Chapter 21

Chapter 21

After Lu Yuan left, Shen Si turned and looked up at the four-character inscription on the high plaque: “Uphold Discipline, Rectify Order.” Dust motes swirled in the light streaming through the window. Shen Si stood there for a long while, his thoughts impossible to read.

But Wen’an, who had been standing outside the folding screen, sensed that something was amiss.

That final remark His Lordship had made to Lord Lu was unusual. Wen’an had served at His Lordship’s side for years. When had His Lordship ever praised anyone? When had he ever paid attention to a mere student from the Imperial Academy?

That remark had clearly been a pointed hint to Lord Lu.

All these years, no matter who came to plead a case or how much influence they wielded, His Lordship almost never relented.

His Lordship was ordinarily so busy, yet he had summoned Lord Lu and held him accountable over such a minor matter. Even Wen’an had not expected it.

Then he thought of the woman they had encountered yesterday. His Lordship seemed to have lingered for a moment because of her as well…

Wen’an’s thoughts grew increasingly tangled. The more he considered it, the stranger it seemed, so he hastily put a stop to them.

That afternoon, Xie Jin paid a visit to Ji Hanyi’s quarters.

When she arrived, however, there was no one in the main room. After asking around, she learned that Ji Hanyi was in the study in the rear building, so she sent a servant to summon her.

Ji Hanyi was seated in a chair, going over the accounts she had not finished reviewing yesterday. She wanted to take stock of everything she owned so she could make the necessary plans and arrangements.

When a servant came to report that Xie Jin had arrived, Ji Hanyi continued flicking the beads of her abacus without so much as lifting her eyes.

Behind her, Rongchun was putting away the things they had brought from the main house that day. Hearing the servant’s report, she walked over to Ji Hanyi and whispered, “She’s come to upset the Young Madam again.”

“No doubt she’ll put on airs and lecture the Young Madam some more.”

Ji Hanyi finished her final calculation and wrote the figure in the account book before setting down her brush.

She looked at Rongchun and asked, “Is everything packed?”

Rongchun nodded quickly. “Everything has been put away. The Young Madam doesn’t own much. Even if we have to leave, it won’t take long to pack.”

Ji Hanyi nodded, thinking that she ought to send another letter to her maternal grandmother later.

Rongchun then asked worriedly, “What if the Eldest Master refuses to agree to the divorce?”

Ji Hanyi smiled. “Rongchun, he never wanted to marry me in the first place. He’ll agree.”

As she spoke, Ji Hanyi leaned back in her chair. Li Mingrou had yet to be betrothed. By dragging his feet over the divorce, Xie Yuheng was only delaying Li Mingrou as well. Ji Hanyi was not afraid of drawing out the confrontation.

Even if Xie Yuheng truly refused, she would simply have to find another way to make him agree.

She continued, “Go and give her my reply. Tell her my cold is severe and I’m afraid of passing the illness on to her, so I can’t receive her.”

Rongchun also felt there was no point in seeing any of these people now. Even if they met, nothing pleasant would come out of their mouths.

That was especially true of the Eldest Young Lady Xie. Every time she visited the Young Madam, she would criticize one thing or another, saying that the Young Madam had done this poorly or handled that incorrectly. She even meddled with the furnishings and decorations in the room.

She also frequently pried into their private marital affairs. The Young Madam had endured it in the past, but now that she was seeking a divorce, there was no reason to put up with it anymore.

When Rongchun stepped outside, the servant waiting there had already been standing around for quite some time. Upon seeing her, the servant whispered anxiously, “Sister Rong, you know the Eldest Young Lady has a quick temper. She’s been waiting so long that I’m afraid she’ll lose her temper.”

Rongchun curled her lip. As if the Eldest Young Lady were the only person allowed to have a temper.

“Our Young Madam is seriously ill and cannot receive visitors right now. Just go and tell her that.”

The maid froze for a moment. Not daring to ask any further questions, she hurried away.

Meanwhile, Xie Jin had already been waiting in the main room for a long time. When the maid returned only to tell her that Ji Hanyi could not receive her, her expression immediately darkened.

Ji Hanyi had been married for almost three years without producing an heir. Xie Jin had gone to the trouble of bringing her a prescription out of concern, yet Ji Hanyi dared put on airs and refuse to see her.

Xie Jin sneered. Once Ji Hanyi angered Yuheng and Xie Jin’s mother, she had better not come crying to Xie Jin and begging her to intercede.

Drawing her sleeves together, Xie Jin left without another word.

The maid in the room saw her reaction and knew the Eldest Young Lady was angry. Afraid that Xie Jin would go to the Eldest Master and speak ill of the Young Madam, she could not help but worry.

The Eldest Young Lady Xie had always been proud and accustomed to having everything revolve around her. She never gave a thought to preserving harmony between the Eldest Master and the Young Madam, and often fanned the flames instead. Only the Young Madam had the patience to endure her. Had it been anyone else, every one of the Eldest Young Lady’s visits would have ended in an uproar in the courtyard.

Ji Hanyi no longer cared what Xie Jin might say about her to Xie Yuheng. On the contrary, she hoped Xie Jin would fan the flames, so that Xie Yuheng might sign the Divorce Agreement in a fit of anger.

Thinking of the Divorce Agreement that had been torn to pieces the previous night, Ji Hanyi felt it was a shame. She had written it out stroke by painstaking stroke, and now she had to write it all over again.

As she spread out a sheet of paper, Ji Hanyi glanced at the sky outside. It was beginning to darken. After calculating the time, she turned to Rongchun and instructed in a low voice, “In one hour, go hire a carriage and have it wait for me by the back gate.”
Rongchun asked curiously, “Doesn’t the Xie Residence have a carriage?”

Ji Hanyi lowered her head and began writing the Divorce Agreement. “It wouldn’t be convenient,” she murmured.

Every carriage belonging to the Xie Residence bore its emblem. It truly would not be convenient.

It was between five and seven in the evening when Ji Hanyi left.

An older servant from the front courtyard saw her preparing to go out at such an hour and came over to ask when she would return, so the kitchen would know when to have her meal ready.

Ji Hanyi said, “There’s no need to prepare anything for me. I’ll be back late.”

The servant did not feel it was her place to ask more. As she watched Ji Hanyi leave, she wondered if the Young Madam’s mother had fallen gravely ill again.

A carriage was already waiting at the rear gate. When Ji Hanyi climbed inside, she found a brazier prepared for her, filling the carriage with warmth.

Rongchun had naturally prepared it especially for her.

The coachman asked where they were going. Ji Hanyi’s quiet reply carried through the curtain. “Yongming Alley. The Shen Residence.”

It was the most prestigious quarter of the capital, home to powerful officials and noble families at every turn.

Night had fallen by the time they arrived.

The plaque of the Shen Residence hung high above the entrance. Standing beneath it, Ji Hanyi remembered how often she had come here with her father as a child.

So many years had passed. Now that she stood here again, everything was different.

It was no longer early. Darkness fell quickly in winter, and the lanterns had already been lit, illuminating the imposing gates.

However, the gatekeeper told her Shen Si had not yet returned. Ji Hanyi had no choice but to go back to the carriage and wait.

Carriages were not permitted to linger outside the main gates of the Shen Residence, so she had the coachman pull back to the entrance of the alley.

She lowered her gaze to the jade in her hand. Smooth, lustrous, and of exceptional quality, the Interlocking Jade Rings were a pair of linked rings carved from top-grade emerald-green jade.

The pendant had originally belonged to Shen Si. She had only come into possession of it by chance.

Shen Si had enjoyed an exalted status since birth, and everything he owned or used was of the finest quality.

Although Ji Hanyi was the Ji Family’s only daughter and naturally wanted for nothing herself, whenever she visited Shen Si as a child, there had always been an endless array of beautiful objects to admire. She would curiously reach out to touch everything she saw.

Ji Hanyi had been twelve that year. She went to the Shen Residence with her father, who joined the Former Chief Grand Secretary in his study. The two men often remained there for an entire morning, so the servants would naturally lead her to Shen Si’s study.

Shen Si had been sixteen then and had just become the Top-Ranked Palace Graduate. According to her father, Shen Si had not needed to sit the examination at all. He could have entered the Hanlin Academy directly, but he refused to rely on his family’s connections and registered for the examination himself.

In truth, Ji Hanyi had not seen Shen Si very often as a child. Her father visited only once every two or three months, usually to discuss official business, and she did not get to see Shen Si on every visit.

Perhaps seeking him out had simply become a habit ever since her earliest memories at six or seven. She liked looking at his tall, slender figure and his astonishingly handsome face. She could never help wanting to find him.

Shen Si had not particularly liked her at first. Ji Hanyi had been young, but she still vaguely understood whether someone liked her or not. Even so, Shen Si was far too handsome, and his rooms contained far too many treasures for her to resist.

The Former Chief Grand Secretary was gentle and would always tell her with a smile to go play with Shen Si more often. He said Shen Si was always alone and lived far too solitary a life, so she should pester him into going out for walks.

Ji Hanyi had been thoroughly spoiled by her father and knew no fear. Although she never managed to drag Shen Si outside, at least he eventually stopped throwing her out whenever she entered his study.

While he read, she would examine the treasures on his curio shelves. When he sat down to practice calligraphy, she would lean across the table and watch him write.

Shen Si would not let her touch him, yet whenever she reached out to tug on his sleeve, he never pushed her away.

It had been early autumn that day, and the sunlight was bright. At twelve, Ji Hanyi already understood the strict propriety required between boys and girls, so she did not crowd around Shen Si as she once had. She loved calligraphy and painting, and his study was filled with calligraphy and painted scrolls by renowned masters. While he read in the inner room, she remained on the other side of a folding screen, admiring the ancient paintings in his collection.

After turning twelve, the two of them hardly ever spoke. Even when they occupied the same room, they had almost no interaction.

Shen Si was simply too cold and detached. Unless someone approached him first, he would remain cold forever, never taking even a single step toward them.

But that day, when Ji Hanyi unrolled a painting by a master she admired, she discovered the Interlocking Jade Rings hidden inside.

Their rich emerald hue was beautiful. The two jade rings were linked together and made a clear, delicate chime when they moved. Ji Hanyi loved them the moment she held them, but they belonged to Shen Si. To her, the fact that a man of Shen Si’s temperament had allowed her to look through his ancient paintings was already almost inconceivable.

She certainly could not take one of his possessions without permission.

She asked a servant to bring the pendant inside to Shen Si, thinking he might have accidentally rolled it up inside the painting.

Before long, however, the servant returned and placed the jade back in her hands. Relaying Shen Si’s message, the servant told her that since she had found the pendant, she could have it.
But Ji Hanyi could never shake the feeling that Shen Si no longer wanted it because she had touched it.

Still, those days happened to fall around her thirteenth birthday, and she truly adored the jade, so she accepted it.

After returning home, she even wrote Shen Si a letter to thank him. Unfortunately, he never replied. But Ji Hanyi was already used to that. If Shen Si had actually written back, she might have wondered whether the sender was really him.

The last time she saw him that year was during the New Year festivities.

The Former Chief Grand Secretary had countless former students, and visitors came in droves.

Snow fell heavily that day, thick enough that everyone needed umbrellas.

Ji Hanyi accompanied her mother through the rear courtyard, joining the other visiting ladies in paying their respects to the Former Chief Grand Secretary’s wife.

When she came out of the main hall, she saw Shen Si standing alone not far away in the rear courtyard, looking in her direction. She had no idea what he was looking at, but she had to remain with her mother. Besides, they were no longer children. She could not run over to him as she had when she was little.

Yet that day, in an unprecedented move, Shen Si sent someone to tell her to wait for him beneath the great pine tree in the rear courtyard.

Ji Hanyi could hardly believe it. The sun might as well have risen in the west.

By the time she arrived, Shen Si was already there. She had no idea how long he had been waiting.

In truth, it had been a long time since Ji Hanyi had seen Shen Si from so close. Now that she did, she realized he had grown much taller and even more handsome. No wonder that wherever Shen Si went in the capital, women flocked to catch a glimpse of him.

Whenever he stopped somewhere, crowds would inevitably gather there too.

Shen Si’s expression was as cool and indifferent as ever that day. Ji Hanyi had never been able to tell what he was thinking.

He was icy and far above everyone else. The older she grew, the more she feared him.

She did not understand that fear herself. To her, Shen Si was like a deity in the highest heavens, untouched by mortal desires or emotions. He seemed like a great, unfeeling Buddha who saw through everything and sat in judgment over all, making everyone instinctively cautious in his presence.

Whenever Shen Si’s gaze fell upon her, Ji Hanyi’s heart raced with panic.

She always felt as though she must have done something wrong.

That day, Shen Si pointed at the jade pendant hanging from her waist. It was the Interlocking Jade Rings he had given her, though perhaps “given” was not quite the right word.

Pointing at the pendant, Shen Si told her that from then on, she was not to wear it in public.

Ji Hanyi thought he regretted letting her have it. Her heart filled with anxiety, and she hurriedly removed the pendant to return it to him.

But her hand remained outstretched between them, her fingers red from the cold, and Shen Si did not take it.

Only after a long while did he say that the jade pendant was hers. It was his birthday gift to her.

If she ever needed anything in the future, she could bring the pendant to him, and he would help her.

Shen Si was sixteen that year and already very tall. He stepped toward her, bent down, and murmured beside her ear that she would have only one chance.

No matter how enormous her request was, even if it meant breaking an agreement, he would grant it.

As long as that was what she wanted.

Ji Hanyi had been utterly stunned that day. She could not understand what Shen Si meant.

What kind of request could possibly be so enormous?

And what could she ever ask for that would require breaking an agreement?

What agreement had she even made with anyone?

The only one she had was her betrothal.

It was an engagement her father had arranged for her when she was young.

Although she had never met the Young Master of the Xie Family, she had often heard her father praise him. Ji Hanyi had never considered reneging on her engagement to the Xie Family.

She had not understood Shen Si’s words then, and even now, Ji Hanyi still could not understand why he had said such a thing to her that year.

Perhaps she really had once held a slightly different place in his heart. After all, the Former Chief Grand Secretary had once told her with a smile that she was the only person who could spend so long in Shen Si’s study.

Yet the following spring, after that meeting, she accidentally fell into the water at the Shen Residence. Her mother said Shen Si had rescued her and carried her into his room, and she had not awakened until midnight.

But Ji Hanyi remembered nothing that happened after she fell into the water — not even the faintest fragment.

All she remembered was that she never saw Shen Si again after that.

Nor was she ever allowed into his study again.

Counting the years now, more than six had already passed.

Her thoughts broke off there.

After another unknown stretch of time, Rongchun gently nudged her and whispered nervously, “Young Madam, Lord Shen seems to be back.”

The sound of a carriage came from outside. Ji Hanyi told Rongchun to remain inside, then hurriedly lifted the curtain and stepped out. Amid the swirling snow, she watched as that aloof and impossibly distinguished man descended from his carriage with unhurried grace, surrounded by a throng of servants.