The Heart Given to Brighten the Moon - Chapter 13

Shen Danxin didn’t have time to seek out Old Man Cai for a reckoning. Cradling the sandalwood box, she headed straight for the Scholars’ Academy next door. The courtyard was desolate, no rhythmic chanting of students typical of a private school, no rustle of attendants sweeping the floors. Within the stark academy, a few plants and an ancient banyan tree were the only specks of green amidst the moss and rubble. The ground was scrupulously clean, not a speck of dust in sight.

Standing in a courtyard barely half the size of the inner court of the Qingmo Academy, Shen Danxin’s brow furrowed. Who could endure such a grim atmosphere, if not for a bunch of pedantic, stubborn old fogies?

Even the young attendant who approached her wore a stiff, mechanical expression. “Master Shen, pray wait a moment. Master Song shall arrive during the class break.”

Shen Danxin nodded, her brow smoothing out slightly. During her time at the Qingmo Academy, the young attendants had shared plenty of palace lore, mostly focusing on the rivalry between the Scholars’ Academy and the Qingmo Academy. When Zhao Zongqian first ascended the throne, the Scholars’ Academy had students everywhere and stood at the peak of prestige, while the Qingmo Academy was a desolate courtyard with few visitors.

However, literary scholars were notoriously “blindly loyal” especially the stubborn old men. Despite knowing that the last emperor of the previous dynasty, Song Hui, was a profligate who ruined the nation, they still refused to serve Zhao Zongqian. In their eyes, rebellion and usurpation were crimes far more unforgivable than incompetence. The heads of both academies had fled the palace in a fury; word was that less than thirty miles from the western city gate; they had encountered bandits. Four or five carriages had plunged off a cliff, leaving no survivors. Scholars across the land wailed in grief, sending a joint petition that forced Zhao Zongqian to erect a commemorative monument at the southern gate of the palace.

Zhao Zongqian had been unwilling, but there were too many scholars under heaven. He feared inciting a mass uprising and repeating the mistakes of Song Hui. Thus, he had always held a deep-seated, covert resentment toward the literary class, showing them respect on the surface while maintaining a guarded distance in private. This was precisely why he grew closer to the “Ink-Masters.” Today, the head of the Scholars’ Academy was the world-renowned Confucian scholar Chen Jianzhi, who ten years ago had been known as Master Chen. But after entering the palace, aside from the respectful title of “Head Master,” he was merely called “Teacher” or “Pedant.” It was a far cry from the grand air of the Ink-Masters, yet while the Ink-Masters flourished, the position of Head at the Qingmo Academy remained vacant.

These subtle, dark undercurrents were a favorite topic of conversation for the people of the world.

Shen Danxin had boredly kicked twenty-eight small stones beneath the ancient banyan tree by the time Song Mingjue ran toward her with a face full of worry. He greeted her with a barrage of blame: “The two academies have always been like fire and water! You are technically a Master of the Qingmo Academy now; how could you come here without so much as a word of greeting?”

Shen Danxin was beyond frustrated. She didn’t care about such things and didn’t bother arguing. With a miserable face, she said, “I went to the Luanqi Palace to deliver a painting today and slapped your sister. Is she going to stab me to death with her scissors?”

Song Mingjue looked as if he were facing a great enemy. “Why did you hit her?”

Shen Danxin gestured wildly, giving a vivid description of the events. After Song Mingjue pondered in serious silence for a long while, he said in a heavy tone: “You cannot return to the servants’ quarters anymore.”

This was harder to accept than being stabbed. Shen Danxin’s eyes went wide. She asked unwillingly, “Is it that serious? I’ll let her slap me back. No! Ten slaps, okay?”

Song Mingjue shook his head, still grave. “That is not the issue. On the contrary, I must thank you for saving my sister’s life. Without that slap, Zhao Hui would never have let her off. But then again, if you hadn’t taken the wrong painting, my sister wouldn’t have been forced to stick her neck out for you regardless of the cost. If that painting had fallen into Zhao Hui’s hands, you know what your fate would have been.”

Shen Danxin nodded vigorously. “It’s all Old Man Cai’s fault.”

“Regardless, a few slaps won’t be enough to, what did you say!? Why are you dragging Master Cai into this again?” Song Mingjue looked at the unrepentant Shen Danxin with disappointment. “If you continue to avoid the main issue like this, I will not say a good word for you to my sister.”

“Don’t do that!” Shen Danxin grew anxious. “My fault, it’s all my fault. But what do you mean I can’t go back? If I don’t go back, where am I supposed to live?”

Song Mingjue couldn’t find it in his heart to be cruel. He sighed and patted her shoulder. “There are thirty-six guest rooms in the rear courtyard of the Qingmo Academy. As Master Cai’s disciple, no one will question you regardless of which one you stay in. But today you offended the person you should have least offended. With her vengeful nature, she will surely seek you out. If she finds out you are sharing a room with my sister, what then?”

True. She certainly couldn’t share a room with Song Mingjue. Even if she agreed, his sister wouldn’t. Shen Danxin felt as if a knife were twisting in her heart. At the thought of being separated from the “young beauty” and having no “warm fragrance and soft jade” to accompany her to sleep, she wanted to cry.

“Then, what if I sneak back at night? I won’t let anyone find me! I promise!” Tempted by the beauty, Shen Danxin made one last desperate struggle.

Song Mingjue said irritably, “Do you think the three eunuchs personally chosen by the Empress are just for show? Eunuch Jinzhong is ranked among the top five experts in the palace. If he is on watch, he will know exactly how many bowls of rice you ate, how many times you went to the latrine, and how many times you snored.”

The cowardly Shen Danxin sucked in a breath of cold air in terror. But at the thought of the “five-finger mountain” on Song Mingyue’s face, she summoned a sliver of courage and pleaded, “Mingjue, if I don’t settle this with your sister face-to-face, she’ll hate me for the rest of her life! Mingjue, help me, I’m begging you.”

Song Mingjue looked at the single tear she had forced into the corner of her eye and his heart softened. After a moment’s thought, he said, “There is only one way to do this without being detected. Tomorrow, I shall ‘accidentally’ leave my coursework at the servants’ quarters and ask my sister to deliver it during the noon break. You wait in the storage room in the Scholars’ Academy’s rear courtyard; I shall lead her there.”

“Good, good! So smart! I’m counting on you tomorrow.” Shen Danxin delivered a heavy slap to Song Mingjue’s back. “I’m off then.”

As Song Mingjue rubbed his back, he picked up the sandalwood box that had fallen to the ground and said helplessly, “Hey, you’re painting.”

Shen Danxin, who had already walked a few steps away, turned back with a grin. “Nearly forgot. I still have to go back and settle scores with Old Man Cai. See ya, little brother.”

Song Mingjue said a silent prayer for Cai Xun’s well-being and turned back toward the main hall. To the right of the ancient banyan tree was a corridor leading to the rear courtyard; at the corner, a figure vanished in a flash. On the left side of the corridor was a row of rooms used by the princes for resting during breaks. The figure slipped into one of them and knelt before the person sitting inside.

“Did you see clearly?” The man’s voice was deep yet clear, lacking a certain resonance the characteristic voice of a youth who had only recently come of age.

“I saw clearly. It is indeed the disciple Master Cai took half a month ago.”

“It seems the rumors are true; Song Mingjue has a deep friendship with this ‘closed-door disciple’ of Master Cai… What is this person called?” The man slowly rotated a jade ring on his left pinky finger.

“Shen Danxin.”

” ‘A bird’s heart reflects the loyal red’ [Danxin] Hmmm. A good name, though he has befriended the wrong people.” The man spoke with conviction. After a moment of silence, the hand rotating the jade ring suddenly stopped. He added, “Choose someone clever to go to Luanqi Palace and feel things out. I want to know why Zhao Hui summoned this person. It might be worth giving Master Cai a ‘heads-up’.”

The kneeling person said not a word, merely acknowledging the command before vanishing just as he had arrived.

Shen Danxin sneezed as she stepped through the gates of the Qingmo Academy, nearly plunging headlong down the ink-stone steps a fall that would have surely left her half-crippled. The young attendant at the gate asked with a suppressed chuckle, “Master Shen, are you alright?”

Shen Danxin was about to wave him off when another sneeze prevented her from responding. She muttered to herself, “Could that petty Song Mingyue be cursing me?”

Another slightly older attendant asked with concern, “What is the matter, Master Shen? You left for Luanqi Palace early this morning and have only just returned?”

the younger attendant leaned in and whispered, “Look at that face paler than a girl. He was likely toyed with by the Fourth Princess. Everyone in the Academy knows Master Cai has the biggest headache dealing with her; every time, she throws a tantrum and demands he take her as a disciple. This time he found a ‘simple-minded scapegoat.’ I’m telling you, I even saw Master Cai happily sipping a few cups of wine in the pavilion today!”

The older attendant was clearly not much smarter; he took it as truth and said in shock, “Truly? If that man-eating Fourth Princess did something to our Master Shen…”

The younger attendant made a shushing gesture and nimbly stood back in his post.

Shen Danxin put her head down and bolted into Cai Xun’s elegant studio. She looked up no one. She turned around and, before she could finish a scan of the room, spotted the happy old man in the Feixie Pavilion, drinking wine and eating meat. Shen Danxin’s anger flared so intensely her “first Buddha ascended to heaven and second Buddha reached the stars.” She wanted nothing more than to smash the sandalwood box over Cai Xun’s head.

“My disciple has returned.” Cai Xun took a sip of wine and pointed to the empty seat across from him.

Shen Danxin’s momentum vanished instantly. She sat down as ordered, looking miserable. “Old Man Cai, you set me up.”

Cai Xun squinted with a smile. “I saw you coming in looking ready to take this old man’s life; why did your tone change with a single sentence?”

Shen Danxin gave the old man a white-eyed glare and said honestly, “You look like my grandfather. I can’t bring myself to do it.”

Cai Xun stroked his sparse goat-beard and asked in confusion, “Was your grandfather also a Master of the Ink?”

Shen Danxin spared a glance for the food on the table. Seeing sweet and sour ribs, she grabbed one without a word and shoved it into her mouth, saying unclearly, “He was a historian. Loved antiques and ancient relics. Thinking about it makes me furious; if it weren’t for him entering that wretched antique shop, I wouldn’t be here! You’re just like him, the best at setting me up!”

To turn her anger into appetite, Shen Danxin glared at Cai Xun while pulling the entire plate of sweet and sour ribs in front of her to hog the meal.

Cai Xun listened for a long while but didn’t understand a word. Saving face, he changed the subject and asked in feigned shock, “How could your Master harm you? What did that Fourth Princess do to you?!”

A piece of meat got stuck in Shen Danxin’s throat, turning her face beet red as she pounded her chest. Seeing it wasn’t a joke, Cai Xun panicked and handed over his wine flagon. One was bold enough to give, and the other bold enough to take. Shen Danxin yanked off the cap and gulped it down.

The spicy flavor instantly filled her mouth and nose. Shen Danxin buckled over, craned her neck, and spat it out. Fortunately, the piece of meat came out with the wine. Before she could catch her breath, she wiped her mouth and roared at Cai Xun:

“You have the nerve to ask!?”