Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Tan Zhu
Seeing the growing disappointment on Chu Xingjian and Chu Zhuoan's faces, Yu An couldn't help but feel anxious. Guilt and self-blame welled up in her heart, and a sense of powerlessness almost overwhelmed her.
Ji Jinghe is not one to go back on his word, so what happened today?
Yu An reached out and touched the dish; it was already getting warm.
"If we can't wait, let's eat first, we won't wait for him." Yu An flipped over the plates that were covering the dishes one by one, and Chu Zhuo An also helped.
Chu Xingjian glanced at his daughter and sighed inwardly, "Then let's eat first. The cabinet has a lot of things to do, and they might get stuck for something. It's alright, it's alright."
Yu An suppressed her deep disappointment and remained silent. She stared at the sumptuous dishes in front of her, but had no appetite. She picked up her chopsticks, unsure of what to do next.
Hurried footsteps came from outside the door. Looking up, I saw Baozhu.
"Qingque just sent word that the young master said he has something to attend to and he probably won't be able to come today. He told us not to wait for him."
The heart that had been stirred again sank heavily once more, leaving Yu An breathless.
Seeing Yu An's expression, Chu Xingjian waved to Baozhu, signaling her to leave, "It's alright, if they don't want to come, they don't have to. We father and sons are having a good time."
Yu An looked at the rice bowl in front of her, forced a smile, and nodded to Chu Xingjian.
Ji Jinghe's last-minute cancellation completely dampened Yu An's spirits. She barely ate a few bites before stopping. And it wasn't just her; it was clear that Chu Xingjian and Chu Zhuo'an weren't interested either.
Before coming, Yu'an brought her father a pair of shoes she had made herself. However, when she was about to leave, her carriage was stuffed full of things given to her by Chu Xingjian, containing all sorts of items, almost everything imaginable, as if he was afraid that she would not have a good time in her husband's family and would suffer any grievances.
Yu'an: "Dad, I'm sorry..."
Chu Xingjian didn't take it to heart and clicked his tongue: "What's the big deal? It's a small matter. It'll be the same if he comes again. I know he's been busy with official duties lately."
There is never a moment of peace in the cabinet. As the chief minister, he knows that it is not wrong for Ji Jinghe not to come. However, it would be most wrong to hurt Yu An's feelings because of this.
Chu Xingjian patted Yu'an on the shoulder and comforted her, "Go back with peace of mind. Zhuo'er and I are doing fine. I'll only be happy if I see you doing well."
Their mother died in childbirth when they were twelve, and the siblings relied on Chu Xingjian's meticulous care to grow up to be who they are today. For Yu An, they are the most important family members.
Back at the Ji residence, Baozhu didn't rest. She recorded everything she had brought back that day into the archives, while Yu'an washed up early and sat on the couch to continue her needlework.
Ji Jinghe returned late; she was already sitting on the bed.
Since no one had informed her that he wouldn't be coming back that night, she had no choice but to wait for him to return.
Strangely, Ji Jinghe returned wearing casual clothes, not his official robes. She wanted to ask, but couldn't bring herself to speak, and finally could only swallow her words.
Ji Jinghe poured himself a cup of tea, seemingly not wanting to look at her, still turning his body away indifferently. After a moment, he asked her, "How was your birthday?"
"It's just a meal, nothing special." Yu'an put down her work and said in a low voice, "There's still hot water in the washroom. Master, hurry up and finish washing up and go to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow morning."
Ji Jinghe turned to look at the canopy bed, which had already had half of its curtain drawn, let out a heavy sigh, and without further hesitation, took off his outer robe and entered the clean room.
When Yu An looked up and looked outside again, Ji Jinghe had disappeared. Seeing the outer robe casually draped on the clothes rack, Yu An remembered that he had worn this garment for several days. After hesitating for a while, she had no choice but to get out of bed and take out a new one from the closet and drape it over the robe.
When I took off the old clothes, a similar thing happened again.
It was that same sandalwood bead that fell out again from the cuff.
Ji Jinghe, finding no movement in the clean room, took the sandalwood bead in her hand and examined it a few more times. The sandalwood bead was exquisitely carved, with intricate patterns on it. When rubbed between her fingertips, the surface was already very smooth, indicating that it had been there for a long time.
She hadn't seen the sachet she made since she gave it away, but Ji Jinghe carried this one with him relentlessly, so it must be extremely important to him.
Yu An placed the things on the small table on the tatami mat, and then went to bed.
When Ji Jinghe came out, he saw the figure already lying down with his back to him, so he casually extinguished the candle in the room. When he lay down, for some reason, he felt inexplicably restless. The faint, clean scent filled his nostrils, making it impossible for him to calm down.
Nothing happened that night... The next day, I got up on time as usual.
Ji Jinghe saw the newly taken-out clothes and the sandalwood beads on the small table, and tidied them up naturally. "I still have some things to do today, so you don't need to wait for me for dinner."
Yu paused as he handed him the leather belt, and said, "Okay."
After taking him away, she didn't rest. After breakfast, Shen Qiulan sent someone to call her over and gave her the task of delivering the copied Buddhist scriptures to the City God Temple in the suburbs.
It happened to be a temple fair, so before Yu An set off, he took Chu Zhuo An with him.
Those who studied at the Imperial Academy had no holidays all year round. Considering how hard he studied and practiced martial arts, Yu'an wanted to ask him to go out for a walk to relax.
It is said that this temple has a history of over a hundred years and is extremely efficacious. In the past, it was very popular with worshippers, and today it was even more crowded, with the road almost completely blocked. So, the brother and sister got out of the car some distance from the temple.
Having completed the main tasks at hand, I simply wandered around the vicinity of the venue.
When Chu Zhuo'an saw the archery masters by the roadside, he was immediately captivated and refused to leave. He insisted on trying his hand and winning a prize for Yu'an.
"You've only been learning archery for a few days, be careful not to miss and hurt someone," Yu An said worriedly.
Although the arrowheads are not as large as those used in formal martial arts training, the bow is real, and it takes force to pierce the target.
There are many people nearby, but if the shot misses, it's hard to say whether someone will be injured.
Chu Zhuoan: "Don't worry, sister, this arrow is small and won't hurt anyone."
Nock the bowstring, push the bow, draw the string, aim, release the arrow...
Completed in one go.
However, there were no arrows on the target.
Suddenly, she heard a series of screeching sounds. Yu An stared intently at the distance and her heart skipped a beat.
The horse stood upright as if it were a person, its neighing tearing through the noise of the street. The carriage behind it swayed like duckweed, threatening to break the reins and overturn the carriage. If the driver hadn't been skilled, it would have been another disaster.
Before the lingering panic from the commotion in the carriage had completely subsided, she stepped forward and led Chu Zhuo'an to apologize. After a long while, there was no movement inside the carriage.
A simply dressed maid stepped off the carriage, and then, the hem of her simple and elegant white lotus-patterned skirt came into view.
Yu An looked up, concealing her surprise, and couldn't help but catch her breath. It was Xu Jingshu.
After the downfall of the Xu family, Xu Jingshu, once known as the most talented woman in the capital, gradually faded from public view, living a secluded life and rarely appearing in public.
Yu An remembered her only because of a brief encounter many years ago. At that time, the Xu family was at the height of its power, and Xu Jingshu was very famous, making her hard to forget.
Thinking about it, Xu Yun was once Ji Jinghe's teacher. Even if the flood washed away the Dragon King Temple, he couldn't refuse to pay his respects.
Yu An bowed and said, "Miss Xu, please forgive me."
Seeing his sister's reaction, Chu Zhuoan knew he had caused trouble and quickly apologized as well.
The person in front of her smiled faintly and quickly raised her hand to help Yu An's bowing hand, "Miss Chu, you are too kind, I am fine."
Hearing this, she spoke softly and raised her head to examine her appearance closely. Her face was still as beautiful as a peach blossom, and even without the gold and silver ornaments, she was no less charming than she had been in the forest.
Yu An concealed her feelings of shame and smiled, "Miss Xu actually remembers me?"
“Jing and I were childhood friends, and now that you and he are husband and wife, we naturally know each other.”
In Yu'an's memory, this was only their second meeting, so how could they have known each other...?
Without delving into the details, Yu'an said, "My younger brother is mischievous. He took a fancy to the archery at the roadside stall and wanted to win a prize for me. He didn't expect to overestimate his abilities and disturb Miss's carriage. Please forgive him, Miss."
"It's nothing serious, Miss Chu, why are you being so polite?" Xu Jingshu smiled and took her hand.
She lowered her head helplessly, a smile still on her lips, pondering what to say next, when an object unexpectedly caught her eye out of the corner of her eye—its unique pattern made her absolutely certain that she couldn't mistake it.
The sandalwood beads reflected a faint luster, so dazzling under the light-colored dress, like a fine needle piercing straight into the eye, instantly shattering all the deliberate peace maintained, even making one forget what to say next.
Every extra glance, every extra glimpse, felt like a crushing blow to her heart, causing her unbearable pain.
Xu Jingshu looked around and asked in surprise, "Where's Jinghe? Didn't he come with you?"
"I came here today to deliver Buddhist scriptures to my mother-in-law. She... is very busy with official duties and never comes to places like this." Yu'an felt as if she had lost her voice, her mouth open but she couldn't hear what she was saying.
Xu Jingshu chuckled and said casually, "But he sent someone to tell me yesterday that he would be coming today. Could it be that he wants to give you a surprise?"
What seemed like a joke was actually a stab to Yu'an's heart.
Whether it was intentional or unintentional, whether it was joy or disgust, others might not know, but Yu-an certainly did.
Based on her impression of Ci'en Temple last time, she could tell that Ji Jinghe clearly disliked such lively places... He was disgusted, he didn't believe it, he was so busy every day, he could even break his promise to her, how could he have promised to come here to someone else...
Seeing Yu An's stiff expression, Chu Zhuo'an quietly tugged at her sleeve from behind, but received no response from Yu An.
Xu Jingshu saw right through Yu An's reaction, but still didn't let go of Yu An's hand, and teased her, "No wonder everyone said you two were a perfect match before you got married. It seems that you are indeed a loving and well-matched couple."
"Do you still find the Deer Cry Zither easy to use? It was originally left by the old Marquis. Jinghe lent it to me for a while before, but then something happened in my family and I had to return it."
Yu An gave a wry smile and said dryly, "Miss Xu doesn't know, I can't play the piano."
Xu Jingshu looked at her with feigned surprise, even her smile carried a hint of insincere mockery, "Lord Chu is very learned, I originally thought these things were to be taught... If you don't know them, you can learn them later."
The Xu family has a tradition of poetry and etiquette. Xu Jingshu began her education at the age of three and was taught by a female tutor from a young age. As for Yu An, when she was five years old, she was still playing wildly in the town of Jiangling all day long. How could she know so much?
When her mother was alive, she taught her needlework and tea ceremony. Chu Xingjian was the one who introduced her to reading and writing. However, no one in the family was good at musical instruments, so she knew nothing about them.
“Miss Xu is naturally beautiful and cannot be compared to ordinary people like us. I will not make things difficult for myself.” She said firmly, trying to control her emotions.
A silent tension suddenly gripped the air. The two gazes were like two unsheathed swords, their sharpness hidden in their eyes, their undercurrents concealed beneath the calm surface.
Xu Jingshu suddenly pursed her lips and smiled faintly. She didn't respond to her words, but simply looked away and said with a slight smile, "Jinghe, you've come."
The words "Jinghe" suddenly pierced her ears, causing her heart to skip a beat and her mind to go blank.
Almost instinctively, I turned around, and when my gaze unexpectedly fell into a pair of frost-filled black eyes, I felt my breath catch in my throat.
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