Chapter Fifty-Nine: A Major Event in the Liu Family

Mu Qing smiled and replied with a completely unrelated remark, “Little Wu, it seems we’ll be staying at the Liu residence for quite a long time.” With that, he strolled away with his hands behind his back, leaving Little Wu rather baffled. He mulled over Mu Qing’s words for quite a while, turning them this way and that, yet couldn’t make any sense of them. Godfather, what on earth do you mean?

The next day, as Liu Qin had instructed, Cui Liu indeed prepared two food boxes and carried them to Xuanlu. In the courtyard, she first handed one to Lei Hu, telling him it was from the young lady. Lei Hu opened the lid to find it filled with pastries, and was left scratching his head in confusion. What could the young lady possibly mean by this? From yesterday to today, she had only done things he found utterly perplexing. Not for a moment did he suspect Cui Liu’s involvement, thus completely missing the opportunity the young lady had so thoughtfully arranged.

Cui Liu, meanwhile, hesitated with the other food box in hand. She was both timid and shy, yet couldn’t suppress her excitement. When Liu Qin turned and saw her flushed cheeks, she thought her clever scheme had already succeeded and stifled a giggle behind her hand. Just as she stopped and turned, she was unexpectedly bumped from behind by Fang Nuo, who hadn’t been paying attention. Fang Nuo collided squarely with Liu Qin’s hand, jarring her teeth. “Ouch!” she cried out, then immediately realized something was wrong—a small object had fallen from her mouth into her hand. She picked it up and, to her astonishment, discovered she had lost a tooth.

“Sister, what happened?” Jiang Li, hearing her cry, quickly turned and looked her over from head to toe. Seeing she was unharmed, he finally relaxed.

Liu Qin, seeing Fang Nuo on the verge of tears, burst into laughter. As she laughed, she revealed a large gap where her front tooth had been. She opened her mouth, pointed at the missing tooth, and, utterly unashamed, declared with a grin, “My tooth fell out.”

“So that’s what happened. That’s a good thing—it means you’re growing up.” Jiang Li patted Liu Qin gently on the head. In that moment, he remembered when he lost his own first tooth, how his mother had stroked his head just as tenderly and said with a smile, “Our little Li is growing up.”

Amidst all this commotion, Liu Qin didn’t notice when Cui Liu presented the food box to Master Zhou, nor did she see Cui Liu’s bashful, glowing expression.

With May’s arrival, two major events took place in the Liu family. The first was, of course, Liu Qin losing her tooth. Liu Qin herself didn’t think much of it, but her mother took it very seriously, repeatedly instructing her not to prod the gums with her tongue, to avoid eating hard foods, and to cut back on sweets and pastries. Her mother’s concern was perfectly reasonable—a girl’s new teeth growing in well was crucial, for in this era there were no orthodontics, and crooked teeth could never be corrected. Liu Qin, not wishing to grow up afraid to open her mouth, became wholly compliant and transformed into a model child.

The second major event was not of the Liu residence, but of the Fifth Master’s household. On the fifth day of the fifth month, the engagement between the fourth son of the Liu family’s Fifth Master and the second branch of the Fang family was formally settled. The Liu family’s betrothal procession lined half the street, making for a grand spectacle. This event stirred a commotion throughout Wu City. The common folk flocked to watch, as it was the liveliest occasion since New Year, while those in officialdom quietly speculated behind closed doors: weren’t the Liu and Fang families political adversaries? What did this union mean? Was the rivalry mere rumor, with the two families secretly allied? If the city’s two top officials were now in-laws, perhaps it was time for everyone to reconsider their allegiances.

Of course, such worries belonged only to those outside the inner circles. The direct descendants of the Liu and Fang families knew the truth of their relationship—“enmity as deep as the sea” would not be an exaggeration. So when the Fifth Master’s household sent out banquet invitations, Master Liu’s face grew so dark it seemed it might drip water. Liu Cheng, lacking self-control, nearly burst out cursing, stopping himself only by remembering that the Fifth Master was, after all, an elder. The old matriarch simply handed the invitation to Madam Cai and sent the messenger away with a perfunctory, “Not feeling well.”

Thus, only Madam Cai attended the Fifth Master’s banquet. After all, there were only two Liu households in Wu City; for no one to show up on such an occasion would have been a social embarrassment and invited unnecessary gossip. The invitation had included Liu Qin, but she always kept her distance from such social gatherings, especially those involving her detested Fifth Aunt’s family, so she had no intention of joining the festivities.

That day, Liu Qin happened to overhear some news from Chang Kang concerning Little Wu. After dinner, instead of lingering in the main house to hear her sister-in-law recount the events at the Fifth Master’s banquet, she hurried off to the main kitchen. There, she mysteriously conspired with Cui Liu and Cui Yu for a while, after which she had Cui Yu pack the prepared food into a box. With the box in hand, the two of them set off toward the training ground.

It was already evening. The last rays of sunset were fading from the sky, though there was still enough light to see clearly. After crossing the grove of pear trees—now past their bloom—one could spot the courtyard where Master Mu and Little Wu lived.

The courtyard was utterly quiet. As they pushed open the gate, they saw Chang Kang coming out of the main house, carrying something. He was surprised to see Liu Qin and called out, “Oh! Miss, what brings you here?”

Liu Qin bounded over with a laugh. “I’ve come to see Master Mu. Where is he?”

Before Chang Kang could answer, Master Mu strode out from inside. He didn’t seem surprised to see Liu Qin and her companion, and, hands behind his back, smiled faintly. “Little Wu is in his room. Why not go and keep him company for a while?”

Liu Qin blushed furiously. What sort of person was Master Mu, anyway? Not only did he have ears like a fox, he seemed to possess x-ray eyes as well, as if he could see right through people. How did he know she’d come to see Little Wu?

Luckily, the dusk helped conceal her embarrassment. Deciding not to beat around the bush, she giggled and said, “All right, I’ll go find Little Wu.”

Master Mu nodded, his gaze following Liu Qin’s departing figure until she entered the house, then shifting back to the eastern sky, a look of relief and satisfaction in his eyes.

Little Wu’s room was unlit and rather dark; Liu Qin couldn’t see clearly, but could make out the silhouette of someone sitting by the window, head bowed, seemingly deep in thought.

“I told you not to bother me,” came Little Wu’s impatient voice as he looked up at the sound. Seeing it was Liu Qin, he froze in surprise. Though the room was dim, years of martial training had sharpened his eyesight far beyond the ordinary, so he could see her quite clearly. He was so startled, even his voice faltered. “You… what are you doing here?”

“I came to talk to you.” Liu Qin made herself at home, pulling up a chair by the table and sitting down.

Cui Yu set the food box on the table, taking out the dishes one by one and arranging them neatly. She then fetched a tinderbox from the side, lit the lamp, and said to Liu Qin, “Miss, I’ll leave you now.” Unable to endure the heavy atmosphere any longer, Cui Yu didn’t even wait for Liu Qin’s reply before slipping out.

“Little Wu, come here! Sit with me,” Liu Qin called, beckoning him over.

Seeing Little Wu hesitating and reluctant to move, she simply ran over, half dragging and half pulling him to the table and sitting him down.

“This… this…” Little Wu looked at the food arranged on the table, and suddenly a wave of emotion surged up within him. Even with his usual self-control—cold as ice—he almost failed to contain himself in that instant. A breeze swept in through the window, causing the lamp flame to flutter, and the shadows of the two of them cast on the wall stretched and swayed, as turbulent as Little Wu’s feelings at that moment.