Chapter 19 (1):Disappointment
This question circled in Jiang Xue Ningâs mind all night without an answer.
She didnât know how the selection was carried out.
Thus, even though she had doubts in her mind, she wasnât able to verify it.
The next morning, more news about the Eldest Princess of Leyang selecting study companions passed out.
For instance, the list of study companions.
Xiao Shu, the Eldest Young Lady of Cheng Guo Duke Mansion, who Shen Zhi Yi had played with since a child was naturally on the list as well as eleven other well educated and outstanding young ladies from other noble and minister families.
The âfortunateâ Jiang Xue Ning was included.
At the same time, she noticed that Young Lady Fan whose poem was selected by Shen Zhi Yi at the Qing Yuan Earl Mansion last time and You Yue, the Second Young Lady of the Qing Yuan Earl Mansion were also in the list.
For instance, the things they had to study.
The males of Da Qian had to learn etiquette, music, archery, calligraphy and numeracy but the daughters from ordinary families only knew how to read a few words at most. They learnt dispensable things like needlework, poetry and painting.
However, Shen Zhi Yi was a princess hence was naturally different.
She had to learn three of the six arts of a gentleman, etiquette, music and calligraphy. In addition, she had to learn refined skills like mixing incense and painting. Other than this, the Emperor was biased towards Shen Zhi Yi and knew that she always wanted to sneak over to the Wenhua Palace to listen to the lectures so he found a few teachers from the Hanlin Academy to teach her about some of the books that only men could read.
The most shocking of these was that of the teachers that the Emperor had invited for her, there was a âGentleman Xieâ â
Xie Wei, the current Imperial Tutor of the Crown Prince!
Apparently he would teach two classes â one was the qin* which counted as music and the other was to be one of the classic history books, but the exact book was yet to be decided.
*[Zither]
Heaven knew that when Jiang Xue Ning heard this news from the little loud mouth of Lianâer, she wished she could directly pummel straight into the ground!
Or for instance, the arrangements of entering the palace.
They were to prepare to enter the palace in two days and were to stay for around three to five days, following the female officials in the palace to roughly learn the palace etiquette and understand the palace taboos to avoid making mistakes and getting into any trouble.
During this time, if they werenât able to learn the etiquettes or their characters were too low, then they would be tactfully persuaded to quit.
After that, they would all go home for a few days before truly entering the palace as studyh companions.
Theyâd basically live in the palace and return home for a day every nine days until they finished the studies arranged by the teachers which would take more than half a year.
-This was definitely a great opportunity.
Jiang Xue Ningâs head would turn big every time she thought of entering the palace as a study companion. The Emperorâs decree had come down and she naturally didnât dare to blatantly say that she wouldnât go so she had to have a valid reason.
If she couldnât learn the etiquette or her character was too poor and was âpersuaded to drop outâ, then wasnât that exactly what she wanted?
She decided to âslack offâ!
—
Afternoon.
Tangâer and Lianâer were in the room helping her pack things to bring for her first trip to the palace. They said that as she would have to meet many young ladies from aristocratic families in the palace, she had to bring some meeting gifts so it was best to go out and buy some a while later.
Jiang Xue Ning was sitting by the window reading leisurely. Her lips twitched when she heard their words.
âThose who didnât know I was going to be a study companion would think that I was going to visit relatives.â
Lianâer pouted, âWhen a girl enters the palace, she naturally needs to be fully prepared. This time, these maidservants wonât be able to enter and who knows what those palace maids are like? Even if these things arenât needed this time, they can be used next time. Plus, our Young Lady is the only one who wasnât recommended up so we can lose in anything but not in pomp!â
Jiang Xue Ningâs eyelids jumped when she heard this.
Sure enough, it would be better to find a nanny to sell these girls to first right?
They picked the kettle that wasnât boiling*.
*[Idiom â someone bringing up a sensitive subject.]
She picked up a piece of candied fruit from the plate, continued to flip through her book and no longer bothered to what they were doing.
She didnât plan on staying at the palace for long anyway.
But this canât be said.
If people knew that she was intentionally playing tricks to avoid entering the palace, then she would probably cause unnecessary trouble.
The fewer people who knew about it the better, or better yet, if no one knew about it.
She had only turned two pages when she heard a âbangâ sound, something small had seemed to hit the window.
Jiang Xue Ning looked up but only saw the sunlight outside.
Just as she was about to continue reading, she heard another light âbangâ sound.
This time, it hit the window lattice, bounced and landed on her book.
She picked it up and saw that it was a golden pine nut with a small slit.
It opened under a pinch of force.
Turns out, it was a cooked pine nut.
Edible.
Jiang Xue Ning didnât see who it was but she knew who had come and couldnât resist laughing, âItâs as if the courtyard wall in this mansion didnât exist. If my father knew that you had entered silently without going through the main entrance again, Iâm afraid heâs going do another round of complaints.â
âBut he didnât see this time.â
Yan Linâs voice came from high up as he emerged from the dense shade of the tree under the wall and jumped down. He was wearing a Tibetan robe with a small embroidered pouch on his waist. He held a small bunch of pinenuts in his hand as he leaped over to her window with a smile.
âUnless you tell him.â
It had been a few days since they last met and he seemed to have gotten a little more tanned. The was a shallow scratch on his handsome face but fortunately, it wasnât deep and didnât disfigure his features. It added a toughness to his aristocratic temperament.
âHow did it happen?â Jiang Xue Ning asked him.
Yan Lin still cared about his appearance. Hearing her question, he touched his cheek then coughed, âWhen I went to the Tongzhou camp, I drank a little alcohol and couldnât resist competing with a few of my fatherâs subordinates. Fists have no eyes so I got a little hurt but itâs not serious. The military physician said that itâll be fine in two days.â
There had always been troops stationed at the Fengtai and Tongzhou military camps to protect the Capital.
However, ever since the King of Pingnan rebelled and invaded the capital twenty years ago and the Fengtai and Tongzhou military camps werenât able to enter the Capital in time to quell the rebellion, the late Emperor set up an army inside the Capital and selected the best soldiers from the two military camps to guard the Capital.
After Shen Lang ascended the throne, he further strengthened the army.
He had personally witnessed the King of Pingnanâs rebellion that year which had left him with a deep psychological shadow of the rebellion as well as the slow speed of the armyâs reinforcements thus status of the Fengtai and Tongzhou military camps greatly declined.
The Yongyi Marquis Mansion was one of the several aristocratic families in charge of military power in the Capital and was predominantly in charge of the Tongzhou military camp that was further away from the Capital.
The Fengtai military camp, which was closer to the capital, was under the control of the Chengguo Duke Mansion.
But now, the most powerful 26 troop Imperial Guards force was jointly controlled by the Emperor and the Ministry of Defence.
It could be seen that although the Yan clan and the Xiao clan were comparable in their power in the Capital, the Xiao clan of the Chengguo Duke Mansion was Shen Langâs maiden family and was clearly more trustworthy than the Yan clan.
She didnât know who was stirring the pot behind the situation at the Yongyi Marquis Mansion.
Jiang Xue Ning looked at Yan Lin and asked, âHow is Zhou Yin Zhi?â
Yan Lin glanced at the busy maids in her room and put the handful of pine nuts down by the window. With a hand on the window edge, he flipped up the window and sat down with one leg hanging out and one on the window. He grabbed a piece of her candied fruit and started to eat.
âThat person is a bit interesting.â
He thought about it and showed an expression of appreciation, âI met with him before leaving the Capital. He is neither humble nor arrogant and is able to keep composed. Perhaps it is because he is an Imperial Guard and has a deep understanding of the matters in the court so he should be someone who is capable. But thatâs not the only reason why I think this man is useful. Have you heard of the matters recently related to him?â
Jiang Xue Ning was curious, âThere has been assassins in the Capital recently and itâs not peaceful so I havenât gone out at all or paid attention to the outside world. What is it?â
Yan Lin continued, âHe raised a fine horse and loved it very much. He would personally feed it every day. These isnât any open areas in the Capital so as long as he had time, he would take it to the outskirts of the Capital to run around. But not long ago, he was in the guardhouse taking care of official matters when a servant boy hurriedly went to tell him that his horse was ill and was about to die. He immediately asked for leave from his superior and after going home to see his horse, he actually personally took out his sword and killed the horse with his own hands.â
Jiang Xue Ning was suddenly stunned.
Yan Lin though, started laughing, âThe next day, he went back to the guardhouse. His superior asked him if his horse was okay. He replied that his horse died, he had killed it. The superior was extremely astonished and asked him the reason. He actually responded that he had raised this horse for more than two years and it was like his family but the horse was ill and he really couldnât stand to see it suffer so he decided to give it a quick death to avoid it suffering as well as a return for over two years of friendship he had with the horse.
That horseâŠ
How could Jiang Xue Ning not know?
That horse was fine when she had gone to find Zhou Yin Zhi. How was it so ill that it was about to die and in âexcruciating painâ?
The only thing she could think of was the excuse she had made up for the servant boy to tell him so that he could return â Master Zhouâs beloved horse was so ill that it was about to dieâŠ
A sudden chill spread from the soles of her feet to the rest of her body.
Tofubyu 