A Star of Command

"I thought I would never see her again, but unexpectedly, I chanced upon her carriage on the road back to the city that day. For a moment, I..."

He lowered his eyes to the cup of wine and said dejectedly, "I pretended to have injured my foot to win the young lady's sympathy. It was hardly the act of an honorable man. I am ashamed."

"Your Highness asked whether I truly liked her. I hope Your Highness will not laugh at me, but this is my first taste of love. Seeing her brings me joy; being apart brings me sorrow. My feelings twist and turn a hundred times, impossible to cast aside."

"You often visit the Red Sleeve House. Have you never seen how others woo young ladies?"

Wen Yan hurriedly said, "Please watch your words, Your Highness."

"Miss Shen comes from an honorable family. I would never dare pursue her by underhanded means or treat her with such disrespect. I beg Your Highness to watch your words!"

He rose and bowed with cupped hands, his words full of steadfast protectiveness.

"Why don't I lend you a hand? As a woman myself, I should understand Shen Zhiyao better than you do."

"Why would Your Highness help me?"

"To repay you for yielding your carriage to me that day, and for your lily and puff pastry chicken today."

Wen Yan smiled and calmly sat down.

"In my humble opinion, I have always thought Your Highness disliked my family."

Wen Yan's sharp perception took Zhao Huiluan aback.

The Wen family truly were difficult to deal with, even a good-for-nothing silk-pants!

"You go too far, Young Master Wen."

"I only dislike your younger sister. She is truly... so arrogant and rude that she makes one sick."

Wen Yan shook his head with a helpless laugh. He knew perfectly well what his own sister was like.

"I have four words of advice for you: cater to her tastes."

"The Shen young lady comes from a scholarly family. I imagine she places great value on a person's learning. As for you, Young Master Wen..."

The rest went without saying.

"I hear they will soon select a class prefect to oversee the students' studies. A class prefect, I imagine, would have plenty of opportunities to spend time and talk with the other students."

"I can ensure that Brother Yanli and Wanwan vote for you. As for the others, I imagine they should be easy enough for you to win over, Eldest Young Master Wen."

Wen Yan felt as though sweet dew had been poured over his head. He filled two cups to the brim and offered her a toast.

"I have learned much. Thank you, Your Highness!"

At dusk, when Rong An and the others came looking for her, Zhao Huiluan was quite drunk, sprawled in a daze over the stone table.

There was no one else in the pavilion. Nor were there any cups or dishes scattered across the stone table.

Shen Zhiyun struggled to help her up, and Zhang Yunchi lent her a little support. The smell of wine hit them straight in the crown of the head.

"Well, Zhao Huiluan, some friend you are! You went drinking without me!"

Rong An, whose face was already grim, raised his eyes at those words and looked at the three of them.

"Then I'll bring you along next time, and Wanwan too."

Hearing Zhao Huiluan's drunken words, Rong An's eyes filled with even greater displeasure.

The next day, after classes, he called Zhao Huiluan back.

"Please wait, Your Highness."

"Your Highness broke the academy rules by getting drunk yesterday."

Zhao Huiluan was hungover and had a splitting headache. Hearing him, she held out her palm without another word.

"Your Highness's punishment is to practice ten extra sheets of calligraphy today."

As Rong An spoke, he used the ruler to push her hand back.

Zhao Huiluan was displeased.

"I wasn't the only one who got drunk!"

She looked around but saw no sign of Wen Yan.

Zhang Yunchi quietly told her what had happened in the pavilion the previous evening. Both startled and aggrieved, she could only mumble her agreement.

Zhao Huiluan practiced her writing alone in Chongzhi Hall, grumbling to herself that Wen Yan was indeed old thief Wen Hong's own blood.

Catching someone peeking around the doorway out of the corner of her eye, Zhao Huiluan snorted loudly.

"Some friend you are!"

Wen Yan came in and apologized to her. "Please forgive me, Your Highness. If anyone saw you with me, I feared it might damage your good name."

"Let me help Your Highness write them."

Zhao Huiluan pressed a hand over her paper, the tip of her brush stopping a hair's breadth from his nose.

"Clearly, you thought your reputation was already well known and didn't want another scandal to further tarnish the already less than lofty image Shen Zhiyao has of you."

"And to think I even gave you advice yesterday."

Catching sight of Rong An outside the window, though she had no idea when he had appeared there, Zhao Huiluan froze for a long moment before withdrawing her hand and continuing to write.

Wen Yan did not dare linger. He cupped his hands to Rong An and hurried away.

Rong An entered Chongzhi Hall, sat down at the desk, and picked up a book to read.

As Zhao Huiluan continued writing, a smile crept onto her lips.

"You want to matchmake Wen Qingyu and Shen Zhiyao?"

In the pavilion, Zhang Yunchi was shocked after hearing Zhao Huiluan out.

Shen Zhiyun frowned, less than willing. "She is my Sister Yao, after all. Wen Qingyu is a good-for-nothing silk-pants. He is no suitable match."

Resting her chin on one hand and tapping the table with the fingertips of the other, Zhao Huiluan asked with a leisurely smile, "Do you think your Sister Yao has feelings for Wen Qingyu?"

"What? Impossible!"

How could her Sister Yao possibly have fallen for Wen Yan, Wen Qingyu?

Zhao Huiluan still wore a mysterious smile.

That day at the training ground, the look Shen Zhiyao had given Wen Yan had been a complicated one indeed!

Half convinced and half doubtful, Shen Zhiyun cast her vote for Wen Yan in the class prefect selection.

Wen Yan was elected class prefect without a hitch, as expected.

On the way back to the lodgings, Shen Zhiyun could not help muttering to herself.

Remembering how Shen Zhiyao's expression had changed on the spot when she learned Wen Yan's identity that day, Shen Zhiyun anxiously slapped her thigh and cried, "Oh no."

"Jianjian, if what you say is true, Sister Yao likes Wen Qingyu too. But all this time, she has spoken coldly to him and never given him a pleasant look. I fear it is because he is a member of the Wen family."

"As we both know, although the Wen family's standing is high, the upright officials are unwilling to attach themselves to a powerful minister like Grand Secretary Wen. Even if neither of us fully understands Sister Yao, we can see that she is a very high-minded person!"

Zhao Huiluan listened quietly, then said, "But who can choose the family they are born into?"

Chapter 25: A star of command

After Wen Yan became class prefect, he carried out his duties conscientiously.