"That child is quite stubborn," Helan Zong sighed with a laugh. "Never mind, never mind, I won't meddle too much. What are you going to do later? Read?"
Helan Pei nodded.
Now that Lu Shuo was inconvenienced and couldn't play with her, she'd go back to reading.
Helan Zong looked at his daughter.
Helan Pei looked back, tilting her head in confusion.
"...Nothing," Helan Zong said. "Go read. I'll be off."
Helan Pei nodded again.
Helan Zong strode out of the courtyard, looked up at the blue sky, and felt his emotions churn.
He had always felt it wasn't good for his daughter to stay cooped up reading all day. He had tried more than once to take her out riding, to free her nature. After all, all his sons loved riding, especially the second and third—they would shout and yell with excitement at the stable.
But she was unwilling.
Sometimes, as a father, he just didn't know what to do.
At night, the couple sometimes talked about their children's futures. They said the eldest was steady and most fit to inherit the title. The second and third probably wouldn't excel in academics; they could be sent to the military to gain experience when older, to see if being a military officer was as impressive as they imagined.
When it came to their daughter, they only had sighs and silence.
If most women's most important life event was marrying into a good family, then their daughter, due to her disability, could neither become an independent female official like Jiang Siji, who had saved enough for retirement after decades in the palace, nor find a good husband.
After all, families of equal status wouldn't pass over the many healthy noble girls in the Capital City to marry a mute. And families willing to marry a mute likely did so to curry favor with the Duke Mansion, not out of genuine intent. If Pei'er married into such a family, she would suffer in silence.
The Xuan Duke Mansion could support her for life. But now Helan Zong was in charge. In a few decades, when he died, what then? By then, his three sons would have their own families and busy official careers; would they have time to look after their sister? And would their wives welcome a mute sister-in-law?
Just thinking about it was worrisome.
But there was no solution; they could only rely on their sons' conscience in the decades to come.
...
A few days later, the Imperial Academy had its period break. Helan Zong called his sons together and scolded them, telling them to stop stirring up trouble. With the current political situation unclear, they shouldn't involve family affairs in state matters.
The sons still looked somewhat unconvinced, but they understood reason and could tell what was important. They fell silent.
Thus, the Dragon Boat Festival incident was put to rest.
Days passed as usual. Lu Shuo and Helan Pei spent their time in the inner quarters, living a calm and peaceful life.
Lu Shuo's arm fully healed, and he could move freely again. But the weather grew hotter; looking at the blazing sun outside made one unwilling to go out.
Helan Pei was the laziest. In the past, when she wanted to play with Lu Shuo, she would call him to the Eastern Corridor Side Room. Now, with the heat, even walking to the Eastern Corridor made her break into a light sweat. She didn't want to be so disheveled, so she simply had Lu Shuo come to her own courtyard and play in her study.
She had a separate study; Lu Shuo did not. When he entered the lady's study for the first time, he felt the entire room exuded a faint scent of ink and some inexplicable sweet fragrance, making him very uneasy.
Since it was a study, not her private chamber, Helan Pei had long stopped minding Lu Shuo entering her space. She had someone bring an ice basin, and the two of them could spend the whole afternoon playing Chupu in the study.
Of course, Zisu had to be present too; otherwise, with the doors and windows closed, it would be hard to explain.
This was the quietest summer Lu Shuo had ever experienced.
In previous summers, despite the heat, fruits would ripen, and children would go together to the mountains to pick wild fruit. The noise and cicada chirps mingled together, like a cacophony. When it got too hot, they would run to the stream to swim and bathe, getting tanned until they shone black.
Compared to when he first arrived in the capital, Lu Shuo was no longer so dark. Thanks to good food and drink, he had grown noticeably taller and put on flesh. Zhang Yizhu was very pleased, saying he looked like a boy of his age should.
Lu Shuo looked at himself every day and couldn't see obvious changes, but hearing others say so made him secretly happy.
Though he didn't want to argue with Young Master Du of the Song Duke Mansion, the sarcastic words from the Dragon Boat Festival incident still pricked his heart like a thorn.
He often found himself in a contradictory state: craving others' approval, wanting to become someone who wouldn't burden the Duke Mansion, yet not wanting to be completely assimilated by the capital's aristocratic sons, casting aside his past twelve years.
He once mustered the courage to ask Helan Pei if his mediocrity would embarrass the Duke Mansion.
Helan Pei was reviewing his homework at the time—Jiang Siji had discovered that Helan Pei could help correct Lu Shuo's simple assignments, so she shirked the task onto Helan Pei, euphemistically calling it mutual help. Since they often played together anyway, correcting homework was just a convenient extra.
Hearing his question, Helan Pei calmly replied: "Second and Third Brothers got a C grade and didn't feel embarrassed. Why should you worry?"
Lu Shuo could now basically read her writing. He said, "It's different."
But he couldn't articulate how.
Helan Pei thought for a moment, then replied: "There's nothing wrong with being mediocre. If you were a genius, you'd be at the Imperial Academy now, not here keeping me company."
Lu Shuo was stunned.
It sounded like a taunt, but he knew she didn't mean it that way.
Seeing him silent, Helan Pei added: "But you won't stay here forever. Jiang Siji's teaching is limited. If you want to achieve something in the future, you'll have to go to the Imperial Academy."
Lu Shuo pressed his lips and whispered, "If Miss thinks I'm useful staying in the mansion, I don't have to go to the Imperial Academy."
Helan Pei froze, staring at him for a long moment until he started feeling uneasy. Then she gave a slight smile, shook her head, and wrote: "Better to go out. Don't end up like me."
That day, the sunlight was bright, the breeze light, and the cicadas noisy.
Zisu was dozing behind them.
He looked at her, falling into a pair of clear eyes.
Author's note:
None.