Ming Dynasty, Jiajing Era

Lu Zigang stood in the prisoner’s cart, staring ahead numbly. This was the capital where he had lived for several years. He knew that once the cart turned toward the West Four Archway, his life would come to an end.

West Market was the capital’s most prosperous district. He had often wandered that area before, but he never imagined his final visit would be as a prisoner.

Not long ago, he had been an imperial craftsman enjoying great imperial favor, yet he never expected that simply carving his own name on the dragon head of a jade sculpture would bring him fatal disaster. The world said he was arrogant with his talent and disrespectful to the Emperor, but he didn’t feel he had done anything wrong.

That person always said, “Serving the emperor is like accompanying a tiger”—how true that proved… Unfortunately, he would never return to that antique shop called “Mute House.”

Perhaps because many criminals had been executed recently, passersby remained calm upon seeing the prisoner’s cart, unwilling even to spare extra glances, quickly turning their faces away. Only a few seven or eight-year-old children laughingly chased after the cart while singing a crisp nursery rhyme: “Pingze Gate, draw the great bow, past there is the Heavenly Palace. Heavenly Palace, write big characters, past there is the White Pagoda Temple…”

Lu Zigang watched those small figures and hazily remembered that when he first met her, she had been about that size.

In his lifetime, he had carved countless beautiful jades—tea crystal plum blossom vases, blue jade landscape figure boxes, blue jade baby-play pattern ewers… He was confident that no one in the world could match his craftsmanship. But no one knew that those exquisite objects circulating in the world were not his most beloved works.

He struggled to open his palm. In his hand, covered with calluses, lay a crystalline, smooth jade longevity lock.

Finest quality jade, with snow-white, delicate texture and a color like the bright full moon on a clear autumn night, or like her pure, clean skin in his memory. He reluctantly caressed this longevity lock, as if touching her face.

Lu Zigang noticed the greedy gaze of the soldier beside him but paid no attention, only lowering his head to quietly observe the patterns above.

“Long life and hundred years… truly just a beautiful wish…” Lu Zigang murmured to himself. When he had originally carved these four characters on this jade with such devout feelings, he had hoped she could live a long life of a hundred years.

Clear memories surfaced before his eyes—her voice and smile, vivid as yesterday. The soldier beside him withdrew his gaze, thinking there was no hurry. Once the hour of execution passed, this longevity lock would no longer belong to this person.

The playing children were called back by adults, but the crisp nursery rhyme still carried from afar: “…Imperial Temple, wind around the gourd, cross over to the Four Archway; Four Archway east, Four Archway west, under Four Archway they sell old clothes…”

Lu Zigang tightly gripped the longevity lock in his hand again.

This was his most precious possession in life, and in this life, the last thing he could hold onto.

The high eaves of Four Archway were already close before him…

Twenty Years Ago

Lu Zigang stood on Suzhou’s most prosperous Guanqian Street, took a deep breath, tightened the bundle on his back, and walked forward along the moss-covered bluestone path.

He was ten years old and had never before come to such a bustling marketplace. Looking at the crowds coming and going around him, Lu Zigang looked down at his own ragged clothes and shamefully hid himself in the street’s shadows as he proceeded along the edge. Passing a restaurant entrance where rich food aromas wafted out, he couldn’t help but stop, his stomach rumbling loudly.

“Where did this little beggar come from? Go away! Don’t block master’s path!”

Lu Zigang awkwardly retreated to a narrow side alley. Seeing no one around, he took out his dry rations. He first deeply inhaled the food aromas floating in the air, then bit into the hardened steamed bun in his hand.

Though young, he had witnessed the coldness of human nature. After his parents both drowned in a boat accident on Taihu Lake five years ago, he had been alone in the world. No relatives wanted to raise this half-grown child. Finally his uncle took him in, but after just a few years, his aunt drove him out.

He had once had a happy family where his parents doted on him lovingly, but that past happiness was like spring sunshine—bright and beautiful, yet when he reached out his hand, he could touch nothing. He couldn’t even feel any remaining warmth.

Lu Zigang blankly withdrew his hand, gripped the cold steamed bun again, and lowered his head to hide the disappointment in his eyes.

He had countless times imagined that if his parents hadn’t taken that boat that day, or had taken a later ferry, he certainly wouldn’t be standing so destitute on Suzhou’s streets now. But fate wasn’t so easily fathomed.

He knew his uncle’s situation wasn’t easy either. The family was already poor with three children. When he was still small they could spare him a bite of food, but as the family’s children grew larger, they truly couldn’t support him anymore. Though his uncle was a jade carver who handled exquisite jade materials, his status was low and the processing fees were heavily exploited layer by layer, leaving very little wages in hand.

Lu Zigang carefully chewed the tasteless steamed bun in his mouth, carefully crushing every bit before swallowing. Being still young, he couldn’t do farm work, so these past years he had been learning jade carving with his uncle. His uncle said this time sending him to Suzhou city was to recommend him as an apprentice in an antique shop. But this might not work out at all, since his uncle hadn’t personally brought him—just gave him the antique shop’s address and name without even mentioning the owner’s name.

Perhaps he had been abandoned.

Lu Zigang looked at the remaining half steamed bun in his hand. Though his stomach was still hungry, he decided to save this half bun. Maybe it could serve as dinner.

But even this small wish couldn’t be fulfilled. A child rushed out from the alley’s shadows and crashed into Lu Zigang’s back, sending the half bun in his hand flying until it rolled to a stop after some distance.

Lu Zigang didn’t bother with the reckless culprit but ran out to pick up the half bun from the ground, carefully brushing away the sand and dirt.

“Hey! It’s so dirty, you can’t eat it anymore!” With that sweet, innocent voice, the child squatted directly in front of him. Lu Zigang first saw a pair of tiger-head shoes, then slowly raised his head.

A jade-like adorable little girl was smiling brightly at him. The overhead sun shone on her, forming a dazzling golden halo of light, beautiful beyond direct sight.

This was the scene he secretly treasured for his entire life.

He stared blankly at this exquisitely beautiful little girl, watching her two little braids swaying back and forth. He wanted to reach out and tug them but suddenly noticed his fingers were covered with dust and shamefully withdrew his hand.

A smooth little hand grabbed his retreating hand—so small it could only grip a few of his fingers. Clear laughter like silver bells rang out: “Come on! I’ll treat you to a meal!”

Lu Zigang confusedly stood up, then quietly gripped that soft little hand in return. So soft, as if it would break with just a little force. He relaxed his grip somewhat but was reluctant to let go.

This little girl was probably only seven or eight years old, her height not even reaching his shoulder. From his angle looking down, he could just see the top of her head, with two little braids bouncing with her movement, making him feel dizzy.

Lu Zigang was led by her through the back door into some restaurant’s rear courtyard, where he could vaguely hear the noisy chatter from the front. In the courtyard was a half-grown gray dog who, seeing them enter, didn’t bark but wagged its tail and ran over to circle affectionately around their feet.

“Wait here—I’ll make you something to eat.” The little girl released his hand and skipped toward a nearby stove area. This should be the restaurant’s back kitchen, with several plates of leftovers still on it.

Lu Zigang swallowed and stepped forward to pull at the little girl, stammering: “No need… no need to trouble yourself, leftovers would be fine…”

The little girl looked up, her eyes like finest ink jade sparkling with laughter: “No, no! I want to cook for you!”

She snatched the half dusty steamed bun from his hands and threw it to the gray dog, then turned to wash her hands. The gray dog sniffed it, batted it away with one paw, and disdainfully returned to its original spot.

Lu Zigang had no choice but to follow behind her. He watched as after washing her hands, she moved over a stool half her height, then this little girl barely taller than the stove shakily stood on the stool, precariously wielding a spatula. Lu Zigang stood behind her, feeling everything looked dangerous—what if she accidentally fell…

Before he could finish the thought, he heard the little girl cry out crisply “Ah!” and she indeed seemed about to fall. Lu Zigang couldn’t think much—he supported her from behind.

“That scared me to death! Thank you so much just now!” The little girl patted her chest in lingering fear and turned to give him a sweet smile. Lu Zigang quickly shook his head, remembering touching her soft body just now, his face reddening again.

The little girl skillfully put cold rice in the pan, crisply cracked two eggs, and began making fried rice. The cooking fire made her fair skin show an attractive red glow underneath, with fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She wiped them away with one swipe, then focused again on the fried rice in the pan.

That serious expression made Lu Zigang unconsciously watch in fascination.

Actually the little girl was just making a simple plate of egg fried rice, but across that full plate of steaming fried rice, Lu Zigang looked at that bright, shining smiling face and felt an indescribable warmth surge in his heart.

“Eat quickly! Eat! See if it tastes good! My father always says what I make doesn’t taste good! I’m going to be a cook in the future! He insists I have no talent!” The little girl urgently stuffed a spoon into his hands, then waited expectantly for his tasting results.

Lu Zigang scooped up a spoonful and put it in his mouth. The rice was still somewhat hard, a bit salty, and the egg was even slightly undercooked, but…

“Very delicious…” he said very seriously.

The little girl immediately smiled brilliantly, dazzling as the overhead sun.

Lu Zigang squinted slightly, not quite adapted to such enthusiasm.

“Hey, what’s your name?” The little girl cupped her face in her hands, watching with great interest as Lu Zigang ate spoonful after spoonful, unable to contain the pride climbing onto her small face. Her father always said her cooking didn’t taste good, that even Little Gray wouldn’t eat it—truly “dog won’t touch it.” Nonsense! Look how happily this person was eating.

After Lu Zigang swallowed the rice in his mouth, he articulated clearly: “Lu Zigang.”

“Furnace Steel? Why is that name so strange?” The little girl wrinkled her tender white face like steamed bun pleats—extremely cute.

Lu Zigang smiled and lowered his head to continue eating. He didn’t ask the little girl’s name either. Though young, he knew that young ladies’ names couldn’t be casually told to others. Though the little girl before him wasn’t quite a young lady yet.

The little girl seemed very interested in Lu Zigang. Not minding that he was still eating, she asked in rapid succession where he came from and where he was going. If other strangers asked, Lu Zigang would probably be defensive, but facing this little girl, Lu Zigang honestly told his entire story.

“So pitiful…” The little girl wasn’t good at hiding her feelings—whatever she thought showed directly on her face.

Lu Zigang had already seen that this little girl grew up in a happy family. Though her clothes weren’t luxurious, they were clean and neat, showing she had parents who loved her. He didn’t want her to feel sad or sympathetic because of his situation, so he smiled and said: “Actually uncle is doing this for my own good. I want to become a jade carver in the future, but how could ordinary families have jade materials for me to practice with? It’s impossible to have jade carvings for me to copy, so uncle recommended me as an apprentice in an antique shop.”

These were the words his uncle had said to him last night. At the time he had listened with partial understanding, thinking his uncle was just finding an excuse to send him away. Now thinking back calmly, there was some logic to it.

The little girl blinked those black and white eyes, thought hard for a long time, then asked: “What’s a fish-catching master? Catching fish? When you catch fish in the future, you can come find me—I’ll definitely help you cook the fish deliciously!”

Lu Zigang smiled and explained: “It’s a jade carver—someone who carves jade objects from raw jade material…” He hesitated. Explaining what a jade carver was to a seven or eight-year-old child was difficult. He wasn’t carrying any jade pieces as examples—his aunt had taken away all the ones he had previously polished.

“Jade? Oh my, I have one too!” The little girl finally understood Lu Zigang was saying “jade” not “fish,” and excitedly pulled out a red cord from her neck with a piece of white jade raw stone the size of a baby’s palm hanging from it.

Seeing that lustrous white color like mutton fat, Lu Zigang immediately froze. Though his uncle was poor, Suzhou jade carving was already unrivaled in the world, and among the jade materials he processed for others there were often supreme pieces. He had been fortunate to see several, including one that was tribute bound for the imperial palace, but none had the superior quality of the piece before his eyes.

Moreover, this was raw jade stone that hadn’t undergone any carving. If carefully polished… Lu Zigang immediately closed her hands, covering the jade material, and seriously instructed: “Little sister, don’t take this jade out in front of other people.” Though young, he still understood the principle of “possessing a jade brings disaster.”

The little girl pouted. Actually her father had told her the same thing, but she had gotten carried away in excitement! “Then when you become a jade carver in the future, you must carve a beautiful jade piece for me!”

“Alright.” Lu Zigang smiled and agreed, not forgetting to instruct: “Then… before I become a jade carver, you cannot give this jade to others to carve, and don’t casually show it to other jade carvers.” After all, any jade carver with decent eyesight could see the considerable value of such rare and beautiful jade. If they harbored evil intentions, then this little girl would…

“Oh!” The little girl nodded with seeming understanding. “By the way, this jade was given to me by the antique shop owner next door!” Since it was casually given to her, it certainly couldn’t be very precious! The little girl thought puzzledly.

Lu Zigang had assumed such precious jade material must have been passed down through the little girl’s family for generations, but unexpectedly it was given by someone else. Lu Zigang instinctively asked: “Antique shop? What’s it called?”

The little girl tilted her head and thought, then laughed: “The name is very strange! It’s called Mute Something.”

Mute House? Lu Zigang hurriedly pulled out the note his uncle had given him. Sure enough!

Lu Zigang had never imagined that fate could be such a wonderful word. What he thought was just a chance meal encounter—he never expected the antique shop he was seeking would be right next door to this girl’s family restaurant.

Perhaps this too was destiny.