Shen Zhiyi lowered her eyes and asked, "Does Master think I'm stupid again?"
"I was clumsy yesterday and hurt the master... It was my fault..." She clutched a scroll of scriptures, twisting her handkerchief, looking utterly helpless. "I didn't mean to kiss the master..."
Yan Zhuoxu's brow twitched.
Her words were ambiguous; anyone who heard them would inevitably overthink them.
I didn't mean that.
Yan Zhuoxu interrupted coldly, but his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
Shen Zhiyi raised her eyes, her gaze shimmering, and met his eyes directly. "Then... Master, you're willing to forgive me?"
She said with some delight, "Last night, I copied the scriptures with utmost sincerity."
"Would you like to take a look, Master?"
She looked so obedient.
And I was filled with anticipation.
Even the most furious Bodhisattva would soften his heart towards her, unwilling to shatter the hope in her eyes.
"Come in."
Yan Zhuoxu stepped aside to let her into the hall.
With a smile, Shen Zhiyi stepped into the hall and placed the scriptures she was carrying on the table.
Yan Zhuoxu stood behind her, blocking all the sunlight and shrouding her in the shadow of his monk's robe.
His eyes darkened for a moment as he pressed his thumb against the prayer beads.
"Who taught you your handwriting?" He glanced over and saw the dragon-like handwriting in the scripture.
Shen Zhiyi turned to look at him, a slight smile playing on her lips.
“It was when I went to the Imperial Academy with my elder sister. In the library there, I got a book and practiced by following the characters in it.”
The Imperial College, the library.
Yan Zhuoxu's eyes turned cold.
If he remembered correctly, Shuofeng had said before that Ye Jinghong was quite favored by the emperor because he had read countless books and spent his days and nights in the library.
Could it be...?
That's where they met briefly?
The more Yan Zhuoxu thought about it, the colder his expression became.
"Really?" He sat down at the table. "What book do you like so much that you can't put it down and even imitate its handwriting?"
Could it be that the man surnamed Ye likes to watch it?
Shen Zhiyi sat down with him, her eyes shining, and said, "It's a handwritten scripture."
"Hmm..." she said, resting her chin on her hand as she recalled, "It seems to be the 'Forty-Two Chapters Sutra,' signed by Yanzhi."
Yan Zhuoxu was stunned.
Yanzhi...
That was his courtesy name.
The Forty-Two Chapters Sutra was a scroll of scripture he copied by hand before leaving the palace!
Unexpectedly, it was placed in the library.
return……
His gaze fell on Shen Zhiyi's face, and his heart suddenly began to pound, his palms becoming dry and hot.
He switched hands, transferring the prayer beads to his other palm.
She pursed her lips, suppressing the fleeting smile in her eyes, and said in a low voice, "You're quite clever; after copying it a few times, you've already learned the brushwork and its momentum."
The reason those handwritings seemed so familiar was because I had learned his style.
She liked his handwriting.
When Yan Zhuoxu thought of this, his calm heart was involuntarily stirred with a ripple.
Shen Zhiyi looked at him with her eyes curved.
"The master just said I was stupid."
Yan Zhuoxu raised an eyebrow. "That's just you belittling yourself. When did I ever say that?"
Shen Zhiyi happily moved a little closer to him.
"So, Master, you think I'm clever?"
Her radiant, joyful smile was even more captivating than the most vibrant springtime under the sun.
Yan Zhuoxu's eyes flickered slightly.
Her voice softened unconsciously. "Mmm."
"Highly perceptive."
Shen Zhiyi's lips curled up.
“Although you praised me, there are still many things I don’t understand.” She looked at him with a puzzled expression and said, “For example, I don’t quite understand what the Forty-Two Chapters Sutra says: ‘From love and desire arises sorrow, and from sorrow arises fear.’”
"Is it really true that there are no worries without love and romance?"
The smile faded from Yan Zhuoxu's eyes.
The hem of the robe that had just been swaying fell silent once more.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and he turned to look at her.
Are you suffering because of love?
Shen Zhiyi nodded, looked up at him, and her eyes suddenly became resentful.
"Master, do you know what it feels like to fall in love with someone you can't love, someone you shouldn't love?"
Yan Zhuoxu's body seemed to freeze.
He gripped the prayer beads tightly, feeling a scorching heat emanating from them, like hellfire searing his heart.
It almost made him breathless.
I can't love... I shouldn't love...
Who else could it be but Ye Jinghong, who is about to become her brother-in-law?
He opened his lips, only to find that not a sound came out of his throat, and even his eyes felt dry and sore.
The finger bones tighten until they turn white.
He took a deep breath and regained his composure.
"Since you know you cannot love, and should not love, why torment yourself and sink deeper into the mire?"
He turned his gaze and stared intently at her. "If this person causes you so much anxiety and pain, then he is not a good match for you, and you should have let go long ago."
"Is that so..." Shen Zhiyi murmured, looking quite dejected, "Not a good man..."
"What if you love someone so deeply that you think about them day and night and can't let go?"
Buzz—
Yan Zhuoxu seemed to hear a loud buzzing sound in his ears and mind, which made his face turn pale instantly.
He gritted his teeth and said coldly, "Starting tomorrow, you will come with me to the main hall to listen to the sutras."
"Listen to the scriptures a hundred times, and sorrow will naturally depart."
Shen Zhiyi looked at him hesitantly: "Master, will this really work?"
"Can I forget him after listening to sermons for a few days?"
Yan Zhuoxu looked down at her.
This face, this clear, soft, innocent, and bewildered face, like a little animal, a face that trusted him so much…
How could he tell her no?
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