It was a week’s worth of time to travel from the Ice Arts Sect to the Xia Capital while they were in the qi gathering and body refinement stages.

Hustling along the roads, protected by the nation’s soldiers and guards, Qian Yu and Zhao Xieren managed to reach the capital in four days. 

Approaching the capital, Qian Yu felt different as he looked at it. The walls had always been tall, especially when he first saw the capital. Yet compared to the Soba Capital, it was a degree lower. 

Looking around the outer district as they entered the city, the houses were old, run down. The ground was dirty, emitting a depressing atmosphere, unfitting when compared to the atmosphere of the Soba Capital. Of course, it got better as the two entered the inner district with merchants and skilled workers mainly residing there. 

After an hour, they had managed to reach the edges of the noble district. 

“Hello, Miss Zhao,” a middle aged man who seemed pretty carefree and jolly had blocked their entrance into the district. Unlike the outer and inner districts, there was another wall separating the inner and noble districts.

“Hello,” Zhao Xieren took out an emblem, showing it to the guard. 

*Creeakk* With a nod, he motioned his hand, signalling to the other guards to open the gate. 

What appeared was a completely different view from the inner district. Void of people, there were numerous trees and greenery hidden behind the blanketed snow. In the distance, the current path divulged into several different pathways, and further away, he saw the outlines of large and magnificent buildings. 

Zhao Xieren saw that Qian Yu had paused and started looking around. “The noble district is a lot emptier. There are only 4 major noble houses here and a handful of weaker ones. Only part of each family lives here and the rest of the clansmen live in other cities to handle the affairs there,” she explained.

“Come, it will take another hour or so to reach my family’s territory,” Zhao Xieren started walking once more.

Nodding, Qian Yu followed her as he enjoyed the scenery. Qian Yu had never seen the capital from the sky. However, as they walked along, Qian Yu had no doubt that the noble district was as large as the area of the inner and outer districts combined. 

By the time they arrived at the estate, the sun was setting. 

Passing through another identity verification, they had finally stepped foot into the territory. 

It was large, completely spacious without the need of cluttering the buildings together. Still, there were many buildings. Glancing around, there were large pagodas, pavilions, several courtyards, and the most eye-catching of them all, was a large palace. As a completely isolated residential area however, it lacked the shops and businesses commonplace in the inner district. Nonetheless, the territory held about a thousand or two clansmen. 

“My family’s courtyard is not in the nearby area. My father is only cousins with the current family head so we are not too close with them. Of course, we are also not too distant to the point of living in other cities in the country,” Zhao Xieren turned to the side and started walking. Clearly, those further away from the palace and central courtyards were of lesser importance. 

Suddenly, a thought popped up in Qian Yu’s mind, ‘Will I one day have my own family or clan? If we ever settle down?’ It was a brave thought, filling Qian Yu with curiosity. 

“Are you guys treated badly?” Qian Yu asked, wanting to learn more about the life of nobles and their treatment towards each other.  

“It’s not that bad since my brother has been performing well along with my mother’s status of being an imperial doctor. In the end, we are all family and nothing controversial has happened as of late,” Zhao Xieren answered. 

After a few minutes, they arrived at a courtyard. Similar to the ones before, it had the same exterior, a simple brown wall color with a few statues near the entrance. Perhaps, the only noticeable difference was that the size of the courtyard was much smaller than the ones he had seen a few minutes ago. By the entrance, a girl was fidgety wandering around. 

“Young Miss, welcome back!” The girl from afar ran towards them, her arms open with a large smile on her face. 

“Yes, it’s been a while!” Zhao Xieren smiled and hugged the girl. Glancing at her, she looked to be about a little younger than Zhao Xieren and Qian Yu. Feeling the qi from her, she was at most at the 1st or 2nd stage of qi gathering. 

“Young Miss, this is?” The girl didn’t hug Zhao Xieren for too long as she turned to Qian Yu. 

“Ahem, this is Qian Yu… my friend,” Zhao Xieren answered. 

“Very well then, please come in,” the servant opened the main gate of the courtyard.  

Entering the courtyard, Qian Yu instantly saw a couple of other people. Including a few guards, there were many servants and workers keeping the courtyard clean and pretty. 

Curiously looking around though, he noticed that there were many buildings yet he was unsure of what they were. 

Noticing his gaze, Zhao Xieren whispered and pointed around, “Over there is one of the many storage rooms. On that side is one of the few kitchens. That entrance leads to the west courtyard where most of the servants stay. On the other hand, the east courtyard is the larger one and is also known as the main courtyard which would be where the main family resides.”

“So only your family of 4 with Zhao blood live here? And the rest are servants or slaves?” Qian Yu wanted to confirm. 

“Yes, in total there are about 15 people living in this courtyard,” Zhao Xieren nodded her head.

“Anyways, you can go back to work, I’ll show Qian Yu around,” Zhao Xieren dismissed the servant. 

It wasn’t supposed to be a long walk to the master’s residence but Zhao Xieren had ended up taking Qian Yu to explore the whole courtyard to broaden his understanding. 

After a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the main residence. Slightly taller than the others, its roof had a crown-shape design as if stating it was the king of the courtyard. Additionally, it was also decorated with statues, paintings, and other ornaments on the exterior.

“Hello Old Butler,” Zhao Xieren greeted an old aged man that had been waiting for them at the entrance. 

“Young Miss, Young Master Qian, Lady has been waiting for your arrival in the garden,” he respectfully bowed. 

“Alright, thank you,” Zhao Xieren motioned Qian Yu to follow her. Ignoring the hallways, she walked forward, entering a large garden. Unfortunately, it was currently snowing right now, blanketing most of the area in a light cover of snow. Yet, in the middle of everything, a few people in a small garden pavilion could be seen. 

“Mother!” Zhao Xieren waved as she quickly walked over. 

“My little girl!” Miss Zhao had stood up and dismissed the few servants around her. 

Following Zhao Xieren from behind, he watched the daughter and mother pair unite. Seeing Miss Zhao again however, Qian Yu suddenly realized something.

‘It’s like I’m meeting my in-laws aren’t I?’ Qian Yu started sweating as he had forgotten this fact until now. 

“Is Father home?” Zhao Xieren asked. 

“No, he went to visit your brother,” Miss Zhao answered.

“Qian Yu, come over,” Zhao Xieren waved at him. 

“Ah… right,” Qian Yu was still slightly flustered. 

“Greetings… Miss Zhao,” Qian Yu gave a small bow and greeted her.

“Qian Yu… you’ve really grown since I first saw you,” Miss Zhao smiled as she saw Qian Yu walk up. 

“Ahem, anyways, Zhao Xieren, I asked for one of the imperial scholars to come today. She has been waiting for a while so would you please go to her and should finalize what kind of instrument you want to bring to the 9 Melodies Mountain. For now, I’ll talk with your friend first,” Miss Zhao turned to Zhao Xieren. 

“Ah? Alright then, I will be back real quick then,” Zhao Xieren was a little surprised but it was a short task. 

Leaving the garden, Qian Yu and Miss Zhao were left alone. 

“Come sit,” Miss Zhao motioned Qian Yu to sit down and poured a cup of tea for Qian Yu. 

“Yes,” Qian Yu took a seat as he got the warm cup of tea. 

“Qian Yu, I have some questions. Recently, it looks like my daughter has been pretty well and happy. I must thank you for that,” she smiled. 

“Ahem, it’s nothing. I’m her friend so I was just worried about her mental wellbeing,” Qian Yu humbly replied. 

“Yes, then as her friend…” Miss Zhao paused for a moment. 

She stared at him, giving Qian Yu goosebumps before saying, “Did you enjoy sleeping with her?” 

*Puat!* Qian Yu spat out his tea, coloring the white blanket of snow by the side yellow. 

“I-I-I’m sorry Miss Zhao!” Qian Yu started feeling a little dizzy as his vision blurred. The purity of a noble woman was priceless. Traditionally, they were to remain virgin until marriage and while this has become less important over time, the Zhao family was very conservative. 

His thoughts were chaotic, wondering what would happen, yet they were soothed as Miss Zhao laughed, “Hahaha, don’t worry. I won’t tell the family.”

“What?” The wind howled through the pavilion as Qian Yu’s mind slowly comprehended her words.

“Thank you!” Qian Yu got off the chair and gave her a full bow. 

“Of course, that is under the premise that you treat her well. If I ever see her sad or crying because of you…” Miss Zhao didn’t say any more but Qian Yu could feel her cold gaze without even looking at her.

“Do not worry Miss Zhao, I will take responsibility for my actions,” Qian Yu reassured her. 

“Very well, that is all. You may sit,” Miss Zhao had returned to her previously friendly and warm attitude. 

“Phew!” Qian Yu let out a sigh of relief as he got past this scary and unique tribulation. 

“May, I ask how you knew?” Qian Yu wondered how she could possibly know. 

“Hmm… it was a hunch backed by years of experience,” Miss Zhao gave a devilish smile.

“I see…” Qian Yu was speechless seeing how scary her hunch was. However, he also felt a little bit better, realizing it wasn’t something that the rest of her family members could find out about.