Chapter 24 A Little Girl with a Missing Front Tooth
In his dream, he returned to when he was fifteen years old, and his father scolded him for "putting the cart before the horse".
He hid behind the artificial hill in the Imperial Garden and cried bitterly. Suddenly, a little girl with a veil walked up to him and said, "Shame on you! You're so old and you're still crying. Aren't you ashamed?"
Xie Shang looked up and saw the little girl's beautiful, dark, and bright eyes. He saw his own disheveled appearance reflected in her eyes.
He said to her fiercely, "Who are you, and how did you get into the palace?"
"I came with my parents. Our Great Zhou Dynasty won a battle, and the Emperor held a victory banquet." The little girl's voice was as melodious as a bell.
Hearing that they had won the battle, he became even angrier. It was clearly his achievement, but his father scolded him for putting the cart before the horse. He ripped off her veil, revealing that she was bare-faced and extremely ugly. He suddenly laughed, "Ugly monster."
The little girl glared at him and slapped him across the face. "You're a slug."
Her fingers were stained with his tears and something sticky. She wiped them on him with disgust, saying, "You're filthy."
Xie Shang was heartbroken, but her slap woke him up. Adults think he did something wrong, but what about the child? What does she think?
He suddenly said, "I killed someone, and they say I did something wrong, that I shouldn't have killed him. Do you think so too?"
She paused, a look of confusion flashing in her beautiful eyes, "Then why did you kill him?"
“Those who invade my Great Zhou, though far away, shall be punished. They killed my people and slaughtered my cities; they deserve to die.” His eyes were filled with malice.
She said, "A gentleman knows what to do and what not to do. He does what he knows he can do and does what he knows he cannot do. This is the way of a gentleman in what he does and does not do! Since you know you are right, why are you crying here?"
He froze, "I..."
"You can do what others cannot, and endure what others cannot endure. Cheer up, and you will surely achieve great things in the future."
The little girl's voice struck his heart heavily. His father's scolding was just an excuse; no matter what he did, he was wrong. He could never win his father's favor, and today he finally understood why, which was why he was heartbroken.
By the time he had tidied himself up, the little girl was gone.
Later, he searched the entire palace but couldn't find her. He even secretly investigated the court officials, but to no avail.
Ten years have passed, and it all seems like a dream. He only saw the little girl in his dream, a little girl without front teeth.
A faint fragrance lingered in the dark room. He slept soundly, and when Xie Shang woke up, it was already dark.
Recalling the little girl's words, Xie Shang seemed to regain his fighting spirit. How could his father's scolding defeat him? He had done nothing wrong, so why couldn't the Yang family be punished?
Xie Shang composed himself and went to his study. He was busy until very late before he finally found a solution. He was a little hungry when he finally opened the door and came out.
At this moment, the maid Yinxing suddenly ran over, knelt on the ground, and cried, "This servant greets Your Highness, please go and see the concubine. She hasn't eaten or drunk anything, hasn't spoken all afternoon, and has been writing for several hours without stopping."
Xie Shang's eyes sharpened. "What did she write? What's going on?"
With tears streaming down her face, Yinxing said, "Your Highness, the concubine has been sullen ever since she came out of the Princess's courtyard. She said she wanted to copy the rules and virtues for women that Granny Wang had prepared for her three hundred times in her room. It's already dark, and the concubine hasn't eaten a single bite of food since noon. I'm very worried, so I came to ask Your Highness for help."
Xie Shang strode out, his long legs carrying him away. He thought about how he hadn't spoken to her all afternoon, and she must be feeling sad.
Upon arriving at the Sandalwood Courtyard, Xie Shang pushed open the door and saw that Su Tingwan seemed like a completely different person. Her sharp edges seemed to have been smoothed out, and she was sitting upright at her desk, writing diligently. The desk was covered with papers with writing on them, the handwriting was not neat, even somewhat messy, and the font size was also inconsistent.
Jiang Fenghua's words suddenly appeared in his mind, and the corners of his lips turned up slightly.
Su Tingwan pretended not to see him and continued writing. Xie Shang saw through her thoughts and pretended to leave. Su Tingwan hurriedly got up and called out, "Your Highness, please wait."
Xie Shang paused.
Su Tingwan put down her brush, stood up, and respectfully bowed to him. "Your Highness, please don't be angry with me. I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have gone to the Princess's courtyard to cause trouble."
Xie Shang seemed to have misheard. Seeing that she was dressed up carefully and had lowered her stance to admit her mistake, he said, "I heard from the maid that you haven't eaten all afternoon?"
Su Tingwan said weakly, "I have been waiting for Your Highness. If Your Highness has not eaten, then I will not eat."
Xie Shang said, "Let's set out the meal. I haven't eaten yet."
Su Tingwan was overjoyed and quickly instructed the servants to set out the meal.
At this moment, a woman dressed in purple palace attire entered. She was respectful and methodically instructed the servants to serve the dishes.
Su Tingwan took the initiative to explain, "Your Highness, this is Aunt Yunfang. My aunt specially invited her to take care of me. She will serve me from now on. What do you say, Your Highness?"
Xie Shang understood. He was wondering why Wang Mama had taught her manners for half a month without any progress, and how her personality had changed so quickly. It turned out that it was Consort Su who had been teaching her.
He said, "It's good that you have someone who knows how to behave properly serving you. After all, you've entered the mansion now, and you can't be as casual as before."
"I understand, I understand. I will take good care of Your Highness from now on," Su Tingwan said through gritted teeth.
Seeing her speak like that, Xie Shang felt a little guilty. "Wanwan, I'm very busy with official duties right now and don't have much time to spend with you. Just be yourself from now on."
"Yes, I will definitely learn the rules well and try my best to make Her Majesty the Empress like me." Su Tingwan smiled. These were all taught to her by Aunt Yunfang, and they were indeed useful.
After dinner, Su Tingwan dismissed the maids and walked to Xie Shang's side in a sweet and coquettish voice, "A Shang, it's late now, why don't we go to bed?"
Xie Shang's body stiffened. "We just had a meal. I'll accompany you to the courtyard to digest your food before you go to sleep. It'll be good for your health."
Su Tingwan was a little disappointed, but she persevered, "Then I will accompany Your Highness for a walk in the courtyard. It's been a long time since I practiced martial arts, so let's spar a bit and have a friendly exchange."
Xie Shang always gave in to her, and she only felt that he spoiled her because he did so.
Xie Shang took her hand and gently suggested, "You splashed the princess all over today, so you should apologize. Go tomorrow morning." The last few words were almost in a commanding tone.
“Alright!” Su Tingwan’s eyes darted around. “Why don’t I go now? I’m afraid the princess won’t forgive me. We’ll have to see each other all the time, and it would be really embarrassing.”
Seeing that she really knew she was wrong, Xie Shang finally nodded in agreement and affectionately tapped her forehead, "Let's go. Don't be silly again in the future, and don't get jealous for no reason."
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