Seeing Feng Xian, Zhao Ai also bowed in return, his manner dignified and expression gentle, just as he would naturally respond to noble ladies on ordinary days, his bearing impeccable. Watching from the side, Zhenzhen recalled the “Song Ai” who had mischievously smiled while shooting pellets at her, and suddenly felt this young master’s temperament seemed to change along with his name, becoming an entirely different person.
“Why has Miss Ling come to Pujiang?” Zhao Ai asked Feng Xian, glancing at Zhenzhen with a smile, “It seems you’re old acquaintances with Miss Wu?”
Zhenzhen looked up at the sky speechlessly: thanks to Feng Xian’s blessing, she had finally been politely addressed as “Miss Wu” by this libertine.
“This… it’s a long story.” Faced with Zhao Ai’s question, Feng Xian seemed somewhat hesitant, lowering her head slightly and saying softly, “Zhenzhen’s mother is my teacher’s wife. I grew up in Pujiang.”
Zhao Ai recalled what Ling Tao had said before, that Feng Xian was “raised in a rural household,” and understood somewhat, so he said: “No wonder I saw a Miss Ling on tomorrow’s list of women applying for selection in Pujiang County. The surname Ling is rather rare – I thought it was quite a coincidence to meet two Miss Lings in one month.”
Feng Xian smiled slightly and asked Zhao Ai in return: “Is Second Prince also here to select Royal Kitchen internal members?”
Zhao Ai laughed and shook his head: “No, I’m just here to watch the excitement.”
He had traveled to Lin’an with Shangguan Chen, playing in mountains and waters along the way quite pleasantly. Upon entering Liangzhe, he discovered that all prefectures and counties were preparing for Royal Kitchen internal member selection, and inexplicably recalled Wu Zhenzhen whom he had met in Pujiang last year.
Since the Wu family operated a tavern, he wondered if Wu Zhenzhen might participate in the selection. His heart stirred, so he found an excuse to have Shangguan Chen detour to Pujiang with him first. Arriving in Pujiang, he found the list of qualified women at the government office and indeed discovered Wu Zhenzhen’s name among them. Enthusiastically, he went to Shizhen Lou to inquire, but unexpectedly learned the tavern had changed hands. After further inquiry, he learned of the troubles experienced in recent months, then went to Uncle Pu’s residence to find Zhenzhen.
Xiang Ye came out upon hearing voices, looking up and down at this well-dressed, handsome young man. When she heard he wanted to visit Zhenzhen, she immediately invited him inside to wait warmly, constantly asking about his immortal hometown, his age, whether he was married, whether he had passed the examinations…
Before Zhao Ai could answer, Uncle Pu from the inner room had already coughed repeatedly, signaling Xiang Ye to be quiet. Xiang Ye went in to ask Uncle Pu what he meant, and Uncle Pu scolded her thoroughly, saying Zhenzhen was an unmarried girl – how could she so casually allow a man to visit?
Xiang Ye suddenly understood and turned back to tell Zhao Ai that Zhenzhen was nearby, and she could take him to find her. Uncle Pu heard this and anxiously coughed loudly several times. This time, without waiting for Xiang Ye to come in, he directly called out: “Xiang Ye, is the rice on the stove cooked yet?”
Xiang Ye responded loudly: “The steamer was just put on, it’s still early.”
Uncle Pu said: “Go check quickly, I smell burning.”
Xiang Ye looked puzzled: “The fire isn’t high, and there’s water in between – how could it burn?”
Zhao Ai smiled knowingly and bowed his farewell. Xiang Ye apologetically pointed him in the direction Zhenzhen had gone, then went muttering to check the steamer.
Feng Xian in the inner room heard every word of this conversation, vaguely recognizing Zhao Ai’s voice. She couldn’t help feeling restless, unable to continue reading the book in her hands. After much deliberation, she finally couldn’t restrain herself, threw down the book, got up, and chased after Zhao Ai.
Feng Xian seemed to want to converse with Zhao Ai, but heard Zhenzhen ask: “Sister Feng Xian, did you come looking for me?”
Feng Xian was startled, then said: “Yes. Tomorrow’s the cooking competition. Have you decided what to make? You’re just wandering around playing.”
Zhenzhen laughed: “The ingredients can’t be predetermined, and recipes depend entirely on daily accumulation. It’s too late for last-minute studying, so better to go out and relax. With a pleasant mood, cooking will be divinely inspired.”
Feng Xian studied her and discovered traces of tears at the corners of her eyes. She reached out to touch them, asking: “Are you having fun? Why have you been crying?”
Zhenzhen thought of her earlier tears over the bird’s nest and felt somewhat embarrassed. Not wanting to tell the truth directly, she glanced at Zhao Ai and said: “It’s all his fault – he used Tang Guo’er’s slingshot to shoot at me.”
Feng Xian’s gaze wandered uncertainly between Zhenzhen and Zhao Ai. She wanted to ask but didn’t dare, finally hesitating to utter just two words: “You two…”
“We were just playing around.” Zhao Ai said with a smile, his tone naturally revealing intimacy.
Feng Xian bowed her head with a polite smile and said nothing more. Zhenzhen glared at Zhao Ai: “I am me, you are you – who made it ‘us’?”
Quickly going over to take Feng Xian’s hand, Zhenzhen whispered in her ear: “Let’s go back and ignore him.”
Feng Xian nodded, hurriedly curtsied farewell to Zhao Ai, then returned home hand in hand with Zhenzhen. Zhao Ai didn’t try to detain them, standing with hands behind his back, smiling as he watched them until they disappeared from view.
When the two returned to Uncle Pu’s small courtyard, Xiang Ye came out to greet them from afar, asking urgently whether they had encountered that handsome young man. Zhenzhen thought that given Xiang Ye’s personality, if she said they had met him, she would definitely grab her and question various details for hours. If she learned he was a prince, it would be even worse – Zhao Ai would likely become their main topic of conversation for days to come. So Zhenzhen said they hadn’t met him. Xiang Ye didn’t quite believe this and looked at Feng Xian, who also shook her head saying she hadn’t seen him. Xiang Ye could only sigh regretfully, but her eyes were immediately lit by new questions: “He spoke with the refined accent of the capital – he must be a young master from a distinguished family. Zhenzhen, let me describe his appearance to you, and you tell me how you know him, why he came looking for you…”
Zhenzhen was helpless and, using the excuse of wanting to quietly prepare for the examination, pulled Feng Xian into the bedroom, shutting out Xiang Ye who was still following and asking questions.
Alone together in the room, Feng Xian couldn’t help asking about how Zhenzhen and Zhao Ai had met. Zhenzhen recounted everything in detail from witnessing him playing polo in the water to investigating the fake venison shop, including Qiu Niang’s assessment of such dissolute young men, only omitting the palm reading, sharing a horse, and Zhao Ai’s intimate words to her.
“Second Prince helped you seal the fake venison shop – that was a good deed. Why don’t you treat him kindly?” Feng Xian asked in confusion.
“Because… he’s not like a gentleman.” After much consideration, Zhenzhen could only answer thus. Zhao Ai had several times intentionally or unintentionally created opportunities for physical contact with her. Whether or not it was out of playfulness, it made her quite uncomfortable. Being a young woman, she couldn’t speak of this reason openly, so she could only express it euphemistically.
When Feng Xian had arrived earlier, Zhenzhen had already broken free from Zhao Ai’s embrace, so she hadn’t seen Zhao Ai holding Zhenzhen. Having only heard some of their conversation, she thought Zhenzhen disliked Zhao Ai’s lack of respectful speech, so she said: “We live in this small place, and from childhood to adulthood, most men we’ve seen are peddlers, porters, or drunkards. How many gentlemen could there be? If he’s not like a gentleman, then no one else could be either.”
Zhenzhen immediately retorted: “There are naturally gentlemen…”
Feng Xian immediately understood her meaning and couldn’t help smiling: “Oh, that’s right – your Scholar Wen Qiao is indeed a gentleman.”
Yes, yes, Teacher Lin’s heart was a bodhi tree, his body a bright mirror stand, his appearance dignified, always naturally clear and unstained by worldly dust. He was a gentleman who remained perpetually calm and self-possessed, utterly unlike worldly men easily swayed by beauty. Even that brief moment of emotion on their last night together should probably be attributed to her initial foolish and impertinent offense with that finger…
Thinking of Lin Hong, Zhenzhen felt as if a honey-coated blade swept quietly across her heart. After the sweetness came a trace of coolness, then a dull ache began.
In the room’s vase were several begonia branches that Xiang Ye had cut from the courtyard flower tree and casually inserted without much decoration. Zhenzhen took out a straight flower branch, holding it flat with both hands, bringing it to a fist’s distance from her lower abdomen. She closed her eyes, imagining Lin Hong shaping flower branches, and began to bend the branch with effort.
Seeing that Zhenzhen didn’t continue the topic about Lin Hong, Feng Xian secretly worried she might ask about her acquaintance with Zhao Ai, preparing understated explanations in her mind. However, Zhenzhen didn’t seem as interested in such intimate secrets as Xiang Ye and never asked Feng Xian about it. The two young women’s room suddenly became quiet, with only slight “crack crack” sounds accompanying Zhenzhen’s gentle hand movements.
When Zhenzhen’s hands relaxed and opened again, the originally straight flower branch had acquired a bow-string-like curve. As if concentrating on flower arrangement, Zhenzhen inserted the adjusted branch back into the vase, adjusting the positions of the other branches to create a graceful appearance. Then, under Feng Xian’s scrutinizing gaze, she sighed and said wistfully: “I miss Teacher Lin very much.”