A black horse was tethered at the edge of the woods, pulling a small carriage behind it. The water trail stopped in front of the carriage. The dark curtains covered the carriage completely, so nothing could be seen inside.
Nie Qingyue stood outside the curtain, stepping onto the carriage threshold, her book rolled up as if to be thrown inside. But then she hesitated, wondering what she was doing looking so accusatory. She pouted, loosened her grip, and the book fell with a thud onto the wooden board in front of the curtain. She then turned and was about to leave.
However, the next second, her wrist was tightly gripped.
The carriage curtain was lifted and then fell back down in an instant, and she fell into a cool and dry embrace.
"Madam." The man tightened his grip on her waist and called her softly, his dark eyes meeting her flickering gaze with a half-smile. He had changed out of his slovenly, soaking white robe, and in his hasty new clean blue shirt, the loose collar was still not properly straightened, revealing his beautifully shaped collarbone.
"W-What are you doing!" Nie Qingyue's breathing was unsteady, and he deliberately spoke in a rough and fierce voice. In the small carriage, the two of them almost breathed together.
The scent of medicine was still the same, and the person was still the same, yet Nie Qingyue subtly sensed that something was different. The handsome features she remembered seemed even more relaxed, almost excessively carefree. These past six months had brought changes to both of them.
Yan Shu lowered his head and remained silent, resting his chin on her shoulder and chuckling softly until her ears turned slightly red. He then released his arms around her and placed something in her hand before stepping back.
The dark curtains fell tightly shut again, and Nie Qingyue gradually found her lost soul in the carriage. Looking down, she saw a clean set of simple clothes and a smooth, lustrous horn comb in her hand.
The two drove directly back to Wuhuang's old residence in the courtyard.
Contrary to Nie Qingyue's expectations, the courtyard was not dusty. A sweep of her finger across the table inside revealed not a speck of dust. Stepping out into the inner courtyard, she saw that the trees and plants within sight had been carefully tended, growing vigorously and joyfully, as if someone had been tending to them regularly.
Actually, my memory of this place was somewhat vague, since I didn't stay long before heading to the village and then staying at an inn. Nie Qingyue walked along, carefully observing her surroundings, crossing a small stone bridge that led to the tranquil bamboo forest.
There was a rough stone table and several low stone stools in the bamboo grove. Yan Shu was sitting there. When he saw her coming, he put a porcelain bowl in front of the table: "To keep out the wind and cold."
"Did my husband hire any servants?"
"Hmm, a cleaning job every three days." Yan Shu lazily propped his chin up with one hand and unconsciously twirled a slender bamboo leaf in the other, explaining casually, "I originally thought Madam would come back to stay."
Nie Qingyue obediently drank the medicine, feeling a little guilty: "I only stayed at the inn on a whim."
"...How are you doing?"
"...It's quite fun to fool around with them." Nie Qingyue put down her bowl and looked away, a little caught off guard by the topic that hadn't been touched on since they met.
"them?"
“Murong, Shusong, Yuche, and…” Nie Qingyue’s fingers, which were counting on her fingers, suddenly stopped. She looked at Yan Shu, and her tongue suddenly began to tie itself in knots. Yan Shu glanced at her but did not press her for details.
What was she feeling guilty about? "...And the young master of the Zhao family."
Without responding or asking any questions, Yan Shu continued to observe her calmly.
"...He's someone who keeps urging me to have an affair."
"Then... what does Madam think of the scenery outside the wall?" Yan Shu took a moment to realize what was going on, as if he had discovered something interesting. He tossed aside the bamboo leaf and waited for her answer with a faint smile.
"My husband wants to know?" Nie Qingyue asked earnestly, his hands clasped together.
"I'd like to."
"I don't know since I've never done it before, I'll try it next time." Her eyes were bright and she was all smiles. Having spent so much time with Shu Song, she was quite adept at making silly jokes.
"You didn't seize the opportunity during your six months of freedom, Madam. Don't you think it's a bit late to leave now?"
He reached out with his warm hand and gently plucked the small bamboo leaf that had fallen onto her hair. He then tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her fair ear and quickly noticed that her jade-like earlobe was flushed with a faint blush.
Nie Qingyue cleverly imitated him, except that the hand that had been supporting her chin was now supporting her right cheek, her slender fingers naturally curving to lightly cover her burning earlobe. "Haven't you heard the saying, my husband? — When you feel it's too late, it's actually the earliest time."
Yan Shu saw this and found it amusing, but he didn't point it out: "Prime Minister Nie's fiftieth birthday is in three days. Are you going back?"
Should we go back? At Nie Anru's birthday banquet, the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister would always play the zither to celebrate her father's birthday. There was no doubt that Miss Nie was unparalleled in her zither playing, surpassing all others. Nie Qingyue had a slight headache: "Does my husband have a zither?"
Doctor Yan was very straightforward: "No." But even though he said that, he still managed to get it for her half an hour later.
Sheet music, fingering, string tones... all I have are fragmented memories.
Nie Qingyue casually plucked the strings, the music breaking and disjointed. In her previous life, her grandmother was a woman from a prominent family in the old society, a virtuous yet strict old woman who was skilled in tea ceremony, calligraphy, and the guqin.
She was always afraid of her grandmother's dignified authority, preferring to follow her uncles to listen to boring business negotiations rather than learn these things from the old woman, which she considered outdated at the time. Now she was reaping the bitter fruits of her fear.
Nie Qingyue chuckled self-deprecatingly, gently plucking and strumming the strings again, relying on fragmented memories. No matter how familiar the memories were in her mind, her hands were still rusty. How could she possibly fool them? She looked at her slightly swollen fingertips, shook her head, and pushed the zither away from the stone table.
Most of the afternoon had passed, and Yan Shu remained sitting beside her, idly flipping through a book of unofficial historical records.
"Both of your brothers will be back," he told her as if he had just remembered something, putting down his book. He then took out some medicine he carried with him and carefully applied it to her fingers. Her fingers were swollen, and his patient application of the medicine along the way made it seem as if their fingers were intertwined.
Looking at Yan Shu's calm and composed expression, Nie Qingyue didn't know whether to sigh or laugh.
However, the thought of her brothers returning made Nie Qingyue's headache worse. She didn't even want to spend much time with Nie Anru; would she make a fool of herself when she went back to face her two brothers?
“If Madam is not feeling well, there is no need for her to make such a fuss.”
"We came to Wuhuang to stay without informing him beforehand, and it would be unreasonable and inappropriate for him not to go back for his 50th birthday."
"Well, whatever you wish, Madam." Yan Shu put away the medicine. "What would you like for dinner?"
"Yes, as my husband wishes." She nodded seriously and repeated his words.
Yan Shu glanced at her and walked towards the kitchen. Nie Qingyue rested her head on her arm, leaning on the stone table watching his departing figure, the ointment still warm from his fingertips on her fingertips. It seemed that her worries extended beyond dealing with the Nie family.
Three days later, at the Nie residence in Mojing.
The manager stood at the entrance to welcome the guests from all sides. The long line of people bringing gifts blocked half the street, and a festive red ribbon could be seen from afar.
Nie Qingyue observed carefully that most of the boxes carrying congratulatory gifts were stopped by the steward. Apart from the occasional two or three items that were accepted, the rest were politely thanked and then returned. Those who actually entered the Nie residence with invitations were mostly people carrying light gifts or empty-handed.
Anyone who didn't know better would really think Nie Anru was some kind of incorruptible official. As Nie Qingyue shook her head and sighed, a heavy thud of hooves suddenly approached. She turned and saw a burly man, still in armor, galloping out from the other side of the street, whipping his horse towards her. To be precise, he came to Yan Shu, who was beside Nie Qingyue. The horse was moving very fast; in a moment, they were only a horse's length apart, yet the man showed no intention of reining in.
Nie Qingyue's breath hitched as a gust of wind swept over her, causing everyone present to gasp in surprise.
Several servants reacted and tried to stop him, but Yan Shu merely frowned slightly and gestured for them not to approach. Just as Yan Shu raised his hand, the man on horseback pulled back the reins, and the horse neighed and raised its front hooves, stopping just half a meter in front of Yan Shu.
"Husband, do you still owe my elder brother money?" Nie Qingyue asked in a low voice, her heart still pounding.
"It seems not." Yan Shu blinked lightly, looking at the eldest son of the Nie family who nimbly dismounted from his horse a meter away.
When a family dinner turns into a trap
"Big brother." Nie Qingyue called out timidly. Before she could even put on a smile, the eldest son of the Nie family waved his hand and instructed the steward, "Uncle Wang, take Yue'er inside first."
Uncle Wang responded respectfully, then walked up to her and smiled kindly: "Miss is finally back."
Nie Qingyue glanced at the unreadable expression of the eldest son of the Nie family, then at the composed Yan Shu, sighed softly, and followed Uncle Wang's slow, leisurely steps into the Nie residence. Along the way, Uncle Wang kept nagging:
“Miss, the day you left the city with your husband, the eldest young master came from the border right after you left.”
"Really?" We walked around the pavilions and waterside terraces.
"That's right. The second young master returned by water the next day. The two young masters stayed in the manor for half a month but did not see you before they went back."
"Oh, I see." We walked through the corridor back to the pavilion.
"Actually, you can't blame them. At that time, they couldn't get away from the border war, and the second young master was far away in a neighboring country. As soon as they learned that you were critically ill, they did everything they could to rush back."
"Yes, I understand." ...Why haven't we arrived yet?
"Both young masters thought the young lady was in critical condition, and they rushed to ask about her as soon as they entered the door. It turned out that the young lady was rescued by the young master, but she also left the city with him. It's really a cruel twist of fate."
"Yes, fate is cruel." Nie Qingyue finally took one sentence to heart, and she completely agreed with this point.
The birthday banquet was held in the inner courtyard, which is filled with magnolia trees.
The guests were led to their seats in twos and threes by the servants, but the main table was empty with only one person sitting there.
The young man on the seat wore an ice-blue satin robe, his slender fingers casually fanning himself with an ivory folding fan. It was late summer, and the heat had not yet dissipated, but the magnolia grove in the courtyard was cool and pleasant, so the breeze he casually fanned was only enough to ruffle the stray hairs on his forehead.
"Girl, why aren't you coming over yet?" After a while, he turned to look at Nie Qingyue, who had been standing far away, and asked casually.
Nie Qingyue sighed inwardly, then roused himself and took small steps toward the person in front of him—Nie Qingrong, the second son of the Nie family.
"Second Brother," she called softly, a serene smile playing on her lips.
"Have some tea." Nie Qingrong seemed quite satisfied, closing her fan and using the handle to push a cup of magnolia tea in front of her, its fragrance wafting around. She obediently took the teacup and sipped it slowly. Nie Qingrong looked her over for a long time, then nodded in satisfaction: "You look good. That brat didn't mistreat you."
"You brat?" She choked, almost biting her tongue.
Nie Qingrong took the teacup from her hand and gently tapped her forehead with her fan: "You married my sister without a word and even took her away for a year. It makes my teeth itch just thinking about it."
Nie Qingyue covered her forehead and muttered, "My husband is very good to me."
"Tsk tsk, already siding with outsiders. Does it compare to how good your second brother is to you?" Her peach blossom eyes narrowed, gleaming with shrewdness.
Faced with the threat, Nie Qingyue decided to appease him first: "No."
"real?"
"Yes!" He nodded firmly, looking into my sincere eyes.
Nie Qingrong glanced at her with a smile, beckoned for a maid, and whispered an instruction while covering her mouth with her fan. Before long, the maid brought in a long sandalwood box, and just by looking at the exquisite auspicious cloud carvings on it, one could guess how valuable the contents of the box were.
"Is this a gift for Father?"
He was slapped on the forehead again. "It's not for that old geezer. If I hadn't guessed you would come back, I wouldn't have wanted to see his attitude."
Nie Qingyue smiled bitterly. The rumors circulating outside that the youngest daughter of the Nie family was extremely favored were not entirely unfounded. In her view, it wasn't a matter of who to favor, but rather which one wouldn't drive her crazy. Take Nie Qingrui, for example, who resolutely joined the army at the height of his career, or Nie Qingrong, who defied convention and left home at eighteen to go into business. The Nie family's generations of civil officials were probably ruined in this generation.
However, it is true that the three siblings have a very close relationship.
Nie Qingrong tapped the table lightly with her fan, and the maid beside her opened the wooden box in response.
The Fuxi-style seven-stringed zither is made of cedar wood with white jade tuning pegs and mother-of-pearl inlays. The body of the zither is lacquered in vermilion and features small snake-belly crack patterns. The overall design is ancient, solemn, and exudes a serene and dignified atmosphere.
Nie Qingyue's mind raced, several familiar yet unfamiliar terms popping into her head, causing her nerves to throb with pain. She had to feign affection, her fingertips lightly touching the zither's surface, her gaze still fixed on it as she murmured, "Second Brother, where did you find such a zither?"
"Second brother can find it if he wants to. Why don't you give it a try?"
Nie Qingyue had a headache; just as she feared, this happened. She was preparing an excuse when a voice sounded beside her: "Madam is always disobedient. Didn't we say she couldn't touch the zither for two months?"
Nie Qingyue looked at Yan Shu sitting beside her and wished she could rush up and hug him: You came just in time.
"Why?" Nie Qingrong narrowed her eyes, her tone instantly turning cold.
Yan Shu slowly sipped his tea: "Madam injured her hand while cooking a few days ago."
Nie Qingyue tugged at his sleeve: "You're holding my teacup." Before her accusatory gaze was finished, her other hand was grabbed and turned over by the second young master of the Nie family. Her originally slender fingertips were slightly red and swollen, as if they had been burned.
"Huh? But she doesn't feel any pain at all." Nie Qingyue, who only just noticed the abnormality in her fingertip, was very puzzled. Yan Shu's medicine was always incredibly effective, healing the wounds within a day. How could this be...? She suddenly turned her head and stared at Yan Shu, her clear eyes blinking rapidly.