Chapter 36: Banque Jiang Yueying, so this is your name...
In the Jingshu Hall of the Eastern Palace, Grand Tutor Bai was talking non-stop, Xie Yuting was drowsy, and Jiang Yueying was in high spirits.
The content of Master Bai's class today was poetry appreciation. Jiang Yueying was particularly serious about it. Last time, she pondered over it for a long time by herself and still couldn't come up with a sentence. But listening to Master Bai's lecture was very interesting and made her marvel at its wonderfulness.
She couldn't help but ask who had the best literary talent in Kyoto.
"Among the younger generation, His Royal Highness Prince Xuan and Miss Qu Qianyi of the Qu Mansion are undoubtedly the most talented in writing."
"Miss Qu is really amazing," she said admiringly.
Grand Tutor Bai smiled. "Back then, all the princes and children of aristocratic families attended lectures at the Chongwen Academy, and I served as Miss Qu's teacher for a few days. She wasn't exceptionally gifted, but she possessed a tenacious spirit. She was determined to master poetry, song, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She also diligently studied etiquette, conversation, and mathematics, honing herself into the most talented woman in Kyoto."
Jiang Yueying opened her eyes wide, even more surprised. She thought Miss Qu was a born literary star, but it turned out that she had put in so much hard work behind the scenes?
Thinking of this, her confidence increased greatly. Whether it was learning knowledge or practicing sword, she would stick to it in the future. Sooner or later, she would be able to shine.
"To be honest, I really admire Miss Qu."
Master Bai sighed and glanced at Xie Yuting with a look of disappointment. At this moment, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was playing with the rabbit hair on the brush, looking carefree and silly.
Alas, Taifu Bai thought, it’s a good thing that I’m the Taifu of the Eastern Palace, I’m more patient. If it was Taifu Du of the late emperor, I’m afraid he would have walked away on the first day and never cared about him again.
After finishing the class, Tutor Bai left the Eastern Palace.
Jiang Yueying held the brush and continued to ponder the poem she had not been able to write before.
As soon as the Grand Tutor left, Xie Yuting was no longer sleepy. He rested his head on her shoulder and muttered, "I heard that the white plum blossoms in the garden outside the capital are blooming. Do you want to go and see them?"
"But it's quite troublesome to go back and forth."
When Xie Yuting traveled, not only was his carriage luxurious, but it was also filled with all kinds of embroidered clothes and accessories. He also had to bring his own musicians to play stringed instruments and orchestras. His outings were so extravagant that it was hard to describe.
That's no ordinary trouble.
"Don't you have to go to Mingquan Temple again at the end of the month? Should we stop by?"
According to Beiliang customs, Dongyue had to go to the temple to pray at least twice, but because she was frightened last time, she kept putting it off.
"You want to go with me?"
"Why, do you dislike me?"
Looking at the other person's expectant eyes, Jiang Yueying pursed her lips and nodded: "Okay."
Xie Yuting immediately smiled and put his arm around her waist, rubbing against her like a big cat. It was broad daylight and he was not afraid of being seen.
Faced with the intimate contact, Jiang Yueying's cheeks flushed, and she pushed him gently with a bit of awkwardness.
"Aying, when will you consummate our marriage?" He held her arms comfortably.
"Why are you so anxious..." Jiang Yueying stammered, her ears red as she dodged, "Things like this will naturally come to fruition when there's deep affection..."
She held the pen and wrote and drew on the paper, the ink dragging out a few messy lines, just like her mood at the moment.
Xie Yuting: "Isn't our relationship deep enough now?"
"Of course not," Jiang Yueying bit her lip, "You don't have any feelings for me..."
"Who said I didn't?" Xie Yuting blurted out.
As soon as the other party finished speaking, the brush in Jiang Yueying's hand fell onto the desk with a snap, and ink smudged across the snow-white paper.
…
Night falls and the moonlight is everywhere.
Ganmo Pavilion in the East Palace.
Xie Yuting lowered his head and sorted out the information on the desk.
Yu Lang knocked on the door and entered.
"Your Highness, the Third Prince has sent people to inquire about the Cold-robed Swordsman, seemingly hoping to recruit him into his camp."
Xie Yuting thought thoughtfully: "Since the third brother has taken the bait, why not add more fuel to the fire."
Yu Lang didn't understand and wondered, "Your Highness, don't you intend to reject him directly?"
"What's the point of refusing directly? The Third Brother will just think that the Cold Clothes Swordsman is ungrateful and scold him for nothing."
Yu Lang asked: "What is your highness going to do?"
Xie Yuting beckoned, and Yu Lang immediately leaned over to listen to him explain the plan in detail.
Yu Lang nodded as he listened, a look of sudden enlightenment appearing on his face.
"Your Highness, look."
Seeing the secret letter with a red stamp in the boy's hand, Xie Yuting guessed that it was sent by a spy sent to Jiang State, and estimated that he had found a new clue.
"This is a secret letter I just received."
He took the secret letter, opened it, and placed the blank letter paper on the candlelight to heat it, and complex runes appeared.
After interpretation, just a few lines of words explained the whole story of the secret of the Jiang Kingdom's twins.
Jiang Kui, the emperor of Jiang State, deeply loved his first wife Liu Qiufeng. After he ascended the throne, despite the advice of his ministers, he still kept his harem empty and did not take in any concubines except the queen.
When Emperor Jiang seized the throne, he killed his brothers and sisters with his own hands in a cruel way. Therefore, the ministers did not dare to force him to participate in the selection and had to give up.
Later, the queen became pregnant. Emperor Jiang was overjoyed and stayed by her side every day until the day of delivery. The imperial physician said that the queen was pregnant with twins.
When the elder sister was born with a cry, Emperor Jiang danced with joy. However, when it was the turn to deliver the younger sister, the empress, who had always had a stable fetus, suddenly had a difficult labor and heavy bleeding. All the doctors in the Imperial Hospital tried their best, but still failed to save the empress's life.
Emperor Jiang suddenly went mad and believed that his younger daughter, who was born later, had brought disaster upon his first wife, so he wanted to throw her to death.
Fortunately, the Queen Mother arrived in time and took the late-born little princess back to her own bedroom.
From then on, Emperor Jiang announced to the public that the empress had given birth to a princess, named Jiang Yueying. From birth, she was given the title Anyi. He never mentioned that he had another daughter. Any palace maid who dared to mention this would not survive before noon.
Not long after, the Queen Mother passed away, and the little princess had no one to protect her anymore. From then on, the wet nurse took her lonely little child and hid in the cold palace, living like a wandering ghost.
When Xie Yuting read the last part of the secret letter, his eyes were filled with heartache.
Yu Lang, who usually had a blank expression, also showed some pity and clenched his fists, saying, "Is Emperor Jiang a fool? What does the Empress's difficult labor have to do with his own daughter? I wonder how Queen Liu must feel in her grave knowing her daughter has suffered for so many years."
Xie Yuting crumpled the letter into a ball and set it on fire until it turned to ashes.
How can a few lines of words express the sorrow and suffering of more than ten years?
After ignoring her for over a decade, she suddenly remembered she had a daughter when she was about to go to another country to marry? How ironic!
The unrecognized princess didn't even have a name. It seemed that her name was given by her wet nurse, imitating Jiang Yueying's name, which was a simpler two-character name.
Jiang Yueying.
Xie Yuting looked out the window at the misty night, feeling mixed emotions, and thought, so this is your name.
The moon is at its zenith, filling the yard with bright light.
Moonlight fell overhead as Jiang Yueying sat alone in front of the window, with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone placed on the table beside her. She stared at the blank rice paper in a daze, her mind full of what Xie Yuting had said in the study.
What does "Who said I don't have it" mean? What does this sentence mean? Does Xie Yuting have feelings for me?
Impossible. She was so mean to him, how could he possibly have feelings for her... Absolutely impossible.
Xie Yuting must be teasing her again, deliberately wanting to see her blush and her heartbeat.
It's necrotic.
She couldn't be fooled.
But what if it's true...
Her face was quite pretty, so it was not impossible that Xie Yuting was attracted to her because of her beauty.
If someone can easily express affection just because of a face, then that guy is too superficial!
Jiang Yueying frowned, then relaxed, her thoughts in a tangled mess.
She dipped the ink in the inkstone into the black ink that was almost solidified, and left a line of words on the paper: I can't sleep with my clothes on because I miss your words.
However, after racking his brains for a long time, he still couldn't come up with the second half of the poem.
Writing poetry is so difficult. She let out a breath, and her mind was in a state of confusion again.
The moonlight outside the window is bright, flowing on the window lattice and seeping into the house.
There was red charcoal burning in the stove, and the whole bedroom was warm. As she thought about it, her eyelids began to droop, and before she knew it, she closed her eyes completely and fell into a deep sleep.
When Xie Yuting walked in, this was the scene he saw.
The girl, half covered in a goose yellow coat, lay on a small table, her head resting lightly on her arms, her eyes closed, extremely quiet, her long eyelashes trembling with her breathing, like a tired bird returning to its nest to rest.
He walked over, brushed away the moonlight on her body, gently picked up the girl, carried her across a green bead curtain, and carried her to the wide couch.
From beginning to end, the girl in his arms was as quiet as a painting and never woke up.
He tucked in the quilt and pulled the bed curtain to cover her tightly.
He walked towards the window again, lowered his head and picked up the ink-stained rice paper. There was only a line of beautiful handwriting on it. It was obvious that it was a poem written by a princess after much thought.
Unfortunately, only the first half is available.
Through the thin paper and just a few words, Xie Yuting accidentally got a glimpse of her thoughts.
He raised the corners of his lips, picked up the fallen brush, picked up the brush and wrote the first and second half of the poem.
She wrote the first stanza and he continued with the second.
There were two different handwritings on the paper, one as clear and elegant as spring water, and the other as unrestrained as the wind.
"I can't sleep with my clothes on, thinking of your words, fireflies are streaming into the jade courtyard under the moon."
He silently folded the paper, put it into a locked wooden box, and hid it in the drawer of the treasure chest.
The little wolf who was taking a nap beside the table leg raised his head, his eyes bright and he looked at him in confusion.
Xie Yuting touched the little wolf's head and smiled.
Qiqi blinked and smelled a hint of ill intention.
After finishing everything, he extinguished the candle and walked towards the couch.
The moon sets and the sun rises, and the morning light is dim.
A bird chirped outside the window, and Jiang Yueying slowly woke up. She rubbed her eyes in confusion and found that she was still wearing clothes, and a very dishonest prince was sleeping next to her, with his arm on her.
Hmm... didn't she sit by the window and write poetry last night?
I have no idea when he ran onto the couch. He didn't even take off his clothes.
Something is wrong.
She pulled down the arm that was across her waist and wondered secretly, could it be that Xie Yuting had carried her onto the couch?
Just as she was confused, she suddenly recalled something. Jiang Yueying sat up straight, lifted the bed curtain and looked towards the window, looking for the half-written poem last night.
Xie Yuting wouldn’t have seen it, right?
She hurriedly got off the bed and walked to the closed window in her slippers. She glanced around and found that the rice paper on the small table was gone.
The window frames were closed tightly and shouldn't have been blown away by the wind, so where did it go?
Bend down, open your eyes wide, and begin to search the spotless ground.
But nothing was found.
"Little princess, why are you crawling into the ground so early in the morning?" A frivolous and teasing voice sounded, with the unique laziness of just waking up.
Jiang Yueying froze for a moment and explained awkwardly, "I'm looking for something."
"How did I get into bed last night?"
Xie Yuting yawned: "I carried you up here."
It is true.
Jiang Yueying stammered, "Have you seen the paper on my desk?"
The other party must have seen it...
She was anxious and her heart was in turmoil.
"I thought I saw a piece of paper with words written on it," he paused and smiled, "but it was swallowed up by Qiqi."
The wolf cub, who had just woken up, heard his own name and looked up at the two of them with clear, innocent round eyes: "Awoo?"
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