Guarded Heart

Magistrate Li made his decision, but Azze, the servant he had rebuked, felt miserable.

And whenever he felt miserable... he thought of that young master.

Over the past few days, he had actually become friends with that young master. Young Master Li ought to have been an idle gentleman of wealth and rank, and an exceptionally gentle and kind one at that. After they met that night, they happened to run into each other again the following day.

Azze had assumed that in broad daylight, the other man would stand on ceremony and refuse to speak with a servant like him. Who would have thought that the man would warmly greet him first? It moved him for a long while. And speaking with this Young Master Li made him feel remarkably at ease. They were clearly only chatting idly, exchanging polite pleasantries, yet when the words came from his mouth, they seemed to carry a rhythmically captivating charm—making Azze feel as though his heart were soaking in warm water.

In all these years, when had he ever experienced anything like this?

So he opened his heart and told him all his troubles. Once he had spoken of those troubles, he spoke of the trifles of daily life as well—what his master had eaten, drunk, and used that day, telling him every last detail. Then, embarrassed, he asked whether Young Master Li had no interest at all in hearing such things. But the young master merely smiled gently and shook his head, saying that between friends, were these not exactly the sorts of trivial things they talked about?

Between friends... Young Master Li considered him a friend.

Carrying that gratitude in his heart, Azze left the small gate at the rear courtyard, turned through an alley, and saw Young Master Li again, standing beneath a willow tree. He held a folding fan, lightly tapping it against his palm. The fan ribs striking his hand sounded as though they were tapping, one beat after another, against Azze's heart.

As he listened, his footsteps unconsciously fell in time with those taps—without him noticing it himself.

Recently, they met every day, right here, beneath this willow tree, just the two of them. Sometimes, a fleeting thought would flash through his mind—I seem to be under a spell. But such thoughts were swiftly overlooked.

He still came to see Young Master Li.

"How has your master been today?" Young Master Li asked him.

"Still... irritable," Azze said. "These days... my master grows irritated the moment he sees me."

There was a hint of grievance in his voice. After sulking by himself for a while, he raised his head again. "Does Young Master have anything to teach me?"

Young Master Li—Li Yunxin—smiled. He lowered his voice slightly. "When you return today, tell your master this—say it while he is dining—'Are you satisfied with the taste?'"

At times, Azze felt that some of Young Master Li's words sounded strange, and his tone was strange as well. Yet he could never say exactly what was strange about them. Stranger still, once Young Master Li said something once, Azze learned it. And once he had learned it, whenever he spoke to his master, he could not help speaking that way too.

But he always thought... Young Master Li was such a flawless gentleman. If his own manner of speaking resembled his, it must surely be a good thing.

Just then, he heard Young Master Li tap his palm with the folding fan again and say softly, "Go on."

Azze turned around as though sleepwalking, then headed back in strange steps, utterly content.

Only after watching him vanish around the street corner did Li Yunxin take a few steps back, lean against the willow tree, and let out a heavy breath.

It was exhausting. But...

It was thrilling.

This was his first time attempting such a thing—suggestively guiding someone, then using him to accomplish something he should have done himself—like using some kind of remote control to manipulate a puppet's arm, then using that puppet's arm to manipulate another person into completing an exquisitely detailed painting. He had wanted to try this in his previous life, but he had never had such a good opportunity.

This time... the servant had delivered himself right to his door.

And the people of this era truly had defenses as thin as white paper.

Having never endured such a rich and complicated bombardment of information, even a villain, from the perspective of the field in which he excelled... had thoughts as simple as a blank sheet of paper.

And after spending several days on it, Li Yunxin had finally learned what Magistrate Li was guarding against.

Rumor had it that the government office had been struck by lightning during a stormy night. More than half the main hall had collapsed, and two of Magistrate Li's flower-like concubines had died. But the strange part was... even if someone had been in the main hall, it should have been Lord Li. What were two concubines doing in the main hall at night?

Only after asking Azze did he learn where the strangeness lay.

It was said that on that night, Azze had heard voices in the main hall. They seemed to be the laughter of a young man.

And after the rain stopped, he had gone to inspect the main hall...

There had actually been blood. In the half that had not collapsed, there were still embers. It was as though someone had once lit a fire there.

After that night, Lord Li had gone to the Weicheng offices of the Voidsoar Sword Sect and the Supreme Clarity Pill Cauldron Sect. The great figures there had always ignored worldly affairs. Yet Lord Li had actually persuaded them—not only had he persuaded them, he had them send people to take a look and perform a ritual.

Ha... Lord Li had survived, then.

Everything had an explanation now.

That one.

Then that Magistrate Li... was practically standing naked before him.

During these past five days.

Li Yunxin let out a soft breath and turned to look at the distant scenery. The weather was fine today, but willow catkins had begun to drift through the air. His nose itched a little, so he waved his folding fan before his face, one hand clasped behind his back and the other gently fanning as he walked down the road.

There was a tailor's shop along this street. Liu Laodao naturally knew little about such things, and Li Yunxin did not understand fabrics either. It had been Miss Yin who helped him choose.

That young lady had a stubborn streak—in a time when everyone looked strangely at the two people living in that temple, she had been the one to rush inside, pull a long face, and ask Li Yunxin whether things between him and the young lady of the Qiao Household were unclear.

Li Yunxin had no interest in indulging a young girl's thoughts. He merely answered her carelessly with a few words before walking away impatiently.

Who would have thought that Miss Yin would instead believe that her question had wounded Brother Xin's heart?

And so she became their steadfast supporter.

That was a good thing too. So he left this matter to her.

When Li Yunxin reached the shop entrance, Miss Yin was already waiting there. Perhaps all the girls in Weicheng were this bold—after these past few days, Miss Yin had become quite unreserved in expressing her affection for Li Yunxin. Seeing him now, walking toward her in the spring breeze with his folding fan swaying, she felt as though her tender heart might melt away.

These days, that tender heart had been fluttering especially fiercely. Miss Yin's family was fairly well-off, so she had learned to read. And because she could read, she loved reading like men did as well. She did not read the classics, histories, masters, and collections, only tales of romance and adventure. The love stories of knights-errant and young ladies in those tales had long since taken root in her heart.

Now that she was convinced Brother Xin had been wronged and had been dragged into a lawsuit for no reason, while pleading with her uncle at home had brought no response, she felt that she had truly become the heroine of one of those tales.

When she looked at her Brother Xin again, she felt that the day of parting was drawing nearer and nearer—perhaps, as those tales said, they would only be able to clasp hands and gaze at one another through tear-filled eyes after many years, their temples both white—making her feel all the more sorrowful.

She thought Brother Xin must feel the same way—otherwise, why would he have asked her to find a shop to make him an ash-blue inner robe? Not only did it have to be ash-blue, it had to bear a fish-scale pattern. She had searched so many shops, and only this one had it.

Now, holding the garment in her hands and watching Li Yunxin approach, she did not know why, but her nose suddenly stung and her eyes reddened.