Song Yue paused for a moment, his jade-like face losing its luster, before speaking again, "Is there anything seriously wrong?"
"He rolled down so many steps, he passed out on the spot. His forehead, lips, and elbows were all cut and bleeding a lot. It was a scary sight..." Gu Shaoheng said, glancing at Xu Silin. He had been holding a grudge against Xu Silin for failing to stop Qingchen, and he didn't mince words when he complained.
Song Yue frowned slightly, his mind involuntarily conjuring up the scene of Qingchen's fall and injury. The slender body curled up, the pale face with closed eyes, the shocking wound on the fair skin… Thinking of this, he felt a tightness in his chest. He had only briefly paid respects to his mentor, neglected Wang Fu at his grave, and rushed back to Hanlin to teach—all his actions suddenly seemed to lose their meaning.
From not being able to see her to hearing that she was injured, the gap in my mood kept widening.
He glanced at another student of his, who sat quietly in the hall, his handsome face slightly somber.
Hearing these words, Xu Silin's heart was also heavy. He didn't know how badly Shen Qingchen was injured, so he went to ask Gu Shaoheng early this morning. However, Gu Shaoheng refused to say, and his resentful look made him want to suffer the same fate as Shen Qingchen before he would be satisfied.
Unable to get any information and unable to do anything about Gu Shaoheng, he was constantly agitated. He didn't listen to a word the teacher said in class; his mind was filled with images of Shen Qingchen. The anger during the argument, the panic when she fell, the pitiful helplessness when she lay on the ground... She had just rolled out of his grasp, and that brief, wonderful sensation.
The extent of his injuries and his gender kept nagging at his mind, from last night until now. Even after the rain stopped, he hadn't stopped thinking about it. He felt like he had never been so troubled in his life.
Luo Yuanhao, oblivious to the danger, stepped forward to comfort him, but before he could even utter the word "sink," he was met with a cold glare that sent him packing.
He doesn't want any comforting words; he wants the pain and the truth!
“However,” Gu Shaoheng said, feeling a bit better after complaining, and not daring to hide the truth from his teacher, “he woke up on the way to the clinic. The doctor examined him and said there was nothing seriously wrong; the external injuries only needed some medicine, but he still had some difficulty moving around.”
Hearing this, Xu Silin breathed a sigh of relief, and the increasingly tense thoughts in his heart finally eased a little.
It's good that nothing serious has happened.
He thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "Teacher, I'm sorry. Yesterday, when we were drinking, I got into an argument with him and couldn't stop him. Please punish me, teacher." His fine eyelashes partially covered his eyes, and his tall, straight body cast a long shadow in the sunlight, stretching across Shen Qingchen's empty desk.
After he finished speaking, the classroom fell silent for a moment.
Everyone was stunned.
They had gathered at the Hanlin Academy from all corners of the country, having heard of Young Master Xu's name even before enrolling. From then on, the phrase "unapproachable" was deeply etched in their minds. They had been classmates for over a year now, and they had seen his eccentric and unruly nature, his playful and teasing demeanor, his arrogant and aloof attitude—but they had never seen him apologize!
They all thought that the word "apology" probably didn't exist in his life.
Now he's actually apologizing.
Tomorrow's sun will likely rise not only from the west, but from all directions.
Xu Silin awaited Song Yue's reply. Just moments before standing up, he hadn't considered doing this; in a split second, he uttered a phrase he'd never said before in his life. Even now, standing alone, he felt neither shame nor regret.
He couldn't help but chuckle to himself, thinking that he wasn't so bad after all.
Song Yue narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinizing his special student. After a moment, he said calmly, "Since this is a matter between the two of you, then you two should resolve it yourselves. Save your apologies for Shen Qingchen. If she forgives you, then she forgives you; if she doesn't..."
He paused, shifting his gaze from Xu Silin. "She wouldn't."
He knew her temperament well; she was gentle and not petty. She might get angry for a moment, but she wouldn't hold a grudge.
"Sit down and let's begin the lesson."
After the court session ended, Song Yue did not return to his office in the Grand Secretariat as usual, but went straight out of the Great Ming Gate.
He would leave whenever the sun was still shining.
Two cabinet members, both in their fifties, were currently frantically busy in their office, their eyes nearly strained as they were presented with one expense ledger after another from the six ministries. As they looked through the accounts, they couldn't help but sigh, thankful that Song Yue only took one day off a year; if he had taken more, their lifespans would probably have been shortened by several years.
As Song Yue was leaving the Hanlin Academy, Shi Shu hurriedly caught up with him and handed him a letter, saying that someone had left it in the back hall for him the day before yesterday, but since they hadn't seen him yesterday, they were only presenting it today. The letter was unsigned.
Song Yue quickened his pace and left the Daming Gate. After getting into the carriage, he instructed the driver, "Go to my student's house."
The coachman didn't ask any questions and just cracked his whip. It was unnecessary to reveal who the student was, since the adults had only ever been to one student's house.
Once the carriage started moving, he suddenly remembered something and lifted the curtain again, saying, "Let's go to Xiangningzhai first to buy some food... then to the pharmacy. Let's hurry."
The driver agreed, leaned forward and tugged at the horse's ear, saying to the horse, "I know you've run far today and are tired, so you'll have to run a little faster."
Sitting in the carriage, Song Yue couldn't help but wonder what Qingchen was doing. Was she bedridden, unable to move easily? How had she managed her meals all day? Was she still hungry? Autumn was here, and it was cold; it had rained last night, and her little room seemed rather damp and chilly. Besides, she had a father suffering from hysteria to care for. Knowing her personality, she certainly wouldn't actively seek Mingxiang's help.
Never mind... there's no use thinking about it too much. I have to see it before I can feel at ease.
Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Song Yue opened the letter in his hand.
The setting sun shone through the curtains into the carriage, casting a thin beam of light on his face and the letter.
There was no heading or signature; the handwriting was flamboyant and covered half a sheet of paper, clearly intended to conceal the poet's identity. The content detailed how Shen Qingchen orchestrated the scheme to find the poet, Lin Mo.
Using name cards to verify characters isn't clever, but bluffing to lure someone into a trap is more commendable—a well-thought-out plan. In just one day, she found the person.
The last sentence of the letter was a request for Song Yue to spare Shen Qingchen from punishment, out of consideration for their friendship as classmates.
He looked at the letter in his hand. The paper was made of the expensive Chengxintang paper, and the ink smelled like dragon incense. Both the paper and the ink were precious items, something ordinary people could not afford.
Very few of the newly appointed probationary scholars could afford such paper and ink.
Did he plead for her?
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