"Ning'er, are you really alright? I feel something is not quite right with you…"
Xue Zining smiled and shook her head. "I was merely a little stunned by Young Master Yan's beauty."
Bai Gujue, upon hearing this, did not seem surprised. "Indeed, when I first met Young Master Yan, I was as astonished as Ning'er is."
Xue Zining lowered her gaze, picked up the teacup, and took a sip of tea. No matter the time or place, her Yan Zhao had a way of astonishing people.
Suddenly, a woman's voice echoed from the doorway. Xue Zining looked up and saw a cluster of women gathered there, all gazing towards her Yan Zhao.
"Ning'er, don't find it strange. Young Master Yan's appearance astonishes not only men but women as well," Bai Gujue said.
Before Bai Gujue could finish speaking, a voice from outside announced that the Northern Frontier King had specially sent the prizes for the poetry gathering.
When the servants of the Yan Manor brought the prizes forward, everyone was surprised. It was a jade brush, meticulously carved from fine jade. The brush body was crystal clear, and the bristles were smooth and lustrous—a superior writing instrument. Such a brush was precisely what scholars and literati desired.
Xue Zining nodded. "What is this Young Master Yan's background that the Northern Frontier King's manor would send prizes?"
Bai Gujue shook his head. "Elder brother does not know, but I surmise it is merely the King's appreciation for talent."
Xue Zining did not think so. Something must have happened to Yan Zhao for him to pretend not to recognize her.
The poetry gathering began, with scholars and literati eagerly composing poems. Xue Zining looked at Bai Gujue and couldn't help but ask, "Brother, won't you try?"
Bai Gujue shook his head. "Merely attending has been immensely beneficial. What about Ning'er?"
"My feelings are the same as yours, Brother," Xue Zining replied.
Ultimately, a scholar named Gu Xuanzhi won the brush. As Gu Xuanzhi held the brush, Yan Jinzhao, seated at the head, suddenly spoke, "Young Master Gu, what is your opinion on women ruling the empire today?"
Gu Xuanzhi was slightly taken aback. "Is this the final question?"
Yan Jinzhao replied calmly, "It is merely my personal question. Young Master Gu may answer or not."
Gu Xuanzhi answered without hesitation, "Naturally, it is a matter of great impropriety. Women should follow their husbands as their guide, their heaven. When everything is disrupted and balance is lost, then a great struggle will ensue."
Yan Jinzhao listened, then glanced at Gu Xuanzhi and said faintly, "Today's poetry gathering ends here." With that, he stood up, preparing to leave.
Xue Zining also rose to follow him. Bai Gujue called out, "Ning'er, where are you going?"
"Brother, please go back first. I have something to ask Young Master Yan." As she spoke, Xue Zining had already hurried to the doorway.
In the back courtyard, she lost sight of him. Just as she was wondering what to do, a force suddenly pushed her backward, stopping only when her back hit a tree.
She looked up and saw a refined, handsome face she had seen countless times in her dreams. A pair of dark eyes gazed at her like an unfathomable abyss.
"Yan Zhao…" she whispered involuntarily.
"The lady has mistaken me," his voice was so cold it made one tremble.
"I haven't mistaken you. You just don't remember me." She was certain the person before her was Yan Zhao, but he didn't recognize her.
"Miss, I am Yan Jinzhao, not the Yan Zhao you speak of," he repeated, his voice growing colder.
Her heart ached. She couldn't help but reach out, intending to touch his cheek. Yan Jinzhao's gaze turned sharp, and he stepped back, saying coldly, "Miss, your demeanor is rather forward. If you continue like this, I will have the servants escort you out."
"Yan Zhao, you truly don't remember me?" Xue Zining couldn't quite believe it.
Yan Jinzhao's expression became increasingly cold, his eyes distant. "It seems the lady is unwilling to leave. Someone, escort this person out of the manor." He turned and left.
"Yan Zhao…" she couldn't help but grab his sleeve, but all she grasped was the hem of his robe slipping through her fingers.
"I've seen many ladies wish to express their affection for the young master, but I've never encountered one as shameless as you," a maidservant from the manor said unceremoniously.
Xue Zining ignored the maidservant, but a sense of panic and fear she had never felt before washed over her. This was the first time she had felt this way. Previously, she believed that no matter what, Yan Zhao would never abandon her. Yet now, she felt like the abandoned one, standing outside the Yan Manor, lost and uncertain.
"Young Master." Kui Xiang, who had been guarding outside the Yan Manor, saw the crestfallen Xue Zining and quickly went to support her.
Xue Zining shook her head. "I… I'm fine."
Kui Xiang asked, "Does the young master know that Young Master Yan?"
She looked up at Kui Xiang. "Do you think he resembles Xue Jingyun?"
Kui Xiang paused for a moment before nodding. "He does, but that doesn't prove he is him."
"I am certain he is," Xue Zining stated.
Kui Xiang asked, "Is the young master so distraught because of Young Master Yan?"
"I want to get close to that Young Master Yan." Both for personal and public reasons, she needed to investigate what had happened to Yan Zhao to cause such a drastic change in his temperament, making him not even recognize her.
"Young Master, I don't think this is a good approach," Kui Xiang said.
"Go and find out for me how I can enter the Yan Manor," Xue Zining requested.
Kui Xiang had no choice but to discreetly inquire. That evening, Xue Zining received the news Kui Xiang had gathered: the manor was recruiting pageboys.
The next morning, Xue Zining, dressed as a pageboy, went to the Yan Manor. The Yan Manor's steward looked at the dozens of pageboys and said, "Everyone, follow me."
They arrived in the center of a courtyard, where Xue Zining saw there were several stages of assessment.
The Yan Manor's steward announced, "To work as a pageboy in the Yan Manor, one must not only be observant but also possess some knowledge of poetry. The assessment begins now."
Xue Zining took the test paper. The questions seemed simple: composing poetry, calligraphy, and basic ink grinding were not difficult for her. Soon, she and two other pageboys passed the test.
There were two more stages remaining.
Just then, a hurried servant rushed to the Yan Manor's steward and whispered a few words. The steward's expression darkened. He looked at the three pageboys, including Xue Zining, and said, "This stage is about how to politely refuse someone the young master does not wish to see." One of them asked, "May I ask if the person the steward refers to is the one outside the gate?"
The Yan steward nodded. "Indeed. The person outside is the cousin of the Northern Frontier King, Miss Jiang."
Xue Zining was startled. How did she not know that Xue Zixuan had a cousin? When he became Xue Zixuan, he was already an orphan.
Upon hearing that it was the Northern Frontier King's cousin, the questioner was visibly shocked. "Then… wouldn't that offend the Northern Frontier King?"
The Yan steward replied, "If someone wishing to join the Yan Manor lacks even this bit of courage, they are not worthy of being part of the Yan Manor."