Chapter 29: Zhao Yong

Chen Lingxi stood in the hall and did not answer immediately.

He kept his head bowed, his shoulders trembling slightly as if he were overwhelmed by the sudden favor.

After a few breaths, he slowly raised his head. His face bore a look of intense excitement—one he seemed desperate to suppress, only for it to leak from his eyes and brow.

The excitement was not exaggerated; in fact, the restraint was perfect.

He looked like a man long trapped in a mire who suddenly sees a rope dangling before him—desperate to grab it, yet terrified it might only be an illusion.

His lips parted. He seemed to want to offer tearful words of gratitude, but he swallowed them back. Finally, taking a deep breath, he said, "Your great kindness, Young Miss... I will carve into my heart."

Lin Longyue held her teacup, her gaze resting on his face. She took in that fleeting moment of excitement and restraint without a word, merely offering a slight nod for him to continue.

Chen Lingxi lowered his eyes as though weighing his next words.

A moment later, he spoke. "If the Young Miss permits my presumption, I would like to ask for two things."

"Speak."

"First, my cultivation is still shallow and my foundation weak. The herbs and pills I need, as well as the flowers and plants required for arranging, often need to be purchased outside the estate. I dare not trouble the estate stewards, so I ask the Young Miss to grant me permission to leave the residence a few times a month to buy them."

He spoke earnestly, his head kept low, his tone carrying a trace of caution.

"Leave the estate to buy things?" Lin Longyue repeated. Her tone was flat, revealing neither pleasure nor anger.

Chen Lingxi continued, "I come from the Linchuan Chen family, and I have always loved reading. But after being reduced to an official bondservant, reading has been difficult. I hope the Young Miss will show mercy and allow me to enter the estate's Library Pavilion..."

His heart tightened, though his face remained impassive. He simply stood quietly with his hands at his sides, waiting for her answer.

After a few breaths, Lin Longyue suddenly smiled.

"You know your limits," she said. "You didn't take the opportunity to demand pills, cultivation methods, or silver. You only asked for the right to leave the estate and the right to enter the Library Pavilion."

Chen Lingxi kept his head bowed in silence.

"Granted." Lin Longyue waved her hand. "You may leave the estate twice a month. Depart at the Hour of the Dragon and return by the Hour of the Rooster. Do not be late. As for the Library Pavilion..."

She turned toward Liu Que, who was standing by the door. "Steward Liu, take him to the Library Pavilion to register his name. From now on, he may browse the texts on the first to third floors at his leisure. Anything on the fourth floor and above requires my written order."

Liu Que bowed in compliance.

Chen Lingxi's heart settled, but on the surface, he only showed an appropriate measure of joy. He bowed deeply. "Thank you, Young Miss."

Lin Longyue gave a hum of acknowledgment and picked up her teacup to take a sip.

The tea had grown cold, but she did not seem to mind. She swallowed slowly, set the cup down, and suddenly changed the subject.

"Why did Zhao Yong summon you today?"

The question was sudden, yet her tone remained completely flat.

Chen Lingxi's heart skipped a beat, but his expression did not change in the slightest.

He looked up, a trace of bewilderment on his face. "Answering the Young Miss, I do not know. Chief Steward Zhao sent someone to summon me, only saying that I was called for questioning. No reason was given."

He was telling the truth.

Lin Longyue stared at him for a few breaths.

Chen Lingxi stood with his arms at his sides, his breathing steady and his gaze unwavering.

After a few breaths, Lin Longyue withdrew her gaze and scoffed.

The scoff was very light, but it carried an undisguised flash of displeasure.

"Zhao Yong certainly loves to overreach."

She picked up the teacup, then set it down again, turning her eyes to Liu Que. "Steward Liu, send someone to Zhao Yong's courtyard to deliver my message. From now on, Chen Lingxi answers directly to me. His affairs are no concern of Chief Steward Zhao. If he wants to summon anyone for questioning again, tell him to come ask me first."

Liu Que bowed. "Yes."

Standing in the hall and hearing this, the heavy stone suspended in Chen Lingxi's heart finally dropped a fraction.

He took a deep breath, bowing his head with just the right amount of gratitude in his voice. "Thank you, Young Miss."

Lin Longyue waved her hand, seemingly unwilling to discuss the matter further.

She leaned back in her chair. Her gaze swept over Chen Lingxi, and when she spoke again, her tone was slightly gentler than before.

"Starting today, your monthly allowance is increased to thirty taels."

Chen Lingxi paused, stunned.

Thirty taels.

For an official bondservant, this was an unimaginable sum.

Even the more prominent stewards in the Marquis Residence only earned around a hundred taels a year.

Seeing his shock, Lin Longyue's lips twitched upward slightly in what counted as a smile.

"There is no need for that expression," she said mildly, picking up her teacup. "Since you have the skill, I will not be stingy with silver. Use this money well for your flower arrangements and your cultivation. Do not let this allowance go to waste."

She paused. "One more thing."

Chen Lingxi kept his hands at his sides and listened quietly.

"From now on, you no longer need to refer to yourself as an official bondservant. Using your name is enough."

"When the time is right, I will free you from your status as an official bondservant and elevate you to a vassal household."

A vassal household.

Chen Lingxi's heart skipped a beat.

Under Great Li's laws, the status of an official bondservant was hereditary. Legally, they were treated as livestock, with almost no chance of ever turning their lives around.

To escape that status required the master's mercy: first, elevation from an official bondservant to a vassal household, then from a vassal household to a miscellaneous household. Finally, they had to wait for an imperial amnesty from the Emperor just to return to the status of a commoner.

Taking even that first step was harder than ascending to the heavens.

Yet Lin Longyue had personally promised it to him today.

'It seems my value to Lin Longyue has truly grown,' he thought.

'Though... whether she means it or not is hard to say.'

The more valuable he was, the tighter Lin Longyue would want to keep him in her grasp.

Chen Lingxi pushed down his surging thoughts and wore a look of utter gratitude. He bowed deeply. "Thank you for your immense grace, Young Miss."

Lin Longyue hummed, picking up her teacup. She lowered her eyes and drank, looking at him no more.

Her posture made it clear: the conversation was over, and he was dismissed.

Chen Lingxi bowed again, took two steps backward, and turned to leave the East Hall.

The wind outside the corridor was colder than when he had arrived.

Standing at the bottom of the steps, Chen Lingxi exhaled a long breath of white vapor.

The breath condensed into a thin mist in the twilight before slowly drifting apart.

He looked up at the sky.

The sun had already sunk behind the western wall. Only half of its orange-red face still hung over the roof ridges, its fading light dyeing the horizon's clouds a dark gold.

It was extraordinarily beautiful.

He stood there for a moment before heading back.

Without breaking his stride, he walked straight through a moon gate and turned onto the small path leading to the West Courtyard Servant Quarters.

His pace was not fast, but his steps were steady.

As he walked, the turbulent thoughts in his mind gradually settled.

'Thirty taels a month, permission to leave the estate twice a month, free access to the first three floors of the Library Pavilion, an end to calling myself an official bondservant, and even a promise of becoming a vassal household.'

Lin Longyue had given him far more today than he had expected.

However.

Her favor came at a price.

Thirty taels of silver, two trips outside, and a few floors of books—all in exchange for his loyalty, his value, and his life.

If the day ever came when he was no longer worth that price, she could take it all back in an instant.

Chen Lingxi saw this clearly, and his heart remained utterly tranquil.

He had never relied on Lin Longyue's goodwill to begin with.

'I need to raise my cultivation quickly, escape the Baosu Marquis Residence, and flee the Jingji Circuit.'

With that thought in mind, he quickened his pace.

At the end of the path was his private courtyard.

The courtyard door was half-open, letting the last faint glimmer of twilight bleed through the crack.

Chen Lingxi hurried forward. Just as he was about to push the door open, he suddenly stopped and looked over.

Several dozen paces away stood a person.

The man stood with his back turned and his hands clasped behind him. He was of average height and wore a dark green cloak.

The cloak's material was exquisite, gleaming with a deep, somber luster in the twilight and wrapping his figure tightly.

When Chen Lingxi recognized the man's back, his pupils contracted.

Over his year in the Baosu Marquis Residence, he had seen this back many times.

Every time, it had been from a distance, glimpsed through a crowd. Never once had it been this close.

The Chief Steward of the Baosu Marquis Residence, Zhao Yong.

Zhao Yong seemed to have heard his footsteps and slowly turned around.

In the fading light, his face was partially obscured.

The cloak's high collar covered the lower half of his face, revealing only his eyes and the line of his brow.

His eyes were small, the outer corners drooping slightly. His irises were incredibly dark, resembling two dry wells whose depths could not be seen.

Yet those seemingly ordinary eyes were locked unwaveringly onto Chen Lingxi. His gaze felt like two sheathed daggers—held back, yet already radiating a bone-chilling cold.

Chen Lingxi paused for a fraction of a second before recovering his composure.

He stepped forward, stopping three paces away from Zhao Yong, and bowed. "Chen Lingxi greets Chief Steward Zhao."

His tone was respectful and utterly flawless.

Zhao Yong did not answer immediately.

He remained standing with his hands behind his back. Those well-like eyes swept back and forth across Chen Lingxi, as if appraising a piece of merchandise.

A few breaths of time passed.

Chen Lingxi stood with his head bowed and hands at his sides, his posture submissive and his breathing steady.

The Concealed Edge Method circulated silently within him, pulling his barrier of Spiritual Qi in tight, leaving not a single flaw exposed.

Finally, Zhao Yong spoke.

"Chen Lingxi," he said. His voice was not loud, but it was deep and resonant. "You certainly are hard to kill."

Chen Lingxi kept his head down in silence.

"You don't need to be nervous." Zhao Yong suddenly laughed. "I haven't come here today to make things difficult for you."

Chen Lingxi looked up, displaying just the right amount of confusion.

Zhao Yong took two slow steps with his hands behind his back. With his back to the twilight, his dark green cloak fluttered slightly in the wind.

"Did you know that Liu Changle is no longer in the residence?"

Chen Lingxi froze.

The reaction was not entirely faked—he had no idea why Zhao Yong was telling him this.

"You don't need to look so surprised," Zhao Yong said slowly. "I was the one who let Liu Changle go."

Chen Lingxi's pupils shrank.

Taking in his reaction, the smile on Zhao Yong's lips deepened.

"Did you think I used you to test that medicine out of my own selfish desires?" He shook his head. "You were wrong."

"That medicinal powder is incredibly toxic. Ordinary people will die the moment they take it. But if you can survive the poison, you will be reborn. Your foundations will grow immensely, and your cultivation will progress a thousand miles in a single day."

He pulled his gaze back and fixed it on Chen Lingxi once more.

"You and Liu Changle were the two who survived the poison."

As Chen Lingxi listened, a look of shock and doubt appeared on his face, though his heart remained as cold as ice.

Zhao Yong continued, "Since Liu Changle has been reborn and has joined me as a fellow Daoist to pursue a great cause, I allowed him to leave the residence and gave him his freedom."

He paused, staring straight at Chen Lingxi.

"I spared Liu Changle and gave him his freedom, which means I can do the same for you."