Chapter 102 - Hooking the Heart
to fight and scheme against each other (idiom)
In late August, the weather finally tended to cool down and Huang, who had been punished behind closed doors for four months, was finally released.
Huang Shi was able to bend and stretch, and in front of the room full of women, she knelt down in front of Su with a thud. Nangong Lin, as Huang Shi's daughter, naturally did not dare to stand and knelt beside her.
"Mother, my daughter-in-law really knows that she is wrong!" Huang Shi, dressed in a plain cloud brocade crepe dress, her face haggard, bowed low and made a series of three kowtows.
"Grandmother, she really knows she's wrong, please forgive her this time." Nangong Lin pleaded for Huang Shi's mercy at the side.
"Huang Shi, do you really know the mistake?" Su Shi's expression was as calm as water, and her gaze swept sharply over Huang Shi's body.
"Daughter-in-law really knows that she is wrong! Daughter-in-law ...... Daughter-in-law really let down Mother's teachings!" Huang Shi remained on her knees, covering her face and sobbing.
Nangong Yue coldly watched Huang Shi's sobbing confession, snorting in her heart: if Huang Shi really knew she was wrong, so be it, but if she dared to harbour a grudge and seek revenge, she would never let her off easily!
Su Shi's face eased: "Get up! It's good to know that you are wrong."
This punishment is also punished ...... Nangong Yue has long known that Su Shi will not hold on to Huang Shi, so there are no ripples in the heart.
When Nangong Lin heard this, she was overwhelmed with joy and flattered, saying a series of words of thanks and compliments, followed by Nangong Lin helping Huang to get up. Then mother and daughter sat down in their usual seats.
Huang Shi's maid, Yiling, was busy serving hot tea to her master. Huang Shi picked up the celadon tea cup, using the action to hide the way she looked at Lin Shi's mother and daughter, the resentment in her eyes was as if it was hardened with poison. Little did she know that all this was being watched by the sophisticated Su Shi and by Nangong Yue who was on guard against her.
Su Shi didn't say anything, she didn't care about this little matter.
But Nangong Yue seemed to be "shocked", her right hand shook and the cup of tea fell to the floor, the floor was covered with a woollen blanket, so the cup did not break, but the tea water stained the woollen blanket.
Su Shi's brow furrowed as a hint of displeasure flashed through her heart.
Su Shi likes this auspicious cloud pattern sickle wool blanket very much, because this sickle sheep is a kind of sheep produced in the northwest wilderness. Its horns are like a sickle and its hair is like clouds. It is extremely rare, but the quality of the wool is so good that it is highly sought after by the nobility in the royal capital. Such a large blanket that could fill a room was the only one Su Shi could afford to use in this Nangong Mansion.
Su Shi suddenly put down the teacup, and said in a cold tone, "Yue Jie Er, what's wrong with you?"
Nangong Yue's face was full of panic, like a frightened rabbit, and she said sincerely: "Please forgive me, Grandmother, granddaughter was frightened just now, and I couldn't hold the tea cup for a while!" At the end of the sentence, her voice took on a trembling tone.
Su Shi naturally knew what had frightened Nangong Yue, but since she had just given her word to spare Huang Shi, she really did not want to make a fuss over such a trivial matter, so she was about to change the subject when she saw Nangong Yue stand up with a slight trembling in her body.
"Third Aunt, don't blame my mother!" Nangong Yue looked at Huang Shi with a frightened look on her face, her eyes were red and she was about to cry, "What happened last time was all my fault. I didn't expect that this matter would have something to do with the Third Aunt. It is because I was so young and thoughtless that I provoked the anger of the Third Aunt. It was because of me that my grandmother punished Third Aunt with confinement, so Third Aunt must not blame my mother!"
Nangong Yue is young, so she only looks pitiful and filial when she says this.
"You, you ......" Huang Shi was so angry at Nangong Yue's words that her fingertips trembled, and her heart felt as if a stone had been pressed into it.
"Okay!" Su Shi said in a cold voice. If Nangong Yue didn't say it, Su Shi wouldn't have thought of it. She was the one who proposed the punishment of grounding, but now Huang Shi is dissatisfied, does Huang Shi have dissatisfaction with her mother-in-law?
"Third Daughter-in-law, if you are not convinced, go back to your room and think about it for a few more days!" Su Shi's words may not be much less effective than the imperial decree in this Nangong Mansion.
Huang Shi only felt a "boom" in her head, her face showed panic, she fell to her knees again with a plop, and said in a trembling voice: "Daughter-in-law dare not!" Even if she was really dissatisfied in her heart, she would never dare to show it at this time.
Nangong Lin was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. Her mother had only been released after a long time, how could she go back to being grounded? During this period of time, without Huang Shi's help, she was living a hard life, as if she was frying in oil.
When Su Shi saw that Huang Shi was completely convinced, she stopped pursuing the matter and said indifferently, "All right, get up." Then, she skipped this and moved on to other topics. When everyone saw this, they also pretended to forget what had just happened and chatted along with Su Shi's words.
Huang Shi sat back in her original position, but she felt extremely ashamed and embarrassed. The way the women in the audience looked at her when she was reprimanded just now made her body ache. She had always had a good sense of dignity, and when people watched her being reprimanded, it was like having a needle stuck in her heart.
Nangong Lin slowly picked up the tea cup, the rising steam of white water covered her eyebrows, hiding the flash of resentment behind.
Nangong Yue, it's all because of you that my mother has lost face in this house!
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After coming out of Su Shi's place, all the Madams and sisters-in-law went back to their respective houses, while the girls went to the Jingling House as usual.
Today, the zither is taught at the Boudoir School.
In the small room, the pottery lotus incense burner in the corner rises in a blur of smoke, and four or five zither tables are decorated with elegantly shaped, tung wood guangzhou. These were the new instruments that Su Shi ordered a while ago. Recently, all Young ladies have been using these instruments in their lessons, saving them the trouble of bringing them back and forth.
The atmosphere in the Qin room was quiet and solemn, and after Nangong Yue entered, she did not dare to speak loudly again.
Fang Ru, who teaches the qin instrument, said that When you play the qin, you need to be calm and peaceful, and whether or not your mind is calm will be reflected in the sound of the instrument. To meditate, you need a quiet atmosphere.
Over time, they became accustomed to not saying a word and being silent during their lessons.
As usual, Nangong Yue walked over to her usual instrument and was about to try it out, when she felt a viper-like sight staring at her not far away. She pretended to look up inadvertently, and saw Nangong Lin panic and withdraw her eyes, lowering her head in order to cover up ......
Nangong Yue's suspicions are aroused.
She looked away and motionlessly withdrew her hands from the strings by less than an inch and took a closer look......... As expected, she found an extremely thin needle on the instrument, which was also made of wood, and the colour of the needle was so close to the colour of the instrument that it would have been difficult to spot it for a moment if she had not looked closely.
If it wasn't for Nangong Lin's actions that alerted her just now, she would have been stabbed during the soundcheck.
Just now, after giving Su's peace, Nangong Lin rushed to the front of the crowd, the first to the qin room ...... At that time, Nangong Yue felt something strange in her heart. Nangong Lin was not good at the Qin and did not like this class, so it was the first time that she was so hasty and active to go to the piano class. So, this was her idea!
Twisting the wooden needle and putting it in her sleeve, Nangong Yue walked over to Nangong Zheng, who was next to Nangong Lin, and discussed with her the questions from the last lesson. Nangong Zheng glanced at her, seemingly feeling a bit strange, but still patiently explained to her.
The body of Nangong Lin at the side was stiff as a statue, staring at the two of them with a rather unnatural look ...... until Nangong Yue returned to her place, and only then did she put her heart down.
Nangong Yue smilingly looked at Nangong Lin: "Fourth sister seems to be very nervous? I'm just asking my big sister a few questions!"
Nangong Lin coldly snorted: "You don't even understand this, I wonder what you listened to in the last class?" After saying that, she disdainfully turned her head away, looking as if she was ready to concentrate on her studies.
Nangong Yue did not care about her words, touching her empty sleeve and smiling at the corners of her mouth. Her purpose had been achieved, and she only had to wait and watch the show next.
Shortly afterwards, Madam Fang Ru came on time, and as usual, she looked light-hearted and said, "Girls, today, play me the best piece you have learnt over the past few days."
The girls responded in unison.
The first one was Nangong Zheng, who straightened her back confidently and played again the song "Out of the Water Lotus" that she had played at the residence of the Duke of En guo.
She's playing better! Nangong Yue thought unconcernedly, if it were not for myself, she would soon be the best among the girls of her age ......
"Not bad!" Fang Ru looked at her proud disciple with a smile in her eyes, and said, "In terms of qin skills, you have done very well. It's just that the emotional aspect is a little lacking, a little impetuous, and needs more training."
Nangong Zheng knew that this was the highest praise she could receive from Fang Ru, a master of the qin dao, and so she was not displeased with her ever-proud heart. She bowed her head and said, "Thank you for your guidance, I have been taught."
The second one was Nangong Yan, who played a simple tune, but at least finished it without any problems, and received a compliment from Fang Ru, who was not too salty.
Next up was Nangong Yue, who played a song called "Qing Quan Yin", and after the song, the sound of the tinkling water lingered in her ears for a long time.
Fang Ru nodded approvingly: "The after-tone is dazzling, this piece is extremely well played." She thought to herself with some satisfaction: this Nangong Yue indeed has a great talent in qin skills. She was so young that her lack of experience would affect her mood, but it was as if she was born to play the qin, and she always got it just right ......
The last one is Nangong Lin, with Nangong zheng and Nangong Yue in front of her, plus she has a guilty conscience in her heart, wondering how come Nangong Yue didn't show any strange behaviour when she obviously did something to Nangong Yue's zither?
Nangong Lin's unpleasant thoughts were directly reflected in her playing, as she played a minor tune that was not too difficult, and at the end, it stopped.
"Ah!" Nangong Lin let out a cry of pain, her right hand retracted violently, only to hear a "clang" sound, the string broke ......
Nangong Lin looked at her fingertips, which were oozing a drop of blood, and her expression changed to angry.
