The young female warrior stood on the surface of the lake; her white outfit waved with the wind. She looked like a celestial war fairy from heaven. The blade she held was pointed to the moon and as she moved, it was as if the moon itself descended on her. As if she was one with the lake, dancing under the moonlight.

When she sheathed her sword back, she turned around without even losing any breath. She ran lightly over the water surface to the lakeside and jumped until she stood on land.

And then she laughed while she sat on the ground, ignoring that her white dress was dirtied. “I really am cool,” she mumbled to herself while looking up to the moon. She tapped her fingers on the ground. “It’s about time now…”

“Xiaojie ¹Young Miss!”

She turned around to find her maid, Yuan Yuan, running towards her. “What?”

“Why are you here at the middle of the night?” The little maid scolded her. The younger girl had been with her since she was young, though, so it was just a routine for her to be concerned. “It’s dangerous to be here all alone at night!”

Feng Yue smiled widely. “Sorry, I can’t sleep.”

“Still, xiaojie, you should have brought someone with you,” the maid frowned. “You’re the first daughter of the Feng jia²Feng family now. You cannot act recklessly like this!”

Knowing that she was worried, Feng Yue smiled. “Okay, I won’t do it anymore.”

“You kept saying that, but you’ve been doing this for years!” Her maid hmphed. “It’s so dirty… xiaojie, let’s go back. Goodness, I have to wash that! It’s white cloth! Why do you keep doing this to me?”

Feng Yue only laughed and didn’t answer.

“I feel like, xiaojie, ever still we came back to the main residence, you’ve became more and more naughty,” her maid sighed. “Don’t you see er xiaojie and san xiaojie are busy embroidering, practicing qin, and studying calligraphy? Why are you so free?”

Feng Yue glanced at her maid. “Do I need to do all that?”

“Well, no, but don’t you hear what those people are saying? They say you are a country bumpkin who didn’t know anything!”

The Jiu Empire was a big nation, headed by an Emperor and a court of noble families. There were over hundreds of noble families, but the most prominent ones were known as the Eight Honorable Clans. These eights were very powerful, and for that reason, they were allowed to have their own territories, but weren’t allowed to meddle with the Imperial Court.

The Feng family that she was part in was one of the Eight Honorable Families. The head of the family, Feng Huozhi, had a wife and many concubines. Feng Yue’s mother, Duan Meng, was one of his concubines from early in the days. Duan Meng was an entertainer in a brothel and accidentally gotten pregnant with Feng Yue, so Feng Huozhi brought her home as a concubine and ignored her after that. After all, there were over ten concubines in the house, and Duan Meng was just one of them. Her mother was after that ignored and died under someone’s calculations.

Despite the overflowing rate of concubines, there were only eight children in the house. Only two were males. One of them, the eldest young master, Feng Sheng, came from Yao Liumei, the most powerful concubine in the Feng family. It was said that the old man Feng Huozhi loved her very much, causing Yao Liumei to be arrogant. The other one was Feng Chao, the youngest son, who was sickly and very weak.

There was a reason why there were only two sons. Yao Liumei wanted to be the matriarch, mother of the head, which was why she killed every son that was born, which she considered threat to Feng Sheng’s future position. She even poisoned all the other daughters and prevented them from ever being able to learn martial arts, just in case they would threaten Feng Sheng. About Feng Chao, she couldn’t do anything because the youngest son lived outside under the protection of his maternal family, but she didn’t need to, as the boy was so sickly, he could barely get out of his bed.

From a young age, Feng Yue knew she couldn’t have survived in the household. Duan Meng warned her as much before her death. “You should never show your talent,” her mother said weakly on her death bed. “Hide it. Hide it as much as you can.”

Feng Yue knew she was talented in martial arts. She knew that her mother took great pain preventing the poison from Yao Liumei from ever reaching her. Although it ended up with Duan Meng unable to fight the poison that took her life.

“Don’t wallow yourself in hatred,” she heard her mother’s voice every time she wanted to take revenge. “It’s not worth it. Live your life happily.”

Feng Yue sighed. I’m sorry, mother. I can no longer do that.

She had to take revenge. She had to act before the enemy did, because it was the only way she could survive. “I don’t care what they call me,” she replied at last. “It truly didn’t matter. What matters was that they called all eight of the younger generations back home. You still haven’t been able to find why?”

Yuan Yuan shook her head. “Don’t know. But we know for sure that the order came from the Madam.”

Feng Yue smiled. “Whatever. We’ll know soon enough.”

 

The morning came with the chirping birds and warm sunlight. The Feng residence was located against the mountain and facing the City of Xianshui, so the air was cool and it felt rather nice. Feng Yue groaned as she woke up. She practiced until late last night, as she had done for the few weeks she had been here.

She couldn’t relax her vigilance. Since she arrived in the capital of Northeast County, it would get even more dangerous.

“Xiaojie, you’ve been staying in your courtyard for a few days,” Yuan Yuan said, concerned. “Should we go out today?”

Her eyes flickered, looking through the window to the garden outside. Indeed, other than going out in the night, she never did go out in the day. “Good idea. Alright, let’s go.”

Yuan Yuan helped her put her outer coat, and then they walked outside. The garden of Feng residence clearly reflected the wealth accumulated for hundreds of years. It was big, open, and colorful. One would need to be careful, otherwise it was easy to get lost.

But Feng Yue already investigated and memorized the layout of the entire residence, so she had no problem getting around. She walked to the lake she practiced in last night and marveled that it looked even better in daylight.

There was a young, thin boy squatting on the side of the lake, though, looking intently as if to make sense of something. Feng Yue was interested and walked closer. She realized that this boy was her half-brother, the sickly Feng Chao who had been cast aside to his maternal family before.

“Ba di ³eight younger brother, what are you looking at?”

The boy was startled when he realized she was behind him. He looked at her for a second, before... running away.

Feng Yue’s lips twitched. Was she really that scary?

A small, delicate laugh sounded from behind. Feng Yue turned around and found a beautiful young lady, a few years younger than her, was walking closer. “Da jie⁴Eldest Sister, don’t be offended by that Feng Chao,” she said, smiling. “Da jie probably didn’t know since you’ve stayed in your courtyard all day. Ba di had acted that way since he arrived here. Even his maids have difficulties talking to him.”

Feng Yue smiled back. This was the enchantingly beautiful Feng Qiao, her half-sister. She couldn’t even compare. “Si mei⁵fourth younger sister is joking. How could he not talk to the people around him?”

“He only sticks with his concubine mother,” Feng Qiao answered. “Everyone also doesn’t know how to handle him.”

Feng Yue nodded. “What brings my si mei here today?”

“I am here for my daily walk,” Feng Qiao smiled again. “I should ask that to da jie instead. It’s rare to see you out and about.”

“I am not familiar with the mansion, after all,” Feng Yue replied good-naturedly. “It’s better to stay inside lest I get lost. But I realize that I should probably walk around occasionally.”

“That’s good,” Feng Qiao nodded. “Us shu⁶illegitimate daughters of Feng family might not be able to practice martial arts, but we should at least be healthy.”

Feng Yue raised her eyebrow. Of course, she knew that every daughter in the family, with exception to Yao Liumei’s children, was drugged so much that they would never be able to practice martial arts. It was only a stroke of luck that she escaped that. Only, why was this si mei of hers saying it out loud for? Feng Yue thought the girl was smart, but it seemed like she overestimated her.

Then she heard a humph from beside them. “It’s good that you know your place.”

Feng Yue’s eyes twitched. Is it what they called the devil would come if you talk about them? Feng Ting was Yao Liumei’s beloved daughter. Because the real madam of the house, Jia Lifang, didn’t really care about anything, Yao Liumei acted as the madam and her children was treated as di children. In any case, Jia Lifang was childless, so it was never a problem.

Which was why Feng Ting grew up spoiled and, dare she say, rather foolish.

“San jie⁷third older sister,” Feng Qiao smiled beautifully and inclined her head.

“San mei⁸third younger sister,” Feng Yue followed suit, even though as the younger sister, Feng Ting should have greeted her first. But Feng Yue grew up in the jianghu⁹rivers and lake, underworldand didn’t really care about etiquette.

It’s just a foolish child of a ruthless woman, there was no need to antagonize her. Shifu¹⁰Master taught her that the fault of the parents should never be inherited by the child, the point that she agreed. Her father Feng Huozhi married a bunch of concubines, that shouldn’t be her fault, should it?

But Feng Ting didn’t respond to her goodwill and instead snorted. “All the stupid country bumpkins got together. Good thing.”

Feng Yue lifted her eyebrow. Feng Qiao also got sent to the countryside, she heard, but when Feng Huozhi heard that his most beautiful daughter was sent away like that, he exploded and brought her back. Such a pretty daughter, after all, could be a good chess pieces to gain more power. But that happened a few years ago and Feng Qiao had been living here since. Did Feng Ting keep using that insult? Really no creativity at all.

“You hussies should stay out of the way,” Feng Ting hissed. “I’m talking about you, Feng Qiao. Don’t ever get close to my fiancée ever again or I’ll kill you.” And then she turned around, stalking off.

Feng Yue raised her eyebrow and turned to Feng Qiao, who had the most confused expression on her delicate face. “Her fiancée? I never…” She took in a sharp breath. “I only talk to Li shaoye for a minute, how did that turn into me getting close to him?”

Feng Yue was sympathetic, but it was no good for her to say more. So she just bid the distraught Feng Qiao goodbye and walked on.

Yuan Yuan who walked behind her frowned. “Should we go out of the residence, xiaojie? Here is so… stifling.”

Feng Yue held herself from laughing. Indeed, there were eight children in this residence. She wasn’t sure what she would do if she met them all. “Alright, let’s go out.”

No one cares when they walked out the door. The disciples of Feng family that guarded the gate only looked slightly when she showed her the jade bracelet on her hand, snorted, then straightened themselves up again. Even the guards looked down on her. Feng Yue wasn’t offended, though, and instead just laughed.

The city outside was vibrant, as expected from the capital city. “Should we go shopping?” Yuan Yuan said, excited. “Xiaojie, you haven’t bought new clothes for years! I’m pretty sure what you are wearing the same clothes from when you were fourteen.”

Feng Yue rolled her eyes. “And that is a problem, why?”

“It’s not, but aren’t you bored using the same kind of clothes over and over again?” Yuan Yuan looked at her cotton dress over and sniffed.

Feng Yue laughed. “You yatou ¹¹girl, affectionately or degrading. Alright, then, let’s go to the clothing store.”

The market street in Xianshui City was crowded with people and carriages. Feng Yue walked in front with Yuan Yuan following behind. It wasn’t her first time in Xianshui, despite what everyone believed. She had been here before too, with her shifu.

There were many young women walking around on their own, too, so Feng Yue didn’t seem out of place—especially because her clothes was unlike the usual silk dresses that ladies of prominent families wore. She entered the biggest clothing store on the market street and observed it silently.

It was crowded at this hour already, proving that their business was really good. The proprietress didn’t even notice that new customers entered, too busy serving existing ones. Feng Yue started observing the clothes around her. They were all in good quality—as expected from a store of this caliber.

Feng Yue nodded in satisfaction and was about to call on the proprietress, but someone was ahead of her. “Boss lady, our xiaojie wants this one!”

Feng Yue was speechless when they took the one cloth she had been observing. Forget it, wasn’t the only thing. She didn’t want to make trouble. So instead she wandered elsewhere, touching a few other clothes. Unbelievably, it was also taken by the same miss.

Feng Yue started to figure out who intentionally messed with her. When she found the young lady with arrogant disposition, she frowned. She had seen the portrait before. Wasn’t this Feng Wan? She heard that this one followed Feng Ting around like a little servant.

The girl smiled sweetly. “Da jie, you don’t mind, do you?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Of course not, liu mei¹²sixth younger sister,” she said with a ‘please’ gesture. She really couldn’t escape the Feng family—they were all over the place. Sighing, she turned to Yuan Yuan and said, “Let’s go.”

Yuan Yuan looked at her, concerned. “Xiaojie, you haven’t chosen anything!”

Feng Yue walked out, but before she could, Feng Wan ran after her. “Da jie, you aren’t angry, are you?” Her eyes were big and teary. “You can have it if you want…”

Feng Yue stepped back as the little white lotus put on her getting-pushed down act. She already saw what her half-sister was about to do, so she only raised an eyebrow as the little girl cried loudly saying, “Da jie, why did you push me…” She trailed off when she saw that Feng Yue was five steps before her.

Feng Wan doubted her eyes for a second. Wasn’t she just in front of her? How could her framing work if that was the case? Only fools would believe that some weak young lady could push her from that far away.

Feng Yue only smiled. Schemes from a little girl weren’t worth her attention. “Liu mei, be careful when you walk,” she advised good-naturedly. “Lady boss, you shouldn’t put so many things here.”

The lady boss had been paying attention for a long while, and didn’t want to get involved in family’s quarrel. So she put on a remorseful expression and bowed deeply. “Pardon me Feng xiaojie, I wasn’t careful. We will give you discount for your purchase.”

It was either convenient or annoying that the identity of Feng family members would always be broadcasted outside. The reason was, well, the jade bracelet that was put on from a family member’s birth. The bracelet was magical and would grow along with the owner, impossible to get rid of. When Feng Yue was outside, it was inconvenient, so her shifu taught her on how to get rid of it. In Xianshui City, though, it was rather useful.

Feng Yue didn’t care anymore and walked out. Behind her, Feng Wan was putting on a tight smile, but Feng Yue didn’t even turn around, her maidservant following behind her.

Feng Yue turned to Yuan Yuan. “I don’t want to shop anymore,” she said, waving her hand.

“What about seeing jewelries?” Yuan Yuan suggested. “The Treasure Shop is nearby.”

Feng Yue lit up. “Right. Let’s go.”

The Treasure Shop, as the name suggested, was a shop selling all kind of priceless gems and jewelries. It wasn’t the best, but it was one of the good ones. The reason was because their customer base, instead of nobles, was mostly the wealthier commoner family.

Feng Yue walked inside the shop and was welcomed by one of the shopkeepers with a smile. Unlike the clothing store, this one wasn’t crowded. There were only four other customers in the shop, served by the proprietor and other shopkeepers. “This young lady, are you looking for jewelries?”

Feng Yue nodded. “You have any good ones?”

“Of course,” the shopkeeper said enthusiastically. “We have some good jade, gold necklaces, and silver earrings. What is this young lady searching for?”

“May I take a look at the earrings?”

The shopkeeper nodded and excused himself to take some off the storage. Feng Yue was about to observe the display case when she heard shouting from the other corner of the store. “That is outrageous! Even the Fortune Store would not set such a high price!”

Feng Yue raised an eyebrow. The Fortune Store was the jewelry shop often frequented by nobles. By the look of the two young men, along with the two manservants behind them, they seemed like nobility, so why were they shopping here?

“This gongzi¹³young master, this is true,” the proprietor replied with a polite smile. “This sapphire earring is one of our finest collection. Gongzi rest assured, whichever young lady you are looking to gift, they will be happy. The price is worth it.”

The young man hit the display harshly. “You dare! You, are you trying to fool this young master?”

Feng Yue scrunched her nose. If they couldn’t afford it, why were they still arguing here? So embarrassing. The proprietor also thought so. “Gongzi, it’s fine if you don’t like this one. We also have the silver earring; this is even more beautiful. Girls like this one.”

“You are looking down on this young lord!” The first one clenched his fist. “You dare!”

As if on a cue, his manservant stepped from behind him. “Do you know who our young master is? This is Li shaoye¹⁴young master from Governor Li’s residence!” The manservant seemed very self-satisfied with himself as he said that.

Li shaoye… Feng Yue observed his face. Right. She had checked everyone who was involved with Feng jia, and this young man was exactly Feng Ting’s fiancée, Li Hu. Which made her wonder, why would the Governor’s son be shopping at the so-called ‘lower’ store?

The proprietor seemed a bit surprised. “Pardon me, Li shaoye. I didn’t know. But shaoye, this is really the price. It cannot go any lower.”

“Presumptuous!” The other young man also banged the display. It was a wonder that it hadn’t cracked yet. “You are really looking down on us!”

As if on cue, again, the manservant behind him walked forward and said in a loud voice, “Do you know who this is? This is our Geng gongzi from the Imperial Tutor’s family!”

Feng Yue hid her laugh. She also investigated this one. To say he was from the Imperial Tutor’s family… Goodness, how could he hold himself up straight? Geng Fuping was from the nth branch of the family. This level of shamelessness…

The proprietor bowed his head even lower. “This gongzi, we are really sorry. The price really cannot be any lower,” he said. “This used to be a family heirloom of my family. I’m selling it because I have to, but I really cannot lower the price. To do so would tarnish my mother.” Feng Yue bit her lips. Now the proprietor said it was a family heirloom? But the old proprietor was really getting smarter with time. This gave the two young lords to withdraw without losing face.

Unfortunately, some people were just really stupid.

“You lowly commoner!” Geng Fuping was fuming with anger and hit the proprietor.

Feng Yue frowned. She couldn’t just stand still this time. It was clear that these two shameless young men wouldn’t leave until they made things more difficult. “This gongzi, what couldn’t be said slowly? Don’t use violence,” she advised with the softest voice possible.

Li He and Geng Fuping looked at her and their gazes turned leering. Feng Yue raised an eyebrow at their behavior. One was famous for going to the flower houses, so sure. But the other one already had a fiancée. She began to believe that Feng Qiao was wronged when Feng Ting accused her of getting close to her fiancée.

“This young lady, it’s fine,” the proprietor said quickly. His expression said, ‘quickly go, don’t get into trouble’.

But Feng Yue already walked forward, why would she walk back? “The two gongzi, why insist on the sapphire earring? The boss already said it is his family heirloom, after all. There are many other beautiful things here.”

Geng Fuping’s leering turned more blatant. “Guniang¹⁵young lady, do these beautiful things include you?”

To say that she felt uncomfortable—well, of course she was. More than uncomfortable, she started to feel angry. She instead turned to the proprietor. “Boss, then I will take the sapphire earring and I will pay it fully.”

The proprietor was startled. “Oh, yes. Of course, young lady. I’ll pack it for you.” The proprietor went back behind the display and started to pack it, occasionally glancing at her direction.

“You! You dare take what I want!” Li Hu was livid and his face was almost all red.

Feng Yue lifted her left hand and put it on the display. “Li shaoye, my san mei speak a lot about you,” she said smilingly. “I heard Li shaoye is generous and also not narrow-minded. Surely you don’t mind that I get the earring?” The other two customers also started to look at their direction.

This time, Li Hu started to see reason and frowned. “You are Feng jia’s da xiaojie?”

Feng Yue nodded. “That is precisely me.”

Li Hu hesitated for a moment, then snorted and lifted his robe aside. “Fine, whatever. Geng Fuping, let’s go!”

Feng Yue smiled as the two young masters, along with their servants, went out the door in a huff. She was the unfavored daughter of the Feng family, but the status was still useful outside. Li Hu also wouldn’t want for rumors to spread that he fought with his fiancée’s older sister for a piece of jewelry. That wouldn’t be good for his reputation.

In fact, it wasn’t good for Feng Yue’s reputation either, but she didn’t really care. Let them think that the country bumpkin snatched her younger sister’s gift. Well, it was indeed what happened.

At this moment, the shopkeeper that first served her finally came back with a box of earrings. “This young lady, these are the earrings…” He trailed off when he saw that Feng Yue already was buying a pair of sapphire earrings.

Feng Yue looked at the shopkeeper and smiled. “You take too long.”

Shopkeeper: “…”