If you die, I will be able to inherit your cultivation.

Taking advantage of the darkness, Zhou Ming quietly ran into the city.

As she ran, she pulled out the fabric stuffed inside her clothes, and her originally bulky figure quickly became thinner.

With his pointed, monkey-like face, he looked exactly like a street thief.

Although Zhou Ming in his previous life wasn't particularly handsome, he was still far better looking than he is in this life.

In this life, Zhou Ming's parents died early, and there were many sordid things happening in the Hou Mansion.

He suffered from irregular meals and malnutrition from a young age, which resulted in him growing into a skinny, bony figure.

As for his appearance, there's nothing that can be done about it. It's likely that his parents, whom he's never met, were also not very good-looking, which is why he inherited such an unappealing appearance.

Arriving at the foot of the city wall, Zhou Ming found a secluded patch of grass, dug a hole, buried the cloth inside, and then crawled into the city through a dog hole at the foot of the wall.

Yuyang County had a curfew at night, and very few people dared to go out at night.

If discovered by the night patrol guards, one would be punished with a beating at best, and at worst, imprisoned as a criminal and exiled to the frontier.

Zhou Ming crept cautiously along, hiding in the shadows of the low houses.

About half an hour later, they finally reached the base of the wall in the backyard of the Marquis's mansion.

Wiping the cold sweat from his face, Zhou Ming crawled through a dog hole. Luckily, he was thin enough that he didn't get stuck inside.

Back at the Marquis's residence, he walked through an alley to his dwelling.

As the young lady's attendant, he was a second-class servant in the Marquis's mansion and had his own separate room.

Although the room was small, only big enough to fit a bed and a table, it was a level of service that many third-class servants could never attain in their entire lives.

Zhou Ming was able to become a second-class servant entirely thanks to his deceased father.

His father was originally a servant of the Marquis's wife. He died protecting her from an arrow, and his mother died in childbirth.

To express her gratitude, the lady promoted him to second-class servant when he was very young and assigned him to serve as an attendant to the eldest daughter, Su Mingyue.

The eldest daughter, Su Mingyue, was sixteen years old, the same age as Zhou Ming.

In a sense, the two grew up together since childhood, but one was the master and the other the servant; their statuses were worlds apart.

Back inside, Zhou Ming didn't dare to delay. He quickly washed his face and went to sleep fully clothed.

The next morning, Zhou Ming got up early, carefully tidied himself up, and went to wait outside the courtyard where the young lady lived.

The Marquis's family was large and prosperous, but its population was not particularly large.

The Marquis of Yongning has one wife and two concubines, who have given birth to one son and two daughters. The eldest son is currently twenty years old, but he has been spoiled by the entire family of the Marquis's mansion and has become a complete playboy.

The second young lady, Su Mingzhu, is still young.

Among the second generation of the Marquis's family, only the eldest daughter, Su Mingyue, is capable of supporting the family business. Unfortunately, as a woman, Su Mingyue is not qualified to inherit the family business.

The eldest daughter, Su Mingyue, lives in a three-courtyard house called Begonia Garden.

Male servants and guards like Zhou Ming could only move around in the outer courtyard; the inner courtyard was a forbidden area that they were absolutely forbidden to set foot in.

Zhou Ming didn't have to wait long before there was movement in the inner courtyard.

First, several maids filed out carrying copper basins, handkerchiefs, perfumes, and other items, followed by a group of old women who escorted a person out.

Zhou Ming quickly lowered his head, put his hands down, and stepped aside to wait quietly.

The sound of jade pendants jingled as it drew nearer, followed by a faint, delicate fragrance, resembling but not quite orchids, that wafted over first.

Surrounded by the crowd, Su Mingyue walked out of the moon gate in the inner courtyard.

She wore a pale yellow silk jacket with delicate lotus scroll patterns embroidered on the cuffs and collar.

She wore a moon-white silk skirt, with a mutton-fat jade ring hanging from her waist, swaying gently with her steps without making a sound.

The morning light slanted across her profile, enveloping her silhouette in a soft halo.

Her eyebrows weren't thick, but they possessed a remarkable spirit, slanting upwards towards her temples, giving her a natural air of heroism.

Her eyes are phoenix eyes with slightly upturned corners. When she looks at people, even if it's just a casual glance, it makes people feel like she's scrutinizing something.

His nose was straight, his lips were a very pale cherry red, and the corners of his mouth were naturally pursed down, giving him an imposing presence without anger.

This face, though beautiful, exudes an untimely sharpness.

If she were to wear a tight-fitting outfit and wield a long spear, she would undoubtedly exude a natural and dashing charm.

But it's wrapped in layers of silk and satin, like forcibly putting a drawn sword back into its sheath, making one feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Hmm? Zhou Ming, your injury is healed?"

Su Mingyue stopped and looked at Zhou Ming. Her voice was clear but without any extra fluctuations.

"Thank you for your kindness, Miss. I am now fine," Zhou Ming replied with his head bowed, echoing his tone from his previous life.

She hummed in agreement, not glancing at him again, and simply said, "That's good, let's go."

After saying that, she walked past Zhou Ming and, surrounded by a group of maids and servants, went forward.

Zhou Ming followed at the end of the group, silently recalling the various memories of this young lady from the original owner's mind.

For Su Mingyue to say this to him at the Marquis's residence was already an immense favor.

This young lady rarely spoke and was kind to her servants, but she had a natural sense of aloofness, like a crane standing among chickens, never looking down at the chicken feed at her feet.

The group marched through half of the Marquis's mansion and headed towards the main courtyard's rear residence.

This was Su Mingyue's daily morning routine without fail: to greet the Lady of the Marquis's Mansion and to learn how to manage the inner quarters and do needlework and embroidery.

This is the proper upbringing a young lady of a noble family should have, and it's also a skill she must possess.

In Zhou Ming's memory, Su Mingyue's favorite things were not embroidery needles, but swords.

She has loved sword and spear fighting since she was a child.

As a child, she was wild and unruly, unlike a young lady from a noble family. She often pestered the martial arts instructors in the mansion to teach her spear and sword techniques.

She was young then, so no one took it seriously. Zhou Ming was also pulled in to be her sparring partner.

Every time he got beaten up, his face was bruised and swollen, and then she would complain: "A man who can't even beat a woman, he's really useless."

The problem isn't that we can't win, it's that we're afraid to fight.

But those days are over now.

As the years passed, the Hou family rules were tightened one by one, like iron chains.

At the lady's command, the swords, spears, and clubs in her courtyard were taken away and replaced with embroidery frames and scriptures.

From that moment on, Su Mingyue never touched her favorite spear again.

Su Mingyue followed the lady into the inner courtyard, while Zhou Ming and the other male servants were naturally not allowed to follow.

However, the Marquis's residence did not allow them to be idle. Next to the inner residence, there was a courtyard for guards and attendants to rest, which contained a martial arts training ground and a study.

The Marquis's mansion does not employ idlers. The guards undergo monthly assessments, and those who fail are demoted or even expelled from the mansion and sent to the Marquis's privately-run guard battalion for retraining.

Although Zhou Ming's followers did not have any strict tests, in order to please their master, they had to be proficient in everything from music, chess, calligraphy, painting to martial arts.