cold clothes

Wu Xue was surprised that Leng Yi and the others would return at that time, so she was stunned, and then looked apologetic.

"Did it hit you?"

"It's alright, just be careful not to catch a cold, you're wearing such thin clothes outside," Yunqiu said.

"Wu Xue understands, then Wu Xue will go inside," Wu Xue said, and then went inside.

Leng Yi never looked away; Wu Xue turned and went into the house, which to her seemed like a feather drifting in.

"I'll head back to Jade Steps Pavilion now. Oh, and you don't need to be punished in the front courtyard tomorrow."

"Why?" Leng Yi looked up in surprise: "It hasn't even been a month yet, won't this break the rules?"

Yun Qiu chuckled as if she had heard something amusing and said, "You little girl, you've learned to follow the rules now, hehe. Didn't I say before that I wouldn't wrong you for too long? Liang Shuyun has been executed, and your great revenge has been avenged, so naturally you don't need to be punished anymore. I will take care of everything from now on. You just need to focus on your studies at Zhuoyu Pavilion."

Seeing Yunqiu's words, Lengyi didn't know what to say. Standing outside for too long wouldn't do any good, so she went inside. As soon as she entered, she saw Wuxue dressed in a plain white dance dress, embroidered with egret patterns in gold and silver thread. As Wuxue walked over, the egrets seemed to come alive and take flight. Lengyi blinked, wondering if she had just hallucinated.

"What happened tonight? You don't look well," Wu Xue asked softly.

Leng Yi's gaze shifted to her face. Beneath her clear eyes were her nose and cheeks, slightly red from the cold, likely from being outside when she caught a chill. Leng Yi didn't answer Wu Xue, but instead asked, "Why did you throw the snow down just now?"

"Because I saw the snow that had accumulated on the eaves fall down and melt into a puddle on the floor, I felt that it was too heavy for the snow to fall like that. The snow should return to the earth lightly."

"Therefore you grant them a light fall."

"Isn't that silly?" Wu Xue smiled helplessly.

“I don’t think so,” Leng Yi shook her head and said seriously, “Actually, I understood as soon as I saw you. It turns out you told me all along.”

"Do you mean……"

"Do you remember what you told me before? You said Yunmei's death was destined, that Yunmei would use her life to take revenge on Liang Shuyun... I was terrified when I heard that before, but now I understand it firsthand... It turns out everything was part of Madam Hu's plan. Yunmei's tragic death was all Madam Hu's doing! Tonight, she finally understands. Madam Hu is the mastermind. It's obvious she has a grudge against Liang Shuyun, using Yunmei as a tool to gain leverage over him, and then using the government to eliminate him at the right time. Isn't this just like what you told me before, that Madam Hu is the biggest avenger in this Fengxiang Pavilion? Everyone else is just her tool... and so am I..." Leng Yi wanted to say this to Wu Xue, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. Although the hall was almost empty at night, what if a maid or nanny passed by and overheard? She had implicated Lingcao because of her secret deal with Yunqiu, so how could she bear to harm Wu Xue now...

Leng Yi looked dazed, and Wu Xue noticed that something was wrong, so she asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just a little tired," Leng Yi said, shaking her head, and then walked past her upstairs.

Although Leng Yi didn't say anything, Wu Xue's intelligence allowed her to guess about 70-80% of the situation. She sighed inwardly, "We are all pawns, and our fate has already been written."

-

Leng Yi was in a state of extreme panic, feeling as if she were adrift in a turbulent black sea, unable to rise or fall, cold, dizzy, and suffocating, as if she would never reach the surface. Undoubtedly, she was a pawn manipulated by Madam Hu, with no way to escape. What frightened her most was that she had no idea what Madam Hu would make her do next; she was completely unaware of what awaited her.

She is now filled with trepidation, but after a few days apart, all is calm.

After no longer needing to go to the front courtyard, Lengyi resumed her life of learning at Zhuoyu Pavilion. With the monthly exam approaching, everyone else was preparing nervously, but Lengyi was not in that atmosphere. Her zither playing was out of tune, and the more she played, the more chaotic it became.

This enraged Xia Hua, who was then kicked out of the music room.

"Wouldn't that be a bit inappropriate? If she's not skilled enough, we can teach her," Nongyue said, looking at the furious Xia Hua with sympathy for Leng Yi.

Xia Hua, however, mercilessly exposed her: "Stop pretending to be understanding. Don't you know how bad Ningbi's playing is after two months of practice? She clearly isn't focused on playing the piano; the pitch is completely messed up. Keeping her here is just a waste of our time."

Nongyue felt wronged by Xia Hua's scolding and couldn't help but clench the handkerchief in her hand, gritting her teeth as she said, "But your attitude is so rude... What if Ningbi holds a grudge against you? We're sisters who live together, can't we get along well?"

"Hiss, I feel like Nongyue has become more and more fake these days... I can't stand it." Weifeng couldn't help but mutter to Wuxue.

"..." Wu Xue's silence is golden.

"She looked extremely relaxed when she left just now, without a trace of resentment. Besides, there's no need for us to get along." Xia Hua glanced at Nong Yue, seemingly having something left unsaid but losing interest in speaking, and just pursed her lips in disdain.

Seeing that persuasion was ineffective, Nongyue forced a conciliatory smile: "In that case, let's continue practicing. Time is of the essence, and we must make the most of every second."

The minor argument was thus resolved, and the four resumed practicing their guqin duet. In a corner where no one could see, Nongyue threw her crumpled handkerchief on the ground.

Xia Hua was right; Leng Yi truly felt refreshed after leaving the music room. Throwing away that wretched, worn-out violin that only seemed to cause more and more trouble, her troubled mind finally found a moment of peace. But now that she was out, she didn't know where to go next.

Her first thought was to go to the herbal medicine shop, but she immediately dismissed the idea. It wasn't right to keep causing trouble for Doctor Xie and Yin Jiu. Although Doctor Xie inexplicably doted on her, and Yin Jiu was proud but also cared about her, this warmth made her want to rely on them.

Leng Yi thought for a moment and decided to go to the dance studio on the third floor. Come to think of it, the ancient cultural knowledge she learned at Zhuoyu Pavilion was so diverse, yet she hadn't studied any architectural knowledge. She hadn't seen any books like *Tiangong Kaiwu* (The Exploitation of the Works of Nature), though there were a few books on creation myths. Leng Yi knew nothing about the level of technology and military capabilities of this world. The social hierarchy was scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, with artisans only above merchants. Scientific and technological knowledge was looked down upon in this era, sowing the seeds for the future revolutionary industrial age. Therefore, even after spending so much time at Zhuoyu Pavilion, Leng Yi couldn't explain the drastically different architectural structures she saw.