A poem
Suddenly, Xiutao remembered something trivial and quickly spoke up.
“Miss, there is one more thing. The last time I saw you before I was sold off, you said something strange.”
Li Wan perked up. "What did you say?"
"You asked me to recite a poem for you the next time I see you."
poetry?
Why did Jiang Feiwan have her maid recite poems for her?
"What poem?" Li Wan asked.
Xiutao thought for a long time before she could recite a poem in four lines of seven characters each.
Li Wan wanted Xiu Tao to write down the poem, but Xiu He didn't know many characters and could only recite it, not write it down.
Li Wan was also illiterate and couldn't understand the meaning of the poem, so he had to ask Xiu Tao to read it aloud several times until he could recite it silently.
Finally, Li Wan comforted Xiu Tao for a few words and then told her to go and rest.
After Xiutao left, Liwan took paper and ink and tried to write down the poem. However, just like a child singing a nursery rhyme, she could only move her mouth but couldn't match each syllable to the corresponding word.
I've been working on it all night and I'm still completely confused.
The next day, after much thought, she decided to ask Xie Qi for help.
Since marrying into the Marquis's mansion, except for New Year's Eve when she shared a bed with Xie Qi, she stayed at Yingyue Residence while Xie Qi stayed at Zhenyun Hall. Xie Qi didn't think much of her, and she was happy to have some peace and quiet.
After Xie Qi returned from the Ministry of War and finished discussing matters with officials in his study, Li Wan was led in by the guard named Mo Qi.
"grown ups."
Li Wan curtsied and then placed a plate of pastries in front of Xie Qi, carrying a food box.
Xie Qi looked at the plate of pastries he had never seen before and raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Last time, you said you wanted to eat the pastries I made myself, so today I spent the whole day grinding glutinous rice and kneading dough to make this plate of spiced cakes for you."
Xie Qi's brows furrowed slightly. "Five-spice cake? I've never heard of this pastry before?"
Li Wan thought to herself, "Of course someone as powerful as you has never heard of this. Although it is called a pastry, it is actually made from glutinous rice flour and other filling ingredients. It is something that poor people eat, and it is also the only snack that she knows how to make."
"Please try it." Too lazy to explain to him, Li Wan urged.
Xie Qi glanced at the plate, then looked up at her. "Besides, I don't remember saying I wanted to eat the desserts you made yourself?"
Li Wan felt guilty and mumbled, "It's what you said last time, maybe the master has forgotten."
Xie Qi chuckled, withdrew his gaze, picked up a piece of spiced cake and slowly finished it. He took a sip of tea to rinse his mouth, wiped his fingers with a damp cloth, and then slowly raised his eyes to look at Li Wan. "What is it?"
Li Wan smiled knowingly, knowing that he could see through her.
She took small steps closer to the armchair where he was sitting and asked sincerely, "Sir, are you skilled in poetry?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Qi's handsome eyes showed a rare hint of surprise. Seeing the woman in front of him looking so serious, he said directly, "I know a little bit about it."
Li Wan was overjoyed and moved closer to him.
The familiar fragrance of flowers wafted over, and Xie Qi's fingers, resting on the armrest of the chair, twitched slightly.
"My lord, there is a poem of mine that I don't quite understand. I would like you to help me decipher it."
Xie Qi casually pointed to the paper, ink, brush, and inkstone on the table, "You can write this poem down first."
"I……"
Li Wan bit her lip, then obsequiously laid the paper out neatly in front of Xie Qi, picked up a pen, and dipped it in a little ink.
"To be honest, sir, I heard someone else recite this poem, and there are some words I'm not sure about. So, I'd like to recite it myself, and you can write it down for me. Is that alright?"
Xie Qi glanced at her for a long time, then reached out and took the ink brush.
Li Wan slowly began to speak: "The past was misplaced, and the hatred is hard to let go. The ink marks are deeply sealed in the autumn courtyard. The jade ornaments are covered with dust, and the fragrance has not yet dissipated. The porcelain box is bathed in moonlight, leaving only an empty shadow."
She would read a sentence, and Xie Qi would write it down. As soon as she finished reading, Xie Qi would put down his pen.
Looking at the flowing, vigorous handwriting on the paper, Li Wan frowned, pursed her lips, hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure these are the words?"
Xie Qi laughed in exasperation. It turned out she was worried about his talent and afraid he would make a mistake.
He then asked, "Do you know how I entered officialdom back then?"
“You…” Li Wan was stunned for a moment before realizing that Xie Qi had won first place in the imperial examination and was personally selected as the top scholar by the emperor in the Golden Palace.
"A top scholar's talent is certainly not wrong." Li Wan hurriedly read these few lines of poetry carefully.
Xie Qi chuckled as he watched her raise her eyebrows and sigh as she looked at the poem.
"You used to write me such eloquent letters, but now you don't understand this simple poem. Could it be..."
Xie Qi turned his head to look at the woman who was so close to him, his gaze intriguing.
Li Wan was startled by his unfinished words, "Could it be something?"
Xie Qi raised his hand and pinched her chin with two fingers, making her face to face with him. Their breaths mingled and their eyes met. One of them scrutinized her boldly, while the other could hardly hide her nervousness.
Only when Li Wan's face turned crimson and her breath became warm did he chuckle and speak, "Could it be that all the letters you wrote to me before were ghostwritten, and you are actually just an ignorant and uncouth woman with a hollow reputation?"
The man's thin lips were so close that, for a moment, Li Wan felt his lips brush against hers. She froze and stared blankly for a long time before she realized he was teasing her.
She staggered back a step, dodging his grip, and mumbled a reply, "You're joking, sir."
Xie Qi seemed displeased with her escape, so he raised his hand, grasped her slender wrist, and pulled her back to his side with a little force. With his other hand, he pointed to the poem and explained it to her.
"The poet used this poem to depict a deep affection that was betrayed and buried in a past life, and also used the scenery to express her loneliness and regret."
Xie Qi gently tapped the ink characters with his clean fingertips. "The person who wrote this poem must have been a woman from a respectable family who was betrayed by a man and was heartbroken. Therefore, she wrote this poem before parting."
Impressive! Li Wan sighed inwardly. He could guess her identity from just a few words. She was indeed a top scholar.
However, according to Xie Qi, this poem should have been written by Jiang Feiwan, but why would she have Xiu Tao tell 'her' the poem she wrote? Also, why mention the past life? Furthermore, 'farewell' implies that she knew she would die, so why did she leave behind a poem?
With so many questions crammed into her mind, Li Wan was completely bewildered.
Xie Qi glanced at the poem a few more times, then looked up at Li Wan with a deep and dark gaze.
"Jiang Feiwan," he suddenly called out to her.
"Hmm?" Li Wan looked up and met his eyes.
"You trust me a lot," Xie Qi said with certainty.
Li Wan wanted to roll her eyes after hearing this, thinking to herself: Nonsense, I went to great lengths to stay here just to help you. We're in the same boat, who else would you believe?
Of course, Li Wan dared not say these words aloud, and could only repeat her previous statement: "You are my husband, if I don't trust you, who else can I trust?"
"Why do you say that? Have you interpreted something from the poem?"
After Li Wan finished speaking, Xie Qi looked at her for a long time, and then pointed to the poem, "Besides the literal meaning, this poem is actually a hidden-character poem."
"Hidden character poem?"
Li Wan's eyes widened instantly, and she immediately understood why Xie Qi was so sure she trusted him and could tell him such a secret poem without reservation. It was clear that she had complete faith in him.
However, Li Wan didn't have time to care what Xie Qi was thinking at the moment, and hurriedly asked, "Sir, what words are hidden here?"
Xie Qifu picked up his brush and circled four characters within the poem.
"Ink, seal, jade, porcelain."
Li Wan frowned and read out the four words he circled.
Xie Qi nodded and told her directly, "The person who wrote this poem wanted to tell you that she has a letter hidden between jade and porcelain."
Li Wan's slender fingers, which were resting on the table, clenched tightly. Jiang Feiwan had hidden a letter between the jade and the porcelain!
A strong intuition told her that this letter held the key to answering all her questions.
Jade and porcelain? Where are those?
Li Wan racked her brains trying to figure out where Jiang Feiwan's letter might be, completely unaware that the man beside her had never taken his eyes off her.
Who gave her the poem? No one had done it before; she only recently learned of it. Who recently came to her side? It was her former maid.
Who ordered the maid? It couldn't be Xiao Xian. Xiao Xian wouldn't need to go to such lengths to contact her. The maid had been living in the Jiang household before being sold, and she only saw him yesterday by chance. It was he who rescued her, so it wasn't premeditated. Therefore, the person who had the maid convey the poem must be someone from the Jiang household.
The Jiang family mansion? The person who wrote this poem was expressing their true feelings, and it could not have been written by a man or a woman. It could only have been written by a young woman, but apart from Jiang Feiwan herself, there were no other women in the Jiang family mansion.
Why wouldn't she understand, or even be able to write, her own poetry?
Xie Qi quickly identified the key issue and asked calmly, "Do you need me to send someone to find the letter for you?"
When Li Wan heard Xie Qi say he would help her find the letter, she was afraid that he would doubt her identity, so she said, "I heard this poem from someone else. It is unknown who wrote it or who left the letter. There is no need to look for it."
Xie Qi didn't expose her, and nodded, "Alright then."
"Thank you for helping me interpret the poem today, sir. I will not disturb you any longer."
After completing the ceremony, Li Wan couldn't wait to leave.
Xie Qi watched her impatient back, his gaze sweeping over the handwriting, and snapped his fingers.
The secret guard, Mo Shi, entered silently.
...
Three days later, after consulting with Madam Xie, Li Wan returned to the Jiang residence.
This was Li Wan's first visit to her parents' home since her marriage. Coincidentally, Jiang Nanyue was on leave at his residence, and Jiang Feiche was not in the palace to accompany her studies.
The family finished their lunch quietly and then sat down in the main hall to drink tea.
When Li Wan insisted on marrying Xie Qi as a concubine, Jiang Nan Yue publicly rebuked her and said he would no longer acknowledge her as his daughter. However, he then swallowed his pride and begged the emperor to elevate her to the status of a secondary wife. Li Wan was deeply moved by his love for his daughter.
When she returned today, although Jiang Nanyue had a cold face, Li Wan could still notice the slight relaxation in his eyes.
"How has Father been lately? Has he been busy with official duties?" Li Wan broke the silence first.
Jiang Nanyue snorted coldly, "All is well, no need for you to worry."
Li Wan knew he was stubborn but soft-hearted, so she wasn't angry. She then said to Madam Zou, "Mother, you must take care of yourself while you manage the whole household."
Madam Zou nodded with a smile, "Wan'er looks much more energetic than before. It seems that Madam Xie and her husband treat Wan'er very well."
"Yes, my grandmother is tolerant and caring towards her daughter. Although my husband is busy with official business, he has never neglected her in terms of food, clothing and daily necessities."
Li Wan glanced at Jiang Nanyue, "Therefore, I am doing very well in the Marquis's mansion. Father and Mother, you don't need to worry about me."
"That's excellent."
Lady Zou laughed even more heartily. After the New Year's Eve banquet in the palace, she heard from the ladies of noble families who had entered the palace that day that Lord Xie treated his concubine very well, and publicly carried the drunken Wan'er out of the palace. It seemed that with Xie Qi's current status and power, Che'er would definitely be able to rely on him in the future, which was not bad.
Knowing what his mother was thinking, Jiang Feiche glanced at her helplessly, then looked up and met her bright eyes.
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