Mei Jiu, having just recovered from near-death exhaustion and then pushed to her limits by An Jiu’s nighttime exercises, desperately wanted to rest…
Walking behind Mei Jiu, Mei Ruyan saw her body sway and fall backward. She cried out in alarm, reaching out to catch her.
Hearing the cry, Mo Sigui spun around to grab her. Suddenly, Mei Jiu’s closed eyes snapped open, revealing bright, slightly mischievous eyes reflecting the red maple leaves. They caught Mo Sigui off guard.
An Jiu seized this moment of confusion. She grabbed Mo Sigui’s belt with one hand, using his clothes as cover. Her other hand snaked between his legs, gripping flesh to leverage herself upright. The force was enough to dig her nails into his skin, though from outside it looked like she’d merely grabbed his belt.
Mo Sigui yelped in pain, staring incredulously at his cousin who moments ago had seemed so shy.
“Thanks,” An Jiu raised an eyebrow, lowering her head to examine her nails.
“Let’s go in,” Mo Sigui limped up the steps, wincing as his clothes rubbed against the wound on his inner thigh.
An Jiu knew controlling Mei Jiu’s body now had little purpose, but she didn’t want to miss any chance to acclimate her soul to this body.
Entering the main hall, An Jiu noticed Mo Sigui’s relaxed demeanor and followed suit, bowing slightly as Mei Jiu would.
The hall’s furnishings appeared simple, but An Jiu recognized the armchairs as fine purple sandalwood. The floor, at first glance wooden, was bamboo, somehow flattened and fitted seamlessly, polished to a shine. It was breathtaking.
Every corner seemed ordinary yet exuded comfort, revealing meticulous attention to detail.
“You may rise,” the family head said gently.
As they straightened, he continued, “Fourteenth and Fifteenth Miss have just returned home. Today, you’ll meet the clan elders and choose your masters. Sigui is already Elder Qi’s disciple. Today, all three of you will perform the discipleship ceremony.”
An Jiu thought, “Wasn’t this about entering the family register? Why the sudden change to choosing masters? The tasks here are so unclear! Adapting on the fly is risky.”
“Fourteenth Miss, Fifteenth Miss,” the family head called.
An Jiu and Mei Ruyan looked up. The family head’s thin face bore a faint smile as he lazily waved his feather fan. “Though we Meis are merchants, we’ve always valued education. Our children are accomplished in both civil and military arts. There are no uneducated members in our family. Only after being accepted by an elder as a disciple can one’s name be entered in the family register. Any questions?”
“No,” both replied in unison. The implication was clear: children lacking talent wouldn’t be acknowledged by the family.
In this unfamiliar place with unclear rules, An Jiu felt uneasy, not knowing the consequences of failing to enter the family register. She knew nothing of the arts – music, chess, calligraphy, or painting. Should she wake Mei Jiu? With Mei Jiu in control, there’d be no problem.
The family head had tools for testing these skills brought out. “Each of you, choose two.”
Mei Ruyan said, “Sister excels at calligraphy. I’ll take music and chess.”
She sounded generous, but she was skilled in both, having been raised in a brothel where such entertainment arts were highly valued.
An Jiu was relieved, nodding in agreement. She couldn’t fake skill in music or chess, but she could manage some calligraphy. At worst, it would just be ugly.
“Sister, please go first,” Mei Ruyan said.
An Jiu briefly recalled how to hold a brush. When the paper was ready, she boldly wrote: “The wind whistles, the waters of Yi River are cold. The hero departs, never to return!”
Her confident, graceful brushwork initially pleased the family head and elders. But as soon as she finished, two elders rushed forward to look.
“Well… leaving aside the poor penmanship, what’s this layout?” One elder pointed at the horizontally written characters, then at the comma and exclamation mark in the middle. “What do these mean?”
An Jiu was annoyed: “Old man, if you can read it, just make do! Why nitpick?”
Another elder, also disappointed but recalling her initial flair, held out hope. “Do you know anything else?”
“Many things,” An Jiu replied calmly.
The old man brightened, but An Jiu added, “All about as good as my calligraphy.”
The old man’s face fell. He scolded, “Young lady, don’t speak in fits and starts!”
“Yes, sir,” An Jiu agreed promptly.
That elder, scratching his sparse white hair, asked, “Are you Yan’s child? Not some random pick to fool us?”
An Jiu remained silent.
The others came to look, all shaking their heads in disappointment as they returned to their seats.
However, the elder who had spoken with her didn’t seem overly disappointed. Instead, he studied her intently.
Since An Jiu had admitted her other skills were on par with her calligraphy, further testing seemed unnecessary.
Next came Mei Ruyan’s turn to play the zither and solve a Go endgame. Her musical skill was impressive for her age, earning nods from four elders. Only the elder from before kept his eyes fixed on An Jiu.
An Jiu stared back but found little of interest. He was hunched, wearing a gray-blue robe, his wrinkled face barely discernible, with sparse hair knotted on top of his head.
Unsightly! An Jiu turned away, finding Mo Sigui to her left much more pleasing to look at.
“Not bad. I’ll keep an eye on this girl,” one elder said after Mei Ruyan finished the Go puzzle.
“Keeping an eye” meant he’d marked her as a potential disciple, pending further tests. If he decided not to take her, others could consider it.
An Jiu found it strange that no one objected to this tyrannical approach.
The family head nodded, “Yes, Fifteenth Miss is quick-witted. She’d do well with Uncle Xian.”
Mei Ruyan was overjoyed.
An Jiu finally understood. The five elders had different specialties and planned to teach according to their talents.
The family head had the implements cleared away. He stood and addressed the three young people, “Follow me.”
All the elders rose, following the family head through a door on the left. An Jiu and the others trailed behind.
Entering the room, it suddenly became very dark. As An Jiu’s eyes adjusted, she saw the room filled with weapon racks. As she was about to examine them closely, she felt a gaze fixed on her from the front right. She glanced in that direction.
There, she saw the elder who had been staring at her grinning widely.