Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Xue Yushu’s lips pulled into a cold smile. She looked away and took a sip of tea.
Shen Mingzhu withdrew her gaze too, twisting the embroidery at her cuff.
Si Yan knew this enmity was now firmly established.
But she could not be bothered to care. They had attacked her even when she had done nothing to offend them.
She might as well abandon all pretense. At least it spared her the effort of false politeness.
After paying her respects, she sat in her place, propped her chin on her hand, and looked out of the window.
The time for lessons had arrived, but the new female instructor still had not appeared.
An oppressive silence hung in the air, making everyone uneasy despite themselves.
Song Qingyi murmured to Liu Xiyue, “I wonder who will teach us.”
Si Yan was wondering the same thing.
A pale blue figure she had seen only that morning passed her window.
Her eyes followed him across the threshold and into the chair at the head of the room.
Her pupils widened slightly. Every trace of lingering sleepiness vanished.
That man! How could he… He had not even told her he was coming to teach!
Jiang Youze sat upright, his long hair half tied up, a book in his hand.
There was no trace of Secretary Jiang about him.
Instead, he resembled a refined young scholar-official newly entered into the Hanlin Academy, his expression serene and distant, his bearing upright as slender bamboo.
“From today, the princess and her study companions will study the Six Arts. I will teach calligraphy in the regular instructor’s place.”
His voice held neither the sharp authority of his office nor the tenderness he used with her.
This was his original voice from before his castration: dignified, clear, refined, and open.
Xue Yushu already knew Jiang Youze would teach them, so she showed little reaction.
Her gaze traveled between him and Si Yan several times as she recalled her mother’s words.
If Jiang Youze truly was the one who had protected her, this would be interesting.
A eunuch and a study companion. If there was an illicit relationship between them, if they defiled the palace, it was a capital crime.
All she needed was evidence of secret dealings, enough to ruin them beyond recovery.
The cold smile at her lips deepened, her fingertips tightening unseen inside her sleeve.
“With Secretary Jiang teaching calligraphy, I can certainly rest easy.”
Jiang Youze did not so much as raise his eyes. His gaze rested on the open book, his voice unhurried.
“Today we will discuss the ‘Canon of Yao’ from the Book of Documents.”
As she listened, Si Yan’s thoughts wandered. Without realizing, she began staring at his hands.
Last night, those hands had been causing havoc on her body. Today they held a book of sages as he sat properly in the hall.
She secretly lifted her eyes and happened to meet the glance he sent her.
His expression was unchanged, but the fingers holding the book’s spine curled twice.
Si Yan hurriedly lowered her head and pretended to read attentively. The bases of her ears were already scarlet.
Could he be serious for a moment?
She shifted awkwardly. From the corner of her eye, she saw Xue Yushu watching her.
Oh no!
Had she noticed something?
Si Yan forced herself to remain calm and fixed her gaze on the book, while quietly keeping watch.
At last, the lesson ended. Jiang Youze gathered his books, rose, and left.
He had barely passed through Yaohua Hall’s doors when he sensed a faint presence following him.
Oh? Someone was tailing him?
He had not yet decided how to settle accounts with them, and they were already coming to his door.
They truly… had no idea what they were inviting.
Evening came.
At this hour, Xiao Fuzi always knocked with dinner. Today, there was no sound.
Jihe looked out from the courtyard entrance several times. The lane was empty, without a soul in sight.
Returning to the main room, she looked puzzled. “Miss, isn’t Xiao Fuzi coming today?”
Si Yan reclined on the daybed with her storybook. She answered casually without raising her head.
“Perhaps he’s been delayed on the way.”
They waited nearly another hour. Still, no knock came.
Si Yan sat up, looked at the deepening dusk outside, and was silent for several breaths.
“Jihe, go and fetch our meal.”
Jihe answered, lit the horn lantern, and went out with the food carrier.
At night, the palace lost its daytime grandeur. The shadows of countless halls pressed heavily against the ground.
Haitang Courtyard was some distance from the kitchens. Only scattered palace lanterns hung along the walls.
Walking the palace paths, Jihe kept feeling a chill down her back and quickened her steps.
As she passed a corner, a hand reached from the darkness and caught hers.
She stumbled as she was pulled aside. The horn lantern fell from her hand and rolled twice over the bluestone.
Before a cry could escape her throat, a hand covered her mouth.
She was about to struggle when she heard a lowered voice beside her ear.
It was hurried and familiar, full of suppressed nervousness and apology.
“Sister Jihe, it’s me! Me… Xiao Fuzi. Don’t shout.”
Only then did Jihe’s fear subside.
For a moment, she went weak, leaning against the chest behind her to catch her breath.
Then a sudden, nameless anger flared. She reached back and pinched him.
That wretch! He had made her think the palace really was haunted!
Xiao Fuzi grimaced with pain and let go, begging in a whisper.
“Gently, Sister! Ow, ow, ow! I just didn’t want anyone to see!”
Didn’t want anyone to see?
Jihe picked up the horn lantern and held it between them, lighting both their faces.
Xiao Fuzi wiped his hands behind his back. His cheeks were a little red, his eyes shifting as he avoided her gaze.
She frowned and lowered her voice as well. “What do you mean? Has something happened?”
He scratched his head and smiled shyly. “I’m not sure either. His Excellency only said Miss Si should wait for him.”
Jihe blushed too, especially noticeably in the lantern’s glow. Light shone in her eyes.
Xiao Fuzi stared for a moment, then took the carrier from the ground behind him and held it out.
“Th-this is the food. H-hold it carefully.”
Once she took it, he turned and ran into the dark, his steps flustered. “I… I’m off.”
Afraid he would fall, Jihe raised the lantern toward the direction he had run.
Only after she could neither see him nor hear his steps did she carry the meal back.
At Haitang Courtyard, she laid out the food and repeated Xiao Fuzi’s message.
“I’m not waiting!”
Chewing sweet-and-sour ribs, her cheeks full, Si Yan gave an indistinct huff.
Today was so unusual that something must have happened.
And once again, he told her nothing. Was he deliberately trying to worry her?
After nightfall, Jihe lit a fresh candle, propped open the window, and withdrew from the main room.
Her mistress might say she would not wait, but her restlessness plainly gave her away.
Now she was leaning against the head of the bed, storybook raised, her pose perfectly leisurely.
Yet she had not turned a page for ages. Her unfocused gaze floated over the paper.
Who knew where her thoughts had flown?