A Mirror That Longs To Return - Chapter 13

She would have to meet Xie Yanchu.

Worse, she would have to meet Yan Changjun too.

Over the next several days, this thought continued circling through He Jingling’s mind, impossible to dispel.

It was truly infuriating.

Although she had spent a great deal of time mentally preparing herself, He Jingling was still startled when she caught sight of the princess’s procession at the examination compound.

A magnificent carriage with a six-eaved canopy slowly came to a stop, and the Eldest Princess of Jialang stepped down with stately composure.

The dress she wore today was not as ornate and elaborate as the one from the palace banquet. Even from behind, however, her figure remained proud and upright, radiating an intimidating majesty.

After leaving the carriage, she exchanged a few words with the people beside her. Then, guided by an attendant, she went directly elsewhere.

The civil official standing beside He Jingling nudged her elbow.

“Lord He, why aren’t you moving? Are you staring at Her Highness?”

Momentarily at a loss for words, He Jingling could only answer vaguely, “I was merely curious. Why has Her Highness Princess Jialang come today?”

The civil official gave her a mocking smile.

It appeared Chiliarch He truly was an utterly shameless beneficiary of connections.

Those rumors must all be true.

“Although Her Highness is nominally responsible only for the final appointment selection in the female officials’ examination, she has never missed a single examination held in the capital over the years.”

When the civil official spoke about Yan Changjun, he listed the details as though reciting treasures from his own collection.

“She often visited the examination compound even while the late emperor was still alive. In the past, the Grand Eldest Princess would frequently come with her.”

As the powerful female lead, Yan Changjun naturally possessed an eventful life.

She had helped oversee the realm as a child, so it was perfectly reasonable for her to reclaim authority after growing up.

He Jingling understood that quite well.

“I see. Thank you, Lord Li.”

He Jingling gave him a slight bow.

The civil official turned his head away and continued urging her onward.

“Lord He, stop looking. We should hurry inside and await our assignments. You are a military official, while I am a civil official. We certainly won’t be supervising the same area later.”

Civil and military officials would not supervise together?

Did that mean she would not see Xie Yanchu later?

Of course, it was not as though she wanted to see him.

The important point was that Xie Yanchu and Yan Changjun would meet later.

“Then where will I be assigned?” He Jingling asked with a cooperative attitude.

“Wait for Lord Lu’s arrangements. Look, Lord He—your colleagues have arrived as well.”

The civil official lifted a finger and pointed toward another densely packed formation. Everyone there wore blue-green robes.

“Those are your subordinates, aren’t they?”

This year, the higher authorities had been too lazy to order ordinary soldiers to patrol the examination grounds.

The soldiers needed only to search the candidates at the entrance, while the task of patrolling the examination halls fell to the Jinyiwei.

He Jingling soon followed a group through the gates to receive their instructions and assignments.

Each person held a map of the examination compound.

Standing atop the steps, an official read aloud from the booklet in his hands with righteous solemnity. First, he explained the importance of this examination and the enormous responsibility borne by its supervisors.

At last, he reached the matter of where each person would be stationed.

“The locations marked on the maps in your hands differ from one another,” the official said, lowering the booklet. “The sections indicated in vermilion are the places to which each of you must report.”

“The autumn provincial examination is a matter of the utmost importance. Although the Divine Scale Army will search the candidates outside, all outer-curtain examiners…”

At this point, the civil official turned toward He Jingling and the other Jinyiwei officers, speaking sternly.

“Especially you lords, must not relax your vigilance.”

Seeing the confusion in the Jinyiwei officers’ eyes, he continued, “During last year’s examination, someone attempted to cheat by using a carrier pigeon to deliver written material.”

“No wonder there were bows and crossbows in our rooms…” someone murmured.

After finishing his speech, the official stepped aside.

Behind him stood a massive bronze brazier, before which everyone was instructed to swear an oath.

He Jingling copied the others and made her oath.

She would certainly carry out her examination duties properly.

Afterward, she was led away to rest and wait for the following day.

Following several rounds of transfers and arrangements, she was finally settled in.

That evening was quiet and lonely. Moonlight like pale frost spilled through the window lattice in interwoven shades of blue and green.

Unable to restrain herself, He Jingling eventually pushed open the door and stepped outside.

The night sky hung low, scattered with stars.

Following the path illuminated by the moon, He Jingling suddenly spotted a figure who should not have been there.

Her eyelid twitched.

She was about to turn around and leave when her gaze met the other person’s.

It was Xie Yanchu.

He Jingling was speechless.

She was one hundred percent certain she had chosen Option One.

So why did she keep encountering the male protagonist every day?

Brother, go away.

Xie Yanchu appeared completely at ease. Seeing He Jingling emerge, his expression did not change at all. He even gave her a friendly smile.

“Lord He, we meet again.”

“Indeed. We meet again.”

He Jingling crossed her arms and regarded him calmly.

Although Xie Yanchu appeared to be looking at her, his eyes were unfocused.

His attention was clearly elsewhere.

Despite showing nothing on his face, hostility remained in his words.

“I did not expect to encounter Lord He here.”

He must have remembered their verbal sparring the other day.

He Jingling’s tone was mild.

“Indeed. After today, will Lord Xie still invite me?”

The corner of Xie Yanchu’s lips moved faintly.

“Should Lord He be interested, Yanchu would certainly accompany you.”

He Jingling smiled cheerfully and walked past him.

“Wonderful. I have never visited the Princess Manor together with someone else before.”

Xie Yanchu’s eyelashes trembled.

His gaze deepened.

Only after a moment did he turn and stare steadily at the red-robed figure.

The same red Yan Changjun had worn today.

Knowing that Yan Changjun would come, he had switched locations in advance. Yet he had done nothing but linger before the courtyard and had not managed to speak a single word to her.

Yan Changjun and he had indeed exchanged a glance.

But it had lasted only an instant—a flash of lightning, gone before either could grasp it.

She seemed to have matters to attend to tonight.

Yan Changjun returned to her room, leaned back against a chair covered in blue satin, propped up her head, and muttered, “So she still refuses to see me?”

A figure emerged from the darkness.

It was Xuanji.

“Yes, Your Highness…”

Xuanji hesitated.

“She accepted your letter, but gave no reply.”

Yan Changjun exhaled as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Her long, bright eyes turned toward Xuanji.

“She was willing to accept my letter. That means she has forgiven me, does it not?”

“Mm…”

Xuanji did not like speaking against her conscience, so she faltered.

Her princess had never learned how to apologize.

Nor had anyone ever managed to teach her regret.

But Princess Jialang had no need to learn.

Seeing that Xuanji offered no answer, Yan Changjun simply skipped over the subject herself.

She opened a booklet to one of its pages.

“In that case, my coming a day early was not entirely in vain. Speaking of which, I saw several familiar faces in the examination compound.”

Xuanji was surprised.

“Several?”

Apart from Xie Yanchu, what other familiar person was there?

From a very young age, Xie Yanchu had been the man everyone expected to become the princess’s husband.

Yet Her Highness had already changed prince consorts three times, and the position had still never fallen to Lord Xie.

There were many conflicting explanations for why Lord Xie had not become Prince Consort.

For someone like him, taking that position would be no different from severing his path to the heavens.

According to the laws of the Great Yan Dynasty, a prince consort could not hold an official rank higher than the seventh grade.

Compared with his career, what did a childhood sweetheart matter?

“There was another familiar person.”

Yan Changjun lowered her gaze. Her slender finger slid down the page, and a smooth knuckle bent slightly.

Her voice was soft and distant.

“Have you not already investigated this outer-curtain examiner?”

Guided by the flickering firelight, Xuanji glanced over curiously.

He Jingling, fifth-rank chiliarch of the Southern Pacification Office of the Jinyiwei.

“There is still a line missing,” Yan Changjun murmured as she slowly closed her eyes. “Number Three Hundred and Twenty-Eight also seized my… fields and estate.”

Xuanji froze.

Enemies truly were destined to meet.

Yan Changjun’s fingertip rubbed across the page.

“By the way, did you bring my jade thumb ring?”

“I did.”

Xuanji handed it to Yan Changjun.

She accepted the ring, her expression remaining unchanged, and said nothing further.

Since Princess Jialang did not explain, Xuanji naturally would not ask.

After washing, Yan Changjun went to bed and rested.

But her dreams that night were far from peaceful.

Whenever she awoke from a dream at midnight, she had always been dreaming of that person.

Yet when the person turned around, Yan Changjun could never see her face clearly.

Was this truly fate playing tricks on her?

Or had it been destined all along?

In her dreams that night, memories surged over her like a flood, threatening to drown her.

The autumn provincial examination had no direct connection to Yan Changjun.

She had come here solely to meet someone.

Unfortunately, that person still refused to see her.

Still, Yan Changjun had a legitimate reason to attend.

She personally oversaw the female officials’ examination, so coming to the examination compound to inspect the civil-service examination was entirely reasonable.

The following morning, after being searched by the Divine Scale Army, the candidates entered the examination grounds one after another.

A small three-story building had been erected in the center of the compound.

The examiners sat inside, watching every movement made by the candidates below.

Yan Changjun arrived rather late.

Incense was already burning throughout the examination halls, and the candidates were writing furiously.

With Princess Jialang personally attending, the soldiers responsible for the searches naturally did not dare obstruct her.

News that Yan Changjun had entered the examination compound soon spread among the outer-curtain examiners.

“Her Highness Princess Jialang is in Eastern Section Four!”

“What a pity I can’t go there. I’m confined to this place! Those Jinyiwei can move around freely, unlike me…”

“Not seeing Her Highness is a good thing. What if she takes a liking to me? I don’t want to leave the Princess Manor lying flat!” someone whispered.

Another person stared at the loose folds of flesh piled around the man’s neck and mocked him.

“Enough. It’s broad daylight. Stop dreaming!”

The Jinyiwei could indeed move freely.

He Jingling was currently patrolling the grounds with a crossbow in hand.

She had not been assigned to search the candidates’ bodies.

Her superiors had instructed her to watch the movements in the sky.

Since her duty involved watching the heavens, she could not remain confined to one location.

The examination grounds were solemn and silent, fragrant smoke curling through the air.

The female lead and male protagonist were about to encounter one another here.

On one side was a woman with autumn-water eyes, vast and shimmering.

On the other stood a refined, handsome gentleman, gentle as a clear breeze beneath a bright moon.

Everything between them would be understood without words.

One was deeply experienced in matters of romance.

The other had his own painful reasons for holding back.

Unfortunately for them—

Romance was forbidden in the examination grounds.

Eastern Section Four was silent and dignified.

Xie Yanchu suppressed the thunderous beating of his heart and slowly emerged from the narrow path between the buildings.

He knew Yan Changjun was here.

The dimness of the previous night had prevented him from seeing her clearly.

At last, he saw her.

Just as he had imagined countless times, her eyes rippled like water, and her bearing was solitary and proud.

Although she remained as distant as ever, when she saw him, something more seemed to enter her gaze.

Incense curled through the air.

Yan Changjun appeared to react, but she immediately remembered that they were inside the examination grounds.

She stood gracefully without speaking a word.

She knew he had countless things he wished to tell her.

Their youth.

Everything they had experienced.

All the circumstances that had separated them.

Xie Yanchu remained silent, doing his utmost to absorb the distance within that silence.

Then he prepared to step forward and approach her.

Suddenly, the beating of wings swept through the air.

Xie Yanchu did not move his gaze away, but Yan Changjun immediately raised her head.

A snow-white carrier pigeon flew overhead.

Then came a sharp whoosh.

A crossbow bolt shot into the air and struck the pigeon down.

It fell in exactly the right place—

neither to one side nor the other, but directly between the two of them.

Xie Yanchu’s raised foot froze in midair, unable to find anywhere to land.

Startled, he looked toward the source of the bolt.

It was the person he had seen the night before.

He Jingling approached them.

Moving with exaggerated slowness, she bent down, picked up the carrier pigeon, and removed the note tied to its leg.

Then she looked directly at Yan Changjun.

“Your Highness, the imperial examination is a matter of great importance. We absolutely cannot allow anyone with ill intentions to delay it through cheating. Since Your Highness has personally come to the examination compound, it is shameful that you had to witness this. It is a failure on the part of the Jinyiwei.”

At some point, the line of Yan Changjun’s lips had already curved upward.

“Yes. Lord He performed well. We certainly cannot permit anyone with ill intentions to interfere.”

It sounded as though she were accepting some secret act of collusion.

She watched He Jingling with great interest.

He Jingling’s face was innocently bewildered and righteous at the same time.

The evening light wove gold and brocade across her features, making her profile appear even more strikingly pure.

“I do not deserve such praise. Maintaining order in the examination grounds is merely my duty.”

As He Jingling spoke with complete seriousness, she held the carrier pigeon in her left hand and the crossbow bolt in her right.

Then she turned toward Xie Yanchu.

“An excellent shot, Lord He.”

Xie Yanchu smiled faintly, though his expression was somewhat strained.

He Jingling smiled back.

“Should Lord Xie wish to learn, I could teach you.”

Xie Yanchu remained gentle.

“Then Yanchu will look forward to it.”

As expected of the male protagonist.

Even under these circumstances, he remained calm and composed.

He truly was difficult to deal with.

Xie Yanchu stopped moving.

He gave He Jingling a meaningful look but showed no intention of leaving.

So she had ruined his opportunity, and now he would rather stand here stubbornly and continue entangling himself in the situation.

He Jingling decided to stop while she was ahead.

The entanglement between the female lead and male protagonist in the original novel was difficult to understand.

According to the original plot, several female officials would soon come to discuss matters with Yan Changjun.

By the time the examination ended at dusk, Wei He knocked on He Jingling’s door and pushed a brocade box into her hands.

“Lord He, keep this item. It will be of great use.”

He Jingling did not understand.

She opened the box in front of him.

Inside lay a lustrous, translucent jade thumb ring.

A single character, Mu, had been carved within it, revealing the identity of its owner.

Mu was Yan Changjun’s childhood name.

It carried the meaning of solemn reverence and gracious speech.

So the ring truly existed.

It truly had been lost.

And He Jingling had truly “found” it.

Before leaving, Wei He gave He Jingling a faintly smiling look.

“Lord He, aside from this thumb ring, there is another matter…”

“Have you read the memorials from that day?”

“We were the one who sent all of them to you.”

Wei He’s voice was thin and low.

“You must make good use of these opportunities.”

Unease rose within He Jingling’s heart.

“Thank you for your guidance, Eunuch Wei.”