Chapter 088: Offering The Sword To The Youth

Jiang Xuening was still feeling a bit down about giving half of the peach blossom cakes to Zhou Baoying the previous day. She followed Xie Wei into the side hall with her head lowered.

Xie Wei didn’t look at her, simply pointing to the zither table in the hall and saying, “Practice the zither.”

At this point, Jiang Xuening didn’t notice anything unusual.

Xie Wei was always a man of few words, and she was used to him speaking only a few words at a time.

Last time, her mind was unsettled, but this time she was a bit calmer.

After sitting down and playing, she felt she had done well and wanted to hear Xie Wei’s opinion.

Unexpectedly, Xie Wei spent the entire time looking out the window while she played. Only when the music ended did he turn to look at her and say, “Your mind was too restless at the beginning, you played too hastily. The middle part was better, but you became restless again at the end. Often, when you feel satisfied, it quickly becomes unsatisfactory. Practice makes perfect; you need to be more familiar and calm.”

Jiang Xuening looked at her fingers thoughtfully.

Xie Wei added, “Your plucking was too fast, the string sound was rushed. You need to wait for the lingering sound of the previous note to fade before entering.”

So, Jiang Xuening finally sensed something—

But it wasn’t about the zither.

It was about Xie Wei.

He didn’t always smile; the slight smile in his eyes was often more polite than genuine. But with just a touch of softness in his expression, he always made people feel like they were basking in the spring breeze.

Perfect and flawless.

But in this side hall, he would frown and coldly scold her when no one else was around.

Today, however, everything seemed to have faded.

Not cold, just distant.

Although his words and actions seemed no different from usual, Jiang Xuening felt a sense of distance, as if there was a barrier between them. This thought came too quickly and directly.

She didn’t even have time to figure out where this feeling came from or what clues there were.

Her thoughts flew back to the zither.

“Zheng…”

Jiang Xuening tried again according to Xie Wei’s instructions, but it was worse than before, not getting the technique right.

She looked at him, a bit at a loss.

The girl’s gaze was confused, as if she wanted to ask him something but didn’t dare to speak.

Xie Wei thought, she had always been somewhat afraid of him.

Learning the zither couldn’t be done just by talking.

He moved to her side, gently placing a book on the zither table. He instinctively leaned over to place his fingers on the strings. But as he leaned in, his wide sleeve brushed against the girl’s slender arm, and he paused.

The matter of the peach blossom cakes came to his mind.

What did she take him for?

Or rather, what did he take himself for?

Without changing his expression, Xie Wei moved the zither slightly to the side.

The distance between him and Jiang Xuening widened.

He lowered his eyes, raised his fingers, and plucked the strings to play the previous section. Then he returned the zither to her and said, “Try again.”

This time, being closer, she could hear more clearly.

Jiang Xuening roughly understood.

She tried again and indeed improved a lot.

But as she watched Xie Wei walk past the zither table, she felt that the feeling that had crossed her mind earlier was not an illusion.

Restraint, distance.

This sense of maintaining distance, whether compared to his usual gentle scolding or his previous hands-on guidance, should have made her feel more at ease.

After all, she initially wanted to keep her distance from Xie Wei.

But now, despite feeling more at ease, something felt off.

But thinking about it in detail, she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong.

If this brief feeling was still an illusion, in the following days, this “illusion” gradually deepened into a real perception.

It was truly distant.

He taught literature and zither as usual. Xie Wei was still the same Xie Wei, the one everyone in the court knew. But he had no temper, and Jiang Xuening didn’t dare to show even a little bit of her usual mischief. There were no more snacks or pastries in the side hall, and he rarely made tea, let alone invited her to drink it as he had before.

What did this feel like?

It was like someone taking a step forward, then stepping back to their original position.

Jiang Xuening felt inexplicably uncomfortable and uneasy.

Her intuition told her that something had happened without her knowledge, or perhaps she had inadvertently done something wrong. But their interactions were so limited that she couldn’t recall anything specific.

Whenever she wanted to ask Xie Wei directly, she felt it was too much.

Everything seemed normal, so where should she start?

As the day of Yan Lin’s coming-of-age ceremony at the Yongyi Marquis’s residence approached, Jiang Xuening gradually put other thoughts aside, focusing less on them.

In her previous life, she had prepared a birthday gift for Yan Lin but never got to give it to him.

In this life, she prepared the same gift, hoping to make up for the regret and deliver it to the young man.

During another break from the palace, Jiang Xuening didn’t even have time to check on You Fangyin’s progress. She directly instructed someone to go to the swordsmith’s workshop in the west of the city.

In stories, it was always said that a treasured sword chooses its master.

But in reality, those who could forge good swords were craftsmen, and the sword never chose its owner. Those who could offer a high price were the “masters.”

Clearly, this “Miss Jiang” they didn’t know well was such a wealthy “master.”

*

Half a year ago, the coming-of-age ceremony of the young Marquis Yan Lin of the Yongyi Marquis’s residence had already made most of the capital eagerly anticipate it. Many families with eligible daughters were waiting for the day the young man would come of age and receive his courtesy name. Matchmakers had prepared their lists early, ready to break down the Marquis’s door after the ceremony.

But now, no one had expected the current situation.

In just half a year, the once prestigious Yongyi Marquis’s residence, which could rival the Xiao family, was on the brink of disaster, facing the risk of the entire household becoming prisoners at any moment. In the past, everyone tried to curry favor, fearing they wouldn’t be invited to the young Marquis’s coming-of-age ceremony and become a laughingstock in the capital. Now, invitations were sent to various households, but they either refused to accept them or accepted without responding, fearing any association with the Marquis’s residence would bring trouble.

Such is the warmth and coldness of human relationships.

Among the companions at Yangzhi Zhai, except for Jiang Xuening, none had personal ties with Yan Lin and initially planned to avoid the ceremony. But they couldn’t resist Shen Zhiyi’s insistence on going. Not only did she want to go, but she also wanted to go openly and grandly.

As companions to the princess, when Shen Zhiyi said she was going, the others hesitated. Then, hearing that Xiao Shu also planned to go, the rest felt compelled to follow.

After discussing, they decided to accompany Shen Zhiyi together.

This way, if anything happened, it wouldn’t implicate their families, as they were just accompanying the princess.

So, on the eighth day of the eleventh month, they set off together from the palace to the Yongyi Marquis’s residence.

Shen Zhiyi originally planned to go with Jiang Xuening, but was called away by Empress Dowager Xiao before departure, so she asked them to go ahead, promising to join them later.

As a result, Jiang Xuening ended up sharing a carriage with Zhou Baoying.

After the “borrowing pastries” incident, their relationship had improved. But Chen Shuyi, Yao Xi, and others seemed very concerned about Zhou Baoying’s fondness for Jiang Xuening, fearing she would be led astray by this “fox spirit.” Whether in Fengchen Hall or small gatherings at Yangzhi Zhai, they always kept Zhou Baoying close and were very wary of Jiang Xuening.

Zhou Baoying, however, seemed indifferent to all this.

As long as she had something to eat and a game to play, she could sit quietly all day, oblivious to the outside world.

Now sharing a carriage, Zhou Baoying was excited, waving her hands and feet in joy.

After all, the peach blossom cakes from last time were unforgettable.

As soon as she got in the carriage, she hugged the large cushion and eagerly asked Jiang Xuening, “Sister Ning, they wouldn’t let me talk to you or visit you these days, and I almost died of craving! Do you still have any of those peach blossom cakes?”

This really hit a sore spot.

Jiang Xuening had been thinking about them for days.

But unfortunately, they weren’t made by her, her family’s chef, or the palace kitchen. Xie Wei hadn’t mentioned anything other than zither and literature lessons these days, as if there was no other relationship between them besides teacher and student.

However…

That seemed to be the truth.

So Jiang Xuening didn’t dare to ask anything, fearing she might do something wrong and anger him, or show too much interest in food, reminding him of past events and making him wary of her.

Sitting in the carriage, she smiled faintly and replied to Zhou Baoying, “No more. After giving you half, I ate the rest.”

Zhou Baoying’s face fell.

She pouted and complained softly, “If I had known, I wouldn’t have been so generous when Master Xie took them. I didn’t even get to eat many pieces myself…”

“Master Xie?”

Jiang Xuening was suddenly startled.

“You mean Master Xie?”

“Yes.” Zhou Baoying nodded, looking a bit confused, then pouted and complained, “Sister Ning, you don’t know. The peach blossom cakes you gave me last time, I ate a few pieces and saved the rest in a paper bag to eat the next day. But the next day, when I sneaked outside to eat them, Master Xie caught me.”

Jiang Xuening finally realized where she had gone wrong.

Zhou Baoying’s face puffed up with frustration, “I never thought Master Xie would be like that! He asked about the peach blossom cakes, and I couldn’t lie. My father taught me to respect my teachers before I entered the palace, so I offered him some. I thought he would just take one piece, but he took the whole bag and asked if there was anything wrong! I didn’t even get to eat much myself…”

“…”

Jiang Xuening’s long eyelashes lowered, and she felt a bit dazed.

The sound of horse hooves clattered, and the carriage gently swayed.

Memories from her past life, long buried, suddenly began to clear in the mist.

A gentleman stays away from the kitchen, just as women in some places are not allowed into ancestral halls. This is one of the strictest rules of noble families.

Xie Wei was a gentleman, a sage.

But at that time, she was just a country girl, unaware of his identity or these strict rules. She had never doubted the words of those who came to fetch her, believing he was just a distant cousin heading to the Jiang family in the capital.

After encountering mountain bandits, they were stranded in the wilderness, not knowing the fate of the others or how to escape their predicament.

The mountains and valleys were like a prison.

At that time, Xie Wei’s illness wasn’t severe. He looked weak, with a cough that had started when they first traveled together to the capital. He seemed uninterested in interacting with people.

Jiang Xuening had already learned she was the legitimate daughter of the Jiang family.

But he was just a distant relative.

She feared others would see her as a country girl and look down on her, so even in distress, she wanted to order Xie Wei around, asking him to pick wild fruits and hunt for food.

Of course, he didn’t comply.

After falling into hardship, Xie Wei sat with his zither on his lap, on a collapsed rock, looking at the darkening sky between the mountains.

He seemed oblivious to any other sounds.

In fact, he seemed to be contemplating something more serious than their predicament, as if he were in another world. But Jiang Xuening couldn’t understand at the time and thought he was just being disrespectful, making her angry and embarrassed.

She had no choice but to go herself.

It was certainly humiliating.

But Jiang Xuening had no other options and forced herself to find a reason: This sickly person looked like he would collapse after a few steps. If he went out to catch a pheasant or rabbit, he might trip and break his leg, and then she’d have to figure out how to carry him. That wouldn’t be worth it.

So she quickly adjusted her mindset.

The skills she had learned on the farm, which seemed insignificant to the nobles in the capital, finally came in handy. There were no fruits in the winter forest. But she managed to set a trap and, by luck, caught a clumsy gray rabbit, returning to the rock in high spirits.

The wild rabbit, having never seen humans, struggled fiercely when first caught.

But it soon settled comfortably in Jiang Xuening’s arms.

She couldn’t help but proudly show it to Xie Wei, “Look! I caught a rabbit. Isn’t it cute?”

Xie Wei finally turned to look at her and the rabbit in her arms, his gaze detached and perhaps slightly pitying.

Jiang Xuening stroked its soft fur.

Xie Wei calmly asked, “Shall we start a fire?”

In that moment, her whole body stiffened.

She blinked, staring at Xie Wei, unable to react.

Because it wasn’t until Xie Wei asked that she remembered: She caught the rabbit to eat. She and Xie Wei hadn’t eaten for hours and were very hungry.

She stood there without answering.

Xie Wei waited for a while, and as the sky darkened, realizing she couldn’t answer, he carefully placed his zither in a sheltered corner and went to gather firewood.

The fire was lit.

The surrounding temperature gradually rose, the gentle firelight spreading in the ink-black night, illuminating her figure holding the rabbit, casting a flickering shadow on the ground.

Xie Wei stood in front of her.

He was much taller than her.

The firelight cast shadows on his face, highlighting his features, his deep eyes reflecting the light. He reached out to take the rabbit.

Jiang Xuening instinctively held it tighter, looking up at him, “Why don’t we eat something else? I’ll go catch something else…”

Xie Wei silently watched her, “Will you be able to eat the next one?”

She stood there, not knowing how to answer.

Xie Wei’s hand still reached out.

She held the rabbit tightly, not wanting to give it to him. But she held it too tightly, hurting the rabbit, which bit her hand, making her release it.

It jumped into Xie Wei’s hands.

He pulled out a short knife tightly bound to his wrist from his wide sleeve.

Only then did Jiang Xuening realize he carried a knife.

Thinking back, what kind of sickly distant cousin, a scholar with no strength, would carry a knife? Those who carried knives were always on the most dangerous paths, prepared for any emergency.

But she was too naive to think deeply.

Xie Wei held the rabbit, pressing it on a nearby rock, ready to use the knife.

But she stood there trembling.

Her eyes were probably red.

Seeing this, Xie Wei paused. After a while, he said nothing, took the rabbit, and walked away. When he returned, the once lively rabbit had been skinned, its innards removed, and was now skewered on a sharpened branch, roasting over the fire.

He even found some wild herbs to season it.

Jiang Xuening hugged her knees, sitting by the fire, biting her sleeve to hold back tears. Xie Wei roasted the rabbit, broke off a leg, and handed it to her.

When she saw the rabbit leg, its skin golden and glistening with oil from the fire, sprinkled with unknown spices, and the tender meat tearing into strips, she couldn’t hold back and burst into tears.

She cried until she was choking, hiccuping, and gasping for breath.

Xie Wei didn’t know what to do with her. The rabbit leg he extended wasn’t taken, and since he wasn’t familiar with her, he didn’t know how to comfort her. So he retracted his hand and quietly ate by himself.

After eating half of it, he saw she was still crying.

He stopped, looked at her for a moment, then took out a clean handkerchief from his pocket and placed it beside her. Inside were a few pieces of peach blossom cake.

There weren’t many, and they had been crushed in his pocket, looking quite unappealing.

Xie Wei said to her, “If you can’t eat the rabbit, eat this.”

Jiang Xuening was still hungry.

She knew they needed to eat the rabbit, but thinking of how it had nestled in her arms, she didn’t want to eat it and didn’t dare to. Although she had previously disliked this sickly distant relative, she picked up the handkerchief and ate the peach blossom cakes inside.

They were the best cakes she had ever eaten in both her lives.

Sweet and soft.

Even mixed with her tears, they didn’t taste bitter.

But there were only a few pieces.

After eating them, she felt even hungrier.

So she became very angry.

Angry at herself for being weak, she eventually took the other rabbit leg Xie Wei offered, crying and gnawing on the perfectly roasted meat, sobbing and justifying herself, “It bit me first…”

Xie Wei quietly watched the fire, seemingly smiling for a moment before it disappeared, saying nothing.

The fire had been burning for a while.

The pine branches crackled softly.

Jiang Xuening couldn’t quite remember the taste of the rabbit, but she remembered the soft, sweet taste of the peach blossom cakes and Xie Wei’s clean white robe, stained with soot and ash.

In desperate situations, many things are overlooked.

People do things they wouldn’t normally do and say things they wouldn’t normally say.

People might also be different from usual.

In the face of life and death, everyone sheds the layers of pretense they wear in the world, revealing their truest selves, which might be their best or their worst.

But which is real?

The person struggling to survive in a brief crisis?

Or the person tirelessly working in the bustling world?

Jiang Xuening truly didn’t know.

Zhou Baoying, seeing her lost in thought, couldn’t tell if she was happy or sad and felt uneasy, fearing she had done something wrong. She gently tugged Jiang Xuening’s sleeve and asked, “Is something wrong?”

Jiang Xuening blinked and came back to her senses.

She smiled faintly and sighed softly, “It’s nothing.”

Xie Wei, oh, he really is as petty as a needle’s tip.

The coachman stopped the carriage and called out, “Miss Jiang, we’ve arrived at the swordsmith’s workshop.”

Jiang Xuening said to Zhou Baoying, “I need to get something. Please wait a moment.”

Zhou Baoying obediently stayed in the carriage.

The people at the swordsmith’s workshop knew she was coming to pick up the sword and had it ready.

The sword was three feet and two inches long.

The blade was forged from meteorite iron, polished to a water-like sheen, without the gemstones or gold and silver inlays of Yan Lin’s previous sword, just simple and sharp.

The blue blade gleamed coldly.

In her previous life, not knowing the depth of the world, she thought Yan Lin, born into a military family, needed a sword for battle.

In this life, seeing the sword again, it seemed to embody a timely, tragic cruelty. How she wished the young man could always be as bright and radiant as the sun. 

But fate wouldn’t allow it.

The lurking wolves wouldn’t allow it.

The swordsmith showed her the sword, then placed it in a box and handed it to Jiang Xuening. She instinctively held it like a zither. But as she reached the carriage, she remembered that a sword box should be laid flat.

*

Due to the delay at the swordsmith’s workshop, Jiang Xuening and Zhou Baoying’s carriage arrived at the Yongyi Marquis’s residence around noon.

Because of Yan Lin’s coming-of-age ceremony, the heavy guards had retreated to the sides.

It didn’t look as intimidating.

There weren’t many guests, but not too few either. They handed over their invitations at the gate and were led inside by the smiling steward, as if nothing had changed from the Marquis’s residence’s glorious past.

Shen Zhiyi, who had left the palace later, arrived almost simultaneously with Jiang Xuening.

Seeing her, she called out, “Ningning!”

Jiang Xuening got off the carriage with the sword box.

Shen Zhiyi jumped down from her carriage, ignoring the pale-faced palace attendants, and grabbed Jiang Xuening, running towards the Marquis’s residence gate, “Let’s go see Yan Lin!”

Everyone in the residence knew her.

No one stopped her, making way instead.

She asked one of the attendants, “Where is Yan Lin?”

The steward smiled kindly, “The young master is outside Qingyu Hall, talking with Prince Yanping.”

Shen Zhiyi knew the way.

She had visited the Yongyi Marquis’s residence countless times as a child and could navigate it with her eyes closed. She didn’t stop, pulling Jiang Xuening along, running past the screen wall, through the hall, and along the corridor, finally seeing people outside Qingyu Hall by the water.

Shen Zhiyi waved and shouted, “Yan Lin!”

Everyone looked over.

The young man, who had been standing by the water with his back to them, having his new robe adjusted by Qing Feng, turned at the sound. Seeing them, his previously calm expression lit up like the morning stars, bright and dazzling.

Yan Lin smiled at Shen Zhiyi, “You’re here to join the fun too.”

Then his gaze fell on the person beside her.

Shen Zhiyi saw Jiang Xuening standing there in a daze and gave her a push. Jiang Xuening stumbled forward a few steps, standing awkwardly in front of the young man.

After not seeing him for a while, the young man’s features had become more defined, with a sharper edge.

But when he looked at her, everything softened.

“You came too.”

The once intimate “Ningning” was buried in his heart, but he didn’t want to call her “Miss Jiang” like others, so he greeted her this way.

The precarious situation of the Marquis’s residence seemed nonexistent at this moment.

He looked at the box she was holding and smiled, “What’s this?”

Jiang Xuening finally reacted, after a lifetime apart, and handed the sword box to the young man, smiling at him, “A birthday gift.”

For you.

I wanted to give it to you in my previous life.

May you always be as sharp as this blade.

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