Chapter 24 – A Secret Affair

Wanruo’s whole body tensed, goosebumps rising. “I was joking! I think I can still keep learning.”

But Xie Xianyu bent toward her, clearly intending to kiss her. “We’ll continue another day.”

Wanruo quickly pushed against his chest, resolute. “We agreed to study today. If now—when you haven’t even grown tired of me—you already can’t be bothered to teach me, what happens later, when you do tire of me, when you find me stupid and incapable? What will I do then?”

He looked at her, taken aback. Rarely did he see such eagerness for knowledge on her face.

He drew in a long breath. “Very well.”

He stood, picked up a cup of cool tea from the table, and downed it, trying to quench the heat in his chest.

“If you want to learn, then be serious. No more whining about sore hands or aching feet.” His expression hardened, sterner than any tutor.

Wanruo nodded obediently.

A sore hand was better than a sore body. She wasn’t foolish—she knew which pain to choose.

“Try the fingering again.”

Wanruo did, and once again the sound that emerged was sharp and unpleasant.

She looked at him innocently, certain he would soon lose patience. Then she’d be free of the lesson.

But instead he took her fingers, plucked the string, and said in a low voice, “This is the right strength. Not too heavy, not too light.”

She gave him a strange look. Where had this sudden patience come from?

“What are you staring at?” His eyes lifted abruptly to hers.

Wanruo hastily looked away and tried again.

He nodded. “Much better.”

At his praise, a smile bloomed at her lips. She tried again, then looked up at him, eyes shining brightly.

Her childish grin startled him for a moment. “Not bad.”

“But…”

She froze, thinking she’d done poorly, and looked at him intently.

He reached out and pinched her cheek. “No seducing the teacher.”

Wanruo: “???”

What nonsense was this man saying?

He jerked his chin toward the qin. “Why are you still sitting there stunned? Keep playing.”

Puffing her cheeks in indignation, Wanruo continued practicing.

By the time she had gone through all the fingering methods, her fingers felt no longer her own. An hour later, Xie Xianyu finally called an end to the lesson.

Wanruo slumped in exhaustion. “Then I’ll be going.”

“Going where? Come here.” He walked toward the bookcase behind the desk.

She hesitated, then followed.

From a drawer, he took out a porcelain jar, sat down on the couch, and pulled her to sit beside him.

Opening the jar, he held her hand in one of his while dipping the other into the ointment. Carefully, he spread the salve across her reddened fingertips.

Coolness seeped in, soothing the raw sting.

His head was bent low, movements precise and gentle, his expression more serious than when reviewing important memorials, as though he were carving a treasure of immeasurable worth.

Wanruo pursed her lips and looked away. This man—what did he not do with utter seriousness?

When he had finished, he finally spoke. “With this ointment, you won’t hurt tomorrow.”

Wanruo murmured, “Mm.”

He lifted his gaze to her pale face, and desire stirred. His throat bobbed, and before he realized it, the hand gripping her wrist had slipped to her waist, drawing her closer.

Wanruo pressed against his chest. “It’s late. I should go.”

“Go later.” His hand tightened at her waist, pulling her against him.

“My illness isn’t fully healed.”

“I think you’re mostly recovered.”

“My hand hurts.”

“Then tonight, you won’t need to use your hands.”

Wanruo froze, her ears flaming. He was becoming utterly shameless!

Too weary to invent more excuses, she simply turned her head aside. “I don’t want to.”

Xie Xianyu’s brows lifted slightly. She’d grown bolder lately. Before, she had never refused him anything. Even when she was pushed to tears, she would only look at him pitifully, never saying no.

This was the first time she rejected him outright.

Silence stretched. Wanruo grew uneasy. He hated defiance—refusing him could only bring her trouble.

But she was tired of yielding. Better to let the matter break than keep enduring. She stayed silent, cold-faced.

“…Then forget it.”

His voice finally broke the silence.

Startled, Wanruo looked up at him. He wasn’t angry? He was… letting her go?

“Well? Still not leaving?” he asked evenly.

Wanruo sprang to her feet. “Then I’ll go back now.”

And she hurried out.

As she passed through the winding garden paths outside Songhe Garden, her mind was a blur. She had thought she understood Xie Xianyu—but lately, he was becoming harder and harder to read.

---

The next day, Wanruo prepared to go again for her lesson.

But Cuizhu arrived first. “Qing’an just returned—he said Young Master won’t be back today. He must remain in the palace for council. He asks Cousin to practice yesterday’s fingering on her own.”

Wanruo exhaled in relief. At last, he was occupied.

She put on a sympathetic face. “Poor cousin, working so hard.”

“Miss needn’t worry. Young Master said he’ll be done by month’s end at the latest. Then he’ll have leisure to teach properly.”

“Then I suppose I’ll wait until next month.”

But Cuizhu placed a qin on the desk. “Young Master asked me to deliver this. He said Miss must practice diligently.”

Wanruo’s brows pinched. She forced a smile. “Leave it there.”

Cuizhu added with a laugh, “Young Master said when he returns, he’ll test you. If you haven’t improved, your lessons will be doubled—to two hours a day.”

“…”

Wanruo’s smile stiffened. “I understand.”

Once Cuizhu departed, Wanruo’s face collapsed.

Suyue set the qin on the desk. “The Eldest Young Master is quite devoted—even while in palace council, he still worries about your practice.”

Wanruo sneered. “He just doesn’t want me to have peace.”

Suyue quickly changed the subject. “Why is Young Master staying at the palace? Did something happen?”

“Most likely the salt-tax case again.”

Though it concerned Jiangnan, it entangled many officials in the capital. If pursued to the end, half the aristocracy here could fall.

Wanruo didn’t want to dwell on it. It was better if Xie Xianyu stayed busy—she’d be freer to handle more pressing matters.

Suyue added, “Miss, the sachet you had me deliver yesterday—Young Master Lin was very pleased. He said if given the chance, he’ll thank you in person.”

“Let him wait until after the Spring Examinations at the end of the month.”

Wanruo’s gaze lingered on the qin before her, her mind unsettled. Lin Han’s side of matters seemed smooth enough for now. What she needed urgently was a way to withdraw cleanly from the Xie family.

Since Xie Xianyu wouldn’t let go, she had to find another path.

“Miss, the Seventh Young Lady has come,” Dingdong announced, running in.

Wanruo blinked, then quickly motioned for Suyue to put the qin away.

Xie Xiulin entered with a bright smile. “Sister Wanruo.”

“You’re here! Sit, sit.”

Wanruo was a little surprised. After the incident at Ta Ming Lake, when Xiulin had been so frightened she wept bitterly, Wanruo expected her to hide away for a while. Yet only two days later, she seemed fully recovered.

“Why are you so cheerful today?” Wanruo asked as she poured tea.

“I came to see you—of course I’m happy.” Xiulin sipped her tea, then said, “Tomorrow, Grandmother is going to Zhaojue Temple to offer incense. Let’s go together.”

Wanruo nodded. “All right.”

She hadn’t wanted to. After what happened at Ta Ming Lake, she disliked outings. But this was Grandmother’s invitation, not some social banquet, and only the Xie family would attend. It should be safe enough.

“This time the whole family is going, except Third Madam and Sixth Sister. Father said Sixth Sister won’t be allowed out again until her marriage.”

Wanruo smiled. “That should make your days easier.”

Hatred flashed in Xiulin’s eyes. “Even if she were out, I wouldn’t fear her! All these years she bullied me, made me suffer—I swear, one day, I’ll make her pay!”

Wanruo clasped her hand gently. “Now that Third Master has punished Third Madam and Xie Xiuyun, your days will surely improve. Your marriage, too, can safely be entrusted to Second Madam. She manages the household well and treats all the children fairly. You can rest assured.”

But Xiulin’s face shifted slightly. She blurted, “There’s no need to trouble Second Madam.”

Wanruo was taken aback. “Why not?”