Chen Yundu seemed to receive Xu Zhihe’s hint. He drafted his response a few times in his mind before speaking with a shallow smile, the starlight surging in his eyes—fervent yet reserved.
He asked, “I still do not know the Miss’s name?”
Chen Yundu’s voice was clear and resonant, brimming with the vitality of youth. When he smiled, it was like the first ray of warm sunlight after a winter snow, or like a stack of grain straw baking warmly in a field of wheat and rice—clean and pristine.
Xu Zhihe smiled radiantly, withdrawing her gaze from the water’s surface. Her fingers traced lightly and casually over the book cover.
“My surname is Xu, and my given name is Zhihe. The ‘Zhi’ of the gardenia flower, and the ‘He’ of a warm, gentle breeze.”
Xu Zhihe.
Chen Yundu lowered his eyes, his heart beating like a drum.
His voice went hoarse, yet it carried an unspoken sense of cherishing and earnestness as he spoke each word with utmost sincerity, “The Miss’s name… sounds very beautiful.”
…How to speak to a girl he liked was naturally a subject outside the knowledge Chen Yundu had learned in the academy. Therefore, every word and sentence was green and unfamiliar, even carrying a hint of clumsiness.
Xu Zhihe very much liked this “clumsiness” of his.
Her gaze wandered, and the tip of her foot tapped the ground lightly and sporadically, like a feather brushing against a fingertip.
A gust of wind blew past, and the verdigris-stained bells let out a “ding-a-ling” sound.
Ding-ling—
This wind came at a very clever time.
Xu Zhihe stopped her small movements, raising her hand to shield her eyelashes as she squinted at the sunlight and the incessantly swaying bells.
“The bell is moving.”
She said this, looking at Chen Yundu with a smile.
Chen Yundu instinctively rebutted her words, “It is not the bell… it is the wind moving.”
Was it really only the wind moving?
After speaking, he paused, belatedly realizing what he had just said.
The heartbeat in his chest grew louder and more resounding with every thump. His ears grew somewhat hot. His gaze landed on Xu Zhihe’s fair, tender face, and he opened his mouth, “I… did not mean to offend.”
The smile on Xu Zhihe’s face was sly. Pretending to be completely oblivious, she pressed, “What offense?”
Chen Yundu truly did not know how to speak.
Xu Zhihe reached up and tucked a strand of hair blown loose by the wind behind her ear. With starlight glinting in her almond eyes, she asked, “Were you thinking of… Master Huineng’s words—’It is not the wind that moves, nor the flag that moves, it is the benevolent one’s heart that moves’?”
Chen Yundu looked at her. Waiting for her to finish speaking, the fingertips hidden within his sleeves curled slightly.
For a moment, he couldn’t tell which was louder—the sound of the wind blowing the bells, or the sound of his heartbeat… the sound of his heart moving.
…
Xu Zhihe quit while she was ahead. After speaking, she picked up the stack of books beside her hand and said to him, “Young Master Chen, it is getting late. I must go back.”
Chen Yundu slowly stepped aside half a pace. Xu Zhihe had taken three or five steps when she suddenly heard him call out from behind, “Miss.”
Xu Zhihe immediately turned her head back, as if she had been anticipating this moment all along.
Chen Yundu gathered the thoughts in his heart. Seeing Xu Zhihe waiting for him to speak, his mouth reacted a step faster than his brain:
“After the winter snow falls, the surface of Fengsha Lake freezes over with thin ice, the reeds sway, and there is a vendor market along the lake. Would the Miss like to go together?”
Xu Zhihe froze for a moment, then smiled at him, “Okay.”
Chen Yundu broke into a smile in return. “Then in one month’s time, I will wait for you here.”
Xu Zhihe waved the books in her hand. “Okay. The next time we meet, I will return these books to you.”
Chen Yundu said, “No rush, no rush.”
Xu Zhihe hugged the books and left.
Chen Yundu watched her back, replaying every little detail of their meeting just now.
…He shouldn’t have done anything to displease Miss Xu.
He put his heart at ease. Raising his eyes to look at the incessantly swaying bells on the eaves, his eyes overflowed with smiles.
Miss Xu had agreed to go to Fengsha Lake with him!
He needed to go back and tell Mei Fengyu properly that he already had an appointment, so Mei Fengyu wouldn’t make a wasted trip.
Having made up his mind, his steps became significantly lighter.
The fallen ginkgo leaves on the ground were golden yellow, like tiny little fans. Chen Yundu picked up a fallen leaf. When he looked up, however, he saw a tall, adult man standing right in front of him.
With a dark, gloomy face.
…
On the other side, Xu Zhihe was happily skipping on her tiptoes. First, she went shopping for the thank-you gifts she needed to give the clerk… Tang Zhaoyun had left her five taels of silver, so her purse was not considered empty right now. The meat she bought was premium front leg meat, and the wine wasn’t cheap bulk wine, but Penglai Chun, which cost three hundred copper coins a jug.
When they returned to the entrance of the bookstore, Fang Li was waiting for Xu Zhihe’s return. Seeing that she had prepared the etiquette thoroughly, she smiled and said to the clerk, “I told you our Miss would keep it in her heart!”
The clerk also saw the things she was carrying in her hands and frantically waved his hands. “It was merely the lifting of a finger; it is not worth such a solemn thank you. You already gave me silver for running the errand that night, and Juren Zhang gave me silver as well.”
Xu Zhihe handed the thank-you gifts to the clerk without brooking any argument and thanked him properly and respectfully, “You helped me, and my heart is deeply grateful. No amount of thank-you gifts would be too much. If you do not accept them, it will instead make my heart uneasy. In the future, if I have matters that need attending to, I will absolutely not dare to trouble you again.”
The clerk did not covet her thank-you gifts, but hearing her say this, he had no choice but to accept them, smiling, “Then many thanks to the Third Miss and Miss Fang Li.”
Only after finishing this last task did Xu Zhihe truly and completely set her heart at ease, returning to the Xu residence with Fang Li.
Sun Mama was currently ordering people to sweep up the fallen paulownia leaves. The Fourth Miss, Xu Yuyan, had just returned and was sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, taking large gulps of water.
Seeing Xu Zhihe return, her gaze darted away, avoiding greeting her face-to-face.
Sun Mama caught sight of the books Fang Li was holding, smiled, but said nothing.
The Third Miss had gone to see off Zhang Fuyong. Buying a few things on the way back and having her maid carry them was perfectly normal… Only she hadn’t expected that Young Master Zhang would gift books.
Did he truly plan to have the Third Miss—a young girl—take the imperial exams and become the top scholar?
Xu Zhihe nodded in greeting to Sun Mama, returned to the west wing, took off her shoes and socks, slipped into bed like a fish, and covered herself with the quilt.
She had gotten up early today to see off her younger uncle and aunt and hadn’t slept enough. Now that her shoulders were unburdened, she was perfectly happy to relax. She instructed Fang Li, “Today, unless the sky falls and the earth cracks, absolutely do not wake me.”
She was going to sleep to her heart’s content.
…
At the ferry crossing in Eqiao County, Tang Zhaoyun waited and waited, finally seeing Zhang Fuyong return.
The expression on Zhang Fuyong’s face was indifferent. Tang Zhaoyun looked him up and down a couple of times but couldn’t gauge his mood. She only asked, “Why did it take you so long?”
From a quarter to nine in the morning all the way until almost noon.
Zhang Fuyong waved his hand. He had received too many shocks today, and he didn’t quite know where to begin.
Tang Zhaoyun did not rush him either. Only when the two of them were standing on the boat, with the river breeze blowing against their faces, did Zhang Fuyong feel his mind clear up significantly.
Holding a teacup, he took a sip and said, “That girl, Zhihe…”
Tang Zhaoyun waited silently for the second half of his sentence.
Zhang Fuyong: “…Never mind, let’s not talk about her. That girl is just like you—you both have minds of your own… Although that farmer’s son looked impoverished, after conversing with him, he actually proved to be a well-read and educated gentleman. His manners are natural and generous; he is a fine talent.”
Tang Zhaoyun was utterly confused by his riddles. “Wait! What do you mean ‘like me,’ and what farmer’s son are you talking about?”
Zhang Fuyong did not answer, only looking at her quietly. The water in his teacup was empty, so he turned around and poured himself another cup.
Tang Zhaoyun thought for a long moment before finally grasping Zhang Fuyong’s meaning. She immediately chased after him, grabbed his sleeve, and asked, “Are you saying that Zhihe is just like me, and has taken a liking to a farmer’s son?”
Zhang Fuyong downed the tea in his mouth in one gulp and nodded heavily.
When Xu Zhihe woke up again, it was already afternoon.
Today was the fifteenth, so they had to go to Madame Lü’s main hall to eat together. However, the wives of the county office officials were hosting a banquet, and as the Magistrate’s wife, Madame Lü naturally had to attend. Therefore, only the two concubines and the misses and young masters of the various branches were seated in the hall.
After rinsing her mouth, Xu Zhihe walked into the main hall.
Her footsteps paused subtly. The dining table in the Xu family’s main hall was rectangular. Aside from the seats of honor at the head, everyone sat facing each other.
Ever since the Second Miss, Xu Yijin, had married, Xu Zhihe had always sat opposite the Eldest Brother, according to the order of seniority.
Today, however, the Fourth Miss, Xu Yuyan, was sitting opposite the Eldest Brother. Sun Mama watched from the side but did not voice any objection to stop it.
The Eldest Brother had failed the imperial examinations in the first half of the year and had no mind to pay attention to anything else. He buried his head in his meal, completely unconcerned with who was sitting across from him.
With the Fourth Miss changing seats, Xu Lanshu naturally followed suit, sticking firmly beside her own birth mother, Concubine Yao.
Xu Zhihe only froze for a split second before her expression returned to normal—Sun Mama had ignored it, and the Eldest Brother tacitly permitted it. Why should she stick her neck out?
Sitting anywhere to eat was still eating.
Xu Zhihe walked over and sat down opposite the Fifth Brother, Xu Yingzhang.
Xu Yingzhang paused for a moment, raised his eyes, and smiled at her. “Good day, Third Sister.”
Xu Zhihe gave a slight nod. After sitting down, she looked at the dishes on the table.
The fifteenth of the tenth lunar month was the Xiaoyuan Festival. In accordance with the season, aside from the common vegetables on the table, there were also glutinous rice cakes and vegetarian steamed buns.
A set portion was placed in front of each person: a small dish of stir-fried cabbage, a bowl of white radish soup with minced meat, half a small bowl of boiled pork with scallions, as well as two glutinous rice cakes and three vegetarian steamed buns.
If there were special circumstances, they could order the main kitchen to add a little something extra.
For example, since Concubine Yao was pregnant, her portion included an extra bowl of red date, goji berry, and snow fungus soup compared to the others.
After eating half a bowl of rice, one glutinous rice cake, and one steamed bun, Xu Zhihe already felt full.
Someone stood up and walked past her—the Eldest Brother had already finished eating and was preparing to return to his room to do his coursework.
He had always been unrestricted at home; he came when he wanted and left when he wanted.
In her heart, Xu Zhihe felt somewhat envious of the Eldest Brother. Although she was also full, she could not leave the hall early. She had to wait for her sisters to finish eating, then listen to their elders chat about household affairs to foster sibling affection.
Whether it truly fostered affection or not was unknown, but the superficial appearances had to be maintained completely. This was the unspoken basic requirement of every official’s household to make the children appear exceptionally close and loving.
If sisters and brothers argued at home and word got out, they would be ridiculed by others.
Having nothing to do, Xu Zhihe could only sit in her seat and reach out to rub her stomach.
Rubbing in a clockwise direction could promote intestinal peristalsis and digestion. She had eaten quite a bit today, so it was the perfect time to help digestion.
Across from her, Xu Yingzhang ate quite a bit more. At fourteen, his body was growing, and let alone a few buns, even if seven or eight more were brought out, he could still eat them all.
He hesitated for a moment and looked toward Xu Zhihe.
Xu Zhihe froze for a second, then caught on and gave him a slight nod.
She couldn’t eat anymore anyway.
Receiving Xu Zhihe’s permission, Xu Yingzhang pulled the small dish holding the steamed buns from in front of her over to himself.
Sitting at the very end of the table, no one noticed the small exchange between the sister and brother.
Xu Yingzhang finished them off in three bites. Once full, he wiped the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief, picked up the freshly brewed tea to his right, and took a sip.
The two of them had already finished eating. The only ones who hadn’t put down their chopsticks were Xu Lanshu, who was sitting with Concubine Yao, and Xu Yingsong, who was being held and coaxed to eat in Concubine Du’s arms.
Xu Lanshu was clingy, and Xu Yingsong was at the age where he was fussy and disliked eating. These two sides were going to dawdle for quite a while.
Sun Mama wanted to speak up several times to urge both sides to hurry, but the moment the words reached her lips, she saw Concubine Yao pretending to inadvertently stroke her own lower abdomen, and had no choice but to swallow the words back down.
Concubine Yao was carrying a child; she was incredibly precious and could not be rushed.
T/n: The New chapter is up! Enjoy the ride and do join us on this adventure 😍🎉🎊. If you want to support me, do check my other novels on my Translator’s Page🫶. You can support the original author here. Please vote on NU here. If you’re interested, you can also buy me a Ko-Fi. Happy Reading 🤓 💅.