reap all the profits I earned, as long as I put some of it into the shop itself." Gao Yi waved his hand at all the decorations. "Hence, I took some liberties with decor, if you don''t mind."

    Yujia slowly turned her head, absorbing all the glittering treasure within her eyes again. Blinded by wealth: she truly experienced what this phrase meant now.

    The new decor was meant to inspire awe and admiration, Yujia figured. Yet to her, it was nothing short of obnoxious. To put it frankly, she hated the new look of the shop.

    "I''m not sure how to put this nicely but¡­" Yujia winced as she spoke, "I do mind."

    Gao Yi''s expression immediately fell. "Y-you don''t like it?" he stammered.

    Yujia squeezed her eyes shut before opening them again and replying, "I appreciate all the thought you put into decorating the store. But Three Inks was always meant as a store where both nobles and commoners were welcome. This is why we sell pencils and other supplies of various quality levels, no? If you decorate the store like such, wouldn''t anyone who comes from poor¡ª or even average¡ª financial background immediately believe that they couldn''t afford anything from this store?"

    "But our shop''s good fortune hasn''t decreased by any bit since I revamped it with the new decor. If it''s about money, don''t worry! Our sales have only increased since then," Gao Yi assured.

    Pausing for a moment, Yujia thought about his words.

    Was this really about money?

    Truthfully, she did start this business at the beginning because of money. She needed taels to save herself from an unwanted marriage. Once that dilemma was solved, she still liked to reap the benefits of sales in the shop. The reasons were honestly pure greed at the start.

    Except, after so much time has passed, hasn''t her mindset changed? Part of her motivation was still fueled by the idea of making more sales. However, another part, Yujia knew, was much more than that. She made things such as oil paints and sketchbooks widespread because she wanted to share her artistic experience with others. She liked the idea of others enjoying and finding useful the things she made.

    This had evolved into something that was more than greed, hasn''t it?

    She also knew that regardless of era, there were always going to be people held back from chasing their true passions. Whether it be societal or financial or personal reasons holding them back, she understood the struggle. Some things she couldn''t do much to help, but to take the first step in making art supplies easily available to all on a financial basis was definitely something she could accomplish.

    And to ensure that, she had to ensure that the store was a space they felt safe to buy in¡ª not somewhere they felt smothered and belittled in. Shop decorations shouldn''t have been too big of a deal. When Yujia thought about it, nevertheless, wasn''t space the most important, vital, and inescapable part of everything? A different environment could provide a different mentality entirely.

    Sure, the customers that came from lower-end backgrounds probably couldn''t spend as much as nobles, their existences less valued. But wasn''t that the same for every aspect of their lives? Weren''t they always the least valued group, despite being the most common group?

    Yujia was in a place where she had the power to change something about that. She could make those customers, valued nowhere else, valued in her shop. Despite the fact that this choice of hers wouldn''t have much of an impact, if this meant that only one person felt more welcome in the shop, more welcome to follow their artistic dreams, then she would consider this decision of hers valuable.

    "The walls look nice," Yujia ended up forcing out the single compliment she could derive. "All these decorations, though¡­" she waved her hand, gesturing at the agate vases, the historical-painting folding screens engraved with gold, the pearl-string dividers, "they can all go away. Bring back the old decor."

    Gao Yi looked more than rejected, but although despondent, he at least knew how to remain professional. With a curt nod, he called over one of the workers helping him manage the store, ordering for the decorations to be taken down.

    Yujia thought back to how Bo Zhizhong was the one who designed the original store. She couldn''t help but ask, "Has Zhizhong stopped by the store anytime recently?"

    "Oh yes he has, multiple times," Gao Yi informed.

    Yujia''s eyebrows knitted, waving her hand at the decorations still remaining. "He said nothing about all this?"

    Right as she said that, a worker walked past, lugging a giant golden statue, about half the size of half his body. Yujia gawked at the sculpture depicting a man on a horse, wondering how she didn''t even notice that when she walked in. Yet at another glance at all the other flamboyant decorations, she was once again reminded of how the sculpture fit in with the rest of the blinding room.

    "No," Gao Yi said, "in fact, he didn''t even blink an eye or say anything at all. I thought he liked it, so I was rather surprised when you said you didn''t like it, if I am to be honest."

    Yujia wrinkled her nose.

    How much richness was the Bo Family living in for a scene like this store to be something Zhizhong wouldn''t even blink an eye at? She recalled how exhausted Zhizhong was before she went off to her trip, though, and Yujia figured that the exhaustion might play into it.

    "If I am to be honest again, though," Gao Yi whispered under his breath, "ever since you went on that trip, Owner, the other owner has not paid much attention to the store. He let me do everything."

    "Is that so?" Yujia pursed her lips in a reply.

 Chapter 353 - Finishing the Artists Purchases

    Hearing this news of how withdrawn Bo Zhizhong had been with the shop, along with his distant behavior this morning, Yujia admitted that she felt like something was certainly off.

    She really couldn''t understand why Zhizhong was behaving so erratically. The last exchange they had before he started distancing himself was incredibly normal. It wasn''t like they had a fight or anything of that sort. So, what really happened to him? Could exhaustion from being overworked really explain it?

    Biting the inside of her cheek, Yujia thought about Zixu.

    The past few months, hadn''t Zixu also been overworked? He had been open in sharing his struggles with her, describing all kinds of new tasks his father had left him to handle. Except, despite all that, Zixu still maintained his usual warmth when around her, even when their time together was limited. Zhizhong, on the other hand¡­

    Thinking about it again, Yujia recalled the two polar opposite personalities Zhizhong and Zixu had. She knew essentially since she first met both of them that Zhizhong was like a child, while Zixu was much more m.a.t.u.r.e.

    That probably explained a lot.

    Regardless, Yujia planned to have a serious talk with Bo Zhizhong sometime later. A talk could sort things out, hopefully. Right now, she had the matters of a cloak to sew at hand, and worrying her mind over things she didn''t have time to take care of wasn''t in her top priorities.

    After she made sure Gao Yi understood that the decorations absolutely had to be changed, and that he would take care of it all, she stored her purchases in the back storage room. Then, she went off to finish her shopping.

    ¡­

    The old woman at the fabric store hadn''t given bad advice to Yujia. When she went over to the shop that sold furs¡ª run by a hunter and his family¡ª on the opposite side of the capital, as the granny had advised, Yujia indeed found excellent quality furs at a good price.

    She didn''t know much about furs herself, though she could tell by the meticulous care the hunter put into his goods that they likely weren''t poor in quality. Each one was well maintained and cleaned, allowing Yujia the relief of not having to deal with strong smells, blood, or any stains.

    Following the recommendation of that hunter, she also found herself a shop that sold goose down. Contrary to the fur, which she spent quite a decent amount of taels on, the goose down was at an insanely cheap price. She bought a large bag, more than enough to fill up the cloak, and it only took a few taels. It seemed like goose down truly wasn''t a popular choice of stuffing in this time and age. In fact, the farmer who sold it to her was even surprised that someone that looked to be at her stature wanted to buy something that "only commoners used".

    At comments like these, Yujia merely smiled to herself.

    Who cared about if something was for commoner or noble use, as long as it kept one warm during the chilliest winter days?

    ¡­

    On her way back to Lingxin, carrying her newly bought supplies, Yujia came across a crowd. They were gathered around a notice, excitedly chattering amongst themselves.

    As Yujia passed through, she caught a few words.

    So it seemed, after much battling with various nomadic groups in Xiyu¡ª the Western Regions¡ª the Xiang empire earned key victories in a chain of battles.

    Yujia had briefly heard about the news of her country, though she was never one to be too involved in politics. Xiyu were lands often fought over, especially because of all the valuable trade routes that crossed over there. The Xiang Empire had always held campaigns in attempts to secure political, military, and economical control over the region. Coupled with wars held against Northern Zhou¡ª which had somewhat ended at a peace treaty a few years before Yujia transmigrated¡ª the empire was never truly able to gain solid control in Xiyu.

    But now, considering how the Xiang Empire was able to focus resources into the west, it seemed like they made some landslide victories.

    Passing by, Yujia heard one woman remark, "With the end of this war, my son will finally come home."

    "Which division is your son fighting in?" another woman replied in a question.

    "The one under General Wu, I heard. When I first heard about it, it was truly relieving news. Not that war can ever be relieving, but General Wu is one of the best at ensuring the least casualties, you know?"

    "Yes, I did in fact hear about that! Isn''t he also the one with the female lieutenant as an adopted daughter?"

    "Certainly¡ª I heard she also led a major victory. She''s sure to be awarded a higher rank upon returning."

    At this gossip that she managed to catch, Yujia thought of Wu Yichen, her technical sister by blood which she had never met. She was the Second Miss of the Yang Family, before she changed her name after her adoptive father''s.

    Ever since she heard Hui''er explain Wu Yichen''s story the first time, Yujia was intrigued by this lieutenant sister of hers. It was even more interesting to hear from Yang Xiaoyi, the Fifth Miss, on her long-lasting friendship with the Second Miss. A woman in this day and age making a title and name for herself in the military was always admirable.

    It would likely take months for the army to make a return. When they did, however, Yujia wondered if she would be able to see and perhaps meet Wu Yichen for herself.

    If she could, though, it was just another distant thought.

    Carrying her bag of goose down, Yujia smiled at the idea and went on her way. It was time to get home and start creating.

 Chapter 354 - The Artist Learns the Craft of Sewing

    To begin the craft of sewing, Yujia needed instructions. She wanted whatever she made to look good, not like the work of a three-year-old.

    As a result, she wandered around in the villa until she ran across Lili, carrying a bucket of taros.

    "Lili!" Yujia called out, waving her free hand. "Are you busy?"

    Pausing in her steps, the young woman replied, "Not in particular; I''m just bringing these taros to the kitchens. Auntie says she wants to make pastries with it."

    "That sounds good," Yujia said.

    "En, did you need anything?" Lili continued walking after asking, Yujia following.

    Gesturing her head at the bundle of cloth in her hands, Yujia explained, "I actually wanted to ask if you knew how to sew a cloak, or if not, if you could direct me to someone who could help me with it. I''ve been wanting to sew one as a gift."

    "A cloak? Cloaks are rather simple; I can certainly help you sew one!" Lili seemed rather interested.

    Thinking about it, Yujia should''ve guessed that Lili knew how to sew. Most women in this time period did, considering how essential of a skill it was. Especially for people of Lili''s background¡ª as someone who was not a noble¡ª she would probably sew her own clothes. She probably also made the clothes for her aunt and father, considering how Chef Hong didn''t look like she had much time to be sewing when she was cooking in the kitchens all the time.

    To have Lili help her out was something Yujia had no complaints towards. She found Lili easy to get along with, her demeanor quite gentle, so to have someone like that to guide her was the best option of all.

    "You know what, let me just drop these taros off. I''ll come find you in your courtyard?" Lili proposed.

    "Take your time; there''s no rush!"

    ¡­

    "I know this sounds peculiar, but hear me out: I want to sew chambers of these goose feathers into this fabric, then wrap it with another layer of fabric to create a cloak."

    Upon hearing Yujia explain her project, Lili thought for a few moments.

    Then, she said, "I actually quite like your idea!"

    "You think so?" Yujia found herself grinning brightly. "I figured it would be good in keeping whoever wears it warm."

    "So this cloak isn''t for yourself?" Lili leaned her head over to observe the goose down and roll of fabric Yujia had laying by the side.

    "No, it''s for¡­" Yuija found her voice trailing off. What was the term to describe her relationship with Yu Zixu? If it was modern day, she could just call him her boyfriend, but that clearly wasn''t an existing concept in this time. She ended up saying, "It''s for Yu Zixu. He''s another disciple in the academy."

    "I see." Lifting her brows, Lili''s expression showed that she understood what Yujia was talking about, but thankfully, she wasn''t a gossipy soul like Yujia''s master. Without many demands for details, she added on, "This fabric looks excellent. When dealing with feathers, it''s good to select one more intricately woven ones so that the feathers don''t poke through."

    "I''m really glad to hear that."

    "The part about the pockets of feathers will certainly be something I''ve never tried before, but it''s a good challenge!" she declared. "I''m sure we can make it work."

    And thus, the task of sewing a cloak began.

    As it turned out, today was a day for beginning the creation of the inside cloak. First, Lili had Yujia pick a container for measuring the feathers. Yujia chose a small jewelry box for rings that she had no use for. It was the perfect size for the amount of down that would go into each pocket, to ensure even warmth across the cloak. While Yujia was figuring that out, Lili cut out two large pieces of cloth, which would likely end up being the down-stuffed section, Yujia imagined. When Yujia observed her doing so, she noticed how careful Lili was with the roll of fabric, along with her shining eyes at the cloth.

    It seemed like Lili truly liked the blue satin. Considering how much cloth there was in the giant roll that Yujia bought, Yujia figured any extra leftover cloth should be gifted to Lili as a gift for her help, if Lili wanted it.

    Once they had everything prepared, now came the learning curve.

    A piece of scrap cloth on hand, Yujia practiced stitches under the guidance of Lili. As an instructor, Lili was incredibly patient. She first demonstrated the type that Yujia needed to learn through slow motions, then gave tips to Yujia while Yujia did it. Only when she was confident Yujia knew how to stitch nicely¡ª which included an hour of practicing¡ª did they move on to the next step.

    Now, it was the act of actually making the down quilt-like structure within the cloak. Following Yujia''s explanation of how the chamber-arrangement would allow the feathers to be evenly distributed throughout the cloak, Lili had planned out a way to create it. Demonstrating the patterns and method that they would use, she let Yujia give it a try with scrap cloth again. Then, Yujia began to work with the actual fabric of the cloak.

    Admittingly, while Yujia held the official fabric and needle in her hand, her heart was much more nervous than when she was using just practice fabric. Although Lili assured her that any mistakes in stitches could easily have the threads snipped away to give a perfect chance to restart, Yujia couldn''t suppress the slight panic going through her brain at the first few stitches.

    Yet as she began to get into the rhythm, familiar with how the needle wove up and down through the fabric, familiar with how the threads tugged pieces of cloth together, familiar with the distance and patterns of the stitching, she began to gain more confidence.

    After some decent progress, Lili advised for Yujia to temporarily stop so she could observe how things were going. Yujia''s needle paused, handing the section of cloth she was working on into Lili''s hands.

    Not even a minute of observation later, Lili complimented, "Are you sure you''re new to sewing? Your needlework is fantastic. It''s all incredibly evenly spaced and neat."

    Face slightly flushed, Yujia replied, "Thank you."

    Before she began sewing, she did imagine that this process would involve her fingers getting impaled by the needle countless times. But thank transmigration for muscle memory: considering how much practice the Fourth Miss had with sewing and embroidery, Yujia imagined that she wouldn''t be stabbing herself with a needle anytime soon, nor would her stitches end up messy.

    Now that Yujia certainly knew what to do with sewing, Lili gave a few more tips. She estimated that Yujia would finish a little less than half of this part of the cloak today, at the speed she worked at, if Yujia continued to sew until evening arrived. Ensuring that Yujia knew how to tie knots, Lili then informed, "Auntie still needs me to help with her work in the kitchens."

    "Do go help her with that," Yujia said with a smile, "I think I''ll be fine with this part of the stitches. Your guidance has been more than helpful thus far."

    Smiling back, Lili nodded. "Alright then!"

    ¡­

    For the rest of the day and most of the next, Yujia was sewing.

    She had feared that it would turn out too thick and fluffy for the cloak to look normal when wearing it. However, the feathers that she had sewn into the chambers were not overly fluffy at all, serving their purpose while remaining flat. When pairing it with the outside layer Yujia would sew for the cloak, she could already envision how well it was going to turn out.

    Besides learning these sewing skills, Yujia also began to understand why so many individuals enjoyed sewing. It was seen as a woman''s craft of this time because many women relied on it to survive and make a livelihood, like the Fourth Miss''s birthmother. But besides the mundane parts of sustaining oneself, sewing was also a wonderful time to gather her inner thoughts. It gave her a sort of silence and serenity, a break from the business of the world around her.

    In a way, Yujia found it similar to art. When she painted, she also sought after this isolated dimension she could fall into, where it was just her and her canvas and inks.

    Perhaps, Yujia imagined, after this project with the cloak, she could get into sewing for her own enjoyment. She liked the thought of exploring this craft some more beyond the basics.

    Time seemed to fall away once she entered the realm of stitching. On the second day, Yujia began in the morning after eating breakfast, worked until a brief break for lunch, then continued stitching until she looked up and realized the sun was beginning to set.

    However, under the last rays of sunlight, Yujia tied a final knot and stepped aside. The inner section of the cloak was complete.

    The final product resembled a down quilt. Dark blue and the exact size of the cloak Yujia owned, from far away, Yujia imagined that it could already pass off as a cloak. But with another closer examination, she figured it really looked more like a blanket.

    She hoped that when she encased it in another layer of fabric tomorrow, it would look more like a cloak. But as a blanket, it really didn''t look bad at all.

    Standing up and giving her tired legs a stretch, Yujia then wrapped the finished "quilt" around herself. Even though she worked indoors, she could already feel how warm this cloak was. She truly wouldn''t mind making herself a blanket like this in her spare time, to keep her warm in the winter.

    At this point, the cloak was beginning to resemble a cloak much more.

    Now came the part of fastening the fur Yujia picked out to the neck of the cloak. This part was much more of a challenge. Lili spent a lot of time instructing how to cut and sew the fur to fabric, then attach it to the cloak. However, Yujia still managed to get it done without too many issues.

    Fixing cloak straps was not much of a struggle either, simply involving many stitches to ensure that the straps would hold the entire cloak together.

    At last, it was beginning to resemble the end product.

    To test it out, Yujia tied the cloak around herself, walking around the courtyard with it on. She had to admit that considering she sewed the cloak herself, she was far too biased, but regardless of the bias, she still felt like the quality of the cloak was excellent.

    The fabric was cleanly cut and hemmed. The stitches were evenly spaced. The fox fur was perfectly centered. Altogether, the cloak was not heavy, nor was it puffy. It looked just like any other cloak¡ª the magic appeared when one wore it.

    With it on, even though Yujia wore a light set of robes, the cold weather was almost unnoticeable. Wrapping her in its warmth, the cloak acted almost exactly like how a long down coat in modern times would. There was the fact that Lili measured the fabric to where Yujia estimated Zixu''s height would be at, so the cloak was a bit too long for Yujia when she walked around with it on, dragging a little bit on the floor. However, considering Zixu''s height, the length of the cloak was sure to be perfect as well.

    Now that she had a close-to-finished cloak in her hands, Yujia wondered if she should give embroidery a chance. She hung it up on a rack and stared at the cloak for a long time.

    Embroidery would be a beautiful addition to the cloak. Except, Yujia didn''t want any added embroidery to turn out as an unnecessary touch. She also knew her sewing skills were alright, but embroidery was entirely a different matter. If she messed up the cloak by adding embroidery, she didn''t know how she could forgive herself.

    Xie Yufeng was standing by her side when Yujia was deep in contemplation. She noticed the spool of thread in Yujia''s hand, then went, "You''re thinking of embroidery?"

    "Yeah," Yujia answered, patting the sides of the cloak to remove non-existent dust, "I want to try embroidering it, but I don''t want to mess up the entire cloak. Besides, well, now that I think about it, if I try to embroider the outside fabric, I''d have to unstitch all the sewing I did for the outside to get the fabric free. So, I probably won''t do anything." She gave a deep sigh.

    Yufeng walked up to the cloak, eyeing it up and down. Then, she reached over, picking one of the two straps up, tapping her fingers on it.

    She suggested, "Why don''t you try embroidering these straps then? Maybe a small symbol?"

    Yujia took in this suggestion. She stared at the straps. Slowly, she turned to Yufeng, saying, "You''re a genus."

 Chapter 355 - The Artist Learns the Craft of Embroidery

    Learning embroidery, as Yujia discovered, was different from simply sewing. It was around the same concept, weaving needles back and forth through cloth, but for Yujia at least, embroidery was more difficult.

    She went, once again, to Lili to learn how to embroider. After Lili pulled out a few of her works for embroidery, Yujia knew she could trust Lili''s skill. If Lili was knowledgeable in sewing, she was countless times more knowledgeable in embroidery. As Yujia was told, Lili''s favorite pastime was to embroider various handkerchiefs and other clothes, many of which she would give to others, while the rest of them she kept in a c.h.e.s.t.

    Under Lili''s teachings once again, Yujia learned that embroidery had countless styles. She already heard of some of these styles when she was out in the marketplace, browsing the various goods, ever since she transmigrated. But as Lili explained them, Yujia realized that they were more than just a fancy name for a style. Each style of embroidery contained a vast wave of history behind it. They had their own requirements for supplies¡ª such as Su embroidery, the most prominent style, requiring specific needle thickness. Furthermore, each style favored different patterns, symmetry, and color.

    Lili''s displayed work was simply stunning. Yujia never knew the young woman in front of her had such talent before, with the clothes Lili most commonly wearing being sparse in embroidery. When Yujia witnessed Lili''s embroidery for the first time, she was simply blown away.

    Immaculate details, refined colors, and beautiful compositions, Lili''s embroidery were so stunning that Yujia could compare them to paintings of the highest caliber. Each one of her separately embroidered pieces were exquisite. With the ability to embroidery scenery like such, Yujia thought about the comparison between paintings and embroidery. Even if embroidery wasn''t considered the same form of art as painting, having skills like this should''ve qualified Lili for something, shouldn''t it?

    Yujia truly didn''t think Lili''s embroidery was any lesser than the paintings of the disciples of Lingxin. Even her own paintings seemed to pale in comparison. Lili''s raw talent and work was just undeniable.

    And, as far as Yujia knew, she definitely wasn''t going to get to that level in a few day''s time.

    However, Lili wasn''t one to give Yujia the title of a lost cause. Once Yujia explained her lack of experience to Lili, they came up with a plan to get Yujia to a professional level of embroidery in just three day''s time. Lili figured if Yujia practiced embroidering the same picture over and over again for three days straight, her end product would turn out decent. Yujia thought about it and certainly there was some logic behind it. It was the same idea as painting the same thing for days after days.

    Because they decided on this plan, it was also time for Yujia to decide what she was going to embroider. A crucial aspect was to pick one element to practice and to keep practicing the same image.

    The two talked about many kinds of symbols and their various meanings. A pair of butterflies or birds symbolized two hearts beating as one, peonies symbolized prosperity, lotuses symbolized purity, chrysanthemums symbolized longevity¡­ Yujia thought about countless symbols.

    She considered butterflies, but then she thought about it some more. In the end, she settled on bamboo.

    Bamboo, amongst many other meanings, stood for safety. A pair of butterflies would be lovely and romantic, but above all, what she wanted for Zixu was safety. That was what was most important, after all.

    Now that they had a symbol in mind, Lili sketched out the design of bamboo on a white piece of silk cloth she usually used for handkerchiefs. While sketching, she used a pencil, to Yujia''s delight.

    "Ever since you started selling these," Lili said with a cheerful note, "I''ve been using them to help me plan out some of my embroidery."

    "I never thought about pencils being used that way, but that''s truthfully amazing," Yujia replied.

    "It''s really been helpful," Lili hummed while finishing the pattern.

    She then pulled out her set of needles¡ª the two were working in Lili''s room, as Yujia went over to where Lili lived to seek for help instead of forcing Lili to come to her courtyard¡ª picking a needle that looked much more delicate than what Yujia used to stitch. As Yujia watched, Lili slipped a light green thread through the needle, demonstrated the kind of knot to tie, then began to stitch.

    She began the creation of a bamboo leaf about the length of Yujia''s pointer finger by poking the needle near the top of the leaf, then working her way with small stitches to the top. Each stitch was incredibly miniscule, until she began to work her way down the leaf. As the width of the leaf increased, each stitch also grew in diagonal length. Through this method of embroidery, half of the leaf was being formed through uniform lines. Because of how detailed the work was, and how close each stitch was with each other, the texture was perfectly smooth. It even resembled the veins and texture of an actual bamboo leaf, in a way.

    After finishing the stitches for one side of the leaf, she ran through the side again with another layer of stitches, thus increasing the height of the embroidery. This also helped the leaf take on a more three-dimensional, lifelike appearance.

    When she had that accomplished, she mirrored the same movements on the opposite side of the leaf. This time, she picked a darker spool of green thread, which implied the presence of shadows and light. Embroidery-wise, it was the same concept, but now that Yujia could watch her twice, Yujia learned more. While Lili embroidered, she made sure that she worked slowly, explaining every little movement and ensuring that Yujia comprehended all of it.

    To complete the leaf overall, within a thin white space that had appeared between the two finished sides, Lili embroidered a long vertical line down the center. As Yujia observed, even a line like this was composed of numerous small vertical stitches. A few of them overlapped each other to once again give the three-dimensional effect. This was done with an even darker color of green thread.

    The last string was snipped, and the embroidery of one leaf was complete.

    The entire process was like magic to Yujia. It took so much effort and time to stitch just one leaf of a simple bamboo pattern. She never imagined that the embroidery work she wore, the ones with so many intricate details, could''ve been the result of this much effort. It really cast new light on the whole craft to her.

    But now, since Lili completed one leaf, it was time for Yujia to give it a try.

    Picking up the needle and thread, Yujia began stitching.

    Her movements were not clumsy, but they were certainly slow. She was careful, more careful than she had been when sewing the cloak. Even though it was just her first time trying, she didn''t want to mess up.

    Though Yujia spent much more time than Lili in stitching the next leaf, hers didn''t turn out as perfect. She could spot the flaws herself: areas where the threads turned out uneven, spaces she didn''t fill in properly, jagged remnants of stitches on the back side of the cloth where she didn''t bother making neat enough.

    Well, she figured it was good news that in the particular pattern Lili drew for her to follow, there were plenty of leaves to practice with.

    Her motivation turned out to be accurate. Leaf after leaf, the more Yujia sewed, the better they turned out. At first, embroidering just one leaf took more than an hour for her, yet the time also slowly decreased while the quality of each leaf went up.

    By the end of the day, she thought that the last leaf she worked on looked pretty much the same as the original that Lili created as an example.

    Lili, who popped back into the room after finishing her tasks in the kitchen, also gave her approval. Then, she gave news that Yujia wasn''t expecting.

    "Since you have mastered the basic leaf, let''s move onto something more complicated."

    Yujia''s lips parted a bit in surprise. "More complicated?" She thought what she was doing was already fairly complex.

    "Of course. The one you worked on today is but a basic stitch. The more complex the stitch is, the better it''ll turn out. You''re not interested?"

    Upon hearing that she could make it look better, Yujia gave a solemn nod. "Alright then. I want to give the more complicated one a try."

    The next day, Lili introduced the more complex embroidery to her.

    Essentially, instead of the one Yujia worked on with one color of thread for each side of the leaf, this new form of stitching involved a variety of techniques to embroider numerous colors of thread together to form a cohesive gradient. Each leaf would go from dark green at its base to a shimmering light green at the top, in a manner of blending so smooth that it could be like blending ink on paper.

    This was certainly much harder for Yujia. She spent the rest of the day trying to learn how to make it look good, finding with disappointment that by the end of that day, her end product still didn''t look quite as good as Lili''s. However, Lili still assured her with absolute confidence that Yujia''s progress was extraordinary. The gradient blend was something Lili spent months mastering, and to get to the point where Yujia was at in a day''s time was sheer proof of genius.

    Yujia only nervously scratched the back of her neck, taking credit for all the practice the Fourth Miss''s body had with embroidery.

    ¡­

    On the third day, that was when Yujia switched from working with white silk and green threads to the dark blue silk satin and silver threads for the official cloak.

    With a few scrap pieces of dark blue fabric, she familiarized herself with the different thickness of the cloth. She also familiarized herself with embroidering with silver threads. Although amongst the threads that she bought from the clothing store included a variety of shades of silver, it was still different to work with them than the green threads she had been familiar with.

    Another differing part was that she didn''t have any traced pattern to follow. A pencil would not show up well on cloth as dark as the blue satin, so Yujia had to rely on a reference in her mind for the shape. At the start, on her beginning try with scrap fabric, the shape of the bamboo and leaves turned out a bit crooked.

    At this point, the mindset of practice was drilled into Yujia. She continued to embroider, piece after piece, in her courtyard. And with the progress she witnessed, she was not disappointed with herself.

    She stood up, picking up the cloak from the shelf it sat on. Preparing the straps that she would embroider on by setting them in a wooden frame, she then lifted a needle and threaded it with dark silver thread. She took a deep breath. She began her first stitch.

    Her mind didn''t need to think much, in unison with her fingers. Stitch after stitch after stitch, the process repeated. Switching from the dimming natural sunlight to candlelight, the process repeated. It went on and on until Yujia looked up, realizing she finished.

    She finished her embroidery on Zixu''s cloak.

    Though it was a pattern she had seen countless times, though it was what she had been working on for the past few hours, she felt like she was seeing it for the first time.

    On both cloak straps, the same piece of embroidered bamboo rested, the only difference being that one was flipped. She had embroidered a piece of bamboo that went up from the bottom of the strap to about midway. As it curled, its leaves grew from branches emerging from its stem. Each leaf contained an exquisite assembly of stitches, a smooth blend from dark to light. Furthermore, as the leaves stretched higher and higher, they grew lighter and lighter in color, like light shining down from the top, until the very tips went from light silver to shining white.

    The bamboo embroidery was subtle, yet at the same time, it complimented the cloak. With the white fox fur lining the neck, the lighter color embroidery served as a complimentary highlight, appearing neither too eye-catching nor too flashy. Even when turned over to the opposite side, the back side of the embroidery did not look horrible either, rather being quite clean and a reflection of the pattern on the front, one of the results of Yujia''s lengthy practice.

    With her work being so careful, Yujia thought the embroidery did not look any worse than what was sold in stores. And if it was, well, she supposed the straps could be removed and resewn with a few snips here and there.

    Regardless, she was proud of her finished work. Knowing that her gift was complete, after the past week of learning and work, she could not express just how accomplished she felt.

 Chapter 356 - Infiltrating is the Artistâ€™s Second Nature

    The day of Zixu''s birthday arrived.

    Like the past few days, it was fairly cold. Perhaps because the sun was covered by a blanket of clouds, the weather was even chillier than normal. Though Yujia wasn''t all too fond of the low temperatures, she was happy this time around. It meant that her hand-sewn cloak would serve a good purpose.

    The past night, she had hardly been able to sleep out of excitement. Never before had she anticipated someone''s birthday to this degree. In the morning, when she woke up, she immediately ran over to get Lili''s approval on the embroidery, to which she received a delightful answer that her embroidery on the cloak straps looked good. Once she had that approval, she ran back to her courtyard, preparing the cloak to be gifted.

    Thinking about it long and hard, Yujia decided that wrapping the cloak would be a bad idea, considering how wrapping paper wasn''t really used for gifts in this era. Putting it in a box would also be a hassle, since she thought a wooden container for a cloak would be peculiar, to say the least.

    So, what could she do with the cloak?

    Yujia decided to just fold it and carry it in her hands.

    It was a simple way of treating the gift, but Zixu wasn''t someone who cared much about unnecessary extravagant things, like the irrelevant container of a present. Especially when she wasn''t giving him a trinket or anything, which would be appropriate in a box, she figured that just folding the cloak would be enough.

    She had visited Zixu a few times over the past week, such as catching him during her breaks between sewing. Yet again, even after her trip, his schedule had been busy with work, so although they talked some, they never talked much. Surprisingly, Yujia didn''t mind it. Though she had missed him, she also needed to spend time on making his present, so hours of talking with Zixu would''ve interfered with her plans.

    She had been entirely secretive about her gift plans, so she hoped that he really had no idea. But now, because she had been so secretive, the next dilemma came. How was she going to give the gift to him?

    Not wanting to wait for Zixu to come to Lingxin himself, she decided she would have to try to infiltrate the Yu Villa. It was his birthday after all, and she was supposed to be the delivery man.

    The idea was denied in her mind almost immediately. Last time, the trick only worked because she had an excuse of delivering steamed buns that a disciple at Lingxin made for "everyone". This time, she couldn''t say she was delivering a cloak that a disciple made for everyone, could she? She wasn''t sure what other believable excuse she could come up with either, especially since her alternate identity didn''t even exist.

    Then, she remembered another visit she had at the Yu Villa, in which Zixu claimed she was Shen Yuling, the cousin of Shen Li, Zixu''s personal servant. This was also the person Yujia pretended to be while infiltrating the Yang Villa. Would the identity of Shen Yuling work in this situation?

    Yujia figured it would.

    And so, that was how Yujia found herself walking down the streets, dressed in simple clothes she borrowed from Xie Yufeng. She chose a set of pale lavender robes that looked average in quality, fitting of a commoner that was the cousin of Shen Li. Over it, she also wore a cloak of similar quality. It was certainly not the warmest, but Yujia didn''t mind too much.

    It was relaxing to exit Lingxin in these clothes. Normally, if she was going around the capital in her usual attire, she had to wear a face veil, or others would judge her for being an improper young lady. But now, as an ordinary daughter of an ordinary family, she didn''t have to care about if she was showing her face or not.

    The distance to the Yu Villa was not long at all, but on her way there, Yujia recited her excuse.

    She was a cousin of Shen Li, here to deliver a cloak for her dear cousin, in hopes that he would not catch a cold. She was a cousin of Shen Li, here to deliver a cloak for her dear cousin, in hopes that he would not catch a cold. She was a cousin of Shen Li, here to deliver a cloak for her dear cousin, in hopes that he would not catch a cold.

    She also remembered the tips Zixu gave in pretending to be ordinary folk, absorbing it in her step. Instead of the elegant walk of a noble, she moved carefreely, all her muscles relaxed. Instead of the way a noble might hold themselves above the crowd, she merged with the people, casting her eyes down.

    Arriving at the Yu Villa''s side door, the appropriate place for servants and non-nobles to pass through, the excuse rolled off her tongue far too easily.

    "Hello!" Yujia beamed with a bright smile. "I''m a cousin of Shen Li. He serves the First Young Master of this house? I''m here to bring him a cloak, in hopes that he doesn''t catch a cloak."

    Confidence, as she learned, was the key to situations like these. If one had enough confidence, they could succeed in any scenario. So, when she spoke, she didn''t stutter a single bit. Shen Yuling was indeed her identity.

    The servant who received her at the front door eyed her up and down, a bit skeptical. She noticed how he definitely took in her ordinary wear, her lack of jewelry. "Shen Li has a cousin?"

    Yujia didn''t skip a beat in replying, "Of course. Has he never talked about me? If you don''t believe me, just call for him."

    "Alright. Wait a moment."

    The door was closed in her face. Yujia waited, and waited, and waited, until the door was pushed open again.

    Shen Li''s face popped out. Upon seeing her, his eyes widened, lips curving down.

    "Hello cousin!" she greeted cheerfully.

    "You again?" he said.

    The servant who brought him here looked at the two of them strangely. After all, who normally said "you again?" to their cousin in such an exasperated tone?

    "Cousin, I brought you a cloak," Yujia insisted, a stiff smile on her face.

    Shen Li looked down at the folded fabric in her hands, then slowly replied, "You brought¡­ me¡­ a cloak."

    "Indeed. It''s for you." She made sure to emphasize the ''you'', hoping that he was not dense enough to not understand that it was anything but for him.

    "Oh!" Thankfully, it seemed like he got it. "Well, I''m apologetic to inform you that I can''t take it off your hands right now." He showed his two hands. Even though the weather was so cold, his sleeves were rolled up, revealing red hands stained with ink and what looked to be soap bubbles, an incredibly odd combination. "If you would please follow me, I''ll take you to my courtyard."

    "That works for me," she replied.

    Meanwhile, the servant from before looked at this entire exchange with a gaze of utter confusion. From exasperation to polite respect, why was Shen Li''s attitude towards his cousin so unpredictable?

    But Yujia and Shen Li were already long gone, walking into the villa. As Shen Li took her through the various corridors, he made sure they were alone before saying, "Miss, you''ve really got to stop impersonating my non-existent cousin."

    "I thought it was rather harmless?" she grinned back.

    "Everytime I get news that my cousin is looking for me, it''s just¡ª agh¡ª such an inconvenience." He sighed deeply.

    Yujia still maintained her cheerfulness. "Then, I humbly appreciate your patience in fulfilling a few of these inconvenient favors for me. By the way," she added, "what happened for your hands to be like that?"

    Shen Li looked down at his hands. "It''s Mimi." Yujia thought back to Mimi, the fluffy cute dog Zixu owned. "She was running around like crazy and spilled the inks Young Master was working with. I''m currently giving her a bath in the back."

    That explained the ink and bubbles.

    "Inks? Is he painting for his birthday?" Yujia asked.

    Shen Li nodded. "Well, Young Master was painting until this happened." The two of them stopped in front of Zixu''s courtyard. Shen Li gestured at the entrance, explaining, "You should be able to find him in his room. I still have to go finish bathing Mimi."

    "Alright. Thank you for the help." Yujia gave a deep nod.

    With that, she went into his courtyard.

    Zixu''s courtyard looked the same as always, simplistic and b.a.r.e. Especially because of the winter season, the plants were even lesser in number.

    Yujia''s footsteps were quiet as she walked in. All of a sudden, the idea of surprising Zixu seemed awfully appealing to her, so she decided to do that. He didn''t know that she was coming, so why not give him a surprise?

    Creeping towards the doorway of his room, Yujia stood by the side and peeked in. Zixu was, as Shen Li said, in his room. Wearing a set of Lingxin robes, he sat with his back facing away from the door¡ª perfect for Yuija''s plan.

    She adjusted the cloak to hang over her left arm, then quietly walked in, her footsteps hushed in silence. Until she was right behind him, she then shot her hands forward, clasping over Zixu''s eyes.

    "Guess who?" she hummed with a laugh.

    He really wouldn''t have expected this. Although Zixu should''ve known it was her by her voice, Yujia was a bit taken aback when he didn''t say anything right away.

    Then, Yujia heard a voice behind her.

    "Yang Yujia?"

    Now, that was Zixu''s voice.

    Yujia''s hand immediately dropped, spinning around with horror. Yu Zixu stood at the doorframe of the room, lips slightly parted in surprise.

 Chapter 357 - An Embarrassing Mistake of the Artist

    "Y-you¡ª" Yujia stammered.

    If that person was not Zixu, then¡­

    She spun to see the person who was turned away earlier. He was facing her now, looking just as surprised as the expression she wore on her face right now.

    Not recognizing his face, she realized he wasn''t even someone she found faintly familiar. The lack of recognition of his face was what startled Yuija even more. He was wearing Lingxin disciple robes. If he was a disciple of Lingxin, surely she should''ve recognized him?

    Unless, it was¡­

    Observing his frail appearance, along with his thin nose and lips similar to Zixu''s, it all clicked.

    Turning to Zixu, she began, "Is this¡ª"

    "Ziyang, my younger brother?" he finished her words for her, an eyebrow raised.

    So this was Yu Ziyang, the younger brother that Zixu had talked so much about. She had heard so much about him¡ª she had even impersonated him before¡ª but she had never met him until now. And judging by the mistake she just made, their first impression wouldn''t be the greatest.

    Her expression morphed, an awkward smile spreading across her lips. Looking back at Yu Ziyang, Yujia bowed deeply. "I am incredibly apologetic," she murmured, "That was entirely inappropriate of me. I thought you were¡­ your brother."

    "Please, rise," she heard the voice in front of her speak.

    Straightening her back, she noticed that there was no tension across Ziyang''s face. His expression was relaxed, more than cheerful, no signs of a grudge at all. And now that she looked at him even closer, he did resemble Zixu, but he differed just as much. Unlike Zixu with all his sharp angles, Ziyang''s look was soft, his voice just as gentle.

    "But¡­" Ziyang continued, his eyebrows now slightly knitted in confusion, "you are¡­?"

    Yujia blinked a few times.

    "I am¡­" she found herself at a loss for words.

    Thankfully, Zixu stepped in. Walking into the room and going to the side to pour himself a cup of tea, he was more than casual in saying, "Your future sister-in-law."

    Ziyang''s jaw dropped.

    Yujia''s jaw dropped.

    After the delivery of that line, Zixu raised the cup of tea to his lips, taking a sip. "Hm? Did I say anything wrong?" he asked.

    "I just didn''t expect you to be so direct about it," Yujia said with a laugh, eyes flitting between Ziyang and Zixu.

    Ziyang on the other hand stood up, grabbing Zixu by the arm. "I didn''t even know Older Brother had someone¡­ as¡­ that¡­"

    Yujia''s eyes widened. "You never told him?" After hearing everything Zixu told her about his beloved younger brother, she truly expected Ziyang to hear so much about her from Zixu as well. Ziyang seemed to be the person Zixu was the closest to in the world.

    "There never was quite the proper opportunity," Zixu lamented with a sigh.

    Ziyang seemed shocked at the statement. Yujia was still at a loss of words.

    Over the next few minutes, they sorted all the details out, with Zixu as the ever-so-willing mediator.

    Yu Ziyang found out about her identity, who she was, and how she ended up with someone like his brother. He also found out about her unlucky scenario as the Fourth Miss involved with a marriage with the Old Master of the Yu Villa, his father. Yujia was grateful he didn''t seem to judge her much about it or dwell too long on that unsatisfactory part of Yujia''s past.

    On the other hand, Yujia discovered exactly why Ziyang was sitting there, in Zixu''s room, dressed in Zixu''s robes.

    Apparently, he had been visiting his older brother''s room to wish a happy birthday. But then, a frenzy Mimi came around and started rampaging through the room in hyped up energy. This ended up in Mimi knocking over ink and water all over Ziyang''s robes. In fear that his brother would catch a cold, especially in this weather, and especially with his poor health, Zixu let him borrow the pair of Lingxin robes he had already prepared at the side for now.

    With Shen Li, Zixu''s personal servant, gone to give Mimi a bath, Zixu had to exit the courtyard to find another servant that would fetch Ziyang a new set of robes. That was when Yujia wandered into the courtyard, completely unaware of the chaos that had happened, and mistook Ziyang for Zixu.

    When they arrived at that part of the story, Yujia was back to apologizing profusely. Ziyang insisted that it was fine, showing that he totally understood how a mistake like that could be made.

    But that was when Zixu¡ª he just had to¡ª bring up the fact that Yujia once borrowed Ziyang''s identity to sneak into Lingxin entrance exams.

    "Did you really?" Ziyang exclaimed with a soft laugh.

    Yujia nodded with a wince. "I didn''t know many names in the capital at the time, so I just used yours. Your brother¡­ he also helped me back then because I used that name."

    "Then the exam!" Ziyang continued with a grin, showing no signs of aversion for the fact that she stole his name. "How did you do on it? Did you do well?"

    "More than well," Zixu interjected. "She even topped my ranks in one of the sections."

    "So you must be a talented genius," Ziyang said in awe.

    Yujia was slightly flushed. "No no, you flatter me too much."

    "I''m grateful you used my name, though. At least part of the capital thought of me as such a skilled artist, albeit for a short amount of time."

    "That''s a wonderful way to think of it," Yujia replied. She looked down at her arms, spotting the folded cloak she carried all this time. "Ah, before I forget," she began, moving to face Zixu, "I brought this for you. A gift."

    Unfolding the cloak, Yujia held it in front of her with a beaming smile.

    "A cloak?" Zixu raised his brows.

    "Not just any ordinary cloak," Yujia corrected. With a grand flourish of her hand, she insisted, "I sewed it myself entirely."

    Blinking, Zixu reached forward for it. Yujia handed it to him, allowing him to feel the fabric and see it up close for himself. He dr.a.p.ed it around his shoulders, testing it on as he tied the straps together. Glancing down at the way it looked on himself, Zixu said with a gentle smile, "It''s amazing."

    "I''m glad you think so."

    Yujia took in how the cloak looked on him. She was far too proud of the end result. It seemed to fit Zixu perfectly, and it even appeared both high quality and lightweight from far away. No one would''ve ever been able to guess there were secret compartments of down feathers sewn into it. From the white fur on his shoulders to the dark blue fabric draping over his sides, it was just perfect.

    "Did you know," Yujia went on, "it''s extra insulating? I used some innovative sewing techniques to ensure that."

    Zixu went to tie the straps of the cloak together, responding as he did so, "Is that so?"

    "En." Seeing how the straps weren''t perfectly tied, Yujia stepped forward, adjusting them for him. "I wanted to make sure that you stayed extra warm in the winter."

    She looked up, her eyes meeting his.

    "Thank you," he said, a light smile tracing his expression.

    Yujia smiled back at Zixu. "No need. It''s your birthday, after all."

    Things seemed lovely. But that was when Yujia heard footsteps.

    At around the same time, her, Zixu, and Ziyang¡ª who had helped himself to a seat at the side¡ª turned to look at the source of the sound.

    The doors were pushed open. A middle-aged man with gray hair walked through the doorway. Yujia didn''t know this man, but at this moment, looking at him, she had a good idea for who he could be. The eyes of that man scanned over the room, landing on her, standing next to Zixu.

    His expression had originally been light. But when he saw her, the color drained from his face, hand raising to point at her, shaking. There was instant recognition in his eyes. Unlike Yujia, who could only guess his identity, it seemed this man knew her. Or more precisely, he knew the Fourth Miss.

    "How dare you be here?" he hissed, voice seething.

    "Father."

 Chapter 358 - Calm Persuasion From the Artist

    Perhaps because of the fact that she knew Zixu for a while, she could recognize the nervous signs across his expression. There was a slight delay in his words, only a fraction of a second that was barely noticeable to most. His eyebrows gathered for a brief moment before he relaxed them again, greeting his father with a placid smile.

    On the other hand, Ziyang remained sitting by the side, worry plainly strung along his face. His eyes darted around the room, making sense of the situation.

    Seeing the Old Master of the Yu Household, the very person the Fourth Miss was supposed to become a concubine of, Yujia should''ve been panicked. She should''ve felt at least a hint of concern. But surprisingly, as she surveyed the scenario, she was calm. Calmer than she would''ve ever expected.

    "What is she doing here?" Zixu''s father questioned him, distaste plain in his voice.

    Zixu opened his mouth, about to say something, but Yujia spoke up ahead of him.

    "I apologize for my impudence, but are you Old Master Yu?" she began, politely lacing her hands together and bowing. She allowed a gaze of unfamiliarity to settle over her. It wasn''t difficult to act as if she didn''t know him. Only the Fourth Miss must''ve met him before, while she, as a transmigrator, was clueless of this man''s face.

    This statement of hers clearly took him aback. He shrunk his head back, blinking. "I am," he confirmed after a moment of silence, still confused at why she needed to certify his obvious identity.

    "Well then," Yujia allowed a smile to settle on her lips. "I am very pleased to meet you, sir." Straightening her back, she continued, "I am Yue Yu, a fellow disciple of Lingxin Pavilion like Senior Brother Zixu."

    From the corner of her vision, she could see Zixu''s gaze fixed on her. He must''ve not expected these words from her either. She didn''t have the time to inform him earlier.

    When she returned from her trip, in one of her first conversations with her master, she had asked her master for a favor. It was a favor she had thought of after learning the use of her master''s name, and one that he did not have any objections to helping her with. It was a favor that solved one of her longest dilemmas, a favor that would come to quite a bit of use for now.

    She had prepared for this day. She prepared for it ever since the day she asked her master if she could adopt his name.

    With the favor she asked of him, Yang Yujia was stripped away from the public''s eye. She became nothing more than a phantom, the name of a girl who once existed, the name of a girl who fell into an unlucky marriage, the name of a girl who no one would remember.

    Instead, out from the remnants of this girl of lost memories, rose Yue Yu.

    Granddaughter of Master Yue. Granddaughter of the founder of Lingxin. Granddaughter of the Emperor''s teacher.

    Of course there would be questions; there would be speculations. How could a girl rise from nowhere, after all? Yue Ze was famous for not having any descendents.

    Yet with the extent of her master''s influence, not many would dare to doubt. Perhaps a nameless disciple of his delighted him enough for him to adopt her and give her a space as granddaughter. That served as enough of an excuse.

    For now, however, it seemed like Zixu''s father wasn''t buying the excuse.

    "Yue Yu? Which ''Yue'' family are you from, then? Do enlighten me," he stated.

    Yujia decided to take the "humble" approach.

    "We are no merchant family, nor are we too heavily involved in the government. Although, if you would like to put it simply¡­" she paused for a second, tapping her chin in thought, "My grandfather founded Lingxin Pavilion?"

    She could practically see her statement register in the man''s eyes.

    He was at a loss of words for a few moments, then laughed. It was a laugh broken into two breaths, sounding less of happiness and more of doubtful amus.e.m.e.nt. As if what she said was nothing more than a joke.

    "Yue Yu, or should I put it, Fourth Miss of the Yang Family, you have taken this charade too far. We all know the truth, don''t we?"

    "We all know the truth, but only as a matter between two families, is it not?" In response, she tilted her head. "Yang Family, Yu Family¡­ who else knows? Who else has ever met this Fourth Miss of the Yang Family?"

    His silence was enough of an answer.

    She went on, "I do not speak from a place of brashness. I wear the identity of Yue Yu. It is something that will be put into official papers soon. Yue Ze, the founder of Lingxin, is the one who backs me. If I say that I am Yue Yu, who will dare to doubt?"

    "That¡­" he stumbled with a response.

    "The marriage between the Yang and Yu families was intended as something to strengthen bonds, but if I speculate correctly, this strengthening of bonds is not as important as the reputation of both families. When the Fourth Miss ran away from her own wedding, I presume that you must''ve been outraged, sir. Outraged not at the loss of this opportunity, but the loss of your reputation. You send people to look for the Fourth Miss, yet only as a way to restore your reputation. But this is already old news. Many months have passed; who shall care about if some insignificant Fourth Miss ended up in the Yu Villa or not? If you bring her back now, if you take me down with force and insist that I am her, it will only make an old embarrassing story, one that most have forgotten, resurface in the capital. The Fourth Miss and her return will serve you no good."

    Yujia knew that the Yu Family''s Old Master was not dull. He could think well for himself. She merely gave him a direction for his logic. He could imagine the rest of the events.

    As he calculated her words, she waited. She glanced to the side at Zixu, noticing a light smile tracing his lips. It was a proud one. He was proud of her.

    When Zixu''s father began speaking again, she focused her attention back onto him.

    "I do not disagree with your earlier statements. You are correct; there is no need to bring the Fourth Miss back." Now, he flattened his lips into a thin line. "Except, what do you hope to gain from this? What do you hope to gain from becoming this ''Yue Yu''? What are you trying to do?"

    "Why, nothing much." Yujia allowed her expression to be light. "I suppose I just want to have a better place to be. You must know that the Fourth Miss was not living in the best place. Rather than to live forever attached to a family that never loved me, is it wrong for me to seek my own happiness? That is all it is, in the end."

    It seemed like that was enough of an answer for him, though he continued, "Alright. Then, what are you doing here? Why return to my villa, if it is the very place you d.e.s.i.r.ed to escape?"

    Yujia blinked. She gestured at Zixu with a nod of her head. "It is my Senior Brother''s birthday today. Should I not pay him a visit?"

    She noticed how the man''s eyes trailed from her to Zixu, then snapped back to her. She could imagine his thoughts as well. In this era, amongst noble families, there were too many implications for a young woman to pay a visit to a young man. Though, in this particular case, it was not like the inferences of Zixu''s father were wrong either.

    "Is there anything else you would like to know, sir?" Yujia prodded for questions.

    "My queries have been clarified," he affirmed.

    She bowed again. "I won''t stay at your villa for any longer. Thank you, sir, for your graciousness."

    When she looked up at him, he seemed pleased at the news that she was leaving. It really felt like despite all logic, the thought of her existence still did not please him much. Though, Yujia figured, she had plenty of time to work on changing his attitude towards her in the future.

    "You may depart," he permitted.

    With another bow, Yujia then went to leave, but not before grabbing something. Someone.

    Pulling on Zixu by the arm for a moment, she signaled for him to follow. The Old Master seemed baffled by this, saying, "Now, where do you think you''re¡ª"

    "It''s your son''s birthday." Yujia beamed. "Spare him some free time, will you, sir?"

    The man still wore that stern look, but after a moment, he relented. His expression softened. Looking down, he waved his hand.

    They had permission to leave.

    Looking back at Ziyang to wave goodbye, Yuija made sure Zixu knew to follow her. And then, out they went, away from the courtyard, away from the villa.

    It was escaping with permission, but still, Yujia felt exhilarated. Not by the act of leaving, she realized, but that the dilemma which had kept her bothered by countless nights was finally officially over. She had solved it. She solved it with help from others, yes, but those were still her own words. Her own persuasion. Furthermore, it really, truly worked.

    She could not stop grinning from ear-to-ear. And, as Zixu and her went through the front doors of the villa, she found her hand meeting his, her fingers lacing between his.

    The two went down the streets, and for the first time, Yujia dared to say that all was well.

 Chapter 359 - Returning to a Promised Drink With the Artist

    Only a few steps out, Zixu asked her, "Where are you going?"

    "Well," Yujia spun to look at him, hand still holding his, "I was about to ask where you wanted to go. It''s your birthday, isn''t it? And I figured you needed a break from the villa."

    "You know me well," he said, glancing back at the villa they just exited.

    Truthfully, it didn''t take much for Yujia to figure this out, she thought. For the longest time, Zixu had been overwhelmed by the work piled on him. His father wanted him to inherit a business, and it was never easy to prepare for that. Rarely did he ever bring up complaints about it all, but she could tell, by the weary smile he wore day-to-day, that it was dragging him down.

    Merchant business wasn''t what he wanted to do. It wasn''t what he liked. But it was what was expected of him. It was his responsibility; although as much as it was a responsibility, it was a cage.

    As they walked, Yujia noticed something cold touching her hand, a brief moment of ice vanishing in the split second it appeared in. Then, another flake of ice, close in succession, touching her cheek.

    Looking in the direction of where it came from, Yujia''s eyes met the gray skies.

    And there it was, bits of white snow, drifting down from the heavens above.

    Her lips curling into a smile, her gaze found Zixu''s. "It''s snowing!" she exclaimed.

    The first snow of the year, on his birthday. A gift of the skies, an ethereal coincidence.

    Zixu looked up at the sky as well, a faint smile tracing his lips. "Once it begins snowing in the capital, it almost never stops."

    "Is that so? Do you like it?"

    "I do. There''s a certain serenity of a snowy morning that nothing else can replicate. When the world is buried by all of it, I think that''s when I can finally find myself."

    Yujia blinked. Slowly, she replied, "I didn''t like snow before. It was always too cold, too murky for me. But now that you say it like that¡­" She found herself smiling as well. "I suppose I do see the beauty."

    She wanted to see her first snow in this life through his eyes.

    And then, Yujia remembered something. Caught up in the magic of the snow, she entirely forgot about something. Something they had promised, long ago.

    "Remember the wine we buried?" she suddenly blurted out. "In my courtyard. We promised to dig it up and have a drink on your birthday, didn''t we?"

    As if that had slipped his mind as well, his eyes lit up. "We did."

    "Then, what are we waiting for?" Yujia grinned. "If you have no plans, let''s go dig that jar up, before the snow freezes the ground over!"

    ¡­

    A shovel later, Yujia and Zixu found themselves sitting under the plum tree, tipping the jar they had buried before so that the wine flowed into two cups.

    Clinking the cups together, Yujia took a tentative sip. The moment the wine touched her tongue, she found herself smiling uncontrollably. It was just that good.

    The wine had been lovely when they first drank it, but now that it had aged a bit, it was even better. The flavor was more mellow, the fragrance notes more complimentary to the layered taste of wine.

    "I knew it would get better," Yujia proudly noted, finishing the entire cup.

    Zixu agreed with a nod, although she heard a slight sigh when he spoke. "We should''ve buried more."

    "We really should''ve!" She patted the jar. "This, right here, is better than any wine they''re selling in stores right now. What are shopkeepers doing?"

    "I assume they save the good wine for themselves, just like how we save this for ourselves," Zixu theorized with a chuckle.

    "Well, at least we won''t be getting drunk over this half-jar."

    "I wouldn''t want to be drunk either." Zixu poured himself another cup, fingertips brushing against hers as he went to pick up her cup to also pour one for her. "I want to remember this day."

    Yujia accepted the full cup from him gladly. "Who wouldn''t? It''s the first snow of the year, paired with such good wine. Though¡­"

    She looked up at the plum tree they sat under. This year, it had not yet bloomed. She was looking forward to it, yet it just never happened. It was a sight she had not yet seen.

    When the two buried the wine months ago, the original plan was to drink the wine, in the snow, with the plum blossoms blooming above them. It was going to be like a scene straight out of a poem. Yet that wasn''t going to happen now, with the b.a.r.e branches above them.

    It was a pity.

    Zixu''s gaze trailed to look up at where she was staring, understanding what she was thinking of.

    "It''s alright," he said softly, "that the tree hasn''t yet bloomed. This, right here, is enough for me."

    "As long as you think so." Yujia found herself brightening up. "I just want your birthday to turn out well, and that, of course, all depends on what you think."

    He raised the cup to his lips, taking a small sip. "I think it''s perfect. This is¡­ the best one I''ve had in my life."

    "The best one?" That had to be an exaggeration, no?

    At her doubt, he gestured his hand around. "Look at everything you''ve done for me. The wine, the visit, and of course, this cloak¡­" He paused to rest his hands on his cloak. "I couldn''t thank you well enough, earlier, for this cloak."

    "Weren''t you the one who told me before, between you and I, there was no need for elaborate ''thank you''s?" she teased.

    "But I truly mean it." He was solemn, setting the cup down. "This is the first time I''ve received something like this. I''m almost scared to wear it right now, or ever in the future. I just want to treasure it forever."

    "You won''t wear it?" Yujia immediately frowned, pretending to pout. "Don''t you dare¡ªyou better wear it all of the time."

    "What if I accidentally tear it? Or stain it?"

    "If that happens¡­ well, I''ll sew you another one." She laughed. "I have plenty of spare cloth on my hands."

    Zixu''s head dipped down in a laugh. "Fine, fine. If you say it like that, how can I not wear it all the time?"

    "It''s so warm, isn''t it?" Yujia''s hand stretched out, catching wisps of snow that had slipped through the tree branches above. "I bet you can''t even feel the snow."

    "Indeed," he confirmed. "How can I ever pay you back for such a wonderful gift?"

    Yujia thought for a second. She then set her chin on her hand, saying, "Since the cloak is supposed to keep you warm, don''t get sick. Don''t find yourself in harm''s way. And then, I''ll be content enough with that as payback."

    He laughed again, a soft breath of air escaping his lips. "Does that even count? You''re being too generous," he said.

    She crossed her arms. "That''s all I want in return."

    Zixu looked her in the eyes, raising his brows. But seeing her unrelenting gaze, he could only cave in.

    "Alright then," he promised.

 Chapter 360 - The Prospect of Marriage for the Artist

    As they shared a few more drinks, Zixu brought up the conversation Yujia had with his father earlier in the villa.

    "I would be lying if I said I saw that coming," he said.

    "Don''t you think it''s the perfect excuse?" Yujia leaned her head back, unable to hold back a grin. "I wanted to tell you earlier, but I think it slipped away from my memory. I got the idea from the Huangshan trip, though."

    "How so?"

    "There were some disciples from Guozijian being a little bit on the disrespectful side," Yujia explained, wrinkling her nose when she remembered what had happened. "I thought it would turn out to be a big hassle, except the moment I brought out my master''s name, they didn''t dare say much. That was how I knew I had the biggest card."

    At this, Zixu remarked, "It seems like the same happened with my father, then. He was left quite speechless by you."

    "I learned it all from you, you know. That infallible logic and delivery of said logic."

    "Did you?" The corners of his lips turned up.

    She gave an affirming nod. "Absolutely."

    "Earlier," Zixu brought up, "You said disciples from Guozijian didn''t know etiquette? Which ones? Do you know their names?"

    Yujia sipped at the wine, her eyes widening. "Ah, if I tell you their names, what are you going to do? I''m a little bit worried."

    "For me?"

    "No, for their safety."

    Hearing her say that, a laugh escaped from Zixu. He shook his head, gesturing at himself. "I am but a merchant''s son. What can I possibly do?"

    "You are the son of one of the most prominent merchants in the empire, aren''t you?"

    "Merchants are considered the lowest class, though."

    Yujia laced her fingers together. "Even despite that, in the end, isn''t it money that runs the world? Don''t be humble; I know you must have some connections out there."

    Zixu tilted his head, expression plainly amused. "You really have such high expectations of me. Let me make it clear: I''m not going to hire an assassin to murder their families. Does that calm your soul?"

    "That was exactly what I thought you were going to do!" Yujia clapped her hands.

    "Pft." He picked up the jar of wine. "Is it a crime to be curious now?"

    "Possibly. But if it''s really curiosity that''s fueling your question, fine, I''ll tell you their names," Yujia relented. "There''s Han Shiche¡ª I think his father is a general of some sort? And the others¡­" She tapped her chin, trying to remember their names but finding both their names and faces coming up as blurry in her memories. "I don''t think I recall."

    "No worries. No good comes from remembering the names of irrelevant pests like that anyway," Zixu replied. "Han Shiche, though¡­"

    "Do you know him?" Yujia blinked.

    Zixu answered, "His name sounds familiar, but I don''t believe I know him personally. His family is quite prominent; however, like you said before, your master is greater at backing you up."

    "And now I can proudly claim I am the granddaughter of my master," Yujia said with a hum.

    Actually, now that she thought about it, besides her master, she hadn''t told this plan to anyone else. Not even Ye Yunhe caught wind of it. So, to be able to openly say it to people¡ª Zixu included¡ª had a sense of exhilaration that was truly relieving. It was similar to the weight of a secret being lifted off her shoulders.

    Of course, that was excluding the thrill Yujia felt at being able to be with Zixu in a legitimate fashion, instead of being terrified of his father and sneaking around at all times. That, Yujia figured, was even more exciting.

    "Now that Father knows about us, I think he''ll be advocating for marriage soon," Zixu began after a sip of wine.

    "Marriage?" Yujia narrowed her eyes. "I thought he would still need some time to adjust to this news."

    Zixu swirled the wine in his cup. "Well, yes. But I know my father well. He has wanted me to get married for so long; it''s rare to find someone at my age still unmarried. And though he''ll want me to be married to someone of good stature¡ª which you now qualify under¡ª he also wants me to be happy."

    Yujia thought back to the past Zixu told her about, especially the things he revealed about his relationship with his father and the kind of person his father was. She admitted she held some bias against the head of the Yu Family, but despite that bias, she could still recognize his love for his son. He always wanted the best for Zixu, even if it meant not exactly what Zixu wanted. That was his way of showing his love.

    "You didn''t agree with the happiness part though, did you?" Yujia asked.

    "Obviously." Zixu crinkled his eyes. "You know how cynical I was back then. I thought I would just be married to someone I didn''t care for, for the purpose of alliances and connections."

    "I''ve actually been meaning to ask, what do you think about your past fianc¨¦e, my sister, Yang Xiaoyi?" Yujia leaned back.

    "I had no feelings," he answered plainly. "She seemed like a convenient fianc¨¦e, but nothing more than that."

    Yujia nudged him with her elbow. "I feel like I should be offended for my sister."

    Zixu laughed again, reaching forward and taking her hand. "You''re trying to put me on the spot, aren''t you?"

    "No no," Yujia replied with a laugh as well, "I do get what you mean."

    Zixu seemed content with that. Then, he continued, "But as I was saying, I speculate my father will begin bringing engagements up soon. Before he does, I wanted to let you know, so it doesn''t come off as too much of a surprise. And I wanted to ask you about it too. What do you think?"

    Yujia had been pouring herself another cup at that time, but when she heard this question, she lowered the one hand she was using to pour the wine.

    Engagement. Marriage.

    Hearing things like this, she should''ve been happy, shouldn''t she? Who wouldn''t be? Zixu was the love of her life. She couldn''t think of anyone else she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She wanted it too; she had daydreamed scenarios of them being married.

    But dreams were always different from reality, she realized.

    When it came to this moment, a moment where she actually was confronted with the idea of getting married, it suddenly seemed all so distant.

    She thought about how long she knew Zixu for. She thought about how long they had been in a relationship. Around half a year, wasn''t it? And she hadn''t even been transmigrated for a full year yet.

    Wasn''t it too fast?

    At this thought, she found herself hating these doubts rising up within her. Too fast? If she was truly in love with him, she shouldn''t have thoughts like these, shouldn''t she?

    Yujia knew she loved him. She knew it with all her heart.

    Zixu noticed her delay in giving an answer. Gently squeezing her hand, he said in a lowered voice, "What''s wrong?"

    Yujia looked up. "I''m sorry." The words came out a bit hoarse. She cleared her throat and paused, collecting her words. "Before I say anything, I just want you to know I love you. I really, truly do. Except¡­" Her voice was wavering, she noticed. She could barely look Zixu in the eyes. "Marriage means a lot to me. I think I want it as much as you do. I just¡ª I want to give us some more time before that. I realize how bad this might sound, I''m incredibly sorry¡ª"

    "No." Zixu cut in, eyebrows furrowed. "Don''t apologize."

    "You''re not upset?" Yujia froze, staring at him with wide eyes.

    She thought he would be. She thought, perhaps, she was in the wrong. She thought that her beliefs from the modern world, where two lovers didn''t rush into marriage right away, was incorrect. She thought that she should''ve conformed to this era.

    So, to hear Zixu didn''t show any signs of agitation?

    "Why would I be upset about that?" Zixu squeezed her hand again. "I asked you about this because I wanted to know your thoughts. I value what you think about this. Marriage is a big deal, and I''m glad you expressed these concerns to me." He tilted his head, thinking for a brief moment before adding on, "I know what kind of person you are, Yu''er. So I''m not worried. I''d be more worried if I was forcing you into something you didn''t want to be a part of."

    "I do want to be married someday," Yujia clarified. "With you."

    "We just need some more time, right?"

    "Yes."

    Zixu pressed his lips together. "Then, what do you think about an engagement?"

    Yujia recalled the various engagements she heard going on around the capital. "They usually turn into marriages within a month or so, don''t they?"

    "They do, but there are some cases where they last longer. We can be one of those cases. It would give us more of an excuse to be together in public, don''t you think?"

    "If that''s the case¡­" Yujia gave a slight smile. "Sure. That sounds fine to me."

    Zixu smiled back. "I''m glad it does."

 Chapter 361 - Existential Crisis and the Artist

    Afterwards, Yujia and Zixu chatted some more. The rest of their conversations were lighthearted, no longer focusing on serious topics like marriage. With the brightening of the conversation, Yujia found her mind being distracted from the stress as well, her mood improving steadily.

    From morning, afternoon came. The two of them paired the wine with some decent lunch cooked by Chef Hong, spending some more time together. Considering how they finally had time together, it was a rare opportunity Yujia treasured well. She talked more with Zixu that day than any of the other days that had passed since she came back to the capital after the trip.

    But good times couldn''t last forever. By late noon, Zixu had to return home. Yujia was sad to see him go, but she understood.

    She walked him to the exit of the villa, their hands still held together.

    "Thanks for accompanying me today," she said with a smile.

    "And thank you for everything you planned today," he replied, expression similar to hers.

    "Will you have time tomorrow?" she asked. She always asked these questions. On some days, Zixu said yes, and others no. His schedule, to her, was always unpredictable.

    Today turned out to be one of the "yes" days.

    He answered, "I will. I''ll be sure to pay you a visit."

    She brightened up. "I''ll be waiting for you, then."

    Her hand lingered in his for another moment, and then, he let go. With a slight nod of his head, Zixu gave his farewell. He turned. She watched the back of his figure as he walked away, vanishing into the snow-filled backdrop.

    Sighing, Yujia turned as well, closing the door of the villa. She made her way back to her courtyard, sitting down at the stone table.

    Her eyes went to the plum tree, snow now coating its branches. The snow falling from the sky was not heavy, but like Zixu said, it wasn''t stopping anytime soon either. Yujia clutched her cloak to herself a little closer, then propped her elbows up on the table, resting her chin on the palms of her hands.

    Now that Zixu was gone, and she was alone with her thoughts, she thought of the things they talked about earlier.

    An idea emerged from her thoughts, an idea she hadn''t worried about before.

    How much time did she have in this world?

    The world was real. It had to be, with just how concrete everything felt. These experiences that she went through couldn''t be fake. The people that she talked with, day to day, couldn''t be made up.

    It bothered her that the era she lived in had the Xiang Empire, an empire which hadn''t existed in the history of Chinese empires and dynasties. Yet with how everything before this time coincided perfectly with what had happened in history up to this year, and again, with her own experiences, she didn''t feel like any of this was fake.

    But it just took a bottle of paint to land her in this world. Was it possible to return to her old life? What would happen if she did?

    She didn''t want to be back there again.

    Ever.

    She recalled the stories her master told her about. His wife, Wei Yunjing, was a transmigrator like her. She spent years in this world, never vanishing and transmigrating back to her old world, as far as Yujia knew.

    That story assured her.

    She wouldn''t wake up one day back in her old body. At least, that was what Yujia hoped. She hoped transmigration would follow a pattern. If it hadn''t happened to Wei Yunjing, it wouldn''t happen to her, right?

    Still, the idea that she could wake up one day, gone from everything she built up in this life, terrified her.

    The thought of marriage was what brought all these worries up. Marriage was supposed to be a permanent thing. Yet to Yujia, sitting here, where she couldn''t even feel secure about her own existence, how was she supposed to see it all as permanent?

    Yujia tried to convince herself that she was being silly, but if she knew anything, it should''ve been that she was the hardest person she could try to convince.

    To think earlier today, she thought all her worries were lifted. That there was nothing else to be concerned about in this world.

    But, she figured, these were her thoughts. Though she knew it would be a difficult task to convince herself, she learned from all the past years of practice that she could push those thoughts away. Somewhat. She could let them fester in the back of her mind until she remembered them again. It wasn''t a perfect solution, but it would work for now.

    Standing up, Yujia decided she would make herself productive for the rest of the day. She wanted nothing more than to lie down and do nothing, but from experience, she knew that once she did that, there would be no getting up.

    Right as she turned to fetch materials for painting, however, that was when she heard footsteps.

    They were rushed footsteps, the sound of heavy, panicked breathing following them. The footsteps were so loud that she couldn''t help but notice them, her head snapping to look at where they were coming from.

    From the entrance of her courtyard, Ye Yunhe broke in, almost stumbling over his own feet. He lurched over dangerously. Yujia rushed forward, catching him before he fell.

    Yunhe was never like this. He never ran around so carelessly. He never cared so little about his appearance, how others perceived him.

    But now, as Yujia looked into his eyes, she could see a wave of alarm in his gaze that she had never seen before.

    "What is it?" Yujia blurted, her voice coming out in a sharper tone than she intended. With Yunhe in such a state, she couldn''t help but feel a sense of dread as well. "What happened?" she followed up with another question, this time making sure that her voice was less sharp.

    "It''s¡­" Yunhe could barely speak with how out-of-breath he was, gripping her arms tightly. "It''s Master," he managed to make out.

    Before, sometimes Yunhe would come over to her courtyard, under the command of their master. In those times, he would say "it''s Master" as well, but these statements were always paired with an exasperated roll of his eyes, along with a declaration that he was sent here to fetch her or convey some silly message.

    Never did he look at her, trembling, eyes watering, jaw tense.

    Yujia knew that something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

    "Master?" she echoed after him, her voice nothing more than a whisper as well.

 Chapter 362 - The Prospect of Losing Someone and the Artist

    She swore that she could hardly breathe as she went with Yunhe. They ran down the villa corridors, her mind blank as her feet pushed against the ground.

    They arrived at her master''s courtyard. Slowing down just a bit, Yujia went inside.

    There were servants gathered around, nervous eyes darting back and forth. The group did not help to ease her worries the slightest. Nevertheless, the servants parted in way, letting her walk through the crowd, making her way to the door.

    Her hands were trembling uncontrollably as she pushed the door to his room. As her eyes darted around, she saw how her master wasn''t sitting in a chair, frustratingly debating a painting on the table. Nor was he slouched by the side, drinking a jar of wine.

    The first person she saw was a physician.

    He was a familiar face, one that she had seen a few times around the villa. With his white hair and wrinkled hands, Yujia thought he looked around the same age as her master, almost. Perhaps he was the default physician that helped her master out, but she didn''t have enough effort to think about his identity at this moment.

    Her eyes went from the physician to the bed at the back of the room.

    There, she saw her master.

    He was lying there, tucked within the sheets, eyes closed.

    Yujia could not care about anyone else in the room. The first thing she did was to rush to the side of her master''s bed, dropping to her knees.

    He was breathing, she noticed, by the slight rise and fall of his c.h.e.s.t. Thank the skies. Her worst nightmare, the worst idea resting in her mind, had not come true. But the way he breathed was shallow, a slight rattle of breath. His skin was pale. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

    She thought he looked skinny before. But now, looking at him, on the bed, she comprehended how truly thin he was. What she thought was the years wearing away at his flesh, leaving skin on bones, was not just the work of time. It couldn''t be.

    He looked unbelievably frail.

    Trembling, she tore her gaze away from her master.

    "What happened to him?" she managed to ask.

    Yunhe, who had also made his way over, replied with an equally shaking voice, "I was with Master¡­ we were just talking¡­ and he¡­ he coughed up blood. A lot of it."

    Yujia finally noticed stains of blood by the side of her master''s lips that had not been wiped up yet.

    "Then?" she continued to question.

    "I called for help. I called for the physician," Yunhe told her, "I helped Master to his bed, and he passed out almost immediately. And then I went to go find you."

    Now, Yujia turned her face to look at the physician. "His diagnosis," she whispered. "What is it?"

    The old man, clutching a medicine box, looked down. His words were croaked, saying, "He requested me not to tell you all before."

    Her master requested this physician not to tell her and Yunhe. But it had gotten to the point where he was coughing up blood. It had gotten to the point where he was fainting. And still, this physician refused to tell her? He was still keeping this promise?

    Yujia found her breathing growing heavier, her voice coming out as a sharp seethe. "What is it?" she repeated.

    The physician''s hands wrung together. There was silence, extended silence, before he finally spat out the words.

    "Fei Lao. Tuberculosis."

    Tuberculosis. Yujia knew it existed. She wasn''t familiar with the exact symptoms and treatments though.

    "What''s the prognosis?" she dared to ask.

    She hoped that the physician would assure it would be alright. That it was a good prognosis, a healthy outcome. That her Master had a minor lapse, nothing more. That with a little bit of treatment, it would all be fine.

    Yet seeing the physician, how he looked down again, wearing a despondent expression that carried not an ounce of hope, Yujia''s heart plummeted.

    So that was how it was.

    The silence that he gave her was nothing but a death sentence.

    She closed her eyes. Her sight felt dizzy. It all felt unreal. As if this wasn''t reality. As if this was a nightmare. As if¡­

    It was ridiculous that she hadn''t seen this coming. Her master was so old, far older than anyone else at Lingxin. Yue Ze never lived the healthiest life either, drinking wine from dawn till dusk, eating whatever and whenever he d.e.s.i.r.ed, not caring about his physical health all too much. It was a miracle he even lived this long, with those habits.

    Yet still.

    Still.

    This was a truth she never wanted to face. A truth, amongst many others, that she had been running away from.

    Standing up, she faced the physician. She could help but snap, crying, "What about medicine? You''ve known this for a while now. How could you not have written him a good prescription? What kind of physician are you? How could you¡ª why couldn''t you¡ª"

    Her words were becoming choked up, her eyes blurring as she spoke. She hated how she couldn''t hold back her tears. She hated the way it all felt.

    In her entire life, she had only dealt with the act of losing someone once. Her baby brother. But that was a sudden moment, a fracture in time where it all went wrong, an immediate mistake that she could not control.

    Now, though, she could only look at her master. She could only see him, as day after day passed by, losing more and more of his health. She could only watch as life drained out of him.

    And she could do nothing about it.

    She knew this feeling. She had felt the same way before, with the kind of terror and guilt that towered over her heart in a tremendous wave, pulling her into darkness, sinking her under.

    She could hardly breathe.

    Yujia wanted to keep shouting, but she knew the physician was not at fault. He must''ve done all that he could, treated her master to the best of his ability. She knew she was just trying to find someone to blame. Someone. Something. Anything.

    Tears continued spilling out of her eyes, pouring out uncontrollably. Her c.h.e.s.t heaved as she sank to the floor. Crying made her feel like a child. And perhaps she really was acting like a child, one that had never grown up, one that never learnt to accept the concept of death.

    As she sat there, heaving, she suddenly felt something warm brush over her hand. Flinching, she looked over.

    Her master was awake. His arm hung over the corner of his bed, hand brushing over hers. He hadn''t sat up, but he laid there, eyes cast in her direction.

    "Child," he said, his voice quiet, "don''t cry. It''s all going to be fine."

    Fine?

    Yujia''s tears welled up again. How could it be fine? How could it?

 Chapter 363 - Snow Buries the Artist

    He looked tired, Yujia thought. Her master, who she knew to be so spirited and lively, appeared exhausted, lying in that bed, eyes barely open. Was this really just the cruel work of disease? Or had time finally caught up to him?

    Though he looked weary, simultaneously, there was a certain degree of calmness to his exhaustion. He almost looked at peace.

    At this very moment, Yujia found herself at a loss for words. The words failed her, so much that her mouth was refusing to open and speak a single thing.

    In response to her silence, her master continued, "He told you, didn''t he?"

    The physician bowed his head. Yujia managed a nod.

    Her master closed his eyes. A deep sigh escaped from him. "My time will eventually come to an end, but right now is too early. I don''t plan on going anytime soon."

    "But¡ª" she whispered out.

    "I''ll drink my medicine more on time; I''ll take better care of myself." He coughed a few times, placing his hand on his c.h.e.s.t. Hearing the sound of his cough, Yujia''s eyebrows immediately knitted. Her master managed a gentle smile. "When I tell you not to worry, kid, I mean it."

    The conversation ended there. Insisting that their master needed rest, the physician ushered both Yujia and her senior brother out. Reluctantly, Yujia and Yunhe walked out of the room, the courtyard, and paused in the corridors.

    Yujia felt that her eyes were still watering. She clenched her fingers into a fist, forcing any signs of tears to go away. "How could he," she whispered, "insist that everything is fine?"

    Yunhe, seeing her expression, said, "The more you weep, the sadder Master would be too. He does not want to see you like that."

    She knew that. Of course her master did not wish to see her drowning in a pit of her own sadness either. Would he blame himself, she wondered? But it wasn''t his fault. None of this was.

    Wrapping her arms around herself, Yujia looked down. She began to walk down the corridor. Yunhe followed behind her quickly.

    Pausing in her steps, she told Yunhe, "I need some time alone."

    He didn''t follow her after that.

    ¡­

    Before, she once felt pity for her master. Pity for his past, pity for the tragedy that fell upon him. But had she really, truly sympathized with him?

    Even earlier, she was angry at the physician for not curing her master. But why was she angry? Was it not at the thought that her master would be leaving her? Was it not a selfish d.e.s.i.r.e to keep him alive simply because she didn''t want to return to the days of not having anyone?

    It seemed a little ridiculous to her, the idea that her not wanting her loved ones to die being a selfish d.e.s.i.r.e. Yet when she recalled the peaceful look on her master''s face, she could hardly see it as anything but selfish.

    He was calm because he had been anticipating it. He had lived for so long, far more than he might''ve wanted. Death, at this point, might''ve been a release to him. If earlier, she had thought for just a second in his position, she would''ve realized that.

    So, in the end, it was her being selfish.

    Yujia looked up now at the gray skies. Snow still drifted down, ever so slowly.

    She should''ve apologized to the physician earlier for yelling at him. She should''ve apologized to her master for raising her voice and waking him.

    They never said how much time her master still had left. During that time she still had left with him, she should take care of him more. Cherish their moments together more. It was a bit too late, but better to realize late than never.

    With something hot rolling onto her cheek, Yujia realized she was crying again.

    Yujia thought that she would''ve liked to be buried in the snow forever. She would''ve liked to let the ice envelope her, shielding her eyes from the reality of the world around her, pushing her under the ground until she was deep enough that no one would find her. Deep enough so that when they dug her up, centuries later, there would be nothing left but the white of her bones.

    Except, as she sat in the snow, fingertips freezing in the cold, the snow never fell fast enough to do so.

    In a few moments, Xie Yufeng emerged from her room, carrying a fur cloak. Yufeng walked to where Yujia was, then stopped. She held a free hand out. "Get up," she said.

    Yujia''s chin tilted upwards. She hadn''t even realized Yufeng was there until she heard Yufeng''s voice. Their eyes met, Yujia being far too tired to read the other woman''s expression.

    "Get up," Yufeng said again, at Yujia''s blankness.

    Blinking a few times, Yujia accepted Yufeng''s hand. It was a rush of warmth compared to the ice-cold temperature of Yujia''s skin. With a jerking movement, Yufeng pulled her up. Yujia stumbled, her lack of balance almost toppling her over if not for Yufeng''s other hand reaching up and steadying her.

    "Let''s get you inside," Yufeng murmured.

    ¡­

    The two of them sat around a furnace, coals crackling inside. Yufeng had helped Yujia take off her cloak, brushing off all the snow weighing it down, dressing Yujia in the fur cloak she was holding earlier. As Yujia sat at the furnace, her hands reaching out, the ice below her skin melted away, leaving nothing but the crackling heat of the flames at her touch.

    Yufeng didn''t ask what had happened. She must''ve heard Yunhe''s exclamation when he had rushed into their courtyard earlier, assuming what had happened based on what she heard and how Yujia looked. Besides offering a cup of hot tea, that Yujia took and sipped at, Yufeng said nothing else.

    The two simply sat there, silence hanging in the warm air, but to Yujia, that was enough of a comfort.

 Chapter 364 - Admitting the Artistâ€™s Truth

    It was the next day.

    Yujia had a bowl of medicine in one hand, a spoon in her other. She sat at her master''s bedside, stirring the medicine. Sunlight streamed through the paper windows. Her master was propped up against the pole of the bed.

    While she stirred the medicine, her master observed her movements, saying, "I can drink medicine by myself."

    Yujia shook her head, her lips flattening into a thin line. "The medicine is still too hot; I don''t want you to accidentally spill it over yourself."

    "You act like I''m absolutely incapable of anything," her master snorted. "I haven''t gotten weak enough to that point."

    But still, he didn''t make any motions to take the medicine from her. Yujia continued stirring, waiting for the liquid to cool.

    Softly, she asked, "Did you not drink your medicine on time before?"

    "It was always a hassle to remember," he replied, looking away.

    "But now you will, right?" she continued.

    He looked back. "Of course. I realized there are far too many things I still need to see happen before my time is up. The papers to make you my granddaughter still need to be complete. I need to see Yunhe, that brat, get married. I need to see you get married as well."

    The spoon clinked against the bowl, her stirring motions coming to a pause. She asked a different question than the confession that was on her mind, the knowledge that just yesterday, she had rejected the offer of marriage. "You think Yunhe will get married soon?"

    "He has to at least find someone," her master said. "Besides, my physician is a good one. If I drink my medicine on time, I''m sure to last a few years. That should be enough time for Yunhe. And you, I''m not worried about. You''re sure to get married soon."

    "En," Yujia murmured, stirring the medicine again, swallowing the words she wanted to speak. "I''m sorry," she then said.

    "What for?" He seemed almost startled.

    "Lashing out yesterday. I shouldn''t have."

    Her master folded his hands in his lap. "I''ve never blamed you for anything. Not for anything in the past, not for anything recent. Your reaction back then was understandable. That''s why I didn''t want you to know." He paused, then went on, "And I¡­ I''m sorry for not letting you know sooner. I really am, you know? It was a hard decision to make."

    "You don''t ever need to be sorry," Yujia replied quietly. "You''ve done so much for me. I am forever indebted to you, Master."

    "No. I am grateful that you entered my life." His head tilted down. "If only we had more time as master and disciple."

    "I wish I came to this world earlier."

    "I wish the same."

    They were silent, hanging between the threads of wishes and reality. Yujia felt like she was going to cry again, but she blinked away the tears, putting on a smile. She would not cry this time.

    "The medicine should be about right now," she said, handing the bowl to him.

    He smiled back, eyes curving like they always did when he smiled. "Thank you."

    Yujia chatted with her master for some longer. They no longer dwelled on the topic which haunted Yujia, instead taking this time to have simple small talk. They talked about everything, from the snowy weather to her pet dog to the best kinds of wine to the irresponsible decisions that certain government officials were making. Her heart felt more at ease with these talks than it had been the past morning and day.

    And then, right in the midst of discussing the return of the soldiers to the capital, Yujia was interrupted by a servant.

    "Disciple Yu is looking for you," the servant informed with a deep bow.

    Yujia''s eyes lit up, remembering how Zixu promised to see her again today. Nevertheless, she glanced over at her master. Would it be alright for her to leave?

    He almost seemed happier than her that Zixu arrived. Waving his hand, he grunted, "It''s about time for me to get some sleep. You go meet with that kid."

    ¡­

    The weather was even colder today, but Yujia felt her heart warm up when she saw that Zixu wore the cloak she gave him yesterday. He stood outside the villa, by the gardens, hands tucked within the sleeves of the cloak.

    "It''s cold, isn''t it?" she called out. Even with a down cloak, this chill of this outdoor temperature was sure to be felt.

    Zixu gave a half shrug, responding, "Somewhat."

    "Let''s go indoors."

    ¡­

    Once inside, the warmth of the furnace keeping the room at a comfortable temperature, Yujia poured them both a cup of steaming tea. Zixu accepted it gladly, taking a long sip. She sat across from him, fingers wrapped around her own cup of tea.

    "I have some news," Zixu brought up.

    "News?" she echoed, praying that it was anything but bad. Though, she figured by how relaxed Zixu appeared, it wouldn''t be anything too serious.

    "Father does not seem upset with your identity. I talked to him about engagement, and he agreed. The moment your master officially adopts you, we''ll begin sending over engagement gifts. He wants to test our birthdates and compatibility too, so expect that happening soon."

    "That''s wonderful," Yujia replied.

    "I was thinking the same," Zixu agreed, then paused. "Though¡­ my workload will also be lessening over the next few days."

    Yujia was a bit taken aback by how his expression almost seemed to hold notes of wariness at what should''ve been such good news. Hesitating for a moment, she said, "That''s good too."

    Her confusion at his doubt was clarified when Zixu said, "It''s only because I''m going to Luoyang."

    "Luoyang?" Her eyebrows furrowed at the sound of that city. "Didn''t you just go on a trip?"

    "It''s customary for a merchant to be frequently traveling. Father wants me to go there to monitor our business in that city, as part of the learning experience. Even so, he says my time spent at Luoyang will have much less work, and it''s less of a work trip than it is a vacation."

    "But it''s winter." Yujia almost laughed. "Who goes on vacation during the winters? Are the iced roads and blizzarding weather not dangerous?"

    She already knew from her experience going on a trip that any long-distance travels were sure to be packed with hazards.

    "I know; it''s slightly peculiar that he wants me to go on this sudden trip. But we truly have some production and shipment issues that he wants me to manage in Luoyang."

    "How long will you be there for?"

    Zixu''s gaze held hesitation again before he admitted, "Half a year."

    Yujia''s expression fell at the sound of that. "So we are to be apart for another half year?"

    She just returned from her trip that had left them months apart. Before that, he had also returned from a long-distance trip of his own. Sure, they had letters to communicate. But to be constantly apart at such repetitive intervals was something that strained Yujia''s feelings.

    "I know what you''re concerned about," Zixu said, "I have the same concerns. That''s why I was thinking about if you would like to come with me. We could go to Luoyang together." As he spoke, he began to smile, the enthusiasm growing on his expression. "It wouldn''t be too bad if we were together. We could see the sights the city has to offer; we could have a good time. Haven''t you wanted to travel the world together one day? This could be the first step to that."

    Except now, of all times?

    She parted her lips, but she didn''t know how to break it to him. She had tried so hard to not think about it. So hard to not let it plague her mind with never-ending worries.

    Yet Zixu, as observant as he always was, knew the moment his words went wrong. He caught the way her expression froze, the way she bit the inside of her cheek, the way she broke eye contact and looked away.

    "What is it?" he said, lowering his voice to a quiet volume. "What''s wrong?"

    Yujia''s eyes met his. "I-I can''t leave," she spoke, hands curling up at her side. "I have to stay."

    "Why?" he prodded.

    She felt herself freezing up even more, every fiber of hers screaming to not say the words. But Zixu deserved to know. He should know the reasons. The truth shouldn''t be held back because of her petty fears.

    And so, she opened her mouth.

    "My master¡­ does not have much time left." She blinked. "He''s¡­ dying."

    They were such simple words, but words she was running away from all this time. It was almost as if had she never spoken those words, they weren''t true, but now that she had let them roll off her tongue, they were.

    They were, and they had always been.

    She knew it as well, hadn''t she? It was a fact that had been talked about so many times, the only difference being this time, she was the one saying it. Except, despite how much she had been faced with this truth, when she said it for the first time, it hurt just that much more.

 Chapter 365 - To Care About the Artistâ€™s Self

    The moment those words left her mouth, Zixu''s face changed, eyebrows knitting together, lips slightly parting.

    "I''m sorry," he whispered. "I should''ve asked how you were earlier. I shouldn''t have started pressing all this outside stress on you."

    Yujia stared blankly at her half-filled cup of tea on the table. She knew she had to respond, but she just couldn''t bring herself to speak. The words from earlier were still sinking in, like a blade against her heart, digging deeper to leave their agonizing reminder.

    And then, instead of saying anything, she lifted the teapot again, refilling Zixu''s cup, then her own, to the brim. She watched the tea, the way it flowed into the cup in ripples.

    The ripples stilled.

    She looked up, finding an unexpected smile crossing her expression. "Don''t worry," she replied, her tone light. Her fingers wrapped around the tea cup. "Tell me more about¡­ Luoyang. What kind of work will you be doing there, exactly?"

    Zixu blinked.

    Hands lying flat on the table, he said, "Are you sure you want to talk about Luoyang?"

    She blinked as well, words failing her again.

    "I''ve been where you are now once before," Zixu spoke, keeping his words slow. "No matter what others said, I refused to talk to them. I thought it would''ve been better if I kept it sealed away in the depths of my heart, where no one, not even I, could see again. Perhaps that was good for me; perhaps it was not." He paused. "But this is not about me. It''s about you, your thoughts, your feelings. If you truly don''t want to talk about it, we can avoid the topic. Except, if you ever change your mind and decide you do, just know that I''m here." He reached a hand out across the table. "I always have, and I always will."

    His gaze met hers. Lone silence hung in the air.

    And then, she was crying again.

    Uncontrollable tears spilled out, coupled by the same sinking feeling she had felt so many times before. She wanted to stop. She didn''t want to cry as much as this. At the same time, she simply couldn''t. The tears kept falling; her c_h_e_s_t kept heaving. Despite every attempt to control herself, nothing could change.

    She felt like she couldn''t breathe, as if she was drowning again. Yet in the midst of all of this, Zixu found her. He crouched on the floor beside her, hand reaching out and taking hers. She felt the warmth of his hand first, then the firm yet gentle grip he held hers in.

    Zixu was here. He was here for her.

    She could breathe again.

    For moments after, Yujia wept still. Zixu didn''t move away, one arm reached to her back, carefully patting in slow, circular motions.

    Eventually, her breathing steadied, going from irregular hiccups to a more normal pace. Her trembling ceased. Seeing that she had gathered herself more, Zixu pulled away. He reached to the table, taking her cup of tea and carefully handed it to her, making sure it would not spill over.

    "Have a sip," he beckoned. "It''ll help."

    Yujia raised the cup to her lips, taking a slow but long sip. Just like Zixu said, it did help. The tea, which had gone from steaming hot to simply warm, reassured her.

    "Thank you," she murmured. To this, Zixu simply gave a quiet nod of his head.

    "How do you feel now?" Zixu asked. "Better?"

    "Much better." Yujia took a long sip of tea again. "I''m¡­ sorry about that."

    He glanced at her as he went back to his seat. "Don''t be sorry. It wasn''t something within your control, so how could you ever be blamed for that? Furthermore, for some things perhaps occasionally in your control, like crying, isn''t it all just a normal, human thing to do? We tend to hold them back, but are they not just a natural form of expression? There should be nothing wrong with any of that."

    "You think so?"

    He nodded.

    Yujia thought about everything he spoke of before, how talking might''ve been better for her. How he would always be here for her.

    She realized, with recalling his words, that she did want to speak. All along, she truly wished that she had someone she could talk to. However, she was afraid, back then. She was, like he said, sealing it all away in hopes that it could get better.

    She should''ve realized earlier that wasn''t the right thing to do. But now that Zixu was here for her, what did she have to lose by talking to him? It would be better to talk, wouldn''t it?

    "You''ll listen?" That was all she asked.

    Zixu nodded again. "Of course."

    "Then¡­" she began, drawing in a deep breath, "how should I put this?" Her elbows propped up on the table, hands clasping together as she leaned her forehead against her hands, eyes looking down. "I guess¡­ what makes me feel the worst¡­ is just that I feel¡­ selfish."

    Yujia felt tears pricking at her eyes again. The moment she spoke the word "selfish", she had finally allowed something to slip out of her. It was one of those thoughts that she had kept all to herself. Now, there it was, fallen out of her own mouth, lingering in the air between them.

    Once she finally said it, it was as if nothing could hold her words back anymore. They spilled out in a rush.

    "Ever since I''ve heard the news about my master, I couldn''t stop feeling that I''m being selfish. Unreasonable. I want my master to live. I want him to live because I don''t want him to leave my life. I know if I think from his perspective, it would be better to let him go. He''s been living such a weary life for so long. To let go would be a relief, for him, I think. But I still don''t want him to die. Despite knowing all of that, how much better it''d feel for him, I still keep wishing he won''t. I worry about how I will be with him gone, rather than how he will be if he stays alive."

    She looked up. "Today, I had a conversation with him. He told me he wanted to live longer. For Yunhe and for me. When I heard that, I felt incredible relief. However, now that I think of that conversation again, there is nothing but guilt in my heart. Again, I was happy to hear that he would live. My master makes such a selfless sacrifice to live for me, and yet again, all I can do is to find happiness in my selfishness."

    All this time, Zixu had not spoken. He simply listened, like he said he would.

    "I know it''s not just me who''s suffering. My master, of course, is, but so are the people beside him. His closest servants. The physician. Chef Hong, Old Wu. Yunhe, too, of course. Yunhe must be hurting as much as me. Still, I do not bring myself to think in their perspectives. I do not reach out. I do not offer to help them feel better. I can only think of my pain, my suffering. Is that not selfish of me?"

    "Above all, I know I am being selfish myself, except I do nothing to change. I don''t think I can. And this realization is what, ultimately, weighs me down."

    With that, she concluded what she was saying. The words hung in the air.

    Then, Zixu began speaking.

    "You say you are being selfish;" he started, "you say you are not thinking in other perspectives. But in everything you''ve told me, you''ve been doing the exact opposite of that. You think of how your master would find relief in death. You worry over how much everyone else, like Ye Yunhe, is hurting. To care about the feelings of others, so much that they put your own thoughts to shame¡ª how is that being selfish?"

    "That¡­" Yujia found herself incapable of responding.

    Zixu went on, "Why do we live? Is it not for ourselves? We eat the food we like to eat. We do the things we like to do. In this case, you have your own feelings, which you gravitate towards. Feelings, like eating and acting, are some of the most rudimentary human behaviors, are they not?" He paused for a brief moment. "It is human nature to be inherently selfish. Before you can care for anyone else, you must care for yourself. What matters, in the end, is how you act upon your inner thoughts and feelings."

    "How I act upon things?" she repeated.

    "Your master seems to have already decided how much longer he wants to live. During this time, will you cherish the time you have left with your master, find happiness in your last memories with him? Or will you trap yourself in this misery of only pain and suffering, sink yourself in this guilt, leaving only regret in the future of how these past memories are all laced with bitter grief?"

    Her brows furrowed. "But that''s still about me. My happiness, my misery."

    "Indeed." Zixu tilted his head. "Right now, it''s about you. A year from now, it''s about you. Decades from now, it''ll still be about you. As I''ve said before, that''s all that truly matters in the end. So, how will you act upon things? What will you choose?"

 Chapter 366 - The Artist Searches for Happiness

    "I¡ª" Yujia''s hangs wrung together. She realized that all along, her palms had been sweating. "I want to be¡­ happy, of course."

    "Then, your path to take is clear," Zixu replied.

    Yujia cast her gaze down on the table, thinking over everything Zixu said. Cherish her time with her master. Find happiness in her last memories of him.

    It wasn''t something she never considered. In fact, that was what she had wanted to do. The difference was just that in the past, towards this kind of behavior, Yujia had nothing but guilt lacing her every step. She wasn''t finding true happiness, not when every thought of her master could bring her to tears at any moment.

    It would take time, of course. All things took time, be it healing, acceptance, or grasping onto light once more. But if Yujia gave it the time it needed, instead of trapping herself in a cage of darkness, it would be better, wouldn''t it?

    What Zixu said was correct. She needed to learn to slowly take those steps into happiness. No rushing; no sinking.

    "You know," Yujia said, looking up again with a small smile, "what would I do without your advice? Or more, what would I do without you?"

    Zixu laughed lightly. "I suppose it''s a good thing I''m here, then." His expression then fell, eyes slightly casting to the side. As carefully spoken as always, he asked in a gentle voice, "What do you think about Luoyang?"

    "I obviously¡­ can''t go," Yujia answered. She bit the inside of her lip. Her statement earlier must''ve reminded Zixu of his scheduled business trip to Luoyang. "And¡­" she continued, "must you go? Is it truly impossible for you to stay?"

    Tilting his head in thought for a few moments, Zixu told her, "Perhaps I won''t have to depart. It''s possible for a change in arrangements to be made. I''ll just have to talk to Father about it."

    "Really?" Yujia''s eyes widened, shining.

    "Of course. I don''t think it would be right to leave for half a year, when things are like this for you."

    The thought of Zixu staying for her circ_u_mstances tug a bit at Yujia''s heart. "I know how important this trip is for you. I''m sorry for burdening you."

    "What did I say before?" Zixu raised an eyebrow. "Don''t feel guilty over this. I''m making this decision myself. I don''t think I could rest well in Luoyang knowing that I departed like that. Furthermore, I don''t want us to be apart for such frequently long intervals at a time."

    Yujia pursed her lips. "Fine. I''ll take it like that."

    "En, as you should."

    At that, Zixu gave a pleased smile, which made Yujia grin slightly as well. It was hard for her to not smile when Zixu was smiling so wholesomely.

    "Also¡­" her voice then trailed off.

    "What is it?" Zixu asked, propping his arms up on the table, resting his face in his hands.

    Curling her fingers around her cup on the table, Yujia hesitated for a moment before blurting, "Should we get married soon?"

    This sudden question seemed to take Zixu aback. He blinked a few times. As Yujia looked in his eyes, she could see the realizations appearing in his gaze, likely as he concluded her statement must''ve been because of her master''s illness.

    After a brief moment, Zixu finally said, "That''s what I originally hoped for, so I wouldn''t say no to doing that. Except, I''d have to ask again, do you really want to?"

    "I thought about it a bit, and I think it''s the best decision. It''s bound to happen sooner than later, isn''t it? Like you may have guessed, it''s also what my master wishes for. I''d feel bad if I didn''t fulfill his last wishes, and as you''ve said before, I should do things that make me happy. Both fulfilling his wish and getting married to you¡­ I think those would bring me some joy, don''t you think?"

    Zixu shook his head, grinning. "I can''t argue with that."

    "My perfect logic," Yujia remarked, taking a sip of tea.

    "So, it''s set like that." Zixu leaned back. A tad bit slack-jawed, he admitted, "Now that we''ve agreed like this, everything feels so different. Surreal certainanity. It''s an oxymoron in and of itself."

    Yujia agreed, "It really is. We''re getting married. A month ago¡ª or no, even yesterday¡ª if you asked me how I thought things would be at this very moment, I don''t think I would''ve envisioned that. But now that we''re at this point, I''m not unhappy." She smiled brightly. "Quite the opposite of unhappy, actually."

    "I''m glad you feel that way. I do too." Zixu paused for a moment. "Though, ah, if I knew we would decide on this today, I would''ve been more prepared."

    "It was a spur of the moment thing. How could you be prepared, unless you were a precognitive god?" Yujia teased.

    "Well, I mean, I figured this would be an event that was important enough to warrant a bit more formalities. A gift from me, at least."

    "Didn''t you say your family would be sending over engagement gifts soon? Those would be enough, wouldn''t they?"

    "It''s a lot of impersonal things, though. Things I don''t think you or I would really care for. They''re mainly a show for our families, after all." Zixu narrowed his eyes in thought. "Tokens of love¡­ don''t couples usually do something like that?"

    Yujia thought about everything Zixu gave her. In the history of their relationship, there had always been quite a bit of gift-exchanging. Thus, she blurted, "Do you think birthday gifts count as those?"

    "The seal stamps and the cloak?"

    Yujia nodded. Then, soon after, she shook her head. "Ah, now that I think of it, those shouldn''t count." She clasped her hands together. "I''ll surely find you something!"

    "I will too," Zixu replied in a promise.

    And so, that was how the two of them casually decided on what others must''ve deemed as such an important topic.

 Chapter 367 - Time Ticks on for the Artist

    Over the next few days, life went on. It always did. No matter what happened, time ticked on. The sun continued to rise. The wind continued to rustle through the trees. The birds continued to chirp.

    Though, as Yujia noticed, the birds were quieter now. It was winter, far different than the sounds and sights of springtime. These were tiny details that she picked up, like how the birds abandoned their nests, one-by-one, in migration. She didn''t pay attention to these details of nature as carefully before, not unless she was sitting down and painting.

    On quiet mornings, as she gathered her courage and will to face the day ahead, she discovered that noticing the smaller things¡ª birds and the like¡ª brought her mind to a state of tranquility. It helped her, so she continued.

    As the days passed, Yujia slowly learned how to stop cowering from the prospect of her master''s passing. Even after her talk with Zixu, it was difficult to stomach the truth she had to face. Nevertheless, she never stopped trying. Day after day, she put in her best effort. Only by going onward did she learn to stop misleading herself from the truth.

    This morning, as she prepared her master''s medicine, she no longer found herself distraught, nor did she desperately seek for a distraction.

    Her master seemed to notice, commenting, "Did something good happen?"

    "Do I seem better than usual?" she replied in a question.

    "More lighthearted?"

    She slowly continued stirring the medicine, a light smile gracing her lips. "En, then I suppose something good did happen."

    At last, she seemed to learn how to let go of that persistent guilt. In this very moment, Yujia was just content with the fact that she could sit by her master and stir his medicine for him. These were small things, calm feelings. But to Yujia, that was enough.

    Her stirring arriving at a pause, Yujia looked up into the eyes of her master. She took in the way his eyes crinkled at the corner, the relaxed expression he wore, his gentle features, his white hair.

    "Master, thank you," she said. "Thank you for your magnanimous guidance in my life. Thank you for everything that you have taught me, for everything that you''ve given me."

    He reached out to take the bowl of medicine from her. Quietly, he took a spoonful of the medicine, and at last, said, "I was happy to do all of that."

    "I know," Yujia replied. She gave him a bright smile. "And so, I am grateful."

    ¡­

    Soon enough, Yujia''s status as an adopted granddaughter was processed. It was something easier than she thought, barely involving her in any shape or form. As she previously suspected, there was a slight rise in the capital at the news that Master Yue Ze of Lingxin Pavilion adopted a granddaughter. They were curious about her background, but not for long. Yue Ze''s influence was enough to cast the news to the shadows, discussed in private but never in public spaces. As a result, it became widely accepted common knowledge that there was a descendant to the Yue Family.

    In Lingxin, from what Yujia heard the entire time, students were less concerned of where Yujia came from, and more of the succession policy of the school. Sure, Ye Yunhe''s father, Ye Xuanhe, was the current head of the school. Except, if Yue Ze truly doted on his new granddaughter so much, wasn''t it likely that as a last will, he would want Yujia to replace the current school head? What would the academy be like with a young girl as its leader?

    These rumors, like the ones floating in the capital, were shut down quickly too, although not before Yujia caught wind of them. As a topic that fit in her daily discussions of her master, she brought it up.

    Quite plainly, Yujia stated, "Master, you must''ve heard those rumors. I''m not sure of your plans, but as far as I know for my opinion, I don''t want to succeed Lingxin from you."

    After hearing those rumors, she admitted to not knowing exactly what her master thought of, but she did have some speculations. Considering how one of her master''s biggest regrets in life was never crediting the founding of Lingxin Pavilion to his wife, Wei Yunjing, Yujia had a feeling that her master may have considered passing the academy to her. In a way, it completed the circle, from transmigrator to transmigrator.

    However, Yujia knew that in the end, running Lingxin Academy was not what she wanted to truly do. She had her own business, Three Inks. She had her own goals. She wanted to start something because of her own capabilities, not merely inherit something from someone else. Besides, Yunhe''s father had worked so hard as the school head. Managing the academy was no easy task, but it fitted him. As years passed on, Yunhe was equally fit to succeed the school. She knew he could and would do amazing things for the progress of the art world.

    Yujia simply didn''t see herself going down the path that was already intended for others.

    To her surprise, her master didn''t ask why. He nodded his head, remarking, "I did consider it for a second, but I respect your wish to not inherit Lingxin. Before, I thought that perhaps it would be better, with you fulfilling the goals my wife never could. But," he said with a brief pause, "you are not her. Burdening you with her wishes was something she wouldn''t have wanted, if she was here."

    Silently, Yujia agreed. Her speculations before were right, she realized as her master spoke.

    He concluded his words with a simple statement. "Kid, just promise me something. Whatever you choose to do in the future, do the things that''ll make you happy. Don''t live with regrets."

    "I''ll do my best; I promise," Yujia pledged.

    "That''ll be enough for me," her master said, a soft sigh tracing his words.

 Chapter 368 - The Artist Returns to Shop

    It took quite a few strolls through the marketplace for Yujia to eventually find a gift for Zixu.

    In this era, couples exchanged tokens of love with each other. They were small things, like sachets, pendants, jewelry, and the like. Since previously, the two agreed to exchange them before their marriage, as part of their own private formalities, Yujia now had a task upon her to find a perfect token from her end. Yet while finding Zixu a gift should''ve been a simple task for Yujia, she found herself stuck.

    Though, then again, considering the chaotic process it took her to come up with the idea of sewing a cloak for his birthday, Yujia should''ve realized she was always incredibly bad at picking presents.

    She didn''t want to pick something too common. Neither did she want to pick a gift that she had previously given Zixu, or vice versa. Considering creating a personal gift, Yujia realized her handiwork probably wasn''t good enough to last for a lifetime, nor was worthy enough to do so. The only thing she could create which she was proud of was her own art, the problem now being that these tokens were typically smaller objects. Yujia didn''t think gifting a tiny canvas painting was very realistic or desirable.

    Being at such a loss of what to gift, Yujia asked around for some help. She couldn''t say something like picking a gift for a lover, but she did ask about what to gift a friend. Those that she went to help for¡ª Chef Hong, Lili, Yufeng, her master¡ª gave a few suggestions, but none of them sounded right to her.

    At one point, Yujia even asked Gao Yi, the store manager of Three Inks, as well, since she couldn''t find Bo Zhizhong anywhere. It was a decision she instantly regretted making. Yujia should''ve realized earlier, with how she looked down on Gao Yi''s gaudy taste in interior decoration, that anything he suggested would include items that cost as many ingots as possible. It seemed like for him, the more expensive something was, the better¡ª a feeling that Yujia didn''t mutually share.

    Thus, after feeling stuck with all these poor ideas, Yujia was left to search for inspiration in the great big world of the capital. It took crossing through marketplace after marketplace, venturing to the complete opposite side of the city, for her to find something that finally caught her eye.

    The stall she stumbled upon was a vendor sitting on a cushioned blanket, sprawled out by a frozen riverbank. She had actually skimmed over this specific seller before, considering how his wares were all placed on the floor. Compared to the stalls and shops around him, it was just too easy to miss what he was selling.

    Yujia came to a stop in her steps, observing the vendor. He appeared to be middle-aged by the wrinkles on his skin, yet his hair was far too white for someone his age, giving him an older appearance than those in his age range. His face had typical features, nothing too notable to differentiate him from a crowd.

    Yet despite that very typical face, Yujia could''ve sworn she had seen this man somewhere before. He looked oddly familiar, but she just couldn''t quite put her finger on it.

    Seeing that she had stopped in front of his wares, the man greeted her, waving his hands at the things he sold. "Young Miss, are you interested in the arts?"

    Even his voice sounded familiar. Yujia pursed her lips together, staring at what he sold. They seemed to be boxes of brushes and inks, nothing too spectacular jumping out at her.

    Her gaze raised back to the man''s face. She leaned closer, narrowing her eyes.

    "Sir, have we met before?" she couldn''t help but ask. The familiarity was just too much for her to ignore.

    "Did you buy something from me recently?" The man also squinted, trying to get a better look at her face, which she had covered the lower half of with a veil.

    Yujia shook her head. She realized, though, with the veil covering her face and the fur hood of the cloak she wore draped over her head, it was difficult for anyone to be able to see her identity. As a result, she pushed her hood back, reaching to temporarily unclasp her veil as well.

    The moment she took off her veil, the middle-aged man drew in a sharp breath.

    "Y-you''re¡ª!" his voice stopped at a hush.

    "I''m?" Yuija said.

    Recognition apparent in his gaze, the man answered, "You bought something from me long ago. Do you remember ordering brushes that were hollow in their center?"

    Yujia''s eyes lit up as well. All of a sudden, memories of her first few days transmigrating flashed through her mind. Back then, it was her goal to create pencils. A large part of how she was able to establish Three Inks and enter Lingxin Pavilion was, in fact, a merchant that had created custom wooden models for her to make pencils with.

    This was an event from so long ago that she hardly remembered who the merchant was. Their encounters were rather brief, after all. Except, now that she saw him again, everything was clicking back into place.

    It was surprising to see him again, especially when he looked like this. Last time, didn''t he have a stall? He was a small merchant, but he wasn''t poor. His wealth shouldn''t have reduced him to how he was now, sitting on the ground with nothing but fabric dividing him from the dirt and snow. The clothes he wore were also worn-out and frayed. They didn''t seem to keep him warm, with his face frozen red.

    "I do remember," Yujia replied, folding her hands together into a bow. "What happened for you to¡­ end up like this?"

    As she went back to veil her face, the merchant shook his head with a deep sigh. His breath fogged up in the air as he explained, "Lots of things happened in just a few months. I heard news that there was a business opportunity of simply transporting a few materials, and I had seen other merchants gain quick wealth through these manners. Except, when I tried to participate, I accidentally entered a scam, which was taking advantage of these rumors in the business world to trap merchants like me. I saw all my life-savings depleted in just a week''s time, and my work selling art supplies was ruined as well. Now that I think of it, I was truly foolish for believing there was ever a scheme to earn money fast. The entire thing, rumors and all, must''ve been contrived by these scammers to fool over gullible individuals like me."

    "That''s tragic," Yujia said, eyebrows furrowing. "How could such injustice run free in this world while good men like you must suffer?"

    The merchant only shook his head and gave yet another deep sigh.

    "I wish I could help you in some way," Yujia went on.

    She genuinely wished she could. After all, if not for this merchant at the start, she wouldn''t be anywhere with her pencils. Sure, she may have found another to help her create, but this merchant in particular was an honest man, who gave her clueless, fumbling, newly-transmigrated self reasonable prices and wares. Not to mention, he also crafted the brush molds himself, with his own skill and artistry.

    "Ai, Miss, I appreciate your kind heart, but there is not much you can do for this one. I got myself into this own mess, and I will find my own way out."

    Yujia bent down. "Let me buy something from you, at least."

    She scanned her eyes over the art supplies he sold in front of him. None of the inks or brushes seemed like anything she needed. There were better quality ones available in Lingxin. Yet truly, she felt like helping this man was more important than the quality of the goods she bought.

    "Actually, Miss, don''t look at any of that," he interjected. Yujia looked up in question, head tilting. The man reached to his side, grabbing a box that had been resting below the others. "I made this one before my luck fell, you see," he explained, "and the materials used are surely higher quality than the ones on display right now. They are jade brushes, and one of my proudest creations. Alas, I only have one left, but if I were to sell it to anyone, I would want you to have it."

    With that, he opened the thin box, taking the brush out and presenting it to her. Yujia picked it up. The white jade stem of the brush was cold to touch, and as Yujia raised it to the light, she realized just how flawless the quality of jade was. Not a single impurity could be spotted in the pure white jade. Furthermore, as light struck the brush, it only passed through halfway, making it look as if the brush was glowing.

    Just from the shaft of the brush, she could tell how valuable it was, but then, her fingers brushed against the tip of the brush. "This hair¡ª" Yujia exclaimed.

    "Indeed, Young Miss has always had a good eye," the man affirmed. "The hairs selected for this brush have a core made of weasel hairs, while the outer layer is wrapped by white goat hairs. Not only does this preserve the white appearance of the brush. With the inner core being stiffer and the outer softer, both furs work excellently in harmony so that regardless if you use it to paint or do calligraphy, your works will turn out magnificent. Smooth yet refined."

    Yujia placed the brush back into the box. Even without the descriptions from this man, she would''ve been able to tell that she held a good brush. It was a case where the quality was apparent through touch.

    "I''ll buy it," she declared. "But¡­"

    "Yes?"

    "Could you do something extra for me?" Yujia requested, putting on a warm smile.

 Chapter 369 - An Exchange of the Artist

    The day after the next, when Zixu came to visit Yujia, he brought his token gift. Yujia burst out in laughter the moment she laid her eyes on it.

    "This¡ª" she gasped between laughs, "I can''t believe it¡ª"

    Zixu shrunk his head back, fingers stiffly gripping the thin open box the gift rested within. "Is there something wrong with it?" he questioned, chin tilting.

    Yujia completely understood Zixu''s bewilderment. Any normal person would not react like she had to the gift Zixu brought. To laugh in such a manner implied the gift being ridiculous or lacking, didn''t it? Except, in fact, his gift was none of that. It was perfect for her, both thoughtful and beautiful. It was something Yujia would''ve bought for herself. It was even something that she would''ve bought for him, had she seen it in the marketplace.

    And, as it turned out, that was exactly what Yujia did.

    "Hold on for a moment," she paused, spinning and heading to her room. She returned with a box of her own¡ª one that looked nearly identical to the box Zixu brought over¡ª handing it over for Zixu to open.

    The moment he opened it, he could not hold back his laughter either.

    "Is this for real?" he said.

    Yujia let out an amused breath. "So it seems."

    The two of them got each other the exact same gift, from the exact same merchant. It turned out that both Yujia and Zixu ran into that one brush merchant. Yujia recalled how the vendor told her he only had one of those brushes left. Now that she held the brush Zixu bought for her in her hands, she clearly recognized it as the same kind of brush she bought. The unique jade and hairs of the brush were unmistakably the work of that vendor.

    "What a coincidence, buying from the same person¡­" Yujia mused.

    Zixu added on, "Doesn''t he sell in a rather secluded area too? How did we both stumble upon him?"

    "Fate!" Yujia declared, clasping her hands together. "You said you didn''t believe in it, but what else explains this?"

    Zixu waved his hand, laughing. "Alright. Fate it is."

    "Though¡­ we didn''t get exactly the same thing."

    "We didn''t."

    Yujia gestured at the brush he currently held, the one she bought him. "Give it a read."

    Zixu picked it out from the box, raising it to eye-level. He noticed the words carved into the side, reciting, "Long I lived checked by the bars of a cage. Now I have turned again to nature and freedom¡­" A smile slowly crept into his expression as he read. At the end of the two lines, he looked up. "You remembered," he murmured.

    Yujia nodded, beaming.

    Long ago, when Zixu was just her senior brother, and she was just his junior sister, the two had stumbled into each other at Lingxin''s library. There, Zixu had shared with her the sentiments of how he appreciated one specific poem by the renowned Tao Yuanming. The lines that he commented on resonating with him the most were what Yujia pressed into her mind. She specially requested the vendor to carve those two lines in the jade, as a bit of a personal touch.

    She thought Zixu would like it, and by how he ran his fingers over the indented words, it was clear he did.

    It seemed like Zixu had a similar thought. Yujia picked up her brush now, seeing that Zixu, too, requested for engravings. He chose a rather simple line.

    "For life, for an eternity, one pair", Yujia whispered.

    Zixu explained, "Months ago, I was digging through poetry archives when I found this line. I thought it was eloquently written, yet I''ve only found a use for it now."

    "Pair¡­" Yujia echoed the word she just read out loud, twirling the brush in her hands. "It''s perfect."

    Just like the pair described in the poetry, the two now had matching brushes. Though they were just single brushes by themselves, when together, they were a pair.

    She set the brush and box down. Throwing her arms around Zixu''s neck, she pulled him in for a hug.

    "I couldn''t be happier," she said, then leaned back.

    Zixu''s eyes were curved up as he smiled his usual warm smile, the one that always gave Yujia bu??erflies. "I''m happy too," he replied.

    And just as her hands found themselves lacing with his, her lips found themselves pressing against his.

    Gentle. Delicate. Happy.

    ¡­

    Soon enough, Yujia received some interesting news, delivered to her by letter from the Yang Residence, which she hadn''t heard from in quite a while. As a matter of fact, Yujia was fairly certain the Yang Villa hardly cared about her, since never had they ever sent her a letter like this.

    Until now, that was.

    The paper letter crinkled in her hand as her grip tightened around the pages. On the other hand, Yufeng, who had delivered the letter, seemed thoroughly uninterested, though she remained in the room, making sure that the furnace was burning. This left Yujia to her own devices, absorbing the contents in the letter in the crackling silence.

    Though she lived as the Fourth Miss too briefly to figure out too many details involving the Yang Household, she recognized the penmanship in the letter as that of the Old Master''s, her "father".

    The Old Master began with an apology. He said he should''ve paid more attention to her own wishes. He said he shouldn''t have arranged the marriage with the Yu''s Old Master. He excused his actions in the past under that of a caring parent. He claimed he only ever wanted the best for her. He claimed he knew better now.

    He wrote of how much he loved her. Both her and her birthmother. He regretted how he neglected the Fourth Miss, allocating the reason for that to his cowardice. He was too afraid to give an illegitimate daughter the love she deserved.

    He congratulated her on her engagement. He said he was truly happy for her.

    And above all, he pleaded for her to come back. Just once, so that he could see her daughter again.

    Yujia''s eyes skimmed the last line. When she finished, she blankly stared at the pages.

    Her impression of this father of hers was faint. After all, he felt more like the father of the Fourth Miss than her own. She had b?r?ly even seen his face around.

    Still, now that she held this letter, she found herself taken aback by the rush of emotions rising up within her. Her hands were trembling, not of joy, nor of sadness, but rather anger.

 Chapter 370 - Enraged Artists and Elaborate Finery

    Her relationship with her parents had never been good, and Yujia knew that fact well enough. There was a time where she sought their approval, but she was younger then. Part of growing up was the bitter realization that they wouldn''t ever give her it, and even more¡ª which was what perhaps hurt more¡ª that she didn''t need it.

    Seeing this letter from the father of the Fourth Miss, she was enraged. There shouldn''t have been a reason to. He was not her father; she was not the true Fourth Miss.

    Yet she was enraged.

    The letter seemed to remind her of her father. When she was younger, how many times had she wished for him to say the exact words written to her?

    She wished he had apologized. She wished he would''ve admitted that the loss of his son was not her fault. She wished he had the courage to admit he had been cowardly all along, to put that blame entirely on her. She wished he told her he loved her.

    He never did. He never said any of those things, never uttered a single word like that.

    But if he had, would Yujia have believed him? Would she be able to throw away the years of neglect into the past, and let bygones be bygones?

    Things couldn''t be that easy.

    If they were, Yujia would''ve been furious at herself for being so lenient. However, chances were that she couldn''t forgive that easily. She was furious not at herself, but rather the father.

    As Yujia looked over the letter over and over again, the letter meant for another daughter than herself, she only saw lies upon lies.

    Love her? Had he loved the Fourth Miss, would he have given her a room intended for servants, clothes of that quality, and attention of that quality as well? Wished the best for her? What had wishing the best ever done, besides pushing the Fourth Miss into darker and darker corners?

    Yujia knew how things would''ve gone had she never transmigrated into the body of the Fourth Miss. She knew what kind of life the Fourth Miss was living, spiteful of every being, lashing out her anger on Hui''er. She knew what kind of life the Fourth Miss would have to live in the future, stuck in another villa where nobody cared, a cage which she would never escape from.

    There was no other person to blame than the Old Master. Had he simply shown her a single bit of true affection in the past, the Fourth Miss wouldn''t have turned out that way.

    He wanted to see her again now, was it?

    Yujia was not an idiot. She knew how the Yang Villa reacted upon the first few weeks where she escaped from her marriage.

    They worried about their relationship with the Yu Family. They worried about their reputation in the capital.

    Never had they worried about her.

    If they had, they would''ve sent a letter sooner. Perhaps they could use the excuse that they didn''t know where to find her. Then, why had her father never sent her a letter in the days following where she revealed her identity to Zixu''s father? There was no doubt that Zixu''s father informed the Yang Household of this. Why did the Yang Old Master wait weeks, when Zixu and her were officially engaged, to send a letter?

    Once again, the Old Master only cared about the advantages he could get from his relationships. The Fourth Miss was nothing but a tool.

    Yujia set the letter down. She had enough of reading those lies.

    Imagining that her expression must''ve been clouded with irritation, Yujia put a hand over her face, waiting for it to relax. As she waited, she realized she pitied Yang Xiaoyi, her younger sister. She wondered if Xiaoyi knew this was the kind of person her father is. But still, even if she knew, what could she do? This was the world she lived in.

    Yujia let her hand drop. She glanced back at the letter.

    She had to admit she cared about Xiaoyi. Recalling how Xiaoyi had never been anything but brimming with warmth towards her, helping her out on so many occasions, Yujia sighed. This little sister of hers was perhaps the only person in the Yang Family Yujia had grown to like ever since transmigrating over. Yujia also hadn''t seen Xiaoyi in months.

    Picking up the letter again, she read over the words where the Old Master pleaded for her to return to the villa at least once. Yujia pressed her lips together.

    Perhaps she should pay them a visit.

    ¡­

    The next morning, Yujia picked out one of her finer robes. Made of layered chiffon of white and teal, the robes were embroidered with thousands of gold thread stitches, which were further accentuated by the twisted pale jasmine-yellow belt strung around her waist. The detail on the neckline was especially impressive, a beautiful gradient of embroidered jasmines curling up her neck. It was the reason for why she picked the robes, since the detail could be seen underneath the cloak she chose to wear.

    At last, she selected a few capable servants, sending them ahead with orders to take care of a carriage for her. When she returned to her room, seeing Yufeng eating her breakfast of a steaming bowl of porridge, Yujia eyed Yufeng up and down. Yufeng liked to wear simple cotton robes, and Yujia never saw her in anything different.

    Smiling from ear-to-ear, Yuija clasped her hands together, humming, "Yufeng¡ª"

    Yufeng slowly set the spoon in her hand down, eyeing Yujia with suspicion. "Yes?"

    "Come on, let''s get you all dolled up," Yujia said.

    Yufeng shook her head, leaning backwards. "I''m good, thanks."

    But her initial refusal was useless. After a bit of a hassle, some hand-in-hand combat, tens of robes pulled from Yujia''s drawers, a mountain of accessories, and a desperate struggle for dear life later, Yujia found herself facing a new Yufeng.

    Yufeng wore a set of pale apricot robes that Yuija picked, which also came from the collection of finery Yujia owned. Topped with a muted jade blue on the outside to compliment the apricot shade, Yujia figured it would match the teal robes she wore today. Along with the robes, she selected some fine jewelry for Yufeng to wear around her wrists and hair, the type that was elegant enough to not appear gaudy, yet extravagant enough to elevate Yufeng''s appearance.

    Stepping back to view her work, Yujia nodded satisfactorily, though Yufeng''s expression was rather gloomy.

    "What''s the purpose of all of this?" Yufeng muttered.

    Yujia explained, "We''re paying a visit to the Yang Villa, and I want you to be my personal aide."

    Yufeng looked down at herself, gesturing her hands. "All this?" She wrinkled her nose. "For a servant?"

    Affirming, Yujia nodded. "I want him to see how well I''m living now. So well, in fact, that even a maid is treated better than the Fourth Miss was in the past."

    She needed to make the message clear. It was something she wanted him to know the moment he saw her. The Old Master could beg for the Fourth Miss to come visit all he wanted. But she was never going back.

    She was not his daughter. She was not the Fourth Miss.

    To him, she would only be Yue Yu.

 Chapter 371 - The Artist Makes Peace

    Before even entering the Yang Villa, Yujia could tell that things had changed.

    The moment she stepped out of the carriage, she noticed how the exterior of the Yang Villa seemed to receive an upgrade. The walls were rebuilt. The weeds climbing up the edges were neatly trimmed. The front door was freshly painted. The villa carried the appearance of a newly constructed mansion¡ª not the deteriorating old structure Yujia was familiar with.

    Yujia was familiar with the robes the servants wore in the past. After all, she had to live in the identity of a servant for quite a while as she investigated the villa. The plain and washed-out uniform servants used to have were replaced. As she stepped out of the carriage, a servant at the front door greeting her, she observed the clean muted green robes he wore. Up close, she could tell that even the stitches were newly sewn, with no frayed fabric anywhere.

    Yufeng by her side escorting her, other servants carrying gifts following behind her, Yujia entered the villa.. She continued to take in all the surroundings.

    Although it was winter, a time of year where everything should''ve been wilting, she could still tell that the various trees and shrubbery had been replaced. An elegant pink plum grew in the front courtyard where an old gardenia bush was once potted. A pond was also constructed, iced-over in the cold weather, with carved stone tiles dotting its sides under a dusting of snow.

    She also noticed that the servants had all been replaced¡ª of course they were, considering how the old batch of servants were involved with thievery¡ª but there were more in number now. A few kept busy with tasks of sweeping the paths clear of snow, stepping aside and bowing as Yujia walked by.

    Yang Chen, the Old Master, must''ve struck a fortune. She was beginning to see the changes in the villa even before she left, but now, seeing it again after such a long while, the difference was even more apparent.

    The servant leading her came to a stop in his footsteps as they arrived at the main room. He pushed the doors open and stepped aside, bowing. Yujia walked in the room.

    There, at the front, sat her supposed father.

    His fortune may have increased, but he looked nearly the same as before. His clothes were finer now, a hefty jade ring looped around his thumb, but that was still his face, his expression. Yujia dared to say that he even looked older, but maybe that was just the trick of time.

    Just as Yujia observed them, she could feel their eyes on her. She had removed her veil when she stepped into the room. The Old Master must''ve expected the frail Fourth Miss he had last seen, with her sallow complexion. Madam Zhang had seen her more recently, but Yujia was always dressed in disguise, be it servant''s wear or men''s wear. Yujia was different now. Healthier. Happier.

    Bowing politely, Yujia greeted, "Hello, Sir Yang."

    The Old Master stiffened at her distant referral. What was he expecting? "Father"?

    Hesitantly, he replied, "Daughter, have a seat."

    A plain, serene smile remained on Yujia''s face, but on the inside, she was scoffing. Shouldn''t he have known, from the moment she referred to him by "sir"?

    Continuing her calm expression, Yujia looked behind her, as if searching for someone. She turned her face back to the Old Master. "Pardon, but who are you referring to?"

    His expression fell more. She noticed how he gripped the arm of his chair tighter. He looked as if he wanted to say something between gritted teeth, but a moment passed. His face relaxed, and forcing on a smile, he replied, "I apologize. Young Miss, please have a seat."

    Yujia helped herself to a chair on her left. A servant from the Yang Household rushed to pour tea for her, which she didn''t bother to touch. Instead, she waved her hand at the servants from the Yue Household. "I bring gifts," she hummed. One by one, the servants stepped forward, lifting the cover off the gift boxes. As they uncovered the gifts, she explained, "Pearl and agate earrings. A matching set of statue and brush stand, made of carved red coral. A jade fragrance set, encrusted with gold. A pure jade tea set."

    At the sight of all of these, the Old Master''s eyes widened. Yujia thought she could see the flashes of greed in them. "You did not have to bring all these gifts," he hastily spoke.

    Yujia tapped the corner of her chin. "How could I not bring gifts when paying a visit to my dear friend?"

    His eyebrows furrowed. "Friend?"

    "Of course." The servants, at a wave of Yujia''s hands, turned to the right, presenting the gifts to none other than the Fifth Miss. "Younger Sister Xiaoyi, what do you think about these gifts I''ve brought for you? Are they to your liking?"

    It was far too satisfying to see the look on her former father''s face. From his gritted teeth to his pale knuckles, Yujia took it all in. Did he really think that she would bring him gifts? Him?

    Xiaoyi was absolutely flustered at the presentation of all these treasures in front of her. "I¡ª" she stammered, at a loss for words.

    "Well, it''s fine even if they''re not to your liking. Take them for now, and re-gift or sell them if you need to. I''ll bring you more in the future," Yujia generously informed.

    The room fell silent.

    At last, the Old Master spoke up. Quiet but stern, he ordered, "All the servants, leave."

    Wordlessly, the servants of the Yang Household backed away, exiting. Yujia gave a nod of her head, and her servants backed away as well, all except Yufeng. The doors were closed behind them.

    Eyes meeting hers, Yang Chen spoke, "Let''s drop these charades now." His voice seemed to crack. "Daughter¡­ why must you do this to me? You are my own flesh and blood. What is this, with the Yue Family, these new identities, these new names? The Second Miss already did this once to me. Must you do this again? Must you make me lose another daughter?"

    Yujia was taken aback by his sudden outward display of emotions, but she forced herself to keep her composure. "The Second Miss should''ve been a lesson. No one forced Yang Yichen to become Wu Yichen but you, ''Father''." She spat the word "father" out as harshly as she could. "I told you I wanted to cancel the engagement. What did you do? Take my hundred taels and tell me to come up with five hundred. I came up with five hundred, which was stolen at the last minute, and begged for you to believe me. What did you do? Listen to the Madam and keep me locked in my room for my marriage, without even giving me a chance to explain? I did everything you asked of me, and this is what I get in return? I must keep seeing you as my father, is that so?"

    "It was my fault then," he exclaimed, his voice rising. "I apologized before, and I''ll apologize again now. In person. I know I did wrong. And now I''m putting forth every effort to make it up to you. That''s all I wanted, and you¡ª you won''t even give me the chance to call you daughter."

    "How could you make it up to me? All those years of neglect, all those years of indifference?"

    "I never wished you ill. Everything I did was with the best intentions, even if it did not seem as such!"

    "Why now?" Yujia could not help but snap. "After all that time, why now? Now, when I''m about to marry Young Master Yu? Now, when I finally have a little bit of value to you? Is that why?"

    He raised a hand to his face. "Daughter, I¡ª"

    "Enough."

    She heard enough. She had enough. All he would say were the same words he wrote in the letter, the same words that were worthless to her.

    Yujia drew in a deep breath, looking away.

    "I''m happy now," she said, "I''m happy with my new life. I''m happy with my new grandfather. For me to go back to being the Fourth Miss will not bring you any benefits. It will not improve your relationship with the Yu Family. It will not bring you new market opportunities. Just let me go. Let me be happy."

    He was trembling. His eyes were shimmering. His face drooped. He was the one that looked frail to her now, frail with the passage of time and aging. Perhaps he was sincere. Perhaps he truly wanted to reconcile.

    Except the person he wanted to reconcile with was never her, rather the Fourth Miss. And the Fourth Miss was gone, so long ago, when Yujia entered her body. She could not reconcile with him on the behalf of someone no longer here.

    But perhaps she could give him some peace.

    She spoke, slowly, "I want you to be happy too. The Second and Fourth Miss are gone. But the First and Fifth Miss are still here. Treasure them. Don''t make the same mistakes again. Please."

    Yang Chen looked at her, his gaze unmoving.

    At last, Yujia said, "And thank you. Regardless of how those eighteen years went, I still spent eighteen years under your care. So I will thank you¡ª for giving me this life."

    Yujia moved, standing up. She walked to the center of the room. Under the gaze of her once-family, she kneeled. She folded her hands. She bowed. Her head knocked against the floor once.

    Then, she stood. She stood, turned, and exited the room.

 Chapter 372 - Guests on the Artistâ€™s Invite List

    "You look tired," Zixu remarked, tilting his head to see her face better.

    Yujia was slumped over the table in her room that the two sat at, half of her face pressing against the cold wooden surface. "Exhausted," she replied.

    Only two hours after her meeting at the Yang Villa, Zixu had arrived to visit her. Though seeing him always brought a smile to her face, this time, she was truly too weary. The things that happened at the villa drained her completely, leaving her in the current state she was in.

    She thought what had happened would bring some closure. It didn''t, though. At least not at the very moment. She thought back to all the advice her master ever gave her. Closure took time. And so, though she felt so fatigued, she wasn''t exactly unhappy.. This was just part of the process, wasn''t it?

    Zixu asked about what happened, and she gave a full recap. After her story, he nodded in thought, commenting, "I don''t think the decision you made is wrong."

    In agreement, she responded, "I don''t think so either. So I''m not miserable over it. It just took a lot to get it over with, you know?"

    "I understand." Zixu then brought up, "I ?ssume they''re not invited to our wedding?"

    Yujia sat up. "Ah, I haven''t even thought of the guest list."

    In the first place, there weren''t many people she wanted to invite. Yujia preferred a smaller ceremony. She didn''t think she was close enough with most of the disciples at Lingxin. Off the top of her head, the list of guests from her end only included her master, her senior brother, and people like Yufeng or Chef Hong. Perhaps she could also invite some of the ladies that she went to tea ceremonies with, like Zhou Luowei. As for the Yang Family, they certainly had no reason to be invited¡­ but¡­

    "My younger sister, Yang Xiaoyi. Can she come?" Yujia asked.

    "Of course. I''ll be sure to send an invite when the date is set."

    "That would be lovely." Yujia smiled, stretching her arms out in front of her.

    It was a calm afternoon, one which added to Yujia''s drowsiness with its serenity. Everything was finally beginning to simmer down. She spent some time lazily painting and sketching with Zixu that noon. Drinking some tea, making unimportant chit-chat, Yujia thought that if the days of the future progressed in a similar tranquil lullaby, she could welcome what appeared ahead.

    ¡­

    Minor incidents flared up over the course of the next few weeks.

    For one, some gossip reached her ears about the Yang Household. Someone had apparently leaked a bit of news that this new "Yue Yu" originated from the Yang Family. Yujia only heard about this from her master, a matter which he only brought up briefly. Again, with the influence of Yue Ze, the matter was suppressed as quickly as it appeared. Barely anyone else in the capital found out about it, which was certainly reassuring. Gossip surrounding her was not something Yujia vied for.

    She thought briefly about how this information was even leaked in the first place, but then, she recalled her visit to the Yang Villa. The Yang''s Old Master certainly told the servants to leave, but they had gained a decent bit of gossip before they left. Any ears straining from the other side of the walls must''ve heard the entirety of her exchange with Yang Chen as well. It was within their natures to gossip, so to think that the news originated from those servants made perfect sense.

    Talks about the army also intrigued Yujia. The Xiang Empire''s military advances in the western regions had been rather successful, so much that the main army was returning to the capital. Back when she first heard about this, it was commonly predicted that the poor winter weather would delay the return of the army until spring. Except now, she heard news that the predicted return date sped up. The usual torment of blizzards was not too bad this year, allowing the troops to advance their journey. From the scarce news traveling to the capital, it seemed like they could be back home soon.

    Though Yujia didn''t think this news could count as an incident that affected her life, people all around the capital rejoiced. After all, many were family members to the soldiers. They would be happy to see their sons returned safely. The inevitable return also implied celebration. Despite all the cold, there was sure to be joy and festivities in the capital as a response to the military''s successes.

    The more the people waited in anticipation, Yujia felt like Zixu was also becoming busier. Caught up in the matters of business and wedding matters, it was difficult to see him for a period of time. Yujia herself had quite a few things to do as well. The approaching wedding, with a date set soon, landed her in a whirlwind of preparation.

    So far, the most exciting part was trying on wedding robes. It was a completely different experience from when she tried on robes in the Yang Villa. This time around, she had much more control over the style of robes, the kind of fabric, and the accessories. At the end of countless appointments with a tailor, she finally finalized her wedding robes. It was a set she was quite pleased with, a set that made her anticipate the upcoming wedding even more.

    And lastly, above all, Yujia also ran into Bo Zhizhong.

    Well, it was less of "running into" him than it was actively seeking him out. Yujia spent many-a-days camping out in Three Inks. She was determined to see this business partner of hers, regardless of how much he liked to go missing-in-action on her.

    Thinking of how stiff the energy between them was over their past few meetings, Yujia had deeply mulled over this change in Zhizhong''s personality. She dared to say they were as close as siblings in the past. The sudden attitude change led to plenty of pondering on Yujia''s end, though she only arrived at one answer.

    Teenage angst.

    It had to be that.

    When Yujia finally spotted him, he was dressed in all black, from his robes to his cloak. This further supported her theory. Now, if only he had some eyeliner or black nail polish¡­

    The thought made her grin. Besides that, she was also truly happy to see him again, after so long. Waving excitedly, Yujia called out, "You have no idea how long I''ve been waiting to see you. You really don''t care about this store anymore, do you?"

    Zhizhong was surprised to see her. The moment their eyes met, he had looked away, as if considering if he should turn and make a break for it, but he stopped in his steps, realizing that it was too late to walk off now. Once he heard what she said, his expression morphed, eyebrows knitting and lips turning up into a slight smile.

    "You were waiting for me?"

    Yujia nodded, sighing in joking exasperation. "Days." She tapped her fingers against the counter she sat behind. "Though, I understand. You''ve been busy."

    "I have." Zhizhong walked up to the counter. "So many documents to review, matters to manage. You probably can''t even imagine."

    "They really shouldn''t pressure you with all this work. You have brothers, don''t you? Shouldn''t they share some of the burden?"

    "Sometimes they do. Still, I end up with most of it. I have to¡­ prove myself. To my father. I can''t let him down."

    "It must be tough." Yujia lowered her voice. "Hang on, alright? I know you''re strong enough to get through this. And you''re not alone."

    His expression softened. "Thanks."

    For a moment, Yujia felt like she was seeing pieces of the old Zhizhong again. Her smile brightened. "I have some good news too," she blurted.

    "Good news?" He smiled back.

    Yujia folded her hands on the counter. "It''s what I was waiting for you for. I wanted to let you know myself."

    "What is it?"

    Keeping her smile, Yuija announced, "I''m getting married."

    She didn''t have the exact expression she expected from Zhizhong. Surprise. Joy, perhaps. She imagined, back then, that he would be happy for her. Though they had not seen each other in so long, they were still friends, weren''t they? And wouldn''t friends be happy at this good news, regardless of what kinds of phases they might be going through?

    However, the moment those words left her mouth, there was nothing of surprise and joy displayed across Zhizhong''s look.

    His smile fell.