Chapter 16 The feelings born of guilt are not lovesickness…

Upon returning to the residence, Wei Qin first went to his grandfather's place, and then returned to Hanlan Garden to discuss with his father the matters concerning reporting to the Salt Transport Office that day.

Wei Zhongchun was just a minor deputy commissioner of the saltworks and had no say in the salt transport department. He limped over to his son and gave him a few words of advice.

Wei Qin nodded in agreement, recalling the east wing, his gaze drawn to the shadow cast by a candlestick.

When he served as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, every time he returned to the Jiang residence after his shift, it was always brightly lit and dazzling with lanterns, but not a single lantern was kept for him.

As a young lady of the manor, Jiang Yinyue had a personal maid named Hong Mei by her side. The two were like sisters and had endless secrets to share. She never deliberately waited for him to return home at a specific time.

Wei Qin stood outside the door, one hand still in the position of pushing open the door, until the figure by the candlestick turned around.

"You're back." Jiang Yingyue put down the book in her hand, smiled and stepped forward to greet him, carefully examining his new official robe. "It fits you quite well."

Wei Qin stepped across the threshold, casually closing the door behind him. He glanced at the open books on the table and asked, "What are you reading?"

"The commentary on the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art was borrowed from a bookstore on the street."

Jiang Yinyue loved reading and had a wide range of interests, from astronomy and geography to strange tales and folk tales. Her initial intention was not to become an expert, but rather to broaden her knowledge.

Wei Qin asked, "Wouldn't it be boring to stay cooped up at home?"

Jiang Yinyue shook her head. She was full of curiosity when she first arrived in Yangzhou, so how could it be boring? Besides, there was an old man with white hair and a childlike heart at home.

She and Grandpa Wei hit it off immediately and chatted for an entire afternoon until the old man started snoring loudly.

"How's it going at the government office?"

She led Wei Qin to sit at the table, poured water from the kettle, and pushed it in front of him, intending to listen quietly.

Wei Qin succinctly stated several key points.

Jiang Yinyue understood. Wei Qin was the salt commissioner appointed by the imperial court to Yangzhou, but without the support of an imperial envoy, he would inevitably be suspected, guarded against, or even targeted by some people.

They were also feeling guilty, knowing full well that the salt administration accounts were in serious trouble.

It's unclear who was involved.

"You should hold back for now and observe their chaotic situation. They might confess without being asked."

Wei Qin didn't take the suspicion or being targeted to heart. He always had his own plans for doing things, but after being comforted by Jiang Yinyue, a hint of joy appeared on his face.

"You... smiled?"

Jiang Yinyue found it strange that she had never seen Wei Qin smile before. She leaned on the table and looked up at the man's face, which was shadowed by the lamplight.

A faint, lingering curve remained at the corners of her mouth.

Jiang Yinyue didn't think Wei Qin was a rigid person tamed by etiquette. His stinginess with smiles must be related to his childhood experiences, being hurt by distorted family relationships, having mental shackles, and self-protection.

This smile, seemingly ordinary, is actually a sprout of the heart breaking free from its shackles and blossoming in the light.

"Wei Qin, smile more, you look very handsome, like a male prostitute."

Wei Qin's faint smile vanished in an instant. "You've seen it before?"

"The Jiaofangsi (a type of entertainment venue) had them, but I read about them in a storybook. If you don't believe me, I'll recite it for you: In the decadent Xianggu brothel, a slender man with red lips and white teeth holds a wooden folding fan, his phoenix eyes sparkling, each step a life... Hmm?"

As Jiang Yinyue muttered something, Wei Qin, who had circled around the table, covered her mouth. The two stared at each other from above and below, and at that moment, the candlestick emitted a "crack" of sparks.

Wei Qin's large hand covered the woman's pink lips.

Jiang Yinyue smiled, her eyes crinkling, revealing her mischievousness in deliberately teasing him.

"With your looks, if you smile more, you'll definitely get whatever you want."

Her playful nature remained undiminished; her rosy little mouth opened and closed, brushing back and forth across the lines of Wei Qin's palm.

The touch in my palm is smooth and soft, with a tingling sensation that travels from the base of my palm and wrist all the way to my entire arm.

The hand covering the woman's mouth tightened unconsciously, as if trying to stop her from speaking recklessly, but Wei Qin's calm eyes grew even darker.

"Can you get whatever you want, like the wind or the rain?"

Jiang Yinyue nodded vigorously, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling, and said indistinctly, "If you smile, I'll grant you whatever you desire."

Wei Qin did not smile. He stared intently at the woman sitting there, his other hand, which was hanging by his side, slowly curled up into his sleeve.

In the stillness of the night, he would put on his coat, prop his head up with one hand, lean against the edge of the bed, and gaze intently at his sleeping wife, his phoenix eyes even more profound than during the day.

Without the woman's breath and lips touching his palm, his hands felt empty. His self-control and propriety crumbled at this moment. He gently touched the woman's snowy cheek with his fingers, and slowly moved them to the corner of her lips.

No matter how fierce the wind and rain, it couldn't compare to the impact of her smile.

Vibrant and alive, that's her true self.

Three years have passed; how much has her shattered heart been repaired?

**

The next morning, Jiang Yinyue received an invitation from an elderly concubine who had lived in Yangzhou for a long time, inviting Jiang Yinyue to her residence in half a month to celebrate her 70th birthday.

Jiang Yinyue had never met the Dowager Empress, but the late Madam Jiang and the Dowager Empress were old friends. Given this connection, Jiang Yinyue, as a junior, should go and pay her a visit.

This was Jiang Yinyue's first time visiting an elder in a foreign land, and she didn't want to be negligent. She discussed with her mother-in-law the idea of ​​going to the market to choose a jade ornament as a congratulatory gift.

"The Dowager Consort Xu is a very famous figure in Yangzhou." Madam Zhang, who was listening to the wind, clicked her tongue twice and spat out the melon seed shells in her mouth. "When you pay tribute to someone like that, you either don't make a move at all, or you do make a grand gesture."

Madam Gu felt that her eldest sister-in-law was talking too much. The Jiang family's daughter was a lady from a prestigious family; how could she ignore such etiquette?

Since the Dowager Princess had invited the young couple to go together, Madam Gu quietly returned to her room, took out a silver note wrapped in silk cloth, and secretly slipped it to her daughter-in-law, asking uncertainly, "Is this enough?"

Worried that Jiang Yinyue would refuse, the woman held her daughter-in-law's hand tightly, saying, "We haven't given any betrothal gifts since you and Aqin got married, and we've always felt bad about it. Please keep this money as a betrothal gift."

Marrying into a family is different from marrying into it. It means hiring a son-in-law to live with the family. This is also the reason why some envious people slander the Wei family couple. They finally got a second-place scholar, but he became a son-in-law of a wealthy family.

Spineless.

But Madam Gu didn't think that way, nor did she care about other people's opinions. She only knew that sincerity could make life last.

Jiang Yinyue glanced at the face value of the silver note and guessed that her mother-in-law had converted the betrothal gifts sent by Jiang Shi into this silver note and kept it as a keepsake, and was planning to find an opportunity to return it.

"Thank you, Mother."

“We’re family, don’t be so polite with your mother. Let Miaodie accompany you to choose the items; she knows the way.”

Miaodie is the daughter of a maid and a cook in the Wei family, and she is responsible for taking care of the second young lady, Wei Ying. Madam Gu is considering adding a maid for her daughter-in-law, but this matter still needs to be discussed with her eldest sister-in-law who is in charge of the household.

Although Zhang came from a salt merchant family, her family was not wealthy and she was used to being frugal, so she did not provide her daughter with any maids.

Jiang Yinyue tucked the silver notes into her pocket and, led by Miaodie, headed to several jade shops nearby.

Miao Die was clever and led Jiang Yinyue to several well-known shops with a dazzling array of jade ornaments. However, Jiang Yinyue spent the whole day picking and choosing but couldn't find anything she liked. In the end, she finally settled on a ruyi carved from a full-green jadeite.

Miao Die gasped. A complete, fully green jade ruyi was extremely expensive; the noble lady was indeed generous.

The shopkeeper was equally surprised. "This lady has a good eye, but this ruyi is the shop's prized possession and is only for display."

Jiang Yinyue calculated the days and realized there was no rush; she could simply have a copy made.

The shopkeeper smiled and shook his head. "Craftsmanship can be replicated, but raw jade is hard to come by. Every piece of jade in the world is different. Would you like to take the risk, madam? Let's make it clear first: once you choose a piece, there will be no going back."

Miao Die gasped again, secretly tugging at Jiang Yinyue's sleeve. There's a saying in the jade gambling world, which Miao Die had heard Old Master Wei say years ago: "One cut makes you poor, one cut makes you rich, one cut leaves you in rags." It's hard to tell the difference between a piece of jade and a piece of jade. What if she loses the bet?

Jiang Yinyue, however, remained smiling, her smile radiating a serene calm.

"Has my wife made up her mind?"

"Um."

The shopkeeper took out dozens of rough stones and carefully placed them on the ground. He watched the woman bending down to select them with a leisurely air. His attitude changed from being indifferent at first to being serious, which was evident in just a few details that Jiang Yinyue was choosing.

You're an expert.

The shopkeeper looked at the young woman in front of him with surprise. Judging from her speech and skills, she should be from a wealthy family. However, even the young masters and ladies of wealthy and powerful families might not have learned this skill.

Just like understanding jade doesn't necessarily mean recognizing seed jade!

"This is it." Jiang Yingyue pointed with her delicate hand and smiled. "Once the move is made, there's no going back. Let's cut it open."

**

During the Qingming Festival, willow branches sprout new leaves and droop over the green steps, while fine rain falls gently to moisten the light chill; each spring rain brings warmth.

The vendors on the road were mostly dressed in thin clothes, hawking their wares. One of them, "Xiaoshan's green plums, so hard and sour!" attracted the attention of the man in the carriage.

The man lifted the curtain and looked at the unattended liquor vendor.

"Green plums from Xiaoshan?"

"Yes, they're freshly picked." The vendor picked out a large, bright green plum, trotted to the ornate carriage, and laughed as he looked up. "These plums are perfect for making wine; they'll have a perfect balance of sweet and sour, with a rich and lingering aroma. If you buy some, young master, you can win over your sister."

The vendor was young and quick-witted, always speaking without thinking, and he handed over the green plums with a grin.

The man by the window hesitated to take it, and just as the vendor was confused and withdrew his hand, the old eunuch next to him reached out and took it.

"That's tough enough."

The vendor quickly replied, "If you're making liquor, the harder the better."

The old eunuch tossed out a money pouch, raised his chin, and said, "Load it into the cart."

The vendor immediately tore open the money bag, and upon discovering it was filled with silver, he nearly dropped his jaw in astonishment. "Too much!"

The old eunuch waved his hand, signaling the caravan to continue.

A light rain dampened the curtains by the window, and the old eunuch secretly glanced at the silent Crown Prince beside the curtains.

The man held a green plum hairpin in his hand.

Although it is unclear why His Highness was being hypocritical and bought back the hairpin that had been overlooked, its color and shape were indeed comparable to a fresh green plum, only a bit too small, making it more suitable for a woman to wear.

Would Your Highness like to try one?

Wei Xichen looked at the large green plum in the old eunuch's hand, his clear eyes glistening with a faint frost. He spoke softly, his voice clear and resonant, showing no anger at the old eunuch's unauthorized actions. He was calm, a calmness bordering on melancholy.

How long has it been since His Highness the Crown Prince, with his serene and refined demeanor, revealed his true emotions?

He was the crown prince who was expected to achieve great things from a young age. He had to think three steps ahead for every step he took, remain calm and composed, and even if he was provoked, he had to be able to strangle his opponent with nonchalant ease.

Temperament is gradually honed through maturity and composure.

Fu Zhongcai's hand, which had just handed over the green plum, was a little sore. He awkwardly withdrew it, took a bite himself, and winced at the sourness. "Luckily, Your Highness has no appetite for it. It's too sour. It's probably not ripe yet."

The older man tried to gloss over the situation with jokes, but the man opposite him suddenly spoke, his melancholy replaced by indifference.

"Just throw it away."

"ah?"

"It's all gone."

Fu Zhongcai dared not disobey and immediately ordered someone to throw a basket of green plums by the roadside.

As the convoy drove away, the basket of green plums leaning alone by the roadside was shrouded in a veil of mist and rain, disappearing from Wei Xichen's peripheral vision.

He stretched out the hand that held the hairpin, slowly opening it. He didn't deliberately discard the plum blossom hairpin, but when he passed a bumpy, potholed spot, he let it slip from his palm.

The emerald green hairpin fell to the ground and shattered upon impact.

What's the point of reminiscing? What's done is done, the past is the past. There's no point in dwelling on troublesome memories; as the crown prince, one shouldn't be bound by petty sentiments.

The feelings born of guilt are not the same as longing.

no......

He closed his eyes, letting the drizzle wet his dark eyelashes.

The carriage swayed and rocked along the road, but the man, who had closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, remained as still as a mountain, as if his mind was trapped by something.

In her dream, fine raindrops fell on the girl's face, like tears.

She looked at him, silently accusing him, then turned and put on her wedding dress, sitting in the bridal sedan chair lifted by clouds and mist.

He stood there staring into the distance, somewhat incredulous. The willful and spoiled girl hadn't cried or made a fuss, and she hadn't even become hysterical when he provoked her with the pretext of a marriage. She had severed ties with this youthful relationship in an extreme way.

Wei Xichen opened his eyes amidst the violent jolts, feeling inexplicably lost, unsure whether it was the disorientation brought on by the dream.

The farewell was silent, the broken feelings were hard to mend, and the past friendship was as fragile as the human heart.

He pressed his brow bone, clearing his mind of all distractions, and simply assumed that the weariness of the journey had given rise to nightmares, amplifying the pent-up emotions from the past that had been building up in his heart.

"Faster."

Upon hearing this, the charioteer responded, cracked his whip, and spurred the Akhal-Teke horse to gallop at top speed.

A note from the author:

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The crown prince will repeatedly prove himself wrong [doge emoji]

Second update