Changing Masters

Shangguan Nu sensed a deep hostility from the young man's gaze. Instinct prompted him to grip his saber hilt, but the hostility was fleeting, replaced by the fear and blankness of a servant.

A half-formed thought flashed through Shangguan Nu's mind, also vanishing as quickly as it appeared, too fast for him to even grasp.

This servant was brought by his bandit-born wife. Seeing the young master of Golden Peng Fortress, he'd panicked. Shangguan Nu decided to forgive the ignorant youth this once. He felt a slight regret; the boy had good knife skills and his eyes were full of fighting spirit, marking him as a promising assassin. Unfortunately, East Fortress didn't accept such recruits.

"Are you Huan Nu, the one East Fortress rejected?"

"Yes."

The release from fear left Gu Shenwei utterly weak. Then he remembered his status. He knelt on one leg and added, "This humble servant didn't know the young master was here. I beg the young master's forgiveness."

Shangguan Nu remained expressionless. He weighed the young man's capabilities in his mind. After a moment, he nodded, gave a soft "hmm," and turned to leave, leaving Gu Shenwei utterly bewildered.

For the next few days, Gu Shenwei was restless, unable to fathom Shangguan Nu's intentions. Their meeting clearly hadn't been a coincidence.

Finally, Xue Niang explained everything. She took him to see the young lady.

"The young master has given you away. Starting tomorrow, you will go to Star Picking Courtyard and serve the young master."

Gu Shenwei's anxious heart finally settled. So Shangguan Nu hadn't recognized him. He didn't speak, for the young lady behind the screen was furious. With a bang, she smashed something.

"This is too much! Too much! Doesn't her Meng Family have plenty of servants? Why do they want my person?"

Gu Shenwei suddenly understood. Unrivaled King's wife was surnamed Meng and hailed from the wealthiest family in Jade City. From the first day Luo Ningcha entered Golden Peng Fortress, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had been at odds. This wasn't just common knowledge within the fortress; rumors even reached the city below the mountain.

Madam Meng had borne Unrivaled King a pair of twins, a boy and a girl: Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Ru. The maidservant Xiao Ru had to change her name because of this girl. It was said the twins were doted upon, treasured by everyone in Golden Peng Fortress, and even Shangguan Nu had to find ways to please his younger siblings.

Serving the young master, Gu Shenwei guessed he would now be attending to Shangguan Fei, one of the twins. A pang of sadness struck him. This young master was likely similar to the former "Young Master Gu." In just a few months, how unpredictable life was; he had gone from master to servant.

Gu Shenwei knelt on the ground, head bowed in silence. Xue Niang went behind the screen to comfort the young lady.

"The young master's actions naturally have his reasons. Huan Nu has nothing else to do here anyway. Young lady, you are a wife now; please be more tolerant."

"But, but I can't swallow this insult! Those women will casually bring this up in front of me again, deliberately trying to humiliate me."

"Good deeds are rewarded, evil deeds are punished. We are alone and outnumbered in this fortress. Let us retreat for now. Everything will be alright when Great Head God comes to uphold justice for you."

"When is my father coming? I've been married for months, and he hasn't even visited me."

The young lady seemed to have a belly full of grievances. She smashed something else. The blind and mute young maidservant Cui Nü squatted on the ground, fumbling to pick up the pieces. Angered by something, the young lady kicked her for no reason. "Aiyo," Cui Nü cried out, quickly swallowing her pain.

It was strange. The more Cui Nü was mistreated, the more the young lady seemed to favor her. She had now served the young lady longer than the four maids of Chenxin Suiyi.

Xue Niang continued to whisper words of comfort. After a long while, the young lady's mood finally improved somewhat, but she still couldn't forget the humiliation she had suffered. She spoke to the young man waiting outside the screen:

"Swear that no matter who you serve, you will be loyal to me. Only I am your true master."

"Huan Nu swears to the heavens. Since my surname is Luo, I will be Luo forever. Loyal to the young lady, I will never betray her. If the young lady commands, this humble servant will charge forward bravely. Should there be the slightest disobedience, may heaven destroy me, and may I never be reborn."

Gu Shenwei could have easily recited several similar oaths. The young lady demanded the servants renew their vows almost every four or five days; he was long accustomed to it.

The young lady hummed, seemingly dissatisfied. "If I hear you're siding with that brat from the Meng family, I'll hand you over to my husband. Aren't you the son of some Yang? My husband would be very willing to cut the weeds and eliminate the roots."

The young lady still held leverage over Huan Nu, showing she wasn't entirely devoid of sense.

After Gu Shenwei recited three more versions of the oath in different styles, the young lady let him go. But then, she suddenly made an unexpected demand:

"Huan Nu, once you enter Star Picking Courtyard, I want you to find an opportunity to kill that brat. Make the woman surnamed Meng suffer for a lifetime."

Gu Shenwei froze. It wasn't out of soft-heartedness, of course. Everyone surnamed Shangguan in Golden Peng Fortress was on his list of revenge targets. But assassinating Unrivaled King's son so rashly was tantamount to seeking his own death.

"Young lady!" Xue Niang cried out sharply, clearly strongly disagreeing with the plan.

The young lady, however, seemed excited. She paced back and forth behind the screen, ignoring Xue Niang's attempts to stop her. "First, gain the brat's trust, then secretly kill him. Your martial arts are good, and you're smart; you shouldn't get caught. In short, make it seamless, without anyone knowing. If you accomplish this, I will have my father reward you handsomely. Oh, and I'll have my husband investigate the murderer of your father, and you can deal with him as you wish."

Gu Shenwei listened, growing more and more stunned. This woman was simply mad. Not only was she endangering a servant, but she was also dragging herself into an abyss. Killing the twins, even if she were Great Head God's daughter, would still cost her life.

Gu Shenwei dared not speak. The young lady suddenly stopped pacing and said sternly, "Why aren't you speaking? Do you dare defy my orders?"

"This humble servant dares not."

"Go and find a way. It must be done within three days."

"Yes, this humble servant will do his best."

Xue Niang whispered her persuasion. After hearing a few words, the young lady suddenly raised her voice and said decisively, "It's settled. I'm not afraid, and I won't go back on my word."

Xue Niang emerged from behind the screen. Her face, usually impassive, now showed a hint of annoyance. She uttered only one word: "Go," and led Huan Nu out of the room. In a deserted spot in the front courtyard, she stopped and looked back at him.

"Do you know what you need to do?"

"This humble servant is loyal to the young lady, but I will obey Xue Niang's instructions, because I know everything Xue Niang does is for the young lady's good."

Xue Niang snorted. "You've learned quite a bit from Yao Nu. Promising. I don't care what you're thinking. Starting tomorrow, you need to apply all of this to the young master, make him like you, trust you. This is more important than you becoming an assassin in East Fortress. I'll explain things to the young lady. You will serve the young master, but you will still live here, understand?"

"Yes, I understand. I will do my utmost."

"Just doing your utmost isn't enough; you must succeed. If the young master likes you, you'll be someone in this fortress. If he doesn't like you, I'll personally send you to meet your father."

Xue Niang's tone was not joking, nor was she the type to joke. Gu Shenwei returned to his small room, thinking harder and harder, increasingly puzzled. What benefit did pleasing the young master bring Xue Niang? Xue Niang seemed to have a goal; making him an assassin's apprentice could achieve it, and making him please the young master could also achieve it.

Regardless of Xue Niang's objective, it didn't conflict with Gu Shenwei's revenge plan for now. He certainly intended to please that young master. This was akin to catching a sheep in a pen. He might be able to use the young master for revenge, or he could kill the young master if he ran out of options, adding a significant name to his revenge list.

With these thoughts, Gu Shenwei slept soundly. Old Zhang's snoring didn't bother him at all.

The next morning, before paying respects to the young lady, Xue Niang took him to report to Star Picking Courtyard.

Star Picking Courtyard was the fortress's academy where the Shangguan Family's children studied. It was located in the West Fortress, near the inner quarters, far from places like Heart Washing Courtyard and Kindling Courtyard. One had to pass through three gates, each guarded by people checking the waist tokens of those coming and going. Without Xue Niang leading the way, Gu Shenwei wouldn't even be able to enter the first gate.

A group of servants had already gathered outside the schoolhouse. Their masters had long since gone inside, leaving them to stand in the cold wind, stamping their feet and breathing into their hands while chatting idly.

The young master's chief attendant was a middle-aged man in his thirties named "Qing Nu." He was also the oldest among the servants. He had a kind expression and was quite sharp. The moment he saw Xue Niang, he recognized her and politely accepted Huan Nu. He issued Huan Nu his corresponding waist token. After Xue Niang turned to leave, his smiling face vanished without a trace. He said coldly:

"Come earlier tomorrow. Don't keep the masters waiting for their servants. Go stand over there."

Qing Nu pointed Huan Nu to a spot at the very edge of the group. Several young servants were already standing there, all hunched over with bruised faces, as if they had been beaten.

No one spoke to the new servant, so Gu Shenwei quietly listened to the others chat.

There were over a dozen young masters studying in the schoolhouse, including the Unrivaled King's son and descendants from other branches of the family. The demeanor of the servants clearly indicated their masters' status. Although Qing Nu held no official position, he guarded the spot closest to the door, controlling the content and direction of the conversations. Everyone else was desperately trying to curry his favor.

The topics of conversation were invariably rumors about their masters. The one mentioned most often was the "Ninth Young Master." It seemed this child was quite unruly and caused a lot of trouble, yet everyone's words subtly revealed their fondness for him. Some even took pride in having met him once or exchanged a few words with him.

After more than an hour, a loud commotion erupted from inside the schoolhouse, sounding like a fight. However, Qing Nu and the other servants paid no mind, exchanging knowing glances.

"The masters are resting. The Ninth Young Master is playing again."

Gu Shenwei guessed that the meaning of "playing" in this context was different from its usual sense, as the commotion from the schoolhouse clearly contained screams mixed in.

As he was trying to understand his new surroundings, the schoolhouse door opened, and someone was pushed out. A voice from inside called out, "Send someone else in."

The person pushed out was a young boy, about fourteen or fifteen years old. He stumbled and fell directly into Qing Nu's arms. Qing Nu frowned and pushed him away, then beckoned to the edge of the crowd. "You!"

Before Gu Shenwei could understand what was happening, the boys next to him all pushed him forward.

The multitude of arms from the crowd acted like the numerous legs of a giant centipede, passing Gu Shenwei along like prey to the innermost area. Qing Nu glanced at him, hesitating slightly, but the voice from inside the schoolhouse urged him again. He had no choice but to grab the newcomer's shoulder and shove him through the crack in the door, only managing to say, "Keep your eyes open..."