Chapter 53: Each Finding Peace in the Night

Mo Zheng walked in and lit the lights in the room first.

"Even if the Young Mistress is hardworking, you still need to light the lamps. To study, one must be willing to spend on candlelight," she said.

In truth, Yang Luo had been lost in thought since her return and hadn't been studying diligently; Yang Luo thought to herself, and besides, she hadn't entered the Imperial Academy for the sake of studying.

"Steamed pork and crispy fish from Xinghua Pavilion," Mo Zheng placed the dishes on the table. "To celebrate the successful conclusion of the Young Mistress's first day of studying."

*Did she go out to buy this after returning home?* Yang Luo had been so lost in thought that she hadn't noticed. This young guard was truly happy for her studies, even celebrating them. Yang Luo sighed inwardly, but she didn't even intend to tell him about Wei Jiao coming to the Imperial Academy.

It wasn't just this; she was hiding many things from this youth, and she suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

Yang Luo stood up, took a small box from her book bag, and took out two pieces of pastry.

"These are pastries made by the imperial chefs that the Princess took to the Academy," she said. "I secretly packed two pieces for you to try."

Mo Zheng looked at the pastries she had already eaten today, somewhat surprised.

She knew Miss Yang wasn't at the Academy to study, and having faced the reappearance of the Miss of the Ding'an Duke's Estate today, her mental energy must have been heavily drained.

She hadn't expected the lady to still remember to bring her pastries made by the imperial chefs.

No matter how many things she was hiding, no matter what selfish motives she harbored, the moment this lady saw the pastries and thought to let her taste them, it was surely sincere. A flash of a smile crossed Mo Zheng's eyes.

"The Young Mistress is truly skilled; she can even let a guard eat imperial cuisine!" she said, raising an eyebrow as she reached out to take them, tossing them into her mouth. "When it comes time to settle the wages, we can deduct some from them."

Yang Luo was amused. "Then you had better guard me well; there will be even more benefits in the future."

Mo Zheng kicked a wooden stool over to sit down. "Easy enough. Young Mistress, eat quickly; you have to continue studying tomorrow."

The curriculum provided by the Imperial Academy for the Princess and her companions was four days of classes followed by three days of rest, with no classes during festivals.

Today was the first day, and she had to attend class again tomorrow.

Yang Luo nodded. Yes, as long as one isn't dead, one must keep moving forward.

"You sit down and eat too," she said with a smile. "You'll have to escort me to my studies again tomorrow."

Mo Zheng agreed, sat down, and began eating heartily with her chopsticks.

***

As dusk fell, the day's learning in the Academy came to an end.

The students had already dispersed from the Library. A guard carrying a food box and a lantern climbed the stairs to deliver a meal to the Chancellor.

Wang Zaitian's meals were simple: a pot of hot tea, a piece of dry bread, and a piece of stewed meat.

As the guard was about to withdraw after delivering the food, Wang Zaitian thought of something and asked, "Did Wei Jiao come today?"

The guard nodded. "He arrived this morning."

It was said that Wei Jiao was studying under Wang Zaitian, but in reality, he never even approached him; the teachers coming and going didn't even know he was there.

"The Princess came to find him and even stayed in the library to write and accompany him," the guard added.

Wang Zaitian nodded. "No wonder I felt like there were people talking downstairs earlier." Having said that, he broke off a piece of dry bread and began to eat.

The guard withdrew and walked down the stairs. Thinking of something, he looked back up toward the upper floor.

"What is it?" asked the guard sitting at the entrance.

The food delivery guard looked at him. "Has... has Wei Jiao left?"

Wei Jiao had a strange temperament and never greeted them; they didn't particularly care to look at him either.

The guard at the entrance said, "He went to see the Princess off when she left, so naturally, he left with her."

The food delivery guard remembered, and thinking of how the floor where Wei Jiao usually stayed was silent and still as he walked downstairs, he shook his head. "He probably won't come tomorrow. I don't know what the use of him being here is."

"The title 'Disciple of the Chancellor' sounds good," the guard at the entrance remarked. "Even if one does insane things, who doesn't want a good reputation?"

The two of them sat down to eat as they talked, and silence returned to the Library.

Night shrouded the entire Academy.

***

Wei Jiao woke up amidst a pile of torn books. His vision was pitch black. In the darkness, he felt a momentary sense of disorientation, not knowing where he was or what time it was.

His lips moved, instinctively wanting to call out for his mother, but the moment he opened his mouth, his consciousness cleared, and he pressed his lips tightly together.

He knew what time it was; he knew he was not a four or five-year-old child, and he knew his mother was no longer around.

Wei Jiao sat up slowly. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he reached out to touch his parched lips.

He hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day.

The people in the Library would not remember to bring him tea or food.

But it didn't matter; he was used to being forgotten.

He also knew that a person wouldn't die from being hungry or thirsty for a few days.

Besides, many things in this world were edible.

Wei Jiao reached out, grabbed a handful of paper from the floor, and stuffed it into his mouth. He took handful after handful, chewing and swallowing incessantly until he could no longer fit any more.

He exhaled and stretched.

"I've slept well, and I'm full," he said. "I can continue studying."

He didn't light a lamp, but reached out and accurately grabbed a scroll from the desk.

His hand brushed over it, feeling the roughness of the paper. Borrowing the dim yellow light filtering in from the palace lanterns hanging from the eaves outside the Library, he saw the perfunctory characters written upon it.

The books he was reading were not the treasures of the Library, but copies made by students.

Since they were sent over so sloppily, they must have been from Ling Yu.

"The Dao is constant; it does nothing, yet nothing is left undone. If the human heart is good, then the Heavenly Way is good..."

Wei Jiao recited the sentence, then immediately let out a sneer and tore it away.

In the darkness, the pale silhouette of a woman seemed to reappear before his eyes...

"Bah!" He spat at the phantom before him, and the woman's figure dissipated. "All of you are beasts!"

The scroll in his hand was instantly torn into scraps and flung into the air, falling like snowflakes.

***

The night grew deep. Accompanied by the final drumbeat of the curfew, Lord Wei Seventh returned to the old Wei residence with his followers.

After a simple cleaning, the courtyard, which now had several lamps lit, was much better than yesterday, but most of the rooms remained silent and still, still eerie and desolate.

Wei Xu, with half his face swollen, came out to meet them. "How was it? What did he say this time? Surely it wasn't that the Emperor and Empress ate together but he was nowhere to be seen again?"

A follower said, "We didn't see him. They said he went to the Imperial Academy to study. We waited all day, but he didn't return even after dark. The Embroidered Uniform Guard said he was staying up late studying hard."

Wei Xu glared. "He's an Embroidered Uniform Commandant; what business does he have studying? His lies are getting more and more absurd."

Lord Wei Seventh sat down and waved his hand. "That's not actually absurd. Back then, the Great General sent him to the capital to study under Wang Zaitian, and now Wang Zaitian is the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy."

Wei Xu froze. "Studying? Wasn't he sent as a hostage to appease the Emperor..."

Lord Wei Seventh barked, "Shut up!"

Wei Xu fell silent.

Lord Wei Seventh glared at him, then scanned the others.

"Watch your words. We are not in Longxi right now; we are in the Capital," he said, looking outside. "At the feet of Deng Shan."

Although Emperor Deng Shan came from an ordinary background, he had held the world and reigned as Emperor for over ten years; he was the one chosen by Heaven, a true Son of Heaven.

No subject in the world dared to call him by his given name, and many had even forgotten it.

At this very moment, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, Lord Wei Seventh—who arrived from Longxi without even an official rank—had called that name so easily.

Neither Wei Xu nor the followers showed surprise; they were clearly used to it.

The Wei of Longxi were formidable; although they had raised their banners slightly later than Deng Shan, their strength was on par with his.

It was only because Deng Shan had ascended the throne first that one became a monarch and the other became a subject.

The Wei clan was not submissive.