The late spring and early summer sun was warm and pleasant, casting a lethargic spell that sapped the will to work.
Xiao Nanhui wandered aimlessly through the streets. It was not a festival or an auspicious day, so aside from the usual vendors, the crowds were sparse. She looked left and right, eventually picking out a few tangerines and wrapping them in paper before heading toward Yanfu Street.
She had few friends to begin with, and even fewer female confidantes.
When she was ten years old, the Marquis of Qinghuai, unable to withstand the curiosity of the capital’s nobility, had taken her to the birthday banquet of Duke Xuanyuan’s young son. A group of children, as delicate as carved jade, had mimicked the manners of adults—sipping tea, admiring flowers, playing pitch-pot, and competing at chess. Unfortunately, she understood none of it and could only stand stiffly in the distance.
Suddenly, a young boy had emerged from nowhere, plucking a flower to "tease" the daughter of the Minister of Ceremonies. What was meant to be "playful flirting" looked to her like "bullying the weak." With a lunge and a punch, she had knocked out one of the young heir’s front teeth.
Since that incident, Xiao Zhun rarely took her to such social gatherings.
Naturally, she lost any further opportunity to mingle with the young ladies of the noble houses.
At first, she felt a bit wronged, but a child’s temperament shifts quickly, and she soon grew content with the arrangement. The masters who taught her boxing were much easier to get along with, and even the grooms who tended the horses seemed more agreeable than the people in that garden. Over time, her impression of noble lords and ladies remained frozen in that backyard of the Xuanyuan estate; whenever she saw a gentleman in fine silks or a lady in elegant robes, a deep-seated urge to keep a respectful distance would rise within her, one she found difficult to suppress.
Between practicing boxing, spearwork, and mounted archery, her days were busy. She had little leisure time, and what she had was easily spent.
Having spent the last few years traveling everywhere with Xiao Zhun, she had worked her way up to the rank of Squad Commander in the army. She lacked any great political ambition and was quite satisfied being a female officer. However, once one held a commission, even in times of peace, one had to make regular trips to the camp north of the city. It had been three months since she last visited Yao Yi on Yanfu Street.
Yao Yi was the manager of Wangchen Mansion, a famous establishment on Yanfu Street known for its world-class courtesans and entertainers.
The founder of Wangchen Mansion had been a person of whimsical character. Since the first branch opened in Chizhou, the house's primary rule had been set: no one in the mansion was required to sign a contract of indenture; everything was done of their own free will. Those with many guests could take a larger share of the gold and silver each month, while those with few would cover their own expenses. Over time, those who remained were all individuals of significant talent.
Without the forced smiles of coercion, the guests enjoyed themselves all the more. It was truly a "Cave of Ecstasy" and a "Forest of Forgotten Sorrows."
For convenience, Xiao Nanhui wore men’s clothing. Her features lacked the soft delicacy of typical women, and her stature was tall, so she required little disguise.
It was not yet the busiest hour for the pleasure district. The beauties were still catching up on sleep behind their curtains, and the mansion was filled only with servants sweeping and cleaning the mess left behind by a night of revelry.
When she walked through the main entrance, no one stopped her. Everyone was busy with their own tasks, not even bothering to look up.
She looked around, searching for the busiest figure among the busy crowd.
"Yao Yi!"
Behind a counter not far away, a young man in a long robe turned his head. A pair of resentful small eyes were set into his round face; they darted around before finally landing on the woman at the door.
Xiao Nanhui waved her arm, flashing a grin of white teeth.
In a side room of the Wangchen Mansion’s backyard, freshly picked bouquets were piled in various places, waiting to be used as adornments for the mansion’s beauties. She was somewhat sensitive to pollen and let out several sneezes in a row.
"Can't you move your accounting office somewhere else?"
Yao Yi had five or six stacks of ledgers spread out before him. One hand worked an abacus while the other poured a cup of cold tea.
"What is it? Say your piece and clear out. I’m busy."
She was long used to Yao Yi’s perfunctory attitude. She untied the leather cord and opened the paper wrap, revealing the bright orange tangerines inside.
"Nothing. I just happened to be free, so I came to see you."
Yao Yi glanced at the tangerines, his abacus still clicking incessantly.
"I don't believe you. Did those boors in the camp give you a hard time again? You couldn't beat them, so you ran here to grumble to me?"
Though Yao Yi was a shrewd businessman, he liked to style himself as a scholar and looked down on the soldiers and officers in Xiao Zhun’s camp who were prone to throwing punches. When she was a child following Xiao Zhun in the camp, she had been bullied by them quite a bit. She had cried at first, but things gradually improved. Now, when she occasionally went to the camp to handle matters for Xiao Zhun, everything went smoothly.
"I didn't go to the camp. Today is my birthday."
"Birthday?" Yao Yi’s hand finally stopped on the abacus. He seemed to finally remember such a thing existed. He scrutinized her until she felt a bit uncomfortable. "If it's your birthday, why aren't you spending it with Xiao Zhun? Why did you run to me?"
She put on an air of indifference. "Oh, he had business in the palace."
"Doesn't he usually take the day off?"
"It probably won't take long. He’ll be back soon."
"What time did he leave?"
"...Just after the Hour of the Tiger."
Yao Yi let out a cold sneer. She felt a prickle of annoyance.
"Maybe it’s something urgent?"
Yao Yi arched an eyebrow. "Yes, yes. It must be something urgent."
After a moment of deliberation, she finally spoke. "Speaking of which, has there been any unusual news from the palace lately?"
So that was why she was here.
Yao Yi rolled his eyes and gave a couple of affected groans. "What kind of place do you think this is? How would I know what news is coming out of the palace?"
From that tone, he definitely knew.
She took a breath and hitched her cushion closer. "Truly, you don't know?"
Yao Yi twisted his head away sharply. "Don't know, don't know."
She sighed in his ear. "Fine. It’s just a pity for those mushrooms I went through so much trouble to bring back from Northern Zhi. The weather is getting hot; I’m afraid they won't keep. I suppose I’ll just have to feed them to Jixiang..."
Jixiang was Xiao Nanhui’s mount, a dappled, mixed-breed horse with a peculiar love for mushrooms.
Yao Yi practically bolted upright, moving with a vigor that suggested he could punch a hole through the roof in one go.
"Xiao Nanhui! You spendthrift! I’m a living, breathing human being, and I’m worth less to you than that four-legged beast?!"
Sometimes, Xiao Nanhui felt that Yao Yi and Jixiang were quite alike. Both were unattractive, had bad tempers, and were incredibly picky eaters—nothing but the freshest mushrooms would do. But when you truly needed them, they were quite reliable.
Yao Yi’s nostrils were still huffing. She quickly pulled him back down onto the cushion with a smile. "How could he compare to you? I specifically had someone carve out ice to keep those mushrooms chilled. How about... I have them sent over tomorrow?"
Yao Yi grabbed a tangerine from the table, peeled it, and shoved seven or eight segments into his mouth. "Tomorrow?"
She immediately showed her resolve. "Today, today. As soon as I get back to the manor, I’ll have someone bring them over. Um..." She paused, finally circling back to the serious matter. "So, does Brother Yao have anything to share with me?"
Yao Yi swallowed the tangerine, took a sip of tea, and then beckoned with his finger.
Taking the hint, she leaned in close.
Yao Yi lowered his voice and spoke slowly. "Have you heard of the Qu clan of Wancheng?"
She looked blank. "The Qu clan? Which Qu clan?"
Yao Yi’s voice was laced with disdain. "If you stay cooped up in that military camp any longer, you’re going to turn into an idiot. You should at least know of Buxu Valley, shouldn't you?"
At this mention, a light seemed to dawn on Xiao Nanhui.
Wancheng was located in the southwest of Chizhou. It was an ancient city over a thousand years old, surrounded by mountains and water. Rumor had it that to the west of the city lay a secluded place that no one outside the family could enter or leave: Buxu Valley.
For centuries, Buxu Valley had produced extraordinary individuals and eccentrics. Even today, legends of the family circulated in the Wancheng region. Having traveled north and south with the army, she had naturally heard some of them.
She nodded, unwilling to accept the label of an idiot, and racked her brain. "Are you saying that the current unrest in the palace is related to this Qu clan?"
"Who knows?" Yao Yi said noncommittally, flicking a white bead on his abacus as if merely gossiping about the past. "It is only rumored that the Qu clan, who once had the power to raise or ruin the world, also came from Buxu Valley. But since the founding of the Tiancheng era, that surname hasn't been heard of for many years. For it to suddenly appear now... it’s likely not a good omen."
Three hundred years ago, the Qu clan emerged on the Chizhou continent. Even at its peak, the clan numbered no more than a dozen people. Yet those few individuals had raised a dynasty and brought one to its ruin.
Legend said the Qu clan produced miraculous people whose bloodlines were linked; if one person excelled, the others followed. At that time, the empire still belonged to the Qiu family. Emperor Hao, Qiu Zhiyue, placed the Qu clan in charge of the imperial secret affairs. Though they held no official titles, they functioned as high-ranking ministers, a tradition that continued until the dynasty’s collapse.
The Qiu empire was managed by the Qu family, and it was the Qu family who ended it. However, exactly how it was ended remained unknown. A fragment of a historical record commented: *There is the Qu of the Southwest, come from the valley. Once the gods of salvation, now the demons of destruction. Such is the way of impermanence.*
Such an existence was something monarchs throughout history both favored and feared.
Yao Yi had a talent for storytelling, but today he was clearly unwilling to say more. He only whispered, "Half a month ago, someone in Muerhe, Huozhou, offered a high price for a descendant of the Qu clan to appraise a piece of jade. Now that half a month has passed, I don't know if anyone has responded."
Having finished, Yao Yi lowered his head and returned to his ledgers. Xiao Nanhui knew he wouldn't say another word, so she began to ponder on her own.
Huozhou, jade, a Qu descendant.
What was the potential connection between these three that would make the high and mighty Emperor so restless that he summoned his chief ministers to the palace for discussion? Could it be...
A vague thought flashed through her mind, one she immediately found somewhat incredible.
Among the secret affairs the Qu clan once managed for the imperial family was the safekeeping of the Imperial Seals. After the Niexuan Dynasty collapsed, one of the three seals had remained missing. The last place it had appeared was near Muerhe in northern Huozhou.
Over the years, rumors about this seal had never ceased, but most were merely chasing shadows. She was not one for listening to unofficial histories, but she paid special attention to this matter for one reason: this seal was connected to a piece of Xiao Zhun’s family history.
Across from her, although Yao Yi didn't look up, he seemed to know what she was thinking. He spoke bluntly, "Put whatever you're plotting out of your head. Some things cannot be uncovered by the strength of one person alone."
She didn't give up, whispering, "But..."
Xiao Nanhui was good in many ways, but she was stubborn. Yao Yi felt his temper beginning to flare.
"Of the seventy-nine lives in the Xiao family, only Xiao Zhun remained. Tell me, why did the people who did it spare him?"
She hadn't expected Yao Yi to speak of such a taboo subject so easily. She was stunned for a moment before finally speaking. "Perhaps because he didn't know anything."
"Yes, because he didn't know. Tell me, if he knows now, will those people let him go? Will they let the Marquis's manor go?"
She fell silent.
Yao Yi sighed softly and said no more.
For a time, the only sound in the side room was the rhythmic clicking of the abacus.
***
