Chapter 055: Denial

The zither table was quite heavy, but Xie Wei lifted it with a flick of his toe and then carefully placed the zither back in its proper position. Only then did he look at Jiang Xuening, as if contemplating whether to help her up.

Jiang Xuening dared not let him help.

Her fall wasn’t particularly heavy or painful, and seeing Xie Wei put the zither down, she quickly scrambled up from the thick carpet and said, “It was my recklessness, but fortunately, the zither is fine.”

Xie Wei glanced at her and nodded, “Yes.”

Jiang Xuening: “…”

He actually answered “yes”!

Although her fall was her own fault and couldn’t be blamed on Xie Wei, she felt embarrassed and couldn’t help but think: Zhang Zhe didn’t get married in his previous life partly because Yao Xi ruined his reputation and partly because he was unlucky to meet her; Xie Wei didn’t marry in his previous life either, not only because he was devoted to Buddhist studies but also probably because of his annoying personality!

Xie Wei, seemingly unaware of her dissatisfaction, pointed to the zither and said, “Playing the zither requires a calm mind, free of distractions. You are not usually reckless, but you acted recklessly. The more you want to play well, the worse you play. As the saying goes, ‘Haste makes waste.’ So, I won’t teach you to play the zither today. It’s useless. Sit down in front of the zither.”

Jiang Xuening sat down as instructed and asked, “Then what should I learn?”

Xie Wei had already walked to the long table, picked up a piece of pre-cut wood, and replied, “Nothing.”

Jiang Xuening was stunned.

Xie Wei said calmly, “Sit in front of the zither. When your mind is calm, you can learn to play.”

Calm mind?

Isn’t learning to play the zither a matter of technique?

What does it have to do with a calm mind?

Jiang Xuening felt that Xie Wei was deliberately finding ways to torment her. Sitting there, her mind was not calm at all, but rather more agitated.

But Xie Wei ignored her.

The last zither he had worked on for nearly three years was destroyed in an attack at Cengxiao Tower, which had frustrated him for a long time. Now, he was starting over, selecting wood to make two zithers at the same time.

This way, he wouldn’t be too unlucky if both zithers encountered accidents.

So, he repeatedly compared the pieces of wood in front of him, trying to choose the best two.

Jiang Xuening sat behind the zither, her mind initially full of thoughts. But after thinking for a while, she found it boring just to think.

Sitting there, doing nothing, was truly torturous.

Her eyelids gradually grew heavy, and she had no choice but to focus on Xie Wei, watching him select wood, measure with a string and ruler, and meticulously compare. He seemed more like a picky craftsman in a market than a revered teacher of an emperor.

And…

This person stared at the pieces of wood, picking one up and putting it down, then picking up another and putting it down, unable to make a decision for a long time. Jiang Xuening couldn’t help but twitch her mouth: Who knew, not only was he not great, but he also had a lot of quirks.

The class time was already close to noon, and the windows of the side hall were open.

After a long time of deliberation, Xie Wei finally chose the wood. He looked up to estimate the time and realized it was almost noon. Thinking it wouldn’t be good to keep Jiang Xuening here hungry, he decided to let her go.

But unexpectedly, as he turned his head, he caught a glimpse of a white shadow out of the corner of his eye.

It was a small cat, like a snowball.

No one knew where it came from or when it arrived.

It was the size of a palm, with dark blue eyes and a fluffy body, sitting on the windowsill, peering into the hall, looking as if it was about to jump in and explore, and it let out a low “meow.”

Xie Wei’s eyelids twitched, his body stiffened slightly, and he took a step back without a sound.

Jiang Xuening, who had been drowsy, was awakened by the sound. She looked up and saw the cat, her eyes lighting up with joy: “Oh, where did this little cat come from? So cute!”

She got up to hug the cat.

But as she stood up, she remembered she was supposed to be sitting quietly, so she stopped and looked at Xie Wei.

Xie Wei frowned and didn’t acknowledge her look, instead calling out loudly, “Someone.”

A young eunuch waiting outside immediately came in: “What can I do for you, Master?”

Xie Wei’s eyes were frosty, and he moved his hand as if to point at the snowball-like cat on the windowsill, but then withdrew his hand and said, “Find out which palace this cat came from and take it away. The Fengchen Hall is a place for quiet study; don’t let these little creatures in to disturb us in the future.”

The young eunuch, somewhat trembling, quickly responded, “Yes.”

He then hurriedly stepped forward and picked up the little cat.

“I’ll find out right away and make sure these little creatures don’t get into the hall in the future.”

Jiang Xuening’s mouth opened slightly as she watched the young eunuch take the cat away. Already dissatisfied with Xie Wei, she felt even more annoyed and turned to glare at him, trying to silently express her anger.

But as she turned her head, she suddenly found it strange—was Xie Wei that far from the windowsill at the beginning?

When the young eunuch took the cat from the windowsill and left the hall, Xie Wei casually put down the ink line in his hand, turned, and walked to the desk on the other side to pick up a report, keeping a distance of more than a yard from the cat the entire time.

Jiang Xuening suddenly felt something inexplicably odd, and a bold thought emerged in her mind.

In her previous life, she also had a cat.

Once, she took a chubby tabby cat to stroll in the imperial garden and encountered Shen Jie with a group of ministers discussing state affairs. Naturally, she stopped to greet them.

But unexpectedly, as she bent down, the cat jumped out.

It jumped right to Xie Wei’s feet and stretched out its chubby paw to grab the hem of Xie Wei’s robe, just like it would jump to catch butterflies, looking adorable.

She was immediately amused.

But when she looked up, she saw Xie Wei’s face darken. His gaze shifted from her cat to her, and he took a step back.

At that time, Jiang Xuening was the empress and wasn’t afraid of him. She thought he, like other ministers, despised her for forming cliques, and thus also disliked her cat. So, she didn’t give him a good look, bent down to pick up the cat, held it in her arms, and said coolly to the cat, “Look at you, playing without seeing who you’re pouncing on. Fortunately, our esteemed master is magnanimous, or else you’d be skinned!”

After saying that, she turned and left.

She didn’t even look at Xie Wei’s expression again.

Although she found this guess about Xie Wei somewhat fantastical and unbelievable, what if…

What if Xie Wei didn’t actually dislike her back then?

“……”

The young eunuch had already taken the cat out, but Jiang Xuening continued to watch Xie Wei, a shrewd thought flashing in her eyes. However, before Xie Wei’s gaze returned to her, this thought disappeared completely, as if she hadn’t considered anything at all.

“Master Xie?”

Xie Wei still stood far from the windowsill and said, “It’s getting late, and you are still not calm. Learning the zither requires patience. You should go back for today.”

Jiang Xuening thought, finally, and immediately bowed to take her leave.

But unexpectedly, just as she was about to leave and reached the door, she heard Xie Wei’s calm voice from inside, “Come back tomorrow afternoon.”

With a “thud,” she slipped at the threshold and almost fell!

She finally managed to stand steadily, but she was fuming with anger.

In the end, she could only grit her teeth and say, “Thank you for your kindness, Master Xie. I will come again tomorrow!”

*

After leaving Fengchen Hall, she realized in her anger that she had forgotten to take her zither. She thought about going back to get it but decided against it, thinking Xie Wei might still be in the hall.

Anyway, she wasn’t planning to practice the zither at home. Leaving it with Xie Wei saved her the trouble of carrying it back and forth.

So, she walked back empty-handed.

It was only a few steps from Fengchen Hall to Yangzhi Zhai, and there weren’t many palace attendants along the way.

As she walked, she heard laughter and chatter.

Some of the voices sounded familiar.

Jiang Xuening stopped and looked ahead, slightly surprised.

Outside Yangzhi Zhai, under the vermilion palace walls, stood a young man in a sky-blue robe. He was tall and upright, and even though he wasn’t riding a horse at the moment, his bright eyes and handsome features exuded a sense of vigor and intensity.

But when he saw her, his eyes dimmed.

Yan Lin forgot what he was saying and what he wanted to say next. It was as if everyone standing around him had disappeared, and his eyes were filled only with the figure in front of him.

Shen Zhiyi and Xiao Shu had met Yan Lin and his group while paying respects at Kunning Palace. Since they were heading back to Yangzhi Zhai and the young noblemen were going to Fengchen Hall to see Master Xie, they walked together and were now saying their goodbyes.

Shen Zhiyi had known Yan Lin since childhood and considered him a playmate.

She was about to mention that Ningning had been kept behind by Master Xie today and that Yan Lin might meet her in the side hall. But halfway through her sentence, she saw Yan Lin’s gaze shift past them to someone behind.

She turned to look.

Seeing Jiang Xuening, she was overjoyed and waved, “Ningning, you’re finally out! We were so worried about you!”

Normally, Jiang Xuening would have been amused by Shen Zhiyi and might have thought about how Shen Zhiyi had held her hand earlier, telling her to learn well from Xie Wei, and would have inwardly mocked her concern.

But now, she couldn’t smile at all.

She walked over silently.

Xiao Shu, Yao Xi, and others were all there, their eyes darting between her and Yan Lin.

There were also a few unfamiliar young men with Yan Lin, dressed in luxurious clothes, likely of noble status, invited by the emperor to attend lectures in the palace.

One of them looked particularly young, about fourteen or fifteen years old.

He stood closest to Yan Lin.

First, he saw Yan Lin looking towards Jiang Xuening, then heard Shen Zhiyi call out “Ningning,” and clapped his hands in realization, smiling at Yan Lin, “So this is the second young lady of the Jiang family? Brother Yan Lin always kept her hidden from us, but today we finally get to see her!”

His words implied he knew about Yan Lin and Jiang Xuening’s relationship.

Everyone laughed knowingly and teasingly.

Only Yan Lin did not smile.

Seeing her brought him such joy, but the words of Prince Yanping pulled him into an abyss, making him feel that the girl standing before him was as distant as a cloud in the sky.

The young man in the blue robe, with a still somewhat youthful face, said solemnly, “Prince Yanping, please don’t joke. Miss Jiang and I are just playmates. It’s fine in private, but if such words reach my father’s ears, a scolding for me is minor, but it would damage Miss Jiang’s reputation. Please be careful with your words.”

The young Prince Yanping was stunned.

Shen Zhiyi didn’t react immediately.

Xiao Shu raised her eyebrows, looking at Yan Lin in surprise.

You Yue and the others, after their initial shock, turned to gloating: So, Yan Lin doesn’t take her seriously after all!

But Yan Lin looked at Jiang Xuening with extreme seriousness, as if each glance was precious, wanting to etch her into his heart.

Clearly, something inside him was breaking and bleeding.

Yet he smiled at her, “Prince Yanping is young and speaks without restraint. Please don’t mind him, Miss Jiang.”

“……”

At that moment, Jiang Xuening’s eyes welled up.

She had to lower her head quickly to hide her embarrassment.

Others might not understand, but how could she not know?

The Marquis of Yongyi’s residence was in danger. Yan Lin, knowing this and truly caring for her, would no longer act with youthful impulsiveness, nor would he want the whole world to know he liked her.

On the contrary, he wanted to sever all ties with her.

He didn’t want her to be implicated or her reputation to be tarnished, just like Zhang Zhe voluntarily breaking off his engagement with the Yao family.

Her fingers clenched at her sides, forcing back her tears. She looked at the young man, wanting to say something, but in front of so many people, she couldn’t utter a word.

She didn’t dare to speak.