Marrying The Imperial Elder Chapter 8

While Zhen Tingyun was sighing inwardly, a knock sounded from outside the door.

Bazhen had brought up the hot porridge and side dishes.

Zhen Tingyun personally went to take them. After thinking for a moment, she instructed Bazhen again, “Go bring the qin I left in my room. And while you’re at it, have Liushun make a trip out and buy me two copybooks.”

As she spoke, she handed Bazhen a slip of paper with the words “Shiping Gong Zaoxiang Ji” and “Longmen Twenty Inscriptions” written on it, specially reminding her, “Just buy these two.”

Bazhen recognized a few characters. She accepted the slip, lowered her head for a glance, hurriedly acknowledged the order, and then stepped outside.

Meanwhile, Zhen Tingyun carried the hot porridge and side dishes over personally for Yuanhui.

Because she was asking favors from him, her face carried a smile, little pear dimples appearing at her cheeks. Even her speech sounded sweet. “There’s nothing especially good at the moment, so you’ll just have to make do for now. Later I’ll go downstairs and tell the kitchen to stew some chicken soup for you to nourish your body, you’ll probably need recuperation for quite some time yet, so you’ll definitely need proper supplements.”

Yuanhui nodded indifferently and reminded her, “Don’t make it too greasy.”

Even someone as difficult as Old Lady Zhen could be managed by Zhen Tingyun, so she naturally wasn’t bothered by a few picky remarks from Yuanhui. Hearing this, she became even more attentive and agreed at once, “I know. Since you’re ill right now, it really wouldn’t do to eat food that’s too oily.”

Yuanhui said nothing more.

Then he heard Zhen Tingyun continue, “I’ve heard that in some refined households, people enjoy having music played beside them during meals and daily life to entertain the senses. Since you’re eating now, how about I play a little tune nearby? It can count as helping you relax.”

When she spoke, her voice was soft and gentle, as though she were truly thinking of Yuanhui.

But a young girl’s thoughts were simple and transparent, like a clear stream.

Yuanhui understood at a glance: she wanted to take the opportunity to test her own skill and conveniently have him instruct her in qin playing…

Still, this was hardly a major matter. Listening to a small tune during a meal really could be relaxing. Yuanhui glanced at Zhen Tingyun and did not refuse outright. He nodded, which counted as agreement.

Before long, Bazhen carried over the seven-string qin.

It was an old qin, and the materials used did not seem particularly fine, one might even call them crude. However, its owner must have cherished it greatly, frequently using and polishing it. The wood grain on the instrument’s body had been worn smooth and lustrous, without a speck of dust.

Since there was neither a qin table nor a qin stool in the room, Zhen Tingyun simply hugged the instrument and rested it across her lap. After lightly adjusting the strings, she began to play a piece called Xian Weng Cao.

She had pestered the old xiucai at the village school for an entire month before he finally lost patience and taught her this qin piece. The old scholar had actually been kindhearted, seeing that Zhen Tingyun truly wished to learn, he deliberately chose Xian Weng Cao, a basic and relatively simple composition. Practicing it regularly could also improve one’s understanding and mastery of guqin finger techniques and playing skills.

It was just that Zhen Tingyun’s qin truly could not be considered a fine instrument. Its tone quality was ordinary, and since she had mostly taught herself, though her playing was smooth enough, there were also some fingering mistakes she herself did not notice. By the time the piece ended, Yuanhui, leaning against the bed and drinking porridge, already looked somewhat unpleasant.

After catching her breath, Zhen Tingyun lifted her eyes and noticed his expression. Unable to hold back, she asked, “Why are you making that face?”

Yuanhui replied flatly, “When Confucius heard the Shao music in Qi, for three months he did not know the taste of meat, saying: ‘I never imagined music could reach such heights.’ After hearing your piece, I imagine I too shall not know the taste of meat for three months.”

Zhen Tingyun: “…”

Of course Zhen Tingyun knew Yuanhui was not praising her, but mocking her instead. She had originally intended to ask him for guidance and had already prepared herself to endure humiliation for the sake of learning. But with her temper, being mocked like this immediately made her unable to sit still. She raised a hand, placed the qin from her lap onto the table, then stood and turned to face Yuanhui.

She lifted her eyes and stared fixedly at his handsome face, her expression dark as she said word by word, “I know your standards are high, and you look down on my little bit of qin skill. But I was already ten years old before I even thought of learning the qin. I’ve never seen any famous antique qins, nor could I ever aspire to instruments made by master craftsmen. I couldn’t even afford those qins sold on the street for a dozen taels, so I could only buy a secondhand old qin from the old xiucai next door. Even then, it cost me eight taels of silver, all money I earned and saved myself, and even so, Grandmother scolded me for three whole days…”

People always said the qin was an instrument of gentlemen, but the thing truly was not cheap, in fact, it was expensive. Although Father Zhen now served as an official and often sent money and goods home, they technically could have afforded a qin costing over ten taels. But Old Lady Zhen had always been miserly and despised things like music, chess, calligraphy, and painting as useless pretensions. No matter how much Zhen Tingyun argued herself hoarse, the old woman absolutely refused to buy her a qin. In the end, Zhen Tingyun herself found ways to earn a little money, added her own saved pocket money, and only then scraped together eight taels to buy the old xiucai’s used qin. She had even shamelessly lingered at his place to learn a few techniques from him too, counting it as a “buy one, get one free.”

“Later, after I learned a little introductory qin technique from the old xiucai and vaguely understood some scores, I practiced at home. The neighbors all suffered for it, and Grandmother scolded me again, saying I was fooling around and causing trouble for nothing. It was only after I started playing a bit better that she stopped saying such things.” Remembering the chaos from when she first learned the qin, Zhen Tingyun could not help but curve her lips slightly. “I always thought that even though I started late, had no good qin, no scores, and no teacher, it would still be a good thing if I could at least learn a little and practice more. If I persisted long enough, it would surely become useful somehow. And if someday I met a good teacher and received proper guidance, then with this foundation I’d probably save some effort and learn faster.”

Hearing this, Yuanhui fell silent for a moment.

He had always possessed a firm will and a heart like iron or stone, rarely moved or persuaded by others. Yet now, after hearing Zhen Tingyun speak, something in his heart stirred despite himself: what she said was indeed true. With her circumstances and the environment she lived in, the fact that she had even thought of learning the qin, and could play a piece like this at all, was already extraordinarily difficult. She must have possessed enough determination to overcome all kinds of hardships, earn and save money, and buy an old qin that others would not consider necessary for her. She had to be clever and resourceful to learn bits and pieces of qin technique from others without spending money, enough to gain an entry point. And she had to have endurance and perseverance to ignore others’ shortsightedness and obstruction and continue wholeheartedly until now.

Thinking this, Yuanhui very rarely lowered his head and admitted, “I was thinking too simply.”

Zhen Tingyun blinked and suddenly felt that Yuanhui was actually a fairly decent person.

Then immediately afterward, she heard him continue, “However, with your handwriting and your qin skill, where exactly did you get the courage to think you could enter the women’s academy?”

Zhen Tingyun propped her chin on one hand and looked at him, her brows curving and her voice bright and clear. “From you, of course, you were the one who told me before that ‘if you want to enter the women’s academy, it’s not entirely hopeless.’”

Yuanhui: “…”

Yuanhui raised a hand to pinch between his brows, took several deep breaths with effort, then slowly exhaled. Only after calming himself somewhat did he patiently explain in detail the several fingering mistakes she had made while playing earlier, then had her play the piece once more.

Zhen Tingyun listened extremely seriously and learned readily, correcting each mistake Yuanhui pointed out one by one. As a result, when she played Xian Weng Cao again, it truly became much smoother and more pleasant to hear.

But Yuanhui had long been accustomed to excellent music and masterful performances, so he still found it lacking. After thinking for a moment, he tactfully suggested, “Have you ever considered changing to a simpler instrument?”

After being criticized by him from every angle, Zhen Tingyun inevitably became somewhat annoyed. “Then wouldn’t all my years practicing the qin have been for nothing?”

Yuanhui patiently explained, “You’re learning music mainly because you want to enter the women’s academy, right? In the musical arts, noble young ladies mostly study the qin. They start learning from childhood, with fine instruments, famous teachers, and ancient scores. Their skills run deep, there may even be a few who’ve already reached true mastery. If you think you can astonish everyone and catch up to these people in just a few months, that’s pure daydreaming! You’d be better off switching to a rarer instrument. It would be innovative and refreshing, and when you appear, it would immediately make people’s eyes light up. Since nobody would be comparing you directly with others, perhaps you could at least earn a passing score.”

Although Zhen Tingyun felt his words made sense, when she thought of all the years she had spent painstakingly practicing the qin, she still hesitated.

Yuanhui could only continue persuading her. “If you truly like the guqin, then after you enter the women’s academy, you can still bring your qin and ask the instructors for guidance there.”

At this, Zhen Tingyun finally made up her mind. Looking at Yuanhui, she cautiously asked, “If I don’t continue with the guqin, then what instrument do you think would suit me?”

Yuanhui lifted a brow slightly, impossible to tell whether he was joking or serious. “You’ve got strength in your arms. Drumming would probably suit you.”

For a moment, Zhen Tingyun did not know how to respond and could only stare at him wide-eyed.

Yuanhui looked at her and casually added, “With your current foundation, you can probably only rely on originality. Why not beat drums while dancing? Stirring drum music might amuse the instructors enough to earn you a good score.”

Only then did Zhen Tingyun finally react. Expressionless, she asked in return: “Excuse me, are you teaching me drumming, or teaching me dancing?”

This time, it was Yuanhui’s turn to be speechless.

After a while, he finally changed the subject and said, “Forget it. Learn the xiao* instead. I know how to play it, and it’s easy to learn. By then, perhaps we can find someone skilled at qin to perform together with you in qin-and-xiao harmony. It’ll also be easier to score points that way.”
* vertical bamboo flute

Zhen Tingyun nodded, secretly thinking: Anyway, bamboo xiaos aren’t expensive. Since he’s willing to teach me, I’ll just treat it as spending money to learn another skill.

While thinking this, the corner of her eye caught the weary look on Yuanhui’s face. She changed the topic and said, “Your injuries still haven’t healed, so you really should rest properly. The copybooks and bamboo xiao haven’t arrived yet anyway, so I won’t disturb you.”

Yuanhui nodded. Lowering his eyes to the half bowl of porridge left in his hands, he saw that the rice had already gone cold, so he simply set it aside. “Take these away while you’re at it.”

His tone was casual rather than intentional, yet it still unconsciously carried a trace of the cold arrogance of someone accustomed to high status.

Zhen Tingyun did not mind at all. In her mind, Yuanhui’s value had already risen greatly. Besides, since she wanted to learn from him, she was quite willing to lower herself and coax him a little, she treated it as serving a teacher or elder.

With swift, practiced movements, she tidied away the leftover porridge and side dishes Yuanhui had not finished. Just as she was about to leave, she paused before the door and added, “Then rest well. I’ll have someone kill a chicken and stew some soup for you. If it simmers all afternoon, it’ll be perfect to drink tonight.”

Yuanhui’s expression softened slightly, and he nodded.

After thinking for a moment, Zhen Tingyun added another question. “Do you have any food you avoid?”

Yuanhui thought about it but could not remember anything, so he shook his head.

Zhen Tingyun assumed that meant he had no dietary restrictions. Nodding, she thoughtfully added, “Alright, I understand. Once the kitchen finishes stewing the chicken soup, I’ll skim the fat off for you so it won’t be greasy.”

It had to be said: when Zhen Tingyun wanted to please someone, she was truly meticulous, gentle, and considerate enough to move people’s hearts.

Though Yuanhui was tired and found her overly talkative and scheming, one did not slap a smiling face. Looking at Zhen Tingyun’s smiling little face, with the sweet dimples in her pink cheeks, Yuanhui found himself unexpectedly unable to lose his temper. He merely waved a hand at her and pulled up the blanket, preparing to lie down and rest.

Zhen Tingyun carried the dishes and pushed the door open to leave. Before closing it, she suddenly remembered the matter of the copybooks and continued, “Once the copybooks are bought, I’ll come find you tonight so we can practice calligraphy together…”

Yuanhui ignored her. Without saying a word, he pulled the blanket over himself.

The blanket covered all the way over his head, perfectly blocking out Zhen Tingyun’s voice. At last, he could finally close his eyes and rest for a while.

Author’s Note:

Yuanhui: Come, come, let’s duo queue, I’ll carry you to King rank~

Zhen Tingyun: Okay~

Yuanhui: Emmm… you’re kind of hard to carry.