Marrying The Imperial Elder Chapter 20

Zhen Tingyun had simply acted on a whim and picked up her bamboo xiao to play a tune.

After the song ended, even she remained lost in thought for quite some time. At length she came back to herself and smiled bitterly.

After studying the xiao for so long, this was the first time she had ever played so well.

Just as she was putting away the xiao and preparing to leave, she suddenly heard a gentle female voice.

“Was it you who was playing the xiao just now?”

Turning around, she saw a plainly dressed woman standing beneath an old tree in the inn courtyard. The woman was smiling at her.

Her hair was arranged in a high chignon. Her features were refined and elegant. Tall and slender, she wore only simple robes and skirts, yet even standing alone beneath the tree she possessed an extraordinary bearing, like a solitary pine standing proudly upon a cliff.

One almost felt reluctant to disturb her.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Zhen Tingyun quickly bowed. “I’ve disturbed your peace, Madam.”

The woman smiled warmly. “Not at all. I had some worries on my mind and came out alone to admire the moon. By chance, I happened to hear your xiao. Though your technique still has room for improvement, at such a young age you’ve already learned to infuse emotion into your music. The sorrow of parting and lingering affection in your melody were especially moving. It is truly rare. I was touched, and that’s why I called out to you.”

The praise made Zhen Tingyun’s face grow hot. “You flatter me, Madam.”

The woman merely smiled and studied her carefully. Something unreadable seemed to pass through her eyes. After a moment she said, “My surname is Chu. You may call me Madam Chu.”

Zhen Tingyun was slightly startled.

She thought to herself that after marriage, women usually went by either their husband’s surname or their maiden surname. Someone who specifically introduced herself simply as Madam Chu probably had a story behind her.

Madam Chu’s expression remained unchanged as she continued: “At your age, being able to play such a melody means you possess exceptional talent. I know a fair amount about music theory and am skilled in both the qin and the xiao. Would you be willing to study this art under me?”

Zhen Tingyun could not help reflecting inwardly.

Do I really have such incredible luck with teachers?

Teacher Yuanhui has barely left, and now Madam Chu appears, wanting to become my teacher too.

Under normal circumstances, if someone volunteered to teach her, she would have agreed on the spot with overwhelming joy.

But today…

Yuanhui had only just departed.

Before leaving, he had shown her his estate and told her to come find him if she needed anything. If she turned around immediately and found a new teacher, wouldn’t that be awful?

It would practically make her seem like some faithless scoundrel who loved the new and discarded the old.

For once, a tiny bit of guilt surfaced within Zhen Tingyun.

After hesitating briefly, she declined. “I already have a teacher. I’m afraid I can’t study the qin and xiao with you, Madam.”

Madam Chu was clearly a free-spirited person. Hearing this, she merely smiled. Her expression was gentle, like soft moonlight. “In that case, it cannot be helped.”

Since it could not be helped, she did not press the matter. Nodding to Zhen Tingyun, she left behind a single sentence: “If we are destined to meet again, perhaps we shall.”

Then she turned and departed.

The night deepened. The moon climbed above the willow branches. Madam Chu drifted away gracefully, her figure quickly dissolving into the dim darkness.

Only Zhen Tingyun remained standing there with her xiao in hand. After a long moment, she raised a hand to her forehead and let out a deep sigh.

Heavens! Was there something wrong with my brain just now?

I actually turned down a teacher who practically delivered herself to my doorstep?!

Could it be that Yuanhui had cast some kind of spell on her before leaving?

She was usually such a clever person, how had she suddenly become so muddle-headed?

For a while, Zhen Tingyun was filled with regret.

And this was before she knew Madam Chu’s true identity. When she eventually learned who Madam Chu really was, the regret would be so intense that it felt as though her intestines were turning green.

***

Early the next morning, Old Lady Zhen and the others learned from Zhen Tingyun that Yuanhui had left.

Old Lady Zhen was not particularly surprised. To demonstrate her own foresight, she immediately offered some after-the-fact wisdom: “I told you all along, a teacher who costs no money was never going to stay for long!”

Zhen Tingyun was still feeling somewhat upset, but she dutifully flattered her grandmother. “How else could everyone know that Grandmother is so wise and experienced?”

Old Lady Zhen clicked her tongue a few times. She felt a little regretful that she had been so stingy and never given the teacher any money. But then she reconsidered. Now that they had arrived in the capital, everything could be left to her son. When the time came, he could simply find another good teacher for his granddaughter. There was no need to cling to this particular one.

Thus, she dropped the subject, only lowering her voice to gossip with Zhen Tingyun: “Your teacher was so handsome… and capable of everything. Why did he steal your horse in the first place?”

Zhen Tingyun had no desire to discuss Yuanhui’s past. “As his student, it wouldn’t be proper for me to keep pressing him about his mistakes. How would I know?”

Then she deliberately changed the subject. “Steward Lin said we’ll be entering the city today and should reach home by evening. Grandmother, tell me more about Father and the others.”

That opened the floodgates.

Immediately forgetting the absent Yuanhui, Old Lady Zhen slapped her thigh and began enthusiastically praising her beloved son. “Your father was always capable. Clever from childhood! Especially fortunate. Blessed with good luck…”

Zhen Tingyun listened for a while before gradually drifting into thought. She could not help recalling the long dream she had before returning to the capital.

Though the dream had been lengthy, it was still only a dream. Many scenes remained fragmented and blurry. Most of what she remembered was little more than guesses pieced together afterward. The clearest memories were her own death in the street and that scene where Zhen Yiyun, dressed in the robes of the Crown Princess, stood before a mirror talking to herself.

Because of that dream, Zhen Tingyun already understood one thing very clearly: She could listen to Old Lady Zhen’s stories, but she could not believe all of them. Her father was not the saint her grandmother described. Nor was Madam Pei the villain her grandmother portrayed.

Her father loved his widowed mother deeply and was devoted to her.

Yet he also gradually grew estranged because of her unreasonable behavior. Daily conflicts accumulated into resentment, and eventually the bond between mother and son weakened almost to the point of rupture. He felt pity and guilt toward his younger daughter as well. But as he watched her remain so disappointing, lacking her elder sister’s talents, lacking her younger brother’s intelligence and propriety, embarrassing him again and again, he became increasingly disappointed.

In the end, for the sake of the family’s reputation, he sent his younger daughter back to the countryside. When she later died unexpectedly in the streets, it was little more than an unfortunate accident from his perspective. He could only sigh.

Madam Pei resented the constant difficulties imposed by her mother-in-law. Yet she never resorted to underhanded schemes. She handled matters fairly whenever possible and maintained impeccable appearances. She could dutifully serve her mother-in-law above while raising her children below. Through years of patient effort, she gradually outshone her coarse and ignorant mother-in-law and won back her excessively filial husband. She also pitied the younger daughter she had left behind in childhood and genuinely wished to make amends. But the rift caused by her mother-in-law already existed. The younger daughter herself was disappointing. And meanwhile, the elder daughter constantly sowed discord at her side.

In the end, after weighing the costs and benefits, Madam Pei abandoned the younger daughter.

It was as though she had never borne her at all.

Neither of them were saints.

Neither of them were villains.

They were simply ordinary people. Not cold-hearted or cruel. They possessed feelings. They felt guilt. They felt pity. They played favorites.

But those feelings could only endure so much wear and tear before they faded away.

Because of this, Zhen Tingyun no longer carried the eager expectations or bitter resentment she had felt in the dream.

Now, as the capital drew near and she prepared to enter the Zhen household and meet its members, her heart was calm as still water.

She intended to face everything with an ordinary, balanced mind.

Author’s Note:

Madam Chu is actually a fairly important character. She’s making an early appearance so readers can get familiar with her~