Shen Qingchen changed her clothes behind the screen. Because she had been soaked in the rain, her bare skin felt cold after she took off her clothes, and her fair and slender legs trembled involuntarily.
She was shivering as she tried to get dressed when she suddenly heard footsteps. She froze, her heart leaping into her throat.
Teacher Song seems to be coming over...
Shen Qingchen held her breath and strained to listen, quickly putting on her pants. Then she realized that her upper body was practically naked as well, and she panicked so much that her hands wouldn't obey her commands.
A moment later, the sound of the door being pushed open was heard, followed by the sound of the door closing.
Qingchen listened quietly for a while, and only after confirming that he had left did she feel relieved. She leaned her slender arm against the screen and let out a long sigh of relief.
After changing her clothes, she came out from behind the screen, and sure enough, Song Yue was no longer in the room.
The blue-and-white porcelain lamp on the desk snapped open, burning a tiny flame. Shen Qingchen glanced at it and noticed a neatly folded handkerchief on the corner of his desk—the very one she had used to wrap her hand, though the bloodstains had been washed away. His celadon brush rest rested on the handkerchief, and on the brush rest rested the brush whose ink was still wet… He hadn't thrown the handkerchief away; he was actually using it.
"Is it all changed?"
Song Yue's voice suddenly rang out behind him. Qing Chen turned around abruptly and found that his forehead was almost touching the tip of Song Yue's nose. He was very close to him, his gaze was light, and his strong chest rose and fell slightly under his official robe. He was holding a thin, moon-colored cloak in his hand.
The heavy rain outside completely drowned out the sound of him pushing open the door.
"Okay, teacher, it's changed."
He tossed the cloak in his hand and draped it over her back. "Wear this, it's cold outside."
Seeing that his teacher wasn't wearing a cloak, Shen Qingchen felt a little embarrassed to be wearing one himself, so he shook his head and said, "I am a man just like you, only a little smaller. I'm not afraid of the cold."
The soft candlelight enveloped her, illuminating the snow-white neck beneath her small face, its lines soft and slender, without an Adam's apple.
Song Yue's eyes flickered slightly. "Is that so?"
She nodded. "Yes!"
"Then you can wear this for now and keep it warm for your teacher."
"……good."
Let's go.
The two left the study, but instead of heading to the main gate, Shen Qingchen followed Song Yue in a daze and ended up in the dining hall.
Inside the room sat a round huanghuali wood table inlaid with mother-of-pearl, with several tall tables with scrolling grass-patterned legs at the four corners, each topped with a lush green spider plant. A small crack opened in the window, revealing the somber gray sky and fine rain outside.
Dishes were already laid out on the table: steamed lion's head meatballs with crab roe, braised chicken with dried bamboo shoots, stewed lamb tail, cucumber salad with vinegar... There were also two sets of bowls and chopsticks, and a small candle.
The dishes were still steaming hot, brightly colored, and had a wonderful aroma. Shen Qingchen immediately felt hungry.
"Sit down." Song Yue walked to the table and sat down. "The cook has just finished preparing the meal. Eat before you leave."
Shen Qingchen felt a little embarrassed. After all, he was a teacher and a high-ranking official. The two weren't that familiar with each other, and perhaps he was just being polite. "Thank you for your hospitality, teacher. I wouldn't dare to bother you. I'll eat at home."
As Song Yue ladled out a bowl of purple rice porridge, he said, "Didn't you say you were going to come to my house for a meal?"
"..."
"I didn't refuse you back then." He looked at her. "Don't you want to eat now? Don't you like the food my chef makes?"
Shen Qingchen lowered his head, "This student dares not."
After she sat down, he pushed the purple rice porridge in front of her, scooped a lion's head meatball into her bowl, and then ate it himself.
As a student, Shen Qingchen naturally dared not wait for the teacher to call him and obediently started eating. The lion's head in front of him was sprinkled with crab roe, and its color looked especially tempting under the candlelight.
She took a big bite, but didn't control the amount properly, and took too big a bite.
The lion's head meatballs were fresh out of the pot, and the broth inside was still very hot. Qingchen couldn't swallow them, so she could only slightly open her lips and keep exhaling hot air. She didn't know what to do with the tip of her tongue, and her eyes were red-rimmed.
This is embarrassing. He just said he wouldn't eat it, but when he started eating, he looked like he was in a hurry, like a pig.
Song Yue ate slowly and deliberately, then noticed something was wrong and glanced at her. "Did you burn yourself?"
She nodded awkwardly.
"Stick out your tongue so I can see it."
Shen Qingchen felt a little embarrassed because of her gluttony, but seeing Teacher Song's expectant eyes, she had no choice but to obediently do as she was told.
In the orange candlelight, her slender body was draped in a thin, moon-colored cloak. Her sideburns were sharply defined, her eyebrows and eyes were delicate and refined, and a tiny bit of her tongue cautiously peeked out from between her glossy lips.
Song Yue looked at his student, his gaze lingering for a moment, then lowered his head and ladled a bowl of cool rock sugar pear soup for her. "It's nothing, have some of this."
Shen Qingchen nodded, and when she took another bite, she was much more reserved. It seemed she had almost lost all semblance of composure in front of her teacher.
A moment later, the kitchen brought in another pot of soup, which was ladled out and placed into small blue-and-white porcelain bowls for the two of them. "Sir, the kitchen ran out of red dates today. It was raining heavily earlier, and we didn't have time to buy any. The poria and black chicken soup you ordered is missing red dates."
He shook his head. "It's nothing."
After the servants served the soup, Shen Qingchen looked at her bowl. It was steaming hot, with a thin layer of clear oil floating on top and a few goji berries sprinkled on top. The rich aroma of chicken soup wafted through the air.
Just as Qingchen was about to scoop up some soup to drink, Song Yue glanced at her and reminded her, "Let it cool down a bit before you drink it."
She nodded shyly, and after letting it cool down a bit, she took a sip. She found the flavor rich and mellow, leaving a lingering fragrance on her lips and teeth. The hot soup seemed to flow through her entire body, warming her from head to toe.
"Is it good?"
"It tastes good."
"Then drink more," Song Yue said calmly, "It's for your own good."
Shen Qingchen didn't catch the hidden meaning and simply said "good" to the tempting chicken soup.
After the two finished their meal, Song Yue escorted Shen Qingchen to the gate and ordered a carriage to take her home.
Just then, a man walked in from outside the gate, wearing a light brown right-fastening robe, half-soaked. Upon seeing him, he called out, "Ziwang, it's rained three times today; I'm soaked to the bone. And this is…"
"My student, Shen Qingchen, a junior official in the Hanlin Academy," Song Yue said, introducing the two of them.
This man was named Zhou Shiping. He was not particularly handsome and was from the same hometown as Song Yue. The two had known each other since childhood. However, his official career was not as smooth as Song Yue's. He had previously been a county magistrate in Zhejiang. He had just been transferred back to the capital and was to be appointed as a seventh-rank official in the Ministry of Works.
When Zhou Shiping first arrived in the capital, before he even had a place to stay, he moved into Song Yue's residence. In private, he didn't address Song Yue as Grand Secretary according to his official title, but simply called him by his courtesy name, Ziwang.
"Your little disciple is quite..." He squinted at Shen Qingchen, but stopped mid-sentence.
Shen Qingchen felt that his gaze carried a scrutinizing and probing quality, which made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Song Yue frowned slightly, "Stand up for what?"
Zhou Shiping chuckled awkwardly, "It's nothing."
"The carriage is ready, let's get in," Song Yue said, turning to Shen Qingchen.
"Thank you, teacher. That poem... could you please give it to me first?"
Song Yue nodded, took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, and handed it to her. She put the paper away, bowed to the two of them, and said, "Thank you for your hospitality, teacher. I will take my leave now."
Zhou Shiping gazed at Shen Qingchen's slender back, then leaned closer to Song Yue with his hands behind his back and asked curiously, "What poem?"
"The students were just doing it for fun."
"Oh. You took him home by carriage?"
As Song Yue walked, he said, "It's raining. His house isn't close, and there's a sick person at home waiting to be taken care of."
"Ziwang, that young disciple, is quite fortunate."
The next day, Shen Qingchen took the poem to Gu Shaoheng and asked, "Shaoheng, whose handwriting does this look like?"
Gu Shaoheng looked at it and shook his head. "Everyone usually uses the official script, but this poem is written in running script, so it's hard to tell whose handwriting it is. Qingchen, it hasn't been seven days yet, why did you go to claim it?"
"I'm going to find this person."
Although she was peaceful by nature, that didn't mean she wouldn't rebel. If the poet was unwilling to come forward, then she would find him.
Gu Shaoheng nodded, casually shooed away a person who had come to join the fun, and patted his chest, "Don't worry, your business is my business, if you've been wronged, I've been wronged. As long as it's within my power, I won't hesitate in the slightest. Do you have any ideas?"
Qingchen nodded. "Shaoheng, we've been in the Hanlin Academy for a year now. You've had some contact with them, and you've invited each other to dinner during festivals. Do you have any invitation cards from them?"
The Chinese nation has been a land of etiquette since ancient times, and the Ming Dynasty at one point even pursued elaborate but impractical social etiquette, requiring officials to exchange name cards. The contents of these name cards varied considerably; invitations to meals and drinks were usually quite simple, typically only stating the time and place and a signature, with few words. Officials had frequent social interactions, and to avoid forgetting invitations, they would keep the name cards they received for future reference.
Gu Shaoheng's eyes lit up immediately. "That's right. They've almost all invited me, so of course they have invitation cards. The invitation cards of us classmates are usually written in running script... Qingchen, you're so smart! Tonight I'll go home and find all the invitation cards, and I'll definitely find the 'real culprit'."
Gu Shaoheng was the type to act on his words, and since it involved Shen Qingchen's matter, he took it very seriously. When he got home that night, he searched through all the drawers and cabinets in the mansion. The maids in his room thought he had lost some treasure, but after asking him more closely, they found out that it was just some old pieces of paper, some of which were already yellowed.
Having found these calling cards, he pounced on the table and compared them with the poem by lamplight. Seeing his anxiety, the maids wanted to help him, but when they saw that the poem described their private parts, they all blushed and retreated.
Their master was still a novice, let alone them.
Gu Shaoheng was engrossed in the comparison, only stopping when the candle had burned out. After finishing, he had his maids bathe and change his clothes, and all the maids blushed.
He paused for a moment before realizing that there were so many "bright moons" in the room...
The next day, Gu Shaoheng couldn't wait to show off his victory. When he presented the calling card to Shen Qingchen, his face was full of pride, as if he wanted to write "Praise me!" on his forehead.
Gu Shaoheng pointed to this one and then to that one, "Look at this character '一' (one), doesn't it look similar? But the character '月' (moon) in this one looks even more similar... It's a pity that there are too few overlaps between the characters in the name card and the poem, so we can't verify them word by word."
“No need to verify,” Qingchen said, looking at him with certainty.
"Huh?" Gu Shaoheng was a little confused. He had been flipping through the name cards for a long time and comparing the handwriting for a long time... No need to verify?
"Um."
Just then, Xu Silin was walking in their direction. Gu Shaoheng immediately swept all the name cards into his arms and covered them with his sleeve. His movements were so swift that even Shen Qingchen couldn't see them clearly.
Xu Silin glanced at him and said, "What shady business are you doing?"
He grinned, revealing his teeth, "I do things that are shameful, which I'm sure you don't want to hear about."
Xu Silin ignored him and shifted his gaze to Qing Chen, asking meaningfully, "You too?"
Qingchen pursed her lips and whispered, mimicking Gu Shaoheng, "I suppose you wouldn't like to hear that either."
He frowned, then walked away, feeling rather awkward.
Gu Shaoheng breathed a sigh of relief and asked impatiently, "You just said that there's no need to verify the handwriting, so how can we find the person?"
Qingchen smiled slightly, "You just need to tell your classmates loudly that you have compared the handwriting on their name cards and found out who wrote the poem."
"You mean... to lure the snake out of its hole!" Gu Shaoheng immediately understood. After a moment of preparation, he deliberately raised his voice and said loudly, "Qingchen, I've found the person who wrote the poem for you. Does he think that just because he doesn't admit it, no one in the world will know? His handwriting is still on the name card in my house, clear and unmistakable. Don't worry, wait for Teacher Song to come this afternoon, and I will clear your name."
Sure enough, all the classmates in the room heard it, and without exception, they all crowded around to see his name card. Gu Shaoheng protected it like a precious treasure, not letting anyone see it, saying, "What's the rush? You'll all know this afternoon."
Xu Silin turned and glanced at Shen Qingchen, his expression somewhat subtle, neither happy nor sad.
At this moment, Sun Siwu approached Shen Qingchen and said apologetically, "Qingchen, that poem really wasn't written by you? I'm so sorry, I thought it was you in the hall that day..."
Qingchen shook her head. "It's okay. It's not your fault."
"You're not angry with me?"
“Ignorance is no excuse, and besides, you were also fooled by them back then.”
Sun Siwu nodded and smiled, "You're a really nice person."
Then he took out a book, pointed to a page, and asked, "I recently read this book, and there are a few sentences that I don't quite understand. Could you help me take a look?"
Shen Qingchen was the top student in the second class, and Sun Siwu was the second. Whenever he had a question, he would ask her for advice. He was still a little uneasy when he heard that she hadn't written the poem and that he had unintentionally offended her.
She took the book he handed her; it was a copy of *Cai Gen Tan*, filled with densely packed small characters—Sun Siwu's notes. Qingchen had read this book in middle school, and upon first reading it, she was captivated by the line, "Unperturbed by favor or disgrace, watch the flowers bloom and fade in the courtyard; indifferent to coming or going, gaze at the clouds drift and gather in the sky." Before the imperial examinations, to enrich her knowledge, she read it again.
"'Fish get into the water and forget about the water; birds fly on the wind and are unaware of the wind.' I think this sentence describes a state of mind..." Qingchen explained her understanding in detail, with clear wording and a calm tone.
After listening, Sun Siwu seemed to ponder for a moment, then suddenly realized something. He turned two more pages of the book and said, "There's another sentence. 'Amidst the hustle and bustle, a detached eye saves a lot of trouble; in solitude, a warm heart brings much true enjoyment.' What do you think of it?"
Qingchen explained it to her again.
Finally, he simply said, "Thank you, Qingchen. I have benefited greatly from discussing scholarship with you. You are such a kind person."
At noon, the students left the classroom in twos and threes. Gu Shaoheng put his arm around Shen Qingchen's shoulder and walked out the door with her, grinning. Qingchen took his hand off, and he whispered a few words in her ear before putting his arm around her again.
The midday sun shines on the corridor outside the classroom, and the cool breeze of the transition from summer to autumn blows through the gnarled branches and leaves, bringing down two early-blooming white petals.
The classroom was quiet, except for a man in a blue robe. After watching his classmates leave, he finally stood up and walked to Gu Shaoheng's desk. He flipped through the books Gu Shaoheng had left on the desk, searching for the calling card he had once handed out.
At this moment, Gu Shaoheng walked in from the door, followed by Shen Qingchen.
"Are you looking for this?" He showed him the dozen or so name cards in his hand.
The man immediately stopped searching, staring at the two people in front of him who were clearly prepared, his eyes filled with panic and resentment. "You actually tricked me!"
Gu Shaoheng crossed his arms and looked down at him. "Lin Mo, we didn't lie to you. Like Jiang Taigong fishing, those who are willing will take the bait. You were the one who heard me say that I had found the person, so you felt guilty and panicked, and tried to steal the name card back, thus betraying yourself."
"Shen Qingchen, it must have been your idea." Lin Mo was somewhat embarrassed and angry. "It's just a small matter, why did you all go to such lengths to scheme against me? I only wrote that poem to make everyone laugh, what's wrong with that?... Gu Shaoheng, when you read it yourself, didn't you laugh out loud? Now you're even helping Shen Qingchen scheme against me. You and I are both from aristocratic families, he's just a poor man, what good will it do you to help him?"
Gu Shaoheng smiled slightly, "In my eyes, there are no noble families or poor families, only those I want to help and those I don't want to help. What benefit would it bring me to help him? It would make me feel good! Although he comes from a poor family, he is upright and honest. Although you come from a noble family, you dare not admit what you have done, and now you are doing this despicable thing of stealing chickens and dogs. In my heart, you are far inferior to him."
"You!" Lin Mo's face flushed red with anger, and he reached out to snatch the name card from Gu Shaoheng's hand. Because Gu Shaoheng was tall, he held the name card high, making it out of Lin Mo's reach. This made Lin Mo feel even more humiliated, and he was truly on the verge of fighting Gu Shaoheng.
Fearing the two would escalate the situation, Shen Qingchen stepped in to mediate and separate them, saying, "Lin Mo, if you fight him now, you'll only make things worse."
Upon hearing this, Lin Mo seemed to be provoked. He released Gu Shaoheng and turned to her, saying, "It's all because of you," while extending his arm as if to push her hard.
Before his hand could even reach Shen Qingchen's shoulder, his wrist was grabbed tightly from behind.
In her panic, Shen Qingchen looked up and saw that it was Xu Silin.
His face was grim, his gaze fixed on Lin Mo, and he said, "You can't hit him."
Lin Mo was unwilling to accept this and said urgently, "You don't know, the two of them conspired to deceive me. They have my name card and are going to present it to Teacher Song this afternoon."
The poem was written by Lin Mo, a fact Xu Silin had known for a long time. However, out of loyalty to his friend, he hadn't revealed it. Upon hearing that Gu Shaoheng had found the poet, he knew something was amiss, which was why he stayed.
Although Gu Shaoheng was a carefree person, he wasn't foolish enough to alert the enemy, unless that was his intention. A poet, upon hearing that their identity was about to be revealed, would inevitably panic, and in that panic, they would easily fall into a trap. With Gu Shaoheng's shallow mind, he couldn't possibly have come up with such a plan.
The four men faced each other in the empty lecture hall, speechless for a moment. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating their blue robes and casting long shadows on their desks.
Xu Silin released Lin Mo's wrist, looked at Shen Qingchen, whose face was fair and delicate with refined features, and said coldly, "Lin Mo, have you forgotten what I told you? I can bully Shen Qingchen, but you can't."
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