The scenery of this small courtyard was exceptionally elegant; even a tiny teacup revealed exquisite craftsmanship.
“You never clung to me like this before. Why have you become so attached now?” Xie Yanchuan toyed with the teacup in his hand, his gaze resting on Pei Yunshu. It wasn’t the right time yet. For now, his little disciple was merely flustered, rushing headlong into his embrace.
Yet, when Xie Yanchuan occasionally recalled the look in Pei Yunshu’s eyes, even he felt a twinge of unwillingness and a sense of loss.
“Things are different now, aren’t they?” Pei Yunshu sat close beside Xie Yanchuan, leaning in so intimately that if outsiders saw her, they would deem her behavior far too brazen.
“How are they different?” Xie Yanchuan looked at his little disciple with a smile. Though his eyes should have been amorous, they were unexpectedly gentle.
“It just feels different. I want to be closer to you.” This way, the panic that occasionally seized her upon waking in the middle of the night seemed to suddenly be soothed.
“You mustn’t say such things lightly in the future.” Seeing Pei Yunshu like this, Xie Yanchuan actually felt a headache coming on. He even had an absurd sense of déjà vu, as if he were back in his days as a Tutor.
“I only say such things when I’m with you, Teacher.” Pei Yunshu raised her hand and lightly hooked Xie Yanchuan’s little finger.
Xie Yanchuan didn’t move, allowing Pei Yunshu to play around with him. Perhaps it was because the weather was too hot, but he felt a surge of heat ignite from his little finger, climbing upward along his meridians.
“Stop fooling around. Many people are watching you today at the Prince’s residence. If you’re discovered, do you know what will become of you?” Xie Yanchuan’s tone was less a threat and more like admonishment.
“Then, Teacher, does this count as a secret meeting between us?” But Pei Yunshu was no longer the child who once pestered her Tutor to practice calligraphy and study.
She didn’t need a teaching instructor now; she needed a husband, the most honorable husband in the world.
“Teacher, are we having a secret meeting?” When Xie Yanchuan remained silent after her first question, Pei Yunshu unreasonably asked again.
“In all the world, you are the only one who dares to call meeting me a ‘secret meeting.'” Xie Yanchuan stared at the person before him for a moment before finally relenting.
“Duke of Pei should be returning in a few days.”
“Will Your Highness propose to my father then?”
Since when does an emperor propose? Weren’t all the consorts in Xie Yanchuan’s harem offered up by their families?
Xie Yanchuan didn’t need to do anything; people would flock to him of their own accord. Yet when Pei Yunshu spoke of a proposal, she was utterly unperturbed. Upon careful consideration, Xie Yanchuan realized that if he directly proposed to Duke of Pei, The Duke would likely deem him a foolish ruler.
“Now? Niannian, you’re trying to cause your Teacher a world of trouble.” Just thinking about it, Xie Yanchuan knew what an uproar it would cause if he went to Guogong Mansion to propose now.
“Teacher doesn’t want to? Teacher still cares about such things? Aren’t you the emperor?”
Wasn’t the emperor supposed to do as he pleased? After all, even Xie Changyan, the Crown Prince, dared to plot against Guogong Mansion, showing no fear of public opinion. Perhaps after her death, someone else would take the blame.
“I certainly have no fear—who would dare spread rumors about me? But what about you?” Xie Yanchuan looked at Pei Yunshu. “You are to marry me and establish yourself in the inner palace. If you arrive bearing a torrent of ill repute, how will you manage to survive in the future?”
Just as he had once taught her to practice calligraphy stroke by stroke, Xie Yanchuan now began instructing her on how to move forward and climb higher.
As Pei Yunshu was about to leave the courtyard, she suddenly turned back to look at Xie Yanchuan. He stood there, waving to her.
She knew she was using this Tutor she had met in her youth. She also knew her methods were clumsy—the slightest change could alert Jiang Liuyan—so how could she possibly deceive this emperor who ruled the world?
Yet Xie Yanchuan had said nothing. He simply indulged her, following Pei Yunshu’s wishes.
Entering the palace should have been the simplest matter—being granted the title of a consort and carried into the palace. Her parents did indeed dote on her, but they would not truly defy an imperial decree and plunge the entire Guogong Mansion into trouble.
But now, Pei Yunshu was entangled with the Crown Prince, and her reputation in the capital was utterly tarnished. If she entered the palace, she would be watched by countless eyes in both the court and the inner palace.
So Xie Yanchuan was in no hurry. Step by step, he personally charted a path for Pei Yunshu, allowing her to enter the palace justifiably and ascend to a high position immediately upon arrival.
Clearly, she was the one to become a consort. Clearly, she was the one who should serve carefully. Yet now, their roles had completely reversed.
This was the best possible outcome. Given her nature, she should have been unrestrained, pushing her luck. But now, Pei Yunshu only felt at a loss.
Xie Changyan had also treated her well—that was the gentlest side a Crown Prince could show. Yet Pei Yunshu could see Xie Changyan’s displeasure and disdain.
Time and again, Xie Changyan would intentionally or unintentionally scold her for lacking propriety, for her improper words and actions, then gently and softly tell her what a Crown Princess should be like.
At that time, Pei Yunshu did not understand, but she would still suppress her nature to avoid earning Xie Yanchuan’s hatred. Until one day, she saw the gardener in the mansion pruning the flowering trees—the lush, wildly growing trees were gradually trimmed of their branches until they looked just like all the others.
Pei Yunshu suddenly understood: perhaps what Xie Changyan was doing was the same.
She wanted revenge, she wanted to protect the Guogong Mansion, she wanted to enter the palace. This time, she would prune herself.
But this time, it was Xie Yanchuan. Xie Yanchuan had never told her what she must do or how she must be. It seemed she was always the one setting conditions, and Xie Yanchuan would agree with a smile.
“What kind of expression is that?” Xie Sifeng patted Pei Yunshu’s shoulder. Pei Yunshu turned her head and looked at her gloomily.
“I feel like you just had a lovesick expression. Is there something happening in my mansion that I don’t know about, to make you look like this?” Xie Sifeng stroked her chin, scrutinizing the person before her.
“You’re mistaken. The sun is too bright. Junzhu must be dizzy and seeing things.”
“Is that so?”
Xie Sifeng glanced in the direction Pei Yunshu had come from—that was the side courtyard of the prince’s mansion, wasn’t it?
“Then tell me, what were you doing just now?” Xie Sifeng caught up, looking as if she wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Pei Yunshu stopped walking, thought seriously for a moment, and met Xie Sifeng’s probing gaze.
“Do you really want to know?”
“Just say it, what secrets could there be between us? As if I’d ever betray you.”
“Secret rendezvous,” Pei Yunshu uttered two words.
Xie Sifeng widened his eyes, waving his arm weakly a few times, “The Crown Prince is here too?”
“Who said it was the Crown Prince?”
Pei Yunshu looked at Xie Sifeng.
“It’s a wild man.”
Then, satisfied, he left Xie Sifeng standing there in a daze.