However, this wasn’t the time to appreciate whether a voice sounded pleasant or not. This was clearly an abandoned mansion—where did this master-like certainty come from?

Mo Zi hurriedly turned her head around. What met her eyes was a pair of smooth, clean feet. The feet were bare, simply stepping on the green grass like a soft jade tone amidst emerald stone, made crystal clear and translucent by the dewdrops.

Attracted by this jade-like color, she couldn’t help but look upward.

A night-black single robe hung to his ankles, cloud-patterned wide sleeves rolled up by half, a thin gold cord with a hundred-tasseled knot tied diagonally at his waist. The front of his garment was slightly open, revealing skin of the same jade-like quality. Black hair was scattered over his shoulders, each strand forming beautiful arcs, gently lifting in the morning breeze. Embroidered on the plain black robe was a single branch of red plum blossoms, yet they seemed infused with the plum’s very soul—whether blooming brilliantly or still in bud, each blossom gathered spiritual elegance.

Mo Zi wondered what kind of appearance could match these red plum blossoms against black night?

Then, she saw.

At first glance, somewhat disappointing. This person had neither Young Master Jin’s bewitching beauty nor Xiao Er’s masculine dominance. Approximately twenty-five or twenty-six years old, his features were very gentle—like the luster of jade, not jarring, not dazzling. However, when she looked a second time, it was somewhat different—eyebrows, eyes, lips, nose, all just right.

This was a man like warm jade.

Jade—it chooses people to reveal its beauty, and becomes clearer with time.

Was it valuable?

She didn’t know, but her instinct said it wasn’t cheap.

“Young lady, how long do you intend to kneel?” Though the words were polite, his voice carried a hint of distant amusement, his eyes clear and cold, his lips pale and pressed thin.

Mo Zi looked down and saw that her kneeling posture was truly in the standard form of a subordinate meeting a superior. Awkwardly standing up, she patted the broken grass and leaves from her skirt. Clearing her throat, she didn’t know how to explain the current situation. However, as they say, excessive courtesy does no harm. Even though she had knelt unintentionally, even if the other party was the master, he should be easier to talk to.

“Young lady—you live on the other side of the wall?” A jade-like person, with orchid and iris character?

“Mm.” Mo Zi smiled. “Good morning, young master.” Without realizing it, she had greeted him.

“Indeed, very early.” He couldn’t sleep and had come out wearing an outer robe, expecting to see rabbits, not anticipating two young ladies falling from the sky. What was interesting was that the one with martial arts skills had actually abandoned the other. Seeing her lose balance and about to crash head-first, he thought there would be blood splattered on the spot, but instead saw her movements were also nimble—she rolled forward and happened to land right in front of him.

“Is the young master the owner of this mansion?” Taking in the man’s distant smile, Mo Zi decided to ignore it. She also needed to confirm whether this person had any qualification to accuse her of trespassing into a private residence. What if he was one of her fellow practitioners? A fellow practitioner of breaking into empty houses.

“Mm—you could say so, but also not really.” Unaccustomed to standing too close to strangers, he was about to step back a few paces when suddenly a scent of sun-dried flowers appeared in his sense of smell—very faint but very familiar. An oil-black face immediately surfaced in his mind. If it was that woman, then the extraordinary sight before his eyes wasn’t strange at all.

Thinking this, the corners of his mouth curved deeper into a genuine smile. Instead of retreating, he advanced, taking a deep sniff. Sunshine and flower fragrance—definitely correct.

“What do you mean by ‘you could say so but also not really’…” Mo Zi suddenly saw him take a step forward, not understanding his intention. She frowned but maintained a polite smile. “Is the young master the owner here or not?”

“It used to be my home, then it wasn’t. Now, someone has lent this place to me to live in. Speaking of it that way—you could say so, but also not really.” A shipload of memories felt like another lifetime. To encounter her again now in such an interesting situation actually made him feel very pleased.

Mo Zi’s smile grew somewhat stiff. She thought to herself, doesn’t that mean he is? Though it was quite complex—used to be, then wasn’t, now temporarily is.

“Young lady is from Prince Jing’s mansion—” Her clothing was half-worn, not new, the material not particularly good quality—she should be a maid. With her cleverness and abilities, how could she be relegated to such a position? Following this logic, what kind of person must her master be? On the ship, for his sake, she had nearly fallen out with Xiao Wei—it couldn’t be the Xiao family’s legitimate branch. Could it be some illegitimate descendant? What was going on with the Xiao family? The only prince with a different surname, the legitimate grandson a young general, yet someone was smuggling in secret?

“A maid.” Mo Zi hadn’t yet thought of a good reason to explain why she had landed in his courtyard. “Young master, this garden is truly full of rustic charm. When you have time, you could shoot some birds, hunt some rabbits, build a fire and roast them—wouldn’t that be a unique leisurely excursion?”

He missed this way of speaking. Every word was comprehensible, but combined together and spoken in her intonation, it was especially refreshing. So he smiled.

Mo Zi realized there really was a type of person in the world who became better-looking the more you looked at them. Originally like gentle, smooth jade, but seeing him smile, it was like spring wind blowing as summer flowers bloomed, his entire being surrounded by a layer of bright radiance.

“I wonder why the young lady came over the wall?” Though he was the one who had requested to live here, for some reason, after just one night it had already become tedious. Now, with such a fragrant neighbor, things had become interesting.

Seeing she couldn’t avoid it, Mo Zi had a bellyful of excuses, but what came out was: “I’m taking a shortcut to go out.”

“Taking… a shortcut?” Just like Brother Mo! The corners of his lips curved almost uncontrollably.

“Mm—the pastries my master loves to eat can only be bought at West Market. If I go through the mansion’s main gate, it takes an extra hour round trip. Originally, your mansion had no one living in it, so I took the liberty of using this shortcut without asking. Today, I truly didn’t expect there was already a new master. This is really an intrusion. I hope the young master will give me this one convenience. In the future, I won’t recklessly jump over the wall again.” Mo Zi sighed, thinking she could come and go freely without the people in Prince Jing’s mansion knowing—what should she do now?

“This is understandable. Prince Jing’s mansion is said to have three gardens together—going out certainly does waste quite a few hours. Young lady, there’s no need to sigh. If you need to borrow this route, please feel free to do so.” He saw her surprised expression, and fearing she might think he had ulterior motives, explained further, “Young lady, I’m not really the master of this residence, merely staying here temporarily. Since both you and I are borrowing, neither can criticize the other. Let’s just live in peace.”

Hm? There was such a way of putting it? Mo Zi had finally found someone even more skilled at reasoning than herself. But she wasn’t foolish enough to refuse such a peaceful coexistence proposal, at least not today. She couldn’t jump over the wall only to be unable to get out—jumping for nothing, kneeling for nothing.

“Young master is truly a good person. However, going out in this outfit, I’m afraid I might attract unsavory street thugs I shouldn’t…” She hadn’t finished speaking when she noticed the other party’s radiance growing even brighter.

“Where did the young lady originally change clothes?” As expected, as expected. A good person? He certainly was not.

“Uh—” This person was really clever. She had only hinted, and he had understood completely. She might as well be straightforward, pointing her hand toward a building to the north. “The north wing.”

“That’s perfect. I’m staying in the east wing. The north wing is still unoccupied—young lady, please rest assured.” Her secret would remain a secret.

Mo Zi pulled at the backpack on her shoulders. “Since the young master is so understanding, I’m extremely grateful. How about this—is there anything the young master particularly loves to eat? I’ll bring some back for you?” Either way, she couldn’t return empty-handed today.

“I appreciate the young lady’s kind intention. Appetites have never been important to me. Which gate will you leave by? The north gate?” That was the most secluded.

“Exactly.” Would asking someone to leave the gate unlocked be a bit too much?

“Good. From now on, whenever the young lady goes through the north gate, it will remain unlocked.” Fearing she hadn’t grasped the meaning of his earlier words, he emphasized it once more.

Hearing this, no matter how well she could pretend, Mo Zi showed suspicion. “Young master opens such a door of convenience for me. Though I’m grateful in my heart, we’re complete strangers—why such sincerity?” They say when men are good to women, there’s always some ulterior motive. “I’m just a rough errand-running maid. Apart from bringing you some tasty food, I’m absolutely incapable of anything else.”

The man laughed aloud. “Young lady is overthinking. Being convenient to others is being convenient to oneself. Moreover, this place doesn’t belong to me. I’m still dependent on others’ charity, and the young lady seems more familiar with the ways here than I am. In all things there’s a first come, first served. Since the young lady was borrowing this route first, how could I, a later temporary resident, be unreasonable and not do this small favor with the flow?”

The black robe with red plum blossoms moved lightly as he turned around. “Young lady should hurry and buy pastries for your master. Don’t delay and get scolded by your master.”

Mo Zi thought to herself that this person must be a good person. No wonder his entire bearing was so gentle—a modest gentleman, smooth as jade. So she thanked him and without further words, lifted her feet toward the north.

“Young lady.” His words weren’t finished yet.

“Yes, young master.” She stopped, turning halfway, seeing his black robe fluttering in the wind.

“Since we’ll be meeting often in the future, why not leave your name? That way the people on my side won’t fail to recognize the young lady and unintentionally offend you.” Sooner or later she would know who he was—better that he say it first.

“Young master, this humble woman is Mo Zi. Mo as in ink, Zi as in purple.” Mo Zi instinctively trusted him.

“My surname is Yuan, given name Cheng. Miss Mo Zi, though I’ve only recently arrived in Great Zhou, I do know it’s not easy for women to move about outside. You’d better go early and return early.” His figure didn’t pause, but his voice was so clear.

It reached Mo Zi’s ears without missing a single word.

Instantly, she turned around, staring hard at that retreating back.

Yuan Cheng?

Yuan Cheng!

This young man who appeared to be in his early twenties was Nande’s number one corrupt official? Was he the blood-covered Master Yuan with indistinguishable features whom she had risked her life to save?

Nande’s Prime Minister shouldn’t be an old man in his sixties, but should at least be a middle-aged uncle around forty—how could it possibly be this Yuan Cheng?

Same name?

It wasn’t that coincidental. That one was in the capital, this one was also in the capital. The Emperor had just issued a general amnesty, and he had moved in here. This Yuan Cheng must be that Yuan Cheng.

But—

But when did this person become an official, when did he become Prime Minister, and when did he become the number one corrupt official? No matter how she calculated, it didn’t add up. Unless he was a genius.

Also, would he recognize her? When she saved him, he had known early on that she was a woman, but her face had been made up that way. Right now she was in women’s clothing—he might not have already figured it out. Yet he had so quickly guessed that she wanted to dress as a man, and both their names contained the character for ink—was he suspicious? Yet it didn’t seem like it. If he had recognized her, why not say so directly?

Mo Zi suddenly had a headache.

Though she had helped him, at that time he was in a desperate situation, thinking his life wouldn’t last much longer. A dying person’s words are kind. Therefore, though he bore the notorious name of the number one corrupt official, she couldn’t see any evil in him at all. At first it was about the pearl, but later she had genuinely helped him, which was why she returned the pearl to him. Now, he had already weathered the crisis. Though this mansion was abandoned, looking at him, there wasn’t a trace of destitution. In the world, there are countless matters and people who can share hardship but not wealth and honor.

This person—she probably couldn’t acknowledge him.