Chapter 085: Can’t Stop

“What kind of expression is that?”

Jiang Xuening looked at him suspiciously, feeling a bit intimidated for some reason, and wondered if she had said something wrong: “Then I’ll eat one?”

Xie Wei: “…”

Jiang Xuening immediately changed her mind: “Then I won’t eat it.”

Xie Wei suddenly found it a bit funny.

But he wasn’t laughing at Jiang Xuening.

He was laughing at himself.

He inexplicably shook his head, looking at the cup of tea in his palm, and thought of Yan Lin, saying: “Stubborn and bad-tempered, without any discernment, I don’t know what kind of spell Yan Lin is under.”

Why bring up Yan Lin out of nowhere?

And why wonder why Yan Lin likes her?

Jiang Xuening tugged at the corner of her mouth and muttered softly: “So Yan Lin has someone who adores him, but you don’t have a wife.”

But as soon as she said that, she saw Xie Wei’s eyes lift, and immediately said: “You’re right, I’m uneducated and unworthy of Young Master Yan.”

“…”

With resentment in her heart but not daring to argue with him, she looked amusing, but just as Xie Wei’s lips curved up a bit, they inexplicably fell again.

Yan Lin.

The Marquis of Yongyi’s residence.

The coming-of-age ceremony.

Unknowingly, the day was approaching.

After saying those words, Jiang Xuening also realized this almost simultaneously, and her relaxed expression turned silent.

She still remembered the coming-of-age ceremony from her previous life.

At that time, she knew nothing about the political situation and didn’t know that the Marquis of Yongyi’s residence was already in danger. She had decided to strive to become the empress but hadn’t yet put it into action, so she was still very playful, with a childish temperament, thinking about finding a special birthday gift for Yan Lin.

Unexpectedly, she was delayed on the way that day.

She was late.

By the time her carriage arrived at the Marquis’s residence, the entire mansion was already filled with the smell of blood, the cold gleam of weapons, and cries of despair. The noble guests who had come to the banquet were pale and weak-kneed, fleeing as if for their lives.

She grabbed someone and asked: “What happened? What’s going on?”

No one answered her.

She tried to go inside with the birthday gift she had prepared.

But the soldiers stopped her.

She insisted on going in.

However, at that moment, a head rolled out from inside, landing on the steps, splattering blood everywhere. She was terrified, and when she turned to look, those holding swords and knives were all staring coldly at her.

Someone pulled her back, finally dragging her away.

After returning to her residence, she fell ill.

In other words, in her previous life, she didn’t even attend Yan Lin’s coming-of-age ceremony.

Later, Yan Lin misunderstood that she avoided the ceremony to protect herself, thinking she knew about the disaster at the Marquis’s residence and deliberately didn’t come.

After all, not long after, she told him she wanted to become the empress.

Later, the young man who had endured hardships and returned to the capital as a general stood in her magnificent palace. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, helped her remove the golden hairpin from her head, and said to her, “That day, I waited for you for a long time, Your Highness. Standing in the hall, watching each guest walk in, full of hope, always thinking maybe the next one would be you. But one after another came, and you did not. Prince Linzi came, and you did not. Master Xie came, and you did not. Even Xiao Shu came, and you did not. But I thought, Ningning promised me, so she would definitely come. So I waited and waited, waited and waited, until the heavy troops surrounded the mansion, until the imperial decree confiscated the property, until the steps were stained with blood, and still, you did not come…”

Jiang Xuening had no way to defend herself.

Or perhaps, for the young man who had fallen into hatred and darkness, any defense seemed pale.

She could only silently close her eyes.

The memories of the past life surged back like a tide. After a while, Jiang Xuening slowly looked at the tea cup in her hand.

The calm tea surface was like a small mirror, reflecting the figure of Xie Wei sitting opposite her.

She asked, “I heard that Master Xie will give Yan Lin a courtesy name at his coming-of-age ceremony.”

Xie Wei replied indifferently, “Yes.”

A man comes of age at twenty, and only then can he establish a family and career.

Having a courtesy name at the coming-of-age ceremony is to explain one’s name and clarify one’s aspirations.

Men from noble families usually invite renowned scholars to give them a courtesy name at their coming-of-age ceremony. Although Xie Wei’s age was not comparable to other renowned scholars, he was the Grand Tutor who presided over the lectures at the Wenyuan Pavilion. It was unheard of for anyone to invite him to give a courtesy name.

Yan Lin seemed to be the first.

And so far, the only one.

But Jiang Xuening didn’t know what Yan Lin’s courtesy name was in her previous life. Did he get one?

After the disaster at the Marquis of Yongyi’s residence, any topic related to the Yan family became taboo, and no one dared to mention it.

After Yan Lin returned to the court, no one was close enough to call him by his courtesy name.

Maybe someone did, but she didn’t know.

Xie Wei looked at her for a moment and said, “Now everyone in the capital knows that the Marquis of Yongyi’s residence is in a bad situation. Although the invitations for the coming-of-age ceremony have been sent out, few have responded. You don’t seem like someone with a kind heart. Are you going to attend?”

Jiang Xuening looked at him and said, “Yan Lin is my beloved friend.”

So no matter the situation, she would go. And this time, she wouldn’t be late, wouldn’t miss the time, and wouldn’t disappoint that young man again.

Xie Wei raised an eyebrow and let out a light snort.

Beloved friend?

He didn’t know if he had something to say, but he shook his head and didn’t speak. He seemed to have lost interest in drinking tea and put down the tea cup, saying, “Practice the zither.”

Jiang Xuening hadn’t finished her tea, but she wasn’t very thirsty. After talking about this topic, the anger from her previous argument with Yao Xi disappeared easily.

Instead, she felt a heavy weight.

She put down the tea cup, sat at the zither table, and started practicing “Chasing the Moon.”

She had played it well yesterday, so she should have played it even better today.

But unexpectedly, it wasn’t as smooth as yesterday. She made a mistake after just a few notes.

Xie Wei turned to look at her.

Jiang Xuening stopped immediately, looking at her slender fingers pressing on the zither strings. They trembled uncontrollably, causing the strings to tremble as well.

She slowly moved her fingers away, clasped her hands in front of her, and squeezed them tightly.

But the trembling feeling spread from her fingertips to her heart.

She lowered her head and closed her eyes.

For the first time, Xie Wei didn’t scold her. He just said indifferently, “If you can’t calm down, don’t play.”

Yan Lin’s coming-of-age ceremony is approaching…

It was fine not to mention it, but once it was brought up, how could she calm down?

Jiang Xuening felt a heavy weight pressing on her heart, making it hard to breathe. Even the spirited look she had when arguing with Yao Xi was gone. She responded softly, “Yes.”

The Fengchen Hall fell silent again.

Xie Wei was reading documents at his desk, but he didn’t seem very focused.

Jiang Xuening sat in a daze at the zither table, her mind wandering.

After a while, a eunuch came in with something to report to Xie Wei.

Seeing Jiang Xuening inside, he didn’t speak.

Xie Wei got up and said to Jiang Xuening, “Make some tea and read a book, take a break.”

After saying this, he walked out of the hall.

The young eunuch followed him to the corridor, whispering something.

Jiang Xuening couldn’t hear clearly.

She didn’t dare to listen to Xie Wei’s matters anyway.

She sat in front of the zither for a long time. When she was lost in thought, she didn’t feel it, but when she came back to her senses, she felt a bit stiff. This zither was a gift from Yan Lin.

The young man’s sincere and passionate face still floated in her memory, but the more she thought about it, the more stifled she felt looking at the zither. So she stood up and sat at the tea table, boiling water and making tea again.

The plate of peach blossom cakes was still there.

Jiang Xuening saw it clearly.

When she drank the first brew of tea, she didn’t touch it; when she drank the second brew, she felt a bit bitter in her stomach; by the third brew, she finally felt she needed to eat something, so she reached for the plate of peach blossom cakes.

The white slices, dotted with pieces of peach kernels.

At first glance, they looked similar to yesterday’s.

But on closer inspection, the peach kernels seemed larger than yesterday’s?

The palace chefs were good at making beautiful and fragrant pastries, although the taste might not always match the appearance.

But after all, it was the palace.

Who cared if it really tasted good?

Holding a thin slice of peach blossom cake, Jiang Xuening stared at it for a long time, muttered to herself, and finally put it in her mouth.

The glutinous rice was kneaded together, soft yet resilient.

Sweet but not greasy, clear but not bitter.

This taste…

At first, she didn’t notice, but as the taste spread on her tongue, Jiang Xuening’s eyelids twitched, almost choking herself in surprise, and she nearly knocked over the tea cup!

No matter what this peach blossom cake tasted like!

It definitely wasn’t made by the palace chefs!

In her previous life, she had tried all the palace chefs who could make pastries, and none could make the taste she wanted!

In this life, the palace chefs hadn’t changed, so it was even more impossible!

Then this plate…

Jiang Xuening felt as if she had just eaten poison. She pressed her hand against her eyelids and her chest, wishing she could spit out the piece she had just eaten!

Oh my god, what had she done!

How could she have dared to eat something from Xie Wei!!!

Maybe he used this plate of peach blossom cakes to test if she still remembered those events from four years ago?

Xie Wei was a ruthless person.

It was all because his recent attitude had been too kind, making her habitually overstep her bounds and lose her vigilance!

Calm down.

Calm down.

It was just one piece.

Xie Wei might not have counted them.

To the naked eye, this plate looked no different from before.

With a little rearranging, it would be unnoticeable.

Jiang Xuening quickly reached out and rearranged the peach blossom cakes on the plate to cover up the gap left by the piece she had taken.

Then she waited for Xie Wei to return.

But after a long time, Xie Wei still hadn’t come back.

Jiang Xuening vaguely smelled that faintly sweet fragrance again. She glanced at the peach blossom cakes while looking down at her tea, then looked back at the tea; then glanced at the cakes again, and back at the tea.

Actually…

There seemed to be quite a lot on this plate?

Eating another piece might not be noticeable.

She turned her head to look outside the side hall door. Hearing the murmured conversation still ongoing, she gathered some courage and stealthily reached out to grab another piece from the plate, quickly stuffing it into her mouth.

Then she looked at the plate of peach blossom cakes again.

Hmm, very good, no flaws. Except for that piece on the left looking a bit out of place, somewhat conspicuous.

Jiang Xuening thought she couldn’t leave it like that. If it caught Xie Wei’s attention, it wouldn’t be good.

Throw it away?

That would be too wasteful.

So it was better to eat it. This wasn’t stealing food; she didn’t really want to eat it; it was to make the plate look normal!

She swore that after eating this piece, she really wouldn’t eat any more. Eating more would be deadly!

But stealing food…

Once you start, it’s hard to stop. And indeed, eating one piece after another didn’t make much difference in how the plate looked…

Her guilty little hands reached out once more.

“Really, this is the last piece, the last piece!”

Jiang Xuening swore to herself as she bit into the tenth piece of peach blossom cake.

At that moment, Xie Wei happened to come in from outside and didn’t hear clearly. He just asked, “What last?”

“Ah, ah, ah!”

Jiang Xuening was so startled that she choked on the peach blossom cake she had just eaten, unable to swallow it in time!

She quickly drank half a cup of tea to avoid choking, then turned around and said, “Nothing, nothing. I was just saying it’s the last brew of tea and wondering why you hadn’t come back yet, Master Xie.”

Xie Wei walked closer and saw that she had indeed made tea, but…

Was the plate of peach blossom cakes originally this empty?

He looked at Jiang Xuening with a half-smile.

Jiang Xuening followed his gaze to the small plate that originally held the cakes…

When did the arrangement become so sparse?

No, no, no, no problem!

Maybe Xie Wei’s eyesight was bad!

She forced a smile and said, “I was a bit hungry just now, so I ate a little, just a little…”

Xie Wei raised an eyebrow: “Do you think I’m blind?”

Jiang Xuening gritted her teeth: “A bit more than a little.”

Xie Wei responded with an “Oh”: “How does it taste?”

Jiang Xuening thought she couldn’t remember the taste from back then, so she lied with a straight face: “About the same as yesterday. The palace chefs are all about appearances; it looks good but doesn’t taste great. It’s okay for tea and snacks.”

Xie Wei suddenly thought—

This girl might really be tired of living.

With that thought, he stepped forward, pretending to take the plate away, and said, “If it doesn’t taste good, don’t force yourself. Throw it out and have the palace chefs make another plate for Miss Ning.”

Throw it out?!

Jiang Xuening blurted out, “No—”

As soon as she said it, she wanted to slap herself.

Xie Wei stopped and looked at her with interest.

Jiang Xuening finally realized that she not only had a reverse scale but also a fatal weakness.

It’s hard to go from luxury to frugality.

Growing up in the countryside, she had always craved good food, so once she tasted something good, she couldn’t forget it.

Feeling utterly defeated, she decided to go all out. With a deadpan expression, under Xie Wei’s gaze, she said earnestly, “It’s not that bad. One should practice frugality and not waste food.”

Then she took the plate of peach blossom cakes from Xie Wei’s hand.

Xie Wei: “…”

If he had known that a plate of peach blossom cakes could make this ancestor so obedient, all the effort he had spent coaxing and scolding her, worrying that she wouldn’t learn well, would have been for nothing…

He suddenly doubted his ability to judge people.

He inexplicably laughed.