Chapter 160
Chapter 160
Ji Hanyi lowered her voice, its soft, dulcet tones all the more like an alluring spell. Shen Si cracked his eyes open and looked into her clear, concerned gaze. Beneath the white crossed collar inside her pink round-collared robe, her skin was as white as snow. The teeth marks on her cherry lips were still faintly visible, and her eyes and brows were as gentle as water. With only simple ornaments in her neatly coiled hair, she looked all the more delicate and vulnerable, as though she could be easily bullied.
His fingertips twitched. He wanted to touch Ji Hanyi’s face, but his hand stopped halfway.
He knew he had never been able to restrain himself where Ji Hanyi was concerned. Once he touched the face he yearned for day and night, even he could not control what he might do.
Shen Si’s gaze darkened. He lowered the hand braced beside Ji Hanyi and let it fall to his side, then said hoarsely, “I’m fine. Follow this path straight ahead. Don’t worry. No one will come here.”
Ji Hanyi heard the strain in Shen Si’s voice, but she did not leave at once. She looked at him worriedly. “But you…”
Shen Si looked as though he were in some discomfort…
Shen Si glanced at Ji Hanyi and said quietly, “It’s nothing. You go on ahead.”
Ji Hanyi’s heart clenched at the sound of his voice, but she silently moved away from him all the same. Her light footsteps hurried along the path.
Shen Si watched Ji Hanyi’s retreating figure until her graceful silhouette in pink gradually blurred beneath the magnolia trees lining both sides of the path. Only then did he draw back his gaze and walk in the opposite direction.
As soon as Ji Hanyi emerged from the path, the matron who had been guiding them spotted her and rushed over. “At last, we’ve found you! Where did you go just now?”
Ji Hanyi replied, “I was walking at the back and failed to keep up. I accidentally lost my way.”
With that, she curtsied to the matron. “I’m sorry to have caused you trouble, Nanny.”
The matron hurriedly helped her up. “There’s no need for that. We haven’t been looking for long, and fortunately, you found your way out. Third Young Lady Gu is still waiting for you up ahead. Let us go to her now.”
Ji Hanyi assented and followed the matron onward.
Gu Wanyun was waiting up ahead. When she saw Ji Hanyi approaching, she finally relaxed.
The matron at the Shen Residence was exceptionally skilled at dressing hair. Even though she had redone Gu Wanyun’s hairstyle, it looked exactly the same as before. Gu Wanyun studied herself in the mirror for a long time and could not find the slightest fault. Only then did her mood improve somewhat.
When they reached Xiaoxiang Residence, they had barely stepped inside before they were greeted by an elegant warmth and delicate fragrance.
Cheerful voices drifted from within. The gathering had evidently already begun, and the dozen or so young ladies seated inside were chatting animatedly.
Ji Hanyi had often visited the Shen Residence when she was young, so she knew something about its young ladies. The unmarried daughters should be the Third Young Lady, Fourth Young Lady, and Fifth Young Lady. The others were likely daughters of eminent noble families that maintained close ties with the Shen Residence, along with perhaps a few granddaughters-in-law from the First Branch and Second Branch.
However, many years had passed since her last visit, and Ji Hanyi no longer recognized many of them.
A young matron seated near the door noticed them and quickly rose. Her gaze moved between Ji Hanyi and Gu Wanyun, and the servant beside them promptly introduced the two in a low voice.
After hearing the introductions, Madam Cui laughed and said to Gu Wanyun, “So Third Young Lady Gu has arrived.”
She then turned to Ji Hanyi with a smile. “Miss Ji, I’ve heard my mother-in-law speak of you. I never realized you were such a beauty.”
Madam Cui was the eldest granddaughter-in-law of Madam Bai of the Eldest Branch, and her father was the Minister of Revenue. Decked in gold and silver, she carried herself with all the poise of a noblewoman, yet she looked both young and approachable.
Ji Hanyi and Gu Wanyun quickly curtsied and offered their greetings.
Madam Cui immediately linked arms with Gu Wanyun. She knew why her mother-in-law had invited Gu Wanyun: the young woman was said to have caught the Old Madam’s favor. Although Madam Cui could not see anything particularly special about her, there was no harm in befriending her.
She led Gu Wanyun to a seat at one side and quietly introduced the young ladies in the room. Among them were the Grand Tutor’s granddaughter, the only daughter of an official from the Hanlin Academy, the daughter of a marquis’s household, and Madam Cui’s own younger sister.
All these young women came from noble backgrounds. Gu Wanyun listened in a daze. How could she ever have met people of such lofty birth before? Her unease inevitably began to show.
Ji Hanyi saw Madam Cui take Gu Wanyun away on her own, but she did not take it to heart. She simply followed behind them and found herself a seat.
The young ladies were enthusiastically discussing an anecdote concerning the Golden Valley Drinking-Penalty Rules.
A young woman in green smiled and said, “In A New Account of the Tales of the World, there is an old tale in which Xie An compares Golden Valley with Orchid Pavilion. I believe it concerned the rules for drinking forfeits.”
Another young lady in pink, poised and dignified, smiled. “I’ve heard of it as well. However, the Golden Valley described in the Book of Jin is somewhat different from the rustic charm of Floating Wine Cups Along a Winding Stream at Orchid Pavilion.”
Everyone in the room began offering her own interpretation. Gu Wanyun listened from the side, her face gradually turning pale.
She knew nothing of what they were discussing. She had never even heard of these things before. Was this the level of learning possessed by the women of the Shen Family?
Panic rose in her heart.
Madam Cui, who was sitting beside Gu Wanyun, looked at her with a smile. “Would Third Young Lady Gu care to share her thoughts as well?”
Gu Wanyun was trembling inside. How could she dare speak rashly and make a fool of herself? After listening to this exchange, she already felt as though she were sitting on pins and needles. She should have listened to her cousin and never come.
In fact, even her cousin might not understand what these young ladies were discussing.
At that moment, Third Young Lady Shen, Shen Suyi, noticed Gu Wanyun sitting beside her eldest sister-in-law. Her mother had told her about Gu Wanyun several days ago, so she could not simply neglect her.
Someone else in the room was about to speak when Shen Suyi turned directly to Gu Wanyun and asked with a gentle smile, “Are you Third Young Lady Gu?”
When Gu Wanyun realized Shen Suyi was addressing her, she hurriedly stood and answered.
Shen Suyi rose and walked over to her, then took her hand and drew her to her side. Smiling, she said, “You must have heard what we were discussing just now. May I ask what you think?”
All the young ladies present came from distinguished scholarly families. Giving Gu Wanyun an opportunity to make a name for herself in the capital would be good for her, and it would also bring the two of them closer.
What Shen Suyi had not expected was for Gu Wanyun to reply in a low voice, “I was thinking about something else just now and didn’t hear what everyone was saying, so I’m afraid I can’t offer an opinion.”
She added, “But I often discuss poetry and literary allusions with my cousin. You could ask her.”
Ji Hanyi paused, then glanced at Gu Wanyun, who was standing beside Shen Suyi not far away.
Gu Wanyun did not dare meet Ji Hanyi’s eyes. Her fingers twisted the handkerchief in her hands tightly.
Gu Wanyun knew that Ji Hanyi’s father had once been a man of extraordinary talent and had personally taught Ji Hanyi to read. Surely Ji Hanyi would know something about the subject. If Ji Hanyi managed to give an answer, then because Gu Wanyun had claimed that they often discussed such things together, everyone would assume she knew them too.
And if Ji Hanyi could not answer, Gu Wanyun would not be the one embarrassed.
Shen Suyi was also taken aback. She swept her gaze around the room before finally noticing Ji Hanyi seated in a corner.
Ji Hanyi wore plain clothes, but she was exceptionally beautiful. Sitting there, she looked like a figure from a painting, perfectly complemented by the fragrant orchids on the flower stand behind her.
Shen Suyi was only fourteen this year and had no more than a vague impression of Ji Hanyi. She smiled and casually asked, “What does Sister Ji think?”
Ji Hanyi lifted her eyes and replied with a faint smile, “All of you are deeply learned. Your examinations of the classics and their allusions were meticulous, and your arguments comprehensive. I benefited greatly from listening and truly have nothing more to add.”
Then her gentle, unhurried voice sounded again. “However, I was reminded of something from the past. Once, when I was helping my father organize his study, I came across a manuscript copy of the Lost Writings of the Southern Frontier. It happened to contain a poem mentioning the Golden Valley Banquet Excursions, but the wording was simple and unadorned, entirely unlike the other works that have been mentioned.”
“I imagine it is simply a matter of what the fashions of the age favor and what anthologists prefer. All of you have spoken well.”
The moment Ji Hanyi finished, the room fell silent.
Her remark about the fashions of the age and the preferences of anthologists had been the perfect finishing touch.
Moreover, the Lost Writings of the Southern Frontier was an exceedingly obscure work. Even ordinary examination candidates might not have heard of it, let alone sheltered young ladies. It was evident just how broad Ji Hanyi’s learning was.
Everyone’s gaze fell upon her.
Seated in the farthest corner, the plainly yet elegantly dressed young woman resembled a secluded orchid in an empty valley, or a pearl hidden beneath dust. Everyone now saw her in a new light.
On closer inspection, she wore only an ordinary dress and simple jewelry, yet everything complemented her perfectly. Her bearing was unmistakably refined, her figure slender and graceful, and her features as exquisite as a painting. Her beauty appeared entirely effortless.
Among those present, Grand Tutor Lin’s granddaughter, Lin Zhuangyue, recognized Ji Hanyi. Her grandfather had once greatly admired Ji Hanyi’s father’s talent and often invited him to the residence to warm wine and converse.
Ji Hanyi’s father had doted on her and often brought her along. Lin Zhuangyue had been only seven or eight at the time, but when she saw the twelve- or thirteen-year-old Ji Hanyi, she had still been transfixed. She had thought Ji Hanyi so fair and beautiful that she would secretly hide nearby just to steal glances at her.
She wondered whether Ji Hanyi still remembered how Lin Zhuangyue had asked what jewelry she was wearing, what fragrance she used, and how she styled her hair. Lin Zhuangyue had thought that every movement Ji Hanyi made was beautiful and that everything she wore looked lovely on her, so she had wanted to imitate her.
Ji Hanyi had been gentle and good-tempered back then. She had smilingly shared everything with Lin Zhuangyue and even praised her earrings, saying that the next time they met, the two of them should wear earrings of the same style.
But a year later, something happened to the Ji Family. The two never saw each other again, and Lin Zhuangyue’s grandfather forbade her from asking about the Ji Family. Now, seeing Ji Hanyi again after five or six years, Lin Zhuangyue found that she was still just as she remembered.
Beyond the carved window, a dark shadow stretched across the ground. Bamboo leaves rustled nearby, and the faintly warm light filtered through them in mottled patches, falling over the tall, broad-shouldered figure outside.
Shen Si’s gaze rested on Ji Hanyi’s back as he listened to her calm, measured voice. A faint smile slowly touched his lips.
He had been somewhat worried about her. Fortunately, while she was soft and quiet by nature, she had never once lost her composure in front of outsiders.
She was reserved and never fought for attention. Ever since childhood, she had seemed indifferent to the many trappings of wealth and splendor. But in the past, there had always been someone to smooth every road ahead of her. Her father had doted on her, raising her tenderly beside a sheltered windowsill – allowing her to see the world outside without ever exposing her to the slightest wind or rain. That was how she had developed her present temperament.
She was delicate, yet possessed the unruffled composure of someone accustomed to the world.
She might shed tears and show vulnerability, but even in her frailty, she would quickly gather herself and flourish anew.
That was the most striking and captivating thing about her. She looked fragile, yet there was resilience within her.