The next day.
Morning light slanted through the carved window lattice into the room, falling before the bed and illuminating tiny motes of dust.
"Young master, you're gradually getting some strength down below. It's getting nice and hard..."
Lu Sui first washed up with Xiaohuan's help, then began his daily massage to stimulate blood flow.
He had been bedridden for so long after falling ill that he could not get out of bed. The Qi and blood in both legs had stagnated, leaving them as though dead, unable to muster the slightest strength.
He could only move about with a cane.
Fortunately, Doctor Lu, whom Lu Yulin had invited, was one of Changle County's most renowned miracle doctors.
He had specially taught them a set of massage techniques and instructed the maids to learn them carefully and perform them morning and evening, saying Lu Sui would recover completely after a hundred days.
Otherwise, Lu Sui would likely have spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair.
"Young master, is this pressure all right?"
Xiaohuan sat sideways on the edge of the bed, kneading his legs with both hands, working upward little by little from his ankles.
Before half an incense stick had burned, Lu Sui's forehead was drenched in sweat. He gritted his teeth and said,
"It's fine. Keep going."
This body of his had lain in bed for far too long-a full six months. The muscles in both legs had wasted away, shrinking considerably.
Had the Lu Family not been wealthy enough to sustain his life with all manner of rare medicinal ingredients and have maids and older serving women turn him over and wipe him down day and night, he would probably have developed bedsores long ago, wasting away until he scarcely looked human.
The mastermind who struck at me truly hated the Lu Family to the bone. Choosing me not only cut off the Lu Family's sole remaining sprout, but also served to torment my ready-made father, Lu Yulin... making a father watch helplessly as his son died in humiliation.
A faint chill crept through Lu Sui's heart.
He endured the itching, numbness, and needle-prick torment brought on by the stimulation of his legs, gritting his teeth and holding out for over an hour.
"Feeling anything at all is a good thing."
He comforted himself this way.
Compared with losing his mobility and becoming a cripple, this little bit of suffering was nothing.
Xiaohuan was sweating profusely from the effort, her palms aching. She called toward the door,
"Hurry and bring a basin of hot water so the young master can wipe off his sweat."
"Right away."
Someone answered.
The two maids standing at the door immediately hurried off.
As the Lu Family's sole heir, Lu Sui naturally received excellent treatment.
There were seven or eight maids just to look after him, divided into several ranks.
Those like Xiaohuan were personal maids, who could be considered "supervisors."
They mainly attended to his daily needs, from washing to making his bed, and normally slept in the side room beside his bedroom.
Below them were the bedchamber maids.
According to the vile customs of feudal society, a maid would be assigned to "teach the ways of men and women" around the time a young master came of age, sleeping with him.
Otherwise, a hot-blooded young man might become so pent up that his disreputable friends would lure him into the streets of flowers and lanes of willows, draining his body and leaving him with filthy diseases.
Finally came the menial maids, who swept the courtyards, sent clothes out for washing, and did fine needlework.
One could say that Young Master Lu had grown up merely extending his arms to be dressed and opening his mouth to be fed, never suffering any real hardship.
Otherwise, he would not have been unable to endure even stance training, dreaming up every possible means of avoiding it.
Once the hot water arrived, Xiaohuan soaked a cloth and wrung it dry, then gently undid Lu Sui's front-fastening undershirt and carefully wiped his neck and chest.
She changed cloths after wiping each area.
You'd probably have to stay in a private nursing ward to enjoy treatment like this.
Lu Sui mulled it over inwardly. Being the Lu Family's young master did not seem so bad.
By the time they finally finished, the sun was already three poles high.
Neatly dressed in a Huzhou silk gown and satin cloth shoes with layered soles, Lu Sui leaned on his red sandalwood cane and stepped outside.
He did not hole up indoors just because he had difficulty walking. Every day, he got out of bed and walked until he was panting with exhaustion, treating it as exercise.
Xiaohuan followed Lu Sui through the courtyard gate and asked,
"Young master, aren't you sunning yourself in the courtyard today?"
"Father told me to practice some martial arts with Uncle Wen."
Lu Sui was quite eager to learn martial arts.
First, he wanted to see what use the ancient temple and its main shrine in his mind actually had;
Second, the remnants of the blade bandits, whose blood feud with the Lu Family ran as deep as the sea, were still lurking in the shadows.
That filled him with a sense of danger.
However tough my fate may be, I can't possibly die again and then come back to life once more. As long as I'm alive, I have to cherish my life!
Lu Sui silently cautioned himself.
He followed the covered walkway and passed through the hanging-flower gate.
This gate marked the boundary between the inner and outer residences, and older serving women guarded it.
It was kept loosely shut during the day and locked at night. Male servants and outside visitors were forbidden to enter without permission.
Anyone who broke this rule could be seized on the spot, branded a "thieving burglar," and beaten to death with clubs.
Storybooks often said that young ladies of wealthy households "never stepped beyond the main gate or crossed the second gate."
The "second gate" referred to this very gate.
"Young master."
The woman guarding the gate greeted him warmly.
"Where are you headed? Second Madam has made some aged ginseng soup. It'll be brought to you shortly."
Ever since Lu Sui had become bedridden and delirious, that Second Madam had personally handled all his meals and medicinal dishes.
"The courtyard's too stifling. I'm going to chat with Uncle Wen."
Lu Sui smiled faintly.
"Have someone take the aged ginseng soup to the east wing in the outer courtyard."
The woman bent very low and said with a broad smile,
"Certainly! The weather's lovely today. Now that you've come outside, young master, even the sun looks livelier!"
She certainly knows how to say auspicious things!
Too bad I haven't any silver on me. Otherwise, I'd have to reward her with a few taels.
Lu Sui did not respond. After several days of adjustment, he already knew how to play the young master properly.
Before Lu Yulin, he needed to be obedient and sparing with words; before the servants, he had to put on airs.
That was only fitting.
He made his way to the outer courtyard with his cane. A chief steward of Uncle Wen's caliber held an extraordinary position.
Lu Yulin had always treated him with respect and specially assigned him a private courtyard.
It stood right beside the outer study, allowing him to answer the master's summons within moments. The other stewards also came here to report, deliver visiting cards, and settle purchasing accounts.
This private courtyard had three spacious brick-and-tile rooms, a bright central room flanked by two enclosed rooms.
Seven or eight sturdy men were bare-chested in the front courtyard, lifting stone locks and swinging stone rollers, sweat pouring down like rain.
Lu Sui's temples throbbed. Fragments of memory flashed through his mind, and understanding surfaced in his eyes.
This was the most rudimentary way to temper one's strength.
It was said that a skilled household martial instructor could wield a hundred-jin broadsword and draw a twelve-strength bow, with seven or eight ordinary sturdy men unable to get close.
Standing at the courtyard entrance, Lu Sui thought,
This world has martial arts, yet the original owner wasn't interested. I can't understand it... Who wouldn't want to become an expert who could fight ten men alone, or stand against a hundred!
"Young master..."
"Chief Steward Dou, the young master is here!"
Upon seeing Lu Sui, the men in the courtyard hurriedly stopped their exercises and bowed respectfully.
That gives some indication of how strictly my ready-made father runs this household.
In the days since he had awakened, no one, from the serving women to the stewards, had dared slight Lu Sui.
He had not heard so much as a single disrespectful word.
Clearly, the Lu Family's rules were extremely strict, keeping everyone beneath them thoroughly obedient.
The men's clamor alerted Dou Xiaowen inside.
The door curtain lifted, and a tall, thin old man strolled out, wearing a short indigo jacket with an old tobacco pipe tucked slantwise into his waistband.
"Uncle Wen."
Lu Sui bowed slightly.
The tall, thin old man was Dou Xiaowen. His graying hair was cropped extremely short, and the wrinkles on his face looked knife-carved, but his eyes shone brightly, without the slightest cloudiness.
"What brings you out to the outer courtyard today, young master?"
Dou Xiaowen stood with his hands behind his back and said with a smile,
"There's nothing but rough fellows here. The foul air's thick; we wouldn't want it offending you."
Leaning on his cane, Lu Sui slowly approached.
"During dinner yesterday, I mentioned to Father that I wanted to learn martial arts. He told me to learn the Turtle-Snake Stance from you, Uncle Wen, to build up my health."
Surprise appeared on Dou Xiaowen's face. Had the sun risen in the west?
Who in the entire Lu household did not know that Young Master Lu was a soft sort who liked rolling about among rouge and powder?
In the past, Lu Yulin had tried no shortage of methods to force Lu Sui to learn martial arts, paying handsomely to hire all manner of weapons instructors. Yet Young Master Lu complained of suffering during stance training and exhaustion when practicing boxing, and had even fainted several times.
Even the decisive, swift-acting Lu Yulin had been left at his wits' end. He could only give up and let Lu Sui while away his days among opera performers, listening to tunes and singing opera.
"Have you thought this through, young master?"
Dou Xiaowen lowered his head and took out his dry tobacco pipe, then pinched some tobacco shreds from his pouch and slowly pressed them into the bowl.
"Although the Turtle-Snake Stance is a health-nourishing art, practicing it still entails some suffering.
"Especially after the ordeal you've endured, young master, your constitution is weak. Seeing results will be even harder."
It seemed the original owner's "credit score" really was terrible.
Judging by Uncle Wen's attitude, the Lu household merely respected his status as "young master" and did not think much of him personally.
He brought it on himself, too. With such a vast family enterprise before him, he paid it no mind and insisted on thinking about singing opera.
Lu Sui silently criticized the original owner, but his expression remained calm.
"Uncle Wen, if I can't endure the hardships of training, that will mean I'm incapable. It won't have anything to do with you.
"If I grit my teeth and make it through, and am lucky enough to achieve something, naturally it'll be because you, my master instructor, taught me well.
"My father will certainly be delighted and bestow a reward."
Dou Xiaowen's indifferent expression shifted. He raised his eyes to look at Lu Sui.
Well now, when did the young master change his nature?
He's actually learned the master's signature trick of 'painting pancakes' to promise rewards?
Dou Xiaowen grinned.
"Since you're willing to learn, young master, I'll certainly teach you properly."
He held the dry tobacco pipe but did not light it.
The young master was frail; he must not choke him with smoke.
"Young master, come inside with me."
Dou Xiaowen turned sideways and lifted the door curtain with his dry tobacco pipe.
"The Turtle-Snake Stance has two sets, moving and still. Both are 'behind-the-curtain arts.' According to martial-world rules, they can't be passed on lightly."