“I’ve just realized how blunt you are,” Hua Rongjian leaned back, muttering, “Isn’t that right? I am indeed a joke.”

An Jiu frowned slightly, “This isn’t like you.”

“Not like me? What am I supposed to be like?” Hua Rongjian tilted his head and asked.

“A carefree fool who only knows how to seek pleasure,” An Jiu answered honestly.

Hua Rongjian chuckled wryly. Though he didn’t know what “er bai wu” (250, a Chinese slang for “fool”) meant, he could guess it wasn’t a compliment.

An Jiu continued, “You were better before.”

Not everyone has the chance to live without worries. While An Jiu hadn’t liked his personality before, she had appreciated the bright smile he often wore.

Hua Rongjian’s expression grew complex. He had lived well these years. Having left home for a few years due to illness as a child, his mother felt she hadn’t loved him enough upon his return and doted on him excessively. Though his father and elder brother were strict, their care for him was genuine. What more could he ask for?

Grand Tutor Hua’s ability to reach his high position, second only to one person, meant his methods were extraordinary. He had thoroughly cleaned up the matters of the past, leaving no traces for Hua Rongjian to find no matter how hard he searched. Hua Rongjian only felt increasingly suspicious, but had no concrete evidence.

However, there are no completely impenetrable walls, and Hua Rongjian wasn’t entirely incompetent. If he was determined to search, he might uncover the truth. But when it came to the secrets of his origins, he both desperately wanted to know and feared knowing.

“You probably don’t know my new sister-in-law, right?” Hua Rongjian changed the subject.

“That’s why I’m here to get acquainted,” An Jiu replied.

Hua Rongjian leaned in closer and lowered his voice, “I heard you joined the Crane Control Army. You’re not in secret contact with my new sister-in-law, are you?”

“No,” An Jiu stood up. “To avoid alarming your family guards, why don’t you have someone escort me over?”

Hua Rongjian lounged lazily, “Chunmeng, take her to see sister-in-law.”

The young girl standing nearby bowed and responded, “Yes, sir.”

As An Jiu reached the steps, she turned back to look at him and said after a moment’s thought, “Some things are better left unthought. That way, you’ll be much more at ease.”

“Oh? Absence indeed makes the heart grow fonder! You’ve learned to comfort people,” Hua Rongjian was intrigued. Though he didn’t know An Jiu well, he understood her personality. “Do you know what I’m thinking about?”

“I have an idea,” An Jiu said. “When a fool finally realizes he’s a fool, pain is inevitable.”

Hua Rongjian looked at her. The sunlight shone on her smooth, fair forehead, and her beautiful eyes were filled with seriousness. There wasn’t a hint of jest in her expression. He immediately regretted asking that last question and waved his hand helplessly, “Go on, then. No need to see you off.”

An Jiu paused, adding as she left, “While self-awareness is good, as a fool, knowing too much makes you unhappy.”

“Mei Fourteen,” Hua Rongjian sighed heavily, “Heaven has truly shown me mercy by not having you agree to marry me.”

An Jiu nodded, “It’s good that you’ve come to understand. Very good.”

With that, she turned and left with Chunmeng.

Chunmeng was a clever girl, her eyes always smiling when she spoke to others, exuding warmth. An Jiu liked people like her.

So when they reached Hua Rongtian’s residence and were waiting at the door for the maid to announce them, An Jiu initiated the conversation. “Your young master likes to cause trouble, doesn’t he?”

Chunmeng covered her mouth and laughed, “He does a bit. But the young master is very kind and treats us servants especially well.”

“Is that so?” An Jiu kindly informed her, “Don’t you think your name sounds like ‘spring dream’?”

Chunmeng froze, her smile fading.

An Jiu continued, “Even if it doesn’t sound like ‘spring dream’, the ‘sprouting of spring’ isn’t exactly an innocent phrase…”

Chunmeng’s eyes misted over. She bit her lip hard, holding back tears, and choked out, “In the end, I’m just a plaything. As long as the young master likes it, that’s all that matters.”

For a respectable young lady, this would be an insult. Chunmeng, as a servant in the Grand Tutor’s household, was more pampered than wives in ordinary families and inevitably had higher self-esteem. Suddenly realizing she was just an insignificant object in her master’s eyes was incredibly painful.

An Jiu couldn’t understand her sudden sorrow but still comforted her, “Actually… it’s a very natural and healthy thing…”

“No, it’s not,” Chunmeng murmured. “It means ‘spring water drips from empty cliffs, sprouting grass breaks through shaded ground’, taken from a poem by Wang Changling.”

This line is from “Offering Wine at Nanxi to Shen Xingzong, Magistrate of Gou County”. The entire poem is quite meaningful.

“The madam invites the young lady in,” the maid who had gone to announce them returned.

Chunmeng bowed with her face covered, then hurriedly ran away.

The maid curiously glanced at Chunmeng’s retreating figure but didn’t ask questions. “Please come in, miss.”

An Jiu followed the path paved with decorative tiles.

After passing through a bamboo grove, she saw a pretty woman in the corridor craning her neck to look. When she spotted An Jiu, her face crumpled as if about to cry, and she quickly walked over to grasp An Jiu’s hands. “Thank goodness, thank goodness.”

Tears slid down her cheeks.

“Let’s go inside,” An Jiu said, her heart-stirring, though compared to the other woman, she was incredibly composed.

“Look at me, I’m just crying,” Mei Jiu gripped An Jiu’s hands tightly.

Once inside and seated, Mei Jiu still wouldn’t let go, as if afraid An Jiu would leave.

“I was so afraid you wouldn’t come to find me,” Mei Jiu knew An Jiu didn’t like physical contact, so she reluctantly let go and took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears. Then she sent all the servants away.

An Jiu noticed that her manner of commanding others seemed somewhat different from before.

“There’s no one around, right?” Mei Jiu asked softly.

An Jiu nodded.

Only then did Mei Jiu sigh and begin to recount many things. She had been alive for three months already. She didn’t know where she was, surrounded by people skilled in martial arts. She had inherited some of the original owner’s memories and roughly understood her situation, but as for details, she had no way to inquire. She could only be extremely cautious every day, not daring to show any signs of being different, fearing someone would notice something amiss.

Until half a month ago, when suddenly several women brought her to a lavishly decorated room and began preparing her as a bride. Then she was married off in a daze.

“I’ve been very afraid these days, but I’ve also thought a lot. When I saw… the eldest young master, I felt it was fate,” Mei Jiu’s gaze held less timidity and more determination. “At first, I was resentful. Heaven had given me a chance to live again, so why put me in such a situation? Isn’t it said that good deeds are rewarded? But this seemed like torture. Later, I realized I was too greedy. Being able to start over is already the greatest blessing from Heaven. As for the rest, one must rely on oneself. How many people can have everything they wish for in life?”

She smiled, “Once I understood this, I felt at ease and wasn’t afraid anymore. You’ve killed people while holding my hand, and I’ve walked the Bridge of Helplessness myself. In this world, what is there left to fear?”