It was drizzling in the early morning. Yu Shu held a pea-green paper umbrella and walked up the stairs with the hem of her clothes. She closed the umbrella under the eaves, shook off the water droplets, and looked up at the beam of the door.
There were three words "Xushui Hall" on the small plaque. There was a line of spring calligraphy on both sides of the door. The first couplet was "Xushui makes the haze more cloudy", and the second couplet was "Spring makes the water darker".
This Cottage was Fang Zijing's private place in the Taishi Library. It was next to a shallow pond, and its back was against the mountain wall, which was quite suitable for the scenery.
Situ Qinglan was cleaning the room. When she saw Yu Shu, her eyes brightened, and she walked towards her with a dusty horsetail whisk.
"Lotus room."
The day before yesterday, after a meal in Wangji Building, Yu Shu and she changed the way they addressed each other. They no longer called each other "Miss" or "Miss".
Yu Shu saw her cleaning the window just now, so she smiled and said, "You are early again. You are really a diligent person."
"Not at all. I am used to going to bed early, so I wake up early." Situ Qinglan said modestly. She turned her head to look at the three or five students sitting in the Cottage, and then waved to Yu Shu to talk in the corridor outside the door.
"I have a piece of good news for you. How are you going to thank me?" Situ Qinglan winked at Yu Shu, looking a little playful.
Yu Shu thought she was joking, so she said lightly, "Tell me. It really makes me happy. I will clean the window for you."
"Oh, this is what you said." Situ Qinglan was about the same height as Yu Shu. She leaned close to her ear and whispered, "On the Divine Ancestor Sacrifice Day next month, grandfather and two other academicians have chosen you to accompany the Emperor."
Yu Shu was surprised at first, and then she looked at her suspiciously, "Are you serious? You are not coaxing me to work for you, are you? "
A few days ago, Xue Rui told her that the Imperial Historian Library would choose a few young students to accompany the Emperor on the Day of Divine Ancestor Sacrificial Rites and asked her to inquire about Fang Zijing's intentions. She hadn't been able to find an opportunity, but who knew that such a good thing had already fallen into her lap?
"You are a puppy. Here, wipe it clean." Without saying a word, Situ Qinglan gave her the horsetail whisk in her hand, took her umbrella, and turned around to enter the cottage.
Seeing that she slipped away quickly, Yu Shu had no choice but to clean the remaining two windows.
.....
Fang Zijing only played two pieces of music for them to appreciate. One was melodious and the other was loud. It was said to cultivate one's mind. Although there was nothing special about it, it was full of rhythm. Even Yu Shu, who didn't know how to play the zither, listened with great interest and didn't even yawn.
Yu Shu was concerned about the place to accompany the Sacred Ancestor on the Day of Sacrifice, so she had been paying attention to Fang Zijing's movements the moment class ended. Just as she was pondering how she should ask him after everyone had left, she saw Fang Zijing raise his head and look at her.
Yu Shu stood up as soon as she saw the light.
"Yu Suanzi, come here."
Yu Shu was almost sure that what Situ Qinglan told her in the morning was true.
She walked to Fang Zijing obediently and waited for him to speak.
Fang Zijing sat on the low couch, his hand stroking his "Moon on the Plum Tip" zither. He looked up and stared at Yu Shu for a while. His gaze was vague but he was trying to discern something. It made Yu Shu feel as if she was old and couldn't see clearly.
As soon as the cottage quieted down, he said slowly, "On the ninth day of May, every year on the Day of Sacrifice, the Taishi Library will choose three men and three women to accompany the Sacred Ancestor to the Ancestral Mausoleum. There are 18 academicians in the Taishi Library, and three of them can choose one. I have discussed with Academician Sima and Academician Lu, and we think that among the new students this year, you are the most promising one. "
Fang Zijing and Sima Kui were both her teachers. Academician Lu was the retired Mrs. Lu of the Right Commander of the Celestial Commissioner?
While thinking, Yu Shu showed a little joy and said, "Thank you for your kindness."
Fang Zijing seemed to be satisfied with her modest attitude. He nodded slightly and said, "I'll let you know about this matter. Come to Rong Sheng Hall at 2: 45 tomorrow morning and meet the other academicians. I'll have something to tell you then."
After that, he stood up slowly and asked Situ Qinglan, who was standing at the door, to come and hold the zither. Then he rolled up his sleeves and left.
"Did you suffer from helping me?" Situ Qinglan came up to her and asked.
Yu Shu raised her long and slanted eyebrows and said with a smile, "If you tell me such good news every day, I can even be your maid."
Situ Qinglan giggled and said, "Do you think I'm a magpie?"
Yu Shu waited for her to pack up her zither, and the two of them walked out together. Yu Shu was a little confused, so she asked her on the way, "It's only half a month before the Day of the Divine Ancestor Sacrificial Rites. Isn't it too late to start selecting people at this juncture?"
Situ Qinglan said, "Why is it too late? The new students have just entered the school in April. The academicians have to get to know each other for a few days. We can't make random arrangements. If we choose a useless person, it will be a disgrace to our Taishi Shu Garden."
"That's right."
Situ Qinglan turned her head and looked at her enviously, "This is a rare opportunity. Not only can you see the emperor, but also the Celestial Commissioner and other officials are also there. You should at least show your face. Alas, it's not easy for a woman to become an official. But you, a woman who hasn't appeared for ten years, are much better than us. "
Hearing a little bit of unwillingness in her words, Yu Shu's eyes flashed and she said lightly, "That's because you don't know how I behaved with my head down a month ago."
Situ Qinglan was speechless. Looking at her face, she thought of some rumors about Yu Shu. Her heart was beating fast, and she quickly changed the topic.
They talked for a while and separated in front of the small garden. One went to deliver the zither, and the other went to the library.
Yu Shu went to the Library of Han in the West Garden, which specialized in collecting the history books of the Hundred Schools. She wanted to look for documents about the Sacrifice Day in advance.
There were only a few people walking under the bookshelves on the first floor. It was deserted.
Yu Shu looked around and sighed inwardly. It was a pity that these four libraries contained tens of thousands of books, but the Taishi Library only had 200 students at most. The books inside could not be taken out, and outsiders could not come in.
Half an hour later, Yu Shu weakly bent down and put the two books back. She patted the dust off her hands and complained for the umpteenth time about the messy sorting. She was obviously looking for books, but why did it feel like she was drawing a lottery and had to try her luck?
She walked out of the aisle and looked around. Finally, her eyes fell on a figure squatting under a row of bookshelves not far away. She hesitated for a while and then walked over.
She had seen this hunchback man two or three times. She guessed that he might be a scholar who was down and out. He must know where the books were kept because he traveled between several libraries all day long.
"Uncle." Yu Shu shouted. The old man in front of her had gray hair and loose skin. He was dark and thin, and looked to be in his fifties.
Yu Shu shouted. Seeing that the hunchback didn't respond, she thought that he might be deaf, so she moved closer and reached out to touch his shoulder. She called him again in a loud voice, "Uncle?"
The hunchback man turned his face and looked at her with a pair of narrow eyes.
Yu Shu smiled at him. "Do you know that there are books about the Great Ancestor here?"
The hunchback man tilted his neck and opened his mouth to reveal a mouthful of yellow teeth. He almost shouted —
"Ah? What did you say? "
… Sure enough, he was deaf.
Yu Shu lowered her body and repeated it loudly word by word. Then she looked at the yellow teeth in front of her in confusion. "Say, say what?"
"I'll say it," Yu Shu took a deep breath and said it again with the pitch of her quarreling voice. In the end …
"What? Say what? "
… Well, she took back what she said. The old man wasn't deaf, he was deaf.
Yu Shu and the hunchback man looked at each other for a moment and decisively gave up the idea of asking him for help. She twitched the corner of her mouth and said, "It's okay."
Then, she ignored the old man's reaction and went back the way she came. She had just taken two steps when she heard a low voice behind her. "Why are you shouting?"
Yu Shu felt a vein jump on her forehead. She turned her head stiffly and said to the old man who was muttering, "Uncle, are you making fun of me?"
The old man looked up and stared at her. He opened his mouth and said in a loud voice, "What the hell are you talking about?"
“.....”
Forget it, I'd better go home.
In the end, Yu Shu didn't find an article about Emperor Anwu, so she went back to Wangji Tower resentfully. It was noon. When she saw Xue Rui sitting on the first floor drinking tea in broad daylight, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.
"You came back so early today?"
Since the murder case in Taishi Shuyuan reached the palace, he left early and returned late every day.
"I came back to check if you ran around."
It was a joke, so Yu Shu didn't take it seriously. She sneered and sat next to him. She casually took a red nectarine from the fruit plate and put it to her mouth to nibble a piece.
Xue Rui listened to the crisp sounds of her chewing on the peach and the sound of water splashing. His gaze swept past her lips and he cleared his throat. "If we're free in the afternoon, how about I bring you out to the lake?"
Yu Shu's mouth stopped and said, "This case is gone. Where do you get the time?"
She bluntly stated the truth, but Xue Rui didn't feel embarrassed at all. His expression was normal as he said, "Ji Xingxuan is not willing to confess. The Supreme Court's punishment is limited. If it goes too far, it will become a private punishment. If it goes against the law, it will be impeached by the censor. I have sent someone to inquire about the storyteller, but he hasn't replied yet. During this time, I will have time to relax."
Yu Shu nodded. She knew that Xue Rui wasn't having a hard time. Such a big case fell on his shoulders without any reason. She didn't know how many people were secretly watching him make mistakes. If it was her, she would have been irritated long ago.
"Okay, if you say go to the lake, then go to the lake." Yu Shu thought. He didn't want her to interfere with Ji Xingxuan's interrogation, so she could accompany him to change his mood.
As soon as she agreed, she saw a smile on his face. His lips, which were not thick or thin, raised up. His whole face was full of energy.
In the past, Yu Shu had never noticed that Xue Rui's face was exceptionally good-looking when he smiled. Compared to Xue Rui's graceful bearing and elegant demeanor, Yu Shu had never noticed it before.
"Shu?" Xue Rui noticed that Yu Shu was distracted. He said a few words but she didn't respond. He raised his hand and waved it in front of her.
Yu Shu suddenly came back to her senses. The tips of her ears were a little red. In order to cover up that she was in a daze, she pretended to cough twice and patted her chest, saying that she choked on the peach.
Xue Rui didn't say anything. He stretched out his long arm and took away the remaining half of the peach in her hand.
"Hey, don't waste it. Eat it."
As soon as she finished shouting, she saw Xue Rui glance at the nectarine that she had chewed on and put it in his mouth without changing his expression.
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