Homecoming: Everything was the same, yet nothing was

After reading the letter Steward Li had left behind, Jiu'er fell into a daze.

A moment later, determination shone in Jiu'er’s eyes. She wiped the tears from her face and bowed deeply to Steward Li's body.

"Grandpa Li, don't worry. I'll fulfill your wish."

Time slipped by in the blink of an eye.

Before long, night had fallen.

Lightning suddenly flashed across the Imperial Capital's night sky with a thunderous crack, and relentless rain poured down.

In the rear courtyard of the Earl of Anyuan's Residence.

The courtyard was deserted, with only sheets of rain cascading down and countless raindrops pounding the ground.

Lightning flashed across the sky, bathing the courtyard in white light.

Beneath a large tree in the rear courtyard stood a petite figure, drenched in the rain.

Up close, Jiu'er could be seen standing in the downpour, a shovel in her hands as she kept digging up the soil.

A woven mat lay on the ground beside her, with Steward Li's body resting on it.

Having read Steward Li's letter during the day, she understood that his wish was to be buried here.

Tomorrow, people from the Chancellor's Residence would take possession of the Earl of Anyuan's Residence, so she had to bury Steward Li tonight.

Fortunately, the rain had softened the soil considerably. Otherwise, a girl not yet sixteen might not have managed such exhausting digging even after an entire night.

Finally, half an hour later.

With her palms rubbed raw, Jiu'er finally finished digging the grave.

After taking one last look at Steward Li's body, she gritted her teeth, stepped forward, and tugged at the mat, struggling to drag him into the grave.

"Phew!"

Once everything was ready, she wiped the rain from her eyes and whispered, "Grandpa Li, if you meet Young Master down there, please tell him to wait for me. I'll come find you both soon."

With that, she braced her cold body and climbed out of the grave.

"Ow!"

A sudden sting shot through her palm. Looking down, she saw that a stone had cut it open.

At that moment, the pain in her body tugged at the pain in her heart.

Unable to hold back any longer, she sat in the mud and burst into tears.

"Master is gone, Madam is gone, Young Master is gone, and now even Grandpa Li is gone. I..."

Grief covered Jiu'er's face. The rain was cold, her body was cold, but her heart was colder still.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness swept over her. Spending so long in the rain had made her ill.

Just then, she saw a blurry figure appear before her.

Dizzy, Jiu'er raised a hand and tried to reach for it.

Her vision suddenly went black, and she lost consciousness.

But in the moment before she passed out, she felt herself enveloped in a warm embrace.

"Is... is that Young Master?"

"Young Master!"

With a startled cry, Jiu'er suddenly opened her eyes and bolted upright.

She looked around and discovered that she was in her own room. A lit candle stood on the table nearby.

The sight left her stunned.

She had fainted, but she had not lost her memory.

She remembered clearly that she had collapsed in the rain in the rear courtyard. There was no one left at home, so how had she ended up in her room?

She touched her forehead and found it somewhat hot. It seemed she had fainted because the rain had chilled her and brought on a fever.

Suddenly, she vaguely recalled someone catching her as she lost consciousness.

"I..."

Jiu'er hurriedly threw back the covers to check and discovered that even her clothes had been changed. Her expression instantly darkened. Although it was only her outer clothing, her chastity was still at stake.

Who had changed her clothes? Had someone from the household returned after leaving?

If it had been a woman, that was fine. But the thought of a strange man changing her clothes left her distraught, even making her want to cry.

Suddenly, she thought of Steward Li.

Ignoring her weakened body, she hurried out of bed, put on her shoes, pushed open the door, and ran outside.

Before long, Jiu'er reached the rear courtyard and froze.

The rain was still falling, but the grave she had dug for Steward Li had been completely filled in.

"Who could it be?"

Jiu'er was utterly baffled.

Then she noticed footprints in the soil of the rear courtyard.

Although the rain and mud had nearly washed them away, she could still tell that someone had left them not long ago.

The footprints were much larger than hers and probably belonged to an adult man.

At that thought, fear stirred in Jiu'er's heart.

Who was he?

What did he want?

Despite her fear, after a moment Jiu'er decided to get to the bottom of it.

Judging by what he had done, he probably meant her no harm. Otherwise, she would not have been lying safe and sound in her own room.

Her own room?

A thought flashed through Jiu'er's mind. That person knew where her room was, so he must know her. Could it really be a servant from the household?

Looking at the trail of footprints, Jiu'er took a deep breath and began following them.

Half an incense stick's time later.

Dragging her weakened body along, Jiu'er arrived at the Ancestral Hall. The footprints she had been following ended here.

"Phew."

Jiu'er drew a deep breath and slowly pushed open the doors of the Ancestral Hall.

At that very moment, lightning flashed across the sky with a thunderous crack, and white light streamed through the gap, illuminating the Ancestral Hall.

She saw a figure dressed in black standing inside.

"Ah!"

Jiu'er cried out instinctively, then hurriedly covered her mouth.

Her cry alerted the figure. In the dim light, she could only make out that he had turned and was walking toward her.

Frightened, Jiu'er instinctively turned to run.

But she tripped over the threshold and fell to the ground.

"Stay away!"

Bracing her hands against the ground, Jiu'er scrambled backward helplessly, tears instantly streaming down her delicate, lovely face.

The figure did not stop. Instead, he quickened his steps toward her.

At last, he stood before her and crouched down.

Thunder boomed!

Another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.

White light instantly illuminated the entire courtyard.

In that light, Jiu'er finally saw the figure's face, and she froze.

What a beautiful face, she thought involuntarily.

Once she regained her senses, she grew nervous again. What did it matter if he was handsome? She did not know him, and that only frightened her more.

Then she noticed him raising his hand toward her.

Is he going to kill me?

The thought came to Jiu'er instinctively.

As that hand drew closer and closer to her head, she became even more certain. Many villains in the storybooks she had read liked to smash people's heads with a blow of their palm.

Was she going to die like that too?

Dying was nothing. She had already decided to put on bridal robes and go down to find Young Master once she had buried Grandpa Li.

But wouldn't she look hideous if someone smashed her head?

Would Young Master reject her when she got down there?

In that brief moment, countless thoughts raced through Jiu'er's mind.

At last, the hand settled on top of her head.

The instant it touched her, Jiu'er clenched her teeth, ready to face death.

But several breaths later, she realized that the hand on her head had applied no force. It was simply resting there.

Had this man decided to kill her another way?

Then the hand began rubbing her head. It tickled and actually felt rather nice.

It reminded her of when her young master had still been alive and living at the residence.

Whenever she was with him, he always liked to rub her head like this. Even when he was angry, he would rub her head. It felt exactly the same as this.

Hmm?

Exactly the same?

Jiu'er's body stiffened, and she abruptly raised her head.

A handsome face met her eyes. Handsome though it was, it was unfamiliar. She had never seen it before.

Yet why did the feeling on her head seem so familiar?

"Young... Master?"

Looking at that unfamiliar face, Jiu'er could not help calling out softly and cautiously.

At her words, the man's hand paused. A smile suddenly appeared on his face, and he slowly replied.

"What do you think?"

Upon hearing his voice, Jiu'er's pupils trembled.

That was Young Master's voice!

Though his appearance was different, she remembered his voice clearly.

"Are you really Young Master?"

Jiu'er covered her mouth in disbelief.

Li Dao raised his hand and lightly tapped the girl between her brows, saying teasingly in a slightly rakish tone, "Little girl, your young master needs a little tagalong. Want to come along with me?"

Those words sent a tremor through Jiu'er's entire body.

"Young Master, it really is you!"

Jiu'er suddenly threw herself into Li Dao's arms, unable to stop herself from crying out.

She was so certain because everything this man had just done was exactly the same as what her young master had done when he first found her and brought her home. Only she and her young master knew about it. No third person in the world knew.

Feeling the girl's excitement and her thin frame in his arms, Li Dao's heart ached. "You silly little girl. You haven't been eating properly while I've been away, have you? How did you get so thin?"

"Have you forgotten what your young master told you back then?"

At his words, Jiu'er kept her face buried in her young master's chest, but a muffled voice emerged.

"You said you liked soft girls, Young Master, but... but when you weren't home, I just couldn't eat."

As soon as she finished speaking, Jiu'er could no longer restrain herself and burst into loud sobs.

Even now, she could hardly believe it. Everything before her felt like a dream.

Everyone had told her that her young master was dead, including the people in the household and Grandpa Li.

So her young master's sudden appearance made her think she was dreaming.

If this really was a dream, she truly did not want to wake.

Li Dao let out a long sigh and looked toward the deserted rear courtyard.

He had never expected so many upheavals to befall the household in the mere three months or so he had been away.

The once-grand Earl of Anyuan's Residence now had only a little girl keeping a lonely vigil here.

And the old steward who had watched him grow up was now buried in the rear courtyard.

Everything left him feeling that the surroundings remained, but the people were no longer the same.

Yet who could he blame for all of this?

He lowered his eyes and discovered that the little girl had fallen asleep in his arms at some point. Both her little hands still clutched his clothes tightly, as though she feared he would vanish the moment she opened her eyes.

As if sensing her young master's presence, Jiu'er slept soundly for the first time in over three months, tear tracks and a smile lingering on her pretty face.

Looking down at the sweetheart in his arms, Li Dao could not help murmuring, "I'll let you have your way just this once, little girl."

"Young Master!"

Jiu'er sat up in bed again, her eyes searching everywhere the instant she opened them.

Before long, she spotted a figure sitting at the table in her room.

"Young Master!"

In her excitement, Jiu'er sprang out of bed barefoot and ran straight to Li Dao.

"You silly girl, go put your shoes on."

Looking down at her small, delicate feet, Li Dao scolded her.

Only then did Jiu'er notice the chill beneath her feet. She stuck out her little tongue and hurried back.

Suddenly, something seemed to occur to her. She raised her head and asked with a blush, "Young Master, were you the one who changed my clothes last night?"

"What? Want to hold your young master responsible?"

"No, no."

Jiu'er hastily shook her head.

"Then what did you want?"

"Nothing."

With that, she lowered her head, blushing, and put on her clothes and shoes, secretly rejoicing all the while.

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something. She looked up and said, "Young master, I forgot to tell you. The Chancellor's Residence is sending people to seize our home today. What should we do?"

Jiu'er then told Li Dao everything that had happened at the residence lately.

"The Chancellor's Residence, huh."

He was not surprised that the Great Qian Emperor had stripped him of his title.

After all, by his generation, he was the Li family's sole remaining heir, and he had no descendants. It was only natural for the title to be reclaimed after his "death."

But he had not expected anyone to take his entire home as well.

From Jiu'er, he learned that because of Princess Mingyue, the Great Qian Emperor had targeted him alone, without unduly implicating the others at the Earl of Anyuan's Residence.

Or perhaps the Great Qian Emperor simply thought the small fry in his household beneath his notice.

But just because the Great Qian Emperor thought them beneath his notice did not mean the Chancellor's Residence—or those seeking to curry favor with it—did, especially when the two sides already had a grudge.

"Looks like the Chancellor's Residence wants to cut us down to the last soul."

He was already "dead," yet the Chancellor's Residence still refused to let the matter rest. That was the only explanation.

"Young master, why don't we run away?"

Jiu'er tugged at Li Dao's clothes beside him.

She had some idea of what had happened to her young master. Though she did not know why he had changed so drastically or how he had survived, she knew it had to be kept secret.

Before, she had been deeply reluctant to leave the Earl of Anyuan's Residence because it was her home.

But now her young master had returned. With him there, anywhere could be home, so she no longer resisted leaving quite so much.

"Run away?"

After thinking for a moment, Li Dao said softly, "It seems running away is our only option."

As he was now, he could use his newly acquired identity to remain in the Imperial Capital, but what could he accomplish?

Watch his enemies stir up wind and waves in the Imperial Capital, throwing their weight around as they pleased?

Besides, no matter how he looked at it, his identity still put him in danger in the Imperial Capital. What if someone discovered him after enough time had passed?

The Great Qian Emperor certainly would not spare him then.

So for now, his best choice was to get far away from this land of strife.

Before he left, however, there were certain things he had to take with him.

"Jiu'er, wait here for a while."

With that, he turned and left the room.

Not long afterward, Li Dao arrived at the Ancestral Hall he had visited the night before.

He pushed open the doors of the Ancestral Hall, revealing rows of spirit tablets before him, with several plaques hanging above them.

The largest plaque bore the words "First-rank Marquis of Anyuan."

The others were plaques bestowed upon other members of the Li family by successive Great Qian Emperors.

Li Dao first lit three sticks of incense and bowed three times to his ancestors, then knelt and kowtowed nine times.

Bang!

After rising, he suddenly leaped up, reaching the space above the highest plaque.

Above the plaque rested a handled chest more than three meters long, covered in dust.

He reached out, lifted the chest with one arm, and landed on the floor.

Bang!

The floor shuddered as he landed.

It was not because of his weight, but because the contents of the chest were so heavy.