In a turn of events, the gold ingot was returned to Yuan Hui’s hands. Zhen Ting Yun did not have much spirit after she went back to her room. She even looked a little wan.
When Old Madame Zhen saw Zhen Ting Yun’s lackluster countenance, she inevitably had to ask, “What’s wrong with you again?”
There was no way Zhen Ting Yun could tell Old Madame Zhen about the gold ingot. She walked over and sat next to Old Madame Zhen. As she leaned next to Old Madame Zhen, she muttered about another thing that was on her mind, “Grandma, do you think I can really get admitted into a women’s academy next year? I heard that all the young ladies from the Imperial City started their studies early, they’re all knowledgeable and outstanding individuals…”
The ignorant were fearless. It turned out that the more one learnt and the more knowledgeable one became, the more one would fear.
Zhen Ting Yun was no longer an ignorant child. She had long understood that the world was vast and there were people better than her[1]. In June of next year, the women’s academies would be holding their entrance examinations. If one were to count the time, there was less than a year left. In addition, her opponents were the daughters of aristocratic families residing in the Imperial City. Could she really outshine so many young ladies and get admitted to a women’s academy?
Observing Zhen Ting Yun’s weary appearance, Old Madame Zhen could not resist smacking her back, “This girl! How can you already be discouraged before you even take the exam?!”
Zhen Ting Yun hugged Old Madame Zhen’s arm, resting her head on her shoulder as she chose not to respond. She used her head to lightly nudge against Old Madame Zhen and hummed softly, like a coquettish little kitten.
“From the way I see it, you’re just meek and civil in public, but a tyrant at home. When you’re facing me, you sure are eloquent. Even if something made no sense at all, you’ll be able to make it sound somewhat logical. Why are you suddenly so weak-minded now that you have to face outsiders? Your sister passed the exams, so why can’t you?!” Old Madame Zhen was a little displeased and she coldly stated, “You’re both born from the same parents. Are you lacking an eye or an ear? Why will you be worse off when compared to her? On top of that, you’ve worked hard since you were young. After being tormented for so long on your route, why can’t you compare to them?”
Zhen Ting Yun was also a person begging to be scolded. After being reproached by Old Madame Zhen, she regained her enthusiasm and nodded vigorously, “Grandma is right! I unknowingly led myself into a blind alley.” She then stuck her face against Old Madame Zhen’s cheek while hugging her as she coquettishly said, “I just know that Grandma loves me.”
Old Madame Zhen gave her a shove. She put on the appearance of not being able to stand her granddaughter’s lovey-dovey appearance, and harrumphed, “Go, go, go! I just don’t want to continue seeing your dejected look, how inauspicious!”
Zhen Ting Yun got up with a smile. With renewed vigor, she retrieved her writing brush, ink stick, paper, and inkstone and prepared to write down her daily study schedule as instructed by Yuan Hui. Regardless of whether things worked out or not, one had to try first before one knew.
At least for these few months, she should not squander them away.
Seeing Zhen Ting Yun sitting by the desk, concentrating on her writing, Old Madame Zhen did not disturb her further. She went out and had Ba Zhen fetch some water for her to wash up so that she could rest first.
On the other hand, Zhen Ting Yun spent most of the night writing down her study schedule.
The lamps in the room remained lit for the majority of the night.
After completing her schedule, Zhen Ting Yun washed up and lay on her bed. It was most probably because she had made up her mind and knew what she needed to do going forward, because the second half of the night, she managed to catch some restful sleep.
The next morning, Zhen Ting Yun rose early like she usually would.
Because she stayed up late, Zhen Ting Yun felt a faint headache coming so she raised her hand to massage her forehead before she lifted the quilt and got off the bed.
As per usual, after she put on her shoes, she went to open the windows.
As it was currently winter, the morning breeze was bitingly cold. It caused Zhen Ting Yun to shiver and was immediately feeling more awake. As she was only in her nightclothes, she quickly washed up and change her attire before heading down.
Zhen Ting Yun was used to waking up early. At this time, there were not a lot of people moving about in the inn. Steward Lin had also gone out once again. He was instructed by Father Zhen to bring Old Madame Zhen and Zhen Ting Yun into the Imperial City but they have been delayed at this inn for a number of days already. This naturally caused him to be more anxious and he would go out early every morning to inquire about the situation. Thus, today was no different.
Zhen Ting Yun was halfway through her meal when she spotted Steward Lin returning from his tasks.
Steward Lin had a look of joy on his face. Seeing Zhen Ting Yun, who was having her breakfast, he smiled and greeted, “Miss.”
He then informed her of the news he had inquired from outside, “In a couple more days, we’ll be able to depart.”
Zhen Ting Yun slowly put down the bowl and asked, “Prince She Zheng’s entourage of Honored Guards have departed?” This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“It’s said that they will be leaving tomorrow.” Steward Lin smiled. His thoughts have already started going through all the preparations they needed before they could continue on their journey.
Zhen Ting Yun was delighted with this piece of news. But at the same time, she was also troubled about how she should arrange transportation for Yuan Hui. For their journey, they only had two horse-drawn carriages. One was for Old Madame Zhen and Zhen Ting Yun. The other one was filled with their luggage and things they brought from their hometown. Ba Zhen and Liu Shun were also assigned to that carriage to look after the things, while Steward Lin and the men all rode on horseback.
Therefore, it became a complicated matter as Yuan Hui was currently bedridden and was even advised not to partake in vigorous activities due to his head injury. It was impossible to hire another horse-drawn carriage especially for him.
As Zhen Ting Yun was currently unable to come up with a good solution for this matter, she decided to put it on the back burner first. She exchanged a few more words with Steward Lin before she made her way upstairs after finishing her meal. She retrieved the study schedule that she wrote the previous night and went towards Yuan Hui’s room for him to look through it.
Yuan Hui had just freshened up. The red imprint left by the hot towel was still visible on his cheeks. The droplets clung onto his long black lashes, casting a shadow on his eyelids.
Currently, his originally handsome face ignited other emotions.
Zhen Ting Yun could not help but be momentarily mesmerized. She cleared her throat before calling out, “Teacher.”
Without moving, Yuan Hui just lifted his gaze to glance at Zhen Ting Yun.
He was probably still not used to the idea of suddenly gaining such a big disciple and he quickly withdrew his gaze. Noticing the paper in her hand, he quickly understood the purpose of her arrival and casually asked, “Have you completed your daily study schedule?”
Zhen Ting Yun nodded hurriedly as she reached out and handed over the daily study schedule that she had written.
Her daily schedule for studying starts from mao-shi[2]. She would wake up at mao-shi, and have her breakfast before she do a quick revision of the previous day’s homework. At chen-shi[3], she would study scripts, practice her calligraphy, and five big characters. At si-shi[4], she would practice her flute and memorize music scores. At wu-shi[5], she would have her lunch and take a short break. At wei-shi[6], she would practice her calligraphy again and practice another five big characters. Afterwards, the remainder of the day would be set aside for other arrangements.
There was also a more detailed breakdown written at the bottom of the paper.
Yuan Hui received the paper with her daily schedule and methodically picked up a brush. It was more convenient for him to edit as he read through.
Zhen Ting Yun sat on the side and expectantly stared at him with bright eyes.
In fact, Yuan Hui did not make many changes to her schedule. After a few strokes of the brush, he handed the paper back to Zhen Ting Yun and told her, “Let’s go with this first. When I’ve recovered, we’ll arrange for me to teach you horsemanship and archery.”
Receiving the timetable, Zhen Ting Yun glanced through it and noted that Yuan Hui added arithmetic right after wei-shi. She felt that it was reasonable and nodded. Somewhat eager, she asked, “So, now I’ll start with studying scripts and practicing calligraphy?”
Yuan Hui nodded. As though it suddenly came to mind, he added, “My mouth is a little dry, brew some tea for me first.”
Zhen Ting Yun casually replied, “Isn’t there a hot tea in the room, shall I’ll pour you a cup?”
Recalling the scent of the inferior tea leaves provided by the inn, Yuan Hui scrunched his brows, “I don’t want to drink this.”
The inn used tea dust and the quality was not really good. However, Zhen Ting Yun did not mind because when she was back in her hometown, Old Madame Zhen would sometimes dry willow branches or locust flowers to brew tea. Either way, it was still drinkable. However, noticing Yuan Hui’s repulsed expression, Zhen Ting Yun pondered about it before persuading Yuan Hui, “If you’re not used to the tea provided by the inn, shall I get some honey instead? Mixed with some warm water, it can also soothe the throat.”
Her tone was exactly the same as one would use to coax a child.
Yuan Hui’s brows twitched when he heard her words. His expression remained faint and he nonchalantly replied, “Then forget it. Initially, I thought that if there was a tea set laying around, I would consider teaching you the arts of tea appreciation. But I guess it’s still too early…”
Zhen Ting Yun, “…”
For a moment, Zhen Ting Yun was mentally struggling. On one hand, she was reluctant to fish out money to buy things like tea sets. On the other hand, she wanted very much to learn the arts of tea ceremony from Yuan Hui.
Acting as though he did not care for Zhen Ting Yun’s reply, Yuan Hui casually lowered his eyes.
Zhen Ting Yun was a very perceptive and decisive person. Although she was reluctant to spend money, she was willing to empty all her private savings to buy that old second-hand zither. Now, she was equally willing to spend some money to learn the arts of tea ceremony. Hence, her struggle was only momentarily before she quickly nodded, “I’m afraid it’s too late to buy a tea set now. Why don’t you make do with honeyed water first? Later, I’ll instruct my servant girl to buy back a tea set, and tomorrow, we can learn how to brew tea?”
Zhen Ting Yun’s heart felt at ease as she got up to make a cup of warm honeyed water. She brought it over to Yuan Hui with two hands, maintaining a respectful appearance of a student serving her teacher.
With her being so attentive and respectful, Yuan Hui became alert and stared at her suspiciously, “What is it?”
Zhen Ting Yun sheepishly smiled at him, lowering her eyelashes, she asked in an embarrassing soft voice, “About that… The gold ingot that I handed to you yesterday, is it still with you?”
Yuan Hui, “…”
Zhen Ting Yun knew she had to explain, “Buying a tea set would require quite a bit of money. Currently, I don’t have much on me, I’m afraid it wouldn’t be enough.”
Taking into account that even with his memory loss, and having just retrieved his pouch and was able to toss a piece of gold ingot the following day. Yuan Hui was unable to fathom how people did not even have enough money to buy a mere tea set…
However, remembering how Zhen Ting Yun was still using the old second-hand zither and how much painstaking effort she placed into getting it at the beginning, he suddenly felt like he could somewhat understand the situation.
Despite that, Yuan Hui was not easily moved as he solemnly reminded her, “As I’ve said yesterday, the gold is to cover the expenses I incurred, and only the remaining is yours to keep.”
Zhen Ting Yun did not regard him as a stranger as she scooted over to sit by his bedside. She blinked her bright eyes at Yuan Hui and crisply replied, “Teacher’s words are too detached. With our current relationship, how can we still be talking about money?”
“…And what relationship do we have?” Yuan Hui had just taken a mouthful of warm honeyed water and was almost choked by Zhen Ting Yun’s ambiguous tone.
Zhen Ting Yun raised her brows as her eyes sparkled like jewels, giving off a certain radiance.
She answered him confidently, “The relationship between master and disciple! Everyone says that it’s as close as familial ties, so we could be considered as half father and daughter?”
Yuan Hui, “…Cough!”
This time around, Yuan Hui really choked.
The author has something to say:
Zhen Ting Yun: The one who gave money is father!
Yuan Hui: …Thanks, but I don’t want to be your father!
Gods… knowing that Zhen Ting Yun wakes up 5am to study… I cannot brain that…
( ⚆ _ ⚆ )!!!
[1] The whole proverb is <人外有人，天外有天>, it means that no matter how good a person thinks they are, there will always be someone out in the world there is better.
[2] In olden times, time was tracked into a system of two-hour subdivisions. Between 5am-7am.
[3] Between 7am-9am.
[4] Between 9am-11am.
[5] Between 11am-1pm.
[6] Between 1pm-3pm.