The circumstances of Count Qingyuan’s manor were deteriorating day by day. As a scion of an aristocratic noble family, Yan Lin naturally knew this clearly. The matter of this secondary daughter of the Count’s manor “falling into the water” at the Double Ninth banquet that day could be considered common knowledge. What’s more, there was also Jiang Xuening’s shocking statement at the time.
Old matrons punishing young ladies, servants bullying masters.
Count Qingyuan’s manor had completely lost face.
Only to avoid idle gossip from others, saying their Count’s manor mistreated secondary daughters, they naturally didn’t dare openly make things difficult for this secondary daughter anymore. But the suffering in secret was likely only more, not less.
The Marquis of Yongyi’s manor only had him as a legitimate son, and moreover he was very favored in the palace. Various sinister methods from the inner quarters couldn’t reach him. But though he hadn’t eaten pork, he’d seen pigs run. Yan Lin still understood what kinds of struggles existed in the inner quarters.
After all, Father also had quite a few concubines and illegitimate children.
He felt Ningning was paying too much attention to this secondary daughter of the Count’s manor whom she’d met by chance. He couldn’t help but advise her, “Your heart is too kind. Under heaven, people who are both stupid and clumsy and don’t strive for themselves—who knows how many there are? Having saved someone, that’s enough. Do you really expect her to be completely transformed? One must know that people’s circumstances all have their reasons. If she had capability, she wouldn’t have fallen to that previous state.”
Jiang Xuening withdrew her gaze and said, “Precisely because I was the one who saved her, I care more than I would for ordinary people and hope for her to be better. But you’re also right. I’ve already done all I could. How can I manage any more?”
Having said this, she gently let out a breath.
As if wanting to use this to relieve a certain not-quite-pleasant feeling in her heart.
Only then did she say to Yan Lin, “Let’s still go in and look at the zithers.”
Youhuang Pavilion—just hearing this name, one knew this pavilion was established specifically for zithers.
Though its location was in the midst of the bustling marketplace, an area in the capital that could be considered worth its weight in gold, one still had to go up from the unremarkable ground floor facing the street, following the stairs to the second floor to see that elegantly plain bamboo plaque.
The two characters “Youhuang” were written in pure ink on bamboo.
Only because the zither was an elegant object—among the customers who came to view zithers, those who falsely loved them wanted to affect refinement, while those who truly loved them didn’t join crowds—this kind of decor and style happened to accommodate both.
Yan Lin clearly wasn’t coming here for the first time. With practiced ease, he led Jiang Xuening inside.
Before the incense burner in the corner was a man dressed as a scholar holding incense tongs to tend the incense.
Burning was actually premium baru incense.
The entire Youhuang Pavilion floated with faint fragrance.
That scholar, hearing footsteps, turned his head. Seeing it was Yan Lin, he smiled, only gently setting down those incense tongs. Walking to the copper basin nearby to wash his hands, he said, “The Hereditary Prince has finally come. I was thinking if you didn’t come soon, I’d have to hang those zithers out for sale.”
Yan Lin laughed despite himself. “At least we’re in a zither pavilion. Can you restrain that mercenary air a bit?”
That scholar treated it as nothing, only saying, “Do you think I opened a zither pavilion to do charity? Playing the zither requires bathing, washing hands, burning incense, and you need a good zither besides—which of these doesn’t require money?”
Jiang Xuening only felt this person was extraordinary and couldn’t help but look at him a few more times.
That scholar was thin, with ordinary features. He also glanced at Jiang Xuening, coming to a realization. “So it’s this young lady who wants to view zithers?”
Jiang Xuening didn’t speak.
Yan Lin said without good humor, “Cut the nonsense. Where are the zithers?”
That scholar’s eyebrows raised slightly. He easily sensed Yan Lin’s unusual treatment of this woman. He didn’t withdraw his gaze because of this, but instead looked at Jiang Xuening a few more times before turning to walk into the inner room. He brought out four zithers one by one that had been stored inside, arranging them on the long table in the pavilion. Then he undid the outer zither cases one by one, telling Yan Lin to come look. “Originally I found five zithers. One was newly made by Gu Benyuan from Jiangning, but it arrived late. When my people went, Gu Benyuan had already gifted that new zither to Xie Ju’an.”
Gu Benyuan was currently the most famous zither maker.
Generally speaking, the process of making zithers was extremely complicated. From selecting wood materials to stringing and testing sound, making one zither required at least a year’s time. Those who worked meticulously and particular could take over two years or even three years.
Zither makers were considered craftsmen, making their living from this.
Making one zither every two years would of course lead to starvation, so many zither makers would prepare wood materials and simultaneously craft ten or twenty zithers. Thus though the process of making zithers still required two years, many zithers could be produced in two years.
But Gu Benyuan was already in his sixties this year, approaching seventy. His energy couldn’t compare to those younger zither makers. Unable to simultaneously make many zithers, he basically produced only one or two zithers every two or three years.
Yet people of the time particularly loved pursuing rare things.
In these two years, countless people sought zithers for a thousand gold. Only no one expected that this new zither, whose face hadn’t even been revealed once, whose sound hadn’t leaked even a strand, the old man actually directly gave it to Xie Wei. Who knows how many people secretly gnashed their teeth.
Yan Lin practiced martial arts and didn’t particularly love the zither, but he’d heard of Gu Benyuan’s reputation. For a moment he was also stunned. “Gifted?”
“Yes, given for free.” That scholar finally revealed some dissatisfaction, sneering once. But then he had some schadenfreude. “Wasn’t there recently Prince Pingnan’s rebel faction assassinating court officials in the capital? Xie Ju’an had been making a zither for three years. That day he selected some good zither strings from me, planning to string them and test the sound when he had leisure. But on the way back, who knows how, he went up to that what’s-it-called Cengxiao Tower and encountered rebels. The person was fine, but a new zither whose strings hadn’t even been fully threaded was split with one blade. Tsk, whether his heart is vexed or not, angry or not, we don’t know. But I heard he didn’t attend court for two days. When Gu Benyuan learned of this, he had someone send a zither all the way from Jiangning to the capital to give him. Isn’t this delivering free goods!”
Yan Lin said, “You don’t actually care about the zither, do you?”
That scholar snorted coldly. “If someone bought a zither for a thousand gold, I’d dare turn around and sell it to you for double. Xie Ju’an is cutting off my source of income!”
“Ahem.”
Yan Lin coughed once. He very much wanted to say “does this Hereditary Prince look like the kind of easily-fooled sucker?” But thinking it over, he still didn’t respond.
Xie Wei was the Junior Preceptor to the Crown Prince and currently presided over the court lectures in the palace—he could be considered half his teacher.
But the other party was different.
This scholar was the master of Youhuang Pavilion. Originally he was a presented scholar from the same examination year as Xie Wei, and moreover both were from Jinling. His surname was Lü, given name Xian, courtesy name Zhaoyin. All the way through the examinations, when Xie Wei was first, he was second. When Xie Wei was provincial graduate, he was second. When Xie Wei was metropolitan graduate, he was second. Even entering the Hanlin Academy, he still had to be suppressed by one rank.
People of the time all joked about “Xie first, Lü second.”
Lü Xian came from a poor family background with a stubborn temperament. The more he couldn’t compare, the more he wanted to compete with Xie Wei, and he was quite energetic about it himself.
Unexpectedly, one morning mourning news came from Jinling. Xie Wei returned home for mourning and had to observe three years of mourning. Lü Xian suddenly became first, yet felt the Hanlin Academy was rather uninteresting.
After staying one year, he actually directly resigned his office.
Hearing people say, it seemed he also returned to Jinling.
Four years ago, Xie Wei returned to the court due to supporting the current Emperor Shen Lang’s ascension. Now his official rank reached Junior Preceptor. But Lü Xian seemed to have lost interest in official career. Though he also returned to the capital, he actually opened a zither pavilion to sell zithers, like an idle cloud and wild crane.
Someone who’d entered the Hanlin engaging in such a business was simply unheard of.
Some old acquaintances in the capital couldn’t believe it and came to patronize frequently.
Before long, this zither pavilion became famous throughout court and countryside.
Of course, gradually people discovered that compared to being an upright official, Lü Xian as a “treacherous merchant” was unambiguous. Secretly there was a saying: “A presented scholar selling zithers—you can’t not buy,” showing how shady his business was.
In other words, Lü Xian and Xie Wei were old acquaintances who’d had dealings. Calling him “Xie Ju’an” repeatedly was quite impolite, but Yan Lin, being taught by Xie Wei, had to weigh the two characters of “hierarchy.”
He looked at these four zithers before him and asked, “What about these?”
Lü Xian then introduced them zither by zither. However, throughout most of his gaze was placed on Jiang Xuening, and many words were also spoken to her, obviously knowing where the “key point” of today’s business transaction lay.
Only Jiang Xuening truly didn’t love the zither.
In her previous life when learning zither, all the aristocratic young ladies exerted all their effort to show their faces before Xie Wei. Only she found it bitter and tiring. In the early period, relying on having Yan Lin, in the later period, relying on having Shen Jie, she basically never went to listen to his lectures even a few times.
If you asked her which of these zithers she liked—
She very much wanted to answer: not a single one.
Fortunately, Yan Lin knew she hadn’t studied zither in the manor before. After roughly considering, he chose that ancient zither from over three hundred years ago, named “Jiao’an.” On the zither body, due to years of weathering and playing vibrations, it was already covered with flowing water crack patterns. The natural tones were profound, the harmonics clear and moist.
Only the price was also frightening.
Lü Xian smiled slightly, showing Yan Lin three fingers. Jiang Xuening sucked in a sharp breath.
But Yan Lin treated it as ordinary, having someone bring bank notes to pay. Afterward, he personally slipped on the zither case and handed it into Jiang Xuening’s hands, saying, “Though you’re entering the palace to be the Princess’s companion reader, and Master Xie treats people rather generously, when it comes to learning and the zither, he won’t lightly spare you just because you’re young ladies. Listening to Master Xie’s lectures requires summoning twelve parts of your spirit. He doesn’t often play the zither in the palace. I’ve been fortunate to hear it a few times—it’s extremely good. In the past you didn’t want to learn zither, it must be because the teachers who taught zither weren’t good. This time entering the palace, perhaps you’ll come to like it.”
Therefore, a good zither was necessary.
But hearing this speech, the corners of Jiang Xuening’s eyes twitched slightly. No one knew that after she entered the capital, she absolutely refused to learn zither precisely because of Xie Wei.
Four years ago on the road to the capital, Xie Wei had been holding a zither.
She’d thought this person was truly a distant relative of the Jiang manor, wearing plain white cloth clothes, having nothing besides one zither, looking even sickly. Though riding in the same carriage with her, he didn’t like interacting with people. Most of the time he closed his eyes to rest. Only occasionally when they stopped to rest midway would he play that zither.
Jiang Xuening couldn’t understand it and also found him disagreeable to look at.
At that time she’d just learned of her own background and also knew the family had an “elder sister” whom everyone praised. All along the journey she was deathly afraid of being looked down upon by the maidservants who came from the capital to receive her. Though she hadn’t learned any rules, because of the fear in her heart, she insisted on putting on the airs of a great family’s young lady, for that tiny bit of humble and pitiful “self-respect.”
Young ladies of great families were all high and mighty, imperious.
So she was also high and mighty and imperious toward others. Among these “others” was included “Xie Wei.”
She’d grown up in the countryside and hadn’t learned any rules, but this person’s walking, sitting, and reclining all had method. Whether it was the posture of raising chopsticks when eating together, or the perfect orderliness when resting in the carriage, it all made her uncomfortable to see.
At the time she felt this person was shabby yet still putting on airs.
Only much later was she willing to admit that the reason she was uncomfortable was because even without understanding, she could sense that kind of difference between clouds and mud. And this difference was precisely the difference between her who’d grown up in the countryside and that flourishing capital she was about to reach.
But people are always unwilling to admit things.
Even after becoming Empress later, she was unwilling to see Xie Wei. Moreover, Xie Wei’s name was always connected with the zither, so she was also unwilling to see zithers.
The most fearful, most unbearable moments of her life had all been seen by this person. Just seeing this person would remind her of those past events.
And this was what the her of the previous life was most taboo about.
Who knows how the Xie Wei of that time viewed her?
The current Empress, back then was just a country girl who wouldn’t look like a Crown Prince even wearing dragon robes.
Just thinking of it felt humiliating, so Jiang Xuening always treated this period of the past as if it didn’t exist.
The perceptive Xie Wei probably knew her thoughts.
Even with an extremely high position in court and countryside, frequently entering and exiting the palace, he rarely appeared before her and absolutely never mentioned this.
As for the scar on her wrist, she’d even had the imperial physicians write prescriptions, carefully applying medicine for two years, making it disappear completely.
At this moment, the baru incense in the pavilion was suffusing.
The fragrance was distant, calming people’s hearts.
Jiang Xuening blinked, lowering her eyes to look at this “Jiao’an” handed into her own hands. She suddenly thought: if not for Zhang Zhe, perhaps, until she died and was buried in the earth, she also wouldn’t have mentioned to anyone that she once had the grace of feeding blood to Xie Wei.
However…
It seemed that in her previous life, after the palace upheaval, Xie Wei’s hands were stained with blood, and he never touched the zither again.