In the northeastern corner of Prince Anqing’s estate, deep within a grove of trees, stood a small three-story building, its lights blazing bright, the surroundings utterly silent. It was said that a curious young maid at the estate had once seen a little rabbit while passing through the woods by Pine Wind Hall and chased after it — and had never come out again. From then on, everyone in the household gave the place a wide berth, treating it as forbidden ground.

The young lord had once summoned Hongyu, the most celebrated beauty of Wind City’s Huanhua Pleasure House, to sing at Pine Wind Hall. When Hongyu returned, she reported that the young lord’s residence was tranquil and elegant, and that he received guests with gentle, refined courtesy. From then on, Pine Wind Hall came to be imagined by young women everywhere as the ideal home, each hoping to spend a lifetime of love there with the young lord.

At this moment Liu Jue was painting, while the maidservant Sihua carefully ground the ink, her eyes fixed only on the ink stick and inkstone, applying even pressure, neither too fast nor too slow, taking care not to splash the ink or let the grinding sound scrape too loudly.

Liu Jue slowly sketched out the figure of a young woman on the paper — her silk skirt seeming to billow as if caught by the breeze, pressed down by a jade pendant hanging from the sash at her waist. Her figure was slender, with sloping shoulders and a graceful neck, her hair coiled into a cloud-like chignon, adorned with an orchid-shaped jade hairpin tilted to one side — an elegant, extraordinary bearing. It was none other than the image of Gu Tianlin, the treasured daughter of the Gu family.

Liu Jue examined the painting with satisfaction, then lifted his brush again, focusing his attention on rendering the beauty’s eyes. As the saying goes, painting the dragon’s eye brings it to life — with this single stroke, Gu Tianlin should seem to step right out of the painting. But an image flashed swiftly through Liu Jue’s mind — a pair of clear, crystalline eyes. He closed his eyes, trying again to recall Gu Tianlin’s gaze, then opened them and set down the brush swiftly. When the painting was complete, he studied it closely, brush still in hand, and froze.

Sihua stole a glance and thought to herself — what a beautiful woman — but those eyes carried a certain wildness, lively and full of unspoken words, seeming somehow not to belong to the same person as this otherwise dignified, virtuous young lady.

Liu Jue caught the expression on Sihua’s face from the corner of his eye, saw that the perfectly good painting had been undone by those two eyes, and reached out to crumple it up — but as his hand touched those eyes, he stopped, and after a long moment instructed Sihua: “Have it properly mounted.”

Sihua bowed her head in acknowledgment.

Liu Jue’s fingers tapped lightly against the painting table for a long while before he spoke. “How many households brought maidservants with them to the peach blossom banquet? Hm?”

Liu Ying had already been kneeling in the outer room for a full hour. Hearing the young lord speak, he answered in a low voice: “The Princess invited seven households of Ning Guo’s royal relatives, and fourteen households of court officials with their families — the maids and servants brought numbered fifty-seven in total. Also invited were twenty-three young gentlemen of Wind City, none of whom brought maidservants. This subordinate has personally verified all fifty-seven, and none matches that girl. The Princess brought eight attendants of her own, and the estate itself houses one hundred forty-six maidservants — none of them match either.”

The longer Liu Jue listened, the darker his expression grew. To think that girl had bested him twice in a single day, and still she couldn’t be found? For the young lord of Prince Anqing’s estate to be knocked out and tied to a tree by her, his money stolen besides — if word ever got out, he might as well jump into the Duning River and be done with it.

Seeing the veins standing out on the young lord’s hands, Liu Ying understood this was a source of deep humiliation for him. He himself had hesitated, half-suspecting the young lord had some deeper motive, given how could a girl so young possibly have knocked him out with his own skill. Liu Ying hesitated briefly, then ventured boldly, “My lord, could she perhaps be the daughter of a hunter’s family from a nearby village?”

Liu Jue’s eyes flashed. “Find out!”

Liu Ying bowed and hurried off.

Each month, the combined stipend for the Seventh Madam and Qingluo amounted to no more than three taels of silver, barely enough to cover the expenses of Tang Garden. Ever since Chancellor Li learned that Qingluo was not without talent after all, her monthly stipend had shot up to ten taels. As for the silver notes taken from Liu Jue, the Seventh Madam examined them carefully to make sure there were no distinguishing marks, then had Nanny Zhang quietly find someone at a money house to exchange them — altogether more than four hundred taels. Comparing herself to others only made A’Luo more aware of the gap — Liu Jue had casually stuffed several hundred taels into his pocket without a second thought, enough to feed the four of them at Tang Garden for years. A’Luo firmly believed that money was the true foundation of power — wherever you went, hard cash was always the best diplomat.

The Seventh Madam looked at A’Luo with worry. “You won’t turn thirteen until next month, and you’ve hardly ever set foot outside. How can I possibly feel at ease?”

A’Luo said, “I’ve picked up plenty about Wind City’s customs and ways from listening around, and I’ve quietly found a number of books to read besides — I’m not entirely ignorant about Ning Guo. Besides, does A’Luo’s intelligence really seem like that of a thirteen-year-old child?”

Still uneasy, the Seventh Madam let A’Luo lead her to the bamboo grove, where, right in front of her, A’Luo split a thick bamboo stalk with a single chop of her hand, then ran through a set of punches and kicks — bamboo leaves flying with every strike, already carrying a certain commanding presence. The Seventh Madam was stunned into silence. A’Luo laughed and pulled her close. “When I was little, I couldn’t sleep one night and ran out into the garden to play, where I met an uncle who practiced martial arts. He taught me, and once he’d finished teaching me the training methods, he left. He warned me never to mention it to anyone — Mother, you’re the only one in this whole household who knows. That young lord from Prince Anqing’s estate last time — I’m the one who knocked him out.”

The Seventh Madam clapped a hand over her mouth, staring at A’Luo’s smug, self-satisfied expression, feeling equal parts exasperation, amusement, and astonished delight. “A’Luo, well, this is good news after all — if worse comes to worst, you should be able to escape the Chancellor’s residence on your own.”

A’Luo hugged her. “If we go, we go together. I won’t leave you behind here alone.”

The two of them, mother and daughter, then discussed finding a way past the wall behind the bamboo grove to get out of the residence — A’Luo would go into the city first to look around.

Xiao Yu was already sixteen. The Seventh Madam offered her fifty taels of silver and urged her to leave the residence and find a good match to marry, but Xiao Yu refused, crying, “Xiao Yu has no family left in this world. It was only thanks to Madam’s silver back then that I was able to bury my mother. Where would I even go now?”

The Seventh Madam said, “Staying at the Chancellor’s residence will only ruin your prospects for marriage in the end.”

Xiao Yu only shook her head. “Madam and Miss treat me like family. Let me stay — the young miss is still so young.”

A’Luo helped Xiao Yu up. “From now on, you’re my elder sister. We’re family — wherever we go, we won’t leave you behind.” From that day on, the Seventh Madam also began teaching Xiao Yu to play the flute, in case A’Luo ever needed to slip out of the residence and have Xiao Yu play in her place within the bamboo grove.

A’Luo went to the bamboo grove behind the house to practice her flute pieces. The morning air in the bamboo grove was fresh and clean, with birds chirping, no one around to disturb her. After playing for a while, she heard the sound of a flute-like reed pipe drifting in from outside, harmonizing with her own melody. A’Luo’s spirits lifted — there it was again. She slowly finished the piece, set down her flute, and the reed pipe outside gradually faded and fell silent as well.

The reed pipe had first appeared about a month after Qingluo began coming to the bamboo grove to practice. Each morning, as soon as Qingluo’s flute began, the reed pipe would answer in kind. At first Qingluo’s skill had been rather unpolished, but gradually, following along with the reed pipe’s melody, it grew better and better. The Seventh Madam said with satisfaction, “Third child, zither, reed pipe, and flute are all of a family. Your zither playing has already surpassed what mine was at your age, and you’re picking up the flute quickly too — that should be more than enough to satisfy your father.”

A’Luo no longer cared much for flute practice — she felt she really needed to get out and see things for herself. She wanted to familiarize herself with Wind City as quickly as possible and arrange a fallback plan.

Xiao Yu kept watch outside the bamboo grove, and the two of them agreed that the sound of the flute would serve as their signal in case anything happened. A’Luo slowly made her way toward the wall at the edge of the bamboo grove.

The Chancellor’s residence wall stood eight feet high, built of blue brick fitted together without a single gap. A’Luo silently cursed the absence of any shoddy construction work in this era! She walked carefully along the length of the wall but found no opening anywhere. Just as she was growing discouraged, she noticed several large, oddly-shaped ornamental rocks piled up near the wall’s edge — likely leftover material from garden construction. They had clearly been sitting there for some time, already covered in moss and weeds.

A’Luo rolled up her sleeves and went to try moving them. Though the ornamental rocks looked light for their size, they were probably well over a hundred kilograms. A’Luo took a breath, focused her strength, and gave one hard push — the rock shifted slightly. Her heart leapt with delight. She studied the position carefully, then walked out of the bamboo grove and gave Xiao Yu a bright smile.

The next day, the Seventh Madam personally kept watch outside the bamboo grove while A’Luo and Xiao Yu brought two thick wooden poles to the spot from the day before. Xiao Yu looked at the ornamental rock, at a loss. “Miss, it usually takes several strong men to move something like this — can we really do it?”

A’Luo smiled. “We’re using leverage — it won’t take too much strength at all. Archimedes said, give me a lever and a fulcrum, and I can move the earth. What’s a few rocks compared to that?”

Xiao Yu was completely baffled. “What earth, what Archy-something — Miss, what on earth are you talking about?”

A’Luo laughed. “You don’t need to understand it — just follow my lead.” She then showed Xiao Yu how to wedge the poles into the gap beneath the rock, found a sturdy stone to serve as a fulcrum, and A’Luo pressed down with all her strength, levering the ornamental rock up. Xiao Yu pushed from the front, and the rock inched its way toward the wall.

Xiao Yu clapped her hands in delight, and A’Luo hushed her. The two of them then lifted a smaller stone and began arranging things further.

A few days later, when the Seventh Madam came to check on the wall, all she saw were a few clumps of bamboo and vines — no sign of a way out at all. Puzzled, she wondered what was going on. A’Luo took her hand and led her around to the other side, where a pile of ornamental rocks had been stacked up in staggered heights — climbing along them made it easy to reach the top of the wall.

The Seventh Madam and A’Luo peeked their heads over cautiously. Beyond lay a small street, and further off, a small river. Not a soul in sight. The two of them climbed down from the wall, stifling their laughter. Circling back around to look at it from the front, the Seventh Madam praised her, “You truly can’t tell there’s anything here at all, looking at it from the front.”

A’Luo said proudly, “Xiao Yu and I went to a lot of trouble moving the vines over to cover it up.”

Back inside, the Seventh Madam thought carefully and sketched out the layout of the Chancellor’s residence, guessing that the river beyond the wall flowed down from the imperial city at Yuxiang Mountain, and that the small river would merge into the Duning River as it passed out through the eastern gate. Based on her memory, she also sketched a rough overview map of Wind City.

Combining what she’d read in books with the map the Seventh Madam had drawn, A’Luo finally gained a clear picture of Wind City as a whole.

Wind City bordered the Duning River to the south. To the west lay open plains, stretching all the way to the border of Qi Guo. To the east stood Yucui Mountain, where Princess Huguo’s Shicui Villa was built at its foot, along with the imperial gardens. Beyond Yucui Mountain lay the boundless primeval forest of Heishan, and beyond that the vast Modu Plains, which formed the border between Ning Guo and An Guo, and further east still lay the Yueli Sea.

To the north of Wind City stood Yuxiang Mountain. The imperial city was built against its slopes, its peaks piercing the clouds, capped with snow year-round. The Suiyu Spring, formed from melting snow and ice, flowed year-round without ever running dry, channeling water throughout the imperial city and serving as a water source distributed to various parts of the city. Behind Yuxiang Mountain lay the Heishan forest as well, which also bordered An Guo.

South across the Duning River, after passing through thirty towns and settlements, one reached the Han River, beyond which lay Chen Guo.

Wind City had only three city gates, its position against the mountains and river making it a natural fortress. With the great forest separating it from An Guo, it had no worries on that front — it was Ning Guo’s last line of defense, having enjoyed centuries of prosperity and peace.

Within Wind City, a straight main road ran from the imperial city directly to the southern gate, intersecting in the middle with the roads leading to the eastern and western gates. This divided the city naturally into four quarters. The northwest held the government offices and administrative district. The northeast was home to the imperial relatives and court officials, along with the residences of various foreign envoys — the wealthy district. The southwest was the poorer district, where common folk lived, while the southeast was the commercial district.

Each district was dotted with teahouses, taverns, and restaurants. The commercial district housed the pleasure quarters as well, along with inns catering to merchants and traders — the finest restaurants and inns, the most exclusive pleasure houses, the most upscale foreign trading shops. Beyond the eastern gate, countless pleasure boats drifted along the Duning River. All in all, this was a thriving international metropolis with clearly defined functional districts.

What A’Luo wanted to explore first was the commercial district. She needed money, she needed connections, and she needed to understand this unfamiliar land — undiscovered places always held the possibility of a hidden paradise somewhere. A’Luo firmly believed she would find it.