Qian Manyue opened her mouth, wanting to defend herself but she had no idea where to begin. She thought about threatening suicide again, but the memory of the icy pain when the silver hairpin had touched her throat moments ago made her body tremble.
In the end, she collapsed onto the floor and burst into sobbing.
The other two women in the room reacted very differently. Zhen Tingyun merely stood off to the side, watching as though she were enjoying a performance. Even Du Qingqing, instead of rushing over to comfort her as before, quietly stepped back several paces. She looked at Qian Manyue with suspicion and caution.
With her forehead pressed against the cold floor, tears poured endlessly from Qian Manyue’s eyes but inside, an indescribable chill and terror spread through her heart. She had done this sort of thing before but she had never felt like this.
In the past, she could always argue her way out, shift the blame, or manipulate her words until she escaped responsibility entirely. But this time, Zhen Tingyun had seen through every trick from the very beginning and exposed them one by one.
In the past, she could cry, beg, or threaten suicide until others relented. Yet Zhen Tingyun was even more ruthless than she’d imagined. The moment she produced the hairpin, Zhen Tingyun had actually grabbed her hand and pushed the blade against her throat.
…
Qian Manyue had always considered herself clever, someone full of schemes and quick wits. Yet now she found herself completely at a loss. For the first time in a long while, she found herself thinking back on her past.
The Qian family had been desperately poor. Her father favored sons over daughters. Her mother was timid and powerless. Life there had been barely fit for human beings. Yet Qian Manyue had still managed to carve out a path for herself.
Taking advantage of the fact that her mother worked in the neighboring Lin family’s household, she had gone out of her way to ingratiate herself with the wealthy family’s young daughter.
Miss Lin had been even more gullible than Du Qingqing. She had invited Qian Manyue to study alongside her, saying they would both take the entrance examination for the girls’ academy together.
In the end, Miss Lin failed the exam. Qian Manyue passed.
Unfortunately, Miss Lin was foolish, but Wealthy Merchant Lin, who had amassed a great fortune, was not. He flew into a rage over the matter, and even Mother Qian lost her job because of it. The Qian family nearly found themselves unable to make ends meet, and everyone in the household blamed her for being too ambitious and causing trouble, even saying they had no money to send her to the girls’ school. Yet Qian Manyue had her ways. She clung to Mother Qian, crying and begging as if she would die without it, then knelt before Father Qian and pleaded with him, swearing that once she succeeded in her studies and married into a good family, she would certainly help support the household and her three younger brothers… Thus, even a family as desperately poor as the Qian family was eventually persuaded by Qian Manyue, and they gritted their teeth and borrowed silver to send her to the girls’ school.
Qian Manyue had already thought everything through. Once she entered the girls’ school, she would naturally have ways to get acquainted with rich fools willing to spend money on her, after all, those female students had plenty of money, and probably would not care about the little they spent on her. From the moment she entered the girls’ school, she would never return to that muddy, quagmire-like home. She would climb upward step by step, to a place where no one in the Qian family could ever reach her, and marry into a good family…
Unfortunately, Qian Manyue’s beautiful dream had only just begun when, in a daze, it seemed about to end.
Qian Manyue had cried until her eyes were nearly dry, yet the fear in her heart only grew stronger, and there was only one thought left in her mind: She could not let Zhen Tingyun tell anyone about this, she could not be expelled! It had taken her so much effort to crawl out of a mud pit like the Qian family. If she were driven out now, the money her family had borrowed to send her to the girls’ school could not be repaid, and Father Qian would certainly find a way to sell her, or marry her off to someone as a concubine. Her whole life would be completely ruined…
At this thought, Qian Manyue suddenly shuddered. She did not even dare to cry anymore, merely keeping her eyes red as she painfully crawled on her knees to Zhen Tingyun, pleading miserably: “I was wrong, I was blinded by greed! Tingyun, please forgive me this once? You can beat me or scold me, and I won’t resist.”
“If you think hitting me would dirty your hands, then I’ll hit myself for you!” As she spoke, Qian Manyue raised her own hand and slapped herself twice across the face, left and right.
The crisp, loud sounds of the slaps echoed through the quiet room.
Yet Zhen Tingyun still did not respond, and did not even look at her.
Qian Manyue slapped herself until her face was swollen. Seeing that Zhen Tingyun remained utterly unmoved, she could only lower her hands and continue crying: “Really, if I’m expelled, there’ll be no way for me to live when I go back. Please, Tingyun, just consider it sparing my life? It’s true that I had wicked thoughts and tried to ruin your spices, but, but surely you don’t have to make me pay with my life over a little incense, do you?”
As she spoke, Qian Manyue could no longer restrain the fear surging through her heart. Covering her face, she burst into tears, nearly breaking down: “They’re only some incense materials. To someone like you, what do they even amount to? Why do you have to force me like this?”
Zhen Tingyun had originally only listened to her complaints with a cold expression, as though watching an actor perform on a stage, appreciating her ability to put on such a convincing show. But upon hearing this, Zhen Tingyun finally could no longer suppress the anger in her heart.
She reached out and grabbed Qian Manyue by her loose black hair, forcing her to raise her head and meet her gaze. Staring unblinkingly at Qian Manyue’s tear- and snot-streaked face, she looked directly into her eyes and demanded, word by word: “Even now, you still haven’t figured it out? Do I really have to spell it out for you, one word at a time?”
Qian Manyue bit her lip, trying to hold back her sobs, but tears still fell. A trace of regret and panic flashed through her eyes, while her face was covered in tears and mucus, making her look disheveled and ugly.
“These incense materials were given to me by someone very important to me.” Zhen Tingyun pursed her lips, about to continue, but suddenly stopped. At this very moment, she only felt a thought as faint as a thread of silk, almost imperceptibly passing through the depths of her heart, and belatedly realized something: So, Yuanhui had already become such an important person to her?
At the thought of Yuanhui, Zhen Tingyun’s voice paused slightly, and only then did she continue in a low voice: “This is his sentiment. To me, this is an extremely precious treasure. At the very least, it is far more important than someone like you.”
If it had been anyone else, hearing such words from Zhen Tingyun at this moment, they would either have been so ashamed they wished for death, or fallen into despair and bewilderment, perhaps even filled with resentment. But Qian Manyue was different. She possessed a resilience and endurance far beyond those of her peers, along with an almost nonexistent sense of shame. Even though seeing Zhen Tingyun’s smile at this moment made her feel as though she had fallen into an icy abyss, her entire body cold from head to toe, she could still steady her voice as much as possible and plead desperately: “I was wrong, I really know I was wrong. Tingyun, what will it take for you to forgive me?”
After a pause, Qian Manyue swallowed, her mouth bitter, and pleaded desperately: “I’ll compensate you, all right? I’ll pay you back for the incense ingredients.”
Zhen Tingyun was about to refuse, but suddenly seemed to remember something and nodded: “All right. Tomorrow we have incense-making class. Then we’ll give the incense ingredients to the teacher and have her assess their value. If you can pay me back, then I’ll consider this matter over. If you can’t afford it, then I’ll have no choice but to tell the teachers at the girls’ school and ask them to decide the matter for me.”
Hearing this, Qian Manyue felt as though she had been granted a pardon. The moment she was branded with the reputation of a thief, the girls’ school would certainly expel her. Now she only had to pay money, which was already wonderful…
Thinking this, Qian Manyue even began calculating the money she had on hand: she had the private savings Mother Qian had secretly stuffed into her hands before she entered the school, as well as the money the incense shop had refunded her yesterday after she returned the spices. If necessary, she could borrow a little more from someone, and she would always be able to make up the amount. As for the future… as long as she could remain at the girls’ school, even without Du Qingqing and Zhen Tingyun, she could still find another rich fool willing to spend money on her. After all, the one thing the girls’ school had no shortage of was “young ladies” as stupid as pigs.
Hearing this, Qian Manyue felt the huge stone weighing on her heart vanish without a trace. Her whole body went limp, and she nearly collapsed onto the floor.
Zhen Tingyun’s expression did not change, but her eyes were cold. The reason she had said this was naturally not because she wanted to forgive Qian Manyue, but because she did not want to keep entangling herself with her any longer. It was already nightfall, and if they continued, or if Qian Manyue were driven to desperation, Zhen Tingyun was afraid she would not even dare sleep in the room. Someone as vicious and audacious as Qian Manyue, if she truly threw caution to the wind, who knew what she might dare to do.
As the saying goes, “A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall.” Zhen Tingyun did not consider herself a gentleman, but she still believed one should be cautious when it came to one’s own safety.
So she deliberately gave Qian Manyue a glimmer of hope and postponed the matter until the following day. Based on what she knew of Yuanhui, even the first time they met, when he had appeared so bedraggled, he had casually picked up a bag full of gold afterward. On her birthday, he had offhandedly given her an entire chest filled with jewels, precious jade, antiques, and famous paintings…
Clearly, whenever Yuanhui gave someone a gift, it was always something valuable. The incense materials he had given her certainly couldn’t have been cheap. With the little wealth Qian Manyue possessed, she almost certainly wouldn’t be able to afford compensation. And if she couldn’t pay then the only option left would be for her to leave the academy.
Thinking this through, much of the frustration weighing on Zhen Tingyun’s heart finally dissipated. Without sparing the still-collapsed Qian Manyue another glance, she picked up her washbasin and toiletries and headed toward the washroom.
Du Qingqing stood there in a daze for a moment before hurrying after her. “We’ll go together,” she said.
Only after they had left the room did Du Qingqing finally let out a long sigh of relief. “I’m actually a little scared to share a room with her now…”
As soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to realize it wasn’t very nice to talk behind someone’s back and stuck out her tongue sheepishly.
Zhen Tingyun glanced at her, her expression calm, though inwardly somewhat surprised. She had assumed Du Qingqing would complain that Zhen Tingyun had long seen through Qian Manyue but never warned her. Instead, Du Qingqing seemed completely unconcerned about that. It appeared that being simple-hearted really did have its advantages…
Originally, Zhen Tingyun had been considering requesting a single room. Now, however, she changed her mind. Once Qian Manyue was expelled, only she and Du Qingqing would remain. Sharing a room with someone as easygoing and openhearted as Du Qingqing didn’t seem burdensome at all.
***
The incense-making class was held the following afternoon.
After feeling frightened and remorseful the previous night, Qian Manyue had hugged her blanket and cried for half the night. When she finally fell asleep, she was soon jolted awake by nightmares. As a result, she spent the entire day looking exhausted and distracted. Only when incense class finally began did she force herself to stay alert. She deliberately sat as close as possible to Zhen Tingyun, terrified that Zhen Tingyun might accidentally reveal everything.
Qian Manyue truly knew nothing about the different kinds or qualities of incense. She had simply assumed that since Zhen Tingyun had prepared those materials in advance, they must have been intended for this class. She had only wanted to steal a little for herself. Then, when Du Qingqing helped her purchase incense materials, she could nobly insist she didn’t need much, while secretly returning the extras for a refund and pocketing some silver.
She had calculated everything.
The only thing she had failed to anticipate was that Zhen Tingyun would insist on pursuing the matter. It felt as though her heart had been packed with icy shards: cold, heavy, and filled with indescribable fear and regret.
Now she could only stare fixedly at Zhen Tingyun, anxiously watching in case she exposed the truth.
Yet Qian Manyue wasn’t stupid. Deep down, she understood one thing with painful clarity: Even if Zhen Tingyun revealed everything, what could she possibly do to stop her?
One wrong step had led to another, and now every subsequent step was wrong.
To her surprise, however, Zhen Tingyun said nothing of the incident. She merely respectfully presented the remaining incense materials to their instructor. “These incense materials were prepared for me by my family elders,” she said. “Yesterday, someone damaged more than half of them. It’s truly regrettable… so I wished to ask, Teacher, approximately how much are these materials worth?”
The instructor in charge of incense studies, Teacher Yu, frowned slightly upon hearing this, but still accepted the paper packet Zhen Tingyun handed her.
Teacher Yu was one of the foremost masters of incense in the present age. Most of the time, she could identify numerous aromatic materials with only a single sniff. For that very reason, as she carefully inhaled their fragrance, the expression on her face gradually changed. She immediately opened the paper wrapping.
As for common ingredients such as borneol, storax, and benzoin, a single glance was enough for her to recognize them.
Then her gaze fell upon the final few pieces of incense. The composed elegance that normally characterized her face shattered like cracking ice. Unconcealable astonishment appeared in her expression.
“So it truly is sinking water agarwood!” Unable to restrain herself, Teacher Yu carefully picked up one of the pieces with a small tool and examined it closely. “Agarwood is divided into three grades. The finest sinks immediately when placed in water and is known as chenshuixiang ‘sinking water agarwood.’ The next grade floats halfway beneath the surface and is called zhanxiang. The lowest floats completely on the surface and is known as huangshuxiang. This piece of yours is absolutely first-rate sinking-water agarwood.”
Then she carefully picked up another piece. After savoring its fragrance, she was both shocked and delighted, even appearing slightly dazed and unable to believe it. “So it really is White Kinam! Once you’ve smelled this fragrance, you’ll never forget it for the rest of your life.”
For a time, Teacher Yu seemed to forget the two students standing before her. She lowered her head and silently appreciated the fragrance with complete absorption. She looked utterly intoxicated, as though nothing else in the world existed.
Left with no choice, Zhen Tingyun gently reminded her, “Teacher… this White Kinam is…?”
Teacher Yu finally came back to herself. She then began explaining to the students before her. “It is said that during the previous dynasty, an enormously corrupt official had his property confiscated. From his estate, the authorities seized five thousand jin of agarwood and only three pieces of kinam. Even though that official had wielded immense power and possessed wealth rivaling a nation’s, he still owned only three pieces of kinam. That alone shows just how exceedingly rare it is.”
“Kinam has a softer texture than ordinary agarwood. It releases fragrance without even being burned. Its aroma is pure, long-lasting, and exceptionally rare but its most extraordinary quality is this. When placed inside an incense burner, you’ll discover that its opening fragrance, heart fragrance, and lingering finish are all completely different. Every time I encounter this incense and appreciate its scent, I cannot help but marvel at the mysterious wonders of nature.”
She spoke slowly, her voice gentle and serene. “You must remember this. This is the true definition of something that can only be encountered by chance and never sought. It is an incomparably precious fragrance, one beyond price. And that is why people say, ‘Only after accumulating virtue for three lifetimes may one smell the fragrance of kinam; only after accumulating blessings for eight lifetimes may one truly appreciate it.’”
“Kinam itself is further divided into several varieties, including White Kinam, Yingge Green, Orchid Knot, Golden Thread Knot, Iron Knot, and others. The piece you possess is top-grade White Kinam, the most precious of them all.”
As she spoke, Teacher Yu picked up another piece whose cut surface was a deep emerald green. With great solemnity she introduced it to them. “This one is Yingge Green.”
Zhen Tingyun had never heard of any of these varieties before. She listened attentively, finding the subject deeply fascinating.
In stark contrast, Qian Manyue had already roughly guessed the value of Zhen Tingyun’s incense materials. Her mind went completely blank. Cold sweat poured from her body, and she was almost unable to remain standing.
In truth, even Teacher Yu herself was far from calm.
She had devoted half her life to the art of incense and had seen a great many rare treasures, yet at this moment she couldn’t help wondering whether all the good fortune she had accumulated over her lifetime had been spent on this very day.
What virtue or merit did she possess to be fortunate enough to witness so many legendary and exceedingly rare fragrances gathered together in one place?
It was almost like a dream.
Then Teacher Yu noticed the final white piece of incense. She leaned in to smell it, then looked at Zhen Tingyun in disbelief. “Could this really be ambergris?”
Zhen Tingyun looked puzzled.
Teacher Yu, however, was both astonished and bewildered. Ambergris itself was graded into superior, medium, and inferior qualities. The finest was pale whitish-brown. The medium grade was brown. The lowest grade was grayish-black. The piece before her was clearly of the absolute highest quality, so pale that it was almost white. But that wasn’t even the main issue. The truly important point was that ambergris was an imperial incense. It was reserved exclusively for the imperial family. Even if it somehow found its way into private hands, it was supposed to be presented as tribute to the throne. A piece of top-grade white ambergris like this was rare even within the imperial palace itself. How had it ended up in the possession of a young girl like Zhen Tingyun, who hadn’t even reached her coming-of-age ceremony?
At that thought, Teacher Yu’s gaze toward Zhen Tingyun grew even more complicated. Her thoughts became increasingly tangled.
Such priceless incense should have been carefully preserved. How had it ended up in the hands of a beginner who had only just started studying incense? Wasn’t the elder who had gifted it to her worried that an inexperienced student who knew so little would accidentally waste or ruin it?
Wait… Ruin?
Teacher Yu suddenly remembered Zhen Tingyun’s very first words. “These incense materials were prepared for me by my family elder. Yesterday, more than half of them were damaged by someone…”
More than half… Damaged… By someone…
Those words echoed repeatedly in Teacher Yu’s mind.
The moment she imagined these unimaginably precious treasures being ruined in such quantity, a sharp pain gripped her heart. Her vision darkened. She nearly fainted on the spot.
As the old saying goes: “When the tiger and rhinoceros escape their cage, and the tortoise shell and jade are destroyed within their own casket, who could help but grieve?”
How could anyone not feel heartbroken?
Author’s Note:
Teacher Yu: My heart hurts… Someone call an ambulance!
Zhen Tingyun: …
Fu Changxi: …
Qian Manyue: Wait… I think I need emergency treatment too!
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