Firmament Sword

Xu Luo was alone in his room, lost in thought.

”Don’t get too close to the princes...”

Xu Luo muttered to himself, one eyebrow raised. He thought, ’Have the waters of the Imperial Capital grown murky, giving the princes an opportunity? Have they started scheming in the shadows again?’

A cold smirk appeared on Xu Luo’s lips as he thought, ’I bet the most active one is that bastard, the Sixth Prince.’

He seems diligent and gentle on the surface, but he pulls all sorts of tricks behind the scenes.

In comparison, the Crown Prince was the calmest of them all, though the Emperor didn’t seem particularly fond of him.

Xu Luo shook his head slightly. ’The Royal Family’s affairs have nothing to do with me. Whatever mess they want to make is their business. What’s it to me?’

Of all the men in the Royal Family, Xu Luo only respected the Eldest Prince, and the Eldest Prince was precisely the one with the least chance of contending for the throne.

So, Xu Luo didn’t pay much mind to Dean Zhou Liang’s words.

Back home, the Xu Mansion was adorned with festive lanterns and streamers, but the joy on people’s faces wasn’t particularly bright.

The patriarch, Xu Ji, and the eldest son, Xu Su, were both at the front lines. The mistress had returned to her martial sect. Now, only Xu Luo and Lianyi remained as the masters of the house, leaving the Xu Family feeling somewhat deserted and far less lively than other great families.

When Xu Luo saw Lianyi, she was poring over a notebook with a worried expression.

”Sis, what’s troubling you?” Xu Luo asked, walking over with a smile.

Lianyi looked up, and a gentle smile bloomed on her face when she saw Xu Luo. She shook her head slightly. ”It’s nothing. I’m just agonizing over what to get for New Year’s gifts... Huh? Where did you find this little kitten? It’s so beautiful!”

As she spoke, she noticed a small kitten’s head peeking out from Xu Luo’s pocket. Its pair of sky-blue eyes looked incredibly deep and were utterly adorable.

”Uh... I found him on the street. I took a liking to him, so I brought him home...” Xu Luo shoved Miaomiao’s head back into his pocket and chuckled.

’AAAAAAH! You bastard! How dare you say that about Uncle Meow Meow! You dare push Master Mao’s head? Human, do you have a death wish?! AAAAAAH!’ Uncle Meow Meow was instantly enraged, screaming wildly in Xu Luo’s mind.

”Star Power!” Xu Luo had now learned to use telepathy to communicate with Miaomiao. He didn’t say much. With just those two words, he defeated the irascible Master Mao.

”Hehe, the little fellow is so well-behaved,” Lianyi said with a smile, not thinking much of it when the kitten didn’t pop its head out again after Xu Luo pushed it down.

’Damn it... Master Mao is a Heaven-Swallowing Fox! The great Heaven-Swallowing Fox! A mighty Tier Nine Spirit Beast, AAAAAAH! Not a cat! Meow... AAAAAAH! Damn it, damn it, damn it!’

Uncle Meow Meow added furiously, ’What’s so great about this little broad, AAAAAAH?! She’s not even as pretty as a Mother Heaven-Swallowing Fox, AAAAAAAAAH!’

”...” Xu Luo’s face darkened. He couldn’t be bothered to deal with the little pest.

He smiled at Lianyi and said, ”For New Year’s gifts, you don’t need to send anything too extravagant. It’s the thought that counts. By the way, what are you sending to my future sister-in-law?”

The ”future sister-in-law” Xu Luo mentioned was part of an arranged marriage for his elder brother, Xu Su, set up when they were children. The woman’s family had once held official positions at court and was, for a time, quite illustrious. They were still considered one of the dynasty’s noble families.

The Xu Family’s in-laws were the Xia Family. They were primarily merchants, and their clan was far away in the Southern city of Hongcheng.

In fact, the marriage had been arranged by Xu Luo’s grandfather, the old General Xu Dingsheng himself!

Xu Dingsheng and the old patriarch of the Xia Family, Xia Dade, were sworn brothers who had been through life and death together.

When he was young, Xia Dade had also served in the army. During one battle, he had taken an arrow for Xu Dingsheng and nearly died.

Because of that arrow, Xia Dade, who had also had a bright future ahead of him, was forced to retire from the military. He returned to his clan to become its Patriarch and take charge of the family business.

The old man, Xu Dingsheng, felt guilty about it for many years. Later, when Xu Su was born, Xia Dade came to offer his congratulations and expressed his wish for a marriage alliance with the Xu Family. Without a second thought, the old general immediately agreed and settled the matter.

They had been brothers-in-arms, comrades who had faced life and death together, willing to sacrifice themselves for a friend. That kind of bond was both immense and profound!

Now, with no one from his family serving at court, he had to swallow his pride for the sake of his clan’s continued prosperity and tell his old comrade frankly, ’I wish to join our families in marriage, to ask for your family’s protection over my descendants.’

In such a situation, could the old general refuse? Could he bear to? Would he even want to?

Although Luo Xinlan could understand, she still felt a little resentful and often told her husband, Xu Ji, that the old man was too overbearing.

That is, until she met the Xia Family’s daughter. After that, she never complained about it again.

The girl wasn’t a peerless beauty, but she was well-read, sensible, and possessed a noble air and a gentle, pleasing disposition. Despite coming from a merchant family, she didn’t have the slightest trace of commercialism about her.

Most importantly, this girl from the southern riverlands had an extraordinary, exceptional talent for business!

At the age of sixteen, she had already taken over more than half of the family’s business and was running it with great success. Now, she had taken over almost all of the clan’s enterprises.

This woman, who could only be described as a powerhouse, never made public appearances. As a result, very few people knew she was the one truly in charge of the Xia Family!

In Xu Luo’s eyes, this future sister-in-law gave off the impression of someone who could ”devise strategies in a command tent that would decide a battle a thousand miles away.”

Thus, despite having only met her once, Xu Luo was very fond of his future sister-in-law. His mother had always prepared the gifts in previous years, but since she was gone this year, Xu Luo was worried Lianyi might overlook something.

”That’s exactly what I’m stressing about. You see, the Xia Family is much wealthier than we are, which makes giving gifts very difficult... Mother agonized over this every year, and now it’s my turn.”

Lianyi said, vexed, ”Should I send famous jewelry or cosmetics from the Imperial Capital? They don’t lack for such things, and besides, those are all things money can buy. What about paintings or calligraphy by famous artists? But with that whole calligraphy post incident in the Imperial Capital recently, almost all the art shops have been affected...”

Hearing this, Xu Luo couldn’t help but laugh to himself. ’The fallout from the calligraphy post incident is huge. It’s already spread so far that even the art shops’ businesses are suffering.’

Some master calligraphers didn’t even dare to write anymore, fearing that suspicion would fall on them.

That’s just how it was. Even if the patriarchs of the great clans who received the posts knew what was happening, they couldn’t directly point their fingers at the all-powerful Prime Minister Wei.

And so their underlings, trying to guess the intentions of those in power, naturally turned their attention to the famous artists and calligraphers. They conducted secret investigations, using the opportunity to suppress political enemies and dissidents, plunging everyone into a state of panic.

After all, these famous artists had intricate connections with the upper echelons of society and were frequent honored guests in the manors of the great clans.

”Sis, how about this? Wait here. I’ll go get something, and you can see if it’ll work,” Xu Luo said, turning to leave.

Lianyi’s eyes were filled with doubt. She had no idea what kind of treasure Xu Luo could possibly produce.

A moment later, Xu Luo returned with two wooden boxes. He handed them to Lianyi and said, ”In one of these boxes is an old medicinal herb. Though Grandpa Xia’s arrow wound healed, it left him with a chronic ailment. This herb should be able to cure it completely. The other box has a few pieces of jewelry. Open it and take a look. They’re for my sister-in-law and her mother. See if they’re suitable.”

Xu Luo added, ”Oh, and say these are from my older brother...”

Lianyi gave Xu Luo an odd look. ’When did my young master get so clever?’ she wondered. ’Not only does he know to give jewelry to a girl, but he’s also being considerate of his older brother?’

”Ah!” As she opened the jewelry box, Lianyi couldn’t help but gasp. Her eyes went wide as she said in disbelief, ”This... Where did you get this? It’s gorgeous!”

There was a hairpin carved from the finest red jadeite in the shape of a Phoenix. The creature was so lifelike, with brilliant feathers and wings spread as if about to take flight.

The red jadeite was crystal clear and the carving exquisitely detailed. It was clearly the work of a master craftsman, and something that could never be found on the open market!

Its value was beyond imagination!

A black pearl necklace, each pearl perfectly round, lustrous, and uniform in size, emitting a cool, ethereal aura. They were clearly no ordinary pearls.

A white metal necklace with a sapphire pendant. Lianyi had to look at it for a long time before she realized the necklace was made of expensive White Rainbow Refined Gold, which would shimmer with a dreamy, Seven-Colored light in the sun.

The blue gem hanging from it was deep and transparent, glittering like a star.

There was also a bracelet of the finest green jadeite, so translucent and lustrous it seemed to radiate a natural, verdant light.

Never mind the Xia Family, even the Royal Family would treat these four pieces of jewelry as precious treasures!

If an ordinary family were to obtain even one of these items, they would immediately lock it away as a priceless heirloom, an absolute treasure to be passed down through generations!

Then, Lianyi opened the other wooden box. She stared at the old herb Xu Luo had mentioned, her lips slightly parted. After a long, dazed moment, she snapped the lid shut with a CLICK.

”Xiaoluo... a while ago, the vaults of several families in the Imperial Capital were ransacked...”

A bitter smile touched Xu Luo’s lips. He knew that as soon as he brought these things out, Lianyi would make a connection.

However... this matter had nothing to do with him.

”I didn’t do it,” Xu Luo said, shaking his head firmly.

’It was Master Mao! Uncle Meow Meow! Holy meow... that’s all Master Mao’s stuff, AAAAAAH! You’re giving away Master Mao’s things! It breaks Master Mao’s heart, AAAAAAH!’ Miaomiao couldn’t hold back any longer, bombarding Xu Luo’s mind.

Lianyi gave Xu Luo a quizzical look but didn’t press him. She closed the boxes and said, ”With these gifts, I believe our family can finally come out on top for once this year!”

”Uh...” Xu Luo glanced at Lianyi and thought, ’Competition really is everywhere!’

Even between families with generations of friendship and close ties, it was the same.

Every year, as the New Year approached, the Xia Family would send an enormous amount of gifts, delivered by the dozens of carts.

From jewelry and jade to silks and satins, they sent practically everything imaginable!

In comparison, the Xu Family had far fewer presentable things to offer.

So every year, they were outdone by the Xia Family when it came to gifts.

This was actually easy to understand. In terms of political status, the Xu Family was far superior to the Xia Family. To ensure their daughter wouldn’t be looked down upon after marrying into the Xu Family, the Xia Family could only throw money at the problem... not to show off, but simply to foster goodwill.

In the end, the Xia Family had gone to great lengths for their daughter’s marriage.

Just then, Lianyi seemed to snap out of it. She fixed her gaze on Xu Luo, not saying a word, just staring at him with a reproachful look in her eyes.

Xu Luo was confused at first, but then it finally dawned on him. He had given such magnificent jewelry to his future sister-in-law, but he had completely forgotten about Lianyi, the person closest to him!

It was a classic case of overlooking what’s right in front of you... Xu Luo swore it was completely unintentional.

Finally, he had to bite the bullet and say, ”Um... well... ahem, Sis, I... I have a few other pieces of jewelry. I’m sure you’ll like them...”

With that, Xu Luo fled in disgrace.

Behind him, the young woman’s bright eyes sparkled with delight, and a smile like a blossoming flower slowly spread across her delicate face.