Song Lingqing

Outside the door stood Xiao Cai, looking slightly flustered as she kept glancing around.

When she saw Chu Zheng open the door, she hurriedly handed over the cloth bag in her hands:

"Every fragment is in here. I gathered them all up that day, thinking perhaps they could be repaired and calm Eldest Young Lady down."

Chu Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and took the bundle. "Thank you. I will repay this kindness someday."

At that, Xiao Cai looked somewhat hesitant and let out a sigh:

"Second Young Lady may not return. Eldest Young Lady... is actually quite good. Serving at her side, you would not be put in a difficult position. You should think about your own future."

After offering that advice, Xiao Cai looked around nervously. Not daring to stay long, she soon hurried away.

The Song Family had been a prestigious household for a century and placed great importance on its reputation. If a maid and a servant were seen meeting late at night, there would inevitably be gossip.

Chu Zheng shut the door, opened the cloth bag, and revealed the five fragments wrapped within. The breaks were complete, fitting together seamlessly.

Spiritual Jade Cup (Zero Order): Once an exquisite jade vessel, made from an unusual material. If nurtured over many years, it might have a chance to undergo Spirit Awakening. You smashed it with your own hands, but fortunately, all the fragments are present. For you, restoring it will not be difficult.

Chu Zheng ignored the information flooding into his mind. He had no intention of using the Panel to repair this Jade Cup.

Who knew when that Eldest Young Lady Song might remember these remnants of the Jade Cup and trace them all the way back to him?

This Jade Cup was the most valuable object his current status allowed him to come into contact with. He wanted to use it to test some of his conjectures.

There was still much he did not understand about the Panel, and he needed to conduct some experiments.

In a courtyard within the Song Manor's Front Courtyard.

The snow that had fallen last night had already been swept away. The damp blue-stone slabs were like precious mirrors, reflecting the starlight filling the sky.

A figure danced with a sword in the courtyard, graceful as a roaming dragon. Beneath the moonlight, a streak of resolve shone through her picturesque brows and eyes.

Green Peak spat and swallowed three inches of Sword Qi, its edge laid utterly bare. Sharp howls rang out without cease as the sword forms shifted endlessly—at times like a raging storm, vast and magnificent; at others like a pure lotus in the water, gentle and restrained.

Song Yun stood quietly to one side with a sword sheath in his arms, the admiration in his eyes impossible to conceal.

Bzzz—

All at once, the woman flung the long sword in her hand high into the air, sending it straight toward Song Yun.

Screech—

In the blink of an eye, the sword entered its sheath from afar, throwing off a string of dazzling sparks.

"Eldest Young Lady's Internal Arts have improved again."

Song Yun's face was filled with admiration. "In five years at most, you will surely enter the Grandmaster realm. A Grandmaster barely past twenty—there are only a handful in all Great Zhou. Our Song Family may well produce a Great Grandmaster."

The Song Family's Twin Jade, one Immortal Seed, and one Martial Dao Prodigy were a fine tale widely told throughout Great Zhou and even the surrounding nations.

"What does becoming a Great Grandmaster matter? If one cannot enter an Immortal Sect, then after a hundred years, one will be nothing but a mound of yellow earth."

Song Lingxue shook her head slightly, slowly withdrew her power, and exhaled a long breath of Turbid Qi. The hot mist from her throat condensed into an arrow, flying nearly a zhang before slowly dispersing.

Strands of hot vapor rose from above her head. Her sweat-soaked garments were dried in the blink of an eye by the surging force of her blood and qi.

Xiao Cai approached slowly, carrying a Brocade Box.

Song Lingxue opened the lid, took out a steaming towel, wiped her hands, glanced at Song Yun, and asked casually:

"Was the Essence Pill delivered?"

"It was." Song Yun presented the sword with both hands and bowed his head.

"What did he say?"

"He said he thanked Eldest Young Lady."

"Nothing else?"

When Song Yun nodded again, Song Lingxue frowned slightly. "Did you tell him that I had specifically instructed it?"

"I did." Song Yun lowered his head, concealing the dimness in his eyes.

"Forget it."

Song Lingxue curled her lips. "He is becoming more and more proper. It seems he has finally learned some sense."

Song Yun remained silent. He could sense that Chu Zheng had indeed changed considerably. The restless air he once carried had almost been swept away, leaving him calm and reserved.

Even when Song Yun had deliberately used the matter of Second Young Lady to provoke Chu Zheng, he had failed to get the reaction he expected.

Perhaps this punishment had truly helped him grow.

"Song Yun, you are not young anymore. Have you thought about starting a family?"

Song Lingxue tossed aside the cooling towel in her hand, changing the subject as she spoke with a smile:

"I have watched Xiao Cai grow up since she was little. I know her roots and background. If neither of you objects, I will make the decision for you—free you from Servant Status, let you leave the manor, and start a family."

"Eldest Young Lady jests. How could this servant girl possess such fortune?"

At those words, Xiao Cai's cheeks flushed. Looking somewhat panicked, she retreated to the side.

Song Yun's martial arts were exceptional, and he had been well read since childhood. Among the servants of Song Manor, his standing was in a class of its own. Even if his looks were somewhat ordinary, he was still a match one could search a thousand li for.

After all, one's face could not fill one's stomach. Someone like Chu Zheng, who could not distinguish his own status, would have an ending that needed no imagining.

"Eldest Young Lady has yet to start a family. How could I precede you?" Song Yun looked up and smiled, though his eyes were full of bitterness.

Precisely because they had grown up together, Song Lingxue had never regarded him as a true man. Song Yun had long seen through that.

"What kind of rule is that?"

Song Lingxue laughed and scolded him, then her mood sank slightly, and she let out a soft sigh:

"Father has only Ling Qing and me as daughters. Now that she has entered an Immortal Sect, her mortal ties have been severed. The Song Family rests solely upon my shoulders. To continue the family line, I will surely have to take in a husband. I cannot trust outsiders. How am I supposed to start a family?"

She had few demands for her future husband. She only wanted someone pleasing to the eye. After her family looked through their choices again and again, only Chu Zheng was relatively suitable.

But after probing him time and again, her patience was beginning to run dry.

Song Lingxue was not some shameless, lowly woman. She had her bottom line. Never more than three times—if Chu Zheng was unwilling, she would not force him further.

The next morning.

As dawn broke, Chu Zheng slowly opened his eyes, released his crossed legs, and rubbed his numb waist and back, feeling rather helpless.

After trying again for a long time, he still could not find any sense of qi. Having gone the entire night without sleep, his spirits were somewhat lacking.

Rubbing the space between his brows, Chu Zheng stood and pushed open the door to step outside.

The air outside carried the damp chill of melting snow, piercing straight into his organs.

Not far away, two-tiered meal boxes had already been placed on the ground. They faintly gave off heat and had clearly only recently been delivered.

Inside the meal boxes were a large bowl of plain congee, six buns, and six steamed rolls.

Those who practiced martial arts tended to have large appetites. As a Martial Dao family, the Song Family naturally would not stint on food.

After quickly finishing breakfast, Chu Zheng performed a set of Body-Fitting Fist, circulating his blood and qi until his entire body was warmly flushed. Only then did he begin cleaning and tidying the Filth Room.

He was still a servant. Since certain tasks had been assigned to him, he had to do them to avoid inviting trouble.

By the time he had roughly cleaned the Filth Room, it was already noon.

Lunch was even more lavish: four jin of boiled lean meat sprinkled with salt, a bowl of Bone Broth garnished with scallions and covered in floating oil, several steamed rolls, and two small plates of side dishes.

Even by Chu Zheng's standards from before his transmigration, this food was excessively generous.

In this ancient dynasty, where productivity was low, it was even more remarkable—enough to surpass some of the middle class.

After clearing away every last bit of lunch, Chu Zheng left the manor through a side gate. He needed to buy materials for the restoration.

To Chu Zheng, restoration was an extremely serious matter.

In his Previous Life, every restoration of an artifact had to be approached with the utmost caution. The slightest carelessness could bury a piece of Ancient History and throw many things off course.

Because of the differences in this world and its era, searching for materials did not go smoothly. It was not until the Great Sun tilted westward that Chu Zheng barely managed to gather some of the materials needed to restore the Jade Cup.

As darkness began to fall, Chu Zheng returned to Song Manor.

Before he even reached the Filth Room, Chu Zheng heard news from passing servants that filled him with excitement.

Song Lingqing, the Song Family's Second Young Lady, who had been unheard from for years, had returned to the manor.