Chapter 9: Climbing a Tree. If Only I Could Fall Into His Arms.

Soon, the servant women brought a ladder.

“Miss, are you really going up?” Doukou was a little uneasy. “Why don’t you let me do it?”

Su Zhenyue waved her hand. “It’s fine, I’ll do it. Just hold the ladder steady for me.”

Before entering the Jing An Marquis Estate, she had been young and often climbed high and low, as mischievous as a monkey. It was only after she began living under someone else’s roof that she was forced to learn how to be demure and elegant. But the unyielding, fate-defying streak in her bones had never changed.

Of course, her decision to climb the ladder herself at this moment was for Shen Ji, who lived in Qingfeng Courtyard.

—On a whim, she wanted to take the chance to create more opportunities for herself.

As the servants held the ladder, Su Zhenyue slowly climbed up, gently comforting Tang Yuan, “Good boy, don’t be afraid. I’m coming to get you down.”

It was unclear if Tang Yuan understood, but it remained nestled on the tree trunk, meowing at her.

The commotion here startled Shen Ji in Qingfeng Courtyard.

There were still several months until the Spring Examination. According to past custom, provincial graduates who had arrived in the capital early would either seek out a master, visit friends, or gather to discuss poetry, literature, and current affairs. But this year coincided with the recent passing of the Empress Dowager. During the national mourning period, to avoid any taboos, everyone studied on their own and rarely gathered.

Shen Ji was staying at the Jing An Marquis Estate and hadn’t gone out much these past few days.

He had been intelligent since childhood, was widely read, and possessed a photographic memory. At eighteen, he had taken the examination for the first time and won top honors in the autumn session. Compared to the nervous Old Madam Wen, he himself was much more relaxed about the Spring Examination in a few months.

That morning, Shen Ji was browsing through the Jing An Marquis Estate’s book collection. Suddenly, he heard a clamor coming from the direction of the back wall, which he found slightly surprising.

The West Wing Courtyard behind his was usually very quiet; today was strange.

At first, he paid it no mind. But after a moment, the noise didn’t stop, and it was occasionally punctuated by a woman’s short cry of alarm.

A thought stirred in his mind. Shen Ji rose and walked to the half-open window.

Standing before the window, the sounds from next door were much clearer.

Amidst the various noises, a voice saying, “Good boy, don’t be afraid, I’m coming to save you,” reached his ears.

Shen Ji had sharp hearing and a good memory. He immediately recognized it as the voice of that Miss Su.

His hand, which had been about to close the window, paused. Shen Ji raised an eyebrow and simply pushed the half-open window all the way open.

“Miss, be careful.”

“It’s fine, just hold the ladder steady.”

Shen Ji remained by the window. Following the sound, he looked toward the northwest corner of the courtyard. Across a high wall, the branches of a parasol tree stretched brazenly and domineeringly into Qingfeng Courtyard.

In the tenth month, the leaves of the parasol tree were turning from green to yellow and gradually falling. But now, amidst the brown branches and withered yellow leaves, there was a splash of pale green.

The tree’s shadow was mottled.

Shen Ji narrowed his eyes slightly and recognized that splash of green as Miss Su.

At this moment, she was already at the top of the ladder, one hand carefully holding on while the other beckoned to the white cat with a black tail.

“Tang Yuan, come here. I’ll carry you down.”

Her voice was sweet and gentle, with a hint of coaxing.

However, the cat didn’t move an inch, merely letting out two meows in response.

The young lady was not discouraged. Still smiling faintly, her voice grew even gentler. “Good boy, don’t be afraid. Come over to me, I’ll carry you down.”

The only response she received was more meowing.

Shen Ji chuckled. In this situation, all she needed to do was be a little bolder, lean forward a bit more, and she could just grab the cat. Why was there a need for so much coaxing?

She was being far too cautious.

He found it a little dull, but for some reason, he didn’t move away. Instead, he just stood there.

Little did he know, Su Zhenyue was feeling secretly disappointed.

In her scenario, Shen Ji would hear the commotion, come into the courtyard to investigate, and see her at a glance, standing high up.

With the morning sun just rising, her unadorned, pure, and beautiful face would surely leave a deep impression.

At that point, she would decide her next move based on the situation: either a surprised exchange of gazes or feigning a misstep and falling.

—Of course, if she could “accidentally” fall into his arms, that would be for the best. But this was clearly rather difficult and not something to be attempted lightly without ensuring her safety.

Unfortunately, by the time Su Zhenyue was at the top of the ladder, she couldn’t see a single person, let alone a corner of Shen Ji’s robe.

The yard of Qingfeng Courtyard was completely empty. There was no one there.

A miscalculation.

Disappointed, Su Zhenyue could only continue coaxing the cat while trying to stall for time.

After waiting a while longer with no reaction from Qingfeng Courtyard, Tang Yuan, encouraged by her repeated coaxing, began to inch its way toward her.

Su Zhenyue thought to herself, I might as well get the cat down first.

At least she could get the actual task done.

She steadied herself, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the approaching cat. When Tang Yuan moved within reach, she shot out her hand and firmly grasped the scruff of its neck.

With its scruff held, Tang Yuan instantly became docile and stopped moving.

A smile appeared on Su Zhenyue’s face.

Not bad. It wasn’t a wasted trip up the ladder.

Seeing this, the servants holding the ladder below all exclaimed in joyful surprise, “That’s wonderful! Miss, come down quickly, be careful.”

Shen Ji, who had been watching for quite some time without realizing it, also found his lips curling into a smile.

But in the next instant, he gave a slight shake of his head.

Hmm, am I that bored? How could I have watched such a trivial matter for so long?

Shen Ji reached out to close the window, deciding to pay it no more mind.

On the other side, having successfully caught Tang Yuan, Su Zhenyue was very pleased. She descended the ladder, holding the cat in one hand and the ladder with the other.

Her gaze shifted inadvertently and she saw a window moving in the direction of Qingfeng Courtyard.

Huh?

Su Zhenyue focused her eyes.

She met Shen Ji’s gaze just as he was closing the window.

Although there was some distance between them, Su Zhenyue saw him clearly. It was him. She just didn’t know how long he had been standing by the window, how much he had seen, or what he was thinking.

Su Zhenyue couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret: What a pity. If I had known he was there, I should have been more graceful just now.

Why hadn’t she glanced over there a few more times? She had been too focused on the courtyard.

Su Zhenyue quickly pushed aside her stray thoughts and gave Shen Ji a radiant smile. At the same time, her red lips parted slightly as she silently mouthed, “Cousin…”

At that moment, the morning sun fell upon her face. The young lady’s hair was as dark as ink, her skin fairer than snow, and her almond-shaped eyes shimmered with light.

Shen Ji subconsciously lowered his gaze, avoiding her line of sight. But immediately, he felt it was improper.

He was just closing a window in his study. What was there to avoid? They were relatives, after all.

Thus, he lifted his eyes slightly and gave her a small nod in acknowledgment.

Seeing Su Zhenyue pause, Doukou and the others asked in confusion, “Miss?”

“Yes, coming down now,” Su Zhenyue replied. She gave Shen Ji another smiling nod and descended the ladder as gracefully and carefully as she could.

She moved down bit by bit, and her green figure completely disappeared from Shen Ji’s view.

The moment Su Zhenyue’s feet were firmly on the ground, Nanxing rushed to take Tang Yuan from her hands, chiding, “Miss, in the future, please let us do this kind of thing.”

“I know, I know,” Su Zhenyue answered casually, but her eyes darted toward Qingfeng Courtyard several more times.

Unfortunately, with the high courtyard wall in the way, she couldn’t see a thing.

After this incident, Doukou and the others gave Tang Yuan a thorough “lecture,” forbidding it from running around.

“Yes, yes, our Tang Yuan remembers,” Su Zhenyue said, lovingly stroking the cat’s head, her mind still replaying the earlier event.

Although it was a far cry from her best-case scenario, from the looks of it, the situation probably wasn’t too bad.

She had to keep trying.

In the afternoon, the eldest young lady, Gu Yuanzhen, came to see the cat, specially bringing Su Zhenyue a plate of Red Bean Sticky Rice Cake.

“It’s delicious, you should try it.”

Gu Yuanzhen loved to eat and was picky about her food. If she said it was delicious, it was most likely excellent. Su Zhenyue saw that the Red Bean Sticky Rice Cake had a fresh color and an exquisite appearance, and she curiously took a bite.

The texture was soft and glutinous, sweet but not cloying. It was indeed quite good.

“Mm, delicious,” Su Zhenyue praised. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind. Made with red beans?

She composed herself and asked, “Zhenzhen, I really like this Red Bean Sticky Rice Cake. May I share it with someone else?”

Gu Yuanzhen didn’t overthink it and nodded readily. “I gave it to you, so it’s yours. You can share it with whomever you like.”

“Thank you,” Su Zhenyue said with a gentle smile.

Red beans were good.

After playing with Tang Yuan for a good while, Gu Yuanzhen left.

Su Zhenyue freshened up, changed into the pale cyan dress embroidered with magnolia flowers, placed six pieces of the Red Bean Sticky Rice Cake on an exquisite Gilded Peony Plate, and set off for Qingfeng Courtyard with a food box.

“Miss…” Nanxing began, then hesitated.

Su Zhenyue smiled and explained, half-truthfully, “I find these pastries quite good and wanted to bring some for Cousin Shen to try. He didn’t accept the inkstone before, so I…”

Success depends on secrecy. With nothing yet set in stone, she didn’t want to reveal too much, not even to someone as close as Nanxing.

“Mm.” Nanxing nodded, not saying much more, only asking, “Then, shall I accompany you, Miss?”

“No need. You help me look after Tang Yuan. I’ll be back soon,” Su Zhenyue declined with a smile.

She was truly too embarrassed to probe and flirt with someone in front of Nanxing.

Just like the day before, Su Zhenyue passed through three gates and arrived at Qingfeng Courtyard.

This time, the gate was ajar. As soon as she entered, she saw the young servant Ping An squatting beside the Celadon Flower Pot that held the Hibiscus mutabilis branch, carefully misting it with a watering can.

Catching a glimpse of her, Ping An immediately stood up straight. “Miss Su?!”

Su Zhenyue’s gaze swept the courtyard, but Shen Ji was nowhere to be seen. A flicker of disappointment touched her heart, but she didn’t let it show on her face. She simply nodded at Ping An and asked in a warm voice, “Is Cousin here?”

“He’s not. The Marquis had something to discuss with him. Is there something you need, Miss Su?”

Su Zhenyue sighed, her lashes drooping, looking somewhat disappointed. “It’s nothing important. I just came by some Red Bean Sticky Rice Cake and wanted to let Cousin have a taste. It’s a pity he’s not here, I…”

She was born with an ethereal beauty, like a wisp of light cloud and thin mist. Seeing her look of disappointment, Ping An couldn’t help but blurt out, “Well, you could leave it here, and I’ll give it to the Young Master when he returns.”

Su Zhenyue feigned hesitation. “This… is that alright?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Ping An replied without a second thought, all but puffing out his chest to guarantee it.

It was just a plate of pastries, not something particularly valuable. He could make this decision.

Su Zhenyue smiled faintly. “Thank you.”