Chapter 153: Weighing

That afternoon, with the Prince’s playful banter, Xu Zhizhu was filled with continuous laughter and joy. Her heartfelt, charming smiles were enough to utterly captivate those hypocritical scholars in Jiangnan, though unfortunately, they never got to see them. Xu Zhizhu was quite fond of a few of Wooden Sword Wen Hua’s catchphrases:

“Xiaonian, I’m feeling very melancholic right now!”

“It’s quite a feat, isn’t it, to be so hungry I don’t even want to eat?”

“Xiaonian, look, that young lady isn’t as fair or pretty as you are. How about you give your brother a smile to satisfy my craving?”

When Xu Fengnian spoke of this friend with whom he’d once gotten into mischief, his words were annoyed, but his eyes were gentle. When the Prince mentioned Miss Li Zi and Wang Chudong, it was clear that his elder sister Xu Zhizhu had a distinct preference. Unexpectedly, Xu Zhizhu had shed many tears over *First Snow*, but she didn’t seem to think highly of the brilliant Wang Chudong. Instead, she was very fond of the oddly named Miss Li Zi, remarking that the girl would make an excellent secondary consort, being delightfully naive and blessed with good fortune. As for Wang Chudong, Xu Zhizhu believed that for a woman, exceptional talent was not necessarily a blessing, and she might not escape a life of misfortune and an early death.

Xu Zhizhu spoke these thoughts plainly, saying whatever was on her mind without the slightest reservation. Xu Fengnian smiled and said that wouldn’t happen, explaining that since Miss Wang could attract the *kuiyuan* to emerge from the water, she must possess significant good fortune. Hearing this explanation, Xu Zhizhu nodded.

She glanced out the window; dusk was approaching, and it was time for dinner. The Xuyi Garden and Tuibu Garden had always been mavericks within the Lu manor; both gardens were exempt from participating in family banquets. After marrying into Jiangnan, Xu Zhizhu had "done as the Romans do" and gradually grown accustomed to the local cuisine. However, to cater to her brother’s taste, she specifically had Er Qiao invite two renowned chefs from a city restaurant to Xuyi Garden to prepare a table of spicy Beiliang dishes. Only true connoisseurs dared to attempt Beiliang’s unique stone-cooking and warm-blanching methods. When prepared authentically, these seemingly simple dishes achieved a profound elegance; if done poorly, they would be utterly unpresentable.

The two hundred taels of silver from Xu, the “Rouge Tigress” widow of Jiangnan, were indeed scalding hot. One of the chefs, upon hearing that he was to cook for the Beiliang Prince who had killed someone in the street, rushed home before leaving and wept profusely before his wife and children. His perpetually nagging wife suddenly seemed remarkably endearing, and he vowed that if he could leave the Lu manor alive, he would never again squander money in brothels.

The Lu family’s mansion was not grand in scale, but it excelled in its clever layout, deeply understanding the principles of feng shui for gathering prosperity.

A figure in a green robe gracefully descended, stepping on walls, hills, and pavilion eaves, appearing like an immortal. As he surveyed the Lu manor’s landscape and buildings, the man in green nodded slightly. He finally landed by the lake. The moment his toes touched the ground, a person and a sword charged forward, emanating chilling sword qi. The green-robed scholar frowned slightly but did not retreat. He stood firm, pressing one finger onto the tip of the sword, forcibly bending the famous ancient sword Baixiu. With the sword now arched between them, the scholar with frosted temples seemed to keep his single finger on Baixiu, but in reality, he tapped it repeatedly in an instant, twelve times with profound skill. The Baixiu sword finally withdrew. The middle-aged scholar stood as unmoving as a mountain, yet behind him, the entire small lake erupted in massive waves, pushing outwards and causing the flowers and trees on the opposite bank to sway violently. The one who had come forward from the Lu manor to repel the intruder was, of course, the Tangxi Sword Immortal, Lu Baijie. After his sword attack proved futile, he had already guessed the identity of the scholar before him. He immediately sheathed his sword, his face showing surprise as he asked, “Official Cao?”

Cao Qingyi smiled faintly. “Tangxi Sword Immortal has indeed grasped the essence of Yang Yuzhang’s swordsmanship; truly majestic and righteous. Cao Changqing’s journey here was not in vain.”

Lu Baijie handed the Baixiu sword to a young page who had jogged over, then faced the man in green, bowing respectfully. “Mr. Cao’s praise is too generous; Lu Baijie is greatly humbled.”

No wonder the Tangxi Sword Immortal was so humble; the man he faced was Cao Qingyi, who, in a fit of rage within the imperial palace, had once shaken an entire city with his bare hands. Ordinary martial artists, even formidable masters like Wang Mingyin who were akin to rogue immortals, would not easily provoke officials or powerful clans. After Xu Xiao’s campaign to pacify the martial world years ago, he had suggested to the Emperor to establish a secret organization that was half military, half martial. It was known with trepidation among martial artists as “Zhao Gou,” specifically targeting martial ruffians who disturbed order with their skills. Once someone caused trouble or committed a crime, they would have to face the relentless pursuit of assassins from this organization.

In the past decade or so, how many martial artists, confident in their superior strength, had been executed and their heads “displayed to the martial world”?

The practice of “displaying heads” originated from the harsh military law of border strongholds, where rebellious generals’ bodies would be sent to the frontier for public display. This practice was pioneered by the “Butcher,” Xu Xiao, and its deterrent effect in the martial world was equally immense. The specific locations for “displaying heads to the martial world” were also meticulously chosen. A total of sixteen sects and schools across the north and south of the Yangtze River were unfortunately named, among which even revered immortal lands like Longhu Mountain initially could not escape the humiliation. Later, the Celestial Master’s Residence, through years of maneuvering in the capital and offering countless elixirs and remedies to high-ranking officials, finally managed to get its location removed from the list of display sites. Besides Longhu Mountain, Wudi City of the East Sea was also notably on the list. However, after Zhao Gou’s special envoys were killed six times in a row while attempting to display heads in the East Sea, the practice continued without delay but never entered the city. Instead, a symbolic declaration was made outside the city before they returned, indicating a mutual step back by both the imperial court and Wudi City. However, these blood-soaked rules were utterly insignificant to Cao Qingyi. In earlier years, fully half of Zhao Gou’s forces were desperately trying to hunt down the “Grand Official” Cao, but every time they were lucky enough to encounter him, wasn’t Cao the one who killed them over and over again? Eventually, this executioner organization simply stopped direct involvement in the pursuit, instead relaying information to headquarters, from where Zhao Gou’s four most elite assassins would collectively strike.

Therefore, if Cao Changqing’s purpose for this journey was to stir up trouble for the Lu clan of Jiangxin, then regardless of the aftermath, Lu Baijie certainly couldn’t stop him now. The Tangxi Sword Immortal was nearly at the Grandmaster realm, but against Official Cao, what chance of victory did he have?

Lu Baijie couldn’t help but sigh. On the path of martial arts, the greatest taboo was distraction. His chance encounter with Yang Yuzhang in his youth was a rare stroke of fate. Yang Yuzhang was not the world’s most supreme sword master, but he was a first-rate swordsman with diverse knowledge, not confined to the realm of swordsmanship. His insights were often profound and far-reaching. Lu Baijie, being from a family with a deep scholarly tradition, understood that cultivating the Dao required strict adherence to methods, resources, companions, and location, and martial arts cultivation was no different. Master Tangxi naturally lacked nothing; with extraordinary talent and Yang Yuzhang’s unreserved tutelage, he naturally progressed with twice the speed and half the effort, advancing by leaps and bounds in swordsmanship and eventually showing signs of forging his own unique style. His years of asceticism and detachment from worldly affairs were largely out of necessity, as it was the only way to achieve such a level of martial cultivation. Unfortunately, upon nearing the Grandmaster realm, he could not escape convention and chose to enter officialdom. In the future, he would likely be unable to progress further, which for a martial artist aspiring to reach the pinnacle of the martial world was tantamount to severing one’s own arm.

How could Xu Huipu possibly know the sacrifices Master Tangxi had made in this regard? By the time he understood Lu Baijie’s painstaking efforts, he would already be in the capital, and what could the two of them do then? Of the myriad unsatisfactory things in the world, true hardship comes when one cannot even speak of one, two, or three of them to another person.

Lu Baijie composed himself, waved a group of Lu manor guards in the distance to retreat, and then asked, “May I ask, Mr. Cao, the purpose of your visit?”

Cao Changqing calmly replied, “Just looking around. I won’t stay long.”

Lu Baijie breathed a sigh of relief. Since Official Cao was not here to stir up trouble for the Lu manor, Lu Baijie naturally did not need to treat him as a formidable enemy. No one in Yangzhou had such confidence, only the Tangxi Sword Immortal did. Thus, Lu Baijie warmly invited him, “Mr. Cao, might you be willing to visit Tuibu Garden for a discussion? Baijie has many lingering doubts about swordsmanship that he wishes to ask you about. I hope you can enlighten me; Baijie would be immensely grateful.”

Cao Changqing smiled. “Then I shall trouble the Tangxi Sword Immortal to lead the way.”

The Xuyi Garden was indeed quite pleasant. In Tuibu Garden, Lu Baijie genuinely posed many long-held questions about swordsmanship to Cao Changqing. Official Cao answered everything he knew without reservation, his manner and speech both refined and elegant. It was Lu Baijie’s first time meeting Cao Changqing, and he had initially been wary, but within just a few hours, he developed profound admiration. Cao Changqing held no sectarian biases, explaining complex concepts simply and eloquently, narrating them in a captivating way, and never asserting himself as a senior. A sage once said that one who studies alone without friends will surely be narrow-minded. Everyone understood this principle, but how could someone of Master Tangxi’s caliber find friends truly worth conversing with openly and honestly?

Lu Baijie, his understanding of swordsmanship suddenly broadening, mused to himself that Cao Changqing was indeed worthy of his moniker, “Cao Ba Dou.”

In the twilight, Lu Baijie sat upright and asked once more, “Mr. Cao, what is it that you seek?”

This time, Master Tangxi was sincere in his intent.

Cao Changqing shook his head, merely asking, “I believe Master Tangxi understands Prince Xu Fengnian better than I do. If there is something he deeply cherishes, and someone wants to take it, will he give it up?”

Lu Baijie recalled the scene at the entrance of the Lu manor, and after a moment of thought, he said in a deep voice, “If it is as important as his closest kin, he will absolutely not give it up. Other than that, he is not a stingy person. This young man’s schemes are both extremely light and extremely heavy; it is difficult to speak rashly about him.”

Cao Changqing smiled and said, “That will do.”

To him, Jiang Si was truly the Princess of Western Chu. But to that Prince, what did she amount to?