These words carried some threatening meaning yet also revealed his endless indulgence toward her, making Shen Xiling giggle with laughter. She had originally been somewhat immersed in the passion from earlier, but his teasing dispersed most of her arousal, and she quickly returned to normal. However, the Grand Tutor was not so easily calmed. For quite a while he was still affected by the waves of desire, while his wife lay there looking innocent, clearly intending to let Shen Xiling rest first while he went alone to walk in the garden.

This made Shen Xiling laugh even more secretly. She remembered how it was often like this when she first became pregnant—once they had some intimate contact before bed, he would inevitably have to walk in the garden, and when he returned after quite a while, his clothes would be cold.

She did have some remaining conscience after all.

Shen Xiling pursed her lips and reached out to pull him back, saying tenderly: “Don’t go, alright? This is Master Wang’s residence, not as convenient as at home… Let’s sleep. I won’t torment you anymore.”

Indeed, they had come far from Jiankang and the Wang family naturally wanted them to stay the night, but tonight there were quite a few other distinguished overnight guests, making things rather inconvenient with all the comings and goings. However, if he just rested like this, he was destined to toss and turn all night. Such suffering was better avoided. “You sleep first, don’t wait for me.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Xiling felt both heartache and amusement, and couldn’t help being somewhat annoyed.

The moonlight outside was clear and gentle.

Since this was someone else’s residence after all, Qi Ying couldn’t wander too far. Fortunately, the courtyard the Wang family had arranged for them was excellently positioned, right near the back garden. The back garden was quite spacious, and in the quiet night, the desires his little wife had stirred were finally able to subside.

Thinking of her, Qi Ying’s expression became especially gentle. Tonight her sudden tender affection particularly moved his heart, and even now his emotions still swayed. He… truly loved her to the extreme.

Qi Ying’s eyes unconsciously took on a smile. He walked to an octagonal pavilion and sat down, thinking he would wait a while longer before returning so as not to wake her. The solitary time in the night had always been his favorite in the past, but now for some reason it seemed somewhat lonely… Could it be that he had already grown accustomed to her companionship and therefore no longer liked being alone?

But the Grand Tutor hadn’t yet had time to contemplate this matter deeply when an uninvited guest interrupted his peace.

“I disturb Your Excellency’s tranquility. Please forgive this transgression.”

This “disturbance” was rather an overstatement, since if she hadn’t spoken, the Grand Tutor wouldn’t have even noticed someone was nearby. Only when she spoke did he see her—a young woman of about fifteen or sixteen. He didn’t look closely at her appearance, only noticing she had a red beauty mark between her eyebrows, somewhat resembling his Wenwen.

He frowned.

This woman was named Zheng Qingqing, and strictly speaking, she couldn’t be considered a complete stranger—she was the cousin of Zheng Xi, who had placed second in the imperial examinations in the seventeenth year of Qinghua. This requires some explanation.

Ever since many years ago when the saying “Qi’s second young master is unmatched” spread, Zheng Xi had indeed enjoyed a period of unlimited glory after being selected as second place by Qi Ying. Originally from a humble family, he suddenly became highly sought after by prestigious families, all wanting to recruit him as a son-in-law. However, this proud period didn’t last long. In the first year of Jiahe, the Qi family fell from power, and this batch of officials from the seventeenth year of Qinghua were repeatedly suppressed in the political arena. Zhang Deci, who had placed third, even lost his life for persisting with the reforms led by the Qi family.

Zheng Xi was a clever man. Seeing that Qi Ying himself was in danger, he immediately began looking for ways to escape. He neither had Zhang Deci’s righteousness in sacrificing his life for reform, nor did he want to sit on the sidelines in the turbulent court. So before long, he found a way to attach himself to the Fu family, becoming the right-hand man of their legitimate son, Fu Zhuo.

What did a humble family care about justice and popular sentiment, about cultivating oneself and governing the country? These were all empty words to deceive children. This world was cruel and realistic—only by backing a big tree could someone like him, who had nothing, stand firm!

Following Fu Zhuo, he did indeed enjoy several years of stability. However, the Fu family was different from Qi Ying—they were harsh and ungrateful. Though they could protect him from storms in court, they were also suspicious and constantly gave mixed signals, leaving Zheng Xi exhausted. Worse still, the Fu family eventually fell from power too!

He truly hadn’t expected that the seemingly dormant Grand Tutor would be so decisive in killing, silently laying that snare. The entire Fu family was liquidated—some died, some were exiled, some imprisoned. Other nobles also had their power stripped away, while the common-born families he had always thought least likely to gain power leaped to positions above him. Li Wei, who had passed the examinations the same year as him, had now become Right Assistant Director of the Secretariat!

Actually, Qi Ying bore him no grudge when settling accounts, and since he hadn’t committed any crimes, he wasn’t demoted but merely transferred to the Hanlin Academy as a compiler. But he wasn’t satisfied—he refused to accept achieving nothing. He had to turn things around! If Li Wei could do it, why couldn’t he?

Therefore, after the great turmoil at Xiaoshan, Zheng Xi had been pondering how to curry favor with the Grand Tutor again, until during a recent trip to the countryside he discovered his cousin, Zheng Qingqing. She actually bore some resemblance to the Grand Tutor’s wife!

In today’s Great Liang, who didn’t know that the Grand Tutor had deep feelings for his wife? Though she had been married before, he didn’t mind and even married her as his primary wife. But no matter how magnanimous a man might be, could he really not care about his wife’s past? When passion ran high, everything was fine, but what if feelings cooled?

Zheng Qingqing was different—she was a pure, innocent young lady. If she could win the Grand Tutor’s favor, how could he not promote Zheng Xi in the political arena?

Zheng Xi’s calculations were precise, and when he asked his cousin, she was more than willing. The Grand Tutor’s elegance—a single raised eyebrow could make crowds tremble with fear, stirring her heart and soul. She had also seen how tenderly he cared for his wife… What virtue or ability did that woman have? She was merely somewhat prettier. She, Zheng Qingqing, was no worse, and she was younger and more innocent. The Grand Tutor simply hadn’t seen her yet—if he did, he would surely recognize her worth, and everything would fall into place naturally.

She had been excited all night, hoping for an early opportunity to meet him, until her cousin came to find her, saying she could go see the Grand Tutor. She was overjoyed and touched up her red beauty mark with cinnabar, feeling her charm surpassed previous days. Her heart settled considerably, and she suppressed her joy to seek him out.

Tonight had beautiful moonlight, which should make her appear more ethereal and delicate in the dim light. But after her greeting, the Grand Tutor remained silent for a long time without telling her to rise, making her feel strange. In her hesitation, she heard the Grand Tutor sigh, then say indifferently: “No matter, you may rise.”

This was merely a casual remark, yet it stirred Zheng Qingqing’s heartstrings even more. She felt somewhat dizzy, her ears filled with the Grand Tutor’s low, pleasant voice, becoming increasingly excited and still feeling dazed as she stood. She vaguely saw the Grand Tutor glance at her—that face was incomparably handsome, yet his eyes held such distant emotion, which paradoxically made people rush forward one after another, desperately wanting to leave their mark in his eyes.

She felt her heart beating extremely fast.

Then she heard him ask: “Are you a daughter of the Wang family?”

He was speaking to her again. Zheng Qingqing was overjoyed, her fingers trembling. She quickly suppressed her loss of composure and answered: “This young lady is a daughter of the Zheng family, named Qingqing.”

“The Zheng family?” The Grand Tutor raised an eyebrow, seeming unable to recall.

She desperately wanted to establish some connection with him, so she said: “My cousin is Zheng Xi, a scholar who was favored by Your Excellency and personally selected as second place.”

This made it quite clear, though honestly, Qi Ying still didn’t remember very clearly. Zheng Xi’s official position was rather too low, and in recent years most of Qi Ying’s students hadn’t all passed through his hands directly—the vast majority were initially drafted by the Secretariat and subsequently reviewed by Han Feichi and Li Wei, with him personally handling only a few cases. However, the Grand Tutor was broadly learned with a strong memory. After thinking for a moment, he remembered who Zheng Xi was and also recalled his experiences over the years. Looking now at this woman before him, it wasn’t difficult to understand the background of this performance.

Such schemes had become common, but this woman’s red beauty mark somehow made him feel displeased. He pondered for a moment, then said to the woman: “Please ask your cousin to see me.”

Zheng Qingqing was startled: “What?”

The Grand Tutor no longer looked at her, his expression growing even more distant as he answered: “Since he seeks an audience, I’ll give him a result.”

When Zheng Xi hurriedly followed his cousin from their room to the octagonal pavilion to see Qi Ying, he was already drenched in sweat, more nervous than when he first came to Jiankang years ago. As soon as he approached Qi Ying, his knees went weak and he knelt down, saying fearfully: “Student Zheng Xi… pays respects to Teacher.”

His cousin Zheng Qingqing had also followed him, originally thinking that with their teacher-student relationship, their meeting would surely be harmonious, perhaps even resulting in her being called to the Grand Tutor’s side. But the atmosphere seemed off.

The garden was quiet. In deep autumn, there were hardly even insect sounds. The Grand Tutor’s voice seemed especially cold: “There is no ruler-minister relationship between us, no need for such grand ceremony—rise.”

This was quite reasonable, but Zheng Xi didn’t comply. Not only did he not stand, he knocked his head against the ground twice with loud thuds, saying through gritted teeth: “This student was foolish, weak and incompetent in the past, unable to help Teacher escape trouble. I was misled by treacherous officials and neglected the state—I am truly ashamed!”

He seemed filled with regret, his voice even choking: “Teacher placed high hopes in me and entrusted me with great responsibility, yet I shamefully repaid kindness with ingratitude, failing both my mentor and the people. Please punish me, Teacher!”

After speaking, he knocked his head three more times with loud thuds, each one forceful enough to draw blood on the pavilion floor.

But Qi Ying was no longer moved by such displays. He looked down at the man kneeling before him, remembering when Zheng Xi and the others had first passed the examinations and he had taken them to Yilou together. At the table, these young men untainted by political machinations had each spoken their minds freely, discussing affairs of state with youthful vigor and high spirits. That idealism had ultimately come to nothing.

Perhaps this was what they called worldly affairs.

Qi Ying was silent for a moment before speaking. Zheng Xi heard his calm voice: “I hope you won’t remain trapped in this anymore.”

The night was cold and clear.

“As for the future,” his voice grew even fainter, “the country needs rebuilding and is in great need of talent. Where I am, there’s no place for your skills—you can rest assured.”

His words were simple, and though they seemed plain at first hearing, listening carefully made them feel heavy, causing Zheng Xi to break out in cold sweat. He buried his head even lower, not daring to say another word.

Moreover, he vaguely felt… his official career was finished.

He didn’t know what he could do now—should he continue pleading his case? Or should he simply give up… He knew he was no worse than Li Wei or Zhang Deci, and more capable than many newly promoted officials. He had simply taken the wrong path.

…One step wrong.

At this moment, the Grand Tutor slowly rose, giving him no further opportunity to explain, and turned to walk out of the pavilion.

Zheng Qingqing hadn’t expected him to leave so readily, without any intention of seeking romance in this man’s cold eyes. She anxiously raised her head to call out to him, and just then he stopped and looked back at her.

She was suddenly filled with hope, but then heard him say indifferently: “Miss Zheng, that beauty mark may suit you, but it’s inappropriate for Miss Zheng—don’t do this again in the future.”

The distance between them was thousands of li. He was different from that woman.

Though Qi Ying tried to walk lightly when returning to the room, the woman sleeping peacefully on the bed was still disturbed when he reached the bedside. She moved lazily, her eyes too drowsy to open, perhaps recognizing his presence by the scent of sweet pine: “You’re back?”

She looked very comfortable sleeping, the quilt properly covering her, her beautiful face with a faint blush from the warmth, which reassured him. His mood improved somewhat.

He softly responded to her and carefully lay down beside her, pulling her into his arms.

Little clingy spirit.

He smiled unconsciously and whispered in her ear: “Sleep.”

She was probably extremely tired, so she only mumbled a response before falling asleep again, breathing steadily, well-behaved and gentle.

He also closed his eyes.

The moon was boundless.