“You must be Yita,” Lin Sui’an said helplessly. “You and I have no kinship — I mean, no enmity—”

“Have at you!” Yita bellowed. His twin fists traced dazzling arcs of rainbow light, raining down in a bewildering barrage.

Oh ho ho ho!

Lin Sui’an was forced to fight back, dodging three moves in a row. Yita clearly felt he had the upper hand and pressed his attack ever more fiercely, advancing step by step. His speed was not as fast as Jin Ruo’s, and his strength far short of Dong Zhao’s. After evading three more moves, Lin Sui’an saw through the pattern — it turned out Yita only knew three moves: a left hook, a right hook, and an uppercut, simply amplified by the glittering effect of his rings. Especially today with the clear sky and bright sunlight, the whole assault amounted to nothing more than light pollution.

The seventh move came — unmistakably a right hook. Lin Sui’an drew back her right foot half a step, then with the speed of thunder and lightning, her left hand snapped out and grabbed Yita’s right wrist with a sharp clap. Yita flew into a rage and threw a left hook, which was caught by Lin Sui’an’s right hand with another clap. The two of them stood with their arms crossed in two interlocked crosses, locked in a standoff.

The veins on Yita’s forearms bulged, both hands trembling violently. Lin Sui’an was quite at ease, completely unruffled, even managing a smile.

“Yita, is there perhaps some misunderstanding between us?”

Yita struggled. “Fourth Young Master say, you are big-big.”

Lin Sui’an was baffled. “What?”

What “big-big”? She didn’t have any special ability worth being called “big-big,” did she?

“Little lady, I’d guess he’s saying ‘da zi’ — ‘big shot’?”

“No no, it’s ‘big head’.”

“This little lady’s head doesn’t look that big to me.”

“I understand now — the little lady and the Persian boy both spotted the same pig’s head at the same time and got into a fight over it right here on the street.”

“What pig’s head would be worth fighting over like this?”

A jumble of comments arose. Lin Sui’an suddenly realized that at some point a circle of onlookers had gathered all around them, every one of them excitedly passing judgment and commentary.

Too mortifying!

Lin Sui’an broke out in a cold sweat.

“Hey, can we call a ceasefire and find somewhere with no people to fight? How about that?” Lin Sui’an suggested.

Yita: “No!”

“Then what on earth is ‘big-big’?”

“Fourth Young Master say big-big very powerful, must fight first, must have winner and loser!”

Lin Sui’an finally understood — it wasn’t “big-big,” it was “partner.” She couldn’t help sighing. “We’re actually just a temporary partnership. A makeshift ragtag operation.”

“Partner — together in life and death, never parting!” Yita insisted. “You cannot run!”

Lin Sui’an was utterly speechless. Another stubbornly idealistic young man.

“If I beat you, will you stop coming to cause trouble?” Lin Sui’an asked.

Yita’s eyes lit up. “Yes!”

“Fine!” Lin Sui’an bared her teeth, suddenly released Yita, leapt back three steps, and made an inviting gesture.

Yita clapped his fists together, fixed his two large blue eyes on her, and charged forward. The rainbow light from his gemstone rings carved seven-colored trails through the air, and his momentum was quite impressive.

Lin Sui’an stood unmoved. Her palm circled the hilt of Qian Jing, and she suddenly drew the blade from its scabbard. Two beams of crossing sword light sliced through the air, followed by a rapid series of crisp cracks. The gemstone rings shattered, fragments scattering in all directions like shooting stars across a daytime sky.

Qian Jing burst through the scattered gems, landing perfectly level across Yita’s throat.

All of this had happened in the blink of an eye. It was only when the flying gem fragments hit the ground that the crowd came back to their senses, breaking into cheers and applause.

“What skill!”

“How beautiful!”

“How extraordinary!”

Yita stood in a daze, both fists dropping. All ten of his gemstone rings had shattered — only the empty metal frames remained.

Lin Sui’an sheathed her blade. “Well?”

Yita stared at Lin Sui’an, and as he stared, a shimmer of moisture rose in his blue eyes. Then, all of a sudden, a brilliantly radiant smile bloomed across his face. He dropped to his knees with a thud and kowtowed three resounding times.

“What are you doing?!” Lin Sui’an was so startled even the roots of her hair seemed to stand on end, nearly sending her scrambling up the ward wall.

Yita rose to his feet, wiped his eyes twice, clasped his hands in a solemn salute, and turned to leave.

Lin Sui’an stood rooted to the spot, head full of question marks.

What was that about?

The following morning, when Lin Sui’an and Jin Ruo arrived at the Hua Family gate, the Hua Clan had already prepared two double-axle large-wheeled horse carriages. The horses were muscular, their coats gleaming — clearly built for long journeys. One driver was Mu Xia, and the other was — Yita.

Hua Yimeng and Hua Yifeng stood hand in hand at the main gate, both staring at Lin Sui’an with expressions of unabashed schadenfreude.

Jin Ruo: “Why are they staring at you like that? Do you owe them money?”

Before he finished speaking, Yita jumped down from the carriage, took Lin Sui’an’s bundle, and in a tone that was rather respectful, said, “Master Pig, carriage.”

His hands, it seemed, already bore ten new gemstone rings — looking even more vivid and dazzling than the previous ones.

Lin Sui’an: “……”

Jin Ruo: “Is he calling you a pig?”

Hua Yimeng and Hua Yifeng were desperately suppressing laughter.

“Lin Sui’an!” Hua Yitang came hurrying out of the main gate, his little fan waving like an electric fan. “Did you — did you really take Yita on as your attendant?”

Lin Sui’an: “What?”

Hua Yitang pulled Lin Sui’an aside, shaking his head and sighing. “You’re being far too reckless!”

Lin Sui’an: “What attendant? What is going on? I have no idea!”

Hua Yitang: “Did he come to challenge you to a fight?”

Lin Sui’an: “Ah.”

“Did you win?”

“Ah.”

“Did he kowtow to you?”

“Ah.”

“It’s over. He’s pledged allegiance to you as his master.”

What?!

Lin Sui’an was in crisis. “There’s actually a custom like this?! Why didn’t anyone tell me?!”

Jin Ruo couldn’t take it anymore. “Hua Yitang, don’t talk nonsense. For Persians serving as officials or taking employment in the Tang Kingdom, there are proper hiring procedures through the Court of Diplomatic Affairs. There’s no such ridiculous custom.”

Hua Yitang: “Yita’s identity is rather special. He’s able to set his own rules, and the Court of Diplomatic Affairs has tacitly approved it.”

Jin Ruo: “Oh? And what identity would that oily, flashy young man have?”

“He’s a prince of Persia.”

Jin Ruo’s expression turned into the face of someone struck by lightning. Lin Sui’an’s jaw dropped.

Hua Yitang pressed a hand to his forehead: “I truly never expected it — Yita would set his sights on you. I should have warned you earlier. Never challenge him to a fight, and even if you do, never win. If you win, he latches onto you forever.”

The brain cells that had been scrambled into a pulp finally sorted themselves out, and Lin Sui’an thought, “Don’t tell me — what Yita actually wanted was to become your attendant?”

Hua Yitang sighed. “He wanted to stay with the Hua Family.”

Then what on earth does that have to do with her? She wasn’t a member of the Hua Family— wait. Lin Sui’an recalled what Yita had said earlier. Was this young man’s logic that because she was Hua Yitang’s partner, she was therefore equivalent to a member of the Hua Family?

Lin Sui’an was frantic. “Let me go explain to him clearly — I have nothing to do with the Hua Family—”

Hua Yitang grabbed her back. “That young man has a one-track mind. When he’s decided on something, eight bulls couldn’t drag him back. If it’s handled poorly and he files a complaint with the Court of Diplomatic Affairs, it could cause a diplomatic incident.”

Lin Sui’an: “……A prince of a nation becoming someone’s attendant would be the one causing the international incident!”

“Don’t worry. Persia has seventeen vassal territories, and there are nominally over a hundred princes, seven-tenths of whom are currently studying in the Tang Kingdom. As the saying goes, when the people don’t report it, the officials don’t investigate. As long as the Court of Diplomatic Affairs doesn’t pursue it, it should be fine.”

Lin Sui’an thought: This isn’t hiring an attendant — it’s taking in a walking time bomb. No, an international time bomb.

“Ah, it’s my fault, it’s my fault — even the wisest person stumbles sometimes!” Hua Yitang fanned himself and sighed deeply.

I’ll believe that when pigs fly, Lin Sui’an thought. Don’t think I didn’t see you sneaking a grin.

There was definitely another big trap in here somewhere!

Jin Ruo: “Now what do we do?”

“Things being what they are, we take it one step at a time.” Lin Sui’an glanced at Yita from afar, her concern on a different matter entirely.

A prince, of all things — how much salary would have to be paid?

“This matter originated from the Hua Family, so all of Yita’s expenses will be charged to the Hua Family account,” Hua Yihuan said. “Lin Niangzi need only focus on escorting Fourth Brother as agreed. As for this Master Jin’s five hundred gold taels — since he is also escorting Fourth Brother, the Hua Family will cover that as well. There’s no need for Lin Niangzi to be out of pocket.”

When Hua Yihuan said these words, Lin Sui’an saw a halo of angelic light hovering above the impassive head of the Hua Family.

The Hua Clan truly has vision!

“Thank you, Head of the Hua Family.” Lin Sui’an clasped her hands in a bow.

Hua Yihuan then turned to Hua Yitang. “This journey to the Eastern Capital passes through seven counties and three cities, all of which have Hua Family enterprises.”

“Understood. If anything comes up, find them for help.” Hua Yitang raised the white jade pendant in his hand, carved with the character “Hua” in pictographic style — clearly the Hua Family’s token of recognition.

Hua Yihuan nodded, then gestured for attendants to load two large trunks onto the carriage. “You’ll audit the accounts along the way.”

Hua Yitang: “……Big Brother, will there be enough time?”

“There are over two months until the New Year’s special examination. At your speed reviewing ledgers, each city takes at most half a day. You can definitely reach the Eastern Capital within twenty days.”

Hua Yitang pulled a long face and muttered something under his breath. Hua Yimeng and Hua Yifeng pulled him over for yet another round of earnest instructions and farewells.

Lin Sui’an checked the sky — it was already past the beginning of Chen Hour. If they kept dawdling like this, they wouldn’t even clear Yangdu City by noon.

“Lin Niangzi,” Hua Yihuan said formally, clasping his hands, “the journey ahead will be trying for you.”

Lin Sui’an: “Hired help earns their keep by dealing with trouble. It’s only right.”

Hua Yihuan paused, then added one more line: “Take care on the road.”

Hua Yimeng and Hua Yifeng, eyes brimming with tears, saw Hua Yitang to the carriage. Hua Yihuan stood with them to the side of the road watching the carriages off. Hua Yitang stuck his head out the carriage window, waving his fan with lingering reluctance. “Big Brother, Second Sister, Third Sister, don’t worry — I’ll definitely become a great official!”

Hua Yimeng: “Fourth Brother, safe travels.”

Hua Yifeng: “Take care of yourself!”

Hua Yihuan stood with his hands behind his back, not uttering a word. Lin Sui’an wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she seemed to catch a fleeting trace of a smile on his face.

That smile was somehow familiar. A vague sense of foreboding stole over Lin Sui’an — though she didn’t pay it much mind at the time. It was only months later that she finally figured out where she’d seen it before.

It was the same expression she’d seen on every parent’s face on the first day of school every year — the shared unspoken message: Thank heavens, the little terror has finally gone. I’m free at last!

Traveling north from Yangdu, the road passed through Heyue City, Mulan City, and Hechao City in succession. Heyue City was the closest to Yangdu, reachable in three days, and was also the city with the most Hua Family enterprises, where Hua Yitang needed to personally audit the accounts. There were five general trading posts to inspect, with nearly a hundred branch shops and sub-operations beneath them.

Perhaps because Hua Yitang’s reputation as a wastrel had preceded him, the managers of the five general trading posts in Heyue City caught wind of his coming and mobilized carriages to meet him ten li outside the city, as if bracing for a calamity — practically ready to carry Hua Yitang into the city in an eight-person sedan chair. Lodging, dining, and entertainment were all arranged impeccably. Hua Yitang was not the least bit restrained, and brought the whole group on a full day’s tour of the city, letting Lin Sui’an thoroughly indulge in the corrupt, decadent luxuries of this wicked old society. Throughout all of it, Hua Yitang gave full display to the professional polish of Yangdu’s number one wastrel — eating, drinking, playing, and amusing himself to the fullest across all four categories, never breathing a word about auditing accounts. On the contrary, he hailed all five managers as dear brothers, chatting with them warmly, dropping hints and suggestions that this trip was purely for leisure, specifically to escape the clutches of Hua Yihuan’s supervision.

Lin Sui’an watched as the five managers went from initial wariness toward Hua Yitang, to gradual relaxation, and finally to contempt — completely hoodwinked by Hua Yitang.

So when the next day Hua Yitang announced he would audit the accounts, Lin Sui’an had long since secured a prime spot, stocked up on preserved fruit, and settled herself to the side to watch the show.

In the main seat, Mu Xia had already laid out the desk setup for Hua Yitang — brush, ink, paper, and inkstone all in order, plus the standard Hua Family fragrance burner — looking altogether quite convincing.

Jin Ruo was thoroughly puzzled. “It’s just auditing accounts. What’s there to watch?”

“Nothing else to do — may as well have a look.” Lin Sui’an was about to reach for the preserved fruit when something warm was pressed into her hand — Yita, holding a hot tea bowl, reminded her: “Master Pig, drink tea.”

Lin Sui’an: “……”

To be honest, traveling with Hua Yitang was extremely comfortable — good food, good sleep. The only thorn in her side was this Persian prince turned attendant. Setting aside everything else, just the matter of communication alone was enough to give Lin Sui’an a headache. Yita’s spoken Chinese was halting and heavily accented, mostly coming out in bursts of a few words at a time. Lin Sui’an, as a transmigrant, also spoke differently from the people of this era. Their conversations were completely at cross purposes — donkey lips that didn’t match horse jaws.

More aggravating still, Yita seemed to be taking Mu Xia as his role model, trying to take charge of every aspect of Lin Sui’an’s food, clothing, shelter, and transport. Unfortunately, food, shelter, and transport were all monopolized by Mu Xia, leaving no room for Yita to contribute. And clothing, given the difference between men and women, had to be ruled out as well. Lin Sui’an had assumed Yita would give up at this point, but who could have anticipated that the young man would blaze a completely new trail — noticing that Lin Sui’an drank nothing but plain boiled water each day, he had taken making tea as the foremost mission of his career as an attendant.

Lin Sui’an had long had a taste of the teas of this world, but she hadn’t expected that beyond mountains there were higher mountains, beyond the skilled yet more skilled. Yita’s tea defied the word “undrinkable” — if she had to use one descriptor, it would be “uninhibited.” She had no idea whether Persian taste buds were simply more complex, but ordinary spices were already insufficient to satisfy his imagination, and he threw all manner of bizarre ingredients into the brew.

To date, the things Lin Sui’an had seen added to his tea included: green onions, shrimp, chestnut shells, fruit peels, pork intestines, pig skin, garlic… Every time she drank tea it was like opening a horror blind box, leaving Lin Sui’an with severe psychological trauma.

Lin Sui’an peered into today’s tea — what appeared to be floating on the surface were walnut crumbles and raisins. She breathed a sigh of relief, carefully took a small sip. Sour, spicy, and sweet all at once, with vinegar and Sichuan pepper mixed in — inspiration evidently drawn from hot and sour soup.

Lin Sui’an swallowed it with tremendous effort. Yita’s blue eyes stared fixedly at her, like two pools of blue sea water.

“Progress,” Lin Sui’an managed to say with difficulty.

Yita’s eyes lit up and he added another ladle of tea for Lin Sui’an.

Lin Sui’an: “……I’d rather switch back to plain boiled water.”

Yita’s blue eyes dimmed. He silently collected the tea bowl, settled himself by the wind stove with his head down, pulled a paper packet from his lapel, and sprinkled a handful of oddly-shaped seasoning ingredients into the tea kettle, stirring as he went, muttering in an incomprehensible language all the while. If he’d had a cloak on and a magic wand in his hand, he could have enrolled directly into Hogwarts.

Jin Ruo shuddered. “I have a feeling you’re going to be poisoned to death by him sooner or later.”

Lin Sui’an shook her head in amusement: “Failing and trying again, failing and trying again — the spirit is commendable.”

The appointed hour arrived. The managers of the five general trading posts arrived one by one, each carrying a wooden box. The boxes contained ledger scrolls. Their expressions were rather relaxed as they chatted amongst themselves. After exchanging pleasantries for a little while, Hua Yitang sauntered out with a cricket jar in his left hand and his fan waving in his right, seven layers of his robes billowing and shimmering as he moved — Mu Xia had mentioned he was wearing today a Southern Pavilion Snow-Dispersed Robe, Lamp Festival Blossom News Boots, Several-Layers-of-Mist-and-Water Fan, and two Dusk Cloud hairpins, presenting the full swagger of a wastrel. He greeted the five managers cheerfully, then had Mu Xia bring over the ledger scrolls.

The five managers’ expressions grew even more contemptuous, because Hua Yitang’s attitude toward reviewing the ledgers was far too perfunctory — he unrolled a scroll, flipped through a few pages with his fingers, set it aside, and moved to the next one. It was less “reading” than “scanning.”

Lin Sui’an was curious and craned over to take two peeks. The ledgers were divided into four sections labeled “Prior Balance,” “New Receipts,” “Expenditures,” and “Current Remainder,” which she could roughly guess corresponded to “Previous Balance Carried Forward,” “New Income,” “Disbursements,” and “Current Balance.” However, all entries were written in Chinese numerals, vertically oriented — genuinely dizzying to look at. (Note: this was the standard four-column settlement method commonly used in the Tang and Song dynasties.)

In less time than it took an incense stick to burn down, Hua Yitang had reviewed all the ledgers. He snapped his fan open with a crack and said, “Mu Xia, take note.”

Mu Xia: “Yes.”

“The Felt Hat Trading Post, main branch one, with thirty-six sub-branches beneath it, has excessive expenditure entries in the disbursement column — all falsely reported labor costs.”

Lin Sui’an thought: Oh, embezzling wages?

The felt hat trading post manager immediately jumped up. “Absolutely not! Fourth Young Master must have read it wrong!”

Hua Yitang raised an eyebrow. “Thirty-six sub-branches, three employees per shop, with monthly wages plus commissions included, the labor disbursement should be one thousand nine hundred and eight taels nine hundred coins. But the ledger records labor disbursements of two thousand five hundred and forty-five taels two hundred coins — an excess of six hundred and thirty-six taels and thirty coins, which works out to exactly one extra employee per branch.”

The felt hat trading post manager’s face went white for a moment, then quickly recovered. He smiled and said, “Fourth Young Master must indeed have read it wrong. Each of the thirty-six sub-branches has four employees.”

The other four managers all chimed in to agree:

“Every trading company maintains a daily work record — who came to work, on which day, which days were rest days, what time they clocked in, what time they clocked out — all documented. There could be no false reporting.”

“If Fourth Young Master doesn’t believe us, we can present all the daily work records for his inspection.”

“The bookkeeping is done by veteran accountants who have served the Hua Family for many years. They wouldn’t make errors.”

“We’ve heard that Fourth Young Master rarely reviews ledgers. Could it be that he isn’t familiar with the ledger format and perhaps misread something?”

Hua Yitang fanned himself and smiled back. “Before the curfew last night, I went to the Felt Hat shop on Forty-Seven Street in Liuhe Ward to buy two felt hats. Mu Xia had a chat with the shop’s employees and flipped through the daily work records along the way. The daily work records list four employees: Li Shan, Zhang Erliang, Huang Silang, and Wu Sanda. Of these, Wu, Huang, and Zhang all work on rotation and have recorded days off. Only Li Shan has worked from the first day of the year to the last without a single day of rest, and without any sick leave or personal leave on record. Most interestingly, in all the transaction records, Li Shan has never sold a single felt hat.” Hua Yitang sighed. “Such a diligent employee, yet somehow this remarkably hard worker has never sold a thing — truly strange and baffling. I very much want to meet this person. Manager, would you be so kind as to make an introduction?”

The felt hat trading post manager’s face went white. He immediately broke into a stream of scolding, “It’s all the fault of those incompetent underlings messing things up! Fourth Young Master rest assured, I will launch a thorough investigation and show no mercy!”

Jin Ruo clicked his tongue in amazement. “So that’s why he insisted on going shopping even as it was getting dark, and Mu Xia was chatting up the felt hat shop workers so enthusiastically he was practically swearing brotherhood with them — it was all to extract information. Too cunning.”

Lin Sui’an wholeheartedly agreed.

Jin Ruo: “Wait, yesterday we also went to the gem and treasure shop, the sundry goods shop, the silk shop, the fruit shop—”

The managers of the gem and treasure shop, sundry goods shop, silk shop, and fruit shop all went pale simultaneously.

Hua Yitang smiled with the brilliance of spring sunshine. “There are still two hours before lunch. Why don’t the managers all take their ledgers back for another look? We can continue the audit after eating.”

“Yes, yes, right away!”

“Please wait, Fourth Young Master.”

The four managers scrambled over each other to snatch back their ledgers and turned to flee, as if there were a flood and a pack of wild beasts at their heels.

“Manager Li, please stay.” Hua Yitang said.

The gem and treasure shop Manager Li nearly collapsed to his knees. “F-Fourth Young Master, what is your instruction?”

Hua Yitang slowly tapped his fan. “The gem and treasure shop on Forty-Six Street in Sanhe Ward—”

“In response to Fourth Young Master — that shop is the best-performing gem and treasure shop in Heyue City. It sells only exclusive foreign goods. One manager, five employees — all real people. The accounts are absolutely clean. I swear on my life!” Manager Li cried out.

“The accounts of that shop are indeed clean,” Hua Yitang smiled. “But there is one agate-grape-wrapped-in-gold incense ball that is a counterfeit.”

Manager Li’s expression looked exactly like someone who had been kicked in the face by a donkey. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he fainted dead away.

Lin Sui’an: “See? The spectacle has arrived.”

Jin Ruo: “……”

Short Skit

The day Third Miss returned to Yangdu, Yita came back too.

Hua Yitang looked at the dusty, road-weary Yita squatting at the gate and felt a king-sized headache coming on.

Mu Xia, breaking from his usual composure, furrowed his brow: “Last time, Fourth Young Master tricked him into following Third Miss to Andu for half a year. But that young man has wised up from experience. Today, he’s most certainly not going to be fooled again. Fourth Young Master, what should we do?”

Hua Yitang tapped his forehead with his fan, paced in circles for a moment, let out a long sigh, lifted his robe, walked out, and crouched down beside Yita.

“Yita, you must understand your position. You’re a prince — sooner or later you’ll return to Persia to inherit the throne.”

Yita looked up with his large, blue, watery eyes. “I not want to be prince. I only stay in Hua Hua home. They not good to me before, I not be good to them now!”

“The Persian Kingdom has already submitted a state letter to the Court of Diplomatic Affairs! Your identity as a prince has been officially confirmed!”

“Don’t care! Ten years don’t care about me, I don’t acknowledge it. I’ve been in Hua Hua home for ten years, eating Hua Hua’s food and using Hua Hua’s things. I want to be Hua Hua home’s servant! To repay the kindness!”

“Actually… there are richer ways to repay a kindness. It doesn’t have to be limited to just one approach…”

“Tang Kingdom wise man say: a great kindness cannot be fully repaid — the only way is to serve as an ox and a horse, to carry the master’s token in one’s teeth. Therefore, must be servant, only way to repay!”

Hua Yitang’s eyes twitched as he turned to Mu Xia. “Who on earth taught him this?! Why is this the one phrase he remembers so perfectly?!”

Mu Xia: “Ten years ago. You taught him.”

Hua Yitang nearly fainted.

“Ahem,” Mu Xia cleared his throat. “Yita, Fourth Young Master already has me.”

Yita raised his fists. “Mu Xia fight me — I win, you leave, I become Fourth Young Master’s servant, repay kindness!”

Mu Xia: “……”

Hua Yitang had no choice but to improvise: “We in the Hua Family have a rule — I’ve signed a life-and-death contract with Mu Xia. My personal servant can only be him. It cannot be changed.”

Furious: “Lies! Lin Shui Yan also your servant!”

“Oh heavens above!” Hua Yitang was so alarmed his whole tone took on “Yita’s accent.” He patted his chest repeatedly. “Whatever you do, don’t say that! She is a partner I got through praying to heaven and worshipping the Buddha!”

Yita tilted his head. “Big-big? What is that?”

“A partner means — someone who walks together in life and death, who never parts from you!”

Yita’s eyes lit up. “I understand. She also Hua Family person.”

“Uh—” Hua Yitang’s eyeballs swiveled around, “Come to think of it… that’s not entirely wrong… heh heh heh…”

“She have servant?”

“Hm?”

“Beat her, I can be her servant?”

Mu Xia burst out laughing on the spot. Hua Yitang laughed until he was doubled over. “Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Beat Lin Sui’an? You? Impossible! She’s Lin Sui’an who single-handedly defeated a hundred men and cut down a notorious river pirate in a single blow. Even if you trained for a hundred more years, it would be impossible. Just give up the idea entirely!”

Yita furrowed his brow, his expression full of grievance. He lowered his head and thought for a long time — then his eyes brightened again. “Have a way. Change rule. Can’t win, then change — to lose!”

Hua Yitang: “Huh?”

“Tang Kingdom wise man say: can a living person be done in by having to urinate?” Yita stood up. “Rules are dead, people are alive! I will go challenge right now!”

With that, he ran off like the wind.

Hua Yitang’s face twitched violently. “What kind of flower? What kind of bird?”

Mu Xia kept a straight face: “He means — can a living person be choked to death by their own urine?”

“That phrase…” Hua Yitang gave a dry laugh and fanned himself. “…was something you taught him, nine years ago.”

“On that note—” Mu Xia lowered his eyes. “Lin Sui’an isn’t the type to pick a fight with Yita over nothing, is she?”

Mu Xia: “As long as Lin Niangzi doesn’t accept the challenge, there will be no trouble.”

Hua Yitang nodded. “Lin Sui’an has an easygoing personality and is kind to everyone. She wouldn’t get into a fight with someone for no reason. Nothing to worry about.”

“Quite right, Fourth Young Master.”

A long silence.

“When you think about it like that… the Jin Ruo who’s around Lin Sui’an… Yita is at least smarter than him, isn’t he…”

“……Fourth Young Master makes a fair point. At least we know Yita’s roots.”

“Heh heh… heh heh…”