Chapter 25

In the evening, Xu Duanyi, keeping track of time, went to Xie Changning’s room.

The last time she saw Xie Changning was in the third year of Changye, at the memorial for Uncle Xie and Big Brother Xie.

At that time, the brother and sister twins were only eight years old.

Suddenly losing their father and brother, the two children cried uncontrollably.

Xu Duanyi had gone to the memorial on behalf of her family and her aunt, but there were so many people and events happening, with Sister Shen’s matter causing quite a stir.

She couldn’t stay to talk to them for long.

A year later, at the memorial for the Grand Princess, Xu Duanyi didn’t see Xie Changning.

She had heard that Xie Changning had been so grief-stricken that she fainted and had been unconscious ever since.

Xu Duanyi had thought about visiting her, but at that time, the South An Prince’s residence was in chaos. The brothers were fighting, Xie Ping’an had disappeared, and the servants, having already lost three masters, were anxious and worried about the future of the South An Prince’s residence.

She wanted to speak to Xie Qingya about it.

But Xie Qingya was kneeling in the memorial hall, dressed in mourning clothes, his head lowered, expression blank, ignoring everyone.

She thought it was best to wait.

She decided to wait for the turmoil in the residence to pass, and then visit Changning.

But no one expected that, during those few days when the residence was in chaos, no one had the heart to care for the little girl, and she ended up burning with fever for several days.

By the time she woke up, her physical condition was fine, but she had developed a stutter.

Xu Duanyi had heard about it.

Over the years, the residence had invited every well-known doctor from the capital to treat her, even bringing in doctors from other regions, and even the royal physicians from the palace had been asked to come.

However, Xie Changning’s stutter still hadn’t improved.

Xu Duanyi had always felt a deep sympathy for this young girl.

When Ping’an and Changning were born, Xie Qingya had brought them to the palace and let Xu Duanyi hold them.

She was the only daughter in her family.

Her father had not remarried.

She had no siblings.

Although she didn’t know what they thought of her now, Xu Duanyi still genuinely considered them as her younger brother and sister.

“Bring out the things I prepared for Changning earlier. Let’s go visit her,” Xu Duanyi instructed Bixi.

Bixi quickly agreed.

The gifts had been prepared a long time ago, and there was also one for Ping’an.

If the South An Prince’s residence still had elders, Xu Duanyi would have given the gifts to them when she went to offer tea this morning.

But now, it had been delayed until this moment.

Xu Duanyi told Shiyu to stay behind to watch the room while she, along with Bixi, headed toward the small house in the flower garden where Xie Changning lived.

Aunt Deng had already taken her there to see it earlier.

The small house in the flower garden was truly a place surrounded by blooming flowers.

Xie Changning, being the youngest and the only daughter in the residence, had been spoiled with love since childhood.

Whether it’s the two brothers, Xie Qingya and Xie Ping’an, or the servants in the Wang residence, they all treat her very well.

On ordinary days, if there’s something good, it’s always sent to her first.

By March, the days no longer darken as early as in the winter evenings.

When Xu Duanyi arrived, it wasn’t dark yet, and it wasn’t time for dinner for Xie Changning either.

Xie Changning was currently studying at the girls’ academy hosted by the Qu family.

The Qu family, headed by the former chief minister and current imperial teacher, Qu Boyuan, was where Xie Changning attended school.

When Qu Boyuan was the chief minister, he had also tutored Prince Wen Zhao and Xie Qingya, so he was their mentor.

Since there were no princesses in the palace, the eldest princess didn’t want her daughter to stay alone at home. She teamed up with the Qu family to establish an academy specifically for the daughters of families with close ties.

The academy had been running for over six years.

Xu Duanyi had once been shown around the academy by the girls from the Qu family, and it was indeed a nice place.

If she hadn’t grown up in the palace, she might have attended the Qu family’s academy.

Although Qu Boyuan couldn’t stand Xie Qingya’s actions and had cut ties with him, he still treated Xie Changning the same as before.

Thus, Xie Changning was still studying there.

Xu Duanyi actually supported Xie Changning going out to study.

At her age, a young lady shouldn’t be locked up alone in the house.

“You go check if Third Brother has come back. He promised me today that he would bring me some roast chicken,” Xu Duanyi had just entered the courtyard when she heard Xie Changning’s innocent and lively voice.

Actually, just by hearing it, one couldn’t tell anything unusual about Xie Changning.

She just spoke a little slower than usual and sometimes stammered.

“Hey, I’ll go check right away!”

Xie Changning’s maid, Fuqu, smiled as she came out, intending to call someone to check if Third Brother had returned.

But unexpectedly, as soon as she stepped out, she saw Xu Duanyi coming in.

Fuqu, like her mistress Xie Changning, hadn’t seen Xu Duanyi for a long time, and seeing her suddenly, she froze in surprise.

After reacting, she immediately changed her expression.

The smile disappeared from her face, and she hurriedly rushed forward to greet Xu Duanyi: “I didn’t know the princess had arrived. I apologize for not welcoming you sooner!”

“Fuqu, what’s wrong?”

Hearing the commotion, Xie Changning came out.

When Xu Duanyi saw her, Fuqu had already helped her up, and she looked up to see the girl standing in front of her, a bit like the girl she remembered.

The little girl from her memories had now grown into a graceful young lady.

She had lost the childishness of her youth, and her features had matured.

Aside from Xie Qingya, the rest of the Xie siblings resembled the late King of Nanan more, and Xie Changning looked much gentler than Xie Qingya.

She was holding a painting that she had made at the academy today.

When Xie Changning saw Xu Duanyi standing in the courtyard, she was momentarily stunned. Holding the painting, she stood at the door in a daze, forgetting to greet Xu Duanyi.

It had been many years since she last saw this “Sister Xu” in her memories.

Xie Changning knew that Xu Duanyi had married her second brother.

When she first heard this news, she was very happy.

She definitely preferred this gentle Sister Xu to the older sister from the Xiao family who always bullied and disliked her.

Although she hadn’t seen Sister Xu in many years, her memories of her had never faded.

She really liked Xu Duanyi.

She was also looking forward to Xu Duanyi marrying second brother.

She even thought that once Xu Duanyi entered the Wang residence, she would finally have a companion to talk to!

After the family’s troubles, both her second and third brothers had changed a lot.

Moreover, there were some things she really couldn’t discuss with her brothers.

When she was young, Xu Duanyi had treated her very well, buying her beautiful hairpins and taking her outside to play.

She really enjoyed the time she spent with Xu Duanyi.

But third brother had told her that people change, and that she should stay away from Xu Duanyi to avoid being bullied.

She felt that Xu Duanyi wouldn’t change for the worse, and certainly wouldn’t bully her.

But third brother was very serious, afraid that she would be bullied in his absence.

After her father, mother, and eldest brother passed away, second brother also changed a lot, and third brother took on the responsibility of looking after her.

She knew third brother was already very tired from studying outside.

In order to pass the imperial exams and restore the Wang family’s reputation, third brother studied day and night, reading early in the morning to ensure that he would be successful in the exams.

She didn’t want him to worry about her anymore.

So, even though she was reluctant, she had followed third brother’s request and stayed away from Xu Duanyi.

She never expected Xu Duanyi to take the initiative to come to her.

Xie Changning stood there, stunned, looking at Xu Duanyi in the courtyard. She was so surprised that she forgot to speak.

It wasn’t until Xu Duanyi walked over, smiling, and greeted her, “What’s this? Has little Changning forgotten me already?”

Xie Changning quickly snapped out of her daze.

She had become flustered, and the more nervous she was, the more her stuttering worsened.

As she was trying to greet Xu Duanyi while bowing, she stammered, “Xu, Xu…” She instinctively started to call her by the old name.

Remembering that Xu Duanyi was now married to second brother, she quickly changed, “Sister, Sister-in-law.”

Before she even bent her knees, Xu Duanyi smiled and reached out to support her arm: “We’re family, no need for such formalities.”

Xu Duanyi kindly helped Xie Changning inside.

The young lady’s room was very elegant, with a guqin, a place for embroidery, and several paintings hanging on the walls. Though the brushstrokes were simple and childlike, they were quite charming.

She was holding a painting scroll in her hands but appeared rather reserved, her head lowered.

Xu Duanyi took the initiative to start the conversation: “Is this the painting you made at the girls’ school today?”

Xie Changning softly responded with a hesitant “Ah.”

Upon meeting Xu Duanyi’s gentle eyes, she nodded and replied, “Yes… yes.”

The older sister, whom she had liked since childhood, was now someone she didn’t know how to interact with. Moreover, she had not attended Xu Duanyi’s wedding yesterday.

Xie Changning feared that Xu Duanyi might be upset and was even more afraid of being asked why she didn’t attend.

She had never been good at lying, and was afraid that speaking too much might lead to mistakes, so she became even more nervous.

Like a lotus, she was afraid.

She had not expected that the princess would lower herself to approach her.

Fearing that Xu Duanyi might bring up the past, Xie Changning, who was known for her honesty, tried to keep herself calm. She poured tea for Xu Duanyi, attempting to keep the conversation going.

“Please have some tea, Princess.”

Xu Duanyi smiled and thanked her.

She had already guessed the reason why Xie Changning and her brother hadn’t come yesterday, and naturally, she didn’t ask any awkward questions.

She took a sip of the tea, savoring its sweetness, and after a moment, she asked, “Is this honeyed fruit peel?”

“Yes, yes,” Xie Changning responded respectfully. “The lady prefers refreshing drinks.”

Thinking that Xu Duanyi might not like it, Xie Changning quickly added, “If the Princess doesn’t like it, I can bring you a different cup.”

Xu Duanyi gently refused, “No need.”

“This fruit tea is quite nice. It’s almost night, so it’s better not to drink too much tea, or you might have trouble sleeping.”

As she spoke, she took another sip and placed the cup down.

“Before, I was busy and mostly in the palace, so I haven’t seen you for quite a while.” After saying this to Xie Changning, she called for Bixi.

Bixi quickly came forward and placed the prepared gift on the table.

Xu Duanyi turned to Xie Changning and said, “I remember you used to love playing the guqin. This is a guqin score from Master Wen Yue. I don’t know if you’ll like it.”

“Master Wen Yue?”

Xie Changning, who had been silent until now, widened her eyes in disbelief and asked, “The Master Wen Yue who composed ‘Long River Sunset’?”

Xu Duanyi smiled and nodded, “Yes, exactly.”

She had remembered Xie Changning’s preferences.

Coincidentally, when Xu Duanyi was learning the guqin in the palace, the person who taught her was a descendant of Master Wen Yue.

This guqin score was a gift from her.

However, the guqin wasn’t her preferred instrument, and rather than keeping such a treasure locked away, she felt it was better to give it to someone who would appreciate it.

Xie Changning, still a young girl, couldn’t hide her excitement. Her eyes brightened, and she couldn’t tear them away from the gift.

It wasn’t until Fuqu softly reminded her that Xie Changning came back to her senses.

She quickly turned to Xu Duanyi, who was still smiling at her.

“Sorry, Sister-in-law, I… I…” she stammered, a blush creeping up her face.

She appeared embarrassed, not knowing how to handle the situation.

Xu Duanyi smiled and extended her hand, hoping to gently pat Xie Changning’s head like she used to.

However, Xie Changning didn’t understand.

Seeing Xu Duanyi’s outstretched hand, she seemed to remember something and quickly turned to the side, avoiding the gesture.

Xu Duanyi’s hand froze in mid-air.

In an instant, the room became eerily quiet. Fuqu, feeling nervous, could hear her own heartbeat. Her face turned pale, and without thinking, she immediately knelt down.

“Princess, forgive me!”

Xie Changning, realizing what had happened, also turned pale.

She stood up uneasily, her earlier joy replaced with the same nervousness she had shown at the beginning.

“Sister-in-law…”

“I…”

She wanted to apologize to Xu Duanyi.

“Don’t be scared, it’s fine. It’s my fault. I should have warned you first,” Xu Duanyi said, rising to gently support Xie Changning’s arm.

“Get up now.”

She said this to Fuqu.

Bi Xi stepped forward to help Fuqu up.

Xu Duanyi then gently patted Xie Changning’s arm, reassuring her not to worry.

She had momentarily forgotten that their relationship was no longer as it once was. It was normal for the young girl to be unaccustomed to this.

But Xu Duanyi still felt something was off about Xie Changning’s reaction, and just as she was about to ask, an angry voice rang out from outside the courtyard.

“What are you doing!”

Xu Duanyi turned towards the voice.

She saw a young man, somewhat resembling Xie Qingya, walking briskly towards them.

The young man was dressed in blue and wore his hair in a high ponytail.

He no longer looked as obedient and docile as Xu Duanyi remembered.

Before she could greet him, Xu Duanyi felt her hand empty. Xie Changning had been pulled behind him.

Looking at how the young man was shielding Xie Changning as if she were a young child, with a wary expression on his face, Xu Duanyi realized he had misunderstood.

Facing this wary Xie Ping’an, Xu Duanyi knew that no matter what she said, it would be pointless.

“Third Brother.”

Xie Changning seemed to realize what was happening. She hurriedly patted Xie Ping’an’s arm, nervously explaining, “Sister-in-law, sister-in-law didn’t hurt me.”

“Sister-in-law came to bring me a gift.”

In her urgency to explain, she became even more flustered, her speech stammering.

But Xie Ping’an, knowing that she always avoided trouble, wasn’t convinced by her words.

He didn’t believe her.

He still watched Xu Duanyi with a vigilant expression.

It wasn’t until Fuqu spoke up, too, that he eased slightly: “Sanlang, the princess really hasn’t mistreated the girl.”

Only then did Xie Ping’an’s expression relax a little.

But he still refused to lower his guard completely, staring at Fuqu and asking, “Then why did you kneel just now?”

Earlier, he had seen Fuqu kneeling from a distance.

Then, he saw a strange maid come to help her up, but from far away, he couldn’t tell if she was helping her or scolding her.

What made him most nervous was still Changning.

He saw that Changning’s arm was also being held by someone else.

At that moment, he didn’t care about anything else. Fearing that something might happen to Changning, he rushed over hastily.

Fuqu didn’t know how to explain, so she could only say, “It was my mistake, the princess didn’t blame me and even told me to get up immediately.”

Xie Ping’an looked at her with suspicion.

But Fuqu had been assigned by his mother to attend to Changning.

If she said there was nothing, then perhaps he had really misunderstood.

However, even if Xie Ping’an knew he had misunderstood, he still didn’t want Changning to have too much contact with this so-called second sister-in-law.

After the family incident, he was no longer the same Xie Ping’an as before.

Even his most trusted and close second brother had changed.

Let alone others.

He had long forgotten the warm scenes from when he was with Xu Duanyi, forgetting how he used to follow her around and call her “Yi Jie.”

The atmosphere in the room became tense.

Changning, trapped behind, wanted to speak but couldn’t, so anxious that she couldn’t get the words out.

Her eyes were red with urgency.

Bixi frowned when she saw this.

She opened her mouth to say something but was stopped by Xu Duanyi, who gently held her arm.

“I came at an unfortunate time, and dinner is almost ready. I won’t disturb your sibling meal,” Xu Duanyi said gently to the siblings. Then, she asked Bixi to bring the meeting gift she had prepared for Xie Ping’an.

“Ping’an, this is a gift I prepared for you.”

Seeing Xie Ping’an still on guard and silent, Xu Duanyi smiled, not taking offense. She glanced at Changning, whose eyes were red and filled with sorrow.

“Changning, I will leave now.”

“If you ever need anything, no matter what it is, you can come to find me.”

Changning looked apologetic.

“Sister-in-law… I’m sorry…” She couldn’t bear to blame her third brother but was full of regret towards her sister-in-law.

She also blamed herself more.

If it weren’t for her, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.

Xu Duanyi smiled softly at her, signaling that it was okay.

She then, under the gaze of the two siblings, left with Bixi amidst Fuqu’s apologetic voice.

“Princess, I’m really sorry, Sanlang…” Fuqu apologized in a low voice to Xu Duanyi.

Xu Duanyi replied in a similarly low tone.

“It’s fine, I know he is worried about Changning.”

From the corner of her eye, she glanced back and saw the young man nervously checking Changning, as if afraid she might be hiding something.

Xu Duanyi couldn’t help but silently sigh in her heart.

It wasn’t for herself being misunderstood.

But for the siblings and their current state.

She gestured for Fuqu to go in and left with Bixi.

The sky was getting darker, but it was not yet completely dark.

Once outside the yard, Bixi spoke with a displeased expression: “This Xie Sanlang is too much. You went there with good intentions, and he still treated you like this.”

“Luckily, Shiyu didn’t come. Otherwise, she would have been so angry she’d start fighting.”

Xu Duanyi spoke as she walked, “He’s not having it easy either.”

Bixi couldn’t stand seeing her being treated poorly, and frowned, calling out, “Master…”

Xu Duanyi didn’t mind her tone and continued speaking, “He was very well-behaved before. Every time I came to the palace, he and Changning would come find me.”

“I would pat his head, and he’d blush.”

“But now, look at him…”

Bixi frowned as she thought about the look of Xie Sanlang earlier.

Xu Duanyi continued, “He’s like a wolf covered in thorns, not yet grown but forced to bear everything. Always on guard, never relaxed.”

So, she didn’t blame his attitude toward her.

Because she knew that in this environment, he had no choice but to stay alert to protect his family.

Hearing this, Bixi’s anger gradually faded.

When her master added, “Don’t mention this to Shiyu when we return,” Bixi finally responded softly, “Yes.”

—-

Meanwhile, in the study.

“What did you say?” Xie Qingya stood up immediately after Chang Feng finished telling him about the Huajian Cottage, not pausing for a moment as he headed out.

Lingji, seeing him leave, was confused. “Master, where are you going?”

Xie Qingya didn’t turn around.

—-

In the dark night, Xie Qingya’s face was stern, and his pace was quick.

Chang Feng, seeing this, was more certain of his suspicions. When Lingji moved to follow, he quickly stopped him.

“What’s wrong with the master?” Lingji asked Chang Feng, turning to him.

Chang Feng glanced at him and replied, “Nothing.”

“Is the prince worried that the princess is bullying the girl? But the princess doesn’t seem like that type,” Lingji frowned, guessing.

Chang Feng was about to go out when he stopped after hearing this.

He turned back, looking at Lingji with a complicated expression.

It’s actually good to be clueless.

What does the prince have to worry about? The prince is worried that the princess might be bullied by Sanlang!