Marrying The Imperial Elder Chapter 19

Since Zhen Tingyun already knew how to ride and it was nighttime with no one around, Yuanhui simply had her bring Malantou along. The two shared a horse and rode toward the estate from his memories.

Zhen Tingyun sat behind Yuanhui. At first she was somewhat embarrassed, still mindful of propriety between men and women. But gradually she relaxed.

Watching Yuanhui’s superb riding skills, she felt both admiration and envy. “Teacher,” she asked, “when will my riding skills ever become as good as yours?”

Yuanhui treated such fanciful childish talk as if it had been carried away by the wind and never heard it at all. He ignored it completely.

Before long, he led her to a secluded estate hidden among the woods at the foot of the Western Hills.

Zhen Tingyun was not a native of the capital and naturally had no idea that those who owned estates in the Western Hills were usually people of great wealth and status. She simply assumed that land prices in the capital were expensive, and anyone living out in the middle of nowhere was probably poor.

So when she saw how remote and run-down Yuanhui’s estate appeared, she could not help laughing. “This place is way too isolated. It’s fine during the day, but at night, when it’s completely silent, won’t it be haunted or something?”

The people living here are probably poor ghosts too, she silently added.

The estate gate was only loosely closed. Yuanhui pushed it open with ease.

Following behind him, Zhen Tingyun looked around curiously. Aside from themselves, there was no one else in sight. The flowers and plants in the courtyard had been left untended, clearly neglected for a long time.

Only the moonlight, cool as water, poured into the empty courtyard. The moss spread across the stonework in patches of varying shades. Tree shadows overlapped and crisscrossed. Within the desolation and decay lingered a quiet, natural beauty.

After looking around, Zhen Tingyun asked, “By the way, Teacher, where’s the old servant you mentioned?”

Standing in the familiar courtyard, Yuanhui found many familiar yet unfamiliar memories surfacing in his mind. He understood perfectly well what had happened. The hidden guards stationed here had likely noticed the outsider at his side and chosen to stay out of sight. Without his orders, they naturally would not reveal themselves.

Still, he had no desire to make Zhen Tingyun think too much about it. “Probably hiding somewhere,” he answered casually.

Zhen Tingyun nodded secretly to herself.

For a rundown place like this, who knows whether this so-called old servant even exists? And if he does, he’s probably run away already…

Of course, as a good student, she felt she should preserve her teacher’s dignity and refrained from exposing him.

Instead, she smiled and asked: “By the way, Teacher, I never asked, do I have a teacher’s wife?”

Yuanhui was examining the estate, matching the objects around him with the memories returning to his mind. Without much thought, he replied, “No.”

The look Zhen Tingyun gave him instantly filled with sympathy.

Ai… He’s clearly in his late twenties, yet still unmarried. Living alone in a remote little courtyard outside the capital, without even an old servant to attend him…

In her mind, Yuanhui’s image as a down-and-out noble son became even more firmly established. Feeling a surge of pity, she declared sincerely: “Teacher, I’ll definitely take good care of you in the future.”

Yuanhui: “……There’s no need.”

If he ever fell so low as to require Zhen Tingyun’s filial support, he might as well die.

Since she had now learned the way and seen the estate, Yuanhui had no intention of keeping her in this godforsaken place any longer. “I’ll take you back,” he said, preparing to leave. “You’re a young lady. It’s not appropriate for you to be wandering around alone this late at night.”

Zhen Tingyun hurriedly waved him off. “No need! This place is so far away. If you escort me there and then come back, it’ll be terribly late. Besides, I know how to ride now. I can get back on my own.”

“It’s fine.” Once Yuanhui made up his mind, he never changed it. “I brought you here so you’d know the way. If something happens in the future, you’ll know where to find me. Naturally I have to see you safely back. Otherwise I won’t be at ease.”

Since he put it that way, and since she was not someone who failed to appreciate kindness, Zhen Tingyun obediently agreed.

The countryside was already sparsely populated at night, and Yuanhui deliberately chose secluded shortcuts.

Riding like the wind, he soon returned her to the inn where their group was staying.

Because they needed to take Malantou to the stables, they remained together until reaching the stable yard before finally parting.

Remembering their first meeting, Zhen Tingyun suddenly laughed. “I wonder if you remember, Teacher. The first time we met was actually by a stable too. You stole Malantou and ran off. I even shouted after you from outside the stable! If you hadn’t run so fast, and if it hadn’t been raining, I definitely would’ve chased after you.”

Yuanhui had only recalled fragments of his youth before now. Hearing her words, however, a scene both familiar and unfamiliar suddenly appeared in his mind.

He was mounted on horseback, galloping out of the stable. The situation had been urgent. The horse’s hooves struck rapidly as he rode away. Yet from the corner of his eye, he had unconsciously glanced sideways.

There she was.

A young girl staring up at him with puffed cheeks and furious eyes. Like a tiny beast that had been provoked, ready to leap forward and fight him to the death, baring its claws and fangs.

Her eyes had been dark and bright, round as little moons. Her fair cheeks carried a rosy flush, like a rosebud just beginning to bloom.

Even in the dim twilight before a storm, such vivid colors could not be concealed. 

Bright.

Unrestrained.

Overflowing with life.

Yuanhui slowly lowered his eyelashes. Each dark lash seemed distinct enough to count.

Closing his eyes, he hid the smile rising from the depths of his gaze and answered softly: “Mm. I remember.”

Zhen Tingyun assumed he was merely humoring her and urged him on. “If you’re leaving, then hurry up and go. Otherwise you’ll still be on the road in the middle of the night.”

Yuanhui nodded. Just as he was about to leave, another thought occurred to him. Still uneasy, he reached into his sleeve and pulled out the black money pouch he carried. From it, he took a jade pendant and handed it to her. “Keep this jade pendant for now. Treat it as a token. If you come looking for me at the estate next time and I’m not there, show this to whoever is guarding the gate. They’ll understand.”

Since it was nighttime, Zhen Tingyun could not see the character Xi carved into the pendant. But its value was obvious at a glance. The purple jade alone looked extraordinarily expensive.

She instinctively swallowed.

Having a healthy awareness of her own character, she immediately shook her head. “No, I can’t. It’s far too valuable.”

What if I can’t resist the temptation and end up selling it?

Yuanhui’s face turned cold. He shoved the pendant directly into her hand. “If I’m giving it to you, then keep it.”

Zhen Tingyun could only comfort herself inwardly.

Yuanhui is an old bachelor with no wife, no children, and apparently not even a servant to watch over his estate. I’m probably the closest person he has.

So maybe it’s normal for him to leave some sort of family heirloom to his disciple…

Thinking this, her heart softened even more, and she could not help saying again, “Teacher, I’ll definitely take good care of you in the future.”

Yuanhui did not respond. He could not be bothered to entertain such foolish talk.

Zhen Tingyun carefully put away the jade pendant and asked with concern, “Teacher, it’s so late. How about I hire a carriage for you?”

Yuanhui shook his head. “No need. Someone will come pick me up.”

Though Zhen Tingyun highly doubted whether this mysterious “someone” really existed, she said nothing.

Really, he’d rather suffer than lose face. Men are all like this!

Then she remembered the pouch of gold he carried and let go of her unnecessary worries.

Yuanhui offered no further explanation. Stopping her from accompanying him, he said, “No need to see me off. I’ll go out by myself.”

Zhen Tingyun obediently halted.

After exchanging farewells, Yuanhui left the inn alone. After only a few steps, two sword-bearing guards emerged from the shadows. They immediately knelt and bowed respectfully. “Wangye.”

Yuanhui, or rather, Fu Changxi, continued walking as though nothing had happened. He neither stopped nor even glanced at them. Calmly, he asked, “Is the carriage prepared?”

“It is, Wangye.”

A moment later, an extremely understated carriage with a dark green canopy rolled silently out from a corner and stopped before him.

Fu Changxi boarded the carriage. He was just about to order them to return to the Western Hills Estate when he suddenly paused. The words reached his lips and then were swallowed back down.

Straightening slightly, he lifted a corner of the carriage curtain with his fingertips and looked back toward the inn.

The moon was bright, the stars sparse, and the night dim. Yet a xiao melody drifted through the wind, graceful and lingering.

It was like an evening breeze sweeping across the wilderness. Moonlight, pure and bright as frost and snow, scattered through the cool wind as it passed over desolate hills and fields. It smoothed the furrows in the farmland inch by inch. It stirred ripples upon the stream little by little.

In the profound silence of the night, amid utter loneliness, clear notes echoed from mountain valleys and deep ravines, carrying a lingering melancholy as they drifted farther and farther into the distance.

Fu Changxi closed his eyes and listened for a while. An unconscious smile appeared on his pale lips. “She has improved quite a bit…”

There were many people in the world capable of producing pleasant music. But there were very few who could pour emotion into a melody and move the hearts of listeners through feeling itself. The former relied on diligent practice and technique. The latter was a gift granted by heaven, one in ten thousand.

Fu Changxi knew well that with this performance, Zhen Tingyun had already crossed the threshold of true musical understanding. If all went normally, her admission to the women’s academy was practically half secured.

After smiling to himself, he did not linger. Lowering the carriage curtain, he said quietly, “Let’s go back.”

Thus, the group returned to the Western Hills Estate under cover of night.

Author’s Note:

Tingyun: This must be Teacher’s family heirloom that he’s passing down to me.

Yuanhui: …No. It’s the betrothal gift.