"Your Highness." A sweet and soft voice came from behind. It was Song Nanxin.
Ji Lingchuan withdrew his scrutinizing gaze, turned around, and saw Song Nanxin holding a tea caddy. She asked gently,
"I have Lushan Yunwu tea, Emei Baiya tea, and Guzhu Zisun tea here. I wonder which flavor Your Highness prefers?"
Ji Lingchuan didn't answer her question. Instead, he took a step forward and continued to examine the furnishings in her room. His eyes swept over the ornaments on the cabinets one by one. His expression was solemn, and no one knew what he was thinking.
His silent scrutiny made Song Nanxin inexplicably flustered. She closely followed Ji Lingchuan's side and said with a smile, "Does Your Highness like any of these? If you take a fancy to something, feel free to take it back to the Jingtao Courtyard."
Ji Lingchuan asked, "Where did these items come from?"
Song Nanxin replied, "They are all my dowry items brought from the Marquis's Mansion." There was a hint of pride in her tone.
Ji Lingchuan didn't say anything. After walking around the room, he seemingly casually said, "I heard you've always been working hard to improve your performance. Why are there no books in your room?"
Song Nanxin's smile froze on her face. Then, with a touch of grievance, she said,
"My mother said that once a woman gets married, she should support her husband, educate her children, and manage household affairs. The books I used to pass the time in the past are just a burden to me now. So I didn't bring any books when I got married. During my days in the mansion, I've been so busy sharing the Concubine Mother's worries that I really haven't had time to read any idle books. Only then did I realize that my mother was right."
Ji Lingchuan didn't say anything. He stopped in front of the empty desk, looked up at Song Nanxin, and said, "I once saw your handwriting in the account books. It was quite good. Write a few more characters for me to see. Write the poem you wrote in the poetry exam in the sixteenth year of Jinghong."
Song Nanxin felt a chill in her heart.
The handwriting in the account books... It was actually Song Yihuan's.
However, no one knew that the two sisters had been swapping classes at the Imperial College for a long time. So their handwriting was extremely similar, and even the teachers couldn't tell the difference. Otherwise, how could she have trusted Song Yihuan to help her check the account books?
Steadying her nerves, Song Nanxin said with a smile, "Your Highness has a request. I'd be more than happy to oblige."
The maid who had been busy preparing the tea set was called over by Song Nanxin to grind the ink. A piece of clean rice paper was spread on the table. Under Ji Lingchuan's sharp gaze, Song Nanxin picked up the brush, dipped it in the ink, and wrote a short poem on the paper.
The ink gradually took shape as she wrote. After finishing the last stroke, she looked up and said to Ji Lingchuan with a smile, "Your Highness, please take a look."
The man's slender fingers pinched the two sides of the paper and picked it up for a careful examination.
Song Nanxin carefully observed him and asked, "How about it? Does my handwriting and the poem meet Your Highness's standard?"
The ink on the paper was not yet dry. The delicate regular script on it was neat and elegant, looking exactly the same as the handwriting in the account books.
Ji Lingchuan knew that although the handwriting was similar, it was not exactly the same as the one from that year. He couldn't be completely sure that she was the one he had been looking for for so long.
Saying "Your handwriting is indeed quite good", Ji Lingchuan put down the paper and walked towards the table where the tea set was placed. He said, "Let's have some tea."
Secretly heaving a sigh of relief, Song Nanxin got up and chased after him. She sat opposite Ji Lingchuan and began to make tea for him.
The fragrance of tea filled the room. Song Nanxin placed the brewed tea in front of Ji Lingchuan and said with a smile, "Your Highness, please have some tea."
The tea in the cup was clear and transparent, but Ji Lingchuan picked it up and didn't drink it for a long time.
He was thinking about how to further test her when he heard Song Nanxin say, "Speaking of which, I once saw Your Highness at the Imperial College."
Ji Lingchuan suddenly looked up. "What did you say?"
"You saw me at the Imperial College? When and where?"
Song Nanxin didn't notice the depth in his words. She was secretly delighted that she had finally caught his attention.
She raised her hand and tucked the hair beside her temple behind her ear. With a touch of shyness like a young girl, she said, "Thinking carefully, it should also be in the sixteenth year of Jinghong."
Ji Lingchuan subconsciously held his breath.
It was in the sixteenth year of Jinghong that he got acquainted with that little friend.
"At that time, I heard that the riding and archery teacher was injured, and Your Highness temporarily took over his class. Everyone was very curious about Your Highness. So I and a few classmates once hid aside and peeked during Your Highness's class."
"I thought Your Highness's class would be very interesting. Unexpectedly, Your Highness was even more serious than the previous teacher. It really scared me and my classmates. When we learned that we would also have riding and archery classes in June of that year, I even prayed not to be taught by Your Highness. Then Your Highness led the army to the border to defend against the enemy. It was really a pity."
After saying that, she secretly observed Ji Lingchuan's reaction. Seeing that he remained unmoved, she couldn't help but feel disappointed.
She didn't know that after hearing her words, Ji Lingchuan fell into deep thought again.
The dilapidated temple was located at the junction of Mangshan Mountain and the back mountain of the Imperial College. When he first got acquainted with that little friend on the back mountain of the Imperial College, he had also guessed that she was a student at the Imperial College.
But just as Song Nanxin said, if she was a student at the Imperial College, she should have seen him and heard his voice during the riding and archery classes.
However, in all the letters they had exchanged, she seemed to know nothing about his identity.
So he had originally thought that she was just a passerby who accidentally strayed in from Mangshan Mountain.
From this, he speculated that Song Nanxin should not be the person he was looking for. It was just that their handwriting was a bit similar.
For some reason, Ji Lingchuan secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
Since he couldn't find any clues from the handwriting, Ji Lingchuan remembered the apricot blossom fragrance on those letters.
"Earlier you said that the apricot blossom scent on you came from a perfume paste. Where is that perfume paste?"
Song Nanxin calmly replied, "It's in my room. Your Highness, please wait a moment. I'll go and get it."
Song Nanxin got up and walked to the dressing table. After getting the item, she came back to Ji Lingchuan.
The light green small porcelain bottle lay quietly in Ji Lingchuan's hand. He opened the lid in front of Song Nanxin, and the fragrance of the perfume paste wafted out.
The ointment in the bottle was faintly pink. The scent became even stronger as it piled up.
It was the scent of apricot blossoms at the end of their blooming period.
"Can you give this perfume paste to me?" Ji Lingchuan asked.
Song Nanxin immediately said, "If Your Highness likes it, just take it. I have plenty of it."
Ji Lingchuan took the perfume paste, endured his impatience and drank a few cups of tea, then got up and said he was leaving.
Song Nanxin saw him out of the door. Watching his back striding away, her heart felt sour and bitter.
It was really not easy to warm up this cold and aloof man.
She had worked so hard today, but all she could do was to keep him here for a few more cups of tea.
Actually, she could understand Ji Lingchuan's ambivalent attitude towards her. He was not the kind of aristocratic young master who was full of sweet words. Although his personality was a bit cold and serious, he had a charm that those playboys from aristocratic families didn't have, which made people can't help but want to get closer to him.
It's okay. There's no need to be in a hurry. She had plenty of time to win Ji Lingchuan's favor. She believed she had the ability to do so.
Steadying her mind, Song Nanxin remembered the birthday banquet of the old lady of the Duke of Jiang. She called for Baizhi and led the people straight to the Tinglan Courtyard.