After that, Shen Qingchen didn't hear anything else.
Shen Qian pushed the door open and came in, acting as if nothing had happened. He smiled and said, "Your second aunt said that Yu-ge'er refused to get up today, so I went over and said a few words to him. He's naughty, unlike you when you were a child, he was well-behaved and obedient."
Shen Qingchen felt a pang of sadness. Such a good person, so considerate, gentle, and handsome, yet once he was caught up in worldly affairs and helpless in the face of mundane matters, he seemed so pale and powerless.
"Qingchen?" Shen Qian called her softly. Sunlight fell on the back of his hand holding the teacup, making the pale blue veins clearly visible.
"Second Uncle."
"What's wrong?"
“…It’s nothing.” Shen Qingchen originally wanted to say that she didn’t want money to teach anymore and didn’t want him to quarrel with Lin Shi again, but after hesitating for a while, she ultimately didn’t say it.
Given Shen Qian's personality, he would definitely not agree. To put it bluntly, it would only embarrass him, making him unable to even hold his head up in front of the nephew he raised himself.
"I'm full, Second Uncle. I'll go teach Yu-ge'er now."
Shen Qingchen followed Shen Qian to Yu'er's room. Shen Qian gave him some instructions on "respecting teachers and studying diligently" before leaving. As soon as he left, Lin Yu seemed to become a different person. He stopped listening to Shen Qingchen and stopped studying. She tried to persuade him for a long time, but it was no use.
A day passes in the blink of an eye.
As she left, Shen Qian saw her to the door as usual. The setting sun fell on his eyelashes, and his shadow was long and ethereal.
"Coo coo, coo coo, coo—"
When Shen Qingchen jumped out of bed, the neighbor's chickens had already crowed countless times.
Morning light streamed through the cracks in the window onto her bed; it was already daylight outside. She quickly prepared some dry rations for her father and then rushed out the door.
In the Ming Dynasty, a time of harsh laws and severe punishments, even for a probationary scholar who was treated with preferential treatment, the punishment for being late was extremely cruel. Being late once would result in a deduction of two taels of silver from her monthly allowance, and being late three times or missing a day would result in being flogged twenty times.
When Shen Qingchen rushed to the Hanlin Academy, the gate was already open, but there was no one around.
She hurried inside, only to be met with a strong chest at the doorway. Then, she heard a loud "bang," the sound of something breaking on the ground echoing in the quiet Hanlin Academy.
The pheasant patterned patch was exquisitely embroidered, and the crimson satin robe was very bright. The morning breeze gently blew his sleeves, revealing one of his hands hanging in mid-air.
Teacher Song Yue.
Shen Qingchen immediately took two steps back, composed herself, and bowed respectfully. "This student greets the teacher. This student... thought I was late and offended the teacher. I hope the teacher will forgive me." As she looked down, her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the broken object—a small potted plant the size of a palm.
The white porcelain pot was shattered into many pieces, with soil scattered on the blue brick and stone ground, revealing the roots of a plant. It was a purple bamboo with emerald leaves and dark stems, a small plant full of vitality, clearly carefully cared for.
Song Yue lowered his hand that was hanging in mid-air, flicked his sleeve, and said calmly, "You're not late. Apart from you and me, no one else in this courtyard has arrived yet."
"...I broke the teacher's toy basin, please forgive me."
"It's alright." Song Yue bent down to pick up the shards of the porcelain basin. His long robe trailed on the ground, casting a faint shadow.
Shen Qingchen quickly knelt down to help him.
"Don't cut your hands." He didn't look at her, only gave her this instruction, and carefully picked the fragments out of the soil with his slender fingertips.
"yes."
"I saw you coming from the east side of the Daming Gate that day. Don't you live in the residence provided by the Ministry of Works?" he asked.
Shen Qingchen shook his head, the light and shadow flickering on his fair face, and fine downy hairs visible around his ears. "I rented another room in the city and live there."
"Rentals in the capital are not cheap, why?"
"...My father is unwell, and it's just the two of us at home. Living with him makes it easier to take care of him."
"Hmm," he replied casually. "Do you have any other relatives in the capital?"
"There's also a second uncle, who's from the Lian clan."
After speaking, Song Yue fell silent. He picked up the fragments, then carefully removed the soil from his purple bamboo and examined the roots in the rosy light. His expression was focused, his refined and noble air as always, and a rare tenderness shone in his eyes.
He didn't teach yesterday, and today he didn't bring any books, but instead brought a potted bamboo plant.
Shen Qingchen couldn't help but ask, "Teacher, is this potted plant yours?"
“It’s mine.” He changed his angle, still looking at the bamboo.
"Does the teacher really love this bamboo?"
He shifted his gaze slightly in her direction, paused for a moment, and then said, "Love."
After thinking for a moment, Shen Qingchen asked, "I have a question that I would like to ask you to enlighten me."
"explain."
"Duke Yi of Wei during the Spring and Autumn Period was particularly fond of cranes. He not only spent all his time with them but also allowed them to ride in luxurious carriages. Later, when the Northern Di invaded Wei, Duke Yi ordered his army to resist them. However, his soldiers disobeyed the order, saying, 'Since the cranes enjoy such high status and treatment, let them fight now.' In the end, Duke Yi had no choice but to personally lead the army to fight the Di at Xingze, where he was defeated and killed. After his death, he was often referred to as a foolish ruler."
"What I don't understand is that everyone has their own hobbies, and Duke Yi of Wei's hobbies were not indecent. When the country was in crisis, he personally led the troops into battle and fought for several months, doing everything he could. Is it too harsh of people to call him a foolish ruler just because he loves cranes?"
Shen Qingchen had always been a well-behaved, obedient girl since childhood. Even before her transmigration in her junior year of college, she loved studying and knew nothing about it. These past two days, noticing that her new teacher didn't seem to be putting much effort into teaching them, she had some thoughts on the matter and couldn't resist taking this opportunity to test the waters. However, her words were quite obvious, practically screaming "playing with toys will ruin your ambition."
As a student, she dared to subtly criticize her teacher for being a playboy, especially since this teacher was the second-highest-ranking official in the court... She didn't know where she got the courage, but after the words left her mouth, she was so nervous that her vest was sweating.
Song Yue stood up, holding the purple bamboo in both hands, his gaze looking down at the person who was testing him. She wore a green robe with slender shoulders, a fair and smooth face with light-colored lips, a delicate and straight nose, and two thin eyebrows that trembled slightly.
She clearly has a delicate and well-mannered appearance.
But they're really brave.
Shen Qingchen lowered his head, his scalp tingling as he waited. After a long while, he finally heard him say, "If Duke Yi of Wei's cranes could truly fight and defeat the Northern Di, perhaps the world would praise him as a wise and farsighted ruler. This shows that cause and effect lie in people, not things. As for people... just be at ease, that's what life is all about. If you're not at ease, you'll want to find fault with the person who made you uncomfortable, that's human nature."
Shen Qingchen pondered the meaning behind his words. He didn't directly answer whether Duke Wei Yi was right or wrong, completely deflecting the sarcasm in her words. At the same time, he went along with her meaning, offering his own insights and pointing out two different directions for her to consider. How she thought about it was entirely up to her.
However, upon hearing the last sentence, Shen Qingchen realized that he had been framed. What did it mean that when someone feels uncomfortable, they'll look for faults with the person who made them uncomfortable…?
"So, is the teacher... feeling comfortable now?" She slightly raised her eyelids, somewhat hesitant to look at him.
His voice drifted out slowly, "What do you think?"
"..." Her eyelashes trembled twice, her lips parted slightly and then closed again, unsure of what to say.
After a long pause, the cool voice drifted down again, "Get up."
When she stood up, he raised an eyebrow. "You told such a long story because you were worried that I, as your teacher, wasn't responsible enough and that my lessons wouldn't satisfy you?"
"...The student dares not." Shen Qingchen was a little nervous and unconsciously squeezed the thing in his hand.
But she forgot that she was holding a shard of a flowerpot, and when she squeezed it, she cut her finger. Ouch!
The student in front of him suddenly shuddered, startling Song Yue. Following her gaze, he saw a small, bright red mark on her slender, pale finger. "A scratch?"
"It's just a small wound, nothing serious. Teacher, I'll go to the classroom to prepare for class. I don't know about these porcelain shards..." She then opened her hand in front of him, revealing several shards of blood on her palm, the crimson color standing out starkly against the white porcelain.
Song Yue suddenly took a slight step back, then waved his hand and said, "Just throw it away. Go and treat your wound first."
Shen Qingchen bowed and said, "This student takes his leave."
As Song Yue watched Shen Qingchen's retreating figure, his gaze involuntarily fell upon her injured finger. He saw a bloodstain winding along her slender knuckle, gradually gathering into a bead of blood at the fingertip before finally dripping to the ground with a "plop."
He shook his head slightly, then carried the purple bamboo back to the inner hall.
Back in the lecture hall, Shen Qingchen rummaged through her bundle and pulled out a handkerchief to bandage her wound, recalling Song Yue's reaction when he saw her bleeding. The dignified and aloof Grand Secretary seemed afraid of blood…
The junior scholars arrived one after another.
Gu Shaoheng saw Shen Qingchen's fingers, which were wrapped up like sausages, and rushed over to grab her wrist, asking in alarm, "Qingchen, what happened to you? Is your hand injured? Is it serious?"
Shen Qingchen pushed his hand away, "It's not serious, it will be fine in a few days."
"Does it hurt a lot?" His eyes were full of concern, as if the person in front of him was not a strong and upright man like himself, but a delicate girl.
Having willingly followed Shen Qingchen around for a year, Gu Shaoheng, who was in a good position, had long since blurred the lines between Shen Qingchen's gender and his own. Whether he was a woman who acted like a man or a man who acted like a woman, he was comfortable being with him.
"It doesn't hurt."
To everyone's surprise, Gu Shaoheng was still very interested in her injured finger. He stared at it for a while, then seemed to suddenly remember something. He jumped back onto his seat, took out a pink silk handkerchief from his bundle, and happily jumped back.
"What are you going to do?" She looked at him, puzzled, and glanced at the handkerchief in his hand.
Mandarin ducks playing in the water?
Gu Shaoheng grabbed her wrist and said with a grin, "Your handkerchief is covered in blood. I'll get you a new one that no one has ever used." After he finished speaking, without waiting for her to agree or not, he untied the knot of the handkerchief that she had tied so tightly and tossed it gently.
Her old handkerchief flew out of her hand and landed on the desk of the person next door.
The classmate next door was named Sun Siwu. He had damaged his eyesight from studying the Four Books and Five Classics since childhood, and his eyesight was very poor. He had to get very close to the books to see the words clearly. When he saw a white handkerchief with red dots suddenly fall in front of him, he didn't look at it carefully and blurted out, "A picture of plum blossoms in the snow."
Shen Qingchen was taken aback.
She originally used that plain handkerchief to wrap her cleaned calligraphy brushes, but she used it to wrap her injured finger. As a result, because the handkerchief was stained with blood, the nearsighted man mistook it for the famous painting "Plum Blossoms in Snow" by the painting master of the previous dynasty...
The students' academic life was already mundane, so everyone burst into laughter at the mention of her blood-stained handkerchief. A group of twenty-somethings scrambled to get a glimpse of it. Qingchen was somewhat speechless.
Gu Shaoheng deftly re-bandaged her finger and tied it in a pretty knot. Shen Qingchen held it up to look at it; it was pink and looked even more like a sausage.
"How come you, a man, carry around a handkerchief with images of mandarin ducks playing in the water?"
Gu Shaoheng said somewhat awkwardly, "It's not mine. My cousin forced it on me when I went out today..." He was unusually reserved, even his dimples seemed reserved.
Shen Qingchen raised an eyebrow. "Has she secretly fallen for you?"
He seemed reluctant to discuss the matter, gave a sly smile, and slipped away to join everyone in their laughter and banter about the "Plum Blossoms in Snow" painting and Sun Siwu.
The bloodstained handkerchief was originally in Zhu Gangxian's hands, but Lin Mo snatched it away. Gu Shaoheng, though a newcomer, was not polite at all and snatched it back from Lin Mo. Just as he was feeling smug, the handkerchief was snatched away again, and finally ended up in the hands of Xu Silin, who had just entered.
Xu Silin, looking completely bewildered, lifted the handkerchief to examine it. "What is this?"
Lin Mo shrugged and said, "Shen Qingchen's masterpiece, 'Plum Blossoms in the Snow'."
Xu Silin: "..."
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