Jiang Caiping returned to her room in a huff. Yunyi was tidying up when she noticed her sullen expression and asked in surprise, “What’s wrong? You seemed fine when you left.”
Jiang Caiping recounted what had just happened and said irritably, “I don’t know what got into her today, but she didn’t have a single kind word to say.” She continued with annoyance, “Anyway, nothing good ever comes from seeing that Feng Chunxiu. The thought of having to see her every day from now on is truly vexing.”
Yunyi pinched her puffed-up cheeks and said, “There’s nothing we can do about it. Now, don’t be angry. Look at you—your face is all round from anger.” After a pause, she added, “Oh, Nanny Yang came by earlier. She said starting tomorrow, we’ll resume dance practice.”
Jiang Caiping said listlessly, “Then she’ll have even more opportunities to find fault with us.”
“As long as we do our own duties well, she naturally won’t be able to find anything wrong. Besides…” A flash of coldness quickly passed through Yunyi’s eyes before she changed the subject, “In any case, we’ll meet soldiers with generals and water with earth.”
“That’s all we can do.” After Jiang Caiping took out all the dishes from the food box, she remembered something and asked with curiosity, “By the way, sister, how did you come back with Second Young Master today? Did he also go to your home?”
She had returned first and personally witnessed Li Shimin holding an umbrella himself, escorting Yunyi all the way to the entrance of her room before leaving.
Yunyi replied casually, “You silly girl, always talking nonsense. How could Second Young Master go to my home? We just happened to meet on the road, and seeing that I didn’t have an umbrella, he brought me back to the residence together.”
Jiang Caiping pouted, “I didn’t bring an umbrella either, so why didn’t I meet Second Young Master? My new dress that mother made for me got all wet.” Then she smiled and said, “But Second Young Master is truly kind. Sister, you didn’t get wet at all, while he got soaked on half his body. In such cold weather, I wonder if he’ll catch a cold.”
Yunyi glanced at her with a half-smile, “You’re so concerned about Second Young Master—why don’t you go to Jingde Pavilion to check on him?”
Jiang Caiping’s cheeks turned slightly red as she covered her face and spat, “Sister, you’re teasing me!” After a pause, she said with a hint of longing, “Second Young Master is truly wonderful—talented in both literature and martial arts, with a good character and handsome appearance. Whoever marries him would be truly blessed.” As she spoke, she smiled again with pursed lips.
Yunyi lightly tapped her forehead with her chopsticks, “Are you completely smitten? You keep smiling non-stop. Second Young Master is indeed excellent, but he’s not from our world. You shouldn’t indulge in such daydreams, especially since Second Young Master is already engaged.”
Jiang Caiping covered her forehead and said, “I know. Second Young Master is like the bright moon in the sky—though bright and beautiful, it’s not something we can possess. I was just thinking about Chunxiu. When she mentioned you and Second Young Master earlier, her words were full of sourness. From the look of it, she’s probably fallen for Second Young Master too, so seeing him walking closely with you made her exude jealousy. But she’s destined to be disappointed. Second Young Master is wise and mighty—how could he possibly fancy her? She always talks about self-awareness, but she’s the one who lacks it most.”
Yunyi picked up some shredded chicken with her chopsticks and put it in her bowl, “You’re becoming quite the chatterbox. Eat quickly, or it’ll get cold.”
Meanwhile, on Chunxiu’s side, after she and Zhang Shi had privately mocked Jiang Caiping for a while, they returned to their respective rooms. As soon as Chunxiu entered, she saw Jirong sitting under the lamp reading medical books.
“Sister, please eat first. You can read later.” Faced with Chunxiu’s words, Jirong nodded, closed the medical book, and while taking the bowl asked, “On the way back, did Zhang Chenyue ask about me again?” Chenyue was Zhang Shi’s given name.
Chunxiu looked at her with surprise and honestly replied, “Yes, she knew about your visit to Qingchun Garden yesterday, and seeing you bring back so many medical books today, she was curious and asked a few questions.”
“Did you tell her?” Faced with Jirong’s question, Chunxiu shook her head, “I only said there were some matters, but didn’t go into specifics.”
Jirong nodded, “That’s good. I think Zhang Chenyue, though she’s close to us, may not be entirely trustworthy. When speaking with her in the future, be more careful not to accidentally let her trick you into revealing anything, especially about First Young Master’s matter. It must never be spread, lest someone secretly cause trouble and ruin our opportunity.” With that, she glared at Chunxiu and scolded lightly, “You nearly let it slip in front of Zhang Shi just now.”
Chunxiu stuck out her tongue and said quietly, “I understand. I definitely won’t tell anyone. Sister, you just focus on researching medicine that can cure First Young Master.”
Jirong sighed softly, “How can I focus? Nanny Yang said the residence restrictions have been lifted, so we’ll resume dance practice starting tomorrow.”
“About that…” Chunxiu frowned, “Should I go speak with Nanny Yang? I could say you’re feeling unwell and temporarily cannot practice, asking her to be accommodating.”
Jirong waved her hand, “Forget it. This isn’t a matter of one or two days—it’s a whole month. How could Nanny Yang agree? If it alarms Second Madam and she sends someone to examine me, that would be even more troublesome. I can only try to spare more time to read medical books and prepare medicinal powders.”
In the following days, everything seemed to return to how it was before. Yunyi and the others went to the dance hall to practice daily. Fortunately, Yunyi had a good foundation in dance and had often watched Meixue and the others practice, so apart from some initial rustiness, she didn’t reveal any flaws.
Of course, Chunxiu’s fault-finding was inevitable. Relying on her position as lead dancer, she would complain that Jiang Caiping didn’t spin enough turns one moment, then find fault with Yunyi’s position being too forward the next. In short, she was extremely picky about everything. If not for Nanny Yang keeping her in check, she would certainly have been even more excessive.
This day, as soon as Jiang Caiping returned to her room, she sat in the chair and refused to get up, repeatedly saying she was exhausted. Yunyi poured her a cup of tea and laughed lightly, “We usually practice the same way—why haven’t I seen you dying of exhaustion before?”
Jiang Caiping took a sip of tea and said huffily, “How can it be the same? That Feng Chunxiu kept making me spin continuously today until I nearly vomited. Even now, my head is still dizzy and my whole body feels like it’s falling apart. Yet she still said I didn’t spin well enough and that we’d practice more tomorrow. She’s clearly doing it on purpose—it’s infuriating!”
Yunyi said calmly, “She’s just a petty person. Why bother stooping to her level?”
Jiang Caiping said indignantly, “I don’t want to stoop to her level, but I can’t just let her bully me like this!” Then, thinking of something, she sat up straight and said, “Sister, why don’t we go talk to Nanny Yang about this?”
Yunyi shook her head, “No need.”