5 Results announcement day

◎It's a pity that she is a woman.◎

The next day, when Ci Ying went to the academy, she didn't see Xie Anyun. After the teacher left, Xie Ran knelt in front of Ci Ying's desk and whispered, "She's under house arrest."

It was not common knowledge, so Xie Ran's voice was so soft that only Ci Ying, who was standing nearby, could hear it. Ci Ying raised her eyes slightly and looked at Xie Ran. Neither of them said anything extra.

There is no need to think too much, Xie Anyun was under house arrest only because of what happened yesterday.

Ci Ying lowered her head: "Thank you, Miss Ran."

The teacher had just left, and the classroom was quite crowded. Xie Ran lowered his eyes to acknowledge his thanks, then picked up the book Ci Ying had placed aside and began to read. The textbook wasn't new, but it was well-preserved.

To the naked eye, the textbook was spotless. Densely packed annotations adorned the soft rice paper, a juxtaposition of old and new brushstrokes revealed by time. A hint of tenderness surfaced in Xie Ran's eyes. "Second Miss's old textbook?"

Ci Ying nodded and turned the textbook to the first page, where Xie Suwei's name was clearly visible.

Xie Ran rubbed his hand gently, closed the textbook gently, and handed it to Ci Ying with care.

Ci Ying looked at Xie Ran, her eyes lingering on the textbook for a moment. Xie Ran did not hide her expression, so Ci Ying almost instantly understood where Xie Ran's kindness yesterday came from.

It’s because of the lady.

Ci Ying's heart softened, and her eyes sore again. Xie Ran said goodbye to her, and Ci Ying agreed. The results would be released in two days, and the students had all left quickly after class these past two days, but Ci Ying wasn't among them.

She would always arrive later, avoiding the crowds. Carriages bearing the names of each family would wait for their respective masters outside the academy street. The Xie family had also prepared one for Ciying, considering her status as a young lady. It would be impossible to say that Ciying hadn't felt lost for the past few days.

Except for the first hour of kneeling in the study to give warnings, every moment thereafter, she was supported by the false power, status and support given to her by the Xie family. The lady called her by her name, the servants who were like her in the past saluted her properly, and she always ate and lived according to the standards of a lady.

She constantly reminded herself, every day, that there was no high or low in learning, but that people were different. A person's true nature and self-sufficiency were the most important things. Even though she and the other young men and women were in the same academy, in the same school, listening to the same teacher and taking the same exams, she was ultimately different from them.

The coachman whipped the horse and returned home, while Ciying stroked the textbook left by the young lady.

In truth, she wasn't as self-possessed as she claimed... The person who understood her best was currently sleeping in a tomb in the east. If the soul of the dead could transform into gentle wind and rain, every breeze that brushed her cheek would bring a gentle smile. If this ladder, so-called a gift, wasn't inscribed with the young lady's name, Ci Ying would probably have weighed the pros and cons and climbed it.

The wind blew up the curtains, and in the drizzle and fog, Ci Ying seemed to see the young lady's gentle eyes.

*

Mentioning the Xie family always brings to mind a past event for those older in Chang'an. Before the Battle of Su's Tomb, the court was rife with turbulent forces. Above the throne sat the young, powerless Emperor, while beneath it lay the aristocratic families, eager to seize the throne. In between, two or three princes were wreaking havoc on the government.

The Wang and Su families took advantage of the powerless emperor to use harsh policies to amass wealth and raise troops, suppressing the Shangguan and Li families, who were also aristocratic families. The Xie and Lin families, who had always been neutral, joined forces to save the Shangguan and Li families, who were already in decline, and restore order.

Speaking of the union of the Xie and Lin families, they were originally in-laws. Xie Qingzheng, the second son of the Xie family, and Lin Xiang, the eldest daughter of the Lin family, were childhood sweethearts and a match made in heaven. They got married three years after the eldest daughter of the Lin family came of age. The emperor personally bestowed the plaque of "Golden Jade Marriage" upon them. However, the good times did not last long. Two years before the Battle of Su Tomb, the eldest daughter of the Lin family died of an epidemic, leaving behind a seven-month-old child, who is now Xie Huaijin, the eldest son of the Xie family.

With the alliance in front and the child behind, the Wang and Su families were in a frenzy, and the battle for Su's tomb was imminent. The lights of the Xie and Lin families were lit for seven days. On the morning of the eighth day, the second son of the Xie family married the second daughter of the Lin family, Lin Lan. It was said that Lin Lan, who was already engaged, had eloped with him but failed and was captured by the Lin family and tied to a sedan chair with ropes.

Right and wrong were beyond the pale of judgment. In the latter half of the Battle of Su's Tomb, the Su family, a vassal of the Wang and Su families, surrendered to the new emperor's faction, the Xie and Lin families. The Battle of Su's Tomb was a resounding victory, and the current Emperor, Yuwen, ascended to the throne. During Yuwen's nearly twenty years on the throne, a deeply taboo saying spread among the people.

"The king and Xie share the world."

Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, he is in the limelight.

......

Xie family, Qingshuangwan.

A slender, white hand pushed open the window lattice. A gentle breeze blew in, and the candles in the room swayed. Xie Huaijin stood tall and graceful, his snow-white dress draping like clouds, untouched by dust. His other hand rested on the wooden wheelchair in front of him, and he called out to the woman on it, "Auntie, the stars in the sky are shining, the boats are drifting, it's a perfect day to enjoy the moon."

Madam, that is, Lin Lan, sat upright in a wheelchair, looking up at the starry sky reflected by the window lattice. Today was the fifteenth day of every month. Xie Huaijin would come to pay his respects to her on the fifteenth day of every month. Apart from calling her "Aunt", his etiquette was even more impeccable than that of his father.

Lin Lan gazed at the starry sky outside. When she was very young, someone had told her that when people die, they become stars in the sky, carrying the lingering thoughts and memories of the world. Even in summer, the woman was covered with a thick blanket, her face etched with grace, gentleness, and paleness over the years. "Shuhe, you are different from her."

Shuhe is Xie Huaijin's pen name. Xie Huaijin smiled gently, but the smile did not reach his eyes. The young man stood tall, the candlelight unable to illuminate his pale lips, and his eyebrows and eyes, equally as pale as ink, did not carry much emotion.

He was probably still a little curious, so he asked, "What kind of person is my mother?"

Lin Lan didn't actually have many memories of her elder sister. She and her elder sister were born of the same mother, but their lives diverged at a very young age, only to end up, absurdly, together. She described her as "a prim and proper young lady from an aristocratic family, even more so than your father, obsessed with her family's interests. She was the epitome of all the other aristocratic women in Chang'an."

Xie Huaijin followed Lin Lan's gaze and looked into the distance, which was the east, where the sun would rise tomorrow and where his second sister was buried.

When he left Qing Shuangwan with the lantern, most of the stars in the sky had already dispersed. Mo Yu followed Xie Huaijin silently like a shadow. After a long while, he heard his master's cold voice: "Tomorrow, ask Doctor Wang to come back for a follow-up examination for Auntie."

*

Ci Ying returned to Tingshuang Courtyard, worried about Ru Zhen's abnormal behavior these days, but she needed to finish the homework assigned by the teacher today first. She calmed down and did not close the book until the moon set.

After washing up, she went to look for Ru Zhen, but found that she was already asleep. Ci Ying sat by the bed. Ru Zhen was afraid of the heat and always lifted the quilt in the summer. Ci Ying smiled gently and gently covered her with a layer. When she blew out the candle, her eyes dropped. The light was still on, Ru Zhen must be waiting for her. She stayed in the study for too long.

Ci Ying returned to the bedside but did not fall asleep immediately. She calculated that it was the day when Ru Zhen would have her period. She held Ru Zhen's hand and massaged her for a while as usual. Ru Zhen liked to drink ice water, and she always had unbearable abdominal pain when she had her period. She learned the massage technique from the female doctor in the mansion.

As she continued massaging, Ciying softly apologized, realizing she'd been somewhat negligent towards Ruzhen these past few days. A quarter of an hour later, Ciying finally went to bed. Tomorrow was the day the Lishan Academy would release the exam papers. Thinking of this, Ciying's heartbeat intensified. She'd been worrying too much lately, and even with so much on her mind, sleepiness still crept in.

The next day, the sky was clear.

Ci Ying rode a carriage to Lishan Academy and happened to run into Xie Ran as she got off. Xie Ran waved to her, and Ci Ying walked over, lifting her skirt to avoid getting wet in the puddles.

Seeing this, Xie Ran couldn't help but complain, "The weather in Chang'an is always so capricious. When I lived with my father in Lingnan, it was hot and humid, but it wasn't this unpredictable."

Ci Ying listened curiously to what was happening outside and said with a smile, "I heard that the lychees in Lingnan are delicious."

Now that they were more familiar with each other, Xie Ran was more relaxed than when they first met. Upon hearing this, his expression went haywire. He then leaned close to Ci Ying's ear and said, "To be honest with you, I feel like vomiting when I hear the word lychee." As he spoke, Xie Ran dry-heaved exaggeratedly.

Ci Ying didn't understand, but she liked Xie Ran very much.

Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, even the whip marks on his arms that could not be concealed, all made him look like a living person.

As they approached the academy, both of them fell silent. Xie Ran said, "My father said that if I rank last in this exam, I'll be kicked out of the academy."

Ci Ying glanced at Xie Ran, and seeing the worry on her face, she said softly, "No, believe me, even if you are the last one, you will not be kicked out of the academy."

Xie Ran looked at Ci Ying, and then followed Ci Ying's gaze to the most crowded part of the crowd.

Lishan College did not have a uniform dress code, so it was easy to identify everyone's identity by their attire. The people Ci Ying was looking at should be from a very remote branch of the Xie family or from other families who had been hidden for many years.

They were hunched over and almost fell down, some covered their faces and cried, some were numb and speechless. Xie Ran approached and saw the names of those people written in the last column of the list.

Xie Ran was silent for a moment. She glanced at Ci Ying beside her, only to see the girl's gaze climbing all the way up, finally settling on a spot in the middle of the top three. On the red paper covered in gold powder, the name of the deceased second daughter of the Xie family—Xie Suwei—was prominently displayed in the top three.

Xie Ran had been taught by Xie Suwei, and when he saw the name, he shuddered all over, and heard Ci Ying murmur beside him: "If the young lady were still here, she would probably be at the top of the list."

The surroundings were noisy. The Xie family's most promising students huddled together, essentially a bunch of noisy ducks, much like Xie Ran's younger brother, hailed as a child prodigy. But Xie Ran heard Ci Ying's voice at that moment, and as she followed it, she recalled the Second Young Lady in her memory.

Gentle and elegant, extremely talented, and as sick as Xi Shi.

*

In the academy, Ci Ying was a completely invisible figure. Aside from Xie Ran, who was close to her, everyone else kept their distance. Unlike the servants of the Xie family, they were required to observe formal etiquette and show respect. In the academy, even talking to Ci Ying on equal terms would be considered lowering their status.

But Ciying had resorted to using the pretext of being the "Second Young Miss." Aside from the clueless Xie Anyun, anyone with a bit of common sense understood that this matter related to the deceased Second Young Miss, a murky water they should avoid if possible, and everyone kept their distance. Even after the results were announced, every young man and woman who saw the red list cast a subtle glance at Ciying, who was not far away.

They all thought in unison, what a pity it was just a slave.

But there were also slaves who used their knowledge to make a name for themselves, join their masters, escape from slavery, and even cross classes. So they sighed and said, it's a pity that she is just a woman.

【Author’s words】

"Wang and Xie, sharing the world" is adapted to "Wang and Ma, sharing the world", but I don't like "Xie and Yu" or "Xie and Wen", so I use "Wang" to refer to the emperor.