Once the two people outside finished tidying up their clothes, they walked out of the pavilion, chatting and laughing, completely ignoring the three people inside the rockery.

The trees swayed, and Wan Mingji only felt hot. Yao He walked out of the rockery, followed closely by Xie Qiaoyu, whose waist was still warm, as if the heat had reached his heart.

“Apologies, Third Young Master Xie,” Wan Mingji said, cupping his hands towards Xie Qiaoyu as he walked out of the rockery.

“…I’m fine. Is your hand okay?” Xie Qiaoyu noticed the bloody teeth marks on Wan Mingji’s hand and felt a bit embarrassed. He had bitten hard, and Wan Mingji’s hand was still bleeding. This was the kind of vigilance he should have when encountering strangers.

Wan Mingji looked down at his right hand, which was bitten and bloody, and smiled, “It’s nothing.” He had covered Xie Qiaoyu’s mouth without warning, so the mark was something he deserved. He had no complaints, though it made writing a bit inconvenient.

“Let me bandage it for you.” Xie Qiaoyu took out a handkerchief, his eyes filled with guilt. Without thinking much, he carefully tied a beautiful bow on Wan Mingji’s hand.

Wan Mingji: “…”

Wan Mingji lowered his head and could see Xie Qiaoyu’s serious face and long eyelashes.

“It’s fine now. We should head back quickly. You two go ahead, I’ll follow shortly.”

Xie Qiaoyu nodded, suddenly thinking of something, hesitating to speak. He turned around and saw Wan Mingji curiously looking at the bow tied on his hand, even flicking it with his finger. Xie Qiaoyu’s fingertips turned red, feeling inexplicably shy, as if the bow was a part of him.

“Young Master Wan, did you…”

Wan Mingji looked up at him, puzzled.

“Did you hear anything else besides the sounds outside?” He clenched his fingers, worried that Wan Mingji might have heard his vain words. People generally dislike those who are vain, and if Wan Mingji heard those words, it might affect his image in his eyes. He didn’t even call him Mingji Gege this time, feeling quite nervous.

The clouds in the sky drifted slowly, and sweat beads formed on Xie Qiaoyu’s back.

“No, I didn’t hear anything,” Wan Mingji said. “Did I miss something?”

Xie Qiaoyu felt relieved, “No, I just wondered if they said anything else when they came. I’m curious about their identities.”

Xie Qiaoyu walked ahead with Yao He, while Wan Mingji, disliking the pavilion, remained standing, looking like a gentle breeze and bright moon, examining the bow on his hand.

As they passed a corner, Xie Qiaoyu couldn’t help but glance at Wan Mingji from the corner of his eye. He stood there, dressed in simple white, tall and slender, his expression unclear with his head lowered, and those smiling eyes were hidden.

Back at the banquet, Xie Qiaoyu drank a cup of tea to calm his thoughts. Wan Mingji looked up to see Xie Qiaoyu’s figure disappear around the corner. He untied the bow, thought for a moment, and tied it back on.

This banquet was attended by prominent figures from Ningjiang County. Who would have thought a pair of wild lovebirds would appear, causing him and Wan Mingji to have an encounter in the rockery? Fortunately, Wan Mingji hadn’t heard the previous conversation.

The county magistrate’s fu lang said something, but Xie Qiaoyu, lost in thought, didn’t catch it, mechanically eating the food.

Xie Weixia flitted around like a social butterfly, mingling with the crowd. Xie Qian chatted with some wealthy young masters, noticing a few scholars looking at him with interest. He wasn’t in the mood for it, obediently sitting at the banquet.

*

Xie Jiuling finally managed to escape the crowd of girls and young men. He looked around the crowd, “Where’s Brother Wan?”

“He said the courtyard was too stuffy and wandered off somewhere,” Wei Bowen laughed. “Xie Brother, you really keep an eye on Brother Wan.”

“Him? I’m just concerned for him,” Xie Jiuling joked.

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,” Wan Mingji said, walking over from the corridor, having overheard Xie Jiuling’s teasing.

“Don’t be so petty,” Xie Jiuling wasn’t offended, instead laughing heartily. He reached out to put an arm around Wan Mingji’s shoulder, “What’s that on your hand, a bow?”

Xie Jiuling was dumbfounded.

Xie Zhi thought the bandaging technique looked familiar, “Who bandaged it for you?”

“Brother Xie, do you even need to ask? It must be some fair maiden who did it. Brother Wan, you’re quite something.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, I did it myself,” Wan Mingji chuckled lightly. “What? I can tie a bow for you guys too.”

“No thanks, that would cause misunderstandings.”

Wan Mingji lowered his eyes, taking a sip of tea. Right, he was in mourning and couldn’t drink alcohol, so he ended up eating the most vegetarian dishes at the banquet.

In the Da Qi Dynasty, mourning lasted three years according to Confucian rituals—though in practice, it was actually twenty-seven months, the length of time a mother breastfeeds her child.

To show respect for ancestors, the mourning period was extended symbolically to three full years.

The Doctrine of the Mean records: “The three-year mourning reaches the Son of Heaven, the mourning for parents is the same for all, regardless of status.”

From the emperor to the common people, everyone had to follow this rule. It was a Confucian moral requirement for all.

A parent’s love for their child—why fear three years of distance? Mourning for three years was a return gift to one’s parents.

Most people couldn’t endure such ascetic days, often leading to scandals.

After the banquet, Xie Qiaoyu held his head as he got into the carriage. Yao He handed him a cup of tea, “Young Master, have some tea.”

He took a sip, feeling a bit queasy.

“How’s the rouge selling?”

“Young Master, it’s sold out. The steward is urging you to make more,” Yao He took the cup. “Young Master, you want to open a rouge shop, the shop in the east of the city is the most suitable.”

Xie Weixia’s dowry included shops and land deeds, and he also wanted a shop of his own, not as a dowry, but as something solely his.

“Funds are a bit short, need to save up more,” Xie Qiaoyu rubbed his temples. “I’ll make more rouge when we get back.”

“Young Master, you’ll buy it eventually,” Yao He thought for a moment. “I didn’t even know Young Master Wan was in the rockery today, and I pushed you in there.”

“I didn’t notice either, it was like a wall,” Xie Qiaoyu thought of Wan Mingji holding his waist in the rockery, the warm breath lingering on him. He had never been this close to a man in his life.

Even with Wei Bowen, they usually communicated through letters, speaking very reservedly, more like pen pals. He had more encounters with Wan Mingji than he did with Wei Bowen last year!

Back at the mansion, Xie Qiaoyu visited Feng Su, then returned to his courtyard to make rouge, washing petals with clear water and grinding them with a stone mortar.

“Need to buy my own shop.”

*

Wan Mingji returned home, flipping through a few pages of a book. He studied seriously, not greedy for more, strictly following his schedule to complete his studies.

He planned every moment, leaving himself plenty of time. Time, Wan Mingji knew, could be squeezed from fragments, allowing him room to do his own things.

He untied the handkerchief, which smelled of blood and fragrance, washed his wound, and applied medicine.

In the courtyard, he set up wooden stakes. Moving his body, he began practicing his footwork in the dark. Without light, his steps landed precisely on the stakes.

Qingshui Alley was noisy at night, from day to midnight. No one knew a young man was practicing his footwork in the dark, reading by candlelight.

The next morning, Wan Mingji went to the academy to collect his corrected essay.

A big cross was marked on it.