The noble girl is beautiful.

Shen Yourong injured her foot, making it inconvenient to recuperate in the temple. Since Lady Yang had matters to attend to and couldn’t leave the mansion, Shen Qingfeng escorted her and Shen Yourong back to the mansion first.
The old lady continued to enjoy her time at Donglin Temple with the remaining girls and boys.
After a half-day of travel, they finally returned home. Shen Yourong sat on the reclining couch in the inner room, her ankle still somewhat swollen, covered with a cloth and resting on the bed. Du Juan moved the ice mirror next to the couch, which contained tea and fruits, for her to access anytime.
Hua Mei went to pack up things, and a little maid was called in to fan Shen Yourong. Shen Yourong looked at the book for a while and felt her eyes ache. She asked the little maid next to her, “Can you read?”
The little maid shook her head, so Shen Yourong called Hua Mei in to sit and read to her.
Hua Mei picked up the book and asked, “Miss, you haven’t written the big characters for today. It’s getting dark soon, and you probably don’t want to write them later.”
Shen Yourong fanned herself and said, “The Crown Prince is still in Donglin Temple. Where would he come to check my homework? I won’t write today.”
Hua Mei shook her head and picked up the book to read to her.
As the evening approached, Shen Yourong slept for a while and woke up feeling more tired. Suddenly, she heard the embroidered curtain at the door move, and it turned out to be Shen Shuo returning from his duty shift, rushing to see her.
He hadn’t had time to change his clothes and was wearing his crimson official robe, which, coupled with his cold face, became even more enchanting.
“What happened? How serious is the injury?” He asked her about her condition as soon as he entered.
Du Juan brought a chair and served tea, then she and Hua Mei withdrew to the outer room.
Shen Yourong sat on the reclining couch and said, “I accidentally twisted my foot. It’s not too serious, but I can’t walk.”
He still frowned and said, “Tomorrow, I’ll invite a royal physician to take another look at you.”
“No need for such trouble,” she replied.
Ignoring her, he instructed Du Juan and Hua Mei to take good care of her.
She held the tea bowl and suddenly asked, “Is the Autumn Examination approaching?”
He nodded, not understanding why she suddenly asked about this.
“Brother,” she said, “Is there anything unusual about this year’s Autumn Examination?”
He asked back, “What do you mean by unusual?”
She paused, regretting her words. After a moment of thought, she said directly, “Do you have any way to prevent Second Brother from participating in this year’s Autumn Examination?”
Shen Shuo’s gaze suddenly became sharp as he assessed her. He said, “what do you mean by this?”
Shen Yourong knew that he wouldn’t let it go without saying something. After pondering for a moment, she said, “In short, Second Brother must not participate in this year’s Autumn Examination.”
He pondered for a moment and asked, “Do you know something?”
She lowered her head and drank tea, saying, “I’m just worried. Second Brother is young. Wouldn’t it be better for him to prepare more?”
He didn’t believe her words. “Missing it once means waiting another three years.”
She whispered, “It probably won’t be that long.”
Exam cheating involves scholars from all over the country, and for the sake of public outrage, there will inevitably be leniency in opening up new examination subjects.
“What do you mean?” He asked, frowning. He was about to inquire further, but was interrupted by her.
“Brother, if you trust me, then don’t ask anymore.”
He pondered for a moment and asked, “If Qingfeng insists on participating in the Autumn Examination, how bad will things be at worst?”
In fact, she didn’t know whether the matter of exam cheating would be exposed or not, but once something happened, it would inevitably cause a huge uproar.
After considering it several times, she finally said, “It’s immeasurable.”
His eyes flickered slightly. “I understand. I will handle this matter.”
Back at Mingyue Pavilion, Shen Shuo changed his clothes and asked Li Qiu, “Is the Second Young Master in the mansion?”
“He is,” Li Qiu replied. “After escorting Madam and the eldest Miss back, he has been studying in his own courtyard. Madam instructed not to disturb him.”
Shen Shuo acknowledged and went out.
As the evening approached, the study room had already lit up. The chess boy beside Shen Qingfeng placed a bright lamp on the desk and said, “Young Master, take a rest.”
Shen Qingfeng put down the book, rubbed his eyes, and said, “The Autumn Examination is approaching, where is there time to rest? Mother and sister are counting on me, and I’m not good at studying. I can only work harder.”
“Working hard like this isn’t the way,” Shen Shuo’s voice came from outside the window.
Shen Qingfeng hurriedly stood up to greet him as Shen Shuo entered the room, waving his hand for Shen Qingfeng not to be in a hurry and sitting down on a chair after lifting his clothes.
The chess boy went to serve tea, and Shen Shuo played with the fan pendant, saying, “Studying at night hurts your eyes, and that’s a lifetime thing. You can’t neglect it.”
Shen Qingfeng agreed, and Shen Shuo asked, “Are you confident about this year’s Autumn Examination?”
Shen Qingfeng said, “I can’t say for sure.”
“Bring me the essay you wrote, I’ll take a look,” Shen Shuo said.
He quickly brought a piece of writing for him to read. Shen Shuo read it carefully once over. To be honest, although this essay was not outstanding, it was decent and should secure a good ranking.
He put down the essay, feeling somewhat hesitant.
Shen Qingfeng anxiously awaited his evaluation.
“It’s not bad, but…” He pinched the fan pendant, “have you considered waiting a bit and taking the exam next time?”
Shen Qingfeng suddenly felt uneasy. “Is it because the essay wasn’t good enough?”
Shen Shuo waved his hand. “If you prepare a bit more, you’ll have a better chance of success, and your ranking will also look better.
Besides, some examiners don’t like young people. They think that the path to the imperial examination for young people is too smooth and easy, so they deliberately fail young candidates.”
Shen Qingfeng hesitated. “But…”
He believed Shen Shuo’s words, but thinking about his mother and sister who were eagerly anticipating his success, he didn’t know what to do.
“You should think it over,” he stood up and said, “Don’t read at night. It’s not worth the mental strain.”
“Alright,” Shen Qingfeng saw him off.
In the latter half of July, Shen Yourong mostly stayed in her own courtyard. The old lady exempted her from her morning and evening duties, and Lady Yang naturally couldn’t force Shen Yourong to pay her respects.
She didn’t need to go to the study either, which conveniently saved her from meeting Ji Zhuo.
The only thing she still had to do every day was writing the big characters. He still corrected them properly, which made her feel extremely frustrated.
After resting for more than ten days, she finally could walk again. Du Juan and Hua Mei were afraid that she would fall, so they advised her to walk less for fear of her foot hurting.
She walked around the courtyard a few times, feeling only a slight discomfort in her ankle. Feeling good, she walked to the swing in the courtyard and wanted to play on it.
A maid brought a large red embroidered cushion, and she sat on the swing, letting the maid push her slowly from behind.
The weather was not hot, rather cool, and the wind blew her butterfly-patterned chiffon dress, making her look like a beautiful painting.
A sharp voice like a knife suddenly pierced through the scene. From outside the wall came cursing, “What do you mean by waiting for next time! Is taking the imperial examination like buying vegetables at your doorstep? Can you wait for next time?! Obviously, you’re afraid that we’ll outshine you in the examination and are jealous! You heartless and rotten person!”
She frowned. Du Juan had already sent the maidservants to go and see outside. The troublemaker was Shen Qingfeng’s wet nurse, also a trusted person by Lady Yang’s side.
She was causing a scene at Shen Yourong’s courtyard gate, and her maidservant was busy pulling her back, causing a chaotic scene.
“…Don’t stop me either. You bunch of lowly servants, always flattering whoever’s in favor, you’ll never know how you’ll die in the end!”
Du Juan’s expression became even worse, and Hua Mei, not one to hold back, shouted from the courtyard gate, “With servants like you, no wonder there’s no fire in the fireplace! Sooner or later, the stove will collapse and the fire will go out, just like what you said today!” After that, she looked at the maidservants, “No sense of discipline at all.
Allowing this madwoman to run rampant everywhere, don’t you know she’s also tarnishing your faces? When it spreads out, the entire courtyard will be laughed at for its lack of discipline!”
Du Juan pulled her away and instructed the older women in the courtyard to drive them all out.
Hua Mei added, “Better drive them away early, get them out of the mansion in one breath! Such embarrassing things!”
Back in the courtyard, Shen Yourong’s expression had already softened. Today’s incident must have been tacitly approved by Lady Yang, and she probably hadn’t hesitated to scold Shen Shuo and herself behind her back.
She didn’t dare to confront Shen Shuo directly, so she had to trouble her in the back courtyard.
She raised her hand to let Hua Mei support her back, looking lazy and not saying a word.
In the evening when Shen Shuo came back, he heard about the incident, sneered twice, and called for Li Qiu to give a few instructions, “Be more discreet.”
He agreed.
In less than two days, Shen Qingfeng suddenly fell ill. According to Hua Mei, it was because he caught a cold on a rainy night and woke up with a high fever the next day.
After the fever subsided, he started vomiting and diarrhea, and now he couldn’t even get out of bed.
Lady Yang and Shen Qinghan were busy inviting doctors to take care of Shen him, and the main courtyard was restless all night.
Shen Ying was also alerted, but he didn’t value Shen Qingfeng’s exam as much as Lady Yang did. In his eyes, Shen Qingfeng was gentle and honest, diligent in studying, and steadily advancing in his exams, so it was only a matter of time before he achieved success.
When he heard that he caught a cold from reading at night, Shen Ying was also very angry, thinking that Lady Yang had forced him too much.
Shen Yourong didn’t care about any of these matters. She had finally managed to walk again and decided to take her maidservant out to see the lotus flowers.
Walking along the lake shore and playing, Hua Mei picked some lotus flowers and leaves by the lake for her to hold. After walking for a while, they saw a pavilion ahead, and Hua Mei urged her to take a break.
She agreed and hadn’t approached yet when she saw a figure in a moon-white robe in the pavilion.
She paused and turned to leave.
“Miss, please stay.” Ji Zhuo put down his teacup and said, “Your foot is injured. You should come and rest.”
She hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked into the pavilion, carrying the lotus flowers in her arms as if they could shield her from his gaze.
“These lotus flowers are beautiful,” he praised. He then instructed Changming, “Go and fetch the black-gold glazed painted porcelain vase. The lotus flowers will look good in that vase.”
Changming went to fetch it.
Shen Yourong sat down in the pavilion but remained silent, just holding the lotus flowers as if they were a shield against him.
“I heard that the Second Young Master of the mansion is ill,” he said. “Is it serious?”
“The Prince Consort is concerned,” She said politely, “I haven’t been to see him yet, so I’m not sure.”
Ji Zhuo smiled and said, “I guess it must be very serious, unable to get out of bed or enter the examination room.”
Her face remained expressionless, saying nothing.
“Do you think everyone is a fool?” His voice was soft, “Among all the nobles in the capital, only your Second Young Master fell ill and missed the imperial examination.
What a coincidence. In the eyes of someone with a purpose, how much trouble will this cause?”
He looked at her, who was pretending to be obedient, with a slightly cold expression, “Miss, you’ve ruined my plan.”