Yan Shu smiled back at her and pulled her hand away from Nie Qingrong.
"Does the Yan family have no servants? Why does Yue'er have to do the cooking?" The eldest young master of the Nie family, who had just taken his seat, spoke in an unfriendly tone.
"No wonder the girl said he doesn't treat you as well as your second brother does." The second young master continued to squint thoughtfully.
This was a huge misunderstanding. Nie Qingyue's initial relief was overshadowed by worry, and the arrows seemed to be pointing directly at her husband.
After exchanging pleasantries with the guests, Lord Nie and his wife appeared at just the right moment, easing the tense atmosphere.
The four people at the table stood up: "Father, Mother." "Father-in-law, Mother-in-law."
Nie Anru nodded, gave a "humph" to the two young masters of the Nie family as a sign of agreement, and sat down with his wife. His gaze remained fixed on Nie Qingyue: "Qingyue, you're finally back."
Nie Qingyue smiled as the father looked her over, when Madam Nie suddenly spoke kindly, "Yue'er, why don't you switch places with Rong'er?" Nie Qingyue's smile froze, and she suddenly felt the atmosphere subtly shift.
She hesitated. If she switched places with Nie Qingrong, Yan Shu would be flanked by the Nie brothers, and she had a bad feeling about it. Nie Qingyue looked around the table and saw everyone smiling at her. She had no choice but to obediently switch places with Nie Qingrong and sit next to Nie Anru.
The birthday banquet begins.
Toasts and salutes were offered from all sides, and the gifts were thoughtfully chosen, either priceless or tailored to individual preferences.
Amidst an eerily peaceful atmosphere, Nie Qingyue noticed that Yan Shu and the Nie brothers had been drinking together at least five times. This aged liquor was mild in nature but had a strong aftereffect. What were those two up to?
Just then, an old man's voice rang out: "Three years ago, I heard Miss Nie sing at Prime Minister Nie's birthday banquet. Her voice lingered for three days. It's a pity that I was so captivated by the music that I missed the chance to record it. I wonder if I will have the honor of hearing it today?"
Why bring up something you shouldn't talk about?
The long-bearded old man was a court musician. Nie Qingyue had studied the zither under him when she was young, and he was known as a music fanatic. It was not unreasonable for her to make such a request under the guise of her hand injury, but if she used that as an excuse, Nie Anru would inevitably investigate later, so it was bound to be a disappointment at this moment.
Compared to the eldest son of the Nie family's enthusiastic expression, the second son's gloating was quite obvious. Both of them looked at Yan Shu. Before Nie Qingyue could speak, Yan Shu stood up and toasted Nie Anru with three cups of wine, saying in a clear voice, "I have nothing to offer in celebration, but I wish to use this opportunity to offer a song in respect."
Nie Anru was somewhat surprised, but being a seasoned official, he nodded slightly after a moment.
Yan Shu turned his head, took the seven-stringed zither lying quietly on the table with one hand, and sat down under the tree in the banquet hall, his posture relaxed. A breeze carrying the fragrance of magnolias blew by, and the person holding the zither plucked a string with his long fingers. A clear, ringing sound seemed to descend from the blue sky, drawing silence to the entire hall.
He suddenly looked up at her, a smile in his dark eyes, as the sound of the zither gradually rose and swelled.
Like floating clouds and willow catkins without roots, they drift freely across the vast天地 (heaven and earth).
Apart from the sentences that immediately came to mind, Nie Qingyue's mind was filled with only the image of the man sitting under the magnolia tree, holding a zither.
The music was like gentle seawater, wave after wave, quietly surging in, clear and soft, filling the world. It was like crashing waves, birdsong, and blooming flowers, or like a still spring reflecting the moon. When the piece ended, she seemed to have heard everything, yet heard nothing at all.
Yan Shu slowly stood up, and a delicate white magnolia blossom fell from his hair as he moved, brushing against the tilted surface of the zither and causing a subtle vibration in the air.
The quiet atmosphere in the room became slightly more lively. He glanced at the entire room and then turned to Nie Anru, saying, "Every note and melody of this piece was taught to me by the clear and melodious fingers. I am borrowing this piece to wish my father-in-law a long and healthy life."
The elderly man, who was obsessed with music, led the applause, and the guests all praised Prime Minister Nie for finding such a good son-in-law.
Appreciation gradually appeared in Nie Anru's eyes, and he nodded with a smile: "Okay."
...So Nie Qingrong took a swig of wine, feeling rather depressed.
The poor, music-obsessed musician, after clapping and coming to his senses, was still scratching his head in frustration, having forgotten to take notes.
A small lamp was lit in the west wing of the Nie residence.
"Husband, you said you couldn't play the piano." Nie Qingyue lay on the bed, a little depressed.
"I only said I don't have a zither." Yan Shu held a book, then turned a page with a slight tug.
"...People who can play the piano usually own a piano."
"dislike."
"Oh, I see..." Nie Qingyue turned over, her slight annoyance turning into a slight guilt.
He went to her bedside and helped her lower the bed curtains. "Get some rest."
"Uh, you, aren't you sleeping in the bed?" she stammered, looking at the figure standing outside the tent.
"It's inconvenient to sleep in the bed tomorrow morning." He rarely jokingly told her that.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind the curtains, groping in the darkness before finally grasping his sleeve. "Why didn't you ask?" The voice, muffled as if his face was buried in the blankets, came through the plain curtains.
"What do you want to ask?"
He asked her why she wrote such wild, indistinguishable cursive script, how she knew about these strange and unusual epidemic prevention methods, and why she played the guqin for an entire afternoon incoherently… He gazed at the blurry figure inside the gauze curtain: “Does Madam wish me to ask these questions?”
There was no response from inside the tent. The hand quietly withdrew, and the topic shifted again: "Oh, husband, what are you doing up so early?"
"...Your older brother is looking for me."
"when?"
"...the hour of Yin (3-5 AM)".
"Why so early?!" Three in the morning is when she's sleeping like a log.
"……have no idea."
The lights were extinguished, and the room returned to silence.
Nie Qingyue rolled around in her blanket. Why did she feel that Doctor Yan was gritting his teeth when he said "I don't know"? Just her imagination, Nie Qingyue patted her head and pulled the covers over her head to sleep.
-->
Chapter 27 - Gold, silver, and valuables are essential for escaping (Part 1).
Day 1.
"Miss, the young master is practicing swordsmanship with the eldest young master in the back garden. They started early in the morning and haven't stopped until noon."
the next day.
"Miss, the young master spent the whole day playing chess with the second young master in the east wing."
The third day.
"Miss, the second young master said he wants to get to know his son-in-law better and have more exchanges with him, so he asked him to stay in the east wing for a few days."
...Can someone tell her what's going on?
Nie Qingyue's personal maid, Nianyu, reported in a soft, gentle voice. Her eyebrows twitched as she listened, and she tossed aside the sunflower seed shells in her hand, waving helplessly for Nianyu to leave. "Communicate about feelings... ah, after half a year apart, she hadn't even had a chance to exchange a few pleasantries with her own brother, and now, after only a few days of seeing each other again, he'd already been talking to her by his two older brothers. How could she possibly bear it?"
A rich fragrance of osmanthus wafted through the air. Nie Qingyue sniffed it and happily slipped into the kitchen, startling the two cooks and three helpers who froze in place.
"Miss, are you hungry?" The old cook was the first to come to her senses. She wiped her hands on her apron several times and pulled her a few steps away from the stove. "There's so much smoke here, Miss, you should go back. Just tell the servants what you want to eat."
Nie Qingyue grinned: "Do you have osmanthus cake?"
……"ha?"
The cake has a distinct yellow and white color, a delicate and sweet taste, and a rich osmanthus aroma.
"Hmm, as expected of a retired palace cook, her skills are impeccable." Nie Qingyue carried a plate full of osmanthus cakes, humming a little tune as she stepped forward.
Only Nie Qingrong was in the large room in the east wing. Dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, she leaned casually against a sandalwood chair, still fanning herself listlessly, looking utterly lazy. When she saw her arrive, she raised her eyelids and glanced at her indifferently without saying a word.
Nie Qingyue automatically ran over and eagerly presented the treasure, saying, "Second Brother, here's your favorite osmanthus cake."
Nie Qingrong put away her fan, slowly picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of food, put it in her mouth, swallowed it slowly for a while, and nodded, "Hmm, not bad."
"Then eat more." Nie Qingyue put down the plate, then took the opportunity to look around, but there wasn't even a shadow of Yan Shu in the empty house.
Nie Qingrong reached out and gently pressed her down onto a chair beside her: "Girl, don't look around. We won't be back for a while."
"ah?"
“Hmm, I can’t come back. I’ve come to play chess with my second brother,” Nie Qingrong changed the subject, pointing with his fan: “The chessboard is still there.” Nie Qingyue was trying to see exactly where he was pointing when, in an instant, the ivory fan had been retracted, leaving only the red tassel swaying at the end of the handle.
Nie Qingrong sat calmly, drinking her tea, waiting for her to fetch the chess pieces.
Nie Qingyue hesitated for a moment, glancing around. The servants who were usually everywhere were nowhere to be seen. Her memories were jumbled and chaotic, flashing through her mind, yet there was not a single scene related to the fixed position of the chessboard.
...Was it overlooked or did it not exist at all?
Turning towards that vague, general direction, Nie Qingyue walked slowly and gracefully, her steps deliberate yet revealing an underlying unease. Before her stood a massive cedar bookshelf, upon which sat a magnificent black lacquered cabinet adorned with gold dragons and phoenixes—a cabinet that looked utterly unfamiliar.
Her hand rested on the dark silver Qilin lock of the small cabinet, the icy touch seeming to spread rapidly from her fingertips to her spine, a sense of danger and unease suddenly rising within her. Just a few days ago, Nie Qingrong had acted as if she doted on her and favored her, even objecting to Yan Shu asking her to cook; it seemed rather strange that she was being asked to fetch such a heavy chessboard.
Nie Qingyue was about to pull it open, but at the moment of exertion she changed her mind. She turned to look at Nie Qingrong: "Is she inside?"
"Has the girl forgotten?" Nie Qingrong asked her, tilting her head slightly as if nothing had happened.
"My second brother used to bring a chessboard to me," Nie Qingyue murmured softly as she turned her back, her tone tinged with grievance and complaint. The room was quiet, with only the two of them inside; she was sure Nie Qingrong could hear her.
The cabinet wasn't locked; it opened with a slight flip, revealing two square, heavy chess jars. Beneath them was a chessboard made of golden nanmu wood, its color deep and imposing. The first impression upon holding it was its considerable weight. Nie Qingyue frowned slightly, but felt a slight sense of relief. She carefully carried the chessboard back and sat down, trying to maintain a composed expression.
Nie Qingrong smiled with satisfaction, then pointed with her long fingers: "It seems the girl's health has truly improved."
"Hmm." She nodded slightly in agreement and picked up a black stone.
Was she overthinking things? Or had she revealed some obvious flaw after the birthday banquet? The red stone chess piece tapped lightly on the shiny, finely carved chessboard, producing a clear, metallic sound. Nie Qingyue had no heart to appreciate it; she was only filled with anxiety and unease.
"Girl, concentrate."
Hearing the reminder, Nie Qingyue forced herself to focus on the game, but the losses caused by her careless moves at the beginning made it incredibly difficult for her to recover, especially since she was already quite agitated. The more pieces she placed, the more apprehensive she became.
Losing the game wasn't a big deal; what truly frightened her was Nie Qingrong's calculating, decisive, and meticulous mind during the game.
Nie Qingyue wasn't a Go master, but she was certainly no novice. She possessed the cautious and thorough approach of attacking the opponent while protecting herself and abandoning the opponent when in danger. However, when she played Go with Nie Qingrong, she felt as if every move he made was within his calculations, so precise and accurate that it was as if he could see through her thoughts and strategies, making her play according to his plan.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, she was utterly defeated and had no chance of a comeback. Nie Qingyue refocused, and the two started a new game. Apart from one narrow victory in the middle, the rest of the afternoon's games ended in her defeat.
"Even my second brother won't let me." She leaned over the yellow wooden table, playing with the agate chess pieces in the jar. She thought to herself that if she were to face such a meticulous person for a long time, she really couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't be seen through just because she had the memories of her past life.
Nie Qingrong gently pressed down on her hand, which was scrambling the black and white pieces, with her fan, and shook her head with a tsk-tsk sound: "Second Brother is in a bad mood."
"Why?" I asked, my ears perking up.
"The girl left the zither that her second brother gave her at the banquet."
Hearing such direct and frank words, Nie Qingyue paused, caught off guard and unsure of how to respond.
Not long after the banquet that day, she returned to her room and discovered she had left her zither on the table. She immediately called a maid to fetch it, and when it returned, she specifically asked the maid to confirm that Nie Qingrong, who had left before her, hadn't returned to the banquet area before she felt relieved. How could this be…
If Nie Qingrong was merely complaining, that would be fine. But if she intended to investigate, then every move she made in the future would likely be riddled with flaws in his eyes. The Nie family's young lady wasn't exactly a music fanatic, but she knew of her love and dedication to the zither. It was simply unacceptable for her to casually leave that priceless zither, a gift from a relative, on the banquet table and then depart.
"That day, I listened to my husband play the zither, and before I knew it, I..." Nie Qingyue twisted her fingers, her voice growing softer as her head slumped. Honesty is worse than cunning, and she was telling the truth. That day, most of her thoughts were on Yan Shu. After the banquet, Yan Shu was asked to leave by Nie Qingrui for some unknown reason. She had no intention of lingering and only wanted to return to her room to rest as soon as possible.