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Chapter 6: Night Talk – Life is Vast, Let Her Soar

The night was cool as water, and moonlight spilled through the window.

Lying flat on her bed, Yu Mingyao couldn’t stop replaying the events of the day in her mind.

No matter which scene it was, it always ended with Xie Zhuoguang’s face.

The more she closed her eyes trying to calm herself, the more her restless thoughts crawled like little bugs over her smooth skin.

She wanted to quiet her mind, but her thoughts were a chaotic mess.

“Miss, are you still not asleep? It’s already the third quarter of the si hour.” (around 9:45 p.m.)

Perhaps she had been tossing and turning too much; from outside the curtain, Yanyue, lying on the outer couch, spoke up.

“Just about to sleep,” Yu Mingyao replied blandly.

Another quarter or two passed, and she was still unable to fall asleep, feeling like she was being roasted over a fire.

Seeing no point in forcing herself anymore, she put on her shoes and walked outside.

Yanyue heard the movement and quickly got up, wrapping her in a cream-colored embroidered silk cloak.

“Young miss, where are you going?”

Yanyue, being young and unable to hide her emotions, looked worried. Yu Mingyao waved her off, saying she was just taking a walk in the courtyard and didn’t need her to follow.

The Yu family’s residence was located in the southwest corner of the Pei manor, consisting of eight or nine rooms, with both front and back halls.

Strolling through the courtyard, moonlight softly bathed her body.

Finally, she felt a little more at peace.

The knots buried deep in her heart from her past life loosened with every step she took.

Letting out a long sigh, she came to a stop, ready to return to her room.

At that moment, a warm and teasing voice called out behind her.

“My dear child, who’s up this late admiring the moon alone and didn’t think to call on her grandmother?”

It was Shiluo-shi’s voice, filled with affection despite the teasing tone.

Turning around, Yu Mingyao saw her grandmother, who should’ve long been asleep, standing near a pillar at the corner. She wore a slightly thicker indigo cloak and looked at her lovingly.

Her silvery hair glowed in the moonlight.

“It’s nothing really, just a few steps,” Yu Mingyao replied, her heart warming. She smiled and quickly stepped forward to take her grandmother’s arm.

“It’s my fault for making you worry at this hour.”

Her tone was cheerful, but Shiluo-shi knocked her lightly on the forehead.

“You cheeky girl, trying to fool your grandmother now?”

Shiluo-shi was still smiling, but her voice held a touch of emotion.

She had heard about everything that had happened earlier. She hadn’t expected such matters would trouble her dear granddaughter this much.

Yu Mingyao’s mother had been Shiluo-shi’s only child, whom she had cherished deeply. Even when marrying her off, they only looked within a ten-mile radius, afraid that if her daughter suffered, she wouldn’t be able to come home easily.

She had watched Yu Mingyao grow up. How many secrets could such a little girl possibly have? She might be a little stubborn at times, but she was a good child through and through.

All she needed was a good husband, and her life would be smooth. Then when Shiluo-shi passed on, she could rest easy, knowing her dear girl was happy.

But ever since arriving in the capital, she couldn’t read her granddaughter anymore.

Yu Mingyao wasn’t the timid or evasive type. She had been raised in the inner chambers, only ever meeting a few relatives, and barely interacted with boys her age.

By logic, she shouldn’t be full of sighs and hidden worries like a concubine in a deep palace.

“If something’s troubling you, tell your grandmother, will you? Don’t be fooled by my age—I too once gave away embroidered handkerchiefs when I was young,” she said with a wink.

“Oh come on, it’s nothing like that!” Yu Mingyao huffed, flustered.

“Then why couldn’t you sleep tonight? Don’t lie.”

“I just…”

Yu Mingyao opened her mouth, trying to make up an excuse, but Shiluo-shi’s eyes were too perceptive. That weathered gaze saw through every little emotion.

Suddenly, a memory flashed before Yu Mingyao’s eyes—her grandmother’s frail face in her final moments from her past life, eyes filled with worry. She could still feel that coldness.

Her heart softened, a faint smile flickering at the corners of her lips like a fleeting bloom.

“I can’t hide anything from you,” she leaned closer to Shiluo-shi’s warm body, “I’m just irritated by those two.”

“Which two?” Shiluo-shi feigned ignorance.

“If you keep this up, I won’t say anything!”

“Okay, okay,” Shiluo-shi chuckled and restrained her smile.

“You tell me, what’s so good about marrying into a big household? You’re either managing the kitchen or dealing with concubines. If the couple is in love, that’s one thing, but if not, the wife is left waiting endlessly for someone who never comes home.”

“No matter how beautiful a woman is, she’ll grow old. But men? They can always find younger, prettier ones—and have children no matter their age.”

“Why must women be expected to love just one person for life? Take one wrong step, and your life is ruined. I don’t get it, Grandma.”

Yu Mingyao’s eyes were rarely so full of defiance.

Shiluo-shi smiled but didn’t answer directly. She simply wrapped her granddaughter’s hands tighter inside the cloak as they walked.

“There’s no such thing as perfection in life. Sometimes, you just live day by day, and suddenly you’ve made it through. Couples who fought like enemies when young, might end up old and devoted. And those perfect matches? Might turn into bitter regrets.”

“Everything needs effort. Life requires management. Men have their troubles, but women have their joys too.”

“You’ll understand when the time comes.”

Her grandmother’s wise words only made Yu Mingyao roll her eyes in her heart.

She always thought Yu Mingyao was still a child. But having lived through it once already, Yu Mingyao didn’t want to be like other girls, putting all their hopes in love.

Life is vast. Let her soar.

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“Miss, wake up quickly! If you don’t, you’ll be late for school! And you still have to greet Madam Pei today!”

Yanyue’s anxious voice echoed urgently.

Yu Mingyao turned over, pretending not to hear. She wasn’t the type to fight to be first in everything. In her past life, she had no backing, and had to get up before dawn every day to greet her mother-in-law.

Now, finally back in the most carefree years of her life, why would she want to exhaust herself?

“Miss…” Yanyue was nearly crying when, thankfully, Shiluo-shi walked in. With her there, Yanyue instantly relaxed.

“Get up, my little Yaoyao. Jin Nian is already waiting. That brother of yours, who never liked studying, is now working hard. Would you, the most sensible of all, really let him down?”

“…”

After washing up and having breakfast, Yu Jinnian shouldered their school books and bid Shiluo-shi farewell politely.

Yu Mingyao, still not too willing, followed suit with a half-hearted bow.

The siblings made their way through pavilions and corridors toward Rongjing Hall, where Madam Pei lived.

When they arrived, Madam Pei had just finished breakfast with her daughter-in-law. After a few brief instructions, she sent them off to the academy without further delay.

Although the school bore the Pei family name, it was located some distance away from the main estate. The teacher there was a renowned scholar who had once taught the second generation of the Pei family and had been a close friend of the now-deceased patriarch.

The elderly scholar, with no children of his own, was supported by the Pei family out of respect.

Many children from prestigious families in the capital wanted to study there, but the teacher’s standards were high, and admission rare.

Xie Zhuoguang was an exception.

Gifted and genuine in his learning, he had impressed the scholar enough to be accepted.

Memories of the nearly two years spent at the academy in her past life came flooding back to Yu Mingyao, stirring complicated emotions.

After that late-night talk, it didn’t take long for Shiluo-shi to suggest enrolling them in school. At first, Yu Mingyao didn’t want to go—studying wasn’t a short-term matter.

But her grandmother said they would stay in the capital for at least half a year and were preparing a residence. They were temporarily staying in the Pei manor, and once they moved out, it would be up to her whether she still wanted to go.

Yu Mingyao still didn’t know how she ended up agreeing to it.

Irritated, she kicked at the ground, accidentally hitting a protruding stone. Pain shot through her foot like lightning.

Yu Jinnian, silent until now, saw her grimace and frowned in concern.

“Should we skip school and go get some pastries instead? I mean, it’s clearly a sign—first day of school, and you already stub your toe. Must be bad luck.”

“Shut it,” Yu Mingyao snapped.

“Oh,” Yu Jinnian muttered.

The Pei family estate was in a prestigious area, but the school was tucked away in a quiet corner.

With a blank face, Yu Mingyao led her brother through several turns before finally stopping before a building marked “Pei Family Study” in large characters.

There was something awe-inspiring about it.

Yu Jinnian looked at the couplets on either side of the vermillion door, then glanced at Yu Mingyao’s drooping expression. After a long pause, he spoke.

“Sis, how do you even know this is the right place? I mean…”

Yu Mingyao cut him off coldly. “I know exactly what you’re trying to say. Your sister is just this smart. You’d best get used to it.”

“Oh,” Yu Jinnian replied.

Thanks to Madam Pei’s prior arrangements, their enrollment went smoothly. After greeting the teacher, a young boy in a student’s robe came to lead them to class.

Yu Jinnian, having been silenced twice by his sister, finally saw an opportunity in the serious-faced boy, who looked about eight or nine and still had the round cheeks of childhood.

He immediately began bombarding the kid with questions—what food they served, how many bowls of rice he ate, etc.

Yu Mingyao let out a long sigh.

This didn’t happen in her past life. Back then, she had been so nervous, even her usually careless brother had kept quiet beside her.

Later, she had focused entirely on her studies and hadn’t noticed when her brother and Qingfeng became such good friends.

Even when buying candied hawthorn, he always brought some back for Qingfeng.

In her previous life, not many came to mourn her brother—but Qingfeng was one of them.

Yu Mingyao’s mind once again saw that pale, frozen face. Even after sitting at the same desk as before, she hadn’t fully returned to herself.

In her daze, she missed the subtle exchange of expressions happening all around the classroom.

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