Shangguan Nu sensed deep hostility in the boy's gaze. Instinct made him grip his saber, but the boy's hostility vanished in a flash, replaced by the fear and dazed look expected of a servant.
A shapeless thought flashed through Shangguan Nu's mind, just as fleetingly. He hadn't even had time to catch hold of it.
This was a servant his wife, a former bandit, had brought with her. He had been startled to see the young master of Golden Peng Fortress. Shangguan Nu decided to forgive the ignorant boy this once. He even felt a little regret. The boy had decent saber skills, and his eyes were full of fighting spirit. He could have made a fine killer, but East Fortress didn't take in apprentices.
"You're Huan Nu, the one East Fortress didn't want?"
"Yes."
The relief that followed his fear left Gu Shenwei utterly weak. Then he remembered his status and knelt on one knee, adding, "This little servant didn't know the young master had arrived. Please forgive him."
Shangguan Nu still showed no expression. He sized up the boy in his mind. After a while, he nodded and gave a quiet "Mm," then turned and left, leaving Gu Shenwei at a loss.
For the next few days, Gu Shenwei remained uneasy, unable to guess Shangguan Nu's intentions. That meeting had clearly not been a coincidence.
In the end, Xue Niang explained everything. She took him to see the young mistress.
"The young master has given you away. Starting tomorrow, you'll go to Star Picking Courtyard and serve as young master's companion."
At last, the weight on Gu Shenwei's heart lifted. So Shangguan Nu hadn't recognized him. He said nothing, because the young mistress behind the screen was furious. With a crash, she smashed something.
"How dare she! How dare she! Doesn't the Meng Family have servants by the horde? Why does she have to take one of mine?"
Gu Shenwei suddenly understood. Unrivaled King's legal wife was surnamed Meng, from the wealthiest family in Jade City. From the very first day Luo Ningcha entered Golden Peng Fortress, the two women had been at odds. Everyone in the fortress knew it, and rumors about it had even spread through the city below the mountain.
Madam Meng had borne Unrivaled King a pair of twins: her son, Shangguan Fei, and her daughter, Shangguan Ru. The maid Xiaoru had been forced to change her name because of the girl. The twins were said to be deeply cherished, treasured by everyone throughout Golden Peng Fortress. Even Shangguan Nu had to find ways to curry favor with his younger siblings.
As the young master's companion, Gu Shenwei guessed he would be serving Shangguan Fei, one of the twins. A sudden pang of sadness struck him. This young master was probably much like the "young master of the Gu Family" he had once been. In only a few months, the world had turned upside down: he had gone from master to servant.
Gu Shenwei knelt on the ground with his head bowed and said nothing. Xue Niang went behind the screen to comfort the young mistress.
"The young master naturally has his reasons for this. Huan Nu has nothing to do here anyway. Young mistress, you're married now. You should give a little."
"But, but I can't swallow this insult. Those women will bring it up in front of me again, pretending it just slipped out, just to humiliate me."
"Good is repaid with good, and evil with evil. We're alone in this fortress, so we'll yield for now. We'll wait for Great Head God to come and make things right for you."
"When will my father come? I've been married for months, and he hasn't even said he'll come see me."
The young mistress seemed full of grievances. She smashed something else. The blind, tongueless little maid Cui Nü was crouched on the ground, fumbling to gather the shards. Somehow, she angered the young mistress and was kicked for no reason. She cried out, then hurriedly swallowed the cry of pain.
It was a strange thing. The more the young mistress abused Cui Nü, the more she seemed to favor her. Cui Nü had now served her longer than the four maids of "Chenxin Suiyi."
Xue Niang continued to console her in a low voice. After a long while, the young mistress finally felt a little better, but she still couldn't forget the humiliation she had suffered. She addressed the boy waiting outside the screen.
"Swear to me. Whoever you serve, you must be loyal to me. I'm the only one who's truly your master."
"Huan Nu swears to Heaven: now that he bears the Luo name, he'll bear it for life. He'll be loyal to the young mistress and never betray her. At the young mistress's command, this servant will charge forward without hesitation. If he so much as disobeys, may Heaven strike him down and bar him from rebirth for all eternity."
Gu Shenwei could rattle off plenty more oaths like that. The young mistress made the servants renew their vows every four or five days or so, and he had long since grown used to it.
The young mistress gave a quiet "Mm," sounding not entirely satisfied. "If I hear you've sided with that little Meng brat, I'll hand you over to my husband. Aren't you the son of some Yang? My husband will be more than happy to pull up the weeds by their roots."
The young mistress still remembered Huan Nu's weakness. That showed she wasn't entirely without brains.
Gu Shenwei swore three more oaths in different versions before the young mistress finally let him go. But then she suddenly made an unexpected demand.
"Huan Nu, once you're in Star Picking Courtyard, find a chance to kill that little brat. Make that woman surnamed Meng suffer for the rest of her life."
Gu Shenwei froze. It wasn't because he was softhearted. Everyone surnamed Shangguan in Golden Peng Fortress was on his revenge list. But attempting to assassinate Unrivaled King's son so recklessly would be no different from courting death.
"Young mistress!" Xue Niang cried sharply, clearly opposed to the plan.
The young mistress, however, was excited. She paced behind the screen, ignoring Xue Niang's attempts to stop her. "First win the little brat's trust, then kill him on the sly. You're skilled in martial arts and clever, so you shouldn't get caught. In short, make sure no one knows. If you do this, I'll have my father reward you handsomely. Uh, and I'll have my husband find the person who killed your father, for you to deal with."
The more Gu Shenwei listened, the more dumbfounded he became. This woman was completely mad. She was not only going to get a servant killed, but drag herself into the abyss as well. If she killed the twins, even as Great Head God's daughter, she wouldn't escape with her life.
Gu Shenwei didn't dare make a sound. The young mistress suddenly stopped and snapped, "Why aren't you saying anything? Do you dare disobey me?"
"This servant wouldn't dare."
"Find a way. You have to get it done within three days."
"Yes. This servant will do his best."
Xue Niang tried to reason with her in a low voice. After listening for a few moments, the young mistress suddenly raised her voice and said with finality, "That's that. I'm not afraid, and I won't take it back."
Xue Niang emerged from behind the screen. Her face was usually unreadable, but now it showed a trace of anger. She said only one word: "Come." Then she led Huan Nu out of the room and stopped in an empty spot in the front courtyard, turning to look at him.
"You know what you're supposed to do?"
"This servant is loyal to the young mistress, but he'll follow Xue Niang's orders, because he knows everything Xue Niang does is for the young mistress's good."
Xue Niang gave a cold snort. "You've learned quite a bit from Yao Nu too. You've got a future. I don't care what you're thinking. Starting tomorrow, you'll use all that on the young master. Make him like you and trust you. That matters more than becoming a killer in East Fortress. I'll explain things to the young mistress. You'll serve as the young master's companion, but you'll still live here. Understand?"
"Yes, understood. I'll do everything I can."
"Doing everything you can isn't enough. You have to succeed. If the young master likes you, you'll be someone important in the fortress from now on. If he doesn't, I'll personally send you to meet your real father."
Xue Niang didn't sound as if she were joking. She wasn't the sort of person who joked, either. Back in his little hut, the more Gu Shenwei thought about it, the more puzzled he became. What did Xue Niang stand to gain from currying favor with the young master? She seemed to have an aim. Making him a killer's apprentice could serve it; so could having him win the young master's favor.
Whatever Xue Niang's aim was, it didn't conflict with Gu Shenwei's revenge plans for the time being. He would certainly try to win that young master's favor. It was like catching a sheep in a pen. He might be able to use the young master to take revenge, or, if he ran out of options, kill him and add a major name to his revenge list.
With that thought in mind, Gu Shenwei slept soundly. Old Zhang's snores didn't disturb him in the least.
Early the next morning, before paying his respects to the young mistress, Xue Niang took him to report to Star Picking Courtyard.
Star Picking Courtyard was the fortress's school, where the Shangguan Descendants studied. It was in West Fortress, near the inner residence, far from places like Heart Washing Courtyard and Kindling Courtyard. They had to pass through three gates, each guarded by men who checked the waist tokens of everyone coming and going. Without Xue Niang to guide him, Gu Shenwei couldn't even have passed the first gate.
A group of servants was already waiting outside the school. Their masters had gone inside long ago, leaving them in the cold wind, stamping their feet and blowing warm air into their palms as they chatted.
The young master's chief companion was a man in his thirties called Qing Nu. He was the oldest among the servants, kindly and quite sharp. He recognized Xue Niang at once and accepted Huan Nu with great courtesy, giving him the appropriate waist token. But the moment Xue Niang turned to leave, his smile vanished. He said coolly, "Come earlier tomorrow. Don't keep the masters waiting on their servants. Go stand over there."
The spot Qing Nu pointed out was at the very edge. Several young servants were already standing there, all hunched up, with bruises on their faces, as if they had been beaten.
No one spoke to the new servant, so Gu Shenwei obediently listened to the others' chatter.
More than a dozen Shangguan Descendants studied at the school. Besides Unrivaled King's sons, there were also children from other branches of the family. One could tell the masters' status from their servants' manner. Qing Nu held no official position, yet he stood closest to the door and controlled the flow and direction of the conversation. Everyone else was doing their best to ingratiate themselves with him.
The talk was always about the masters' various rumors. The one mentioned most often was the "Ninth Young Master." The boy seemed quite mischievous and had caused plenty of trouble, yet everyone spoke as if they liked him, even taking pride in having seen him once or exchanged a few words with him.
After more than an hour, a burst of commotion rang out from inside the school, as if someone were fighting. Qing Nu and the other servants didn't seem concerned at all. They exchanged knowing glances.
"The masters are taking a break. The Ninth Young Master is playing again."
Gu Shenwei suspected that "playing" didn't mean what it normally did, because cries of pain were clearly mixed in with the racket coming from the school.
As he tried to make sense of this new environment, the school gate opened and someone was shoved out. A voice called from inside, "Send in another one."
The person shoved out was a boy of about fourteen or fifteen. He stumbled and fell straight into Qing Nu's arms. Frowning, Qing Nu pushed him away, then waved toward the edge of the crowd. "You, come!"
Before Gu Shenwei understood what was happening, the few boys beside him had already pushed him out.
The crowd's many arms were like the legs of a giant centipede, passing Gu Shenwei inward like prey. Qing Nu took one look at him and hesitated, but someone inside the school called for another again. He had no choice but to grab the newcomer by the shoulder and push him through the crack in the door. He only had time to warn him, "Keep your eyes open..."
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