Chapter 20: The Fate of Meeting a Teacher

Zhen Ting Yun originally picked up the bamboo flute to play a tune on a whim.

After the tune, she became a little dazed and it took her a while to return back to her senses. She released a bitter smile. She had practiced playing the bamboo flute for so long but this was the first time she played it so well. 

Just as she was about to keep her flute and make her way back to her room, a gentle female voice suddenly drifted into her ears, “Were you the one playing the flute just now?”  

Zhen Ting Yun turned around and spotted a woman in modest robes standing under an old tree in the courtyard of the inn. She gazed at Zhen Ting Yun with kind eyes and a smile. 

The madam wore her hair in a high bun. With a delicate appearance, she was tall and slender. Dressed in plain robes, despite standing alone under a tree, she had an exceptional demeanor of ‘standing lofty and independent like a lone pine tree’1, causing others to be too intimidated to disturb her. 

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Zhen Ting Yun felt somewhat ashamed. She quickly bowed her head and apologized, “I’ve disrupted Madam’s peace.”

The woman observed her with a smile as she complimented softly, “No harm done. I was just admiring the moon while contemplating some matters when I overheard your beautiful tune. Although there are some flaws in the way you played, you were able to immerse yourself into the tune which is rarely seen for one as young as yourself. You have imbued your emotions about the sorrows of parting with a dear one and it was very touching. I was also swept away by your tune hence, I decided to call out to you.”

Because of the madam’s praises, Zhen Ting Yun blushed as she hurriedly said, “Madam, you’ve flattered me.”

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Mbl osxyd fwpv pxkzle rszkvlzu obkzl pvweukdt bla okvb y rasqswde tygl. Slxlxclakdt vbyv vblu byhl ulv vs kdvasewnl vblxplzhlp, pbl pvyavle, “Yu pwadyxl kp Ubw, usw xyu yeealpp xl yp Yyeyxl Ubw.”

Hbld Mkdt Zwd oyp pvyavzle cu bla osaep yde vbswtbv vs blaplzq. Gqvla y osxyd xyaaklp, bla qsax sq yeealpp oswze lkvbla vyjl sd bla bwpcyde’p pwadyxl sa bla xykeld pwadyxl. Ms cl yeealpple yp Yyeyxl Ubw, kv oyp pyql vs pyu vbyv vblal xktbv cl psxl cynjpvsau.2

Yyeyxl Ubw’p lmralppksd alxykdle wdnbydtle yp pbl nsdvkdwle, “Ms cl yczl vs rzyu okvb lxsvksd yv uswa ytl pbsop vbyv usw byhl kddyvl vyzldv. R’x yzps jdsozletlyczl ycswv psxl xwpkn vblsaklp yde R’x yelrv yv rzyukdt vbl gkvbla yde qzwvl. R oyp osdelakdt kq usw’e cl kdvlalpvle kd pvweukdt wdela xu vwvlzytl.”

Hbld Mkdt Zwd nswze dsv blzr cwv rsdela vs blaplzq. Eyp pbl vbyv zwnju yde bye vbl qyvl sq xllvkdt vlynblap? Kwpv yqvla Zwyd Twk zlqv, y Yyeyxl Ubw yrrlyale, ypjkdt vs cl bla xldvsa.

Rq kv oyp kd vbl rypv yde psxlsdl nyxl wr yde ypjle bla vs cl vblka pvweldv, Hbld Mkdt Zwd oswze byhl clld shla vbl xssd yde kxxlekyvlzu ytalle. Tsolhla, vseyu… Zwyd Twk fwpv zlqv. Rd yeekvksd, bl bye caswtbv bla vs bkp xydsa vs alnstdkpl bla oyu yde ypjle bla vs pllj bkx swv kq pbl lhla ldnswdvlale yd kppwl. Fs kq pbl olal vs tlv ydsvbla vlynbla yv vbyv xsxldv, kv oswze alqzlnv rssazu sd bla!

Ms qyhsa vbl dlo yde ycydesd vbl sze; pbl oswze cl ds ekqqlaldv qasx y pnswdealz vbyv ekpnyaep vbl sze yqvla byhkdt xyel qwzz wpl sq kv.

Hbld Mkdt Zwd qlzv y ayal xsxldv sq pbyxl. Gqvla y pzktbv blpkvyvksd, pbl elnkele vs alflnv Yyeyxl Ubw, “R yzalyeu byhl y xldvsa, ps R’x yqayke R oswzed’v cl yczl vs pvweu gkvbla yde qzwvl wdela Yyeyx.”

Yyeyxl Ubw oyp yd lypu-tskdt rlapsd. Gzvbswtb pbl oyp alflnvle, pbl xykdvykdle bla pxkzl, okvb tldvzl casop vbyv yanble zkjl vbl nalpnldv xssd pbl alrzkle, “Rq vbyv’p vbl nypl vbld R twlpp ol nyd sdzu qsatlv ycswv kv.”

With that being said, Madame Chu steadfastly nodded at Zhen Ting Yun and said, “If its fate, we shall meet again.” 

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In a blink of an eye, she turned and left.

In the dark night with the moon faintly illuminating the swaying willows, Madame Chu slowly strode away and soon her figure was swallowed into the dark of the night. 

Leaving only Zhen Ting Yun standing there with her flute in hand. After a while, she returned to her senses and massaged her forehead as she sighed. Oh my God, did she have a hole in her brain? She actually rejected a person who came knocking on her door asking to be her teacher! 

Did Yuan Hui cast a spell on her before he left? She was so clever, so why did she make such a rudimentary mistake?

At that very moment, Zhen Ting Yun was overwhelmed with regret. 

In addition, this was before she knew of Madame Chu’s identity. In the future when she learned of Madame Chu’s identity, she could die of regret.

~~~~

It was early the next morning when Old Madame Zhen and the rest learned from Zhen Ting Yun about Yuan Hui’s departure.  

Old Madame Zhen had long expected this to happen. In order to demonstrate her elderly’s amazing wit, she added an afterthought, “I’ve already warned you previously. A teacher that doesn’t ask for remuneration wouldn’t stay for long!”

Zhen Ting Yun was feeling a little stifled. Taking advantage of the situation, she praised Old Madame Zhen, “Grandma is wise.”

Old Madame Zhen clicked her tongue while she secretly regretted being stingy and unwilling to pay the teacher earlier. She thought to herself, now that they were arriving at the Imperial City, everything could be discussed with her son. By then, she would get her son to hire a good teacher for her granddaughter and they would not have to sweat over the one that left.

Therefore, having decided on the next plan of action, Old Madame Zhen did not comment further. Instead, wanting some gossip, she softly whispered to  Zhen Ting Yun, “That teacher of yours is good-looking… and he’s skilled and knowledgeable. Back then, why did he have to steal your horse?”

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Zhen Ting Yun refused to speak more about this, so she just commented, “As a student, it’s not nice to constantly prod at people’s mistakes. So how will I know about this?” 

After a short pause, Zhen Ting Yun diverted the topic, “According to Steward Lin, we’ll be entering the Imperial City today and should be arriving home by the evening. Can Grandma tell me more matters about Father and the rest?” 

Those words pleased Old Madame Zhen’s ears and made the elderly very enthusiastic and willing to divulge. Who cares about what happened to Yuan Hui who suddenly disappeared? She slapped her thighs in delight as she joyously began telling Zhen Ting Yun about her precious son, “Your father is a very capable man. He was born smart and is especially lucky…” 

As Zhen Ting Yun sat and listened to Old Madame Zhen, she slowly got lost in her thoughts. It was inevitable that she would recall that long dream she had before their journey to the Imperial City.

In the end, it was just a dream. There were many scenes that were vague and disorderly. Zhen Ting Yun could only grasp a general idea of the happenings by piecing together the many scenes that appeared in her dream. The most distinguishable part was the ending where after she met her demise on the streets, Zhen Yi Yun, dressed in the crown princess robes, looked at her own reflection through the bronze mirror and muttered to herself. 

Thus, Zhen Ting Yun was very clear about one thing. Although Old Madame Zhen’s words could be listened to, they must be taken as a fact. Father Zhen was not a saint as Old Madame Zhen always praised and Pei-Shi could not be considered the villain that Old Madame Zhen always criticized. 

Although Father Zhen had deep affection towards his windowed mother and was very filial, he could also be affected by various small issues and the constant disputes and unhappiness would add up causing his relationship with his mother gradually sour and become estranged. 

He also felt sympathy and guilt towards his younger daughter. However, observing her crass behaviors. She was nothing like his very knowledgeable and graceful elder daughter and nothing like his intelligent and courteous youngest son. Her actions constantly brought him shame and embarrassment and she did not take after him in the slightest, causing him to be greatly disappointed. In the end, for the sake of upholding the family’s reputation, he decided to have her sent back to the village. But who would have expected that his younger daughter would meet her demise on the streets? He could only chalk it up to an accident and sigh in resignation. 

Although Pei-Shi resented her mother-in-law for constantly trying to find faults with her, she had never resorted to using dirty schemes and she handled family matters fairly. The things that she needed to do, she had also done them properly and according to etiquette. At the front end, she had served her mother-in-law respectfully, at the back end, she raised her elder daughter and youngest son to become individuals of talent and excellent upbringing. With a bit of waterworks, she was able to push down her crude and domineering mother-in-law and win her ‘foolishly filial’ husband to her side. 

She also pitied her younger daughter whom she chose to abandon and had the heart to bond with and make amends to. However, having constantly been fed only her mother-in-law’s side of the story, her younger daughter only held animosity and had no affection towards her. In addition, seeing how unrefined her younger daughter acted and with her elder daughter constantly inciting disharmony between them, after weighing the pros and cons, she finally decided to push her younger daughter aside and took it as she never gave birth to the child.

They were not saints nor villains, they were just ordinary folks. They were not cold-blooded and ungrateful people, they also experienced emotions like guilt, pity, and biasness. Unfortunately, those emotions could not withstand trails and tribulations.

Therefore, unlike the Zhen Ting Yun of her dreams, she was not filled with expectations or resentment for either party. As they neared the Imperial City, thinking that they would soon be entering Zhen household and meeting everyone, she was as calm as still water, treating everything with an impartial heart.

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The author has something to say: 

Madame Chu is going to be an important character. Have a brief meeting first to get familiar with one another~