The Yun Family filled the Yun residence once more, and the mansion that had been quiet for many days returned to its former chaotic liveliness. Xiao Ya didn’t like working on her wedding dress, so she tossed the nearly finished wedding gown to her aunt and just focused on playing around wildly. Grandmother wanted to scold her, but was stopped by Yun Ye—the girl didn’t have many days left of carefree freedom, so let her be happy for a few days.
After running around outside for half the day, Xiao Ya returned home and stayed close to Yun Ye, following him wherever he went. Only when it was time to sleep at night would she reluctantly leave.
When Yun Ye opened his eyes in the morning, he saw Xiao Ya propping her chin on her hands, lying at the head of his bed and staring at him without blinking. He knew she was reluctant to leave home, but when a girl grew up, she had to marry eventually—there was no reasoning around this matter.
“Don’t you like Li You? If you truly don’t like him, your brother will find a way. We won’t marry you off.”
Xiao Ya shook her head and said, “Whether I like him or not is just like that. If I don’t marry Li You, I’ll still have to marry someone else. I’m not as beautiful as Xiao Wu, nor as clever as Xiao Wu. If I want to live well in the future, I need to marry a good husband. Li You isn’t actually that bad, and he’s good to me. His mouth is a bit cheap, but I’ll always be able to cure that. I’m just reluctant to leave home, reluctant to leave my brother and grandmother.”
Yun Ye sat up, scraped her nose playfully, and said with a smile, “Where does such a little person get so many devious thoughts? Properly prepare your wedding dress. On your wedding day, your brother will carry you out the door. When the Yun Family’s young mistress marries, there are no taboos.”
“Big brother is an auspicious person—everyone says so. When Yiniang was carried out by brother, she’s now the famous managing young madam of Chang’an City. Even Master Pei has to listen to Sister Yiniang. The whole family lives in harmony. Sister Yiniang sent one of her two brothers-in-law to Yushan Academy and the other to the Imperial Academy. Old Madam Pei passed away early, and everyone says it’s the merit of Sister Yiniang’s teaching.
“Sister Runniang’s temperament is a bit worse, but among the younger generation of the Qin family, second brother-in-law lives the most comfortably. Without relying on his family’s influence, he went from being a small officer to becoming the Recording Clerk and Advisor in Luoyang in just a few years. Everyone says he’s a rare young talent.
“I needn’t mention my elder sister—Dan Ying practically holds her up to the sky. Now it’s my turn, and I’m sure to live well too. I’m not worried. Although Li You is a bit useless, his status is noble. Brother, tell me, if I become a princess consort, do I also have to keep a straight face all day like the imperial ladies?”
The little girl was already envisioning her future days. Precisely because she couldn’t see clearly the path ahead, her heart felt uncertain, and she wanted to draw strength from her closest person.
“Hehe, if Li You treats you well, that’s fine. But if he dares to wrong you even a little, your brother will break his legs. The Yun Family’s daughter is not so easy to bully.”
Xiao Ya loved it most when her brother talked big. Even though she knew that brother couldn’t possibly just casually break a prince’s legs anymore, she still loved hearing it and never tired of it.
After the siblings fooled around in the courtyard for a while, Xiao Ya lay on her brother’s back watching him clean his teeth with a willow branch and asked strangely, “Don’t we have toothbrushes at home? Why use willow branches that make your mouth bitter?”
Yun Ye looked around to make sure no one was nearby before saying quietly, “Remember this—don’t use toothbrushes in the future. They’re all made of pig bristles. The people in the workshop just scald the pig hair in boiling water to wash off the oil and then thread it onto bone handles. When you brush your teeth, don’t you feel like there’s a taste of burned pig skin in your mouth? It’s too disgusting. Your sister-in-law also discovered this, but won’t let anyone say so.”
Xiao Ya dry-heaved twice, then began pounding mercilessly on her brother’s back. Her temperament was rough, and she never paid attention to such small matters. Even if the taste was a bit strange, she wouldn’t care. Brother said this deliberately to disgust her.
“Get down! You’re about to be a married woman, how can you still be lying on your brother’s back? If outsiders saw this, they’d laugh. You have no sense of propriety. A great household must have the manner of a great household. This is not allowed in the future.”
Grandmother had come specifically to take Xiao Ya to study etiquette. Seeing Xiao Ya’s unruly wild behavior, she immediately issued a warning.
Yun Ye spat out his mouthwash and said to Grandmother, “The girl only has these few days to be happy. Just let her make noise. In the future, even if we want her to make noise, she probably won’t be able to anymore.”
These words made Grandmother’s eyes turn red. Seeing Xiao Ya’s eyes also redden as if she was about to cry, she sighed and left. Her grandson was right—once Xiao Ya married into the imperial family, she would have to follow imperial rules. From then on, she would be the one most distant from them, having to go live in Qizhou, Shandong.
Wang Cai slipped into the inner courtyard. Upon seeing Xiao Ya, he turned to leave but was caught by one ear. Seeing that Xiao Ya wanted to ride him, he refused to let her. He immediately fell to the ground with all four legs facing the sky, playing dead. No matter how Xiao Ya poked and prodded him, he completely ignored her, keeping his eyes tightly shut and not moving at all.
Auntie came with a strand of freshly pressed gold thread, wanting Xiao Ya to look at the color matching for the wedding dress—how big should the peonies on the lapel be? Only then did she manage to drag Xiao Ya away.
As soon as Xiao Ya left, Yun Ye’s expression changed. That damned Yin Hongzhi still couldn’t change his nature—he actually introduced his wife’s brother Yan Hongxin to Li You to serve as the military commander of Prince Qi’s residence. Street knights like Zan Junmo and Liang Mengbiao were also brought into Prince Qi’s residence. He had only been away for three years, and now he heard that Li You spent all day feasting and reveling without restraint. Xue Dading, the Chief Administrator of Prince Qi’s residence, had been ineffective in his admonishments and had already submitted a memorial to the Emperor requesting to resign from office, because he could see that following Prince Qi now would definitely not lead to good days.
Returning to his study, there was still an invitation from Prince Qi on his desk, hoping that Yun Ye, this elder brother-in-law, would come to Prince Qi’s residence for a banquet. He originally didn’t plan to go, but now it seemed he had no choice but to go.
He handled military affairs at home for the entire day. It wasn’t until afternoon when Liu Jinbao reminded the Marquis that it was time to go to Prince Qi’s residence that Yun Ye changed his clothes and prepared to go to Prince Qi’s residence with Gou Zi and Ren Xiong. Just as he was leaving the gate, Xiao Miao appeared before Yun Ye dressed as a maid.
Wu She had traveled tens of thousands of miles with Xiao Miao. Gou Zi secretly told Yun Ye that Wu She’s room was piled full of gold and silver treasures—so much that there was nowhere to step. It was all the product of their master and disciple’s chivalrous acts of justice. As for killing people, Gou Zi didn’t mention it and Yun Ye didn’t ask. Wu She originally planned to wash away the fire of Bing and Ding from his body with fresh blood. Yun Ye didn’t understand what this meant, so after returning, he specifically asked Lishi, who only said two words: “Blood Path.”
If Wu She killed people, Xiao Miao must have been an accomplice—this went without saying. The little girl should be at an age when she would shed tears even seeing a rabbit killed, yet Wu She had taken her to Guangzhou to work as an executioner for half a year. Who could tolerate such a freak? Following an old monster like Wu She, she would sooner or later turn into a little pervert. Yun Ye discovered that his household now produced no normal people.
“Grandpa Liu Fang said that the Marquis has murderous intent, and also said that someone like you should preferably not kill people. Xiao Miao owes the Marquis a favor, so why not give this opportunity to Xiao Miao? After repaying this kindness, Xiao Miao will have no more attachments and will wander the world, honing my skills.”
All intelligence collected by the Yun Family would be sent to Liu Fang, so Yun Ye’s thoughts couldn’t escape the old fellow. However, Xiao Miao suddenly popping out wanting to replace him in getting rid of the treacherous people around Li You still surprised Yun Ye.
“You’re still young. You shouldn’t participate in matters of killing. Be good and go back to embroider. Practice with your master for a few more years. Besides, I never wanted you to repay any kindness. I’m a grand marquis—if I want to kill someone, I don’t need to deliberately seek out an assassin. Doing so would be breaking the rules.”
After speaking, Yun Ye took Gou Zi and Ren Xiong and boarded the carriage, heading straight for Prince Qi’s residence. What was wrong with all these young girls nowadays? Xiao Wu’s temper was unpredictable, Xiao Ya seemed not to care about anything, and now another little girl wanting to kill people appeared. Could they still have a peaceful life? His own daughter and son must never be influenced by them.
After Yun Ye left, Xiao Miao, carrying a small bundle, also left the Yun Family through the side gate. Liu Fang and Wu She stood at the door seeing Xiao Miao off.
“Your martial arts are already better than your good-for-nothing senior brother’s. Back then, he couldn’t endure hardship or bear fatigue. Plus, the best time for practicing martial arts had already passed. You’re different. The one who will truly inherit my mantle is ultimately you. Don’t listen to Yun Ye’s nonsense. Take the heads of those killers, then go roam the world on your own. Don’t come back unless there’s something important.” Wu She spoke coldly to Xiao Miao.
“Don’t listen to the old fool. You’re a good child with a kind heart by nature. He’s afraid that if you stay at the Yun Family too long, you’ll ruin the martial heart you’ve just honed. This family is a plague that specializes in turning people with strong will into a puddle of mud. Your old ghost grandfather is like this, the black-hearted and ruthless Hong Cheng is like this, the supremely skilled Dan Ying is like this, and the high and mighty Han Zhe is also like this. So, child, what you pursue is the martial way—you cannot fall into the red dust of the mortal world. And the Yun Family happens to be the existence in the red dust most capable of making people weak. That’s why the old fool is driving you away. Your senior brother is already beyond saving—you are his greatest hope. Do whatever you want to do, just stay alive. Yun Ye got one thing right—you don’t owe him anything, so talk of repaying kindness is quite unnecessary. Just live happily for yourself.”
No matter what the two old men said, Xiao Miao in front of them was like a block of ice. It was unclear whether she heard what they said or not. After they both stopped talking, she simply turned and left without the slightest attachment.
“Brother Wu She, have you ruined this child? She seems like a stone person now. Shouldn’t your art of petty theft be martial arts within the mortal world? You made a girl cover her head and face to work as an executioner—even this old man finds it unbearable to watch. Now, has she become foolish or turned into a stone person?”
“What the hell do you know about martial arts? This old man spent five years crafting Xiao Miao, following the legend of Bai Yujing. Yun Ye said that to live long, you must become like stone. After thinking it over, this old man feels it makes great sense. The more rigid you are, the longer you live—like tortoises. The more active you are, the shorter you live—like monkeys.”
“This old man discovered that as long as I empty my thoughts, my heartbeat slows and the speed of blood flow also slows. This old man has deliberately done this for a long time and found the benefits are too great. Look at me—I’m fifteen years older than you. Do you dare to compare lifespans with me?”
“I won’t compare. I definitely can’t outlive you. You’ve actually become younger instead. What exactly is this thing you’ve been tinkering with? Tell me, this old man is all ears.”
“Though the Tortoise Lives Long!”