When Xie Wei walked in, he hadn’t expected Lu Xian to be here at this moment. But thinking it over, since Jiang Xuening probably didn’t know him either, he said nothing more. Hearing Lu Xian’s words, he fell silent for a moment, then furrowed his brow and said: “She’s just a young lady from the Jiang family—what nonsense are you spouting?”

Of course Lu Xian still remembered Jiang Xuening.

This Miss Jiang had been brought by the Heir of Yan to his estate before to buy a qin, taking away that “Jiao’an.” Xie Wei had even been secretly displeased about it for a while. But was he talking about whether she was a young lady or not?

Having known Xie Wei for so many years, there wasn’t even a maidservant in this estate.

Xie Ju’an devoted himself wholeheartedly to Buddhist and Daoist learning, pure-hearted and abstinent, keeping no female company. He didn’t even raise cats, dogs, or birds—in this vast estate, from top to bottom, probably the only females you could catch would be a few mother mice in the wall crevices!

Bringing a young lady back to the estate—that was like the sun rising from the west!

Lu Xian’s gaze fell upon Jiang Xuening. He saw that this young lady had become even more striking than when he’d last seen her. Her waist was slender, her figure graceful, her eyes bright with distinct black and white—originally extremely clear, yet because of those peach-blossom-petal-shaped eyes, she possessed an additional touch of natural charm tinged with delicate allure.

From her features and bearing, this truly couldn’t be called a dignified face.

At barely nineteen, not yet twenty, she was already like this—what would happen when she grew a bit older?

He felt an indescribable strangeness in his heart.

The Zhuoqin Hall wasn’t a place just anyone could enter.

But after all, this was in front of an outsider, and young ladies these days were all clever. So Lu Xian said nothing more, forcibly picking up his jaw that had dropped to the floor. With an apologetic manner, he cupped his hands toward Jiang Xuening and said: “Please forgive Lu’s poor eyesight. I was so surprised I didn’t recognize you—so it’s the Second Miss from Minister Jiang’s estate. How has that ‘Jiao’an’ been working out?”

Heaven knows Jiang Xuening had nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Lu Xian!

Others didn’t know about Lu Xian’s relationship with Xie Wei, but she knew.

In that instant, she’d nearly exposed herself. Fortunately, Lu Xian was extremely shocked to see her, and Xie Wei’s attention was on Lu Xian, so he didn’t notice her. This gave her a moment to catch her breath and immediately adjust and cover up.

Hearing Lu Xian ask about the Jiao’an, Jiang Xuening steadied herself and replied: “Thank you, Boss Lu, for helping arrange the search for the qin back then. It’s an ancient qin, so naturally it’s excellent. Is Boss Lu also here at Teacher Xie’s place? Are you delivering a qin?”

Lu Xian started, then immediately smiled: “Yes, yes. Recently there’s been news of a fine qin, though the owner doesn’t seem very willing to part with it. But since Ju’an entrusted me with it, I’ve come to discuss it.”

This was going along with the excuse—he had not the slightest suspicion of Jiang Xuening.

However, from his direct use of Xie Wei’s courtesy name, Jiang Xuening deduced that these two men’s relationship was indeed deep, but beyond that, she had nothing more to say.

Xie Wei then turned toward her and said: “Extend your hand.”

Jiang Xuening was utterly baffled, inexplicably feeling somewhat unnerved, and extended her left hand.

Xie Wei’s long eyebrows furrowed lightly as he lifted her sleeve to look.

On her snow-white arm, there were no wounds—quite clean.

He said again: “The other one.”

This time, Jiang Xuening vaguely sensed something. Her right hand hung at her side, and she didn’t particularly want to extend it.

What seemed like a flash of anger passed through Xie Wei’s eyes.

But facing her, he still suppressed it and didn’t explode.

Lowering his eyes slightly, he leaned forward a bit, and without wasting more words with her, grasped her right hand that hung down, unwilling to be extended. Rolling up those layers of sleeves somewhat, he saw the bloody scratch mark on her wrist.

Jiang Xuening’s scalp tingled: “It was all just careless earlier…”

But Xie Wei released her hand, pointed to a chair beside them, and said: “Sit.”

Jiang Xuening simply couldn’t keep up with this person’s thoughts—or rather, couldn’t fathom this person’s thoughts at all. She blinked somewhat bewilderedly, but saw that Lu Xian was still standing to the side, looking at her with an increasingly strange gaze, as if looking at some three-legged rabbit or horned turtle—extremely curious.

She was full of doubts but didn’t dare speak.

Since Xie Wei told her to sit, she could only sit apprehensively.

The Zhuoqin Hall was where Xie Wei often stayed. On the long table by the window were still placed wood and ink lines for qin-making, and there were even coils of discarded qin strings piled in the corner.

The box containing medicinal salve was placed on a wall shelf not far from the long table.

Xie Wei walked over and took it down—a small bottle of wine along with a small jar of medicinal salve. He folded a piece of clean, snow-white brocade handkerchief, dipped it slightly in the wine, came before her, and told her to extend her hand again.

Jiang Xuening was somewhat dazed.

After all, she and Teacher Xie seemed to have not spoken many unnecessary words for quite a while. For him to suddenly pay attention to her and even apply medicine for her truly gave her a dreamlike feeling of being overwhelmed by favor.

Of course, the “overwhelmed” part was greater.

She extended her hand in a daze.

The handkerchief dampened with wine pressed against the wound on her wrist. In the first instant, she didn’t feel much, but after two breaths, the originally broken skin began to seep with searing, burning pain!

Only at this moment did Jiang Xuening belatedly realize—

This was dampened with wine!

How could a delicate young lady with tender skin bear such suffering? Crying out in pain, tears immediately welled up in her eyes. She instantly stood up, withdrew her hand to cover it, backed away from Xie Wei, and even felt somewhat aggrieved and angry: “What are you doing!”

A heavy brocade pouch fell from her sleeve and dropped to the ground.

Xie Wei still held that handkerchief, frowning for a moment: using wine to clean a wound would hurt somewhat, but had it reached this degree? Was such a big reaction really necessary?

“Pfft.”

Not far to the side, Lu Xian, who had at some point procured some melon seeds and was cracking them, seeing this scene, couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Xie Wei bent down to pick up the brocade pouch from the ground. Hearing this sound, he turned his head to look at him. His brow immediately took on several degrees of frost, growing colder, and he said lightly: “Why are you still here?”

“…”

Lu Xian had a melon seed stuck in his throat and nearly choked to death.

He was speechless for quite a while, then smiled slightly, thinking to himself: So I’ll get the hell out now, all right!

He tossed a handful of roasted melon seeds onto the table—they scattered everywhere with a rustle. Rising gracefully, he smiled faintly and said: “I’ll wait outside. I won’t disturb you.”

Lu Xian really did go out.

But Jiang Xuening still stood there, watching Xie Wei with utmost wariness. She couldn’t force the tears back either, because it really hurt.

Xie Wei, however, weighed the brocade pouch in his hand. A few had spilled when it fell, and at a glance, he could tell they were shelled pine nuts. He couldn’t help but look at her: “Going to the coming-of-age ceremony and bringing these things.”

Jiang Xuening glared at him without speaking.

Xie Wei then turned back first to place this small bag of pine nuts on the table. His eyes flashed slightly as he said: “That must have been from Yan Lin then.”

At the mention of that young man, Jiang Xuening fell silent.

Xie Wei’s heart also seemed uncomfortable. After quite a while without speaking, he called to her: “Come here. Can’t you bear even this little bit of pain?”

Your ancestor’s stinking man—no wonder you can’t find a wife!!!

Jiang Xuening was nearly dying of anger.

She was both anxious and annoyed, but looking at that wine-dampened handkerchief in Xie Wei’s hand, she couldn’t help but feel dread. After a long standoff, she said: “I can do it myself.”

At least her own hand wouldn’t be so heavy.

Xie Wei gazed at her for a moment, then finally extended his hand and passed the handkerchief over.

Jiang Xuening took it, but still didn’t dare apply it for a long time.

Xie Wei said lightly: “Are you planning to spend the night in my estate?”

Hearing this, Jiang Xuening’s heart grew half-cold. She simply steeled her courage and, treating this hand as if it weren’t her own, gently covered it with the wine-dampened handkerchief. At least when doing it herself, she had some preparation. Though it hurt, she could still bear it by gritting her teeth.

However, after cleaning the bloodstains from that scratch mark, she felt as if her entire being had been drained.

In the end, it was still Xie Wei who applied the medicinal salve for her.

At such a time, Jiang Xuening felt somewhat dazed.

In her previous life, before the incident, before the rebellion, in the eyes of the world, Xie Wei had been a saint, a sage—someone no one could find fault with. Even if people couldn’t truly get close to him, they were willing to exchange a few more words with him.

He was too perfect, to the point of being somewhat unreal.

After the incident, after the rebellion, in the eyes of the world, Xie Wei went from one extreme to another, becoming a traitor, a disloyal subject in everyone’s mouths—a wolf harboring wild ambitions, a treacherous minister wearing the guise of sainthood.

He became too sullied, yet it also seemed somewhat biased.

Before her rebirth, she had also believed the latter.

After her rebirth, however, she became somewhat uncertain.

It seemed he was neither this way nor that way—truly like a mystery.

But thinking about it, what did it have to do with her anyway?

The matter of the Marquis of Yongyi’s estate had already occurred; now they simply awaited the outcome.

Good or bad, it should all be considered finished.

She only wanted to pack up her belongings and leave the capital—this prosperous place filled with deadly traps at every step—to live the carefree days she hadn’t lived in her previous life. Whatever Xie Wei, Xiao Yan, or the imperial palace—all should be cast behind her.

Jiang Xuening became lost in thought.

When Xie Wei finished applying the medicinal salve, he noticed and spoke lightly to draw back her wandering mind: “Beasts like cats and dogs don’t understand human feelings. Even if raised in human households, their fierce nature is innately difficult to eliminate completely. In the future, don’t get too close to them.”

Jiang Xuening raised her eyes to look at him.

Thinking briefly, she understood—Xie Wei’s attitude toward her had turned back around, most likely because of that cat in the corridor earlier, right?

She remained silent for a long while, as if deliberating over something.

Finally, she said: “Baoying helped me with something. That day when I returned, she happened to come by, so I shared half of the peach petal pastries the teacher gave me with her…”

Xie Wei had his back to Jiang Xuening. His hand paused as he placed the medicinal salve jar back in the box, then he said: “I know.”

Flat and light, with no emotion discernible in his voice.

Jiang Xuening felt that she’d said everything she needed to say. She slowly lowered the sleeve she’d just rolled up, rose to take her leave. But as she was about to depart, thinking of that long road ahead with no clear direction, her steps involuntarily stopped.

She seemed to gather all her courage before she could stop that trembling and turn back to ask: “Does Teacher still want to kill me now?”

“…”

Xie Wei had just closed the box. In this instant, it seemed as if something else was also locked inside the box along with it.

He turned to look at her, his eyes deep, dark, and calm.

For a moment, he seemed somewhat weary as he said: “That day, I said so many things—you only remembered that I said I wanted to kill you?”

Jiang Xuening froze.

Her mind became a chaotic mess, unable to sort through any threads, struggling to recall what else Xie Wei had said at that time.

But Xie Wei had already waved his hand, saying: “Return to the palace.”

Then he called out: “Jianshu, see her out.”