Chapter 10
Chapter 10
The winter day was overcast. At some point, snow had begun to fall across the sky.
Hooves clopped steadily, breaking the long, lingering silence of the bluestone alley. The wheels crushed the snowflakes drifting down from above, their rims soon crusted with beads of ice.
I had the coachman stop at the entrance to the Wang Mansion’s auxiliary residence. Armored soldiers stood in formation, and the security at the gate was so strict that my heart shrank despite myself. I could only stand below the steps, shivering as I bowed.
“May I trouble you brave warriors to announce me? Nan Jinping has come to call.”
“Whom does the young lady wish to see?”
“Third Master Wang of the Wang Clan, Wang Yu.”
To my surprise, the armored guards at the gate merely nodded. One of them turned back and struck the ancient green bronze knocker shaped like a beast’s face. The great doors opened halfway, and I was ushered in with the utmost courtesy.
It was only an auxiliary residence, yet its pavilions and halls were airy and elegant, with streams murmuring through the grounds. Here and there were clusters of ornamental rocks and miniature mountains, every step offering a new scene. After we passed through a winding corridor, the soldier led me to a small pavilion beyond a water bridge. He bowed, then withdrew soundlessly.
The pavilion itself was refined and graceful, draped on all sides with hanging curtains. Several branch-shaped lamps quietly breathed out wisps of smoke. Pale mist coiled around the place, and stepping inside felt like entering an immortal realm.
Wang Yu wore a light robe and stood behind a desk. Before him lay an expanse of snow-white silk, as though he had been painting.
I stole a blurred glance. Under his brush was something lifelike, not quite a tiger and not quite a leopard; if anything, it looked more like a lazy big cat. In one corner was a little mouse, and the big cat had one paw pressed atop it, half threatening, half toying.
Seeing me craning my neck to look, he rolled up the silk, his expression perfectly composed.
“You’re here.”
I hurriedly clasped my hands in greeting. “Greetings to Young Master Wang.”
“Mm.”
He did nothing at all, yet the Lady Attendant beside him poured a bowl of clear tea and respectfully placed it in my hands.
Naturally, I was overwhelmed by the honor.
One must understand that the Nan Family was only a minor aristocratic house. Even if my father came in person, he might not be able to drink a single cup of tea from Young Master Wang. Though compared with his favor, what shocked me even more was Wang Yu’s authority…
Seeing me standing there in a daze, he asked indifferently, “Why aren’t you drinking?”
I murmured, “I was merely surprised by Young Master’s way of commanding people.”
“How so?”
“Whether armored soldiers or Lady Attendants, everyone by Young Master’s side obeys as naturally as an extension of your own arm, as if they share your very thoughts. If Young Master leads troops one day, you will surely have divine aid!”
I was in the midst of flattering him when the man before me curved his lips in a faint, amused smile, as if a little pleased with himself.
This was the first time I had ever seen him smile!
It was not a cold smile, nor a faint smile, nor a scoff, but a true, genuine laugh from the heart.
It was like a spring breeze brushing past a railing, like ice cracking and snow melting, like moonlight falling into water and sending ripples spreading outward. It was like plum blossoms swaying in the wind, covering the Southern Hills overnight. The feeling was impossible to describe in words.
Yet after that one smile, Wang Yu saw me staring blankly at him and immediately turned solemn. “What is it you want? Say it quickly. Stop dragging this out.”
“I…”
I was still hesitating over how to say it, my hands twisting the hem of my robe until it wrinkled into a ball. Wang Yu’s eyes rested on my flushed cheeks, and his expression gradually turned mocking.
The two of us spoke at almost the same time.
“You want to become my concubine?”
“Five hundred gold beads will do.”