Guanshan Muyu

chapter 3

When Xia Xun woke up the next day, Qi Yan was not at home.

The maid that brought breakfast said that he left early in the morning to go to the court.

Xia Xun thought about the note and asked her, “Can I leave the house?”

The girl smiled:

“Is Young Master bored? Before this slave entered the house, she has learned to play some music pieces. If you don’t mind, would you like me to play the qin for you to relieve your boredom?”

Seeing Xia Xun’s lack of interest, she added:

“My lord said that you used to like to carve some small wooden figurines. The tools and materials have already been prepared. Everything is ready, this slave will bring them to you ——”

“No need.” Xia Xun interrupted her: “I don’t need anything. I like quiet. Tell other servants to stay away from me. I think they are noisy.”

She obeyed and left.

After a while, the voices outside the house faded away as the maid asked everyone to retreat outside the courtyard. She stayed in the courtyard alone, keeping a short distance from Xia Xun.

In this way, if Xia Xun had any orders, she would be able to hear them immediately.

Qi Yan’s mind was deep, and his maidservant was not a fool.

Xia Xun glanced at her coldly and closed the door.

It was enough.

Xia Xun was very familiar with the structure of the main house. There was a small door at the back of the house. He walked over lightly and quietly pushed the door open.

Outside the door there was a veranda. There were originally several servants tending to flowers and grass near to it but they were all sent away by the maid just now.

Around the veranda there was a garden full of flowers, ending with the eastern wall of Qi Mansion.

It was adjacent to the western wall of Xia Mansion, and one part of the wall was lower than other places.

In the past, Xia Xun often climbed over the wall there to come to Qi Yan.

Back then, Qi Mansion was in ruins, its walls broken and debris everywhere.

Xia Xun’s father, Xia Hongxi, was highly regarded in the imperial court at the time, and his house was so richly ornamented that it was described as extravagant and luxurious,.

After many years, Qi Mansion had regained its former glory, and the Xia family……

Xia Hongxi had been dead for many years. If he hadn’t been beheaded in public but had a grave, the trees  on his grave could have grown ten feet high.

Xia Mansion was sealed, uninhabited and in disrepair. Xia Xun didn’t need to look at it to know what miserable scenery would wait for him inside.

He looked back at Qi Mansion and wondered why Qi Yan still lived here.

Except for the renovation of the damaged areas, the layout and decoration of the courtyard were not different from before.

The low section of the wall still remained in its original state, with no trace of repair, and even the begonia trees that grew along the wall were still in their original place.

Xia Xun stepped on the tree, grabbed the top of the wall, jumped up and easily climbed out.

Between the walls of the two families there was a channel, usually dry. Water would flow through it only during heavy rains. There were stone slabs blocking both ends of the channel so that ordinary people couldn’t easily find it. The channel could be used for passage as well.