At this moment, Jiang Qianxun remained silent in her bewilderment for a long time before she finally accepted the fact that her master had suddenly flung her sleeves and left. Naturally, she couldn’t tell whether her master was feeling shy or annoyed. To her, there was only one conclusion, her master was angry again.
You Caiwei was also shocked. “Heavens, I couldn’t tell, but your master is actually so temperamental! No, why is it this time? Did you do something out of line to her?”
Jiang Qianxun shook her head. “How would I dare?”
You Caiwei also felt that she didn’t have that much audacity. The two racked their brains but still couldn’t figure out a reason. It was Ling Xuan, who had come over for a visit, who listened and tentatively asked, “Could it be… a problem with that drawing?”
Jiang Qianxun didn’t react for a moment. “The drawing?”
Just now, she had recounted everything she did today in meticulous detail, naturally including the part about slacking off during class. However, she was certain her master hadn’t noticed. She didn’t expect Ling Xuan to latch onto this specific point.
“Go check if the drawing is still there.”
Jiang Qianxun scrambled over and rummaged through her desk. It was gone. It was definitely gone. Her textbooks were never this tidy, her master must have discovered it while helping her clear up.
“It must be because your drawing was too ugly, so your master got angry!” You Caiwei said with certainty. “Think about it, if I drew an incredibly ugly picture of you, wouldn’t you be angry too?”
Ling Xuan, however, said, “Not necessarily. I’ve seen Qianxun draw before, and her skills are actually quite good. I estimate that the Sect Master simply dislikes being scrutinized. For someone of her high and powerful position, being scrutinized by a subordinate is a very uncomfortable feeling.”
Her reasoning made perfect sense. In contrast, You Caiwei’s words sounded like complete nonsense. Finding her savior, Jiang Qianxun hurriedly asked, “Then what do you think I should do now?”
“Apologize, write a self-reflection letter, and maintain a sincere attitude.”
Ling Xuan came from a prestigious family and was highly adept at understanding human nature. She knew that as long as one’s attitude was sincere, any non-principled mistake could be smoothed over. This was especially true for superiors, one must show sufficient respect. As long as you satisfied their desire for control, you could even make them feel that you were a talent worth nurturing.
Jiang Qianxun nodded, feeling that Ling Xuan was right.
After hanging up the transmission, she found pen and paper and began to write her self-reflection earnestly. She was only halfway through when she heard the sound of landing outside the door, it seemed her master had returned.
She rushed to open the door for her master, blurting out immediately: “I am sorry, Master. It was my fault for making you angry. If you dislike it, I won’t slack off in class anymore, and I won’t draw you either.”
Shen Qingchen had been worrying about how to apologize, only to be preempted by an apology instead. Stunned for a moment, she said, “…It is nothing. You drew very well, just do not do it during class anymore.”
“So Master isn’t angry anymore?” Jiang Qianxun said with joy.
“I wasn’t originally…” Shen Qingchen paused, then said, “Forget it. Have you been waiting long? Let us hurry and begin our lesson.”
Jiang Qianxun nodded heavily, then suddenly gasped, saying, “Master, can you wait for me for fifteen minutes?”
“You may. Go attend to your business first; I will go prepare the ingredients.”
Jiang Qianxun ran back to the study at top speed, finished writing the self-reflection letter, blew on it to dry the ink, and then hurried to the backyard to meet her master. When Shen Qingchen turned around to look at her, Jiang Qianxun presented the reflection letter like a prized treasure for her master to review.
Perplexed, Shen Qingchen took it and read through it. A faint smile suddenly graced her face, as expected, her own thoughts had been way off. Her disciple was so pure and adorable, it was obvious she had put a lot of effort into scraping together this thousand-word reflection. How could she possibly harbor any improper thoughts about her?
“It is written very well. I shall accept it then.”
Shen Qingchen tucked away the self-reflection letter and asked, “Shall we have fish tonight?”
Jiang Qianxun naturally agreed. No matter what her master said or did, as long as she wasn’t angry, everything was perfectly fine.
Shen Qingchen walked over to the pond and casually caught one. Lifting it up to check, the fish was over two palms long, with a snow-white base color and pale yellow spots. Looking closely, it had a silver, streamlined stripe running along each side of its body, it was a beautiful cod.
Her eyes lit up. This fish was slightly savory, delicious, low in fat, and had few bones, it was the type of fish that would turn out well no matter how it was cooked.
Jiang Qianxun didn’t recognize the fish, but seeing her master’s satisfied expression, she knew it must be a delicious catch. She quickly asked, “How are we going to cook it?”
After a moment of thought, Shen Qingchen felt that for such a flavorful fish, steaming was the best way to retain its original flavor. Steaming was also a method that required almost no complex culinary skills, making it perfect for a beginner like Jiang Qianxun to learn.
With that, the master and disciple carried the fish and walked toward the kitchen.
Jiang Qianxun followed by Shen Qingchen’s side like a happy puppy. In her heart, as long as her master was happy, she felt much more relaxed. Her biggest fear was her master getting angry for no apparent reason, leaving her with no idea how to coax her back.
Watching her follow so closely with a pure, silly smile on her face, Shen Qingchen felt even more certain that her previous suspicions were entirely groundless. She decided that after tonight, she would return the storybook to her martial sister, lest it keep making her paranoid.
Washing the fish, scaling it, and preparing the dipping sauce were not too difficult. Under her master’s guidance, Jiang Qianxun finished the tasks and felt that cooking wasn’t as daunting as she had thought; it was much simpler than she imagined.
Having finished these preparations, just as they were about to place the fish into the steamer, Jiang Qianxun looked down only to find the bowl completely empty. Reacting faster, Shen Qingchen had already dashed outside. After a short while, she walked back carrying a cat in one hand and a fish in the other.
The little cat’s ears were drooped, and the fish now had a few chunks missing from it.
Seeing Jiang Qianxun looking over, the cat even let out a “Meow!” as if lodging a complaint.