A New Beginning

Chen Ye stood outside Cui Mansion and waited for about the time it took to drink a cup of tea before the gatekeeper came back.

"Come with me."

The gatekeeper stepped aside and led him into the mansion through a side gate.

"Wait in the tea hall for now. I've sent someone to inform the Third Miss's personal maid. She'll be here shortly."

After leading Chen Ye to the tea hall, the gatekeeper didn't linger. He turned and went off to attend to his own duties.

Chen Ye looked around the tea hall.

It was where the mansion's sedan chairs were kept, situated in the front courtyard.

It was mainly there so the master of the house and visiting guests could leave their sedan chairs and get in and out of them. It also gave sedan bearers and other attendants somewhere to rest.

He looked away and waited quietly.

Chen Ye hadn't waited long when the maid Hong Ling came hurrying over with quick, light steps.

When she saw him, she simply said, "Follow me," then led him through the Er'yi Gate and into the second courtyard.

This wasn't Chen Ye's first time entering a grand residence.

He'd been inside the courtyards of the Gao Family, the Feng Family, and several wealthy merchant households in the Capital City.

Only the Cui Family gave him a different impression.

The difference wasn't in the layout of the courtyards, but in the rules.

As he walked, he noticed that every servant he encountered was neatly dressed and walked with proper bearing.

When they saw Chen Ye, they barely spared him a glance.

There was none of the contemptuous attitude toward outsiders that novel house servants were always said to have.

They weren't especially welcoming, but they certainly weren't cold to him, either.

"The rules here are strict. Men from outside the family aren't allowed into the inner courtyards. Wait for the young lady in this side room. She'll come see you when she's finished."

Hong Ling opened an empty room in the second courtyard and showed him inside to wait.

After Hong Ling left, another maid came in and brewed Chen Ye a cup of tea. She was impeccable in her manners.

The tea was made from coarse tea leaves.

Chen Ye had drunk similar rough tea back when he was at the Gao Family, and he thought this was much better than that.

By the time he'd finished his cup, a beautiful woman with skin like jade pushed open the wooden door and walked in with graceful steps.

Cui Xijun had changed into a plain, pale-green jacket that day. Her hair was neatly pinned up, and she looked like a completely different person from the one who had staked everything on the mountain path.

Two maids followed behind her. One was Hong Ling, who had shown him the way earlier; the other looked unfamiliar, and he didn't know her yet.

Cui Xijun went straight to the low stool beside the long table and sat down, taking the tea a maid offered and sipping it.

She looked up at Chen Ye, her gaze lingering on his face for a moment before she spoke. "You came sooner than I expected. Did you have a smooth journey? Did anyone give you trouble?"

Chen Ye had stood as soon as Cui Xijun entered. Now he stood before her, cupped his fists, and bowed. "I wouldn't dare keep Miss Cui waiting. The Cui Family's household is orderly, and everything went smoothly along the way."

Cui Xijun set down her teacup and looked at Chen Ye. "I told you on the mountain that the Cui Family always repays a kindness. You saved my life; I owe you a great debt. I heard you lost your job a while ago because of the Feng Family's affairs. I happen to need someone to serve me. If you're willing, you can stay with me for the time being. You'll work at my side as my personal attendant, not as an official retainer of the household."

"To have the Cui Family's..."

Chen Ye had been about to say "the Cui Family," but just as the words reached his lips, he remembered the warning from the man in blue silk. A thought stirred in his mind, and he immediately corrected himself. "To have Miss Cui's favor is an honor beyond words."

"Good, as long as you're willing. Go and ask Steward Cheng to come here."

One of the maids accepted the order and hurried out. Before long, she returned with a middle-aged man.

"Third Miss, you sent for me?"

Cui Xijun introduced the two of them. "This is Chen Ye, who saved me that day. This is Steward Cheng, who manages my courtyard."

"Steward Cheng, arrange a suitable private room for him and give him a waist token. For now, show him the household rules and have him serve at my side."

Cheng Defu hurriedly replied, "This old servant understands."

"You two can get acquainted. If you need anything, have Hong Ling pass word to me."

Having said what needed to be said, Cui Xijun had no intention of staying longer.

She left the side room with her maids.

After Cui Xijun had gone, only Chen Ye and Cheng Defu remained in the room.

Chen Ye exchanged pleasantries with Cheng Defu. "I'm still new to the Capital City. If there's anything I don't understand in the future, I hope Steward Cheng will be kind enough to guide me."

Cheng Defu smiled and returned a few polite remarks.

"Come on. I'll show you where you'll be staying."

Cheng Defu led him farther into the grounds, speaking at an even pace. "There are a few rules in the household I should explain first. You're different from the rest of us household servants. You've been kept on as the Third Miss's personal attendant, not as an official retainer of the household. Still, your monthly allowance and lodging will be on the same terms as a retainer's.

"The Third Miss will assign duties at the mao hour every day, and you'll report back at the you hour in the evening. In your free time, you can practice in the guest courtyard, but don't disturb the female members of the household.

"Remember not to enter the courtyards of the other branches without permission. The Back Courtyard is especially off-limits."

Chen Ye had once been a household servant, so the rules of these great households were nothing new to him. Most were much the same, and he had no trouble adapting.

He listened and silently committed the rules to memory.

Halfway there, Chen Ye asked, "Steward Cheng, I've always had to feel my way through martial arts on my own, and I'm missing a suitable martial cultivation manual. Would an outsider be allowed to study the Cui Family's martial arts?"

Cheng Defu stopped, turned, and looked him up and down. Then he continued walking and said, "It's good that you're taking the initiative to ask about martial arts. In the Cui Mansion, strength alone isn't nearly enough."

There was clear approval in his voice, but then he changed tack. "However, you're not yet an official retainer of the household, so the family's secret martial arts aren't available to you under the rules. Don't be impatient, though. Once you've earned merit, or if the young lady makes an exception and grants you permission to study them, you'll be able to read them."

Chen Ye wasn't surprised by the answer. He continued, "Does the household have any martial arts that can prolong one's life?"

"Prolong one's life? Of course." Cheng Defu began listing them off. "The Spirit Source Dao Sutra, passed down through generations of the household, is one such art. It doesn't grant much power, but it can easily add more than ten years to your life. The young masters of the Cui Family practice it often. There are also the Crane-Life Rejuvenation Skill, the Nine-Turn Organ Cleansing Hand, and the Kidney Nourishing Stance."

"The Cui Family collected quite a few miscellaneous Jianghu arts in its early years, and later exchanged basic martial arts manuals with other Aristocratic Clans. After generations of accumulation, its reserves are quite deep. If you can think of it, the household can find it."

"All right, here we are."

Cheng Defu led him to a side room for guests in the third courtyard and pushed the door open.

Chen Ye stepped inside. The room wasn't very large, but it was bright and clean.

It was much more spacious than the places he'd stayed at the Gao Family and Shuntong Transport Agency.

He'd planned to find a lodging broker and look for somewhere else to stay, but the Cui Family's arrangement saved him a lot of trouble.

"The key is inside. Here's your waist token. With it, you can enter the Cui Family's businesses and outlying properties. Keep it safe."

"Thank you, Steward."

"Get settled in. I'll come find you tomorrow at the mao hour."

After Steward Cheng left, Chen Ye walked over to the window alone. He took the copper waist token Cheng Defu had given him and gently turned it between his fingers.

Every new beginning was hard.

Starting today, he finally had someone to rely on in the Capital City. He was no longer the hired hand hunted at will in the bamboo grove or waiting to die in the Feng Family Dungeon.

The sunlight outside was bright, falling on the waist token and casting a faint warmth.

Chen Ye tucked it into his robe and sat down on the edge of the bed. He let out a long breath, unable to keep a smile from spreading across his face.