Chapter 086: Sharing

When Jiang Xuening left the Fengchen Hall, she took the unfinished peach blossom cakes with her.

Xie Wei watched her.

She righteously explained, “Master Xie, you often come and go from the palace, and you probably wouldn’t take pastries in and out. If this plate of peach blossom cakes is left in the hall, no one will eat it, and by tomorrow it won’t taste good. It’s better if I take it with me.”

Xie Wei didn’t say anything.

Jiang Xuening took his silence as consent.

She grabbed the food box and strode out of the Fengchen Hall: since the secret was out and she had already taken it, if Xie Wei didn’t notice, he wouldn’t notice; if he did, she couldn’t change his mind or decision. So she might as well enjoy the cakes while she still could. The peach blossom cakes she risked her life for should definitely be taken back to continue eating!

Understanding this, her steps became lighter.

She walked as if she were about to fly.

Xie Wei watched her from behind, feeling that her sadness and happiness were both very genuine and simple.

*

Among the companions at Yangzhi Zhai, only Jiang Xuening was taken by Xie Wei for extra lessons and zither practice, so her schedule often didn’t match the others’. When they were resting, she might just be returning, and when she was resting, they might already be studying.

This time was no different.

Jiang Xuening returned with the food box, and most people were taking their midday rest. The entire Yangzhi Zhai was quiet. She went to her room, placed the food box on her desk, opened it, and couldn’t resist eating two more pieces before starting to think.

She had already been framed once and could still find an excuse, saying she was unprepared and careless; but if it happened a second time, there would be no excuse, and she would truly be foolish and dull.

Instead of guessing in secret, it was better to clarify things face-to-face.

Moreover, in this life, she had no direct conflict of interest with Xiao Shu. Her days in the palace shouldn’t be so difficult.

The sachet that might have caused trouble was now on the table.

A clear scratch mark was visible.

Jiang Xuening stared at it for a moment. Once she made up her mind, she closed the food box, grabbed the sachet from the table, and walked out.

Her room was in the most secluded corner of Yangzhi Zhai.

Xiao Shu’s room, however, was the best one here, facing south with windows on two sides, good lighting, and next to a corridor with no one else around.

It didn’t take long to walk there.

There were palace attendants standing quietly at the door.

When Jiang Xuening approached, the palace attendants saw her, bowed, and said, “Miss Jiang, are you here to see Miss Xiao? Our lady is waiting for you.”

Jiang Xuening raised an eyebrow in surprise.

This really caught her off guard.

She glanced at the palace attendant without speaking.

The palace attendant didn’t say much either, just stepped forward to open the door and invited her in.

Jiang Xuening walked in.

The room was decorated not much differently from hers, with a touch of the noble family’s heritage. It didn’t look very luxurious, but even a flower vase casually placed in the corner was glazed with a sky-blue color.

A palace attendant stood by the desk, preparing ink and brushes.

Xiao Shu, dressed in a light purple flowing fairy dress, had one sleeve rolled up and was holding a brush, painting. The great river flowed, the banks stretched out, ancient pines stood tall on high cliffs, and a solitary sail drifted into the distance, fading at the end of the water.

The painting had quite an impressive aura.

Most women, whether from noble families or humble origins, preferred detailed paintings of flowers and birds, writing about the sorrows of the boudoir. But Xiao Shu clearly didn’t like that; she preferred ink paintings of landscapes, with a broader perspective.

Perhaps this was the impression she wanted to give others.

When Jiang Xuening entered, Xiao Shu was just adding the sail’s reflection to the painting. She looked up, smiled, and said, “I knew Miss Jiang would come to see me, but you came much earlier than I expected.”

As she spoke, she put down her brush.

She also waved her hand to dismiss the palace attendant.

Now, only the two of them were left in the room.

Jiang Xuening already knew Xiao Shu was not an easy person to deal with, so she wasn’t surprised by her words. She simply said, “It seems I still managed to surprise you, Miss Xiao.” Xiao Shu nodded, “More than surprised, I’m quite impressed.”

Jiang Xuening said, “Are you referring to the search of Yangzhi Zhai?”

Xiao Shu smiled, “Miss Jiang is perceptive.”

Jiang Xuening snorted and didn’t want to waste words. She directly placed the sachet on the desk, “The sachet you returned to me yesterday is indeed mine. But the place where you found it is probably not where I lost it.”

Xiao Shu said, “I know.”

Jiang Xuening raised an eyebrow.

Xiao Shu was silent for a moment, seemingly considering her words, then said, “The search of Yangzhi Zhai was my doing, but it was all due to a ridiculous misunderstanding. I didn’t intend to target you.”

Jiang Xuening suddenly found her interesting.

Looking back at her, she smiled slightly, “I know that too.”

This conversation was quite intriguing.

There was mutual probing between the two.

When Xiao Shu first learned about Jiang Xuening, she didn’t consider her an enemy. First, because she came from a high-ranking family and few could threaten her; second, because there was no substantial conflict of interest between them.

To become enemies, both conditions were necessary.

However, after entering the palace, everything seemed to change.

Jiang Xuening was visibly favored, and although her background was not as noble, she was not treated any worse in the palace. Then came Shen Jie’s excessive attention to Jiang Xuening, even secretly keeping an embroidered handkerchief. Anyone with a bit of sensitivity knew that Shen Jie was likely to be made Crown Prince, and Xiao Shu wanted to become Empress.

In this situation, Jiang Xuening was enough of a threat.

And a significant one.

That time, Xiao Shu had just learned about the impending search order in the palace. She calculated that even if the plan failed, it would make Jiang Xuening suffer in the Department of Punishments. Whatever happened there wouldn’t be up to Jiang Xuening.

This way, she could easily eliminate the threat Jiang Xuening posed.

But unexpectedly, in the face of crisis, this girl from a humble background remained calm, argued her case, and even threatened to die, successfully resolving the crisis.

Even more unexpectedly, the embroidered handkerchief belonged to someone else.

Her real enemy was not Jiang Xuening, but her sister Jiang Xuehui!

This was truly a huge joke!

Xiao Shu, who always valued her reputation, couldn’t refute when scolded by her aunt, the Empress Dowager, because of this incident—no matter how unwilling or unhappy she was.

She had made a wrong move, a foolish mistake.

From now on, Xiao Shu would have to deal with both Jiang Xuehui and her newly made enemy, Jiang Xuening, which was really not worth it.

No matter how strong a person is, they cannot withstand a thousand cuts and swords.

Xiao Shu did not want to make too many enemies.

And now, this sachet incident provided her with an excellent opportunity to correct her previous mistake and reduce a strong enemy.

Xiao Shu observed Jiang Xuening’s expression, gently waved her hand to invite her to sit down, and said, “That day was truly a moment of carelessness, an unintentional mistake that almost caused trouble for Miss Jiang. I feel quite guilty and uneasy about it. However, since we have had little interaction and I don’t know you well, I’m not sure how to resolve this misunderstanding…”

A moment of carelessness, an unintentional mistake?

If the framing had succeeded, she would have been dead by now!

As expected of the Xiao family, from a high-ranking background, they truly didn’t value other people’s lives, so high and mighty! Even Xie Wei didn’t have such an annoying attitude!

Jiang Xuening realized that this might be why she could never like Xiao Shu.

But she had no intention of fighting Xiao Shu to the death over this.

Since the other party wanted to make peace, she might as well take the opportunity to get some benefits for herself first.

So, Jiang Xuening smiled lightly and said casually, “With your esteemed status, Miss Xiao, if you want to resolve the misunderstanding, it would be an honor for me. How could I refuse?”

It all depended on whether she wanted to or not.

Xiao Shu looked back at her, seemingly weighing the truth of her words. After a long while, she decided not to beat around the bush and said, “It’s pointless to beat around the bush with smart people. To be honest, if you are eventually going to leave the palace, I don’t want to make an enemy of you. Although I have the upper hand, hurting you would also harm myself, and I still have to deal with your sister. I am willing to show sincerity, but I wonder if we can write off the previous grudge?”

Write it off?

She had quite the imagination.

Quite the skill in coercion.

But this was what she thought in her heart. On the surface, Jiang Xuening appeared very agreeable and said with great interest, “Of course, that’s no problem. After all, I am insignificant and powerless, and indeed cannot compete with you. But I wonder, how much sincerity does Miss Xiao have?”

Xiao Shu picked up the sachet, thought for a moment, and then smiled, “There are always some clowns causing trouble behind the scenes, which is annoying. If Miss Jiang doesn’t like it, I don’t like it either. Why not deal with it properly so everyone can have some peace?”

Jiang Xuening looked very satisfied, “That would be wonderful.”

It was obvious that someone had used this sachet to frame her, and it might involve something important.

Xiao Shu was certainly not a kind person.

All that talk about “sincerity” and “writing off the grudge” was just nice words. In fact, even without Jiang Xuening, she would have found the person who dropped the sachet and eliminated them to prevent future troubles!

She was just making full use of this matter.

If she could really make people forget the previous grudge, wouldn’t that be killing two birds with one stone?

Jiang Xuening wouldn’t fall for it, but she did plan to leave the palace eventually. There was no need to break with Xiao Shu so early, and since she had already brought Jiang Xuehui into the palace, pretending to be friendly for a while wouldn’t hurt her.

So she agreed very readily.

After this conversation, both parties were quite pleased. Xiao Shu personally escorted Jiang Xuening out. But as Jiang Xuening walked down the long corridor and looked back at the closed doors of Xiao Shu’s room, she could only think of the turmoil of her previous life.

In her previous life, she, like Xiao Shu, desperately wanted to become the Empress.

But she hadn’t expected the dynasty to collapse, and even as Empress, she was as insignificant as an ant.

Xiao Shu, smart as she was, was calculating step by step to ascend to the throne, but she was unaware of the lurking danger: her true enemy was not any of the companions in Yangzhi Zhai, but the saintly Xie Ju’an, who stood high in Fengchen Hall, teaching and enlightening them!

Thinking of this, she suddenly felt a sense of detachment, as if watching tigers fight from a mountain. She smiled and walked back to her room.

There was still a plate of peach blossom cakes waiting for her.

Life is short; scheming against others is so pointless!

Jiang Xuening took out the medical book again and also took the plate of peach blossom cakes from the food box, placing it on the desk. She would casually take a piece to eat while reading, enjoying a leisurely winter afternoon.

After about half an hour, someone came to visit.

Zhou Baoying, who had come by last night, knocked on the door again, her voice full of excitement: “Sister Ning! I’m here to return your pastries!”

Jiang Xuening was taken aback and took a moment to remember that Zhou Baoying had mentioned borrowing her pastries to eat and would return them when new ones arrived.

However…

She shook her head with a smile, walked over to open the door, and said, “I thought you were joking.”

Zhou Baoying was indeed standing outside with a food box. Her small, delicate nose wrinkled slightly with pride: “Anything related to food is a big deal. Baoying always keeps her word!”

She walked in and opened the food box.

It had three layers, filled with various pastries.

Clearly, the imperial kitchen and the palace attendants at Yangzhi Zhai knew she loved to eat, so the pastries delivered to her were always the most abundant, with many different types and varieties.

“This is walnut crisp, almond crisp, rose pastry, soybean cake…”

Zhou Baoying’s eyes sparkled as she pointed out each pastry to Jiang Xuening.

But as she spoke, she suddenly noticed the plate of peach blossom cakes on the desk. For some reason, she couldn’t take her eyes off it.

Jiang Xuening wondered why she had gone silent. When she looked at her and then followed her gaze to the plate of peach blossom cakes, her heart sank.

A mistake…

Why didn’t she hide the plate of peach blossom cakes before inviting Zhou Baoying in!

Zhou Baoying bit her lip, looked at Jiang Xuening, and then at the plate of peach blossom cakes: “Sister Ning, this looks really delicious…”

Jiang Xuening: “…”

She wanted to say, no, you’re mistaken, it’s not good at all. But who could resist Zhou Baoying’s doe-eyed, pleading look?

It felt almost like a crime not to give her some.

Moreover, this girl seemed to have a kind heart, as evidenced by her words yesterday.

Jiang Xuening thought for a moment and couldn’t bear to refuse. Although it pained her, she smiled, patted Zhou Baoying’s head, and said, “If you want to eat it, I’ll give you half to take back, okay?” Zhou Baoying immediately beamed with joy: “Okay!”