The Golden Sparrow in the House

Mrs. Bai

The hostess of Qianfan Theater sat on the Taishi chair with a swollen face. She repeatedly raised and lowered the bamboo stick in her hand, struggling to contain her urge to strike the young man kneeling in the hall.

"You’re toying with me and your grandpa! I never should have picked you up off the street and wasted money raising an ingrate!" She pointed at his nose, cursing as the bamboo stick clattered against the table with a resounding sound.

Xu Qiushui stepped forward, wrapped in a thick mink fur, and looked at Ji Nanshu coldly. "He's hurt. Are you really planning to have him sing at Mrs. Bai's birthday party?"

"I can't hit him, but I'm furious! It’s all his fault today!" The class leader’s expression softened as she turned toward Xu Qiushui. "Are you off to see Miss Wu Er?"

"She sent a driver to wait outside to pick me up at the mansion, so I have no time to waste." Lowering his gaze, Xu Qiushui looked at Ji Nanshu with a mix of pity and scorn, slapping him as soon as he dared raise his head.

Xu Qiushui, originally trained in Wudan before transitioning to Qingyi, so he had a formidable strength in his hands. Ji Nanshu collapsed, his ear was ringing, and a red welt swelling visibly on his cheek.

The frightened troupe leader halted and stood nervously behind Xu Qiushui, unsure whether to clutch the bamboo stick or put it aside.

"So, you think you can imitate me and find a patron? Do you even know your place, trying to climb your way up to Baiyun River?" Xu Qiushui sneered while caressing his fine mink fur as he cast a disdainful glance at Ji Nanshu, who was dressed in coarse cloth. "When the time comes, don’t come asking me to claim your body."

Feeling somewhat appeased, Xu Qiushui glanced at the troupe leader, snorted at his sycophantic words, and turned away.

As they left, Ji Nanshu slowly rose to his feet, spat out bloody saliva, and began to sing gracefully in a high voice: "This too is a lesson from Heaven. He urges me to accept my lingering regrets, to avoid anger and pride, to renew myself, change my nature, abandon love, turn back from the sea of suffering, and attain Lan Yin sooner."

His voice reverberated through the hall as the moonlight cast a slanting glow across his shoulder, his eyes fixated on an imagined crowd of rapt guests.

A civilian car with registration number 070 waited by the back door. After a long wait, the driver opened the back door. Xu Qiushui slipped inside, momentarily surprised to see Wu Qinglan already seated. She smiled and said, "I thought you'd be waiting for me at the mansion."

Wu Qinglan wore a short hairstyle, with the hair at her temples curled and fluffed. Dressed in a black, velvet hat, she casually wrapped her arm around Xu Qiushui's waist. "Bai Liu is here today."

Xu Qiushui leaned into Wu Qinglan’s arm, cautiously watching her face for any signs of reaction. "She invited me to congratulate Mrs. Bai on her birthday. I know you don’t want me associating with her. I recommended Ji Nanshu; do you think that will offend Bai Yunxi?"

Wu Qinglan’s gentle hand stroked Xu Qiushui’s lower back, soothing him. "You're so concerned about Bai Liu's feelings. Why should I care about her? No one in Peiping is unaware of our relationship. My concern is that Bai Yunxi may hold a grudge against you and cause trouble."

Xu Qiushui smiled, pressing his cheek against Wu Qinglan’s hand, his doe-like eyes displaying a tentative charm. Wu Qinglan’s smile reassured him, allowing Xu Qiushui to relax and laugh softly.

"Bai Liu may not mind, but you're pushing your apprentice into Bai Liu's circle. Aren't you afraid he’ll get lost in the Bai household?" Wu Qinglan had a rolled-up copy of Today’s Times on her lap, featuring a headline on the Bai family’s acquisition of a factory in Shouguanhai, which would soon be converted into a winery.