“Yun Guan has truly changed.”
The moment they stepped out of Yunyue Hall, Meng Ruan murmured in a daze.
A flicker of disgust passed through Meng Fan’s eyes. “It’s nothing more than greed for vanity. Now that she lives in such a grand palace and enjoys all the luxuries here, why would she still acknowledge us, her down-and-out brothers?”
This time, Meng Nan sided with Meng Fan.
“Our attitude toward Yun Guan has been like this for years. Why didn’t she mind before, only starting to care after entering the palace? Clearly, she feels she has backing now and doesn’t need us anymore. Hah, and here we were foolishly trying to mend the relationship—she’s long been thinking of how to shake us off!”
Meng Ruan let out a long sigh, feeling somewhat lost for the first time in his life.
In truth, when they were young, he had also cherished this jade-like, adorable little sister.
Back then, Yun Guan was four or five years old, naturally idolizing her older cousins, always chasing after them with her short arms and legs—utterly endearing. They had all loved this little sister dearly, making special detours after school to buy her candied hawthorns from the east side of the city.
But for some reason,
every time their uncle saw them being kind to Yun Guan, he would pull a long face and find some excuse to scold them.
After it happened enough times, they learned their lesson. So, whenever their uncle was around, they would deliberately ignore Yun Guan and instead dote on Yu Tang.
Sure enough, that evening, their uncle bought them a pile of delicious treats.
Having tasted the benefits, they escalated their behavior. Gradually, they began to mistreat Yun Guan even behind their uncle’s back, and it simply became a habit.
Meng Ruan dared not dwell on it further. He was afraid that if he thought it through to the end, he might discover that they were truly in the wrong. “Where did Yun Guan go?”
…
After leaving Yunyue Hall, Meng Yunwan was about to join the main group to visit Ling Shuo.
But she was told that because the young prince of Qing couldn’t hold it in and needed to relieve himself midway, they had already gone ahead.
Meng Yunwan felt a pang of regret. “Is that so? Well, alright then.” She had spent half an hour applying powder today, only to find she wouldn’t get to see him after all.
She decided to go to Shangshufang to review her studies.
“It’s alright, Sister Yun Guan. We spoke with Cousin Prince Yi and asked him to have you make a special trip later. He agreed.”
Meng Yunwan’s footsteps abruptly halted.
She was dumbfounded.
Alone… to see Ling Shuo?
That was… rather embarrassing.
A quarter of an hour later, she appeared at Shuofeng Hall.
A maid lifted the layers of curtains, revealing a bedchamber so simple it bordered on shabby.
The sitting couch was cold and hard, the corners of the walls were peeling, and the only hint of life was the plain clay vase on the table, holding three or two sprigs of green saltwater grass.
Ling Shuo was half-reclined on the couch, seemingly asleep.
A book on military formations had slipped from his hand, dangling precariously at the edge of the bed. Meng Yunwan picked it up and laid it flat, her gaze darkening as it fell upon the man.
Instantly, her eyes stung.
In her past life, she had often heard her husband speak of the hardships of his childhood, but she never truly understood how harsh they were. She had instinctively assumed that a prince, however fallen, couldn’t possibly be that destitute.
Only upon seeing this cold bed and hard couch did she regret not having treated her husband better back then—much, much better.
She gazed greedily at the man before her—his closed eyes, his slightly pursed lips. She raised her hand as if to touch him, but in the end, she restrained herself, letting it fall gently on the cotton quilt as she tucked the corners securely around Ling Shuo.
After stepping out, she instructed the guards,
“His Highness is still asleep, so I won’t disturb him. If he asks when he wakes, just tell him I came by, sat for a while, and then left.”
The guard acknowledged the order, and only then did Meng Yunwan feel at ease to leave.
At that moment, inside the hall, Ling Shuo slowly opened his eyes.
After leaving Shuofeng Hall, Meng Yunwan took a detour to Shoukang Palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager.
These days, she often visited Shoukang Palace, and the Empress Dowager enjoyed her company, praising her for her quiet and steady nature. Yesterday, when rewarding her with jewelry, the Empress Dowager had unprecedentedly given a share to her mother, Madam Wen, saying it was a reward for raising such an excellent child.
Listening to the Empress Dowager’s words, Meng Yunwan couldn’t help but smile, and she served the Empress Dowager with even greater devotion.
Today, after reciting two volumes of Buddhist scriptures, the Empress Dowager grew drowsy, so Meng Yunwan quietly left Shoukang Palace.
Meng Ruan and the others had been waiting for her outside. When they saw Nanny Sun pulling Meng Yunwan aside to speak, they instinctively pricked up their ears.
“Miss, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is concerned that you might have difficulties adjusting to Shangshufang, so she has granted you permission to bring a study companion along to attend classes, so you can look out for each other.”
Meng Yunwan nodded. “Thank you for Her Majesty’s kindness.”
Nanny Sun went back inside.
Just as Meng Yunwan was about to leave, she turned and saw the somewhat complicated gazes of Meng Ruan and his brothers fixed on her. Seeing her about to depart, they quickly called out to her,
“Yun Guan!”
Meng Yunwan turned back in confusion.
Meng Ruan cleared his throat, still unable to set aside his pride, so he hesitantly asked first, “I wonder if you have a preferred candidate for a study companion?”
Meng Yunwan replied, “No.”
Meng Ruan’s eyes lit up. “Then, could you…”
Before he could finish, Meng Fan pushed forward and interrupted, “Yun Guan, could you take me along? I want to study at Shangshufang!”
Shangshufang was the most prestigious and revered academy in the empire, with imperial tutors teaching and princes as classmates. Not only was the quality of instruction unparalleled, but the network and resources there were also not to be underestimated.
If they could enter Shangshufang, wouldn’t success in next year’s Autumn Imperial Examination be almost guaranteed?
At this thought, even the usually low-key Meng Nan couldn’t hold back.
“There’s only one spot, and it would seem unfair no matter who goes. In my opinion, why not ask Yun Guan to speak to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and request a few more spots, so all four of us can go!”
Meng Ruan wholeheartedly agreed. “Exactly, Yun Guan. The Emperor is our stepfather, and the Empress Dowager is our step-grandmother. As grandchildren of the same generation, there’s no reason to favor one over the others.”
Meng Fan added, “Right, Yun Guan. If we all study at Shangshufang, we, as your older brothers, can teach you anything you don’t understand. Wouldn’t that be a win-win?”
Meng Yunwan lowered her gaze, hiding the mockery in her eyes.
Teach her?
But in her previous life, as a woman, she had topped the Spring Imperial Examination and achieved the rank of zhuangyuan (top scholar). In all the world, there were likely few qualified to teach her.
Meng Yunwan felt like teasing these men, so she obediently nodded and said, “Alright, I will convey your requests to Her Majesty for you, elder brothers.”
The three brothers, Ruan, Fan, and Nan, breathed a sigh of relief.
On the carriage ride back to the mansion, they were all in high spirits, as if they could already see their names shining brightly on the imperial examination results.
“Meng Yunwan knows her place. She understands that we, her own cousins, are her true support, so even after entering the palace, she doesn’t dare offend us.”
“Exactly. No matter how hard Meng Yunwan tries to please us, in our hearts, she will never compare to even a toe of Yu Tang!”
The carriage echoed with laughter all the way back to the mansion.