She finally came

Deep within the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, in a small courtyard.

Tao Yaoyao gently set down her brush. On the yellow paper before her were two lines of elegant small characters, their ink still wet:

Clouds called to mind her robes, flowers her face; the spring breeze brushed the railing, dew gleaming rich.

"These two lines must have come from the same hand as 'Yaoyao Song,'" Cui Zhu said softly.

"You can tell?" Tao Yaoyao asked in surprise.

Cui Zhu looked embarrassed. "I know nothing about poetry. How could I possibly tell? It was only a feeling."

Tao Yaoyao smiled faintly. "Your feeling is right. Unfortunately, Lu Chenyang still hasn't obtained the last two lines."

At that, she lifted her gaze slightly. "Have you found the poet?"

Cui Zhu bowed slightly. "We have a suspect, but we can't be certain yet."

Tao Yaoyao slowly rose. "Tell me."

Cui Zhu cleared her throat. "His surname is Chen, and his given name is Shi'an.

"Before each of the two occasions when Lu Chenyang brought the poems here, Chen Shi'an visited him at the Windrise Martial Academy."

"With such a clear lead, why can't you be certain?" Tao Yaoyao looked puzzled.

Cui Zhu frowned. "I sent someone to investigate Chen Shi'an and discovered that he is an ignorant, good-for-nothing gambler. There is no way he could have written such moving verses."

The corners of Tao Yaoyao's lips lifted. "How interesting."

On the third day after his return from the Windrise Martial Academy, the sun shone brightly. It was also the auspicious day Chen Shi'an had chosen.

Early that morning, he went down to the cellar, selected sixty jars of chili sauce, and prepared some paste.

Chen Tiantian had the day off from school, so she followed her mother and uncle around, busily helping them.

Chen Shi'an brought out some red paper and asked Su Qingrou and Chen Tiantian to cut it into sixty equal-sized pieces while he ground ink nearby.

"Uncle, are you going to write something?" Chen Tiantian's face was full of puzzlement.

As far as she could remember, she had never seen Chen Shi'an hold a brush.

Su Qingrou looked equally bewildered.

Chen Shi'an smiled faintly. "Our chili sauce is about to go on sale. We need to put a striking name on it so we can make a name for ourselves."

Chen Tiantian tilted her little head. "Uncle, the shops I've seen in the Stronghold hire someone to do this.

"If the writing looks ugly, it ruins the first impression.

"Why don't I ask my teacher at the Private School to write it? His handwriting is beautiful."

Su Qingrou smiled without speaking, clearly having no objection to her daughter's suggestion.

The corners of Chen Shi'an's lips lifted. He took a piece of cut red paper and dipped his brush in ink.

Soon, three bold, neatly formed characters appeared on the red paper: Chen Su Ji.

Chen Tiantian's mouth fell open in astonishment, and Su Qingrou was just as surprised.

Ignoring their reactions, Chen Shi'an took another small piece of red paper and continued writing.

He finished three pieces in one go. The characters for Chen Su Ji were bold and neat on all three, their shapes and strokes so nearly identical that they looked copied.

Achieving such consistency by hand must have taken considerable practice.

Chen Tiantian finally recovered her senses. "Uncle, your handwriting is even prettier than my teacher's.

"How did you do it? This is the first time in my whole life I've seen you write."

The corners of Chen Shi'an's lips lifted. "Didn't I tell you before?

"Your uncle keeps a low profile. While you're asleep, I work hard in secret."

At those words, something seemed to occur to Su Qingrou, and her cheeks involuntarily flushed.

Chen Tiantian blinked. "It's not as if I've never been in your room. You never had paper or brushes in there before. How could you practice?"

"As I said, what you see with your own eyes isn't necessarily the truth."

Chen Shi'an gently brushed a finger across his niece's cheek. "Little girl, why do you have so many questions?

"Hurry up and paste these labels on. Remember, they must be straight, not crooked."

Before long, three jars of chili sauce bore the characters for Chen Su Ji.

The black lettering on red paper lent them a festive air.

Once the paste had dried completely, Chen Shi'an put on a straw hat, shouldered his carrying pole, and prepared to leave.

"Uncle, this is your plan?"

Su Qingrou's face was full of worry. "Doesn't this make you a street peddler? Selling it like this, how long will it take to clear all the chili sauce out of the cellar?"

Chen Shi'an smiled faintly. "Sister-in-law, don't worry. You have to trust your own cooking.

"There's plenty more red paper in my room. You and Tiantian can cut it up. When I get back, I'll label all the chili sauce in the cellar."

With that, he stepped forward and slowly left the courtyard.

Su Qingrou watched his back disappear from sight, her slender, willow-leaf brows tightly knitted.

"Mother, your chili sauce is delicious. Uncle will definitely sell it all," Chen Tiantian said, taking her mother's hand.

Su Qingrou let out a long sigh. "Tiantian, if one day I stop sending you to the Private School, will you listen to me?"

Chen Tiantian froze. Her eyes reddened, but then she forced a small smile. "Don't worry, mother. I'll listen to you.

"Not many children on this street can attend the Private School. I'm already happy that I got to go for a year."

Su Qingrou bit her lip lightly and stroked her daughter's hair, filled with both guilt and tenderness.

Carrying his load, Chen Shi'an did not roam the streets and alleys hawking his wares as Su Qingrou had imagined. Instead, he headed straight for several large restaurants in the Stronghold.

He was not going to sell them chili sauce, but to give it away.

He distributed all sixty jars among six restaurants, ten jars apiece, without keeping a single one.

He charged not a scrap of silver and threw in plenty of smiles and pleasant words.

The whole process took nearly three hours before Chen Shi'an returned home with his carrying pole.

Only to find guests in the courtyard.

Two of them, both women.

They were sitting beside the stone table, chatting and laughing with Su Qingrou.

Both women wore simple clothes and no makeup, yet their natural beauty was impossible to hide.

The woman dressed in red, in particular, carried the unmistakable air of someone accustomed to command in her every movement.

She finally came!

The instant Chen Shi'an saw the woman in red, delight flashed through his eyes.

"Sister-in-law, we have guests?"

He quickly concealed his delight and carried his load into the courtyard.

"Uncle, you sold all the chili sauce already?" Chen Tiantian came rushing out, her face alight with surprise and joy.

Chen Shi'an nodded, set down his carrying pole, and walked briskly to the stone table. "And these two ladies are?"

Su Qingrou was equally delighted to see his empty load and hurried to introduce them. "Uncle, these two young ladies heard how delicious our chili sauce was and came to buy some."

Chen Shi'an hastily cupped his hands in greeting and sat down beside the stone table.

The woman in red gave him a quick once-over. "Sister Su tells me you invented Chen Su Ji's chili sauce?"

Chen Shi'an smiled faintly. "I wouldn't call it an invention. I just tried something small and discovered that chilies could be used this way."

The other woman, dressed in green, was somewhat younger. Her round eyes glistened brightly, marking her at a glance as a quick-witted girl.

She suddenly stood and pointed at the stacked red paper, brush, and ink. "Sister Su told me your chili sauce is called Chen Su Ji, and every jar gets a red label with black lettering.

"Half the chili sauce we're buying is for ourselves, and the other half is for gifts. Those jars need red labels too."

With that, she pushed four jars of chili sauce in front of Chen Shi'an.

Before Chen Shi'an could answer, Chen Tiantian immediately brought over the paper and brush. "Of course, ladies. My uncle's handwriting is beautiful."

"Please excuse my humble efforts, ladies."

Chen Shi'an rose, rolled up his sleeves, took the brush, and began to write.

As the first Chen Su Ji label took shape, the woman in red's eyes visibly brightened. "Young Master Chen, your calligraphy already has the bearing of a master."

Chen Shi'an kept his brush moving. "You flatter me, miss. I just enjoy scribbling and doodling in my spare time."

The woman in green chimed in, "You're being far too modest. If you call this scribbling and doodling, how could those self-proclaimed masters in the Stronghold bear to show their faces?"

The woman in red frowned slightly. The woman in green immediately sobered and closed her mouth.

Chen Tiantian's little face darkened as well. She was about to speak when she saw Chen Shi'an shake his head at her, so she swallowed the words already on the tip of her tongue.

Chen Shi'an's smile remained unchanged. "Perhaps I have a little talent for it."

The woman in green pursed her lips but did not dare speak again.

Soon, all six red labels were written, and Chen Tiantian pasted them onto the ceramic jars one by one.

Ever considerate, Su Qingrou worried that the women would struggle to carry them. She found two straw ropes and tied the six jars of chili sauce into two bundles.

The woman in green was about to pick up the chili sauce when the woman in red smiled softly. "Young Master Chen, could you help deliver these?"

Before Chen Shi'an could reply, Chen Tiantian said crisply, "Miss, we only sell chili sauce. We don't deliver."

Still smiling, the woman in red looked at Chen Tiantian. "We don't live far away. It won't take much time. Besides, we won't ask your uncle to do it for nothing."

As she spoke, she gently placed a piece of silver weighing one tael on the stone table. "This is his payment."

Without a moment's thought, Chen Tiantian shook her head. "Ladies, six jars of chili sauce aren't very heavy, and you don't live far away. Why would you need my uncle to deliver them?"

The corners of the woman in red's lips lifted. "Little girl, do you know how many jars of chili sauce one tael of silver can buy?"

Chen Tiantian raised her head proudly. "Of course I do. I'm attending the Private School, and I've studied arithmetic. One tael of silver can buy a hundred jars."

"He could earn one tael of silver just by making a delivery. Why are you stopping him?" the woman in red asked.

Chen Tiantian paused briefly. "Please don't blame me for speaking plainly, miss. It's precisely because you're offering so much silver that I can't let my uncle go.

"My father told me that pies don't fall from the sky. Behind a great temptation, there may well be a great trap."

The woman in red looked surprised and was about to speak, but Chen Shi'an stroked Chen Tiantian's head. "Little girl, your uncle can read faces. These two ladies look so kind and beautiful. They certainly can't be bad people. Don't worry."

With that, he picked up the six jars of chili sauce.

"Uncle..." Su Qingrou began, then stopped.

Clearly, she did not approve of Chen Shi'an making the delivery either.

"Sister-in-law, it's getting late. Go and start cooking. I'll be right back for dinner."

Chen Shi'an smiled faintly and looked at the woman in red. "Miss, please lead the way."

After he left the Chen family home, Chen Tiantian poked her little head out through the doorway, her eyes filled with worry.

Warmth rose in Chen Shi'an's heart. The corners of his lips lifted, and he waved gently to reassure her.

Less than half a li from the Chen family home, a luxurious carriage stood parked in the street.

The woman in green hurried forward and opened its door.

"Young Master Chen, please come inside so we can talk." The woman in red gestured invitingly.

Chen Shi'an stopped, his expression turning suspicious and wary. "Miss, since you have a carriage, why did you need me to deliver the chili sauce?"

The woman in red smiled softly. "I came here today primarily for you. Buying chili sauce was merely incidental."

"For me?"

Chen Shi'an looked utterly bewildered, his gaze growing even more guarded.

The woman in red slowly entered the carriage and opened the window. "Young Master Chen, didn't you just say you could read faces? What's wrong? Are you afraid to get in now?

"I'm a woman without even the strength to truss a chicken. Surely you don't think I could eat you alive?"

Chen Shi'an put on a show of hesitation and inner struggle before finally following her inside.

The woman in green took the chili sauce from him, closed the carriage door, and stood guard outside.

"Miss, I don't believe we've met before. What do you want with me?" Chen Shi'an was visibly nervous.

The woman in red smiled faintly, took a sheet of yellow paper from inside her clothes, and held it out before him.

Chen Shi'an glanced down and saw two lines of elegant small characters:

Clouds called to mind her robes, flowers her face; the spring breeze brushed the railing, dew gleaming rich.

After a moment of obvious shock, he forced himself to remain composed. "Miss, what is the meaning of this?"

The woman in red lifted her gaze slightly. "I want to know the next two lines."

Chen Shi'an looked utterly puzzled and shook his head repeatedly. "Miss, I'm just an ordinary fellow from the streets. How could I understand something as refined as poetry? You must have the wrong person."

The corners of the woman in red's lips lifted. "Young Master Chen, I've already tracked you down. Why keep pretending?"

Chen Shi'an cupped his hands apologetically. "Miss, please stop making fun of me. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

With that, he rose and prepared to leave.

"Chen Shi'an!"

The woman in red abruptly raised her voice, an icy menace ringing through it. At the same time, an invisible pressure instantly filled the carriage and bore down on Chen Shi'an.

A ranked martial artist!

Chen Shi'an had not expected the delicate-looking woman in red to be a ranked martial artist as well.

At the same time, sensing the pressure, the Origin Force within him immediately began circulating on its own, ready to resist.

Chen Shi'an hurriedly stopped it, put on a frightened expression, and dropped back into his seat.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My surname is Lou, and my given name is Yaoyao. I am the pavilion master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion in Windrise Stronghold." The woman in red's smile vanished, her gaze imperious.

"Pavilion Master Tao!"

Chen Shi'an's expression changed dramatically, and he hastily bowed with respect. "I had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. Please forgive me, Pavilion Master Tao."

Everyone in the Desolate Ruins knew that the Hundred Flowers Pavilion held an exalted position in every stronghold.

Tao Yaoyao's voice was cool. "Chen Shi'an, answer me honestly. Did you write this poem for Lu Chenyang?"

Chen Shi'an hesitated briefly, then nodded.

Tao Yaoyao lifted her chin slightly. "Write out the last two lines. Whatever you want, I can give it to you."