## Chapter 1:
In the peak of spring in Hanyang, pear blossoms bloomed across the mountains and fields.
White, snow-like waves of petals drifted through the courtyard, and the air carried a sweet yet faint floral fragrance. As the Prime Minister, my father was extremely busy during that time. He rarely mentioned court affairs at home. Perhaps due to the pride of the yangban nobility, my usually composed father always wore a stern expression, and even the air around him seemed strung with cold tension.
One afternoon, while playing with an embroidered ball in the courtyard, I saw my father leading a boy through the gate.
"Yiwen," Father called to me, waving.
"Yes, Father." I dropped the ball and respectfully approached him.
Father patted my head and said in a low, gentle voice, "This is Jiangwu, the same age as you—both six years old. From today, he will stay in the residence as your study companion."
I turned to look at the boy beside Father, half a head shorter than me. He wore a clean, plain servant's uniform typical of official households. Though his head was lowered, his back was straight, faintly revealing a trace of pride. His brows were stern, his thin lips tightly pressed, and his eyes held a deathly stillness and wariness far beyond his years—like a young wolf trapped on a cliff.
I noticed dust on his face and reached out to wipe it, but when he saw my approaching hand, he instinctively stepped back, his whole body tense, fists clenched tightly.
I did not retreat. Instead, I stepped forward and gently embraced him with both arms.
His body stiffened like stone in that instant.
I patted his cold, slender back and whispered in his ear with the gentlest yet firmest voice I could muster at the time:
"My name is Li Yiwen. What's yours?"
The response I expected never came. I looked up at Father; he simply nodded and walked straight into the residence. Turning back to the still-silent boy, I sensed his fear and told him, "Don't be afraid. No one here will hurt you. I will protect you!"
At that moment, he lifted his head and stared at me quietly, as if dazed. After a long while, I simply took his hand and prepared to show him around the residence.
"Come on! I'll take you for a walk first!"
Just as I turned while holding his hand, a hoarse, faint yet steady voice sounded behind me:
"...Jiangwu. My name is Jiangwu."
Hearing his name, I turned and smiled brightly. "From now on, you'll stay by my side, Jiangwu." Then I continued pulling his slightly rough little hand. "Let's go. I'll show you the flowers I planted!"
Although I had two older brothers, they were much older. As the third son born late to my father, I had always played alone without any peers my age. So when I saw Jiangwu, my heart leapt with joy. From that day on, Jiangwu became my childhood companion and study partner.
Later, from the servants' whispers, I learned that Jiangwu was the only son of a upright Censor. Born into a yangban family, he had once lived in luxury. But days earlier, his family had suffered a horrific massacre. Bandits of unknown identity slaughtered dozens of Jiang family members overnight. Only this child was hidden in a cellar by a loyal servant and survived.
Father respected his father's integrity and, despite the risks at court, brought him into the Prime Minister's residence under the guise of protection.
At first, the servants whispered privately, calling him a fallen star of misfortune, a remnant spared only by the Prime Minister's pity. Whenever I overheard these remarks, I would flush with anger, stride up to them, point at their noses, and scold loudly:
"If I hear anyone say such things again, I'll tell Father! Jiangwu is no star of misfortune!!"
The servants immediately begged for mercy and hurried away.
When Jiangwu heard these whispers, he always remained silent. But I didn't want him wronged, so I scolded the servants for him and told him he was not a star of misfortune and to ignore their ignorant words. He would simply look at me quietly and say it was fine.
As years passed, the distance between Jiangwu and me melted like snow. We climbed pear trees to pick flowers, caught butterflies in the hills behind the residence, and threw snowballs at each other in the snow-covered courtyard during winter.
"Ah! Jiangwu! Take this—!"
I excitedly threw a large snowball at him, hitting his chest. Jiangwu paused, then a rare smile curved his lips as he threw one back. "Young Master, watch this!"
Unexpectedly, his throw was too strong. The snowball hit my shoulder, and I slipped with a yelp, falling backward into the thick snow.
"Young Master! Are you all right?!" Jiangwu's face changed drastically. He rushed over in panic, kneeling beside me, his hands trembling as he tried to check my face for injuries.
Lying in the cold snow, I looked at his anxious expression and couldn't help bursting into laughter. The sound echoed through the silent snowy night. Jiangwu stared at my smile, slightly dazed, then exhaled in relief and lay down beside me, laughing at the overcast sky and falling snow.
Several more years passed. When we turned fifteen, I displayed exceptional literary talent, passing the preliminary examinations and earning a nominal place at the Sungkyunkwan Academy.
Hanyang's scholars came to congratulate Father, calling me a prodigy from the Prime Minister's residence. Father had high hopes for me. Though I was the legitimate third son and could not inherit the family title, with my intellect, I could rise through the civil service examinations and establish my own yangban household at court.
Father also wanted to groom Jiangwu for the examinations so he could assist me in officialdom. But when Father spoke to him, Jiangwu knelt heavily before him and said with determination:
"My lord, this humble one has mediocre talent and is unsuited to literature. The guard commander says I have aptitude for martial arts. I beg you to allow me to hone my skills so that one day... I may become a sword by the Young Master's side and protect him for life."
Father looked at him deeply. He understood Jiangwu still carried the blood feud of his family's massacre. Practicing martial arts was both to protect me and to one day seek justice. After careful consideration, Father nodded.
Thus, while I studied the classics at the academy, Jiangwu endured grueling training with the commander at the residence.
Even during rest, when I studied in the study, he practiced swordplay in the courtyard outside.
Every afternoon after class, Jiangwu would ride to the academy to escort me home. Dressed in a crisp black guard robe, his posture straight as a pine, he would wait at the gate holding the reins. When I emerged, he would help me mount, then lead the horse with steady steps.
We would walk slowly back to the Prime Minister's residence along Hanyang's streets, chatting about our day.
"Young Master, what did the teacher lecture on today?"
"The Mingxin Baojian, and court taxes... so tedious. What about you, Jiangwu? What moves did you practice today?"
"The commander taught me an ambush saber technique, emphasizing counterattacking..."
From age fifteen, our studies grew busier. The walk home from class became our brief daily time together. We discussed literature and martial arts, each drawing growth from the other's expertise.
In summer leisure, we liked playing in the lake outside the city on rest days. The cool water washed away sweat and fatigue.
Since childhood, we had always played naked in the lake and bathed together at the residence. But one day, Jiangwu suddenly became strange.
He began avoiding bathing with me. At the lake, he would deliberately turn his back and keep several steps away.
Today, seeing him turn away again, I mischievously scooped water and splashed him.
"Jiangwu! What are you doing? Staying so far away."
"N-nothing, Young Master!" Jiangwu's voice was strained, his neck faintly red as he kept his back to me.
"Why turn your back?" I swam behind him and reached for his shoulder.
The moment my hand touched his skin, his entire body shuddered violently as if shocked.
"I... I want to go look over there!" Without glancing back, Jiangwu plunged forward with powerful strokes, swimming toward deeper water without looking back.
"Hey! Wait for me! Jiangwu! Where are you going?" I shouted angrily and swam after him.
To everyone, we were master and servant with deep affection. Yet some malicious servants privately mocked Jiangwu, saying that despite his yangban origins, he had become the Prime Minister's third son's loyal dog.
Even when Jiangwu overheard such insults, he never grew angry or argued, his expression calm. I could never guess his thoughts or feelings.
Of course, unlike our childhood, I no longer needed to scold them loudly. Now, servants fell silent at the sight of us, and such whispers became rarer.
So we continued living together quietly.
"Jiangwu, look. The pear blossom season has come again."
Seated on horseback, I gazed at the snow-like pear blossoms lining the streets.
"Yes, Young Master." Jiangwu, holding the reins, replied softly.
"Remember the day you arrived? Hanyang was also filled with blooming pear blossoms."
A white petal drifted down onto my wide sleeve. Jiangwu stopped, extending his callused hand from years of sword practice, and gently brushed it away.
"Yes, Young Master."
On impulse, I plucked a delicate pear blossom from the tree, tucked it behind my ear, and turned to him with a smile:
"Does it look good?"
Jiangwu stood below the horse, looking up. After a brief pause, he gave his usual faint smile:
"Yes, Young Master."
As he spoke, he did not stop walking. His rough palm tightened slightly on the reins, steadying the horse so I could sit more securely. He did not look at the flower again, only occasionally glancing at my profile as we walked together through Hanyang's snow-white pear blossom dusk.
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## Chapter 2:
That same winter, Hanyang faced a rare bitter cold unseen in a decade.
Yet court struggles grew so heated they turned into a life-and-death struggle.
The Left State Councilor's faction forcefully advocated increasing taxes on the lowborn and commoners, urging the Crown Prince to enact harsh policies to tighten control over the lower classes, claiming it was to "prevent the lowborn from gathering and turning into bandits."
Father and the Right State Councilor firmly opposed this in court. Father righteously pointed out that it was precisely the Left Councilor's harsh policies and heavy taxation that had already made it impossible for the people to grow food in this harsh winter—further increasing taxes would only drive the people to rebellion.
Father cited examples from Chinese dynasties' rises and falls, warning that harsh governance was fiercer than tigers and urging the Crown Prince not to heed slander.
The Crown Prince merely stated he needed to consider it carefully before dismissing court.
Afterward, the Crown Prince secretly summoned Father. In the study, Father presented preliminary evidence of the Left Councilor's corruption and requested authorization to dispatch secret inspectors to thoroughly investigate the Left Councilor, his relatives, and his faction.
However, neither Father nor the Crown Prince anticipated that an inner court attendant bribed by the Left Councilor would immediately report the meeting's contents to him.
The Left Councilor, desperate, wrote a bloody secret order that night. Mobilizing his long-cultivated death squad, he decided to strike first and massacre the Prime Minister's residence that very night.
Late at night, heavy snow fell.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh"
The sound of arrows piercing the air and screams instantly shattered the residence's peace. Countless black-clad, masked death warriors surged in like a tide, killing on sight.
The guards were caught off guard and fell one after another. Only the guard commander and Jiangwu, covered in blood, protected Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, and me as we retreated toward the back gate.
"Young Master! Stay close to me!" Jiangwu wielded a heavy saber, its blade flashing like lightning, each strike spraying hot blood. His eyes were icy like a beast's as he shielded me with his back.
At the back gate, we were intercepted by the death squad leader—a tall, venomous-eyed swordsman.
To cover Father's group's escape, Jiangwu engaged the leader in combat. Their blades clashed, sparks flying.
Jiangwu fought more fiercely, attacking recklessly without defense, which actually hindered the leader.
After a grueling fight, Jiangwu, enduring a side kick to create an opening, thrust forward and pierced the leader's chest with his heavy saber!
But before Jiangwu could catch his breath, dozens more death warriors surrounded him. Exhausted, he began to falter.
"Yiwen! Don't go there! Run!" Eldest Brother clutched my sleeve, shouting desperately.
Seeing Jiangwu fight alone, his clothes soaked in blood indistinguishable from the killers', my mind went blank. Only one thought remained—I cannot let him die!
"Brother! You and Father go first! Jiangwu and I will follow!" I yanked free from Eldest Brother's grip and pushed him toward Father and Mother.
"Yiwen—!" Mother cried heartbreakingly.
"Go! Quickly!" The guard commander gritted his teeth and led Father and Mother out the back gate. Gripping my sword, I turned without hesitation and charged back into the battlefield of blood and snow!
"Young Master! Why did you come back?!" Jiangwu's face changed drastically, his eyes filled with unprecedented shock and anxiety. "Run! It's dangerous here!"
"Stop nagging! If we go, we go together!" I thrust my sword through a death warrior trying to ambush Jiangwu from behind and stood back-to-back with him amid the snow and blood.
As we fought and retreated, trying to break through, my peripheral vision caught the already-dead leader on the ground.
From his struggle, the leader's sleeve had slightly opened, revealing a letter with a special lacquer seal hidden deep inside.
"Jiangwu! You go first!" Thinking I must get that letter, I hacked back approaching killers and rushed toward the corpse.
"Young Master! Danger—!"
Ignoring the danger, I broke from Jiangwu's protection, rolled across the ground toward the body, and grabbed the secret letter!
But the moment I seized it, a death warrior's long blade whistled toward me!
"Thud!"