Recently, the qin lessons had basically been teaching right-hand finger techniques. After learning each technique, they were given corresponding qin pieces to practice. Xie Wei’s requirements were very strict—no one dared to be careless.

Even Shen Zhiyi was very well-behaved in class.

Only Jiang Xuening, during today’s class, stared with her eyes wide open. Since she wasn’t allowed to touch the qin anyway, she simply sat in the corner of the back third row, coldly eyeing Xie Wei, as if wanting to bore a hole through him with her gaze.

For a moment, Xie Wei didn’t understand what she was trying to do.

Fortunately, Jiang Xuening hadn’t rested well for two nights in a row. Her eyes felt somewhat sore. After glaring at him for a while, drowsiness surged up. Before long, she couldn’t hold on anymore and yawned. Being able to persist without closing her eyes and collapsing onto the desk to sleep already required tremendous willpower—she couldn’t muster any more energy to glare at him.

Another class passed in a daze.

When class ended, everyone already knew that Jiang Xuening learning qin always meant being dragged along by Teacher Xie. No one wanted to stay here and spend more time with him, so they all scattered in a flash.

But Jiang Xuening couldn’t escape.

Xie Wei walked down from the hall carrying his qin, and asked: “Why were you glaring at me?”

Jiang Xuening had finally made it through class and was just about to yawn when hearing these words, she had no choice but to forcibly hold it back and defend herself: “How could that be? You must have seen wrong. How would this student dare do such a thing?”

Xie Wei said flatly: “Not only dare to do it, but now dare to lie about it too.”

Jiang Xuening forced a smile: “Then it must be that this student was earnestly listening to your lecture, momentarily engrossed, harboring such admiration for you that I stared blankly.”

Xie Wei remained unmoved: “Is that so?”

Seeing his indifferent manner, Jiang Xuening grew irritated. She immediately recalled how this person had frowned earlier saying she “didn’t look good,” and so secretly harbored some vengeful thoughts. Smiling exceptionally sweetly, she said: “It could also be that Teacher Xie’s lecture today was dry and boring, extremely poor, so this student listened in complete confusion and unconsciously could only stare at you.”

Xie Wei: “…”

Dry and boring, listened in complete confusion!

If previously his entire person had maintained a composed manner, after hearing these two sentences from Jiang Xuening, his expression immediately darkened, and even the temperature in his eyes dropped several degrees.

No one had ever evaluated him this way—

Since returning to the capital four years ago and presiding over court lectures at the Wenyuan Pavilion, whether teachers or students, whether colleagues or the Emperor, everyone praised him highly. This was the first time he had encountered such a troublemaker as Jiang Xuening who could lie with her eyes wide open.

His heart caught for a moment. Xie Wei’s thin lips pressed into a flat, straight line. For an instant, he wanted to lose his temper.

But when his gaze fell back on Jiang Xuening, though the impulse came, he restrained it.

He said unperturbed: “Spacing out and nearly falling asleep yourself, unable to understand, yet blaming the teacher for not knowing how to teach—that’s quite a skill.”

Jiang Xuening’s smile didn’t change: “You’re right.”

Almost shameless in flavor—whatever Xie Wei said, that’s what it was.

Xie Wei was too lazy to quibble with her, so he walked toward the hall entrance.

But unexpectedly, the moment he turned around, Jiang Xuening lightly bit her teeth behind his back and muttered in a small voice: “A crude fellow who can’t even get himself a wife, with no appreciation—yet still has the gall to say I don’t look good! How capable you are!”

“What did you say?”

Xie Wei’s footsteps halted. He directly turned his head back to look at her.

The back of Jiang Xuening’s neck went cold. She hurriedly clutched her qin and caught up, as if the person who had just been muttering wasn’t her at all. Extraordinarily obsequious, she walked to Xie Wei’s side and said: “This student said she herself is just a crude fellow who doesn’t know how to appreciate anything. Fortunately, Teacher Xie is kind-hearted and willing to give me extra guidance. Let’s go learn qin now.”

“…”

Did he really think he was hard of hearing?

Xie Wei stared at her for quite a while, feeling this student had a bit of that “if you don’t discipline for three days, she’ll tear the roof tiles off” restless energy. Recalling the various domineering rumors about her in the marketplaces over the years, he only felt he should restrain her a bit, lest she think him easy to get along with and become increasingly presumptuous.

But when about to lose his temper, he saw her looking at him with bright, sparkling eyes.

This appearance was truly the picture of obedience.

The reprimanding words reached Xie Wei’s lips but couldn’t be spoken. In the end, he swallowed them back, only flicked his wide sleeve, and said: “As long as you know who is teacher and who is student, that’s good. Let’s go.”

He turned around.

Jiang Xuening stuck her tongue out at his back before following.

They arrived again at the side hall of Fengchen Hall.

Xie Wei placed Emei on another qin table, only saying: “These past days, the teaching has all been right-hand finger techniques. Having finished teaching today, you should by rights have a slight understanding of right-hand techniques and be able to play the corresponding qin pieces. When I played the qin in the hall, you sat very far away and probably couldn’t see the finger techniques clearly. So now I’ll play once more. You must carefully observe the details of the finger techniques. After I finish playing, you’ll practice and play it once for me to hear.”

Jiang Xuening immediately felt overwhelmed.

But Xie Wei only asked her: “Did you understand?”

Jiang Xuening sat before her own qin table and very sincerely nodded, saying: “I understood.”

The Way of the Qin, for Xie Wei, came as easily as breathing.

He played “Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon,” which he had demonstrated for everyone in the main hall of Fengchen Hall today.

The qin music flowed like gurgling water.

This kind of qin piece suitable for practicing finger techniques had a simple and light rhythm, like water droplets bouncing on clear spring water, or like bamboo leaves drifting down along a stream. It wasn’t complex—when played by Xie Wei, it already had a flavor of returning to simplicity.

When playing the qin, he was always single-mindedly focused.

When the music finally ended, he slowly lowered both palms, pressing down the lingering notes of this leisurely piece, raised his head and said: “Did you see clea—”

The two characters “rly” got stuck in his throat, abruptly cutting off.

Xie Wei’s expression suddenly became extremely poor—

At the qin table beside him, Jiang Xuening, who had been sitting upright when they first came in, who moments ago had opened her eyes wide and answered “I understood,” had at some unknown point collapsed entirely.

The qin table was only so big.

After her face collapsed onto it, the Zhang Jiao’an ancient qin resting on top was squeezed askew to one side. Her two arms were raised to pillow under her head, her eyes had long since closed, and even her breathing had become even.

She had actually fallen directly asleep!

Xie Wei’s fingers still pressed on the qin strings suddenly became somewhat heavy. Fearing he might accidentally snap a string if not careful, he slowly lifted his fingers.

His expression also slowly became blank.

There was no disciplinary ruler in the side hall, but on the writing desk was placed today’s sheet music. He stood up, picked up that music book, rolled it along its spine in his palm into a cylinder, and walked toward Jiang Xuening, wanting to wake her.

Only when he walked over, stood beside her, and raised that music book rolled into a tube shape, wanting to “invite” her to wake up, for some reason, he paused.

Palace attire was complex—it looked splendid, but wearing it was heavy.

Yet the young lady’s figure was very slender.

When standing or sitting, with spine held straight, eyes glancing about brilliantly—it didn’t seem like much. But at this moment, pillowing her own arms, collapsed like this sleeping on the narrow qin table, she naturally curled herself into a small bundle.

This splendid palace attire thus suddenly seemed like a suit of hard armor.

But hidden inside…

Was only a fragile little thing.

The young lady must have been extremely tired. Even beneath the powder dusted under her eyelids, one could see traces of weary, pale blue.

Eyes closed, fine brows lowered.

Some of the bright lip rouge had smudged onto the palace attire’s sleeve due to her collapsed position, looking like several fallen flower petals, or like a dropped paintbrush that had randomly streaked across paper.

A string of fine purple glass eardrops rested beside her ear against her cheek.

The light from outside wasn’t very bright. Passing through that translucent purple glass, it refracted several strands of gentle and brilliant light, reflecting onto her snow-white skin.

These past days when he lectured in the hall, Jiang Xuening had always listened with ears perked.

Even when called to this side hall to practice, she had always been obedient without complaint.

But today, the moment he wasn’t paying attention, she had collapsed and fallen asleep.

Xie Wei’s gaze fell on her curled and thick eyelashes, and also on her slightly furrowed brows. He only wondered if she was having some nightmare. After a long while, he ultimately withdrew the sheet music that was just about to tap her head. But standing beside the deeply sleeping young lady, for a moment he didn’t quite know what to do.

Such a troublesome student…

This really was the first time teaching one.

If he had known it would be like this, why give himself this trouble? Whether Jiang Xuening learned badly or not—what did it have to do with him anyway…

He sneered inwardly.

Though he couldn’t help wondering if this little girl had played and made noise too late last night without knowing to rest, which was why she was so sleepy today, ever since experiencing that incident with “Admonitions for Women” and misunderstanding her once, he would never again rashly jump to conclusions so easily.

After standing beside her for quite a while, Xie Wei couldn’t resist—he shook his head and smiled soundlessly.

He actually didn’t plan to wake her, letting her sleep.

Only he hadn’t expected that the moment he turned around, preparing to take advantage of this time to continue handling some official documents, someone outside knocked on the door, saying to those inside: “Teacher Xie, His Majesty is in Qianqing Palace currently in conference and requests you come over.”

It was a somewhat deep eunuch’s voice.

Probably completely not expecting someone inside might be sleeping, the voice was somewhat loud, without any attempt to lower it.

Xie Wei frowned as soon as he heard and subconsciously turned his head to look at Jiang Xuening.

Jiang Xuening was in a dream, barefoot in the water catching shrimp. Just as she was happily occupied, she heard “Qianqing Palace” and froze. That big shrimp thus slipped out from her hands. She grew anxious, lunged forward forcefully, her head following with a nod forward, and immediately woke up.

Her whole person still hadn’t reacted.

She sat up abruptly, only shouting: “My fish! My shrimp!”

Then looking up, she met Xie Wei’s eyes that had suddenly become complex and indescribable.

Jiang Xuening: “…”

The qin was placed before her, Xie Wei stood before her.

She suddenly felt her heart go ice cold through and through, and she herself also went ice cold through and through.

Recalling how he had earlier suspected she was having a nightmare, Xie Wei suddenly felt he had been somewhat excessively benevolent lately. At this moment, he only looked at her quietly and smiled slightly: “You have your fish, you have your shrimp. How about I go to the Imperial Kitchen and request a chef for Second Miss Ning to prepare a feast of delicacies from land and sea?”