The young man, it turned out, was named Xu Yanhe. His family was from Jiangnan, but he was currently a student at the Imperial College in the Capital City.
He was only passing through Xinghuai Prefecture at his parents' request to visit an old family friend.
His ultimate destination was the neighboring prefecture. He was going to visit his paternal uncle, who had been about to return to the Capital City for the New Year when he was suddenly struck by a serious illness.
Xu Yanhe was in a hurry. After taking the character for good fortune from Magistrate Sheng and exchanging a few more words, he started down the mountain and set off for the neighboring prefecture.
As he descended, he passed a plum grove and heard bursts of laughter coming from within. He couldn't help but turn his head to look.
One glance was all it took. The man urgently called for his servant to stop. "Wait."
"Third Master, is something wrong?"
