What was that expression?

Jiang Xuening looked at him somewhat suspiciously, inexplicably feeling a bit cowardly, only suspecting she had said something wrong: “Then shall I eat one?”

Xie Wei: “…”

Jiang Xuening immediately changed her tune: “Then I won’t eat after all.”

Xie Wei suddenly felt this was somewhat amusing.

But he wasn’t laughing at Jiang Xuening.

He was laughing at himself.

Inexplicably, he shook his head, looking at the tea in his palm, but thought of Yan Lin, saying, “Willful nature, bad temper, and no sense of propriety either—I don’t know what possessed Yan Lin.”

Why bring up Yan Lin out of the blue?

And wondering why Yan Lin fancied her?

Jiang Xuening twitched the corner of her mouth and muttered quietly, “So that’s why Yan Lin has someone who loves him, and you don’t have a wife.”

But the moment the words left her mouth, she saw Xie Wei’s eyes lift. She immediately said, “You’re right. I’m unlearned and unskilled. I’m not worthy of Young Master Yan.”

“…”

This appearance of harboring resentment yet not daring to argue with him was quite amusing to see. But just as the corners of Xie Wei’s lips curved up a bit, they somehow sank back down.

Yan Lin.

The Yongyi Marquis household.

The coming-of-age ceremony.

Unknowingly, the day was already very near.

Having said those words, Jiang Xuening almost simultaneously realized this point. The relaxed expression on her face also fell into silence.

She still remembered the coming-of-age ceremony from her previous life.

At that time, she knew nothing about the situation in court and country, nor did she know the Yongyi Marquis household was already in dire straits. She had already firmly resolved to strive to become Empress but hadn’t yet reached the point of putting it into action. So she was still very playful with a childish temper, pondering how to find an especially good birthday gift for Yan Lin.

As a result, unexpectedly, she missed the appointed time midway that day.

She was late.

By the time her carriage arrived at the Marquis residence, the entire mansion was already soaked in blood reaching the heavens, with armor gleaming cold. Inside was a scene of wailing and crying. The nobles who had gone to attend the banquet were scared pale and weak-kneed, fleeing out as if running for their lives.

She grabbed someone and asked, “What happened? What’s going on?”

No one answered her.

So she took the birthday gift she had prepared and tried to go in to find people.

But the soldiers blocked her.

She desperately wanted to go in.

However, at this time, a severed head rolled out from inside, falling on the steps, splattering blood everywhere. She was immediately terrified. Turning her head to look, those people holding swords were all coldly watching her.

She didn’t know who pulled her, but finally someone pulled her back.

After returning home, she fell ill.

Which is to say, in her previous life, she hadn’t even been able to attend Yan Lin’s coming-of-age ceremony.

Later, Yan Lin had misunderstood that she was avoiding trouble, that knowing the Marquis household had met disaster, she had deliberately not come.

After all, not long after, she told him she wanted to become Empress.

Later, that former youth who had already experienced wind, frost, rain, and snow, returning to the capital披着荣光 as a general, stood in her magnificent palace hall, gently pressed her shoulder, helped her remove the golden hair ornament from her head, and said to her: “That day, I waited for Your Majesty for a very long time. Standing in the hall, watching each guest who stepped in, full of anticipation, always thinking maybe the next one would be you. But I waited for one after another, looked at one after another. Prince Linzi came—you didn’t come. Teacher Xie came—you didn’t come. Even Xiao Shu came—you didn’t come. But I thought, Ningning promised me, so she would definitely come. So I waited and waited, waited and waited. I waited until heavy troops surrounded the residence, waited until the imperial edict confiscated the household, waited until blood flowed on the steps, but never waited for you…”

Jiang Xuening had no way to defend herself.

Or rather, for that former youth who had fallen into hatred and darkness, all explanations appeared pale.

She could only silently close her eyes.

All the past life events suddenly surged back like a tide. After a while, Jiang Xuening slowly looked toward the tea cup in her hand.

The calm tea liquor was like a small water mirror, reflecting the figure of Xie Wei sitting opposite her.

She asked, “For Yan Lin’s coming-of-age ceremony, I heard Teacher Xie will give him his courtesy name.”

Xie Wei said flatly, “Mm.”

Men receive the cap at twenty, after which they can establish families and careers.

Receiving the cap means receiving a courtesy name, used to explain one’s given name and express one’s aspirations.

Men born to noble families would basically invite distinguished scholars and renowned scholars to give them courtesy names at their coming-of-age ceremony. Though Xie Wei’s age couldn’t compare to other distinguished scholars in the literary world, he was the Junior Preceptor who presided over the classics mat lectures at the Wenyuan Pavilion. In the past, she had never heard of anyone who could invite him to provide enlightenment instruction or give them a courtesy name.

Yan Lin seemed to be the first.

Also the only one so far.

But Jiang Xuening actually didn’t know what Yan Lin’s courtesy name was in her previous life. Had it been given?

After the Yongyi Marquis household met disaster, all topics related to the Yan clan became taboo. No one dared mention them.

After Yan Lin returned to court, no one could be intimate enough to call him by his courtesy name.

Perhaps there were such people, but she didn’t know.

Xie Wei observed her for a moment, saying, “Now all the great families in the capital know the Yongyi Marquis household’s situation is dire. Though coming-of-age ceremony invitations were sent, few responded. You don’t look like someone with a kind heart either—will you go when the time comes?”

Jiang Xuening looked at him, saying, “Yan Lin is my best friend.”

So no matter what the circumstances, she would go. And in this life, she wouldn’t be late again, wouldn’t miss the appointed time, wouldn’t disappoint that youth again.

After hearing this, Xie Wei raised his eyebrow and actually let out a soft snort.

Best friend?

He didn’t know if he had something he wanted to say. In any case, he shook his head and ultimately didn’t say it. He also seemed to have lost interest in drinking tea. He only set down the tea cup in his hand, saying, “Practice the qin.”

Jiang Xuening’s tea actually wasn’t finished, but she wasn’t very thirsty anyway. After talking about this topic, the fire from her earlier quarrel with Yao Xi easily vanished completely.

What replaced it was heaviness.

She set down the tea cup and sat before the qin table to practice, still playing “Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon” as the opening exercise.

Yesterday she had played it well. By rights, today should be even better.

But unexpectedly, it wasn’t as smooth as yesterday at all. Halting and stumbling, after just a few phrases she played a wrong note.

Xie Wei turned his head to look at her.

Jiang Xuening stopped at once, looking at her slender fingers pressed on the qin strings. They trembled lightly beyond her control, causing even the strings pressed beneath them to vibrate.

She slowly moved her fingers away, folding and clasping them tightly before her body.

But that trembling sensation transmitted from her fingertips to her heart.

She lowered her head and closed her eyes.

For the first time, Xie Wei didn’t reproach her for anything, only saying flatly, “If you can’t calm down, don’t play.”

Yan Lin’s coming-of-age ceremony was imminent…

Not mentioning it would have been fine, but once mentioned, how could she calm her mind?

Jiang Xuening only felt a cold heaviness at the bottom of her heart, pressed by something weighty, unable to catch her breath. Even the spirited expression from when she had quarreled with Yao Xi earlier had lost its luster. She answered lowly, “Yes.”

Fengchen Palace fell silent again.

Xie Wei looked at official documents at the desk, but didn’t seem to be reading them very well either.

Jiang Xuening sat in a daze before the qin table. Before long, her spirit wandered beyond the heavens.

After about two quarter-hours, a eunuch came from outside again with something to report to Xie Wei.

But seeing Jiang Xuening inside, he didn’t speak.

So Xie Wei stood up and said to Jiang Xuening, “Brew tea and read by yourself. Rest for a bit.”

Having said this, he walked out from the hall.

That young eunuch followed him to the corridor, lowering his voice to report something.

Jiang Xuening couldn’t hear clearly.

Xie Wei’s matters—she didn’t dare to listen to them either.

Having sat blankly before the qin for a long time, she hadn’t noticed while spacing out, but coming back to her senses, she felt her body was somewhat stiff.

This Jiao’an qin had been gifted by Yan Lin.

The youth’s ardent and sincere face still floated on the surface of memory’s waters. But the more this was so, the more stifled she felt looking at this qin. So she still stood up and simply truly sat at that tea table, reheating water to brew tea.

That dish of peach pastries still sat in its original place.

Jiang Xuening happened to see it.

When drinking the first steeping of tea, she didn’t touch them. Drinking the second steeping, she felt her stomach somewhat empty and bitter. By the time the tea reached the third steeping, she finally felt she needed to eat something. So she extended her hand toward that dish of peach pastries.

Snow-white slices, one after another, dotted in the middle with some whole peach kernels.

At first glance, they seemed about the same as yesterday’s.

But looking carefully, each peach kernel seemed larger than yesterday’s?

The palace cooks weren’t good at other things, but all kinds of pastries were made to look very attractive and smelled very delicious, though the feeling after eating them might be different from what you imagined.

But this was in the palace, after all.

Who cared if it was truly delicious?

Holding a thin slice of peach pastry in her hand, Jiang Xuening stared at it for a long time, mentally grumbling, then finally casually stuffed it in her mouth.

The glutinous rice was all kneaded together. Beyond being tender and resilient, it didn’t lack softness.

Sweet but not cloying, refreshing but not bitter.

This taste…

At first she didn’t pay attention, but when the flavor spread across her tongue, Jiang Xuening’s eyelid truly jumped. She nearly scared herself to death by choking. Her hand shook and she almost knocked over the tea cup!

Never mind what flavor this peach pastry was!

In any case, it wasn’t made by the palace cooks!

In her last life, she had all the pastry chefs in the palace try, and not one could make the flavor she wanted to eat!

In this life, the palace hadn’t changed head chefs—it would be even more impossible!

Then this dish…

Jiang Xuening only felt what she had just eaten was probably poison. She raised her hand to press her eyelid and also press her heart, wishing she could vomit out that slice she had just eaten!

Heavens, what had she done!

That same phrase again—how dare she eat even Xie Wei’s things!!

Who knows, he might be using this dish of peach pastries to test whether she still remembered those events from four years ago?

Xie Wei was ruthless and vicious.

It was all because his attitude had been too amiable recently, causing her to habitually take a mile when given an inch, losing her vigilance!

Calm down.

Calm down.

It was just one slice.

Xie Wei hadn’t necessarily counted them.

To the naked eye, this dish looked no different from before.

Rearrange it a bit more, and you wouldn’t be able to tell.

Jiang Xuening hurriedly reached out and rearranged that dish of peach pastries, concealing the gap left from taking one slice.

Then she waited for Xie Wei to return.

But after waiting a long time, Xie Wei still hadn’t returned.

Jiang Xuening vaguely smelled that faintly sweet fragrance again. Originally looking down at the tea water, her eyeballs turned to glance at the peach pastries, then turned back. Then glanced again, and turned back again.

Actually…

This dish looked quite plentiful?

Eating one more slice, you wouldn’t necessarily be able to tell.

She twisted her head to glance toward the side hall entrance, listening to those fragmentary talking sounds that hadn’t yet stopped. Her courage grew somewhat. She stealthily reached out again, snatched out a slice from the dish, and quickly stuffed it in her mouth.

Looking again at that dish of peach pastries.

Good, very good, no flaws. Just that slice on the left looked somewhat abrupt, inexplicably eye-catching.

Jiang Xuening felt she couldn’t let it sit there like that. If it was so eye-catching and attracted Xie Wei’s attention, that wouldn’t be good.

Throw it away?

That would be too wasteful.

So she might as well eat it. This didn’t count as her stealing food, nor did she really want to eat it—it was to make this dish of peach pastries look normal!

She swore, after eating this one slice, she truly wouldn’t eat anymore. Eating more would get someone killed!

But this kind of thing called stealing food…

Where there’s one, there’s two; where there’s two, there’s three. Where there’s three, addiction isn’t far off. Moreover, eating slice by slice, you really couldn’t tell much difference between this plate of peach pastries now and before…

The sinful little paw reached out once again.

“Really, the last slice, the last slice!”

Jiang Xuening made a vow over the tenth slice of peach pastry in her hand, then bit down.

At this time, Xie Wei happened to enter from outside. He didn’t hear clearly, only saying, “What last?”

“Cough cough cough!”

Jiang Xuening was so frightened she shuddered. The peach pastry she had just eaten, before she could even swallow, got stuck in her throat!

She hurriedly poured herself half a cup of tea, only then avoiding the danger of choking to death. Turning around, she said, “Noth-nothing. I was saying this is the last steeping of tea and wondering why Teacher Xie hadn’t returned yet.”

Xie Wei approached and looked. She had indeed brewed tea, but…

Had this dish of peach pastries originally been this sparse?

He looked at Jiang Xuening with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

Jiang Xuening followed his gaze and looked. The small dish that had originally held the pastries…

When had the arrangement become so sparse?

No no no no problem!

Maybe Xie Wei was blind!

She smiled awkwardly: “I was a bit hungry just now, so I ate a little, just a little…”

Xie Wei raised his eyebrow: “You take me for blind?”

Jiang Xuening bit her teeth: “A bit more than a little.”

So Xie Wei said, “Oh,” then asked, “How did they taste?”

Jiang Xuening thought to herself she absolutely couldn’t remember the flavor from back then. Opening her eyes, she told a bare-faced lie: “About the same as yesterday. The palace cooks are just full of fancy tricks—they look good but aren’t good to eat. But they’re acceptable for having with tea.”

Xie Wei suddenly felt—

This girl was probably truly tired of living.

With a thought, he walked forward, making as if to take away that plate, saying, “Since they’re not delicious, you needn’t force yourself. Might as well throw them out and have the palace cooks make Miss Ning the Second a fresh plate.”

Throw them out?!

Jiang Xuening blurted out: “Don’t—”

The moment the words left her mouth, she wanted to slap herself twice.

Xie Wei stopped and looked at her with great interest.

Jiang Xuening finally understood that she wasn’t just someone with a reverse scale—she was someone with a vital weak point.

From extravagance to frugality is difficult.

Growing up in the countryside, her appetite was hard to satisfy. So having tasted something good, she could never forget it.

Her heart felt bleak. She simply threw caution to the wind—a dead pig fears no boiling water. Expressionless, enduring his scrutiny, face not flushing and heart not racing, she said with profound sincerity: “They’re not that bad. People should practice frugality and simplicity, not be wasteful.”

Then she took that dish of peach pastries from Xie Wei’s hands.

Xie Wei: “…”

If he had known earlier that one dish of peach pastries could subdue this ancestor so completely, why had he gone to such great effort before, coaxing and scolding, worrying she wouldn’t study properly—what had it all been for…

He suddenly felt a bit doubtful about his own ability to judge people?

He inexplicably laughed once.