A fine autumn rain drifted across the training grounds of the General's Mansion. Lu Jingyuan’s sword movements were fiercer than usual; the droplets kicked up as his blade sliced through the curtain of rain left small pits in the bluestone floor. He recalled the cold sneer of his Third Uncle, Lu Mingyuan, at the family council that morning, and his grip on the sword tightened involuntarily until a familiar cough sounded behind him.
"Thinking about the marriage proposal again?" Father Lu approached, leaning on his cane, followed by a servant carrying a sword. "Your Third Uncle has always been a stubborn man."
Lu Jingyuan sheathed his sword, the rainwater dripping from the tip to form a thin stream on the ground. "Father, do you remember five years ago when Jiang Wan saved that child from drowning in the rain? She was only thirteen then. She caught a fever that lasted three days from the cold, yet her first thought was to send for a physician for the child."
Chapter 210