"Third Sister! How could you speak up for an outsider?! Eldest Brother tripped over the stone table back then! Besides, didn't I draw my saber right away to avenge you?!"
"Enough! All of you, shut your mouths!"
The first madam slammed her palm against the rosewood armrest, making the teacup lid give a piercing clink. She stared down at the red-faced Xiao Yuxuan, her eyes cold and stern with frustration at his failure to measure up.
"Yuxuan, do you still remember that you are the marquis's eldest legitimate son, the future Marquis of the Northern Garrison?!"
"Mother, of course I know, but this lowly slave..."
"You know nothing, you fool! Yesterday, dozens of guards and maids from every branch were watching at the training grounds. Even Miss Lin, the prefect's daughter, was there! Ling'er fell from her horse and her life hung by a thread, yet you, her own eldest brother, failed to save her and let a lowly stable slave beat you to it! If I indulged you today and had her savior's hands cut off and him put to death, within half a day, all of Qingzhou City would be buzzing with the scandal of our first branch's heir standing by while his sister faced death and repaying kindness with enmity! Those uncles and cousins of yours are desperate for something to use against you. Do you want to hand your position as heir over to someone else yourself?!"
"Well... your reprimand is right, Mother. I was carried away by anger and failed to consider that..."
"One Blood-Gathering Pill and ten taels of gold buy you, the heir, a reputation for generosity worthy of spending a thousand gold pieces on a horse's bones, and silence every wagging tongue in this household! If you cannot work out such a simple account, how will you ever manage this enormous marquis's estate? Stand aside! Dare pester me with any more nonsense, and you will face the family discipline!"
Publicly scolded by his mother, Xiao Yuxuan was left utterly disgraced. His lips trembled for a long while, but in the end, he dared not utter another word of defiance. Yet when he turned to look at Chen Xuan, the murderous intent and venom in his eyes had reached their utmost intensity. His lips moved soundlessly-
You little bastard, just you wait!
Kneeling on the ground, Chen Xuan took it all in. Far from showing the slightest fear, he slammed his forehead hard against the bluestone slabs once more, kowtowing until the skin over his brow split and blood wound down the bridge of his nose. He began to wail in a hoarse, anguished voice.
"Please calm your anger, First Madam! Please calm your anger, Young Lord! It is all my fault for being stupid and reckless! Everything is my fault! First Madam is like the parent who gave me a second life, and the young lord is my master high in the heavens! Today, before First Madam and all the gods and Buddhas in this hall, I, Chen Xuan, swear this terrible oath-this worthless life of mine belongs to the first branch from now on! If I ever harbor the slightest disloyalty toward First Madam, the young lord, or Third Miss, or dare utter so much as half a word of nonsense outside, may heaven strike me with five thunderbolts, may my guts burst and my belly rot, and may I die without a place to be buried!"
"Look at that. Even a menial slave knows better than you how to behave and see the larger picture! Enough, Chen Xuan. Take the rewards on the tray and go tend to your injuries."
"Thank you for your heavenly grace, First Madam! Thank you for sparing my life, Young Lord! This lowly one takes his leave!"
Chen Xuan accepted the gilt-decorated tray from the maid with both hands. Keeping his blood-covered forehead lowered, he backed toward the main hall's doors, step by step.
Beneath his lowered eyelids, his eyes were so cold that they held not a trace of human feeling.
A thousand gold pieces for a horse's bones? Using me as a tool of a dog to salvage Xiao Yuxuan's reputation?
No hurry. I'll remember this for now. Today, I've kowtowed to you, and I'll gladly accept these ten taels of gold and this Blood-Gathering Pill. Once I've cultivated the Eight Desolations Prison-Suppressing Yang Gang to great completion and uproot your entire first branch, I hope you and your mother can kowtow just as loudly as I did today!
Just as Chen Xuan's right foot was about to cross the main hall's threshold-
"Wait! Who gave you permission to scurry back to the stables so soon? Stop right there!"
A girl's clear voice, tinged with haughtiness and awkwardness, suddenly rang out from the rose chair on the right.
Chen Xuan halted and obediently stopped beside the door. Behind him, he heard the rustle of skirts-Xiao Ling'er had risen.
"Ling'er, the rewards have already been given. What else do you want?"
"Mother! Didn't you see how Eldest Brother looked at this horse feeder just now? As though he wanted to swallow him alive! If this slave goes back to the rear courtyard stables carrying ten taels of gold and a Blood-Gathering Pill, never mind whether he can keep the pill-he'll probably drown mysteriously in a horse-piss pit tonight!"
"Nonsense! This marquis's household still has laws and family rules. Would your eldest brother secretly murder a servant over such a trivial matter?"
"Why wouldn't he? Besides, Mother, what was hidden inside Treading Snow's horseshoe yesterday was the Southern Border's deadly poison, Itching Ant Grass! Even Eldest Sister-in-Law said the poisoner had calculated that I would go riding at the training grounds between three and five yesterday afternoon. Clearly, there is a mole in this household who wants my life, or wants me to break my limbs in a fall and ruin my face!"
At Xiao Ling'er's words, the atmosphere in the main hall instantly plunged to freezing point.
The first madam slowly set down her teacup, her gaze turning deep and sharp.
"Zhang Kui already took men to sift through the rear courtyard stables and outer courtyard guards last night. The outer courtyard guard who nailed the bamboo spike beneath the horse's hoof took poison in the woodshed between three and five this morning, killing himself out of fear of punishment. The trail ended at the entrance to the passage between the second and fourth branches. Ling'er, what exactly are you trying to say by suddenly bringing this up?"
"Killed himself out of fear of punishment? He was clearly murdered to silence him! Mother, undercurrents are surging through this marquis's household now. Who knows how many pairs of eyes are watching our first branch from the shadows! My Listening to Rain Pavilion may have a dozen or so guards, but they are all old hands transferred from the main force in the front courtyard, each with more holes of cunning in his heart than a sieve. When that maddened horse charged yesterday, they couldn't even touch its rump!"
"What do you want to do, then?"
"I need a personal guard who belongs entirely to me! A dog of unwavering loyalty who has never dealt with the stewards of any branch, has no factional ties whatsoever, and obeys only me, Xiao Ling'er!"
Xiao Ling'er drew a deep breath and turned. Her almond-shaped eyes, their black and white sharply distinct, settled directly on Chen Xuan beside the door, and she raised her proud chin.
"This Chen Xuan may be a worthless nobody who hasn't even entered the ranks yet, but he risked his life to protect me from that maddened horse. That proves he is loyal enough and ruthless enough in his bones! Besides, I saved his worthless life from Eldest Brother's blade yesterday. He owes me his life! Mother, I want him transferred out of the stables and assigned directly to the Listening to Rain Pavilion as my personal guard!"
"Absurd! Third Sister, have you gone mad?! You want a groom who hasn't even grasped the basics of the Boulder Art as your personal guard? Never mind whether his paltry, half-baked strength can protect you. If word gets out that an unmarried maiden like you has kept the lowly slave who held you yesterday in the inner courtyard, do you still care about your reputation?!"
"Eldest Brother, stop using my reputation to pressure me! I, Xiao Ling'er, stand straight and have no fear of a crooked shadow. Yesterday was an emergency measure at a moment of life and death! Besides, isn't there the Blood-Gathering Pill Mother just bestowed? Once he takes it, even a pig could root its way across the threshold of early-stage Bright Force! Having him guard my door and run errands at the Listening to Rain Pavilion would be a hundred times better than those useless rice buckets who only know how to howl when it matters!"