As she spoke, her delicate white fingers traced circles on his clothing, seemingly without purpose. Though she was already going to be a mother, she still acted so childishly, so endearingly pitiable. Qi Ying sighed again.
He pondered silently without speaking. Shen Xiling waited patiently for a while, then timely said in a small voice: “Isn’t Master Wang’s eightieth birthday coming up soon? The master also taught me, though not for long, but ‘a teacher for a day is a father for life.’ It’s proper and fitting for me to go offer birthday congratulations… Second Brother, take me there, hmm?”
That upward inflection on the final “hmm” was quite alluring. Qi Ying’s heartstrings were already moved, and when he looked down at her, he saw his little wife’s beautiful, charming features. He couldn’t say the word “no,” knowing she was scheming yet unable to do anything about it. After a long silence, he still nodded in agreement.
She immediately brightened with a radiant smile—everything was right with the world.
Sigh… Fine, let her have her way.
Speaking of which, Shen Xiling was a complete two-faced character: at home she threw all sorts of childish tantrums at Qi Ying, but once she stepped outside, she became the picture of grace and propriety. Every gesture and word was perfectly composed, appearing to everyone as a dignified and steady Grand Tutor’s wife, with no one able to imagine her various “misdeeds” at home.
She accompanied Qi Ying into the Wang family residence and quickly felt the gazes of many people—some respectful, some curious, some mocking and hostile, all sorts of strange looks. These gazes weren’t new to her; when she was the Duke Yanguo’s wife in Northern Wei, she had often received such treatment. The only difference now was probably that these gazes were more intense than before.
She had long expected to face criticism when appearing in public, so she didn’t pay much attention, acting as if she hadn’t noticed. But Qi Ying seemed somewhat displeased—he had always protected her and couldn’t tolerate others offending her. He didn’t do anything dramatic, just frowned slightly. However, having reached his position, every gesture carried enough power to intimidate others. His single frown made everyone in the courtyard anxious and uneasy. People felt an invisible pressure bearing down on them and couldn’t help but lower their heads, no longer daring to stare.
Everything happened silently and invisibly. Shen Xiling didn’t even notice; she only saw Master Wang sitting in the place of honor from afar, currently smiling at them.
Speaking of which, Shen Xiling hadn’t seen her teacher for nearly ten years. The master’s changes weren’t actually very great. Though he had certainly aged more, his back remained straight when sitting, still giving an impression of vigorous health. Especially upon seeing Qi Ying, his eyes lit up, and he stood up on his own without assistance, joyfully extending his hand toward Qi Ying and calling out “Jingchen.”
Seeing the master rise, Qi Ying quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying: “This student arrived late. I offer congratulations on Master’s grand birthday.”
The Grand Tutor was the most distinguished person present. The current Grand Tutor probably rarely bowed even before the Son of Heaven, yet unexpectedly he was still so respectful before this man.
Thinking carefully, the Grand Tutor’s behavior made sense. First, Wang Qing truly had a teacher-student relationship with him. Second, after the great turmoil at Xiaoshan, when the Grand Tutor took power, such major upheaval naturally shocked the scholarly circles. According to reason, the literati of the realm should have condemned him with words and writings. Yet Wang Qing, as the current model of scholarly circles, clearly stood on the Grand Tutor’s side this time, even writing essays highly praising the Grand Tutor’s achievements in purging treacherous officials and protecting the state. Between the lines, he called him a loyal and upright minister rarely found in the world, with such earnest words and sincere sentiment that reading them truly moved one to tears.
With Wang Qing taking such a clear stance, most of the turmoil in scholarly circles was invisibly resolved. Though some people would inevitably still jump and shout that the Grand Tutor’s rise to power was illegitimate, they were destined to achieve nothing significant. In this light, Wang Qing truly owed the Grand Tutor a genuine debt of gratitude.
While everyone was pondering this, they heard Wang Qing’s happy voice as he greeted the Grand Tutor’s wife. He said with a chuckle: “Previously, Lady Yao also sent an invitation, inviting this old man to Jiankang for your wedding banquet. Unfortunately, this old body can no longer endure the hardships of travel, and I couldn’t fulfill that wish at the time—truly a regret.”
These words reminded the officials of the Grand Tutor’s wedding ceremony several months ago. Frankly speaking, in today’s Great Liang, the Grand Tutor’s marriage was more important than the emperor’s ascension. Everyone wanted to go to the Qi family to offer congratulations and gifts, but unfortunately the Grand Tutor’s wife was already pregnant at that time. To avoid tiring his wife, the Grand Tutor kept the wedding simple. Except for a very few people close to the Grand Tutor and his wife, no one else had the face to step through the Qi family’s gates, which truly caused deep regret among the officials.
At this moment, everyone heard Master Wang laugh and say to the Grand Tutor: “When I was teaching at the Qi family, I could tell you fancied that little girl. Even for an ordinary exam, you had to come take a look. Were you perhaps afraid I’d rap her knuckles?”
This brought back memories. The two unconsciously looked at each other, and many fragments from their first meeting ten years ago flew before their eyes like snowflakes: the Book of Songs they had discussed together, the moonlight behind him when he came to see her before her first exam, the bamboo curtains in Chouqin Study swaying gently in the spring breeze… Every detail was vivid in their memory.
Since becoming pregnant, Shen Xiling had become somewhat sentimental. Thinking of the past now made her even more emotional, and she remembered Wang Qing’s teachings to her, saying she did “not overstepping bounds” too well but “following her heart’s desires” too poorly. These words had benefited her throughout her life and truly helped her greatly. She was genuinely grateful to him.
Shen Xiling’s eyes misted slightly as she looked at Wang Qing and said: “Master is tireless in teaching others and is this student’s benefactor. Though I wasn’t fortunate enough to study under Master for long in my youth, I learned much. I only hope Master enjoys long-lasting blessings and longevity like the Southern Mountains.”
These sincere words let Wang Qing deeply understand her genuine feelings, and his emotions were stirred as well. Master Wang was no longer as stern, cold, and unsmiling as ten years ago. The mark time had left on him was kindness. At this moment, he was like an ordinary old man, looking at her with kind eyes and nodding, repeatedly saying “good child, good child.”
Host and guests were all delighted.
Even until bedtime, Shen Xiling’s emotions still hadn’t calmed down. Seeing Wang Qing seemed to transport her back to her youth overnight. After leaving everyone’s sight and returning to their room with Qi Ying, she continuously clung softly to his waist, refusing to let go no matter what, and from time to time would call out “Young Master.” After calling, she wouldn’t speak, just holding onto him.
Though she always liked to act coquettishly with him, such clingy little girl behavior was rarely seen. Qi Ying was both amused and exasperated by her sudden tender affection. He coaxed her for a long time before getting her to loosen her grip, then coaxed for even longer before he could slip away to have the maids bring water for her to wash and change. But when he returned after everything was ready, she automatically leaned into his arms again, holding him even tighter than before.
The Grand Tutor was quite helpless but felt very tender inside. He let the little girl cling to him for a while, then carried her to bed. October in Kuaiji had entered deep autumn. The autumn wind was quite cool, especially harsh at night. He tucked her in properly, then sat beside her holding her. Shen Xiling was quiet at first without speaking, then began calling his name. After calling once, she still wouldn’t speak, repeating this cycle.
Qi Ying good-naturedly responded to her several times, then gently stroked her black, smooth long hair and asked: “What’s wrong today? You seem so troubled.”
She still didn’t answer upon hearing this. Qi Ying didn’t press her, and the two snuggled together in quiet. After a while, Shen Xiling lifted her head from his arms, looking at him with an extremely affectionate expression, nuzzling against him and saying: “Nothing… just thinking of the past.”
Thinking of the past when I first came to your side. Back then we were still so far apart, you didn’t yet love me, and I rarely had opportunities to see you. I think my happiness then was simply this: during breaks from reading in Chouqin Study, I would daydream and wonder whether you might happen to pass by here today, whether a breeze might happen to lift the study’s bamboo curtains when you passed, allowing me to catch a distant glimpse of you in that brief moment.
She had truly loved him for a very long time. These memories didn’t make her feel bitter; she was just inevitably somewhat moved and felt that their current opportunity to be together was truly hard-won.
These subtle little emotions of hers could never escape Qi Ying’s eyes. He knew she was thinking of events from ten years ago, and he felt similarly moved. They had traveled through countless mountains and rivers to finally gain a little peace—it was indeed very difficult.
Thinking this, both couldn’t help but be stirred with emotion. Somehow they ended up kissing, initially restrained and pure due to nostalgic feelings, but later it became somewhat uncontrollable. They grew more and more passionate, and Shen Xiling was even turned over and pressed beneath Qi Ying.
Intimate entanglement to the death.
Shen Xiling was already pregnant, so naturally her body was more voluptuous than before. Even her fair, beautiful shoulders were more rounded than previously, startlingly alluring. She didn’t know restraint, nor did she know how much willpower a man needed to control himself and not touch her. She only knew how to seduce him—with little soft moans, with the jade-like skin at her collar, with her passion-tinged glances. With everything about her.
She felt his desire had been completely aroused by her. One of his hands gripped her waist tightly while the other wandered over her body. His breathing was equally rough and burning, as if he wanted to set her aflame too. He was kissing her neck and leaving marks there. She had no desire to push him away; she even urgently hoped to be possessed by him and to completely possess him in return.
…She wanted him.
However, even though he was aroused to that degree, he still worried about her body and feared harming their child. He worked to calm his breathing and stopped caressing her, which made her emit an unbearable whimper.
“Second Brother…”
This call was truly deadly. Even with Qi Ying’s excellent upbringing, he couldn’t help but curse under his breath. After a moment, still unable to calm down, he kissed that troublemaker’s collarbone fiercely, then immediately got up and hurriedly arranged her clothing, quickly wrapping her in the quilt, clearly attempting to use this method to eliminate all his wayward thoughts.
While taking care of her, he said with some emotion: “Go ahead and torment me—there will come a day when the child is born.”