Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"Third Brother plays chess wonderfully. Why haven't I seen you play with others before?" Jin Cai busied himself, busily trying to divert Lian Cheng's attention.

Lian Cheng's expression remained unchanged as he let out an "ah" and said, "I picked it up from storybooks. Just a few days ago at home, I was studying it with Huqiu for several days. Is this considered wonderful?"

Jin Cai's expression turned unusually grim.

It was Lian Cheng's turn to steer the conversation. He asked, "When did you and Man Cai enter the household?" He was testing whether he could turn them against their master.

Jin Cai said, "I arrived at the Lian family on the same day as the young master (Lian Cheng). Two days before Fourth Madam and the young master entered the household, Madam called for a broker to pick a few clever maidservants for Fourth Madam and the young master. She instructed that the ones for the young master should be younger to foster rapport. The broker selected several young girls, and a few were about my age. Fourth Madam let the young master choose for himself. The young master said I seemed quiet and docile, so he kept me."

"Man Cai came in several years later than me. The young master met him on the street while picking out a birthday gift for his teacher. His parents were about to sell him, and he was negotiating the price himself out front while his parents wept behind him. He wanted to sell himself for six taels of silver. The people in the alley said it wouldn't fetch that high, calling him a bean sprout worth only three taels. The young master couldn't bear it and sent me to ask why his family needed to sell their son for silver. It turned out his grandmother was gravely ill, and they had already owed several months' debt for medicine. Now they needed both to continue her treatment and repay the pharmacy. Moved by his filial piety, the young master spent ten taels of silver to take him in as a page."

Lian Cheng placed a chess piece and then looked knowingly at Man Cai in the corner. "When you said earlier you learned the pipa to sell for a good price, I thought your family was forcing you."

Man Cai said shyly, "My parents treat me well. Every year they never fail to send snacks and fruits for me and the young master to eat."

"How many younger brothers do you have? Do you have older sisters?" Lian Cheng asked.

"I have two younger brothers and one younger sister, and one older sister. She works in the household of Imperial Physician Liu of the Imperial Medical Academy, serving as the head maid to the mistress of the house. She's better off there than at home."

Lian Cheng liked storybooks and listening to tales. He listened to Man Cai for quite a while before placing his chess piece. At the same time, he gave up on the idea of turning these two. Lian Xiusheng had shown both of them great kindness and given them a new life; this plan was clearly unworkable.

He was lost in thought, his face unreadable, and he made three consecutive wrong moves.

Lian Xiusheng, watching from the side, couldn't help but reach out, grasp Third Brother's wrist, and guide him to place the piece. "If you make just one more wrong move, Third Brother, you'll lose this game."

Lian Cheng was startled and, without thinking, turned and snapped at Lian Xiusheng, "I'll play by myself."

Back when he played chess with the old men and old maidservants under the Tianqiao Bridge, the crowds around him would always be pointing and commenting. That's why Lian Cheng hated it when someone commented on his moves.

He realized belatedly that the one commenting wasn't some old man under the bridge but his younger brother Lian Xiusheng. He glanced at the other and muttered, "Your elder brother prefers to play his own game. I don't need you to tell me."

Lian Xiusheng said nothing, lowered his head, and went back to brewing tea. He wasn't upset that Third Brother had snapped at him, but he felt a strange itch inside—a desire to pin Third Brother down on the mat, bind his limbs with his own red jade sash, and squeeze and torment him viciously.

After calming his mind by brewing tea, Lian Xiusheng dismissed Jin Cai and played chess with Lian Cheng himself.

Lian Cheng grew alert inwardly but thought this was a good thing. Chess reveals character, and he would use this opportunity to probe the true nature of Lian Xiusheng.

This time, Lian Xiusheng still took the white stones, while Lian Cheng moved first with black. Just a few moves in, Lian Cheng realized where Jin Cai's ruthless, kill-or-be-killed chess style came from. Master and servant played with the same ferocity. If anyone else were playing against them, they wouldn't even last three moves against Jin Cai, let alone Lian Xiusheng.

Lian Cheng rested his chin on his hand and dissolved Lian Xiusheng's aggressive moves with the gentleness of a spring breeze. This also led to a new discovery: Jin Cai only attacked without defending. Once Lian Cheng neutralized his moves, Jin Cai had no fallback, and the game would slip away from him.

But Lian Xiusheng was different. Before attacking Lian Cheng, he had already set up his defenses. When his attack was neutralized, he effortlessly restructured his formation.

Judging solely by chess style, Lian Cheng couldn't detect a trace of malice or misconduct in this person. Instead, he saw the qualities of a nobleman: warmth yet sternness, might without aggression, respectfulness and ease—the demeanor of a true gentleman.

For now, at least, Lian Xiusheng didn't seem like a bad person.

So was it really the misfortune that befell Fourth Madam's family that pushed him onto a crooked path—one that conveniently dragged the entire Lian household to ruin alongside him?

But he also had Lian blood in him. How could he bear to...

Lian Cheng was thoroughly baffled.

"Third Brother has lost," Lian Xiusheng's plain, calm voice announced.

Lian Cheng snapped back to reality, his face falling. How absurd—he had never lost so miserably before.

"Let's play another round..."

But Lian Xiusheng said, "Third Brother's mind is no longer on the game. Let's play another day."

Lian Cheng didn't press and said that since they weren't playing chess, he would return to the main house.

Lian Xiusheng looked up at Lian Cheng, who had already risen, and said, "Third Brother, will you accompany me in practicing swordsmanship for a while?"

Sword practice? Lian Cheng was very interested, but he pretended to be the indulgent elder brother, saying with reluctant resignation, "Your elder brother still has important matters to attend to and mustn't neglect propriety. I'll stay for a quarter of an hour."

"Wait a moment, Third Brother. I'll change my clothes."

-

The sword practice was not in the wide-open courtyard outside but in the small yard where they had previously burned incense and paper. Fearing that Third Brother might catch cold, Jin Cai moved a low table to the corridor under the eaves, heated some wine, and poured a small cup for Third Brother to warm himself.

"This wine is bamboo wine brewed by our young master himself. It tastes good, but you should drink sparingly—it's deceptively potent in getting you drunk."

Lian Cheng scoffed, downed a cup in one gulp, and before he could even sigh at how good it was, his cheeks felt like they were on fire.

This wine is poison!

Lian Cheng thought wildly, and then he saw Lian Xiusheng come out in a light, thin vermillion-brown round-collar robe patterned with ingots, his face like carved jade. In one hand he held a long sword, in the other the scabbard. Several strands of amber tassels on the sword hilt swayed ceaselessly, and Lian Cheng's vision began to blur.

Before stepping into the snow, Lian Xiusheng glanced back at Lian Cheng, who reacted a beat late, only catching sight of Lian Xiusheng's retreating figure.

Above the eaves hung the moon; on the ground, snowlight illuminated Lian Xiusheng's solitary silhouette—more sharp-edged and brilliant than ever before.

Lian Cheng sat down on the railing under the eaves. The long sword not far from him sliced through the air with a sound like tearing silk. This was the first time he had seen someone from ancient times wield a sword. Li Bai once wrote in *The Swordsman*: "Ten paces to kill a man, a thousand miles without a trace." Lian Cheng had never considered that an exaggeration. When he read it, he had only regretted that he would never witness such a scene in his lifetime—even if he were to time-travel, he would have wished for the Spring and Autumn or Warring States period.

Thus, watching Lian Xiusheng now, a romanticized filter colored his view. In an era where sword-fighting was no longer popular, to be skilled in the art meant there must be a pure corner in his heart.

Beholding the vast heavens and earth, Lian Xiusheng rose like a soaring dragon and landed like solid light. In his hand, the sword swept away clouds like a whirlwind and pierced through rainbows.

Countless poems flashed through Lian Cheng's mind in that moment, trying to capture the scene, yet all of them condensed into one exclamation: "Holy shit, that's awesome!"

He jumped down from the railing. "Xiusheng! Xiusheng! Let me have a try too!"

Lian Xiusheng stopped and handed the sword to Lian Cheng. "Third Brother, be careful not to hurt yourself."

Lian Cheng took the sharp blade, and seeing the dancing ash from the burned incense around him, his cheerfulness evaporated.

He looked up at Lian Xiusheng, who was half a head taller than him. The other's eyes were like cold winter stars. Lian Cheng felt a desire to back out; he tried to hand the sword back. "On second thought, your elder brother knows nothing about swordsmanship. I'd better—"

But Lian Xiusheng wouldn't let him go. He raised a hand to press on his shoulder, spun him around, pulled him into an embrace with one arm, and from behind grasped Lian Cheng's right hand, holding the sword together with him.

"Third Brother doesn't know how—you can learn from me," Lian Xiusheng said, his chest pressed against Third Brother's back. He propelled them forward, extending their arms to thrust the sword. Lian Cheng was caught off guard, he stumbled and nearly fell, but with Lian Xiusheng holding him from behind, nothing bad happened.

The sword hilt, still warm from Lian Xiusheng's hand, soon transferred that warmth to Lian Cheng's own hand. He stared intently at the blade, his wrist guided by Lian Xiusheng's hand. The exhilaration in his heart was beyond words—this was exactly the feeling he had imagined.

"Mother loved sword-fighting in her youth and was once the teacher of the Former Crown Prince. I never expected Third Brother to inherit her talent," Lian Xiusheng's eyes held undisguised admiration, though his tone was well-concealed. "And you've already surpassed her."

"Really?!" Lian Cheng was both shocked and delighted. In his excitement, he tripped over Lian Xiusheng's feet, and the two of them fell into the snow, one on top of the other.

Man Cai screamed and started to run over, but Lian Xiusheng propped himself up and signaled for him to stay back.

Lian Xiusheng, who was on top, first helped Third Brother up. They sat on the ground, covered head to toe in snow.

Lian Cheng's eyes shone brightly. "Then can I become a swordsman?"

Lian Xiusheng looked at him. "Third Brother has grand ambitions."

Lian Cheng punched Lian Xiusheng on the shoulder. "How dare you mock your big brother?"

Man Cai, fearing they might catch cold, sent Jin Cai to bring them the wine pot and cups.

Once Jin Cai had walked away, Lian Xiusheng poured a cup of wine for Lian Cheng and handed it over. "Big Brother, this might just be the happiest New Year's Eve I've ever had."

Lian Cheng took the wine. "Why do you say 'might be'?"

"If you leave now, Big Brother, then it won't be."

Lian Cheng savored the wine. "I can't stay with you the whole night tonight. Father and Mother are still waiting in the main hall. Leaving early was already rude; if I don't go back, that'd be even worse. I'll spend tomorrow with you, how about that?"

Lian Xiusheng refilled Lian Cheng's cup. "I'm truly grateful you'd think that, Big Brother."

"Stop pouring, stop pouring," Lian Cheng blocked the wine pot. "Big Brother is—hic—about to keel over."

Lian Xiusheng set the wine pot aside and brushed the snow off Lian Cheng's robes. "If Big Brother's jade mountain is about to crumble, I, Lian Jiao, will catch you."

At first, Lian Cheng figured Xiusheng was just joking, like those drunks who go, "Brother, just drink; I'll handle whatever you can't finish." But when he saw the other's expression, he realized Xiusheng's "keeling over" and "catching" might have a hidden meaning.

But whatever it referred to, this statement perfectly matched Lian Xiusheng's character—whether he wanted to fix the sky or tear it down, if he set his mind to it, he'd get it done.

And Lian Xiusheng, though not exactly a paragon of virtue in the book, was still a man of his word. For instance, when he wanted a favor from someone, he never backed down or gave an inch—meaning he never made promises he didn't intend to keep.

So Xiusheng had accepted him.

They were real brothers now!

Realizing this, the wine in his cup suddenly felt like fire, slicing down his throat like a sword. Lian Cheng felt his stomach and intestines heat up and jump, his body as if sitting on a furnace, his vision spinning.

He tossed the cup, snatched the flagon, flipped off the lid, and downed the rest of the wine. Then he stumbled up, lunged, and tackled Xiusheng into the snow, nuzzling his cheek. "Xiu Sheng, you treat me with sincerity, and I do the same. From now on, we must be as one—loyal to each other through thick and thin, share the same bed in life and the same grave in death."

"Share the same bed in life and the same grave in death?" Lian Xiusheng embraced his big brother, his eyes like autumn pools, speaking slowly. "Big Brother, I get your sincerity. Just don't break your promise."

Lian Cheng propped himself up on the snow, his eyes gleaming. "And what would you do if I did break it?"

A smile spread across Lian Xiusheng's lips. "Boiling cauldron, cleaver, axe, and burning oil."