Merit and fame and Oil Pastry

"Madam also asked me to remind you, young master, that you must attend. This is a rare opportunity."

Xue Jian spoke respectfully and gently. "If you refuse to go, young master, Madam said she would confine you for three months, take away all your drawing paper, poetry books, and guqin, and forbid you from entering the kitchen again."

As she spoke, an odd feeling stirred in her heart. For his interests to span so many fields, this young master truly was quite a talent.

Besides, such a precious opportunity would have people outside scrambling to snatch it up, yet here she was, pleading with this young master to take it. It really was beyond belief...

"Isn't that punishment a little too harsh?"

Li Hao was rather speechless. "Is this supposed to be a request or a threat?"

Xue Jian lifted her head, her lovely face a picture of innocence as she blinked.

"All right, all right, I get it." Li Hao sighed.

Xue Jian smiled with pursed lips. This young master really was a character. She bowed gracefully, meekly bade the Fifth Master farewell, then respectfully took her leave of Li Hao.

"You should listen to that girl Sword Lan and make the trip."

After Xue Jian left, Li Qingzheng spoke calmly.

"Is it for that supreme art in Black White Hall?" Li Hao asked.

As one of Qingzhou City's Three Holy Lands, Black White Hall could be mentioned alongside the Listening Rain Pavilion. Although Li Hao had heard from the Second Master that the two were not on the same level, Black White Hall still had something to its name, such as the supreme art that served as its crowning treasure.

"That's right. That supreme art is worthy of a place on the Seventh Floor."

Li Qingzheng said evenly, "And the teaching at Tan Palace Academy is quite good. It's time you went and reined in that temperament of yours."

"So that's the real goal..." Li Hao curled his lip.

Before long, the maid Qingzhi came skipping back at a light trot.

Seeing her empty hands, Li Hao asked, "Where's the Oil Pastry?"

"I couldn't buy any."

Qingzhi first gave Li Qingzheng a proper bow, then told Li Hao, "I asked Granny Wang next door. Uncle Liu went to sell at the market over by Tan Palace Academy. I heard it's crowded there, with talents arriving from all over the Nineteen Provinces, so business is booming. Besides Uncle Liu, quite a few other vendors from the nearby streets have gone there to set up stalls too."

Li Hao drew in a soft breath and could not help smiling wryly. It seemed he had no choice but to make the trip.

Although his cooking skill had now reached the sixth stage, Uncle Liu had been making Cotton Jade Crisps for decades. Li Hao could make them himself, but they always lacked that little something in flavor, falling short of perfection.

Across from him, the old man saw Li Hao's helpless expression and chuckled as he stroked his beard.

"Young master, when I came back, Young Master Yuanzhao was in the Jiaoshi Carriage outside the gates. He said he was waiting for you and wanted you to hurry and get ready so you could go to Tan Palace Academy together," Qingzhi said.

"All right, then."

With things having come to this, Li Hao could only set off-for the sake of the Oil Pastry.

He had Qingzhi prepare his outdoor clothes, then changed to go out.

"Fifth Master, I'm heading out, so I won't see you off," Li Hao told the old man.

"Go on. When you get back, watch how I beat you," Li Qingzheng said with a smile.

Then you'd better think long and hard about it... Li Hao laughed inwardly and headed out with Uncle Fu, who had been standing to one side, and Qingzhi.

Qingzhi had entered the residence three years ago. Apparently, she had been a young lady from a minor Lineage, but after her Lineage fell on hard times, she was sold into servitude and eventually found her way to the Divine General Residence.

Li Hao had only asked her to come to the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard after hearing that she knew a little calligraphy.

Given the previous assassination attempt, Qingzhi had naturally undergone layer upon layer of screening before entering the residence. Only after Li Fu had also tested her with medicine and confirmed there was nothing amiss had she been formally transferred to the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard.

Later, she gained Li Hao's appreciation and was gradually assigned to serve at his side, becoming his personal maid and someone he trusted fairly deeply.

Outside the residence.

A squad of the Li Family's personal guards was already in position. Five elephant-sized Yanbei Jiaoshi stood in staggered rows, harnessed to an enormous carriage, making an imposing sight.

Apart from the few who had already inherited noble titles, Li Hao and the other third-generation members of the Li Family held no official honors yet, so the carriage had no ceremonial canopy. Even so, its body, carved with dragons and painted with phoenixes, exuded nobility. Coupled with the five Flood Dragon Lions' fearsome, primeval bodies, it was a truly commanding sight.

Stepping into the carriage, Li Hao saw two boys and a girl already waiting inside, all around his own age: Li Yuanzhao, and the siblings Li Yun and Li Zhining.

Among the third-generation direct descendants who had once trained together in the Martial Arts Arena, there had only been these three and Eighth Mother's two children, five in total.

But Eighth Mother had spoiled her children from a young age. They were distant from everyone else and rarely fit in. This had been apparent even before, and now it was more obvious still.

Still...

As the years passed, many things had changed.

"Hao Ge!"

The moment he saw Li Hao, Li Yuanzhao called out with a smile and patted the seat beside him, inviting Li Hao over.

He was thirteen now, yet his body had grown ever rounder. He had a rather comical appearance, his tiny, narrowed eyes like two slits cut into a round steamed bun.

Both of Li Yuanzhao's parents had died, leaving him an orphan among the third generation. He had been raised in Fourth Mother's courtyard since childhood, and apparently she doted on him, which was how he had become so fair and plump.

Hearing his enthusiastic greeting, the siblings beside him looked over, but their brows creased slightly, and neither greeted Li Hao.

As they grew older and learned more in the Martial Arts Arena-or perhaps because of certain other influences-the siblings gradually visited the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard less and less. After Li Hao turned eleven, they never came again.

When Li Hao went fishing with the old man, he occasionally ran into them, but the siblings seemed to have lost their former warmth and began avoiding him.

Li Hao had taken the initiative to greet them a few times. After it happened often enough, he understood. He said nothing, neither resenting nor blaming them; from then on, they simply became strangers.

After all, it was not only the people around him who grew with the passing years. He did too.

Five years was enough time for far too many things to change.

For his sake, the Fifth Master had stepped out of the ancestral shrine where he had sat alone for decades, often coming to the courtyard to play chess with him and ease his boredom.

Yet the people who had once run joyfully into the courtyard to hear stories had gradually drifted away. Only Li Yuanzhao remained, still as fond as ever of coming to the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard.

Sometimes, when there were no stories to hear, he would fetch a little stool and sit beside Li Hao, watching him paint alone or play chess and chat with the Fifth Master.

Aside from that, no letters had arrived for a long time from the Sword Hermitage, thousands of miles to the south.

The last had come a year ago.

However, that letter had promised that at this time next year, the little girl would complete her training and descend the mountain.

Thinking that he would see that little shadow of his again in another year, Li Hao's eyes softened with a smile. He shifted over and sat on the half of the seat Li Yuanzhao had cleared for him.

"Zhi Ning, why aren't you greeting Hao Ge?"

Once Li Hao sat down, Li Yuanzhao noticed that the siblings beside them had shown no reaction and called out to the younger sister.

Li Zhining, who had once dressed neatly and looked so sweet and obedient, was now beginning to blossom into a graceful young girl. But compared with the cheerful innocence her eyes once held, they now carried a little more calm and resolve.

She glanced at Li Hao. Seeing that same casual, warm smile still on his face, she frowned and said nothing.

Beside her, Li Yun's expression darkened, and he told the driver up front, "Let's go, Uncle Ming!"

"Yes, young master."

The carriage slowly began to move. Apart from the initial tug and jolt, the ride soon became smooth, without the slightest sway.

"Li Yuanzhao, although we have invitations from Tan Palace Academy, my mother said we should do our best to gain admission through our own abilities. We shouldn't rely on the Lineage for everything and give outsiders reason to laugh at us!"

Li Yun spoke coldly, his face stern.

(End of chapter)