Chapter 100

The feeling of dejection and relaxation washed over her again. Shen Yu pressed her dry lips together, gritted her teeth, and suddenly stood up, the water on her hands dripping onto the shore. “I’m a bit tired,” she said unnaturally. Hearing her footsteps gradually fade away, Xie Tingzhou slowly got up and called the white feather back from the sky.

…Shen Yu left the residence every other day without fail. Xie Tingzhou knew she was anxious but didn’t concern himself with it, knowing she was a sensible person. In the afternoon, a secret guard reported, and as soon as he finished speaking, Xie Tingzhou turned back in surprise, “She went to a poetry gathering?”

The secret guard responsible for tracking and protecting Shen Yu said, “It was indeed a spring poetry gathering, and she went with the young marquis.” The so-called poetry gatherings mentioned by the young scions were usually just excuses for debauchery, a group of wastrels drinking and making merry with prostitutes. Seeing Xie Tingzhou’s face darken, the guard quickly added, “It wasn’t a gathering hosted by aristocrats, but at the Bashan Academy.”

Xie Tingzhou was even more surprised now. Bashan Academy was founded a hundred years ago by Chancellor Cui. It was a charitable school for talented but impoverished students who couldn’t afford tuition. What was Pei Chunli, a high-born young man who spent his days in revelry, doing at Bashan Academy? Could he even understand anything there? Xie Tingzhou pondered; if Pei Chunli didn’t want to go, then it must have been Shen Yu’s idea. Perhaps she had an old friend at the academy, Xie Tingzhou guessed, but the guard’s next words dispelled that possibility.

“She’s been there three times in a row. His Highness said unless there was something unusual, there was no need to report, so I’m only reporting today.”

Xie Tingzhou stroked the white feather on his hand. “What do you think she’s trying to do?” His voice was very low, as if he were whispering to the feather.

“Should we stop her next time?” the guard tentatively asked.

“No need,” Xie Tingzhou said flatly. “Unless it’s a matter of life and death, you don’t need to intervene. If she can’t handle small matters herself, then she wouldn’t be…” He didn’t finish the sentence, but the implication was clear—she wouldn’t be Shen Yu.

Spring came, and the grass grew, and the orioles flew. The white feather flew back from Luming Pavilion, landing on the window ledge. Xie Tingzhou glanced up from his documents and asked it, “Argued with Da Huang again? Did you win?”

The white feather’s eyes widened, and it tilted its head slightly.

“Then you didn’t win,” Xie Tingzhou smiled. Since that night, the white feather had allowed Shen Yu to touch it and would sometimes fly from Xie Tingzhou’s Qingpu Residence to Shen Yu’s Luming Pavilion, argue with Da Huang, and then fly back. The reason it was called arguing was that Da Huang, who occasionally entered Qingpu Pavilion, had grown bolder knowing the white feather wouldn’t attack it. Whenever the white feather entered Luming Pavilion, Da Huang would bark furiously at it. The white feather had often wanted to grab it and drop it from the sky to kill it, but it seemed its owner was not easy to provoke, and its own master appeared to be somewhat lenient towards others.

Xie Tingzhou closed the document and placed it aside, got up, and walked to the window, ready to feed the white feather with the prepared meat. Just then, a guard hurried across the courtyard and reported at the window, “Your Highness, that person has come again.”

Xie Tingzhou paused, throwing the meat back into the bowl that was about to reach the white feather’s beak. “Raised you for nothing, didn’t even notify me.”

“Your Highness, will you go see her?” the guard asked.

After a moment of thought, Xie Tingzhou said, “I have something to inform her.”

Xie Tingzhou washed his hands, then started walking towards Luming Pavilion. The guards quickly followed, saying, “He’s leaning on the courtyard wall. We didn’t dare to push him for fear of making him fall.”

“If he falls, so be it,” Xie Tingzhou said nonchalantly. “If he breaks a leg, I’ll take the blame. What are you afraid of?”

The guards lowered their heads and replied, “Yes, sir.”

When Xie Tingzhou arrived, Pei Chunli was leaning on the courtyard wall, talking to Shen Yu about Xie Tingzhou behind his back. “Look at what I’ve sacrificed just to see you. Now everyone in the capital is saying I spend all day climbing the walls of the prince’s mansion. If Xie Tingzhou won’t let me in, does he think I have no other ways? The area outside this wall isn’t his territory. I call this ‘the red apricot tree leans over the garden wall.'”

Shen Yu thought he had quite a way with metaphors and laughed at Pei Chunli, who was hanging like a monkey. “Doesn’t your father care about you?”

“It’s better if he doesn’t,” Pei Chunli said with relief. “Lately, he’s been busy with something, and I haven’t seen him all day. Otherwise, he’d surely break my leg.”

Shen Yu pondered that the Marquis of Xuanping was likely busy stabilizing the crown prince’s position. In the previous life, Emperor Tongxu died in the autumn, followed by the crown prince’s ascension. If everything was following the same path, Emperor Tongxu had less than half a year left.

Pei Chunli kept talking, “Are you off tomorrow? I’ll come get you in the morning and take you somewhere fun.”

Shen Yu snapped back to reality and looked at Pei Chunli, understanding why Xie Tingzhou wouldn’t let him in. Pei Chunli frequently looked over the wall of the mansion, and commoners loved to gossip about the affairs of the nobility. Rumors spread quickly, with people saying Xie Tingzhou preferred men, and it seemed natural for such scandals to involve someone like Pei Chunli. Li Jifeng once said that in Shengjing, he envied not the crown prince but Pei Chunli, the spoiled only son of the Marquis of Xuanping.

Now, rumors in the capital claimed that Marquis Pei was infatuated with Prince Xie, lingering outside the mansion just to catch a glimpse of his handsome face. When Pei Chunli heard these rumors, he scoffed, “Who cares about Xie Tingzhou?” Xie Tingzhou’s response was, “If he shows up at the door, just release Cang.”

Pei Chunli had been chased by Cang once, the big black panther was terrifying, so he resorted to climbing the wall.

The ladder Pei Chunli was on wobbled, and the attendants below were drenched in cold sweat, scolding, “Hold steady! If our young lord falls, our heads won’t be enough to atone.”

Pei Chunli changed his position, leaning against the wall, and said, “Shengjing is incredibly boring, even dogs wouldn’t stay here.”

Inside the courtyard, a large yellow dog barked twice in agreement; Shengjing had Bai Yu, and it didn’t like it.

Shen Yu said, “You should leave now. We’ll talk about tomorrow’s plans then. I can’t go out today.”

“Why don’t you come with me instead?” Pei Chunli was persistent, “With me, you don’t have to work, and you’ll enjoy the best food and drinks. You haven’t signed a contract to sell yourself, so why don’t you leave?”

The guards, tired of Pei Chunli’s persistence, were about to scold him, but feared Xie Tingzhou’s anger. Xie Tingzhou raised his hand, silently stopping them. He wanted to hear what Shen Yu would say.

Shen Yu tossed an apple in her hand and caught it again. “It’s none of your business. I like it here.”

Xie Tingzhou raised an eyebrow. It wasn’t the answer he wanted, but he was somewhat satisfied.

Pei Chunli snorted, “Fine, I won’t persuade you. My back hurts from leaning here these past few days. I won’t stay long today.”

“Go on, go on,” Shen Yu waved him off.

Pei Chunli slowly climbed down, then suddenly remembered something important and poked his head over the wall again. “Oh, I brought you something good today.”

Shen Yu asked, “What is it?”