Chapter 163

Chapter 163

Shen Qichi only learned the next day what Su Ying had bought.

Looking at the brush, ink, inkstone, and paper arranged just like those in Anmen Village’s study, he couldn’t help but smile. Su Ying, who had been watching his expression from the side, only relaxed when he saw the smile. “I don’t know much about these. If they’re not good, I’ll get different ones.”

“No,” Shen Qichi said. “They’re great.”

Su Ying was happy but kept a straight face. “You haven’t even used them yet.”

Shen Qichi laughed softly. “I’ve used enough to tell just by looking.” He paused, softening his voice. “Thanks, I really like them. The tea is good too—it smells fragrant. It’s going to be delicious.”

Only then did Su Ying finally smile a little.

“Oh, right.” Remembering something, he grabbed a stack of visiting cards from the bookshelf. “A bunch of people showed up yesterday. They all wanted to meet you.”

Shen Qichi took them and skimmed through—a stack of visiting cards from all sorts of families and clans. The capital was crawling with nobles and officials, each with their own ways of staying informed. He figured that as soon as the Shen family’s gate opened the day before, half the capital’s big shots already knew. Plus, he’d spent half a day in the Xuanzheng Hall—he’d only gotten out of dinner by insisting on leaving—and with all those spies in the palace, everyone probably knew he was back in the capital to see the emperor.

He’d expected it, but Shen Qichi still sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Su Ying saw his face fall. “What’s wrong with these cards?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” Shen Qichi set them aside. “I just don’t feel like seeing anyone.”

Su Ying nodded slowly. “If you don’t want to, I’ll stop taking them.”

“You took all of these?” Shen Qichi was a little surprised.

Su Ying sat cross-legged at the desk, arms crossed on the desk, chin resting on them, staring up at Shen Qichi. “You were gone yesterday. Everyone else in the house was busy doing other stuff—that guy Shen De kept going on about making two new brooms and spent the whole day in the backyard. The others were either in the kitchen, saying they’d cook your favorite foods, or cleaning other courtyards to make it nice for you. When those people showed up and saw only me, they gave me the cards.”

Shen Qichi pictured Su Ying taking the cards with a blank face and couldn’t help smiling. “Did any of them ask you anything else?”

“I think so.” Su Ying wasn’t certain.

People kept showing up one after another yesterday, each one yapping on and on. He’d never been so sick of hearing people talk. The first few times, he’d answered politely, but later he just took the cards and said flatly, “Not here.” They’d look at him and rush off.

“Some asked if Vice Minister Shen was around, some asked if Scholar Shen was home, and some asked if Master Shen was there. I figured those names were all like Yunzhuo—meaning you—so I said you weren’t here. They left when I didn’t talk back.” Su Ying cocked his head. “Why does everyone want to see you?”

“It’s a long story. Mostly to probe why I suddenly returned to the capital,” Shen Qichi said. “From now on, just wait for me in the courtyard. The front gate is too busy, and I’ll have to deal with visitors.”

Su Ying wanted to ask what “Vice Minister” and “Scholar” meant, but then he realized that “from now on” meant there would be more days like yesterday—Shen Qichi going out while he could only wait at home.

He licked his fang, a flicker of irritation rising. He opened his mouth to ask, but a knock came at the study door.

Shen Shan stood at the entrance with a young eunuch, his gaze lingering briefly on the two sitting across from each other before quickly looking away. “Master, the palace summons you.”

Shen Qichi rose immediately, took two steps, then looked back at Su Ying. “Wait for me at home?”

Su Ying glanced at the two at the door and nodded slowly.

Shen Qichi patted his head and left the study.

Shen Shan followed automatically. After a few steps, Shen Qichi asked, “Why did you come over suddenly?”

Shen Shan had long since shed his servant status and wasn’t a Shen family slave, but over a decade of master-servant bonds couldn’t be easily discarded. He felt Shen Qichi was born to be a master. Not seeing him for years was one thing, but now that he was back, Shen Shan couldn’t help but feel a knot in his chest, compelling him to check in. That morning, he’d stumbled upon a flustered young eunuch.

The eunuch had come to deliver the emperor’s oral decree but couldn’t find anyone, so Shen Shan had brought him along.

Now, he just grinned. “Master, you know me.”

Shen Qichi felt a warmth in his heart. “I appreciate your trouble.”

Shen Shan was almost flustered, waving his hands. “Not at all, Master.”

The three reached the gate, where the palace carriage was already waiting. Shen Qichi hesitated for a moment, then turned back. Shen Shan stopped. “Master?”

“Yuanbo, I’m afraid I need to trouble you again today.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“I don’t know when I’ll be back. Keep an eye on Mr. Yu in the house for me. Let him do whatever he wants—if he needs silver, take it from the treasury; if he doesn’t want to eat, don’t force him. If guests come, turn them all away and don’t let them disturb Mr. Yu. Also, tell him he doesn’t need to do those lessons today.”

Shen Shan acknowledged each instruction, and only after Shen Qichi and the young eunuch boarded the carriage and headed for the palace did he turn back inside.

As he walked, he mulled over it, feeling that Shen Qichi’s instructions were too detailed. Of course, his master was meticulous and perceptive, but that fine attention had always been reserved for serious matters—never for a person before.

Listen to him: let him do whatever he wants, spend silver freely, don’t let anyone bother him. Shen Shan felt a pang of sourness, increasingly convinced of his suspicion from the day before.

Shen Shan had wondered since childhood what kind of person could match his young master. He’d thought through all the noble ladies in the capital but still found them lacking. Later, circumstances changed, and he no longer had the heart for such thoughts. The young master became the master, seemingly without plans to marry, and then, with a wave of his sleeve, he’d simply left.

Shen Shan sighed, lost in memories. He reached the study door, where “Yu Ying” had already taken his master’s seat.

He sat cross-legged, one hand propped on the desk, the other idly flipping through something, looking utterly boneless.

Unseemly.

Shen Shan scrutinized him critically.

His hair wasn’t tied up properly—just loosely bound with a red cord-like ribbon, a few stray strands hanging carelessly over his forehead. Disheveled.

Wait.

That red ribbon holding his hair—wasn’t it a bit like the one his master wore at his waist?

Shen Shan tried not to think about it and continued his inspection of the man inside.

A black-purple robe of an indescribable cut—improper.

His belt wasn’t fastened tightly, his collar hung loose, exposing half a collarbone. His sleeves were rolled up carelessly, revealing smooth, muscular forearms in broad daylight—indecorous!

…And that jade pendant on his waist?

If he remembered correctly, that smoke-purple jade serpent pendant was one of the late master’s most treasured collections—now an heirloom. His master had never allowed anyone to touch it, even sealing the treasury before leaving. How was it hanging on this man?

Shen Shan’s mind churned with discomfort. He simply couldn’t understand how his master, who had always valued propriety above all, had found someone like this to be the lady of the house.

Not a woman, fine—but why someone like this?

He stood frozen at the door, staring, until Su Ying looked up impatiently. “Had enough of looking?”

“Who—who said I was looking at you?”

Su Ying couldn’t be bothered to argue. He tapped the stack of cards. “Do you know these people?”

Shen Shan walked over stiffly.

Fine. The master had said to go along with everything.

He approached the desk, looked down, and his eyes widened even more.

"Governor Duan of the capital, Minister Shang of Public Works, Minister Chen of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices… You—you’ve been sitting on these visiting cards without permission. Does the master know?"

Su Ying shot him a weird look and didn’t even bother to answer.

Though he didn’t understand the meaning behind these peculiar names, from Shen Shan’s repeated use of "Your Excellency," it was obvious these weren’t just some random folks.

He flipped through the cards, zoning out, while Shen Shan glanced down at him from above, had to admit the guy was easy on the eyes.

Okay, so maybe he wasn’t totally useless.

Shen Shan cleared his throat and said, "The master told me to inform you that you don’t have to do your homework today." Even as he said it, he thought it was weird—since when did this guy have homework?

Su Ying paused, lazily shut the cards, and let out a distracted "Oh."

Ever since he ate the golden roc and his cultivation skyrocketed, Shen Qichi had excused him from his daily two-hour training sessions. He enjoyed the downtime and wasn’t about to train on his own. But after giving up his entire inner core for Shen Qichi, his cultivation had plummeted, dropping even lower than before he consumed the roc. He was always scared the golden roc would come back for revenge and he couldn’t protect Shen Qichi, so he’d been sneaking in training while they traveled. But Shen Qichi told him it wasn’t needed.

"Isn’t spending more time with me better than training?" Shen Qichi had said then, and Su Ying was completely helpless against that.

But why was Shen Qichi the one to leave first today, and why was he banned from training?

Two walls of the study were covered in bookshelves packed with books. Su Ying stared at the cards for a second, then got up and walked over to a shelf. His gaze swept over them briefly before he took down a scroll from a lower shelf.

Shen Shan watched his back, hesitating to say anything, until he finally couldn’t hold it in: "These are all the master’s books—he’s had them since he was a kid. Be careful."

Su Ying finally bothered to look at him. "A Chi read all of these?"

A Chi?

Shen Shan’s face scrunched up for a second, but he still held his chin up. "The master’s well-read."

Su Ying looked thoughtful. "Which ones did he read as a child?"

Just let him do whatever he wants.

Shen Shan silently told himself that and stepped forward to explain. "Here, starting from this spot, are the master’s kid books, along with his lessons and calligraphy. Moving to the right, you’ll find the books he read each year."

Su Ying put down the scroll he had and walked over to where Shen Shan pointed. He took a bamboo slip from the top. It was stored in a cloth bag; Su Ying removed the bag, untied the binding, and unrolled it. A familiar line of text met his eyes.

"Heaven and earth, dark and yellow; the universe, vast and wild; sun and moon, wax and wane; stars and constellations, spread in array."

"So his first book was this too..." Su Ying’s fingertips traced the vigorous ink strokes, and he smiled softly.

Shen Shan stared at his smile in astonishment, beginning to suspect that the master had been bewitched by this man’s looks.

But that couldn’t be right. When it came to appearance, no man could match his master. If he were inclined toward men, wouldn’t a look in the mirror suffice?

Shen Shan frowned in confusion, but the man he was watching had already returned to the desk and sat down to read the bamboo slip.

After standing there for a while, Shen Shan finally spoke. "Well... ahem. Mr. Yu, if you need a meal or anything else, you can ring the bell beside you. It’s connected to the outside—I won’t go far, and I’ll come when I hear it."

Su Ying cast him a glance. "Thank you."

"No need," Shen Shan said dryly. "It’s my duty." He waited a moment, and when Su Ying showed no further reaction, he closed the door and left.

The room fell silent. The scent of old books grew stronger with the departure of the only mortal. Su Ying looked at the bamboo slip, where elegant ink characters were marked with vermillion punctuation notes, the strokes particularly childish.

Su Ying finished reading quickly and went to the shelf for another volume.

This time it was a thread-bound book. Perhaps due to the change in paper, the annotations between the lines were much more numerous. Some were notes, others simple drawings—flowers, grass, butterflies, little birds, and some messy lines that were completely unrecognizable.

Su Ying pressed down on the book’s corner, finding it hard to imagine that someone as refined as Shen Qichi would doodle in his books.

How old had he been then? Was he as well-behaved as Li Man, or as mischievous as Shi Tou?

A kingfisher flapped its wings through the window and landed on the desk. Su Ying looked at the bird spirit, which had been out playing since settling in, and murmured to himself, "Tell me... what kind of person was he back then..."

The kingfisher spirit tilted its head and chirped twice meaninglessly.