Chapter 065: Framing

Jiang Xuening wasn’t foolish; she knew there was a limit to teasing someone, especially when it came to Xie Wei. Although she felt that his attitude towards her was different from what she had imagined, she didn’t dare to push her luck too far, as she didn’t know where Xie Wei’s limits lay.

So, she obediently agreed, saying she wouldn’t dare to do it again.

Xie Wei didn’t hold it against her and walked ahead of her, returning to the Fengchen Hall at a leisurely pace.

Three days ago, everyone had seen Jiang Xuening being left behind in the hall for angering Xie Wei with her clumsy attempts at learning the qin. Now, seeing her follow Xie Wei back with a humble and obedient demeanor, they felt inexplicably refreshed, like eating ice in the heat of summer.

How proud had she been when she was arrogant and domineering?

With Yan Lin protecting her and the Princess backing her, she had been unstoppable. But even she couldn’t escape the authority of Master Xie, the imperial tutor, whom even the Princess dared not offend. No matter how formidable Jiang Xuening was, she couldn’t play the qin well and was disciplined by Xie Wei.

Even the Princess of Leyang couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty and sympathetic: she knew that Master Xie was a strict scholar who wouldn’t show favoritism to anyone. Ningning being singled out to learn the qin from him meant she would likely face severe treatment and a miserable time.

But there was nothing she could do about it.

At this moment, she thought to herself: It’s okay, it’s okay, I’ll just treat Ningning better in the future to make up for it!

Jiang Xuening walked in with her qin, initially unaware of what everyone was thinking.

But when Xie Wei heard her play a note and immediately told her to stop, to sit quietly and not play anymore, she glanced around at everyone’s expressions and suddenly understood—they all thought she was having a terrible time with Xie Wei?

She didn’t dare to touch the qin again until the end of the lesson.

When it was over, Xie Wei walked past her, looking down at her as usual, without the calm and patience he had shown in the side hall, and said coldly, “To learn the qin, you must avoid impatience, calm your mind, and practice diligently. You lack all three. From tomorrow, practice in the side hall every day. If you don’t improve, don’t bother staying.”

Jiang Xuening was dumbfounded.

How could Xie Wei change his attitude faster than flipping a book?

She had an inexplicable urge to slam the table, but when she looked up, she met Xie Wei’s smiling eyes and was momentarily stunned, unable to react. But Xie Wei didn’t say anything more, just took his qin and left the hall.

After everyone had left, the remaining people in the hall began to discuss.

Princess Leyang, filled with righteous indignation, walked over to Jiang Xuening and said, “Master Xie’s demands are too harsh! How could he say that to you?”

Zhou Baoying also puffed out her cheeks and nodded, “Yes, Sister Ning is really pitiful. When we first started learning the qin, we all went from not knowing to knowing. Master Xie is so unfair…”

Even Yao Rongrong looked at her with some sympathy.

As for You Yue, Chen Shuyi, and the others, although their malice hadn’t completely disappeared and they still made some sarcastic remarks, their jealousy towards Jiang Xuening had lessened.

It seemed they had found some sense of superiority from this situation.

So, their gazes occasionally carried a condescending disdain, and they often made hypocritical sympathetic remarks, speaking indirectly in her presence, bringing what was once hidden into the open.

This continued for a few days.

Jiang Xuening found that although she was occasionally pricked by a few words from others and still had unresolved conflicts with some, the sympathy and pity from others allowed her to integrate into the group in a strange way.

So she suddenly learned.

Ginger gets spicier with age.

The fox named Xie is still cunning.

Taking a step back and letting people think she was in a miserable situation didn’t eliminate hatred but made those who were originally hostile towards her lower their guard. It even brought those who were neutral closer to her out of sympathy. No wonder she had the potential to rebel in the future…

Manipulating people’s hearts without leaving a trace.

So, sitting across the tea table, drinking tea brewed by Xie Wei himself, Jiang Xuening felt that it was better not to tell them that she was actually getting along quite well with Xie Wei.

Yan Lin indulged her, and Shen Zhiyi favored her.

These two were certainly good to her, but they also easily pushed her into the spotlight; Xie Wei, on the other hand, suppressed her openly, criticized her harshly, and treated her poorly, which instead dissolved others’ hostility towards her.

After that day, Zhang Zhong, the chief compiler of the National History Museum, never appeared in Fengchen Hall again.

The little eunuchs gossiped that he had retired to his hometown.

A new teacher named Chen Chou replaced him to teach the “Book of Rites.” He taught them properly, neither flattering the superiors nor bullying the inferiors, and probably having Zhang Zhong as a cautionary example, he was particularly patient with them, answering every question and solving every doubt.

As for Master Zhao Yanhong, who always praised Xiao Shu and taught the “Book of Songs,” he also had bad luck a few days later.

The cause was that he assigned homework, asking them to write a five-character poem.

After class, Jiang Xuening went to Xie Wei to learn the qin. As usual, she couldn’t calm her mind and was called to sit by the qin. While daydreaming, she couldn’t help but worry about the five-character poem.

Xie Wei asked her what she was worried about.

She explained the poetry assignment, saying, “Master Zhao is knowledgeable, but he never praises anyone else’s work. Although I don’t like Chen Shuyi, her poetry isn’t necessarily worse than Xiao Shu’s. In Master Zhao’s eyes, only Xiao Shu is excellent, with the Princess ranking second. Everyone else is like wildflowers and weeds, not worth mentioning. I can read some articles, but I don’t like playing the qin or writing poetry. Master Zhao already looks down on me, and if I force myself to write something, it will just be a laughingstock…”

Xie Wei glanced at her without saying anything.

Jiang Xuening then realized, “I’m not tattling or trying to get Master Zhao in trouble. You asked me yourself, didn’t you?”

Xie Wei inexplicably laughed.

He was planing a piece of beech wood selected for making a qin. After laughing, he put down the wood and the plane, thought for a moment, walked over to the desk, and flipped through a few pages of Chengxin Hall paper under a paperweight. He pulled out a sheet, looked at it for a moment, and handed it to Jiang Xuening, saying, “Take these lines, copy them, and say you wrote them yourself. Let’s see what Master Zhao says.”

Taking the sheet of Chengxin Hall paper and seeing the four lines of poetry, Jiang Xuening’s mind immediately recalled a phrase from her previous life: “Fishing for law enforcement.”

Of course, she didn’t dare say this to Xie Wei.

Besides, even if she did, Xie Wei might not understand.

So she obediently took the poem and used it to trap Zhao Yanhong in class a few days later.

Zhao Yanhong, unaware of the misfortune that had befallen Zhang Zhong, the chief compiler of the National History Museum, glanced at Jiang Xuening’s copied poem and said, “What’s the use of just rhyming? It’s complete nonsense. Especially the line ‘In the empty mountains, flowers are indistinguishable,’ which makes no sense. One moment it’s in the empty mountains, and the next it’s ‘a courtyard darkens.’ Sure, it fits the theme with the moon, mountains, flowers, clouds, and wind, but it’s too lowbrow!”

At that moment, Jiang Xuening felt sympathy for him.

Because Xie Wei, who taught the qin, was right behind him. He had come early that day and was sitting in the corner of the main hall drinking tea. He heard this and, with a surprised expression, suddenly said, “Master Zhao, may I see this poem?”

The poem read:

The night moon shines like jade, in the empty mountains, flowers are indistinguishable; Clouds come, a courtyard darkens, wind goes, a hundred branches slant.

Xie Wei looked at it without saying a word.

Zhao Yanhong, unaware of the trouble he was in, asked, “What does Master Xie think?”

Xie Wei returned the poem with a strange expression, “I didn’t realize this poem was so lowbrow and bad.”

Zhao Yanhong finally sensed something was off and became a bit uneasy, “What do you mean?”

“Oh.” Xie Wei, with an embarrassed look, lightly touched his straight nose with his slender index finger and smiled apologetically, “Master Zhao, you must be joking. This poem was actually a casual piece I wrote in the past, just a random composition, not worthy of being judged or critiqued.”

Zhao Yanhong was stunned.

Xie Wei, however, played his part well. He looked at Jiang Xuening and said, “I suppose Miss Ning saw it while learning the qin with me in the side hall and ‘borrowed’ it.”

Afterwards, nothing more was heard about Xie Wei.

It was said that Zhao Yanhong couldn’t eat or sleep well after returning home, sighed at the lamp at night, and was in a daze during the day. The next day, he resigned from teaching the Princess and requested a transfer to an external position. Without a suitable vacancy, he ended up with a lower-ranking idle position and felt particularly fortunate.

Jiang Xuening thought the matter was over.

Unexpectedly, early this morning, she heard Yao Xi and Chen Shuyi discussing that the Emperor had pursued the matter, got angry, and uncovered a factional issue involving Zhang Zhong and Zhao Yanhong, leading to the dismissal of many officials, including the former head of the Hanlin Academy. Xie Wei was appointed as the new head of the Hanlin Academy to rectify the improper practices.

Everyone said Master Xie was becoming more prominent.

Jiang Xuening felt that this matter had been orchestrated by Xie Wei from the beginning. Even the small issues with the teachers in Fengchen Hall were used to make a point and advance his position in the court. He was not to be underestimated.

Xie Wei sat at the tea table, letting the boiling water steep in the pot for a moment before pouring it into the tea sea. He then lifted the tea lid, smelled the lingering fragrance on the lid, and looked up to see her daydreaming. He said calmly, “I’ve been telling you to calm your mind these past few days, but you haven’t learned a bit of it. Your ability to daydream has only deepened. I’m beginning to wonder if there’s something valuable hidden in this seemingly useless exterior of yours. What are you thinking about now?”

Jiang Xuening snapped back to reality.

She felt that sitting quietly for an hour in the main hall and an hour in the side hall each day, which used to make her restless, now allowed her to start daydreaming, was already a significant improvement.

But she didn’t dare to talk back to Xie Wei.

She muttered, “Master Xie has been promoted to head of the Hanlin Academy, even more impressive than my father. I’m happy for you.”

These days, her words were quite sweet.

But for Xie Wei, this matter was not as simple as it seemed.

Using the teachers in Fengchen Hall who taught Princess Leyang to clean up the Hanlin Academy was a forced move. Even if it was done without leaving a trace, those with keen eyes would inevitably think he was scheming and eager for quick success.

It was a necessary action.

If he had more time, he could have done it more subtly, but the investigation into the Jade Ruyi case was tightening, and a storm was imminent. If he didn’t hold some real power, how could he ensure control over the situation?

Xie Wei didn’t explain, just lowered his eyes and said, “The paper used in the palace has strict regulations and taboos. The Internal Affairs Office sends you Bingyi paper and Bailu paper, but the sheet I gave you the other day was Chengxin Hall paper stored in the palace. Remember to bring it back tomorrow to avoid causing trouble.”

He paid attention to such small details; wasn’t he worried about overthinking and going bald in the future?

However, Jiang Xuening knew that every word and action in the palace had to be cautious. Despite her internal complaints, she remembered this matter.

After drinking tea, a young eunuch came to deliver the official gazette to Xie Wei.

Seeing that the eunuch seemed to have something to say, she bowed and left Xie Wei, exiting the side hall.

On her way back to Yangzhi Zhai, she saw several eunuchs from the Department of Punishments dragging a few gagged eunuchs from the inner palace. Each was injured and barely alive, clearly having suffered severe torture, their fate uncertain.

Jiang Xuening dared not look further and walked quickly along the palace wall.

The atmosphere of an impending storm suddenly enveloped the entire palace.

But she thought that the companions in Yangzhi Zhai should have nothing to do with the Jade Ruyi case.

Who knew that that very night, while everyone was studying in the Liushui Pavilion, a eunuch with a whisk and a cold face led a large group of people into Yangzhi Zhai, waving his hand and saying, “Search everything carefully!”

Most of the companions had never seen such a frightening scene and were momentarily panicked.

Jiang Xuening was also extremely surprised.

She didn’t remember anyone searching Yangzhi Zhai during the Jade Ruyi case in her previous life.

It was Xiao Shu who remained calm, perhaps because her aunt was the Empress Dowager, giving her extra confidence. She asked the eunuch, “May I ask, what has happened, and what are you searching for?”

The eunuch was Wang Quan, the newly appointed chief eunuch of the inner palace.

He was respectful to Xiao Shu, returning her salute with a smile, “I suppose you all have heard the rumors. A few days ago, someone dared to carve rebellious words on the jade ruyi presented to the Empress Dowager, angering the Emperor greatly. There have been continuous investigations and many people have been cleared out. Since the palace is full of hidden filth, and Yangzhi Zhai is also a residence within the palace, I am here under the Emperor’s decree and the Empress Dowager’s order to conduct a routine search. Please do not be alarmed.”

Although he said this, the people he brought were not at all polite during the search.

They turned everything upside down, even checking every book and piece of writing.

Seeing this, Jiang Xuening’s eyelid twitched, and she suddenly remembered that the Chengxin Hall paper was still pressed in her box, making her a bit worried.

After a while, they had searched everyone’s rooms.

Most reported no issues. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was just a routine search.

But just as they were relaxing, a eunuch hurriedly came from the corridor, holding a piece of paper, and handed it to Wang Quan, whispering something in his ear.

Upon seeing what was written on the paper, Wang Quan exclaimed, “Well!”

He looked up and scanned the crowd, asking, “Who is the daughter of Minister Jiang?”

All eyes instantly fell on Jiang Xuening.

From a distance, Jiang Xuening couldn’t see what the eunuch was holding, thinking it was the Chengxin Hall paper Xie Wei had given her. She thought there was no avoiding it and prepared to explain.

So she stepped forward and replied, “I am.”

Wang Quan looked her up and down, sneering, “Bold, aren’t you! Take this rebel away!”

Rebel?!

Jiang Xuening’s pupils contracted, and before she could react, two eunuchs had already grabbed her hands.

She couldn’t believe it, “Sir, you are slandering me! How could I be a rebel?”

Wang Quan simply flipped the paper towards her.

It wasn’t the Chengxin Hall paper from Xie Wei.

It was a common piece of Bailu paper, with two lines written on it: “Three hundred righteous children, what was their crime to die so tragically? The incompetent emperor, how dare he call himself the Son of Heaven!”

At that moment, Jiang Xuening felt a chill all over her body.

The shadows of people flickered in Yangzhi Zhai, the lights shining brightly.

She turned her face, looking at the other companions who stood there with her, feeling that the lanterns held by the eunuchs were too dazzling, making their faces blurry and indistinct.