Chapter 89 : Chapter 89
Chapter 89. Sharing in the Glory?
Shangyang Manor, gate guards’ post of a side courtyard.
“Have you all heard?”
A young female martial artist lowered her voice, her tone full of amazement and yearning.
“That newly promoted Five-Stripe Servant Chief, Lord Xu—they say he climbed all the way up step by step from being an outer-courtyard menial!”
“With talent like that, he actually rose up from a menial?”
“That’s practically a carp leaping through the dragon gate!”
“A carp leaping through the dragon gate?” another person cut in, eyes shining.
“I heard Lord Xu is not only formidable in fist techniques, but also proficient in movement techniques and horizontal body-tempering arts. Quite a few veteran Fourth Meridian Street Guards from the Bai family lost at his hands!”
“And now he’s even broken through to the Fifth Meridian... A figure like that will absolutely become one of the family’s pillars in the future!”
“Supervisor Sun.”
A female martial artist who was usually somewhat closer to Sun Rong suddenly nudged her arm and asked tentatively,
“If I remember correctly, you also came from the outer courtyard back then... do you happen to know this Lord Xu?”
Several gazes immediately focused on Sun Rong’s face.
Sun Rong had already been listening in a daze.
Ever since reaching the Second Meridian, she had managed to secure the post of side-courtyard gate guard supervisor inside the manor, with three to five First Meridian female guards under her command.
Among the servants and maids of the inner manor, she could at least be said to have gained a little standing.
The name Xu Yuan was like a thin needle, unexpectedly piercing into her memories today.
Scene after scene flashed uncontrollably through her mind.
That bit of competitive spirit she had once harbored had already been crushed when she first heard that he had broken through to the Fourth Meridian and slain an enemy leader in battle. And now, this new piece of news made even looking up at him feel like it strained her neck.
After all, people had to grow.
The pride and unwillingness she once held now seemed laughable and pale in the face of such an enormous gap in reality.
“Supervisor Sun, what’s wrong?” the female martial artist asked in puzzlement when she saw that Sun Rong was not speaking.
Hearing her companion’s question, Sun Rong’s thoughts raced.
Looking at the curiosity, envy, and even the faint trace of ingratiation mixed in the others’ eyes, a thought suddenly rose in her mind.
Instead of brushing it off vaguely as she usually would, she straightened her back slightly and said in an offhand tone,
“Xu Yuan... of course I know him. Back in the outer courtyard, the few of us got along fairly well. We often practiced and sparred together.”
“He was already very hardworking back then, and his talent was good too. I just never expected him to reach such heights today.”
She deliberately omitted the estrangement that had come later, mentioning only that long-since-altered “old friendship” in passing.
“Really?!”
The female martial artist who had asked immediately lit up, and the others also revealed expressions of surprise and envy.
“So Supervisor Sun actually has old ties with Lord Xu? You really were hiding your depths!”
“No wonder Supervisor Sun always acts so steadily and seems so knowledgeable. So you already knew someone like him from years ago.”
A flood of flattery immediately followed.
The complexity in Sun Rong’s heart was instantly washed away, replaced by a sense of reflected glory so subtle that even she herself did not notice it.
Just then, a Third Meridian chief supervisor responsible for patrolling this area happened to pass by.
This chief supervisor was usually stern and rarely gave people like them even so much as a smile.
But now, he stopped in his tracks. His gaze lingered on Sun Rong’s face for a moment, and for once, he actually smiled at her.
“Supervisor Sun, on duty today?”
Sun Rong hurriedly saluted. “Reporting to Chief Supervisor, yes.”
“Mm. Do your work well.” The chief supervisor did not say much more and walked on, but that brief pause and mildness were already enough to make the expressions of the surrounding female guards change once again.
Standing there, Sun Rong felt the increasingly obvious warmth and ingratiation from her companions, and that sense of sudden clarity in her heart became ever more distinct.
So even if one merely latched onto a stray ray of someone else’s brilliance, one’s own circumstances could still become completely different.
The regret she had once felt over distancing herself from Xu Yuan now seemed to have found a strange sort of compensation.
Before she realized it, the smile on her face had become a little more genuine, and her back had straightened a little more.
...
Deep within the inner manor stood an elegant and exquisitely furnished courtyard.
Ye Qing’er, dressed in a silk gown of soft texture and pale color, with a delicate pearl hairpin set in her hair, was staring blankly at a bright bronze mirror.
Now, she had finally gotten her wish and become the Fifth Young Master’s concubine.
She had her own independent courtyard and servants to attend her, achieving the “one-step ascent to heaven” ambition she had always longed for.
And yet, at this moment, there was little joy in her heart. Instead, she felt somewhat empty and uneasy.
Today, upon suddenly hearing that Xu Yuan had broken through to the Fifth Meridian, Ye Qing’er had tightened her grip on the corner of her robe again and again, while still forcing herself to remain calm. Inwardly, she told herself:
‘A Fifth Meridian martial artist is still just a servant. No matter how powerful he is, he’s only an outsider martial artist. Fighting and risking his life all day—how can that compare to me living out my days in peace?’
She repeated it over and over, as though trying to persuade that sourness and faint regret that kept bubbling up from the bottom of her heart.
Just then, footsteps and the sound of a maid greeting someone came from outside.
The curtain was lifted, and a young man in brocade robes walked in. His complexion was somewhat pale, but he carried a trace of noble bearing. It was none other than the Fifth Young Master, Shangyang Jinhong.
“Qing’er, what are you daydreaming about?”
Shangyang Jinhong seemed to be in a good mood. He sat down on his own and took the hot tea handed over by a maid.
Ye Qing’er quickly composed herself and went up to greet him with a gentle smile.
“Young Master, you’re back. This concubine was only thinking about a few trivial matters.”
Shangyang Jinhong paid it no mind. Taking a sip of tea, he said with great interest,
“Do you know that something fresh has happened in the manor recently?”
“That martial artist named Xu Yuan—the one who recently wiped out a Bai family spy nest and killed several Street Guards in succession—I hear he’s already broken through to the Fifth Meridian. Truly remarkable.”
Ye Qing’er’s smile stiffened slightly, and she could only respond with effort,
“This concubine... has heard a little.”
“This man is indeed quite good.”
Setting down his teacup, Shangyang Jinhong spoke with a trace of excitement in his tone.
“Father and several uncles all mentioned him while discussing matters. They said both his talent and temperament are first-rate, and that he’s someone worth cultivating.”
“To step into the Fifth Meridian at such an age—even among the inner-manor descendants, he would count as outstanding. Our Shangyang family has gained yet another fierce general!”
Though he came from the direct line, his talent was mediocre, and even now he had only reached the Second Meridian. However, he was deeply interested in all things related to the martial path and usually liked nothing more than getting acquainted with outstanding martial talents.
After a pause, as if suddenly recalling something, he turned to Ye Qing’er and casually asked,
“Oh right, I just remembered. Weren’t you also in the outer courtyard back then? I think you even knew this Xu Yuan?”
Ye Qing’er’s expression shifted slightly, but she could only answer honestly, “We did have some contact.”
“Since there’s that bit of connection, then do this—prepare a congratulatory gift for me. Hmm... eight taels of silver should do. Find a suitable moment and send it to him. No need to say much. Just treat it as forming a good connection and leaving an impression.”
After thinking it over for a moment, Shangyang Jinhong gave the instruction.
Ye Qing’er only felt a surge of bitterness rise straight to her throat. The gentle smile on her face nearly became impossible to maintain.
Clearly, the importance he attached to Xu Yuan had shattered her self-deception.
“Young Master,” she said, her voice a little dry, “this concubine and he... were not actually that close. Back then, we were only ordinary acquaintances. As for this gift, perhaps...”
“Ah, ordinary acquaintances are still acquaintances.”
Shangyang Qingyun waved his hand dismissively.
“He’s in the limelight right now, and there’s no harm in making a connection. People of our inner manor can’t appear too arrogant. I’ll leave this matter to you.”
Ye Qing’er lowered her eyes, hiding the surging complexity within them, and answered softly, “Yes, this concubine understands.”
Shangyang Qingyun did not notice anything unusual about her and continued speaking on his own:
“Come to think of it, now that Xu Yuan has advanced to the Fifth Meridian, according to the family rules, the marriage alliance matter will probably have to be reconsidered as well.”
“The maid candidates that were chosen before are likely no longer worthy of him. The elders may even pick a suitable young woman from one of the collateral branches... In any case, this is someone who must be taken more seriously from now on.”
Marriage alliance, reconsidered...
Listening to this, Ye Qing’er felt a chill sweep through her heart.
Wasn’t the choice she had made back then precisely to escape the fate of being arranged into a marriage alliance as a bargaining chip?
And yet now, Xu Yuan might instead welcome an even better marriage match from a far higher position.
While she, on the other hand, had to present a congratulatory gift and humbly try to leave an impression?
A tremendous sense of absurdity and belated regret quietly wound themselves tighter around her heart, yet all they could become in the end was a soft murmur:
“Yes... this concubine understands.”