Before the Qingyu Hall, everyone had already set out wine and was drinking while playing drinking games.

Jiang Xuening’s alcohol tolerance was truly mediocre, yet she was still coaxed by Shen Zhiyi into drinking a little.

As soon as the alcohol touched her lips, a faint flush spread across her cheeks, making her look extraordinarily beautiful.

Shen Zhiyi couldn’t help but clap her hands and point at her, asking everyone, “Look, isn’t Ningning gorgeous?”

Many of those present were friends of Yan Lin, all with youthful dispositions.

Earlier they had refrained from looking toward the young ladies due to propriety between men and women, but when Shen Zhiyi asked this question, many young men including Prince Yanping secretly raised their eyes to look at her. For a moment, those whose romantic feelings had not yet awakened and whose faces were thin blushed red.

Only Yan Lin looked at her openly and seriously, smiling with curved lips: “Gorgeous.”

Jiang Xuening was speechless.

She had originally blushed from the alcohol, but now her faintly flushed cheeks reddened several shades more because of these simple two words, turning crimson and becoming even more eye-catchingly bright and charming.

Everyone laughed and made merry again. Once the wine flowed and conversation started, it seemed as if everything was forgotten, even troubles were cast aside.

When Xiao Shu and the others arrived after a brief delay, this was the scene they encountered.

Standing in the corridor, her footsteps halted, and the other study companions walking behind her along with another young man in fine robes also stopped.

Shen Zhiyi had just raised her wine cup to make Prince Yanping drink when she looked up and saw people arriving in the corridor. She was momentarily stunned, then smiled: “Ah Shu, you’ve come too. Hey, isn’t this Xiao Ye? You’ve actually come as well.”

The young man standing behind Xiao Shu had his chin raised rather high.

Hearing Shen Zhiyi address him directly by name, his lips pressed together somewhat, but since the other party’s status was quite high as a princess, he couldn’t very well take offense. He could only smile reluctantly and say, “Xiao Ye pays his respects to Your Highness the Grand Princess.”

Xiao Ye.

Hearing this name, Jiang Xuening turned her head to look.

The young man was eighteen or nineteen years old, his features remarkably similar to Xiao Shu’s. He wore expensive sky-blue brocade cloud satin, with many fragrant sachets and jade pendants hanging from his waist, and even wore a long sword whose scabbard was studded with gems. Though he was greeting others, he didn’t glance at anyone else, his expression quite haughty.

This was the current legitimate son of the Xiao clan.

Born to Duke Dingguo’s second wife, Xiao Shu’s full brother from the same mother—reportedly they had been dragon-phoenix twins back then, which had drawn much praise in the capital. If nothing unexpected happened, he would soon be enfeoffed as the heir apparent of Duke Dingguo, inheriting the vast Xiao clan.

With such a prestigious status, no wonder he was somewhat haughty.

However…

If in two years when Xiao Dingfei appeared, he could still maintain this haughtiness and smile, that would truly be real ability.

Jiang Xuening withdrew her gaze.

Shen Zhiyi waved her hand: “We’re just playing drinking games and drinking wine. You should join us too.”

Xiao Shu bowed respectfully: “I would be honored to comply.”

Yan Lin watched quietly, neither speaking nor objecting.

When Xiao Ye came over, he sat down casually, then glanced at the table and lightly curled his lips, saying, “What kind of wine is this?”

Prince Yanping answered foolishly, “Aged apricot blossom wine.”

Xiao Ye shook his head: “What’s good about drinking this?”

Everyone looked toward him.

He had brought a gold-painted folding fan today, which he raised to tap on the table, saying, “If I’d known you’d all come this early to drink wine here, I would have brought our family’s Purple Gold Altar wine to share with you. It was sent by people from Jiangnan—the finest wine there is.”

Yan Lin smiled but said nothing.

Xiao Shu frowned and glanced at Xiao Ye.

Xiao Ye then touched his nose, seeming to realize something, but his eyes still showed disdain. He picked up the cup of wine placed before him and said, “Of course, apricot blossom wine isn’t bad either—old wine, good wine. We can make do with drinking it.”

Everyone had originally been drinking happily, but hearing his words, they felt their appetite completely spoiled.

Which of those present wasn’t a son of noble families?

Even if the Xiao clan was illustrious and superior to others, which family didn’t have a few jars of good wine? If not for today being Yan Lin’s coming-of-age ceremony, they would have likely walked away immediately, too lazy to bother with him.

In the end, it was still Prince Yanping, the good-natured one, who seeing the atmosphere suddenly turn awkward, quickly came out to smooth things over. He picked up a cup of wine, stood up, and raised it high toward Yan Lin, saying, “Today is Yan Lin’s birthday, and it’s rare for everyone to gather together. How about we all toast him together to celebrate his birthday?”

Shen Zhiyi immediately said, “Good!”

Naturally, everyone else had no objections and all stood up holding their wine cups, raising them high toward Yan Lin.

One person said, “I wish Young Master Yan boundless fortune like the Eastern Sea…”

Yan Lin smiled: “Get lost.”

Another quickly pushed the previous person aside, saying, “Let me, let me. Of course it should be like the constancy of the moon, like the rising of the sun, like…”

Yan Lin sighed: “Vulgar.”

When it came to Xiao Shu’s turn, she pondered briefly, raised her cup, and gazed at Yan Lin, saying, “I’m vulgar too, so I’ll simply wish Young Master Yan this happiness every year, this joy every age.”

This happiness every year, this joy every age.

To others’ ears, this was wishing Yan Lin a long life of a hundred years.

However, to Jiang Xuening’s ears, it became extraordinarily grating. The moment she heard Xiao Shu speak these words, her complexion changed abruptly, her gaze suddenly becoming sharp as she looked toward Xiao Shu.

Xiao Shu had a faint smile at the corner of her mouth, as if she had indeed spoken these words out of sincerity.

She couldn’t judge whether it was unintentional or deliberate.

Yan Lin sat directly across from Jiang Xuening. Hearing this, he also raised his head to glance at Xiao Shu, but his expression remained unchanged, showing a composure beyond his years. He even thanked her: “To receive a blessing from Miss Xiao, Yan Lin should remember it for a long time.”

Xiao Shu said, “You’re too kind.”

Yan Lin turned his head to look at Jiang Xuening. His previously bland gaze softened considerably as he said, “And you? What do you wish for me?”

Jiang Xuening hadn’t expected Yan Lin to call on her directly. With so many people present, she had thought that not everyone needed to say something, and she could just follow along with the crowd and let it pass.

Now that Yan Lin had singled her out, everyone looked at her.

She opened her mouth, but her mind went completely blank.

Seeing her slender fingers holding the wine cup, frozen in place with no idea what to say, Yan Lin couldn’t help but smile. He reached out his hand and gently clinked his wine cup against hers, saying, “If you can’t think of words, then let me wish you instead.”

Jiang Xuening stared at him in a daze.

The young man gazed at her and said with utmost seriousness, “May you always have the bright moon accompanying you and the clear breeze by your side. May all worries that reach your heart be resolved, and may all difficulties that come upon you be dispelled.”

Having spoken, he directly raised his head and drained the wine in his cup.

Everyone immediately cheered in unison and all drank the wine in their cups.

Jiang Xuening was slow by a moment.

Only when Yan Lin put down his wine cup and looked at her did she feel her heart soaked and swelling with today’s strong wine. She too raised her head and finished the wine in her cup, her eyes now brimming with glistening light, bright and moving.

Today Yan Lin was the host, so everyone’s conversation revolved around him, and all wine was drunk with him.

Born of Duke Dingguo’s household, Xiao Ye considered his status and position no lower than Yan Lin’s, but since sitting down, no one had paid him any attention. Growing increasingly stifled, he simply set down his wine cup, stood up, and looked around the courtyard of Qingyu Hall.

He noticed the sword case containing the sword that Jiang Xuening had given to Yan Lin earlier placed to the side.

Walking over, he picked up the sword and held it up to examine it in the daylight, then shook his head: “This sword looks too plain and feels too heavy. Everyone says a sword should be light and nimble—how can such a sword appear in the Marquis’s estate?”

Yan Lin, who had been talking with others, turned his head, and his gaze immediately turned cold.

Even Shen Zhiyi frowned tightly.

Yan Lin walked over and simply said, “Some swords favor nimbleness, others favor weight. Different swords, different paths. Please return this sword to me, Young Master Xiao.”

Then he took the sword from Xiao Ye’s hands.

Although Xiao Ye heard his calm words, he completely failed to sense that this person took him seriously at all. Having always lived in luxury and been praised since childhood, never knowing what restraint meant, he suddenly laughed coldly: “This young master’s sword technique was taught by the famous swordsman Master Liu Xie from the capital. Does Young Master Yan’s words mean he’s wrong?”

A wandering hero’s sword and a general’s sword were not the same kind of sword.

But Yan Lin didn’t want to explain to him, only saying, “If you say he’s right, then he’s right.”

Rather than helping, this attitude made Xiao Ye feel even more slighted. The arrogance and dissatisfaction he had been suppressing immediately erupted. Seeing Yan Lin holding the sword and bending down to put it back in the case, he actually pressed his hand to his waist and directly drew the precious sword he wore!

The nimble sword body flashed and pressed down on Yan Lin’s sword!

He smiled: “Why be in such a hurry to sheathe the sword? I hear Young Master Yan’s swordsmanship was taught hand-by-hand by Marquis Yan, and Master Liu Xie has also praised the Marquis’s sword techniques highly. Since we’ve met today and Young Master Yan has just received a new sword, might I request some instruction?”

Xiao Ye’s sword was snow-white, long, narrow, and even somewhat flexible.

Yan Lin’s sword, however, was three fingers wide, its blade forged from meteoric iron, gleaming with a faint bluish-black luster.

He still maintained his earlier posture of placing the sword back in its case, head lowered, gaze downcast, easily seeing his own eyes reflected in Xiao Ye’s bright sword body.

Angry, murderous, cold.

His brow moved slightly, his wrist shook, and without even changing his facial expression, Yan Lin raised his sword with a jolt, directly shaking Xiao Ye’s sword backward, nearly sending it flying from his hand!

Xiao Ye was caught completely off guard and greatly shocked.

But Yan Lin held the long sword in reverse, its tip pointing diagonally at the ground. The long sword that Jiang Xuening had found difficult to hold with both hands seemed to have no weight at all in his grip. With natural bearing, he smiled and said, “‘Instruction’ I dare not claim. Since Young Master Xiao wishes to test swords, a comparison would be harmless.”

Xiao Ye’s complexion immediately darkened.

Confident in having learned from a famous master, he truly didn’t take someone like Yan Lin who learned from a rough soldier seriously. Seeing Grand Princess Leyang and the sons of noble families from the capital present, he wanted to show off his skills and make everyone look at him with new eyes. Without thinking, he shouted loudly, “Good! Receive my sword!”

As his words fell, he had already advanced with his sword.

Everyone hadn’t expected them to start fighting just like that and was startled.

Jiang Xuening also rose from her seat at once.

Instead, it was Shen Zhiyi who became excited: “Oh, this is getting interesting!”

Yan Lin’s feet didn’t move. He simply lowered his eyes, turned his body to the side, and avoided this strike.

The long sword brushed past his shoulder.

Xiao Ye frowned, wanting to withdraw his sword and strike again, but Yan Lin’s heavy sword suddenly reversed in his hand, and that weighty sword body carved an arc and struck against Xiao Ye’s sword. Sparks seemed to fly for a moment. Under the tremendous shock to the sword body, Xiao Ye nearly lost his grip on the sword and hurriedly withdrew it while turning to stabilize himself.

Having suffered a disadvantage right from the first exchange, he lost even more face.

Gritting his teeth, he raised his long sword and, following his master’s teachings, unleashed a dazzling array of sword techniques. However, whenever Yan Lin struck, he invariably hit vital points.

“Clang!”

“Clang!”

“Clang!”

…

Yan Lin wore a deep blue brocade robe, his sleeves seeming to carry a strong wind. Initially, he gave Xiao Ye some face, wanting to gauge his depth. But after just a few moves, he discovered this person had only superficial skills, having learned some basics and become self-important, so his strikes grew heavier.

Each sword faster than the last, each sword heavier than the last!

Xiao Ye felt his palms going numb and couldn’t keep his footing, yet Yan Lin, with one hand behind his back, struck down sword after sword as if strolling leisurely through a courtyard. With each descending sword, Xiao Ye retreated a step, finally backing all the way to the cherry tree!

“Clang!”

A sharp ringing sound.

Expressionless, Yan Lin’s cold, hard, heavy sword struck directly against Xiao Ye’s wrist, then flicked upward. That nimble snow-white sword flashed like white silk cutting through a bright arc of light, flying straight out of Xiao Ye’s hand!

When it fell, it clattered onto the stone steps with a “clang.”

The crowd watching from the corridor immediately gasped.

Xiao Ye’s face alternated between red and livid.

He hadn’t been given the slightest bit of face!

Since childhood, Yan Lin had trained diligently with his father. Though he was among the capital’s noble sons, if placed in the Tongzhou or Fengtai military camps, he could match the top fighters among the soldiers. Whether practicing martial arts or studying the sword, he tended toward practicality and directness!

On the battlefield, failing to overcome the enemy meant death for oneself.

This also resulted in his sword techniques appearing exceptionally fierce and cold, even carrying an intimidating heaviness that made people’s hearts tremble!

After knocking Xiao Ye’s sword away, he turned his wrist, grasped the hilt with both hands, held the long sword in reverse, and his expression remained exactly as it had been initially, without the slightest change. Standing tall, he clasped his fists in salute toward his opponent: “I concede.”

Xiao Ye’s palms were still numb, and he said through gritted teeth, “You!”

A touch of frost colored Yan Lin’s features, and the coldness he had been suppressing finally emerged completely, even carrying an edge that the capital’s noble sons absolutely lacked: “What about it?”

Xiao Ye looked at him for a long moment, actually retreated a step, and said with a cold laugh, “Forget it. A military brute, a crude man—this is all you know.”

Shen Zhiyi immediately walked down and stared at him: “What did you say?”

But Yan Lin didn’t get angry. He merely looked Xiao Ye up and down and actually smiled blandly, saying, “If Young Master Dingfei from back then were here, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be this pathetic.”

Young Master Dingfei…

Few people in the capital had heard this name anymore.

But since it concerned the secrets of the great Xiao and Yan clans, there were still those who whispered about it in private: both Xiao Shu and Xiao Ye were born to the second wife. Duke Dingguo’s first wife was the sister of Marquis Yongyi and Yan Lin’s aunt. The one originally meant to inherit the Xiao clan was the legitimate son of the first wife, Young Master Dingfei. If Young Master Dingfei hadn’t unfortunately perished twenty years ago, and if Lady Yan hadn’t divorced and returned to Marquis Yongyi’s estate, how would it have been the second wife’s turn to enter the household, or for Xiao Ye to become the legitimate heir? He probably wouldn’t even have had the chance to be born.

Though Yan Lin’s words seemed bland, their power was considerable.

Everyone’s gaze fell upon the Xiao siblings.

How could Xiao Ye have expected Yan Lin to bring up this topic so suddenly without warning?

His complexion changed, and furious anger surged up as he was about to explode.

At the critical moment, Xiao Shu shouted coldly, “You shut up!”

Xiao Ye choked, his eyes filled with resentment, but ultimately didn’t dare speak.

Xiao Shu, however, stepped forward. She could still maintain some composure, though her complexion also looked unpleasant. She bowed to Yan Lin and said, “My younger brother was rash and spoke carelessly, provoking Young Master Yan’s displeasure. Xiao Shu apologizes on his behalf. I’ve heard that Brother Dingfei was exceptionally talented and remarkably intelligent, but this matter has been over for nearly twenty years, and my father has never ceased lamenting and grieving. The person is gone, the past cannot be pursued—why must Young Master Yan bring it up today and be so aggressive?”

Yan Lin looked toward Xiao Shu, walked to the railing, and steadily placed that fierce, cold long sword into the sword case. He said lightly, “Yes, after all, the person is gone and the past cannot be pursued. If such a person were fortunate enough to still be alive, what a terrifying thing that would be, and how many people would be anxious about it, unable to sleep at night.”