Chapter 24: Who Can Understand a Young Girl’s Heart?

Shen Yanxi thought that script might not even exist, so she couldn’t let him off so easily—after all, he had truly given her quite a scare today. Her eyes darted around for a while before she came up with another idea: “Didn’t you write several poems today? Write one for me now, and I’ll let this matter drop…”

“Huh? How did it get to writing poems again?” Lu Jin was a bit bewildered. Hadn’t he already agreed to write her a script?

“Will you write it or not?” Shen Yanxi stared at Lu Jin with her almond-shaped eyes.

“How could I possibly come up with one at a moment’s notice?” Lu Jin was troubled. What’s with that look—did I bully you?

“Weren’t you quite quick this afternoon?”

Lu Jin was speechless. How could that be the same?

“It’s not like I can come up with something immediately every time,” he replied, trying to brush her off.

“That’s fine, I’ll wait…”

“But it’s so late…”

“Mm…”

Mm what? Move already, go back. Hey! Why did you sit down again?

“Can it be just any poem?” Lu Jin tried to get it over with quickly.

“What do you think…” Shen Yanxi said coolly, sitting in her chair.

Lu Jin was speechless. Just moments ago, she looked pitiful enough to cry if he didn’t write, but in the blink of an eye, she was aloof again? How quickly she changes.

Should he just call it off? But did Lu Jin dare say so? He frowned and began pondering at the table, thinking about which poem to copy.

After a while, he still hadn’t thought of a particularly suitable one, so he decided to make do with any poem. Approaching the table, he took out the inkstone to grind some ink. Shen Yanxi immediately took it from him with a look of delight. “You’ve thought of one?”

“I racked my brains and only came up with a few lines. If you’re not satisfied, there’s nothing I can do.” Watching Shen Yanxi’s graceful movements beside him, Lu Jin was nearly entranced. What a bewitching sight.

“Write it down first, let me see.” Shen Yanxi gave nothing away, refusing to let go of the matter until she saw the results.

Lu Jin dipped his brush in ink and, moving to the center of the table, wrote swiftly and fluidly on the paper Shen Yanxi had laid out.

It felt odd to Lu Jin—did time-traveling to this era come with a calligraphy buff? He used to struggle with writing, often redoing the same piece several times, never this effortlessly.

He glanced sideways—could it be the inspiration of a beautiful woman? The feeling of a red-sleeved companion adding fragrance to the night was truly wonderful, unlike that silly maid Caiyun.

When Lu Jin finished writing, Shen Yanxi paid him no further mind, her eyes fixed on the words on the table, lost in thought.

“In the southern land lives a beauty, unmatched and solitary; a single glance topples a city, another glance topples a nation. Do you not know that both city and nation may fall, but such a beauty is hard to find again.”

The handwriting was not as wild as the two poems he saw that afternoon. Instead, it possessed an elegant, refined charm. The poem, free from ornate language or classical allusions, was fresh and simple, yet deeply moving.

Was he praising her? This silly man, how could he be so skilled at pleasing a lady? The more Shen Yanxi read, the redder her cheeks grew, and the fonder she felt.

“Does this poem have a title?” She had been entranced for a long while before remembering to ask the important question.

Why was she acting just like her cousin? Relatives indeed, always fussing over titles.

“Why don’t you name it?” Lu Jin suggested tentatively.

“How could I name a poem you wrote? You should write a title on the paper yourself,” Shen Yanxi replied, a little shy.

What a silly girl—how could she name a poem that praises herself?

Lu Jin didn’t argue. After some thought, he wrote “The Beauty of Jiangzhou” in the upper left corner and signed his name in the lower right.

Time to send this ancestor away quickly.

…

On the way back to Xiyuan, the maids following Shen Yanxi exchanged bewildered glances. None of them could figure out what had just happened between their lady and the young master.

When their lady went to see him, she seemed determined, as if heading into a life-or-death battle. Yet after talking with him for so long, she came out smiling, her cheeks flushed, ignoring everyone as she walked along, lost in her own world.

Did their lady lose her soul? But she didn’t seem that way. Could the young master have done something? But it wasn’t just one maid thinking this…

Shen Yanxi was genuinely happy. The gloom of recent days seemed to lift after such a frightening yet exhilarating experience.

She had thought today would be just as dull and stifling as every other. But from the moment she gathered in the garden with her grandmother and aunt, everything had been a series of surprises and shocks.

Lu Jin’s music in the afternoon had moved her, and he had composed several poems off the cuff. Shen Yanxi was both curious and delighted, but assumed he was only showing off because of the occasion.

Back in Xiyuan, she had seen his poetic talent and skill in calligraphy on Caiyun’s paper, only to be completely terrified by the bloodstains on it.

With a resolute heart, she had gone to seek an answer, never expecting to receive such a surprising response.

Then, after some coaxing and pressure, she made him write that poem. Compared to the ones from that afternoon, she liked this one even more, in both content and calligraphy—the poem and the script were perfectly matched.

Shen Yanxi had met many talented people, but what she liked about Lu Jin was not just his ability. He had a simplicity and directness rarely found among the legitimate sons of noble families; beneath his handsome exterior, there was an endearing guilelessness, a certain honest foolishness that showed in his gaze.

She had originally thought that if he was unhappy in the Shen household, she would let him leave and stay with her grandmother instead. But now, she could not let him go so easily.

If Lu Jin knew what she was thinking, he would surely regret everything. Wouldn’t it have been better to hide his talents? Why did he have to prove himself?

Looking up at the moonlit, star-filled sky, Shen Yanxi felt an unprecedented sense of gratitude in her heart. Could it be that her sudden inspiration back then was fate’s arrangement? Surely, he remembered the young girl who made a wish beneath the stars.

The maid: The lady has lost her mind…

When they returned to Xiyuan, Nurse Yuanhui hurried over, concern in her voice: “Miss, what were you doing at the young master’s place so late? Did he bully you again?”

Shen Yanxi blushed but said nothing, carrying her rolled-up painting straight into her room. Yuanhui stood at the door, bewildered, poking her head inside and then looking back at the maids, completely at a loss.

The maids: We’d like to know too, but the lady hasn’t said a single word.

Seeing that the maids couldn’t explain, Yuanhui returned to the house. Upon entering, she saw her lady instructing the maids to clear the tea and snacks from the table, then carefully unrolling the painting to look at it.

Seeing her lady’s rosy cheeks and bright smile, Yuanhui felt as if the whole room had grown brighter.

-----------------

Shen Residence, New Moon Pavilion.

“Caiyun, I never thought you, with your thick brows and big eyes, would become a traitor. You’ve completely betrayed my trust. Do you know how disappointed I am?” Lu Jin lamented with deep anguish.

Standing nearby, Caiyun twisted her hands together, head bowed in embarrassment, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Tell me, I’ve always been open with you, never hiding anything, and yet you turned around and sold me out…”

“I thought you were going to do something foolish… so… I was just worried about you,” Caiyun mumbled.

“Do I seem like someone who’d do something foolish? I get scolded by you three times a day, and I’m still alive and well. I’m not that fragile…”

Caiyun pouted silently: Who’s scolding you…

Seeing the little maid about to burst into tears, Lu Jin couldn’t bring himself to say more.

Poor him—back to being a mere worker again. That little landlady is ruthless; not only did she make him write a script, but also coaxed a poem out of him. By the time he realized what was happening, she had already gone.

I’ll write you nothing! Just you wait!