Individual tutoring?

That would be terrible!

Jiang Xuening’s heart pounded wildly. Almost without thinking, she said, “There’s no need to trouble Teacher Xie! Since those who weren’t selected have no questions, Xuening certainly has none either. Disturbing Teacher, this is truly presumptuous of me!”

Xie Wei still looked at her. “You really don’t need it?”

Jiang Xuening hurriedly forced out a strained smile, stammering, “N-no need, really no need.”

Only then did Xie Wei calmly withdraw his gaze and said, “Since everyone has no doubts, today’s examination ends here. I only hope that those young ladies who were not fortunate enough to serve as companions to Her Highness the Grand Princess will continue their studies and devote themselves to reading after returning home. For those fortunate enough to remain as companions to Her Highness the Grand Princess, after today you may pack your things and prepare at home for two days. Afterward, you will formally enter the palace as companions. In these few days, I and several gentlemen from the Hanlin Academy will arrange the coursework for Her Highness the Grand Princess and all the companions for the next half year. From now on, you and we shall address each other as teacher and student. I hope you will not slacken either. Having gained this opportunity, you should have something to show for it after half a year.”

Those who weren’t selected sighed quietly.

Those who remained felt a slight tremor in their hearts.

Everyone bowed in unison. “Yes, Teacher.”

With that, they all withdrew from the hall.

Twelve people participated in the examination, and ultimately eight remained: led by Xiao Shu, they were Chen Shuyi, Yao Xi, Zhou Baoying, Fang Miao, You Yue, Yao Rongrong, and Jiang Xuening.

Except for Jiang Xuening with her dejected face, the others were all somewhat happy.

Zhou Baoying had a young girl’s temperament. Unable to contain her excitement, just as they walked out of Fengchen Hall, she started dancing about. “Oh my goodness, I actually passed! And Teacher Xie isn’t at all as stern as Father said! His voice sounds so pleasant! I originally thought being a palace companion would be very harsh, but isn’t this quite nice? It’s all Father’s fault for scaring me!”

Jiang Xuening thought to herself that Zhou Baoying simply hadn’t seen him when he was stern—that would be frightening, to say the least.

Fang Miao, however, walked very naturally to Jiang Xuening’s side, intimately linking arms with her, looking at her almost as if she were her benefactor. “Miss Jiang Second is truly a wonderful person! When I first saw the examination paper distributed earlier, I wanted to hug and kiss you. The books you had me read this morning were all on the exam! If it weren’t for Miss Jiang Second’s guidance, I surely would have been eliminated today!”

Yao Rongrong had also barely passed.

Hearing Fang Miao’s words, she lowered her head too and said timidly, “That’s right, thank you so much, Sister Jiang. It was just like you knew in advance what would be on the exam—your guesses were too accurate.”

When everyone heard Fang Miao’s words, they didn’t think much of it, but upon hearing Yao Rongrong’s statement, their feelings suddenly became subtle.

Xiao Shu, walking in front, suddenly turned back to glance at Yao Rongrong.

Jiang Xuening’s pupils also contracted slightly. For the first time, she seriously considered whether this Yao Rongrong was genuinely unable to speak properly by nature, or doing it deliberately.

She scrutinized Yao Rongrong, but the other still appeared soft and timid, not even daring to raise her gaze very high, making people feel she was both shrinking and pitiful.

Fang Miao also frowned and said, “How can you be so tactless when you speak?”

Yao Rongrong immediately shrank back again.

Fang Miao couldn’t really say anything more to her. Feeling inexplicably stifled with a breath stuck in her chest that she couldn’t release, she could only turn back to Jiang Xuening and say, “But Miss Jiang Second is truly formidable. Most of us are having such close contact with Teacher Xie for the first time, yet you actually had the courage to stand up and ask Teacher Xie to review your paper. I was truly terrified then! I thought, what if Teacher Xie punished you?”

Hearing the meaning in her words, Jiang Xuening thought she had found a rare ally.

But unexpectedly—

Fang Miao’s next sentence took a sudden turn. With a beaming smile, she said, “But Teacher Xie truly has such a good temperament! He had absolutely no intention of holding you accountable. Not only was he affable, he even said he would tutor you individually. What a gentlemanly gentleman. To encounter such a teacher, our luck is too good!”

Jiang Xuening: “…”

All the words that hadn’t yet made it out of her mouth were completely stuck in her throat.

Chen Shuyi, who had rarely spoken before, also unusually expressed her agreement, softly echoing, “My father said that Teacher Xie’s conduct in dealing with people is beyond reproach. Only in matters of scholarship does he never compromise. After entering the palace, as long as we treat our studies seriously, surely Teacher Xie will absolutely not intentionally make things difficult for anyone. He is an extremely good teacher. Father also said that if I could learn even a fraction of his knowledge, this arduous trip to the palace would not be in vain.”

Hearing these words, Jiang Xuening suddenly realized a predicament she had never anticipated before: at this moment in time, Xie Wei had absolutely no connection whatsoever to the word “traitor.” He had neither exposed his decisive and ruthless side, nor bared his fangs of hatred toward the Xiao clan or the imperial family. In everyone’s eyes, he was an irreproachable sage, a virtuous and dignified saint. Only she, wholeheartedly believed he was a bad person, so no one could understand how guarded, wary, and even fearful she was of Xie Wei.

The scene beneath Cengxiao Tower that day, where Xie Wei promised that assassin “I absolutely will not harm your life,” remained vivid in her mind. Yet when that assassin showed himself, an arrow mercilessly pierced through his skull!

And Xie Wei’s face remained utterly calm throughout.

As if he had never made any promise to the assassin at all.

Such a deeply scheming, deceitful person was about to become her teacher very soon, after he already had some suspicions about her! The imperial palace was precisely an environment where one wrong step could lead to disaster. How could she possibly escape unscathed from this deadly situation?

Just thinking about it made Jiang Xuening feel cold all over.

Walking along, her footsteps came to a halt.

Fang Miao and the others were discussing amongst themselves what things they should prepare before leaving the palace and re-entering it. Just as they wanted to ask Jiang Xuening what fun things she would bring, when they turned around, they discovered she was gone and were immediately surprised. “Eh, Miss Jiang Second?”

Jiang Xuening stood beneath that tall palace wall, completely motionless.

When Fang Miao walked closer to look, she discovered that Jiang Xuening’s expression was actually changing constantly, as if she were in the midst of an intense internal struggle, about to make an extremely difficult decision. Fang Miao couldn’t help but be startled. “Are you alright?”

Jiang Xuening pressed her lips into a straight line, then suddenly raised her head. “I’m going back to find Teacher Xie.”

Fang Miao’s eyes widened. “Go back to find Teacher Xie?”

Jiang Xuening grasped her hand, saying solemnly, “If after two quarters of an hour I still haven’t returned to Yangzhi Studio, please, Miss Fang, you must come to Fengchen Hall to rescue me!”

Fang Miao was completely bewildered. She was just about to say “What danger could you possibly encounter going back to find Teacher Xie that would require me to ‘rescue’ you?” But after finishing this instruction, Jiang Xuening had already released her hand directly, resolutely turned around, lifted her skirt hem, and rapidly walked back!

In no time at all, she had circled back around the palace wall and re-entered Fengchen Hall.

At this moment, Xie Wei was just rolling up the answer sheets on the desk. After exchanging a few words with the other three teachers, he was about to go to the side hall when, upon raising his head, he saw that figure reappearing at the hall entrance.

The several teachers also saw her and couldn’t help but be startled. They hesitantly glanced at Xie Wei. “Xie Shaoshi?”

Xie Wei also hadn’t expected that Jiang Xuening would dare to return.

He smiled at the others and said, “I’ll stay behind to handle this. You gentlemen may leave first. When we arrive at the Hanlin Academy tomorrow, we can discuss the teaching content then—it won’t be too late.”

The several teachers originally didn’t particularly want to get involved in this matter of teaching the princess to read. Moreover, they hadn’t seen Jiang Xuening’s answer sheet, so they only assumed this female student wanted to protest on behalf of one of the eliminated companions. They wanted to avoid this even more. Hearing Xie Wei say this, they all bid farewell and left the hall.

With a wave of Xie Wei’s hand, the palace attendants also all withdrew.

What had moments ago been a hall with quite a few people suddenly became cold and deserted.

Xie Wei’s figure in his Daoist robe appeared somewhat refined and transcendent in the half-bright, half-dark light of the hall. His expression calm, he only said, “What Miss Ning Second wants to ask about is probably not someone else’s answer sheet, but rather your own answer sheet, correct?”

Jiang Xuening had been afraid for too long, and a perverse anger had risen in her heart.

This matter of entering the palace had been beyond her expectations from the very beginning.

First, Yan Lin had interfered, forcefully making Shen Zhiyi submit her name. Then Shen Zhiyi went to smooth things over with the Ministry of Rites, having her selected to enter the palace as a companion, even instructing the palace’s female officials not to make things difficult for her.

When it came to Xie Wei, she had thought there would be a turning point.

After all, if nothing else, this person’s strict scholarship was famous.

But she never could have imagined that after she handed in such an unscholarly and heterodox answer sheet, Xie Wei would let her pass as if he were blind!

Where had this man surnamed Xie’s scholarly integrity gone?!

The experiences of this life were gradually overlapping with those of her previous life. The vague feeling that she couldn’t change anything, this anger, gradually overcame her fear of Xie Wei, and also gave her, in this extreme困境, a bit of courage to demand answers.

Thus, Jiang Xuening stood in the hall without retreating a single step. In an almost interrogating posture, she said coldly, “Everyone says Teacher Xie has the legacy of the sages and is strict in scholarship. Apart from loving the qin, you love books. But today, Xuening knows her learning is shallow, and her answer sheet was nothing but nonsense. How is it that those who answered better than me have left, while I, who was a complete mess, can remain instead?”

Xie Wei smiled faintly. “Miss Ning Second has dropped the pretense.”

Jiang Xuening said nothing.

Xie Wei simply picked out her answer sheet from the pile on the desk, held it between his fingertips, shook it once, and then read aloud, “Confucius said: ‘Heaven has endowed me with virtue; what can Huan Tui do to me?’ Please compose an essay on the character ‘virtue.’ Miss Ning Second wrote in her answer sheet that Confucius, virtue, and Huan Tui have no connection. That Huan Tui couldn’t kill Confucius was because Huan Tui was useless—he chopped down trees but not people. That Confucius could escape was because Confucius and his disciples were quick to perceive danger and also ran fast. This was fundamentally a matter unrelated to ‘virtue’ and cannot be used as the basis for an essay. She also wrote, ‘Who says Huan Tui couldn’t do anything to Confucius? Beheading, quartering, roasting—there are plenty of methods to deal with him. One could wash Confucius clean, sprinkle salt on him, and put him in a steamer until tender. Or one could marinate and coat Confucius in flour, place him in a wok of oil, and fry him until golden…'”

His voice was extremely pleasant to hear.

But the more pleasant it was, the more chilling it became when he calmly read these lines aloud.

“…”

Jiang Xuening suddenly felt that the bit of death-courting courage that had just emerged was beginning to recede from her body.

Xie Wei had never taught such a troublesome “student” before. After finishing reading, he raised his head to look at her. “I have read the books of sages for so many years, yet I never knew Confucius could be prepared in these eighteen different ways. Why didn’t Miss Ning Second also include eating him raw with seasoning? While you may not have learned much about principles from reading, you surprisingly have quite some insight into the culinary arts.”

This statement clearly had a mocking flavor to it.

Jiang Xuening felt uncomfortable hearing it and instinctively retorted, “In the culinary arts, before Teacher Xie, how would I dare to show off my—”

The character “axe” stuck in her throat. She suddenly felt a chill surge up from the soles of her feet, traveling along her spine straight to the back of her neck, making her shiver!

This was bad…

She shouldn’t have brought up this topic!

“…”

Xie Wei’s slender fingers gripping that answer sheet tensed for a moment, the bent contours seeming to be filled with some kind of undercurrent ready to explode at any moment.

However, it was only for an instant before they relaxed.

He methodically placed the answer sheet back down, only slightly curving up the corners of his lips, saying gently, “I originally thought Miss Ning Second had forgotten about what happened four years ago. I didn’t expect you still remember it.”

Jiang Xuening’s entire body was trembling. She wanted to run, but her reason controlled her, making her feet seem nailed to the ground, unable to move even a step. Forcing herself to remain calm, she said, “It was Xuening who was discourteous, speaking carelessly for a moment. I hope Teacher will forgive me. Today, Xuening came only to clarify the matter of the answer sheet. Please, Teacher Xie, explain the reason.”

Xie Wei spoke very politely. “Miss Ning Second’s answer sheet does indeed appear different from ordinary people’s. Her thinking is rather unconventional, unrestrained like a galloping horse. If other teachers had seen it, they certainly would not have let Second Miss pass. But Xie is untalented, and I actually discovered that Miss Ning Second has also read quite a few books. The phrase ‘when a common man is insulted’ comes from ‘Commentary on the Marquis of Liu.’ ‘When a common man is enraged, blood splatters within five steps’ comes from ‘Strategies of the Warring States.’ Ordinary daughters from inner chambers don’t read such books. To dare say Confucius spoke nonsense—it turns out Miss Ning Second’s ability to speak nonsense is also quite remarkable.”

Jiang Xuening’s heart turned half cold.

Xie Wei then rolled up that stack of answer sheets again and said, “Although people say rotten wood cannot be carved, since Xie serves as a teacher, I must carve into it before knowing whether there’s a piece of gold or jade hidden inside. What does Miss Ning Second think?”

After Jiang Xuening became Empress in her previous life, especially during that period of struggle with Xiao Shu, she had indeed earnestly read quite a few books, fearing that one day her schemes might not be clever enough and she would be pulled down from the Empress’s throne.

She hadn’t even studied so diligently when she was a palace companion back then.

When people become accustomed to what they know, they don’t notice anything unusual about phrases they commonly use. That’s why when arguing on the answer sheet earlier, she had used these without any guard as evidence to refute the sage’s words.

Little did she know, just as Xie Wei said, what ordinary daughters read these things?!

Her eyes flickered for a moment as she racked her brain trying to find a suitable excuse for herself.

But unexpectedly, Xie Wei had already picked up the answer sheets and descended from the dais.

When he reached her side, his footsteps paused slightly, and he actually said, “Are you now thinking about what kind of reason you need to find to convince Xie not to let this answer sheet of yours pass, so you can escape being a companion and leave the palace to return home?”

Seeing him approach, Jiang Xuening couldn’t help but retreat half a step.

But Xie Wei actually laughed. “If so, there’s really no need to waste any effort on Xie. First, a few days ago, your honorable father already asked Xie to take extra care of Miss Ning Second in the palace. Second, yesterday Young Master Yan came to ask me to copy an examination paper for him and also requested that Xie properly teach Miss Ning Second. Third, as the ancients said, one should repay even the smallest favor with a gushing spring…”

Jiang Xuening instinctively raised her eyes to look at him.

That ominous premonition again.

Xie Wei’s brows and eyes were completely calm. In his single blue robe, he had the towering grandeur of lofty mountains. He only said, “Miss Ning Second has been selected as a companion for several days now. Have you really not heard? The selection of the list of palace companions, though submitted by each family and selected by the Ministry of Rites, still requires the Ministry of Rites’ finalized list to be sent to Xie for review and approval before it can be issued. In other words, your name was checked over once by Xie long ago.”

If he didn’t agree…

Anyone’s name could be struck from the list!

These words were like a thunderbolt falling, instantly stunning Jiang Xuening.

There was actually Xie Wei’s involvement too!

Thus, that previous doubt of “who exactly is trying to get me into the palace” was thoroughly and completely answered, giving her a nearly collapsing enlightenment—

It turned out it wasn’t “who is trying to get me,” but rather “everyone is trying to get me.”

Jiang Xuening’s entire head became a tangled mess for a moment.

She wanted to curse.

But Xie Wei quietly looked at her, a few threads of deep thought passing through his eyes. He suddenly smiled. “You’re so unwilling to enter the palace as a companion—are you afraid I’ll kill you to silence you?”