The days ahead were mostly uneventful but there were new rumors in Xinlu City.
One; was how Duke Qin's residence had been attacked by a demon. People of Xinlu city were accustomed to peace. Demons and immortals were but things one would read on books, and were used to discipline little children. The officials and national guards had seemed to try to curb this rumor as well. As there was no more similar occurrence, this rumor had finally died down, replaced with the next one;
Two; Marquis Xu, Xu Bijie, had a daughter, the Seventh Young Miss Xu Yejing.
This Xu Yejing was always hidden behind the estate walls. On the off-chances she went outside the estate, she was always flanked by a pair of young bodyguards. Initially people were interested in her, telling tales on how this might be a peerless beautiful daughter the Marquis had hidden from hungry eyes. However, a confirmed intel from the Marquis' inner residence told the people that this daughter had been mute since birth.
A noble daughter who was mute, no matter how beautiful she was, was still considered disabled. Soon, people lost interest.
However, recently, the interest in Xu Yejing appeared once more, as various officials began to pay attention to this young lady. Apparently, the two Princes of Taishan, the Left Prime Minister's sons, and Duke Qin's son himself were interested in this mute Xu Yejing, after seeing her only once when Duke Qin's residence had been attacked by the rumored demon.
But compared to a demon, matters of romance between youths was always more interesting to fan to greater degree. Idle civilians began to concoct tales about a damsel in distress and how these noble young men had put their lives on the line to protect this beautiful damsel from being eaten by a demon.
Xu Yejing listened to the rumor and her mind was blank.
"I just wish Qin Zhe won't be bothered by this," Xu Yejing glanced at Fu Chun who was once again, idly polishing her blade.
Fu Chun replied, "Why would that kid be bothered? Even a blind person could see he does not have inappropriate feelings towards you."
Xu Yejing was amused. Fu Chun was not entirely oblivious to have realized the cordial brother-sister relationship between Qin Zhe and Xu Yejing, but did Fu Chun really not know Qin Zhe's real feelings?
At this time, Fu Yan bolted inside the room and immediately locked the latch.
Xu Yejing looked at him in pity, "Wu-niang?" She never refer to Gu Yuan as Mother. Not only did she feel alien to the older woman, the only 'Mother' she should officially call was Lady Jin, Marquis Xu's main wife.
As his reply, Fu Yan scoffed lightly before walking robustly towards the table and poured some tea straight from the pot into his mouth.
Xu Yejing let her gaze linger on this senior brother of hers, before looking at the silhouette of a woman from behind the latticed door. A woman's sigh was heard, then the silhouette withdrew along with sound of soft footsteps.
Fu Chun tossed him an oily paper bag, "Thank Yejing for this. She thought you might return today, so she asked me to buy some."
Inside, were some stinky tofu and fried pickled chicken feet. Fu Yan's eyes practically shone like stars in the middle of the night.
Xu Yejing watched Fu Yan devour the peculiar snacks, while Fu Chun wrapped a cloth over her nose. The latter snorted in disgust, "I don't understand your taste buds. Oh heavens, this room will stink for days!"
"Light some fragrant incenses. That'll do," Xu Yejing laughed lightly. Before Fu Yan left for his latest mission a few days ago, he seemed lethargic and lost his appetite. Fortunately, he was back to his usual self now.
After gorging on such savory snacks, Fu Yan's mouth still did not stink as much as Xu Yejing's room. Fu Chun helped her open all the windows and the door, after Xu Yejing also lit a fragrant incense, the smell finally dissipated somewhat.
Fu Yan suddenly said, "I heard about the rumors."
Before Fu Chun and Xu Yejing could respond, he said, "The old Emperor is truly muddled and seemed to forget the Sect's protection for this Taishan. If Master or Master uncle turn out to be unhappy about this rumor, with the Sect leaving, I wonder how long the Emperor can hold their ground against invasions from all sides."
Although various cultivation Sects were generally separated from worldly affairs, their people still originally came from these normal humans. People with the correct aptitude and talent could literally soar through the vast sky with these Sect's teachings and backing, becoming cultivators and close to immortal path.
With tacit understanding, these Sects would choose to back certain rulers.
Xu Yejing frowned, "I ... am not that great to make the Sect pay that much attention and create storms because of such rumors."
Fu Chun lightly tapped her forehead, "Tell that to Master and Master Uncle. Before this Marquis Xu fathered you, would our Sect even throw a glance to such a backwater dynasty such as Taishan?"
But this 'backwater dynasty' was quite opulent, its civilians living in peace and abundance. Xu Yejing felt Fu Chun was overpraising the Sect's protection. Surely Emperor Min Yuguan was a capable ruler on his own right.
But looking at how Fu Yan and Fu Chun had been running around lately, there were definitely a lot of things she was not aware of yet.
A later, Fu Yan and Fu Chun once again had to leave the estate, stressing to Marquis Xu and Lady Jin, Xu Yejing must not leave the estate in their absence.
Although it was a bit lonely, with her disability, Xu Yejing understood it would be useless to meet people anyway. However, Fu Yan and Fu Chun had truly gone for a long time this time, and a couple of seasons finally passed.
Marquis Xu and Lady Jin visited her courtyard, flanked by Gu Yuan, Xu Birou and Xu Biyao.
"Although we had a ceremony to celebrate your coming-of-age a few years ago, it was still only a small family affair," Lady Jin spoke, "We have truly wronged you. A marquis' daughter, tender and beautiful, to be caged all the time is really... ." She sighed, as though feeling real pain on Xu Yejing's behalf.
Xu Yejing fidgeted and shook her head a little. All the people present understood her gesture; it was both of 'this daughter does not mind' and 'this daughter cannot see outside people anyway'. She looked at Marquis Xu, but the Marquis was silent, merely listening to Lady Jin reminisce Xu Yejing's childhood and her wish for the latter's glorious future.
Xi Birou smiled amiably, "Seventh Sister, Mother and Father understand the Sect forbids you to go out, but surely we can invite some important people to attend your fifteenth birthday celebration, right?"
Lady Jin said, "Obviously, your birthday a week later will still be celebrated by us, your family. But some important people have come today. Due to the rigid weather, they wish to say their well-wishes ahead of time." She glanced at Xu Bijie, "Isn't that right, Sir?"
Marquis Xu's gaze fell on Xu Yejing for a split second, then he merely glanced away, nodding lightly.
Xu Yejing's birthday was just a week away. Her expression grew stern; how could she not know everyone had practically decided about this matter behind her back.
The pouch Fu Chun had given her last time in Qin Zhe's estate, she had opened it. The item turned out to have been used wastefully, as Fu Yan had returned in the nick of time, and Fu Chun immediately sent a message to the Sect that nothing serious had happened. This time the two siblings were away, they did not give her any means to contact them. In her fifteen years of life, the Marquis had always been cautious and treated her like a fragile treasure belonging to the Sect. People knew of her existence, but had hardly seen her.
What made the Marquis change his tune now?
"Never mind," she thought, "Yan-xiong and Chun-jie never missed my birthday. They will surely return by next week."
Lady Jin spoke further, signaling a few maidservants to come inside Xu Yejing's room, "Such a beautiful daughter." The maidservants brought a few boxes, all filled to the brim with beautiful dresses and ornaments. "Rou'er always haa lavish celebrations for her birthdays with other noble daughters her age. To have delayed your celebration until now, it's my fault."
Xu Yejing could hardly react when the maids surrounded her, immediately changing her clothes and re-arranging her hairstyle.
When she was ushered outside her room, through the winding gardens, towards the main area where the Marquis would usually receive guests, she could finally hear voices of several people from the nearby distance, beyond the open latticed door. Servants and maids of the estate scurried back and forth with refreshments to serve the visitors. From the servants' careful steps and prim attires, the guests should not be of low rank.
Xu Yejing sighed, "Truly, the villains try to steal the pig while the wolves are away." Then she quickly shook her head. Never mind she thought of her family members as villains, why did she compare herself to a pig?
This year's winter was colder and came much earlier than the past year. Xinlu city was graced by snow storms for days and nights on end, not a single corner did not have a pile of swept snow. The walking paths carried a layer of ice, from accumulated snow that had been melted through the means of pouring hot water, then raked manually by labor.
Marquis Xu and Xu Biyao dabbled in martial-arts, their steps were still steady. The ladies, including Xu Yejing, had to walk carefully with the maids' support.
Although this day, the sky was a bit brighter and the storm from early morning had eased off somewhat, it was truly not a good day to accept guests.
But what else could she do? Fu Yan and Fu Chun could not possibly ask for her to throw a tantrum towards her own family just to refuse seeing outsiders, right? And although Fu Chun kept saying Xu Yejing's face was one in a million, Xu Yejing was just nearing fifteen, an age where she was neither a child or a woman. How bad could it be to show her face?
When she stepped in, welcoming the warmth of the indoor space once again, the guests ceased talking and immediately looked her way.
There were not a lot of guests, about five or so, excluding Qin Zhe, Qin Qiu, and the personal servants the guests brought along. Xu Yejing noticed the concerned gaze the Qin siblings threw at her.
The oldest guest was a female, her white hair styled in a simple but tidy bun a maidservant would normally have, but her attire was well-made and the embroidered detail on her outer coat was intricate. Even her pair of shoes had perfectly round lustrous pearls affixed to it.
The old matron was smiling, but her gaze carried deep scrutiny as she looked at Xu Yejing from head to toe. Then she stepped forward and reached for Xu Yejing's hand, "Such a precious daughter, Marquis Xu truly loves this Seventh Miss. Otherwise, why would the Empress Dowager be unaware of a beautiful flower until now? This old servant will report to Her Majesty Empress Dowager appropriately. Seventh Miss looks beautiful as she looks intelligent. It is Taishan's blessing to have a noble female such as she."
Marquis Xu and Lady Jin lowered their heads. Xu Yejing realized, this matron was the Empress Dowager's person. Purposefully or not, the old matron's fingers brushed over Xu Yejing's jade bangle, lingering just a few seconds longer there. Chills crept into Xu Yejing's heart and she tried to withdraw her hands. The older woman let go without further qualms.
The old matron's smile grew larger, her eyes not carrying any emotion befitting of her praise.
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