Chapter 026: A Failed Plan

No normal person could withstand Princess Leyang’s completely baseless and exaggerated praise, let alone Jiang Xuening, who had psychological shadows from her past life.

Fortunately, this situation did not last long.

Shen Zhiyi had just sat down when a palace servant came to inform her that the Empress Dowager wanted to see her. Shen Zhiyi reluctantly left.

Before leaving, she held Jiang Xuening’s hand and said, “Anyway, I like you. If you need anything during your stay in the palace, just tell the maids at Yangzhi Zhai. They will report to me. My mother is calling, so I have to go now. I’ll see you again tomorrow.”

Jiang Xuening breathed a sigh of relief and watched Shen Zhiyi leave.

The day ended with her barely managing to learn the palace etiquette under the patient guidance of Su Shangyi.

There was no other way.

Pretending was too exhausting, and Jiang Xuening recalled Shen Zhiyi’s attitude towards this matter. Shen Zhiyi had even said, “It doesn’t matter if you can’t learn it.” So, what was the point of continuing to pretend?

One plan failed, so she had to come up with another.

However, she couldn’t let others see through her, so she persisted until it was late. Only then did she seem to gradually learn under Su Shangyi’s strict standards, her movements becoming smoother and more compliant.

In the end, Su Shangyi rarely showed a look of satisfaction. She pointed at Jiang Xuening and said to everyone, “This shows that even if one’s talent is poor, it doesn’t matter. As the old saying goes, ‘A slow bird flies early,’ and ‘Diligence can make up for clumsiness.’ As long as you work hard, many difficult things in the world can be overcome. Jiang Xuening did very well today. You should all take her as an example.”

Jiang Xuening: “…”

The others secretly thought that if this could be an example, they might as well not enter the palace. But they all said in unison, “Yes, thank you for your guidance, Su Shangyi.”

Only then did Su Shangyi dismiss them and leave with the three female officials from the Shangyi Bureau.

In the late autumn weather, Jiang Xuening was sweating. As soon as everyone left, she didn’t bother to greet anyone and immediately returned to her room, asking the maids at Yangzhi Zhai to prepare a fragrant bath for her.

The others were a bit behind.

Chen Shuyi, the daughter of Grand Secretary Chen Yunjin, walked with Yao Xi beside Xiao Shu.

She glanced at Yao Xi, who seemed to be lost in thought, and then said to Xiao Shu, “Although I haven’t seen much of the Princess, I’ve rarely seen her treat anyone so well. This Jiang family’s second daughter only did her makeup, right? Why does she deserve such favor from the Princess?”

Chen Shuyi hadn’t been to the Qingyuan Mansion, so she didn’t know.

But Xiao Shu had been there the whole time.

Playing with a delicate scented fan, Xiao Shu smiled and said, “If it was just makeup, it wouldn’t be worth it. The important thing was what was said at the time. Such words, Shuyi, you and I could never say in this lifetime.”

Chen Shuyi seemed thoughtful.

*

Since it was everyone’s first time gathering in such a setting and their first day in the palace, in the evening, after washing and dining, someone suggested gathering in the Liushui Pavilion at Yangzhi Zhai for reading and tea.

Jiang Xuening wasn’t very interested at first.

In their previous lives, these people never talked about anything interesting. It was always about perfumes, headpieces, and at most, some young talents outside. There was really nothing new.

But now, everyone thought she was impressive.

Who could blame them? She had a lot of face with Princess Leyang.

Everyone saw what happened during the etiquette lessons today. Although they felt that her backdoor entry was too much, they were even more friendly to her on the surface. Although they were all noble ladies and wouldn’t go as far as to “flatter” her, their words were very gentle. Even You Yue, who had previously shown hostility, forced a smile.

So, she was pulled over by Fang Miao and a few others.

Around a round table sat six or seven people, while a few others were scattered on the kang by the window, chatting and occasionally picking up prepared candied fruits and nuts to eat.

Zhou Baoying was completely engrossed in the food and didn’t look up at anyone.

Xiao Shu, however, seemed to have a special regard for Jiang Xuening. When she saw her come in, she nodded and greeted her with a smile, “Jiang family sister, you really stole the show today.”

Jiang Xuening was very tired and could only pull a smile, looking awkward as if she didn’t know how to respond, and said, “Sister Xiao, you’re joking.”

Seeing that Jiang Xuening had no intention of talking to anyone, Xiao Shu didn’t push further and turned to talk to others.

Everyone couldn’t help but complain about today’s female officials.

Yao Rongrong, sitting timidly in the corner with a flushed face, said, “I wasn’t taught these things at home since I was a child, so I learn very slowly. Fortunately, there’s Sister Jiang, who is about the same as me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know what to do today…”

Everyone was stunned by her words.

Should they say this girl was silly or very silly?

Such thoughts should be kept to oneself, why say them out loud?

The room suddenly fell silent for a moment.

You Yue cracked a melon seed, her expression not too obvious, but her eyes showed a hint of amusement.

Yao Rongrong realized she had misspoken and, remembering Jiang Xuening’s favor with the princess, quickly apologized, “I-I didn’t mean it that way…”

Jiang Xuening: “…”

She wasn’t angry, just felt sorry for her.

In her previous life, she had no interaction with Yao Rongrong and had no intention of making things difficult for her. She smiled casually and said, “It’s okay, I’m clumsy too and really struggled to learn. But Su Shangyi is too responsible, coming back again and again. It’s hard not to learn.”

Fan Yilan, who was kind-hearted, had been flipping through a poetry collection. Seeing Yao Rongrong’s embarrassment, she interjected, “Aren’t we supposed to learn palace etiquette for two days? But the palace said we have to stay for three days on our first visit. I heard that on the last day, the teachers will test us to see our knowledge and determine the depth of future lessons. I wonder who will be testing us…”

Who else could it be?

Xie Ju’an, of course.

Jiang Xuening sneered inwardly.

Sure enough, the usually quiet Chen Shuyi replied, “It should be Master Xie. He currently presides over the daily lectures in the palace and is highly knowledgeable. This time, he will also teach us music and reading. All other teachers follow his lead. My father told me when I entered the palace that this visit doesn’t guarantee becoming the princess’s companion. Besides learning etiquette, our knowledge must pass the teachers’ standards. If we’re too good, it doesn’t matter, but if we’re too poor, it will be difficult for the teachers to arrange lessons. If the lessons are too advanced, we won’t understand; if too slow, it will hinder the princess. So, the third day’s test is also for selection. If we’re not suitable, the teachers will advise us to leave.”

This was Jiang Xuening’s second plan.

The etiquette hurdle was easily passed due to Su Shangyi and Princess Leyang’s intervention. No matter how much she pretended to be dumb, she would pass, eliminating the possibility of being advised to leave the palace due to poor etiquette.

But Princess Leyang couldn’t handle Xie Wei!

As long as she failed the third day’s test by submitting a blank paper or writing nonsense, she would surely anger Xie Wei or other teachers, who never lowered their standards. Thus, being advised to leave due to poor knowledge would be a certainty.

Mentioning Xie Wei excited the noble ladies.

One said, “Will Master Xie really come himself?”

You Yue teased, “Why are you blushing?”

The girl spat at her and covered her face, “If you saw him, you’d blush too!”

Yao Rongrong timidly added, “I’ve heard my father mention Master Xie many times. They say he will be thirty in four years, yet he’s still single and not talking about marriage. It’s really strange.”

Fang Miao immediately looked up, “What’s so strange about that?”

Yao Rongrong softly exclaimed, “Ah.”

Fang Miao then lowered her head to arrange the copper coins on the table, seemingly calculating something, and said, “It’s well known in the capital that although Master Xie comes from a Confucian background, in recent years he has devoted himself to Buddhist and Taoist studies. Every year, he spends two months in seclusion at Xuankong Temple and Sanqing Temple, fasting and discussing scriptures. He is pure-hearted and abstains from women, so it’s not surprising that he remains unmarried.”

Abstains from women?

Hearing this, Jiang Xuening couldn’t help but recall the embarrassment from her previous life.

At that moment, various malicious thoughts surfaced in her mind: They say he’s pure-hearted, but maybe he just has some issues!

Everyone was laughing and joking.

Suddenly, a young palace maid bowed at the door and softly called out, “Miss Jiang, someone is looking for you.”

Jiang Xuening raised her eyebrows and instinctively asked, “Who?”

The young palace maid blinked and looked at her without speaking.

Jiang Xuening recalled something from her previous life and suddenly understood. She didn’t ask further and just said to the others, “Excuse me, I’ll go see who it is.”

She followed the young palace maid out of Yangzhi Zhai.

They headed towards Wenhua Hall.

Just before reaching the front court, they stopped at a fork in the road. Looking up, she saw Yan Lin, dressed in a dark robe, standing under a patch of autumn begonias, waiting for her.

The young palace maid quietly retreated.

Jiang Xuening walked up, “It’s so late, and you haven’t left the palace yet?”

Yan Lin had heard from Shen Zhiyi about the etiquette lessons for the princess’s companions today and was worried she might have been wronged, so he came to check on her. He looked at her carefully and said, “The palace gates won’t close for a while. It’s your first time in the palace, and I was worried. I heard Su Shangyi was very strict with you today, and you even fell in front of the princess. Here, I got some medicine from the Imperial Hospital. Apply it tonight, so you don’t end up with a limp. I don’t want a limping bride.”

Unconsciously, he spoke tenderly.

Jiang Xuening’s expression remained unchanged.

Yan Lin blushed, realizing he had been too forward, and coughed to cover his embarrassment, changing the subject, “How was your day?”

The medicine was in a small white porcelain bottle, cold in Jiang Xuening’s hand. She looked at the young man in the night and said, “It was fine, and the princess took good care of me. You don’t need to worry.”

Yan Lin had specifically spoken to Shen Zhiyi, so he was reassured.

He smiled faintly, looking at her with a different expression.

Like he had caught a mischievous cat.

He teased, “I met the Minister today after the Wenhua Hall lecture.”

He was referring to Jiang Boyou.

Jiang Xuening didn’t understand what he meant and blinked at him.

Yan Lin raised an eyebrow, “He asked if I had taught you some tricks to manage people, like using a book of ‘Youxue Qionglin’ as a fake ledger to deal with disobedient servants. I thought, he wouldn’t ask me for no reason, and it didn’t seem like a bad thing, so I admitted it. But you know, and I know, I didn’t teach you that.”

Jiang Xuening lowered her eyes, “I knew you would cover for me, so I blamed it on you.”

Yan Lin smiled and tapped her nose, asking, “Who taught you that?”

Jiang Xuening replied, “I figured it out myself.”

Yan Lin gazed at her for a moment, his dark eyes flickering slightly. Finally, he reached out and patted her head, saying, “My Ningning has secrets now.”

Yes.

Your Ningning has secrets. But this secret, she would never dare to tell you.

Jiang Xuening looked up at him again, her eyes clear and bright like glass beads, but she said nothing.

Yan Lin then said, “When you feel like telling someone, tell me, okay? I want to be the first person in the world to know Ningning’s secret.”

The young man’s gaze was infinitely tolerant.

Jiang Xuening felt a moment of softness in her heart.

However, memories of the previous life, when he returned from court reeking of alcohol and entered her bedchamber, surged up. Her fingers tightened slightly around the white porcelain medicine bottle, but she eventually nodded and said, “Okay.”

Yan Lin was satisfied, and the small displeasure from earlier dissipated completely. Seeing that it was getting late and fearing he might miss the palace gate closing, he reluctantly said, “These days, you’re all learning the rules and will be tested by the teachers. I can’t openly come to see you. Let’s meet here at the same time tomorrow. I’ll find out what you’ll be tested on the third day and let you know so you can prepare.”

Jiang Xuening remained silent.

She remembered much of the previous life’s test, but it didn’t matter in this life because she had no intention of passing.

But she did not reject the young man’s kindness at this moment.

She still said, “Okay.”

*

The next day, the people from the Shangyi Bureau came again.

But this time, they didn’t teach simple etiquette. Instead, they taught the titles of various palace personnel and even the skills and techniques of perfumery and incense making.

Everyone thought Jiang Xuening would be as clumsy as before.

But unexpectedly, Jiang Xuening seemed to have suddenly become enlightened, learning everything quickly and well! She memorized the titles of palace personnel after just three repetitions; She remembered the rules of walking and retreating after watching the female official demonstrate once;

As for perfumery, it was even more impressive.

Smelling, identifying, blending, and burning incense, her delicate hands moved gracefully, and every action was smooth and pleasing to the eye!

Su Shangyi, who had been exhausted by Jiang Xuening’s etiquette lessons the previous day, had no expectations today and thought she would just lightly let her off as the princess suggested.

But who would have thought that this second Miss Jiang seemed like a completely different person!

Others might not notice, but standing in front of Jiang Xuening, Su Shangyi saw everything clearly: When Jiang Xuening picked up the ebony incense seal, she slightly raised her pinky, used the incense spoon to sprinkle ash onto the seal, and then pressed it onto the prepared ash bed with perfect precision. The resulting incense pattern was perfectly aligned, with the flower’s heart facing forward!

In contrast, others, though their actions were correct, did not pay attention to the direction of the incense pattern.

Some were upside down, some were crooked.

Although most incense makers did not care about the exact placement of the incense pattern, the peony, with its national beauty, had always been a favorite of every empress, so Su Shangyi herself was very particular about it.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Xuening had such a keen eye for detail…

Su Shangyi couldn’t help but look at her with new eyes. After Jiang Xuening finished the incense pattern, she slowly said, “The princess favors you for a reason. Some people are naturally uncoordinated, even tripping on flat ground. You might be one of them. But today, you did very well. Especially in incense making, you were the best.”

Jiang Xuening remained calm.

In her previous life, she had learned etiquette from Su Shangyi and had spent a long time in the palace, so she could naturally do better than others.

Not to mention incense making—

It was one of her few hobbies besides being an empress in her previous life.

But she couldn’t say this in front of Su Shangyi, so she just said, “I have a personal interest in this, so I’ve studied it. Today, I was just showing off in front of you.”

Su Shangyi now looked at her with admiration.

Hearing her speak so modestly, Su Shangyi’s tone became much more natural and gentle compared to the previous day’s forced politeness, “You’ve learned everything you needed to today and finished the earliest. You can rest and watch the others.”

The others: “…”

They say fortunes change, but why not for them?

Yesterday, Jiang Xuening was slow, and Su Shangyi was very tolerant of her; today, she learned incredibly fast, and Su Shangyi praised her endlessly!

Now she even got to sit and rest!

They couldn’t understand: How could she learn so quickly, remember so well, and do so perfectly?!

Jiang Xuening was tired of pretending: Knowing that she couldn’t leave the palace through the etiquette route, continuing to pretend would only bring her more suffering. It was better to finish quickly and perfectly, so she could sit and rest, avoiding a sweaty mess.

As for what others thought, she didn’t care.

Who could guess she was reborn? At most, they would think, like Su Shangyi, that she was naturally uncoordinated or too nervous yesterday.

Yao Rongrong, who had learned the slowest and worst besides Jiang Xuening yesterday, thought they would be scolded together today and felt a sense of camaraderie.

But in the blink of an eye, Jiang Xuening had already finished and sat down.

She stood among the others, completely becoming the slowest and clumsiest of them all. Feeling bewildered and helpless, she looked at Jiang Xuening with a mix of envy and surprise, secretly feeling a bit bitter.

Shen Zhiyi, thinking that today’s lessons would be more complex, went early to pay respects at the Empress Dowager’s Shou’an Palace before coming to Yangzhi Zhai. As soon as she walked in, she saw Jiang Xuening sitting on the side.

Upon asking, she found out that Jiang Xuening had already finished.

For a moment, she looked at Jiang Xuening, feeling a bit moved. She went up to hold Jiang Xuening’s hand and smiled, “I knew Ningning wasn’t a fool. Finishing so quickly and working so hard yesterday must have been to avoid disappointing me. Ningning, you are truly wonderful!”

Jiang Xuening: “…”

If she told Shen Zhiyi now that her efforts had nothing to do with her, would she be dragged away and beaten?

Jiang Xuening didn’t dare to take the risk and just accepted it.

At this moment, she sighed inwardly: Fortunately, tomorrow’s test on knowledge would give her a chance to fail and leave the palace. Otherwise, she might as well pray for a lightning bolt to strike her down!