Chapter 53: Learning

Zhao Yan didn’t want to study, feeling too embarrassed.

“Let me take care of it for you, Your Highness.”

Hearing Wen Renlin chuckled, pretending to get up and said, “Your Highness, your eyes keep wandering, only thinking about how to get through this.”

“No, no! I’ll do it myself.”

With no other choice, Zhao Yan had to get up and sit behind the desk, one hand holding her hot, flushed cheek, the other pressing down on the scrolls, and began to read with a hesitant, stuttering voice.

Her eyelashes drooped slightly, trembling slightly with the bold and vulgar words, casting long shadows like the fluttering of butterfly wings.

Hearing Wen Renlin moved the gauze lamp closer to her books so that the bright light could illuminate every tiny character clearly. Then he dragged a chair over to sit beside her, crossing his right leg over his left, revealing a portion of his slender and straight official boot under his dark-colored robe.

His face was immersed in the backlight, his eyes deep and calm, supervising more carefully than when he was in the Chongwen Hall.

After finishing reading a passage, Hearing Wen Renlin would reach out to turn the pages for her, skipping over the parts she didn’t need to understand and flipping to the specified sections. Sometimes, when she stumbled over a sentence, he would interrupt her with a gentle and deep voice, asking one or two questions.

When Zhao Yan couldn’t answer, he would explain patiently to her in a calm and soothing tone.

At first, Zhao Yan thought that Hearing Wen Renlin’s actions were somewhat biased and deliberately difficult for her, so she felt somewhat annoyed and embarrassed.

Later, she realized it was not the case.

Hearing Wen Renlin was very serious when teaching, and there was no hint of frivolity or impatience on his handsome face. From any angle, he was just imparting knowledge and solving doubts.

Seeing this, Zhao Yan felt a bit self-conscious about her embarrassment, so she restrained herself from those inappropriate thoughts and forced herself to calm down.

Without the embarrassment, Zhao Yan realized that there were some useful things in the book. For example, what preparations to make before and after intercourse during menstruation, and the consequences of excessive medication causing coldness and infertility…

As she delved into it, the confusion and ignorance she had once felt suddenly became clear. However, she was always good at extrapolating, so the more she understood, the more unwilling she became.

“It’s clearly the business of two people, why is it always the women who suffer?”

Frowning, Zhao Yan complained to no one in particular, “Childbirth and contraception both harm women’s bodies, while men don’t have to bear anything…”

Hearing Wen Renlin raised his eyebrows slightly at her words.

He didn’t want to engage in casual relationships out of obligation; that’s why he hadn’t touched women for all these years. Yet here was his little Highness, breaking his principles of the past years, now full of complaints and disdain.

“It’s not fair. The weaker and more feeble men are, the more they rely on restraining women to seek self-esteem.”

Hearing Wen Renlin picked a grape from the fruit plate, “However, there are ways in this world to enjoy without resorting to medication. It’s just that men are used to being superior and refuse to compromise.”

Seeing Zhao Yan’s puzzled look, Hearing Wen Renlin’s eyes deepened.

Whether he misunderstood Zhao Yan’s meaning or did it deliberately, she wasn’t sure.

He flicked the grape between his long, slender fingers, then suddenly asked, “Would Your Highness like to learn?”

“…No, no need.”

Sensing that it wasn’t something good, Zhao Yan quickly shook her head like a drum, “No, it’s unnecessary.”

Seeing her awkward and bewildered expression, Hearing Wen Renlin couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. After all, she was still young and didn’t understand the subtleties. Take it slow.

As the night grew deeper, the palace was quiet. Zhao Yan closed the book, took a sip of the cooled tea beside her, feeling a bit tired.

Seeing that Hearing Wen Renlin remained silent for a long time, Zhao Yan finally raised her eyes from the cup and closed the book, saying, “I’ve finished reading this book.”

Her voice carried a hint of weariness as she unconsciously licked her lips, adding, “It’s already late at night, almost curfew. Isn’t the Prince Su returning to his residence?”

Only after saying this did she realize it was unnecessary; Hearing Wen Renlin had the Hegui Pavilion to go to, not bound by curfew.

Hearing Wen Renlin’s gaze moved away from her moist lips and said, “Can go back to the mansion, but I might stay in the Eastern Palace.”

Zhao Yan was puzzled.

Hearing Wen Renlin took advantage of the situation to put a peeled grape into her slightly parted lips, then got up and took the book from under her hand, saying satisfied, “That’s it for tonight. Your Highness, go and bathe.”

Unable to see through Wen Renlin’s intentions, Zhao Yan had no choice but to get up as instructed and push open the door of the hall.

In the clean room, Liu Ying had already prepared hot bath for her. Zhao Yan soaked herself in it, pondering the truth behind Wen Renlin’s words about “staying in the Eastern Palace”.

The foundation of the Eastern Palace is currently unstable, and the courtiers are carefully assessing the situation, with subtle attitudes. Even Pei Sa, who serves as the Crown Prince’s companion, does not reside in the Eastern Palace. If Wen Renlin stays overnight, such a favoritism undoubtedly announces his stance to the officials in the court…

Would Wen Renlin do such a thing?

Would he willingly submit himself to someone else’s control?

Zhao Yan could hardly believe it. The mist of confusion engulfed her thoughts, causing her to curl up with her knees, half of her face submerged in hot water, leaving only her eyes and nose exposed.

After bathing, Zhao Yan returned to the bedchamber wearing her robe, but there was no sign of Wen Renlin behind the screen. A cool summer breeze flowed in from outside the palace, stirring the hanging curtains and causing the pages of books on the desk to flutter incessantly.

Zhao Yan walked over quickly and covered the strange images that appeared when the book flipped open, stuffing it hastily into the low cabinet next to the bed.

Wen Renlin’s words were indeed teasing her, weren’t they?

As Zhao Yan reclined on the couch, she couldn’t tell if she felt relieved or something else.

Outside the Eastern Palace, the carriage of the Prince Su’s Mansion moved slowly along the palace wall. The carriage swayed gently, and Wen Renlin sat with one hand resting on his knee, his posture as steady as a rock.

He lowered his gaze and gently rubbed his fingertips, still carrying a slight stickiness, whether it was the taste of grape juice or the fragrance of a young girl’s soft lips, he couldn’t distinguish.

As the carriage entered the empty streets, Cai Tian, sitting at the front with a knife in hand, looked around vigilantly. He lifted the curtain and entered the carriage, presenting a small piece of wood to Wen Renlin.

He reported, “The nan wood for the reconstruction of the Zhaixing Observatory has been transported to the Northern Park by the Ministry of Works, just as Your Highness anticipated.”

The dim light in the carriage illuminated Wen Renlin’s pale fingers holding the dark brown wood, emitting a faint musty smell. There was a splendid chill in Wen Renlin’s eyes, and with a slight force between his fingers, the wood turned into splinters. The nan wood acquired by the court at great expense had indeed been replaced with water-soaked aged wood.

The next day, in the Chongwen Hall.

The sun bleached the tiles of the palace white, and the bamboo curtains around the hall were half rolled up, like barriers separating all the heat outside. Incense burned in the censers, and all that could be heard in the hall was Zhou Ji’s clear voice explaining the “Rites of Zhou”.

The “Rites of Zhou” encompassed everything, but Zhou Ji didn’t need to hold the scroll. He elaborated on the essentials of the “Heavenly Officials” one by one.

Zhou Ji’s teaching style was as upright and rigid as his posture, while Pei Sa beside him was already bored, doodling on the parchment. Although Zhao Yan could understand most of it, the heat and fatigue made her feel drowsy.

She had been “studying” late into the night yesterday and hadn’t slept well.

When Zhou Ji mentioned “ritual is the foundation of a country, and if it is abandoned, the country will perish,” Zhao Yan suddenly opened her eyes and said in a tepid tone, “But it also depends on what kind of ‘ritual.’ Some rituals are established to serve the needs of the dynasty at that time. For example, the rituals established by the aristocracy uphold the interests of the aristocrats. After hundreds or thousands of years of changes, they may not be suitable for the current situation. The ‘Rites of Zhou’ also emphasize the importance of ‘timeliness’ and ‘appropriateness.’”

She was feeling tired and lethargic, speaking out her thoughts for Zhao Yan and also for herself, which surprised Zhou Ji slightly.

He remembered the information he had gathered at Minister Shen’s residence some time ago, and the unexpected death of his brother Shen Jingming, and looked up at the “Crown Prince” involuntarily.

The sunlight shone through the bamboo curtains by the window, cutting into countless distinct strips of light and shadow. Those narrow shadows just happened to fall on the corner of Zhao Yan’s eyes, covering the tiny mole there.

The face in front of him suddenly became incredibly familiar and clear.

As the wind stirred the bamboo curtains, the shadows faded away, and a beam of sunlight fell down, revealing that tiny red mole again.

Zhao Yan finally noticed Zhou Ji’s gaze.

“Why is Assistant Zhou looking at me like that?” Zhao Yan asked with a smile, curious about his rare distraction.

Zhou Ji’s gaze was calm, and he honestly replied, “What Your Highness just said reminded me of someone I used to know.”

The smile on Zhao Yan’s lips faded slightly.

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