It had been many years since Li Zhenchun had sat side by side with Wei Nancheng.
If there had not been a guqin placed on the desk in front of them, she would have been happy that she still had the chance to study beside him in this lifetime.
But when she looked at the guqin, her eyebrows knitted together so tightly they could pinch a mosquito to death. Her little face wrinkled up like a bitter melon.
She turned to Wei Nancheng, trying to save her own life.
“How about we forget it?”
She quickly added,
“I mean forget it for the sake of your ears.”
Wei Nancheng replied calmly,
“Go ahead and play. As long as a person’s heart is pure, their music cannot be completely unpleasant.”
What if my heart isn’t pure? she thought.
Li Zhenchun looked away, placed both hands on the guqin, closed her eyes, and prepared herself as if she were going to her execution.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Bang! Bang! Crash!
Dong! Dong! Clang!
Screech! Bang! Twang!
Before meeting Li Zhenchun, Wei Nancheng had never known a guqin could make so many different sounds.
Every one of them was noisy.
When she finally finished, Li Zhenchun opened her eyes and looked at him expectantly.
He was the first person who had listened without stopping her halfway through.
Surely he would give her a good review.
She looked like a little puppy sitting obediently, with her front paws together and her back legs tucked underneath her.
Cute…
But completely empty-headed.
Wei Nancheng said calmly,
“If you master the guqin, you’ll live a long life.”
Li Zhenchun blinked.
“…And?”
He continued,
“Your left and right hands each seem to have their own ideas. Practice more. It may help you live longer.”
Li Zhenchun stared at him.
“…What?”
Looking at her confused expression, he continued,
“Learning the guqin without practicing is no different from pulling noo—”
Before he finished, Li Zhenchun interrupted him.
“You can learn the guqin by pulling noodles?”
She grabbed the strings, creating another terrible screech.
“How do you pull them?”
Seeing Wei Nancheng’s expression, she quickly corrected herself.
“I mean… how do you learn it? I’ll definitely practice well from now on. Then I’ll go pull noodles.”
Under her gaze, Wei Nancheng calmly reached over and lifted up one of the broken strings she had snapped.
“You don’t need to pull noodles.”
“You’re already very good at pulling.”
Li Zhenchun froze.
He meant pulling… the strings?
She looked up and smiled awkwardly.
“I’ll be gentler next time.”
“There won’t be a next time.”
Hope immediately lit up in her eyes.
Does that mean I don’t have to learn anymore?
“Today,” Wei Nancheng said,
“I’ll teach you how to control your strength.”
The light in her eyes immediately disappeared.
She laughed nervously.
“W-we’re still learning?”
She glanced out the window and quickly changed the subject.
“It’s already getting dark. Isn’t it time for dinner?”
She stood up quickly, gathered her skirt, and said,
“I’ll go eat first. I’ll come back and practice afterward.”
Then she slipped away like lightning.
In just a few steps, she disappeared from his sight.
Only moments later, a round little head peeked back through the doorway.
She smiled brightly.
“Husband, would you like to have dinner together?”
Wei Nancheng quietly looked at the bright ornaments in her hair and the light-yellow ribbon tied behind her head.
Years later, whenever he thought back to this day, he only remembered one thing.
My wife was still so young.
She was honest, lively, and carefree.
Like the first flowers of spring.
Like warm sunlight.
A few days later, Wei Xinian was finally released.
The moment he stepped through the front gate, Fang Rushi dragged him into the courtyard.
She changed him into proper clothes and neatly combed his hair.
Wei Xinian turned left and right, admiring himself in the mirror, then looked at Li Zhenchun, who was squatting nearby eating a cucumber.
He lowered his voice.
“Tell me honestly.”
“Has my mother completely given up on me and decided to send me to marry into the Prime Minister’s family?”
Li Zhenchun blinked.
“The son-in-law part is true.”
“As for whether you’ll marry into their family, I don’t know.”
Standing behind him, Fang Rushi slapped the side of his head.
“What nonsense are you talking about? If they really liked you, none of this would have happened.”
Li Zhenchun paused while chewing her cucumber and looked at Fang Rushi.
Fang Rushi seemed not to notice as she carefully combed Wei Xinian’s hair.
“This time, it was all thanks to that Yue boy. He found the Chang family’s youngest son and convinced Master Chang to change his testimony. Otherwise, you’d still be sitting in prison.”
“I know, Mother.”
Wei Xinian looked toward a servant.
“Qingniao! Bring me the wine I’ve been hiding. I’m taking it to the Prime Minister’s Mansion to drink with my brother-in-law.”
“Forget it!”
Fang Rushi interrupted.
“The Prime Minister’s family is a scholarly household. What kind of manners would that be?”
“I’ve already prepared the gifts. Just bring them and bring Jingque home.”
Wei Xinian was just about to agree when Fang Rushi added,
“Jingque is pregnant now. Remember to take care of her. Especially when getting on and off the carriage—you need to support her…”
“Wait!”
Wei Xinian immediately stopped her.
He turned around with wide eyes.
“What did you just say?”
“Who’s pregnant?”
“Jingque is.”
Fang Rushi suddenly remembered.
“I forgot to tell you earlier. It’s still not too late. Just remember—”
“Wait!”
Wei Xinian suddenly grabbed Li Zhenchun by her sleeve.
“I need to talk to my Sister-in-law.”
Fang Rushi watched in shock as he dragged Li Zhenchun away.
He…
Wanted to talk to Zhenchun?
Everything was becoming a mess.
Had both daughters-in-law somehow been married into the family for him instead?
…
Wei Xinian pulled Li Zhenchun to a quiet corner.
“Yue Jingque is pregnant?”
“Really?”
“I don’t know.”
Li Zhenchun kept chewing her cucumber.
“Crunch… crunch…”
“Whose child is it?”
“Yours.”
“Crunch… crunch…”
“I…”
Wei Xinian was completely speechless.
After standing there silently for a while, he finally asked,
“How far along is she?”
“How would I know?”
“You should ask Jingque.”
Li Zhenchun was almost finished with her cucumber, but Wei Xinian was still trying to accept the news.
He slowly squatted down, holding his head.
His whole expression looked like he was questioning his life.
“Is this punishment for visiting pleasure houses?”
Li Zhenchun thought to herself,
No. Your brother resigning from office—that’s the real punishment.
But no one in the Wei family wanted to tell him.
They all treated Wei Xinian like a child.
Suddenly, he stood up again.
“If I divorce her now… would that make me a terrible person?”
“I don’t know whether it’s humane or not.”
“But you’d definitely be an awful person.”
Li Zhenchun replied.
Wei Xinian walked toward the gate in a daze, as if he had been standing under the hot sun too long.
Only when he was about to mount his horse did he look resentfully at Li Zhenchun.
“This is all your fault.”
If he had married her back then…
He wouldn’t have ended up raising another man’s wife and child.
The thought of bringing home someone else’s wife—and someone else’s baby—made him feel deeply uncomfortable.
After Wei Xinian left with his group, Fang Rushi’s expression became even stranger.
She looked at Wei Xinian’s departing figure, then at Li Zhenchun.
She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something.
Before she could, Li Zhenchun walked over and linked arms with her.
“Second Aunt, will you teach me martial arts?”
She’s trying to win me over, Fang Rushi thought.
She wants me to become the evil mother-in-law and separate Wei Er from Jingque.
For the first time in her life, Fang Rushi politely pulled someone’s hand away.
For the first time, she gave someone a dignified sideways glance.
“I only recognize Jingque as my daughter-in-law.”
Then she lifted her chin proudly and walked into the house.
Unfortunately, she immediately tripped over the doorstep.
She quickly recovered and continued walking as though nothing had happened, trying to keep her elegant image.
Li Zhenchun blinked in confusion.
What does that mean?
What does learning martial arts have to do with Jingque?