Why do I have so many masters?

Xi Ming followed behind the young lady, matching her step by step, walking on the streets of Liangzhou City. Her eyes roamed everywhere, unable to take in enough. She had grown to the age of sixteen and had never seen so many people crowded together, nor had she seen such beautiful lanterns.

The Dongfang Clan had lived in seclusion for generations, with only a few hundred members scattered across a vast area. On ordinary days, she saw very few people, let alone the fact that her lineage had already fallen into obscurity. She only moved around the periphery of the Dongfang Clan's territory and rarely saw others, so seeing so many people at once really gave her quite a scare.

The lanterns outside were red and also of various colors.

Such sights, she had only read about in books before.

She walked while gazing around, not noticing that the woman in front had stopped. By the time she realized, it was almost too late, and she bumped into the back of the beautiful young woman, uttering an "Ah!" in surprise. She quickly regained her composure, and somewhat nervously with hands hanging down, she said:

"Miss..."

The woman before her did not get angry as she usually would but simply glanced at her with a light expression and then took out a jade pendant, surprisingly tying it on for her personally. Xi Ming was somewhat astonished, her hands unsure of where to place them.

Her hands were actually pretty, but they had become rough from habitual labor.

The beautiful young woman straightened up, looking at the somewhat flustered girl before her. Her eyes carried an obscure, dark shade that eventually settled into calmness, and she spoke indifferently:

"Out in the public, do not tarnish the name of our Dongfang Clan."

Xi Ming's face turned red, and she hung her head.

That day, she had bathed carefully and put on her best clothes, which were of course just ordinary fabric and a simple style, not able to compare with the clothing of the woman in front of her. Yet, they were indeed her best attire.

She reached out her right hand and gently touched the jade pendant, which faintly bore the ancient seal characters for "Dongfang," rather mystical and charming. However, it didn't take long for Xi Ming to think of another problem. She had only seen this jade pendant once from a distance, and it was said to be extremely precious.

Was it not too wasteful to take such a thing off and let her wear it?

This thought only brushed through her mind once before sinking away.

She gently fingered the jade pendant.

After all, girls always liked beautiful things.

The lovely young woman in front pursed her lips slightly, then raised her head to admire the lights on either side, as if she had put aside some heavy concern in her heart. She now seemed much more relaxed and at ease than before, her eyes bright as jewels.

But after just half a teacup's time, a cluster of bright purple fireworks suddenly burst in the sky, with faint red ones around them, clearly visible even amid the surrounding lights.

The common people around cheered.

The martial soldiers stationed at various points, however, suddenly changed expressions.

Colonel Li Mingde, who had been called in, changed color drastically and stood up abruptly, looking in the direction from which the fireworks had risen. After giving the signal of alert, he had felt something was amiss. Now, he dreaded that the worst had happened.

If anyone of importance at the day's banquet was harmed, they, the martial soldiers, could not escape punishment.

In the sky, another cluster of red fireworks rose and exploded.

It was like a bottle of red ink had tipped over on a black cloth.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Li Mingde clenched the date pit in his mouth, one hand on his waist saber, the other grabbing a hand crossbow. Disregarding any prohibitions, he hurried from the top floor of the inn towards the direction of the incident.

It wasn't just him; all over Liangzhou, the soldiers near the city gates rushed towards them, while those near the banquet venue hurried towards the source of the signal, clattering across the roof tiles with a din.

Such commotion was not small and caused a stir among the people out to admire the lanterns, making them look up.

Two large carts decorated with lanterns passed through the street. On one of them, a half-naked man with a red ribbon tied to his arm was beating a large drum, drawing the attention of some because the crowd was blocking the way, making it difficult to move forward.

Along with the surrounding crowd, it was as if walls had formed, obscuring the view, and suddenly it seemed as if this small stretch of the street had been severed from the watch of the soldiers.

Xi Ming looked up reflexively but could no longer see the young lady. She panicked, and as she raised her head, she met the gaze of the half-naked man beating the drum. The burly man's gaze dropped to the jade pendant at her waist, spotting the Dongfang characters on it.

A pair of triangular eyes reflected the red fireworks bursting in the night sky, deep and savage, like a ravenous demon ready to pounce.

Xi Ming's heart trembled suddenly, just as she was about to turn around, two men beside the burly man suddenly shouted "An Kang" and threw many small red pouches from a bag.

This was a custom of Jiangnan Road in the Great Qin, a practice to seek good fortune, using red paper bags, more elaborately put in red silk bags; some contained sweetmeats, some slips of paper with auspicious words, and the well-off would stuff them with real silver granules.

The crowd surged forward like fish after bait, clamoring for the red pouches, forming a choke point that pushed the petite Xi Ming backward causing her to stumble and fall. Then a large palm braced her waist, and before she could feel relieved, a piece of blue silk cloth covered her mouth and nose. She felt as though her body no longer belonged to her and collapsed backward.