Chapter 16
“Brother He, congratulations.”
Relying on the current relationship between the Qin and He families, these people had begun to cozy up to He Yanzhou.
He Yanzhou accepted every toast offered to him.
Like Qin Xiangyi just now, he greeted guests, exchanged pleasantries, and occasionally uttered a few polite words.
Qin Xiangyi knew this was his way of preserving the Qin family’s dignity.
She disliked that he did these things; she wished he would hold his head high and just leave in silence.
But he said, “I can bear many responsibilities.”
He wanted her to worry about nothing.
Her heart was heavy and stung—what she sought was the honor of the Qin family, yet he had removed her from the Qin family and instead taken upon himself the burden of its dignity.
After a while, Qin Yuling and Tang Ming’an returned to their seats one after the other, while Madam Qi busied herself with receiving congratulations, completely unaware that Qin Yuling had vanished for some time.
Elder Lady Jiang, however, noticed Qin Xiangyi’s lingering dissatisfaction and nudged her twice, “Why don’t you go talk to some people and make more connections?”
Qin Xiangyi replied helplessly, “Mother, that wouldn’t be proper etiquette.”
No one would be so eager to push themselves forward.
Elder Lady Jiang said, “If you don’t take the initiative, who will notice you?”
Qin Xiangyi never argued with her mother. Sometimes she pondered how to be more forward so she might find a good husband.
With that thought, she lifted her head and began scanning the crowd. The guests today were many; she sat quietly in the corner but in her heart was silently judging which man present could be a suitable prospect.
Every now and then, she sighed softly and shook her head slightly.
Meanwhile, He Yanzhou, attending to the Qin family’s guests, glanced toward her from time to time, seeing her stare blankly at different men.
Qin Xiangyi wasn’t actually daydreaming, but to avoid rudeness, she let her gaze appear vacant so no one would realize she was looking at him.
Ultimately, nothing came of it today.
To give her mother an explanation, Qin Xiangyi patiently offered a few more words: “Those of this age are too young; those others too old—none are suitable.”
Elder Lady Jiang snorted, “If that’s the case, you might as well return to the Pei family and see if they still want you.”
Qin Xiangyi could endure all her mother’s words except for the constant mention of Pei Qingji.
Her hand, concealed under the table, quietly clenched into a fist. Fortunately, it was hidden from view, unnoticed by anyone.
All the trembling impulses surged into that fist beneath the table until her fingernails bit deep into the flesh of her palm.
She forced a smile, still needing to reserve some energy to deal with her mother. After all, today was her mother’s birthday banquet; she could not defy her.
“Mother, Pei Lang surely no longer wants me. Please don’t mention him again.”
Her voice trembled slightly, the words forced, but fortunately her mother did not notice her distress.
When He Yanzhou looked back toward her once more, he saw a face pale as death, lips devoid of color, and a body wrapped in a pale yellow dress, cold and lifeless.
Though he was far from her, he felt she was freezing—her entire being void of warmth, her body stiffening.
Qin Xiangyi’s stiffness came from the fact that all her strength and energy were concentrated in maintaining her posture, afraid she would not be able to keep it up.
Some things cannot be simply forgotten; they resurface repeatedly, dragging her back to past scenes, reminding her that she was born lowly.
Everyone else thought she was merely sitting there, a rigid and conventional woman. Only He Yanzhou saw differently. One look told him something was wrong.
***
The elders of the He family all said He Yanzhou was filial and considerate—not only was he polite on the surface, but his care behind closed doors was meticulous, attentive to every detail.
Now, He Yanzhou felt it was time to care for her.
Though, from any perspective, his concern for Qin Xiangyi was highly inappropriate.
He pushed aside all social niceties and walked over to Qin Xiangyi, sitting down beside her.
On Qin Xiangyi’s other side was the elder lady, so from a distance, it seemed as if He Yanzhou had come to accompany her.
Elder Lady Jiang felt honored and flustered, warmly greeting He Yanzhou twice before hastily calling for Qin Yuling to sit beside him.
He Yanzhou had just sat down and before he could ask Qin Xiangyi anything, he was drawn into a series of social exchanges.
Qin Yuling sat beside him, head lowered, lost in thought.
He Yanzhou had no desire to speak to her; his mind was focused entirely on the other woman beside him.
With He Yanzhou there, Qin Xiangyi had to pull herself together. She did not want him to notice anything amiss. He Yanzhou was sharp and perceptive—he would detect her unease, and she would never let that happen.
Just as she did not want others to know of any connection between them, she wished for their relationship to remain concealed, unknown, and unspoken.
She was not a pure woman; it was best they always viewed each other through a shimmering veil.
She thought he was a good man, and he thought she was a good woman—that was enough.
Qin Xiangyi hid her hand under the table and gradually relaxed her upper body to a normal posture.
She turned her head slightly toward him and nodded, “Lord He.”
He Yanzhou turned his head slightly, his expression cautious.
Qin Xiangyi shifted a little, moving away from him.
She did not want him to see her abnormality nor to be too close in such a setting.
He Yanzhou noticed her movement and was momentarily stunned, unsure what he had done wrong.
His heart was sincere; he only worried for her.
“Madam, you…”
Since he still addressed her thus, Qin Xiangyi could not ignore him.
At that moment, Qin Yuling began to speak, too. He Yanzhou was effectively her fiancé now, a fact known to all.
“Young Master He, after finishing your wine, have some palate-cleansing tea.”
Before Qin Xiangyi could respond, Qin Yuling offered He Yanzhou a cup of tea.
He Yanzhou raised his hand and accepted the tea, “Thank you.”
His manners were always so, no matter whom he addressed.
But Qin Xiangyi saw that after bringing the cup to his lips and taking a sip, he set it down without wetting his mouth.
Qin Yuling, having handed over the tea, then wandered off, seeming to have done it just for show.
Qin Xiangyi sighed softly, then used the tea set before her to brew a fresh cup, her movements fluid and graceful, captivating to watch. He Yanzhou was momentarily stunned, especially by the palm of her hand…
Qin Xiangyi slid the freshly brewed tea toward him with her fingertips, a subtle gesture unseen by others.
He had drunk so much wine already and must have felt sick to his stomach. Yet this person was so picky—there was no handling him.
She said coldly, “Drink it.”
***
He Yanzhou lifted the cup and took a small sip. When it came to tea, he was extremely particular. When away from home, apart from necessary social drinking, he rarely touched tea outside.
Few hosts noticed his fastidiousness—when they saw him drink little, they would carefully inquire about his preferred tea leaves and brewing methods, then prepare a fresh cup.
But he never demanded this of anyone; if he didn’t want to drink, he simply wouldn’t.
Sometimes, after long periods away, his throat would dry and parch, and he would endure it himself, blaming only his own fastidiousness.
He liked Qin Xiangyi’s tea—it was just like her. The moment he took the first sip, he had no hesitation; instinctively, he knew he would like it.
And he did.
But then… “Excuse me, Madam.”
He reached out and grasped her wrist. Qin Xiangyi was startled, but the table concealed the movement completely. She was shocked at his uncharacteristic rudeness.
Her wrist was slender; his palm easily enclosed it, with plenty of space left.
He was shaken by the delicate softness of her wrist and effortlessly turned her hand over to reveal her palm.
Qin Xiangyi’s brow slowly furrowed. If those who delighted in belittling her had seen her now, they would find the expressionless, impassive face of a bodhisattva finally showing cracks.
Her brows knitted deeply in a tight frown as He Yanzhou examined her hand.
On her palm were fresh, bleeding scratches inflicted by her own fingernails—proof of the force she had used.
To all others, she had hardly shown any sign of distress; aside from a few words with her mother, nothing seemed amiss.
How had she suddenly brought herself to this state?
He Yanzhou was alarmed. His clear, gentle eyes now glimmered with a complex mixture of panic and concern.
He took hold of her other hand for inspection; it was the same.
“Madam.”
He looked up at her, disbelief and a hint of questioning in his gaze, as if expecting her to explain.
He seemed almost to be pleading, yet she was the one hurt.
Qin Xiangyi withdrew her hands indifferently—she was fine and had no intention of explaining to this meddlesome, kind-hearted boy.
Sighing inwardly, she thought his expression made it seem as if he were the one wounded.
She pressed her lips and had no choice but to be somewhat more patient with his concern. “I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”
He Yanzhou was clearly dissatisfied with her answer, but seeing her cold, indifferent manner and refusal to engage, he took a deep breath, frowned, and relented.
Straightening his posture, he cast a stern, solemn gaze over everyone present. As the Imperial Censor He Yu, his eyes were like a measuring scale, constantly watching the officials in attendance, ready to strike at any misstep.
Unbeknownst to many, tomorrow’s court would see another denunciation from him.
And the emperor was not one to protect everyone as Zhu Yuqing did.
It was precisely because there were upright, principled men like He Yanzhou in the court, upholding righteousness and integrity, that the chaotic government could still function tolerably.
Qin Xiangyi glanced sideways at Qin Yuling, still unaware of the situation, and sighed softly.