Chapter Nineteen: The Remarkable Lady Hua Mingzhu

After everything was arranged, many servants came together, eager to recommend skilled craftsmen from their circles to Young Master Yang. Yang Cheng agreed to each suggestion, asking them to bring these craftsmen first to assist, with more specific arrangements to follow later.

One servant recommended an elderly neighbor named Luo, who lived next door. Once from a family of scholars, he had enjoyed a comfortable life, but after losing his wife and children to illness, he lived alone in hardship, making ends meet by writing letters and selling paintings. Yang Cheng did not refuse, telling the servant to bring him by when convenient. If the old man proved suitable, Yang Cheng promised to employ him and ensure his monthly wage was satisfactory.

He was in urgent need of talent, and his mind brimmed with schemes yet to be set in motion.

Finally, a newly arrived young woman approached timidly, bowing to Yang Cheng, "Young Master, my little sister might possess the special talent you spoke of," she said uncertainly.

"Oh? What sort of talent?" Yang Cheng inquired.

"My family has served as servants for generations. We never had the means to cultivate, and none of us have ever become cultivators. Once, my little sister happened to witness two martial artists fighting. Afterward, she imitated them a few times at home and managed to learn their moves. Does this count as a special talent?" she asked, blushing.

Yang Cheng glanced at Lu Baichuan.

"What is her current cultivation stage?" Lu Baichuan asked.

"She says she's in the Qi Training stage, but since we have no spirit stones to cultivate, that's as far as she's gotten. Still, she is exceptionally strong."

"Good. First, help the others organize into groups. I'll grant you leave to fetch your sister," Yang Cheng said, excitement in his voice.

The young woman hesitated.

"Is there a difficulty?" Yang Cheng pressed.

She replied sadly, "Because she is so strong, she signed a contract early on and was sold as a servant to the Li family. It’s been more than half a year, and they haven’t allowed her to return home."

Regardless of whether the girl was truly special, Yang Cheng decided to bring her over. One more servant mattered little here. He estimated that redeeming her would cost two spirit coins, but the Li family might make things difficult, perhaps demanding several times more.

He said, "In that case, you and your family go redeem her. I’ll give you fifty spirit coins, which should be more than enough even if they raise the price. If you encounter any trouble, come to me."

The young woman gratefully accepted.

Within the new Yang residence, the scene was bustling. Old Yang led a group of men, installing facilities for each team. Steward Su set kitchen standards and began planning the layout of the new estate. Yesterday had merely seen the cleaning completed and basic household items prepared. The main gate lacked even a plaque, let alone the decorative touches for every corner.

Yang Cheng gathered Maozi and the eight carpenters, unfurled his sketches on cloth, and hung them on the wall. He explained each drawing in detail, inviting questions and encouraging the carpenters to discuss their own ideas. After a lively session, he dismissed them, instructing them to purchase wood and asking Steward Su to assign work areas so they could begin experimenting.

At last, Yang Cheng managed to catch his breath and sat in the front hall to practice and regulate his breathing.

"Brother Yang, where did you get all these strange and novel ideas?" Lu Baichuan, who had been nearby, could not help but ask, bewildered by the unheard-of concepts.

Yang Cheng replied casually, "From my hometown."

That afternoon, the young woman returned, bringing her little sister before Yang Cheng. The girl looked fourteen or fifteen, her hair tied in a ponytail, eyes red from crying, her face smudged with dirt. Her elder sister’s eyes were red as well.

Upon questioning, Yang Cheng learned the Li family was a minor household, with few servants. Discovering the girl’s extraordinary strength, they felt they had struck it rich, working her relentlessly, never allowing rest. The family was harsh; in the half year the girl had served, she worked from dawn to dusk, sleeping only three or four hours a day. Her diet and clothing were sparse—she labored hungry, and any dissatisfaction was met with beatings and scolding.

Though the girl possessed some cultivation, she was timid, knowing that servants defying their masters was a grave crime. She endured her suffering quietly, longing only for her family, with no days off.

The sister, seeing her sibling’s torment, could not help but feel heartbroken.

When the Li family learned they had come to redeem the girl, they were reluctant to let go of such a hard-working servant who ate little and worked as well as three. They did not state a price, but instead asked how much the sister had brought. Naively, she told them. Hearing “fifty spirit coins,” the Li family took the entire sum at once, returned the contract, and thus made a handsome profit.

Yang Cheng, hearing all this, felt sympathy for the girl and comforted the sister, assuring her that redeeming the girl had not been a loss.

Upon further inquiry, he learned their family had been servants for generations, barely surviving, never mind possessing a family cultivation method. The girl had shown nothing special growing up. One day, she happened to witness two clan youths fighting. Her companions fled in fright, but she watched from afar, fascinated by their every move. At home, she began to mimic their actions whenever she had time. Gradually, she sensed faint, thin streams of energy in the air that seemed to seep into her skin. She began to feel her body change—more agile, stronger.

Later, she overheard adults discussing cultivation and realized she was transitioning from an ordinary person to the Qi Training stage. Eventually, those thin streams of energy ceased to be effective.

Lu Baichuan listened, captivated, and probed the girl’s spiritual power, discovering she was at the late Qi Training stage—a level higher than Yang Cheng, who had used spirit stones to cultivate. That she had reached this entirely on her own, absorbing the scant spiritual energy in the air, astonished him further. What amazed him most was that she had learned the methods simply by observing two cultivators fight, understanding their techniques without even knowing their names.

"This is utterly incredible—unheard of, unseen," Lu Baichuan declared, unable to fathom the mystery. Testing her natural talent, he found it exceptional.

Gazing at the timid girl, Yang Cheng mused, "Is this the legendary defiance of fate?"

Such talent was destined to be buried. Had she not happened upon that fight, she might never have discovered her gift. Great families only cultivate their own heirs; sects do not recruit from the lower classes, and even if they did, it would be only to use them as servants, never to nurture them. Truly, a pearl hidden in dust. But since he had found her, he resolved to change her fate.

"Brother Lu, do you think she’d be suitable as your maid? If she serves well, perhaps teach her a few techniques? After all, teaching one or two is all the same."

Still stunned, Lu Baichuan shook his head.

"Why not?" Yang Cheng was surprised. Lu Baichuan’s ingrained prejudice against servant classes ran deep.

Lu Baichuan shot him a look. "She’s a treasure! You’d have her serve me? I’d rather serve her! I’ve never taken a disciple—let me formally accept her as my student this time. What do you think, Young Master Yang?"

"Excellent!" Yang Cheng slapped his thigh. "As long as the girl agrees." Turning to her, he asked, "Little one, would you like to become Master Lu’s student? You’ll have a brighter future and could change your family’s fate."

The girl’s eyes shone, and she replied crisply, "I would!"

Yang Cheng urged, "Then kneel and greet your master. This is a great blessing for you, and I am delighted."

"Little Ya greets Master!"

Lu Baichuan laughed heartily. "Excellent! Wait, Little Ya? Do you not have a proper name?"

The girl answered shyly, "Yes, my two elder sisters are called Big Ya and Second Ya. I am Little Ya."

Yang Cheng and Lu Baichuan exchanged a glance, understanding at once: the family could not afford to raise all their daughters, and from birth they were destined to be sold to supplement the household. Names mattered little in such circumstances—survival dictated everything.

"My child, your true benefactor is Young Master Yang. Without his discovery, you might have spent your life as a laborer. Let him name you."

Little Ya knelt, "I beg Young Master to grant me a name."

"Very well," Yang Cheng replied, "What is your ancestral surname?"

"Our family name is Hua," she answered.

"Then I shall name you Mingzhu—Hua Mingzhu. May you cast off the fate of a pearl lost in dust."

"Yes, Hua Mingzhu it shall be!" Lu Baichuan clapped his hands. "Brother Yang, I begin to understand what you meant. I am deeply impressed."

"Thank you for naming me, Young Master!" Hua Mingzhu was overwhelmed with emotion.