After school, Shen Yue approached Shen Miao and said with a smile, “Miss Yi has invited me and Elder Sister to her residence today, so I won’t be returning home with you. Fifth Sister, you should head back first.”

It was common for Yi Peilan and Shen Yue to be close, sending invitations while deliberately ignoring Shen Miao. This was an everyday occurrence in households. Hearing this, Shen Miao had little reaction and simply acknowledged it with a sound.

These days, the Shen family’s attitude toward Shen Miao was extremely warm, which indicated they must be plotting something again. Shen Miao couldn’t be bothered to quibble with them; the pressing matter now was certainly not these trivial things.

On the way back, the carriage was about to pass through the most prosperous street in the capital. Guyu said, “Up ahead is Osmanthus Square. Doesn’t the young miss like the pastries from there the most? Let this servant go buy some.”

“Go ahead,” Shen Miao smiled.

After Guyu got off the carriage, Jingzhe lifted the carriage curtain to look outside and made a surprised sound when her gaze passed over a certain spot. Shen Miao followed her line of sight and saw that beside Osmanthus Square, where the carriage was parked, there was a pawnshop currently surrounded by quite a few people who seemed to be arguing about something.

The pawnshop assistant appeared somewhat impatient, his voice so loud that even Shen Miao could hear clearly: “I said ten taels of silver, take it or leave it! It’s just a sword, young master, please don’t make things difficult for us.”

“It seems he couldn’t strike a deal with the shopkeeper,” Jingzhe said.

Shen Miao could see that as well. Pawnshops naturally set prices low when doing business, and this price was unacceptable to the person pawning the item, yet he was unwilling to leave, which was why they were at an impasse.

“There’s nothing worth watching,” Jingzhe said, lowering the carriage curtain as Shen Miao looked away. A moment later, Guyu returned with two large paper packages. Jingzhe opened the curtain to let her in, and in that instant, Shen Miao’s gaze fell outside the carriage. She saw the person who had been arguing with the pawnshop assistant turn and walk out of the crowd, still holding a sword. Unable to complete the transaction, his expression seemed somewhat dejected.

After Guyu boarded the carriage, she was about to close the curtain when Shen Miao stopped her. She stared intently at the man holding the sword—a young man wearing ordinary clothes with an unremarkable appearance. Seeing their mistress fixating on this stranger, both Guyu and Jingzhe were quite puzzled.

Shen Miao frowned. Why did this person look so familiar?

The young man shook his head, sighed, took a deep look at the sword in his arms, gritted his teeth, and turned his head back toward the pawnshop, seemingly having finally decided to accept the unsatisfactory deal.

“Guyu!” At the moment he turned, Shen Miao suddenly called out, “Go down and stop him. Tell him that I want his sword!”

“Young miss…” Jingzhe and Guyu looked at her in surprise, truly not understanding why Shen Miao was acting this way.

“Quickly!” Shen Miao said coldly.

Seeing her serious expression, Guyu dared not ask more and immediately jumped off the carriage, walking toward the dressed young man.

The young man had just taken a step when he heard someone speak behind him: “Young master, please wait.”

He turned around to see a woman dressed as a maidservant smiling gracefully at him, saying, “Young master, are you going to pawn the sword in your hand?”

The young man was startled, then made no attempt to hide it and replied, “Yes.”

The woman continued, “As it happens, my young miss would like to have your sword. Would the young master be willing to make this transaction?”

The young man looked at her, saw that the woman’s expression did not seem false, but still shook his head: “This sword of mine is not particularly beautiful in style, though it is quite practical. If your young miss wants one, it would be better to have one made at a weapon shop.” He was also surprised—ordinary young ladies were rarely interested in swords, usually just finding them amusing to look at. Unfortunately, his sword was too sharp, and if she accidentally hurt herself, it would be terrible.

Guyu’s expression softened slightly, and she inwardly praised him. The man before her needed money urgently, yet he was still considering the other party’s welfare. It seemed he was indeed a person of upright character. Earlier, when Shen Miao inexplicably wanted to buy this person’s sword, she had been somewhat concerned, but now it appeared that at least the other party was not a bad person.

With this thought, Guyu’s expression grew gentler, and she said, “My young miss sincerely wishes to complete this transaction with you. Perhaps you could step aside to talk?”

The man probably hadn’t expected Guyu to be so persistent. After glancing at the pawnshop, he nodded reluctantly, “Very well.”

When they reached a nearby empty alley, they saw a carriage parked there. Guyu approached the carriage and softly said, “Young miss, he’s here.”

The young man walked up to the carriage, hesitated for a moment, but eventually cupped his hands in salute: “Miss, my sword is indeed not suitable for a woman to use. It’s too heavy and excessively sharp, easily causing harm to oneself, so…”

“What is your name?” Before he could finish, a woman’s voice came from inside the carriage. The voice sounded quite young, but there was an indescribable quality to it, like someone who had experienced the rises and falls of high position, making it difficult to discern the age of the person inside.

“This humble one is Mo Qing,” the young man replied after a moment’s hesitation, cupping his hands again.

After these words, there was no response for a long while. Just as the young man called Mo Qing and Guyu were both beginning to wonder, the woman’s voice came from inside again: “I have no interest in your sword. A piece of scrap iron has no meaning to me.”

Hearing this, a trace of anger appeared on Mo Qing’s face. He said, “Is the miss perhaps mocking Mo Qing? Although this sword is ordinary in appearance, it was forged by a renowned swordsmith and has accompanied me for many years. If the miss called me over merely to insult me, I beg to be excused.”

Having said this, he turned to leave, but as soon as he lifted his foot, he heard a sigh from inside the carriage. The sigh was light, yet seemed to contain inexplicable emotions, inexplicably tugging at one’s heart.

“Mo Qing, you’re in dire need of money, aren’t you?” said the person in the carriage.

Mo Qing was startled. For some reason, when the other party called his name, a strange feeling suddenly rose in his heart. That feeling seemed very familiar, yet somewhat inexplicable. But the moment he heard the other party speak, his footsteps involuntarily stopped, as if he couldn’t refuse anything the other party said.

“Your sword is indeed worthless to me, but your swordsmanship is worth hundreds or thousands of gold pieces.”

Mo Qing was surprised and shook his head, “The miss overpraises me. I am but an ordinary person.” Yet in his heart, he was astonished—how did this person know that his swordsmanship was exceptional?

“A hero can be brought low by a single coin, forcing you to sell even the treasured sword that has accompanied you for years. Such a life truly wastes your swordsmanship.” The carriage curtain was suddenly lifted, and a young woman in purple walked out.

Her features were youthful and pretty, yet between her brows was a rare nobility and dignity.

“Mo Qing, are you willing to sell your martial skills to my family, the military Shen household?”

She asked with a smile, her gaze containing a faint joy as if meeting an old friend.

The former guard commander Mo Qing… truly had been well all this time.