Ye Zhixuan watched as Shen Qinghuai turned away, and with a surge of courage she didn't know where she got the courage. She gritted her teeth and said shyly, "Lord Shen, it's late and the road is dark. Let me carry a lantern and see you off."
Shen Qinghuai paused, then immediately turned around and refused, saying, "No need, no need. Miss Ye has difficulty walking; I can walk by myself."
Upon hearing Shen Qinghuai's words, Ye Zhixuan froze on the spot.
What a convenient way to deal with leg problems!
Ye Zhixuan felt as if she had been thrown into an icy lake. Even though it was still a sweltering season, her whole body felt ice-cold.
She lowered her eyes subconsciously and forced a smile. "Zhixuan is overthinking it. Take care, Lord Shen."
Shen Qinghuai was usually very polite, but today he couldn't care less about manners; his only thought was to get out of there as soon as possible.
As Shen Yunjiao and Fu Xia were placing the jars of perfume on ice in the courtyard, she inadvertently caught a glimpse of Shen Qinghuai striding hurriedly out, almost as if he were fleeing in panic.
Shen Yunjiao paused, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.
She had originally intended to call out to Shen Qinghuai to ask him something, but her brother ran off so fast that he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Shen Yunjiao walked back into the room and saw Ye Zhixuan standing there, looking lost and blank, staring at the embroidered box depicting mandarin ducks playing in the water.
"Zhixuan, what happened? Why did your brother leave in such a hurry?" Shen Yunjiao lifted the beaded curtain and walked up to Ye Zhixuan, only to see that her eyes were slightly red and she was stubbornly holding back tears.
Shen Yunjiao guessed that Shen Qinghuai must have said or done something that made Ye Zhixuan sad.
No matter how much she asked, Ye Zhixuan kept shaking her head and denying it, refusing to tell Shen Yunjiao what had just happened.
Seeing Shen Yunjiao's worried expression, Ye Zhixuan quickly forced a smile and said, "Yunjiao, I'm crying because I'm so happy. After all, I'll be able to see my father tomorrow."
"Really?" Shen Yunjiao was still a little doubtful, but since Ye Zhixuan refused to say, she couldn't press the matter further. She could only say, "I have already asked my brother to prepare Maoyunzhai next to the west courtyard. Lord Ye can stay at the Shen residence for the time being."
Unexpectedly, Ye Zhixuan, who always followed Shen Yunjiao's arrangements, shook her head this time. She bit her lip and politely declined, "Yunjiao, there's no need to trouble you and Lord Shen."
When the name Lord Shen was mentioned, a hint of sadness flashed in Ye Zhixuan's eyes, but she quickly masked it with a calm expression. "You and Lord Shen have helped the Ye family a lot, and Zhixuan will definitely remember your kindness. But this temporary stay is unnecessary. The Ye family's old house in the capital has not yet been sold, so I will take my father there to stay tomorrow."
After pondering for a moment, Shen Yunjiao nodded and said, "Alright, Lord Ye will definitely feel more comfortable staying at his home. When you go to pick up Lord Ye tomorrow, I will send a few people to clean the Ye family mansion and bring a few servants with you there."
Hearing Shen Yunjiao's words warmed Ye Zhixuan's heart, and her sadness seemed to lessen considerably.
"Yun Jiao, you are so kind." Ye Zhixuan gently took Shen Yun Jiao's hands and solemnly promised, "If you ever need my help in the future, just let me know. I will go through fire and water for you."
Shen Yunjiao chuckled, "Let's not talk about the future, right now I only have one thing I need your help with."
"What is it?" Ye Zhixuan asked seriously, her eyes filled with anticipation.
Ye Qinghuai's sudden resistance had indeed hurt her feelings.
Ye Zhixuan guessed that even if Shen Qinghuai was a good person and a gentleman, what gentleman would be willing to get too close to a girl with a limp? That's why he ran away when he sensed that something was wrong.
Ye Zhixuan didn't blame him; it's only human nature.
Regardless, the Shen family is her great benefactor, and she will do everything in her power to repay their kindness.
Ye Zhixuan secretly made up her mind that she would carefully hide her feelings for Shen Qinghuai in the future and would not rush forward to pester him as rashly as she had just done.
This might be a good thing for both her and Shen Qinghuai.
She was able to cherish the love she couldn't express in words.
She was not good enough for a man as handsome and aloof as Shen Qinghuai.
Seeing that Shen Yunjiao excitedly pulled her to sit at the table and moved the embroidered box in front of her, Ye Zhixuan quickly perked up and asked, "Yunjiao, how do you want me to help you?"
Shen Yunjiao smiled slightly and said, "Zhixuan, can you teach me how to embroider a sachet?"
Ye Zhixuan was somewhat surprised after hearing this. She said gently, "Yun Jiao, haven't you always disliked embroidery? Besides, you are weak and have just recovered from a serious illness. It's really not good for you to do such eye-straining work. If you like, I'll embroider some nice ones for you."
"I actually wanted to embroider one myself," Shen Yunjiao said shyly in a voice barely audible.
"What did you say???" Ye Zhixuan didn't hear clearly and looked up at Shen Yunjiao.
Shen Yunjiao's face slowly turned red. She pursed her lips and answered in a slightly higher tone, "I want to embroider one myself and give it to someone."
Ye Zhixuan suddenly realized.
It was originally intended as a gift.
She smiled and opened the embroidery box. "Okay, if you want to learn, let's start with the most basic thing: threading a needle."
Although Ye Zhixuan was on good terms with Shen Yunjiao, she didn't easily pry into Shen Yunjiao's private affairs. She would tell Shen Yunjiao when she was ready to talk about it.
Ye Zhixuan handed the needle and thread to Shen Yunjiao and patiently became Shen Yunjiao's teacher.
Shen Yunjiao's needlework skills were so proficient that Ye Zhixuan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
Shen Yunjiao smiled shyly in response.
Ye Zhixuan certainly didn't know that Shen Yunjiao had stitched up wounds for thousands of patients in the hospital in her previous life.
For her, threading a needle was a trivial matter.
Shen Yunjiao selected a piece of ginger-yellow fabric and handed it to Ye Zhixuan, who cut it into a square and stuffed it into the embroidery hoop, then asked, "Yunjiao, is there anything you'd like to embroider?"
"Ahem, well..." Shen Yunjiao began, sounding slightly nervous, "I want to embroider a black dragon."
After thinking for a moment, she added, "A handsome and dashing black dragon."
Ye Zhixuan thought to herself, "A yellow background with a black dragon, this embroidery might not look good."
But seeing Shen Yunjiao's enthusiastic expression, she couldn't say anything discouraging. Since the embroidery wasn't good, she could just start over.
As the night deepened, the bright moon, which had once resembled a silver platter, quietly hid behind thick, dark clouds.
Under the lamplight in the side room, two women were bent over a table, their needlework never ceasing.
Finally, under Ye Zhixuan's careful guidance and encouragement, Shen Yunjiao created her first handmade piece in two lifetimes.
After the last needle was inserted and sealed, Shen Yunjiao let out a long breath and said to Ye Zhixuan with a smile, "Finally finished."
Ye Zhixuan smiled gently at her without saying a word.
Fu Xia, who had just been kept aside by Shen Yunjiao and not allowed to look, finally couldn't suppress her curiosity and rushed to the table to see her master's masterpiece with her own eyes.
Her mistress was always incredibly clever; how could a small sachet possibly stump the young lady?
Fu Xia thought this way, but when she picked up the sachet and held it in her hands to examine it carefully, her expression clearly changed.
"girl..."
Fu Xia blinked hard, examined it again, and then slowly asked, "Miss, why are you embroidering a caterpillar?"
Moreover, it was a giant, black, and fat caterpillar.
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhixuan couldn't help but laugh.
Shen Yunjiao snatched the sachet away, her almond-shaped eyes widening as she feigned anger. "Fuxia, don't think you can talk nonsense just because you're married! This is a dragon! A dragon!"
This isn't some caterpillar at all; Fu Xia just needs a good beating.
Shen Yunjiao pretended to pinch Fu Xia's soft waist, which frightened her so much that she hid behind Ye Zhixuan, begging for mercy as she tried to escape.
"Oh, my dear girl, I know I was wrong!"
Ye Zhixuan smiled and pulled Shen Yunjiao back to her chair. "It's alright. Practice makes perfect. Yunjiao can get another one."
"I think this is fine," Shen Yunjiao muttered softly, carefully placing it back in the dressing table's vanity case.
Unfortunately, she couldn't freely enter or leave the palace. She could only wait a few days until Xiao Huaijin came again, and then she would bring this adorably ugly thing to him.
Unexpectedly, the very next day, she had the opportunity to enter the palace.
However, the person who wanted to see her was not Xiao Huaijin, but Xiao Huaijin's grandmother—Empress Dowager Xiao.
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