The year Zhang Rong turned twenty and came of age, the Zhang Family was in the middle of arranging a marriage alliance with the Shen Family.

Princess Imperial Ande fully supported the union between the two households — a marriage between a scholarly family and a martial family, with the Zhang Family helping her regain some say over military authority. Why would she not want that?

Yet no matter how they searched, either the Zhang Family had no suitable young man, or the Shen Family had no suitable young lady; and when a candidate was found, that person was unwilling to marry into the match. A marriage within the main family could hardly be forced on anyone, so the matter had been left hanging for a long time, with no suitable match found.

One day in April, Zhang Rong came home from outside leading a little girl by the hand.

From the moment Zhang Rong stepped into the Zhang household with the girl’s hand in his, news flew everywhere both inside and outside the house. Li Lingge personally rushed over, curious as to where her husband had picked up this little girl.

When Li Lingge entered the sleeping quarters, she found Zhang Rong wiping the girl’s hands and face clean.

Li Lingge had heard that the child Zhang Rong brought home was filthy, like an uncultivated wild girl. But now, freshly washed, the little girl stood beside Zhang Rong — even with an expressionless face, her features were fine and her back was straight; she didn’t look like a wild child at all.

Li Lingge: “Oh?”

Zhang Rong smiled: “Hm?”

Li Lingge: “Brother Rong, who is this?”

Zhang Rong introduced her: “Her name is Shen Qingwu. She’s six this year… maybe seven, roughly that age. I ran into her lost on the way home, so I brought her back first.”

Li Lingge: “That’s not right, is it? I heard from your attendants that this child tried to steal your jade pendant, and you caught her.”

Li Lingge met the young girl’s eyes.

A small shiver of surprise ran through Li Lingge’s heart.

The girl was so young, yet showed almost no expression, her eyes pitch black. When Li Lingge mentioned the theft, the girl showed no reaction at all, letting herself be studied without the slightest concern.

But there was something wild about this girl — while Zhang Rong wiped her hands and face, her arms hung stiffly at her sides, her legs pressed together, not leaning toward him even a little.

Even toward her own benefactor, she showed no courtesy at all.

Unable to bear seeing Zhang Rong treated this way, Li Lingge frowned.

Zhang Rong said quietly to the princess: “She’s a child of the Shen Family, second in line. I’ve seen her there before… Qingwu, would you like to stay with us for a few days?”

Shen Qingwu said nothing.

Zhang Rong said: “Silence means yes?”

Shen Qingwu still ignored him.

Li Lingge was pulled into an inner room, where Zhang Rong explained Shen Qingwu’s background to her: unloved by the Shen Family, ignored by them since she was young; he’d seen her before but hadn’t thought much of it; this time she had tried to steal his pendant, and something about it struck him as odd, so he’d brought the child back.

Zhang Rong said: “I’m afraid the Shen Family hasn’t treated this child well… I want to look into it.”

Li Lingge: “…If I didn’t know you, I’d think this was your illegitimate daughter.”

And indeed, the rumor that Shen Qingwu was Zhang Rong’s illegitimate daughter spread as if someone had seen it with their own eyes.

Everyone in the Zhang household wondered why a girl surnamed Shen had come to live with them — and in the courtyard belonging to the princess and her consort, no less. If the princess hadn’t been so young, if they hadn’t watched Zhang Rong grow up themselves, they truly would have believed this was his illegitimate child.

The girl didn’t like to talk, didn’t play with the other children, and wandered the courtyard alone, swinging swords and spears about, disappearing from time to time. When the servants grew anxious searching for her, she would eventually crawl out, unhurried, from some dog hole whose location no one knew, or emerge from the kitchen with a steamed bun clenched in her teeth.

Zhang Rong came to realize how sharp this girl’s powers of observation were, how supple and agile her body was, and… just how truly indifferent the Shen Family was toward her.

But the Zhang Family couldn’t simply raise a Shen Family child for them — Zhang Rong and Li Lingge were still young themselves, and Shen Qingwu wasn’t without parents. What would it mean if they forcibly kept this child in the Zhang household?

Yet Zhang Rong truly didn’t want to send Shen Qingwu back, not wanting to watch the Shen Family waste her talent.

Zhang Rong said to Li Lingge in private: “She comes from a family of martial arts masters, and she has real talent for it. But the Shen Family won’t teach her — and if they catch her secretly practicing, they punish her… I can’t bear to see her talent go to waste. Your Highness, what if we kept her?”

Li Lingge: “Brother Rong, you’re always like this… Fine, it’s not as though we’re short on money, you may keep her if you wish. But she’ll need some kind of proper standing, won’t she? Even if you and I can’t have children of our own, if we’re to adopt, shouldn’t it be from my family or yours… what does adopting a Shen Family child even mean?”

Zhang Rong said: “If you agree, I already have an idea.”

Li Lingge had no objection.

As long as Shen Qingwu wasn’t Zhang Rong’s illegitimate daughter, she could accept him keeping a child around to raise, as a sort of amusement.

So one night, Zhang Rong called Shen Qingwu over, held her, and asked: “Qingwu, do you know that your family and mine are currently discussing a marriage alliance?”

Shen Qingwu nodded once — of course she knew. It was such a major matter that even though no one in the Shen Family had bothered to tell her, she’d spent all day climbing walls and trees, and had overheard plenty.

But what did that have to do with her?

Zhang Rong chose his words carefully: “But right now neither family has a young man or young lady of the right age, and yet the alliance is urgent — neither side wants to miss this chance, especially your family, who least wants to miss it… Two days ago, Madam Shen came to see my mother and proposed the idea of betrothing you before birth, so to speak. My family is still weighing it. I’ve been thinking — if you don’t want to go back to the Shen household, if you’d rather stay by my side, then getting engaged is actually one way to do it…”

Before he’d even finished speaking, Shen Qingwu answered with blunt, clear, childish certainty: “I’m willing.”

Zhang Rong: “…Do you even know what being engaged means? At your age, you couldn’t possibly understand what you’re agreeing to… Qingwu, why don’t you go ask your wet nurse, or discuss it with your family again?”

Shen Qingwu asked: “If I’m engaged, does that mean I don’t have to go back to the Shen Family, and I can live with you instead?”

Zhang Rong: “…That’s not exactly how it works, but I could use it as an excuse to bring you here often. How long you stay… that would be up to me.”

He stroked the fuzzy crown of her head, thinking to himself: the Shen Family wouldn’t miss one less mouth to feed anyway.

Shen Qingwu immediately said: “Then I agree.”

Zhang Rong fell silent.

Zhang Rong said: “Think it over some more.”

The six-year-old Shen Qingwu tilted her face up, looking at this gentle-featured young man with utter incomprehension — hadn’t this been his idea in the first place? She’d agreed, and now he wanted her to think it over more? Were adults this indecisive because they were about to go back on their word?

Shen Qingwu thought the Zhang household was better than the Shen household — for one thing, that beautiful woman everyone called the princess kept circling around her, examining her like some novel toy; lots of people secretly watched her, secretly tried to talk to her; when she picked up a blade or a spear, the people who rushed over only worried the weapon might hurt her, rather than scolding her to put it down immediately.

Young Shen Qingwu had not been happy at all in the Shen household.

If she could change her environment, why wouldn’t she agree?

But Zhang Rong was a man of such strong principle. Shen Qingwu had already nodded, yet he insisted on giving her another half hour to think it over.

Shen Qingwu nearly fell asleep during that half hour.

And after the half hour passed, Zhang Rong said again: “You’re too young — you truly don’t understand what you’re agreeing to, and I can’t take advantage of your youth to deceive you. But the cooperation between our two families really can’t wait any longer… so, Qingwu, let’s compromise. You’ll first be engaged to a young man from my family, and once you’re both grown, once the Zhang and Shen families no longer need this bond between you, you may break off the engagement and marry whoever you truly wish to marry.”

Shen Qingwu yawned.

Zhang Rong rambled on.

Shen Qingwu thought: does this person always talk this much? I’ve never heard anyone say such a long string of words to me before.

Once he’d finished rambling, he picked up a brush and began writing. He wrote out dense lines of characters, repeating to Shen Qingwu many times the matter of “breaking off the engagement once grown,” and asked her to sign and mark it as agreement.

Before Zhang Rong could even bring out the vermilion ink pad, Shen Qingwu had already bitten her own thumb open without hesitation and pressed her bloody thumbprint onto the paper.

Zhang Rong: “……”

Shen Qingwu tilted her face up: “And then?”

Zhang Rong put on a stern face: “Did you actually remember what I said?”

Shen Qingwu glanced at him indifferently.

Zhang Rong realized this girl’s temperament was nothing like the mischievous yet well-behaved princess he’d known in his own youth. Back then, he could put on a stern face and cow Li Lingge into submission — but Shen Qingwu didn’t care in the least about his reaction.

Shen Qingwu repeated: “You said once I’m grown I can break off the engagement. I remember.”

Zhang Rong sighed.

Zhang Rong: “Well, so, you need to pick someone from among the young men of our family that you have some fondness for…”

Shen Qingwu: “Then it’ll be you.”

Zhang Rong: “……”

Zhang Rong’s head ached: “I won’t do.”

He tried to guide her patiently: “You need to pick someone close to your own age.”

Shen Qingwu looked puzzled: “But someone close to my age — how would they wipe my face and hands and feed me the way you do?”

She thought of the boys her own age back home — hmph, they couldn’t even take care of themselves.

Zhang Rong said sternly: “Qingwu, a betrothed husband isn’t your wet nurse, and he’s not a servant either. He’s not there to wait on you.”

Shen Qingwu: “Then what is he there for?”

Her pitch-black eyes stared straight at him, and that unwavering gaze on a little girl’s face was enough to unsettle a grown man.

Zhang Rong thought that look of hers was… well, never mind, he could teach her that lesson later.

He simply found himself at a loss for words, not knowing how to explain to a six- or seven-year-old girl what marriage was, what the distinction between men and women meant, what it meant to be childhood sweethearts…

Seeing him so troubled, Shen Qingwu worked it out for herself: “Is he there to play with me?”

Zhang Rong let out a breath of relief: “If that’s how you want to understand it, that’s fine too.”

But privately, Shen Qingwu thought: someone who plays with me — does that mean he can’t also wipe my hands and feed me? That doesn’t seem right either.

Still, noticing that Zhang Rong’s expression wasn’t looking too good, and afraid of driving away the one person who actually seemed fond of her, Shen Qingwu suppressed the wildness in her bones, put on an obedient act, and nodded to show she understood.

Zhang Rong sighed.

Zhang Rong had always felt that, in all this, the person treated most unfairly was Shen Qingwu. He felt a pang of guilt — because it was his own inability to bear seeing her martial talent wasted that had led him to forcibly keep this child. As a form of compensation, he’d promised to let Shen Qingwu herself pick, from among the young men of the family, whichever one she wanted as her betrothed.

Shen Qingwu’s eyes went wide: “Like a child bride’s little husband?”

Zhang Rong choked.

Zhang Rong: “How do you even know that term? You can’t even write your own name yet…”

Shen Qingwu: “I heard people say it at the market… Can I sell my little husband, if I want?”

Zhang Rong froze.

Zhang Rong: “Absolutely not!”

His head ached: “Qingwu, you still don’t understand what a marriage alliance is… and besides, given our families’ standing, how could you possibly sell anyone?”

Shen Qingwu thought to herself: I don’t know.

But she also thought: if I ever reach the point of having nothing left, selling off my little husband wouldn’t be such a big deal.

Seven-year-old Shen Qingwu didn’t think she’d be staying at the Zhang household for long. What difference was there, really, between the Zhang Family and the Shen Family? Perhaps in a couple of days they’d decide her temperament was too difficult and want to send her away.

Seven-year-old Shen Qingwu believed that someday she’d end up with no home at all, reduced to wandering the streets.

She needed to prepare for that day.

And so, Shen Qingwu enthusiastically agreed to Zhang Rong’s proposal of a “child husband.”

Zhang Rong emphasized — this was a betrothal, not a child-bride or child-husband arrangement.

But Shen Qingwu didn’t care.

A few days later, Zhang Rong took Shen Qingwu to the Zhang Family’s school.

There were, in fact, a fair number of young men studying in the Zhang household. Amid the sound of recitation, the boys all sat up straight, listening earnestly to their teacher.

They all knew why Zhang Rong had come.

They had all been instructed by their parents.

They all knew that Zhang Rong seemed to be quite fond of the girl called Shen Qingwu, and that if they wanted the favor of the main branch of the Zhang Family, if they wanted Zhang Rong’s personal favor, then Shen Qingwu was a path upward for them.

The boys all put on a show of loving their studies, of being endlessly diligent and eager to improve.

Zhang Rong stood outside the corridor holding Shen Qingwu’s hand and asked: “Is there any young man here who catches your eye?”

Shen Qingwu pointed precisely at a corner: “Him.”

Zhang Rong looked over — in the corner, a mountain of books blocked the spot from view. If Shen Qingwu hadn’t pointed him out, Zhang Rong wouldn’t have noticed anyone was there at all.

Someone was hiding behind those books, not studying at all.

Zhang Rong’s expression darkened.

The boys nearby jostled one another, and the teacher, his face grim, went over himself, pushed the books aside, and hauled the slacking boy out—

“Zhang Yuelu, you again! Dozing off in class every time, not the least bit interested in learning anything the teacher has to say — how do you expect to amount to anything like this?!”

Ten-year-old Zhang Xingjian was hauled up in a daze and struck on the palm. The sting of it snapped him fully awake, and his eyes flew wide open.

He really was a strikingly handsome boy.

His dark eyes gleamed like beads, his lips red and teeth white, his eyes turning like polished glass…

Shen Qingwu: “Wow.”

Zhang Rong: “Wow?”

Shen Qingwu: “It’s him!”

Zhang Rong: “…Perhaps take another look first.”

He himself still preferred a child who was diligent and self-disciplined.

But Shen Qingwu shot back at him: “Didn’t you tell me to pick whoever caught my eye?”

Zhang Rong asked: “Are you choosing him just because you said ‘wow’?”

In other words — was she really this easily won over just because he was good-looking?

That wasn’t quite it, though.

The reason Shen Qingwu chose Zhang Xingjian was that like attracted like — he wasn’t studying together with the other boys in the schoolroom, and that instantly caught the attention of Shen Qingwu, who had always been the one left behind by children her own age.

And once Zhang Xingjian’s face came into view, Shen Qingwu liked him even more for being handsome.

But Shen Qingwu had also picked up a bit of sweet talk by then.

Shen Qingwu said: “He looks a lot like you.”

Zhang Rong: “……”

Shen Qingwu: “You said I couldn’t pick you, so I’ll pick him instead.”

Her eyes fixed on Zhang Rong: I’ve already settled for second best — what more could you possibly object to?

Zhang Rong was at a loss for words.

Shen Qingwu really was a girl with far too strong a personality; he genuinely had no idea how to communicate with her… but never mind.

Zhang Rong thought, once they grow up, it’ll be fine.

If, by then, Shen Qingwu came to understand how absurd this whole arrangement of her childhood had been, Zhang Rong was fully willing to let the engagement be dissolved.

After that one trip to the schoolroom, Zhang Xingjian inexplicably found himself in the good graces of the Zhang main branch.

Just days earlier his parents had given him a warning about this, but he hadn’t taken it seriously at all.

And yet, though he clearly hadn’t done anything, the main branch went straight to his parents to ask whether they’d consent to the betrothal.

His parents nodded eagerly, one after another — this was their chance to draw closer to the main branch.

They instructed Zhang Xingjian: “If you can marry that little girl the eldest young master favors, our family will have brought home a living Buddha. You’ll have far more opportunities, and your father, mother, and siblings will all benefit because of you…”

Zhang Xingjian, utterly bewildered, found himself saddled with a fiancée.

The adults presided over the ceremony, formally betrothing the two children.

Zhang Xingjian and Shen Qingwu sat together in a quiet room, staring at each other.

Zhang Xingjian’s head was full of his parents’ repeated instructions — please the Zhang main branch, please Shen Qingwu.

Shen Qingwu looked at him with an expressionless face.

The boy across from her really was quite proper-looking — still so young, his face still soft and rounded with baby fat, yet already fine-featured and handsome… Shen Qingwu didn’t realize it, but a boy like this, once he grew up and the baby fat receded to reveal the bone structure beneath, would surely turn out very good-looking indeed.

In her heart she murmured, “my little husband.”

Zhang Xingjian gave her a friendly smile: “Hello, I’m Zhang Yuelu. I’m your betrothed.”

Shen Qingwu nodded.

Zhang Xingjian waited a good long while, but got no further response from her.

Zhang Xingjian blinked.

Shen Qingwu leapt up and headed for the door.

Zhang Xingjian, bewildered: “Where are you going?”

Shen Qingwu: “We’ve talked. I’m leaving.”

Zhang Xingjian: “Huh?”

He asked: “Then where are you going?”

Shen Qingwu answered, delighted beyond measure: “I’m going to your family’s training grounds! Your family’s martial arts grounds are so big — Brother Rong said as long as I come get along well with you, I get to go practice martial arts!”

Zhang Xingjian murmured: “I don’t think that’s what he meant by just showing your face and leaving…”

Shen Qingwu had already reached the doorway; she hadn’t quite caught what the strange boy behind her was muttering, and she turned back: “What did you say? Speak up.”

Zhang Xingjian grinned, showing his teeth.

Zhang Xingjian: “I’ll go practice with you!”

Shen Qingwu was startled: “Huh?”

The training grounds had been empty these past few days. She’d assumed no one in the Zhang household cared for martial arts.

Shen Qingwu’s eyes lit up, and she looked at him earnestly: “You think martial arts is fun, really fun, don’t you?”

Zhang Xingjian didn’t, actually.

But… everyone had told him to get along well with this girl, and his parents’ entire future rested on him.

Zhang Xingjian’s eyes curved into a smile: “I love practicing martial arts.”

Ten-year-old Zhang Xingjian found Shen Qingwu rather amusing, actually.

He’d originally regarded this betrothal as something he couldn’t care less about, just a formality to go through.

He was the sort of child who matured early and understood things quickly — whatever the teacher taught, he grasped after a single look. Whatever his parents meant beneath their words, he understood at once. His younger siblings’ little schemes, the adults’ hidden calculations — all of it was tediously obvious to him.

So studying held no interest for him, and neither did most people; everything, in his eyes, was tedious and simple. When something was simple, he had no wish to spend much thought on it.

Shen Qingwu was the first person he’d ever met whose purpose he couldn’t immediately see through… it interested him, and he wanted to observe her more.

But this Shen Qingwu was, admittedly, a bit of a handful.

Zhang Xingjian did, in truth, gain a great deal from this betrothal. For instance, he moved into the main household; he was allowed to study in the main branch’s school; the main branch even sent maids and guards specifically to protect and look after him.

But there were also times Zhang Xingjian didn’t want to see Shen Qingwu at all — at one banquet, the Zhang family elders teased the two children about being betrothed at such a young age.

Those adults had looked at the two children seated together and smiled all around.

Shen Qingwu was too young to feel anything about it. But Zhang Xingjian was already old enough to feel embarrassed.

The day after the adults had teased them, he refused to leave his room.

The guards took turns trying to coax the young master, who was hiding beneath his blankets and refusing to come out.

Guard: “Young master, you shouldn’t think of this as such a bother. Just think of Young Lady Shen as your friend, and get along with her — that’s all there is to it.”

The boy poked half his face out from the blankets, his dark, glassy eyes blinking, and even the guards found him utterly adorable.

And he was every bit as endearing as ever when he said:

“Is she my friend? She’s my…”

The guards raised their eyebrows.

Zhang Xingjian said fiercely: “She’s my ancestor!”

Everyone kept telling him to curry favor with that girl.

The guards burst out laughing.

From outside the door came Shen Qingwu’s full-throated voice: “Zhang Yuelu! Zhang Yuelu! Zhang Yuelu—”

Inside, the guards watched with amusement as Zhang Xingjian crawled out of bed.

The boy sighed like a grown man and said:

“I’d better go see what my ancestor wants now.”

The guards collapsed into laughter.