The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Within the fragrant pavilion, a warm aroma permeates the air, and the beaded curtain is half-rolled up.

The young ladies from various noble families were following the old traditions of the Plum Blossom Banquet, some playing the zither, some painting, and some composing poems while picking plum blossoms, displaying their carefully cultivated talents.

But the atmosphere today is somewhat subtle.

Ever since the piece "Yan Yu Yun Tai" swept through the entire garden like a thunderclap, even the most exquisite zither music seemed thin, and even the most vivid poems lost their luster.

With pearls and jade before them, even the humblest tiles and stones pale in comparison.

"Niannian, your half-sister... has really shot herself in the foot today."

Lan Jingshu, the daughter of a high-ranking official, dressed in a sky-blue ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), covered her lips with a fan and glanced at the inner room of the warm pavilion.

"Isn't that right?"

Another girl in yellow chimed in, her jade bracelet clicking softly with her movements; she was Han Zhi, the young lady from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

"If she hadn't insisted on starting with the Mirror Princess, how could there have been such a... overwhelming defeat?"

The way the word "dimensional reduction" was pronounced was so apt that it drew quiet chuckles from the girls around him.

"This is hardly an opening act!"

Xia Yubing, the eldest daughter of the Xia family, a wealthy merchant family, wearing a peacock blue cloak, shook her head, her eyes still filled with lingering shock.

"It's clearly a famous piece that has made me renowned throughout the land. Listening to it just now, I felt like all the piano skills I've learned over the years have been wasted on sawing wood..."

"Who can argue with that?" someone sighed. "It's like being pressed against a piano board and rubbed repeatedly until your skin is worn thin."

Shen Nian paused, her hand holding the cup moving, her expression complex.

"We all misjudged her before... Her outrageous behavior was probably all done on purpose so as not to overshadow my brother."

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent.

After a long silence, Lan Jingshu, the daughter of the Minister, murmured, "If that's really the case... then what kind of deep affection must it be?"

"She was so beautiful, and her talent shone like the bright moon in the sky, yet she willingly concealed her brilliance for one person, letting her pearl be covered in dust..."

"Young Master Shen—" Miss Han Zhi of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion hesitated for a moment before finally whispering, "I'm afraid he's not worthy."

Outside the beaded curtain, Shen Xian, who was about to step into the waterside pavilion, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The color gradually faded from his handsome, gentle face.

Those few seemingly casual remarks were like poisoned needles, unexpectedly piercing the softest corner of my heart.

Is it for... his reputation?

That's why she toned down her brilliance, even at the cost of tarnishing her reputation and becoming a laughingstock in the Nine Provinces.

And he—not only did he not notice, but he also treated her coldly, as if she were worthless.

"I..." His Adam's apple bobbed, his fingertips unconsciously digging into his palms, and for the first time, a crack appeared in his gentle mask. "The coldness I showed her back then... was truly not the behavior of a gentleman."

A sudden, subtle, lingering sourness welled up in my heart, like aged plum wine silently fermenting in my chest, brewing a bittersweet melancholy.

He recalled a spring day many years ago in Lintai, when the little princess with a gardenia in her hair ran through the corridor, her light laughter scattering sunlight across the ground.

In the past, she was the unattainable white moonlight in the hearts of all young men.

But the moonlight only ever favors one person.

At that time, Crown Prince Tang Xiye stood beside her, half-hidden by a flower screen. When the two stood side by side under the gardenia tree, even the rosy sunset seemed to become a mere backdrop.

Like everyone else, he only dared to watch from afar, burying that thrill deep in his heart as a secret that would never be revealed.

So when she later took the initiative to approach him, he was overjoyed.

It was as if moonlight had suddenly shone into the long-silent dry well, and even the moss on the well wall seemed to come alive with an illusory vitality.

But before that joy could warm her heart, it was doused with ice water and chilled her to the bone—she had changed.

They become vulgar, ignorant, and even... repulsive.

He watched helplessly as the bright moon in his memory dimmed inch by inch into dusty, gray rubble, so unfamiliar that it chilled him to the bone and even aroused a sense of disgust at being defiled.

He hates her.

I hate her for shattering the most precious moonlight in my heart into such a wretched state.

He tried desperately to recall how radiant she looked, but no matter how hard he tried, he could never piece together the original perfect whole.

He thought that perhaps that light only existed in his youthful eyes and had nothing to do with the real her.

until today.

It wasn't until she sat in the light, playing the zither, her blue dress flowing like a galaxy, and the strings surging with the grandeur of a turbulent sea—that he suddenly realized:

The bright moon has never dimmed.

His eyes, when he looked at her, were dim.

Even after leaving him, she remained as radiant and pure as the heavens above.

It was even more dazzling than he remembered, so dazzling that he dared not look directly at it.

She, who once stood beside Emperor Shengchen, made even the sun and moon pale in comparison.

Standing next to him, one would simply blend into the crowd.

In the end, it was he who ruined her life.

It ruined the unparalleled brilliance that should have been in full bloom.

"Brother, you've finally arrived!"

Shen Cuo's voice pulled him back to reality.

He had a rare day off today, but his mother dragged him to the banquet to meet her, and he looked somewhat impatient.

Upon seeing his elder brother arrive, he greeted him as if he had been granted a pardon: "Yunhua was bitten by some unclean little mosquito, and it hurts terribly."

Shen Xian composed himself and put his gentle mask back on.

He glanced up at the brocade curtains hanging in the inner room, his voice as steady as ever:

"How can there be mosquitoes in Yujing at this time of year?"

As the eldest son of the Shen family, he was taught from a young age to take on the responsibility of being an elder brother like a father.

Even though he and his younger siblings were not born of the same mother, and even though his father treated his two children coldly out of anger, he still upheld the demeanor expected of the eldest son of a prominent family.

Brothers should be friendly and respectful, always mindful of etiquette, and never lose their composure.

"Who knows, I just had such bad luck."

Shen Cuo led him inside, where the old military doctor who had accompanied the Marquis of Zhenbei was already waiting.

The old man cupped his hands in greeting: "The insect poison that Miss Shen has been afflicted with is quite peculiar. The toxicity is not severe enough to be fatal, but it can cause excruciating pain for several days. My medical skills are limited, but if we could persuade the renowned physician Zheyue to intervene... perhaps this torment could be spared."

"Thank you for your trouble, sir." Shen Xian nodded, then turned and instructed his attendant, "Go to Juyue Pavilion and ask if the Divine Physician Zheyue would be willing to come and examine you."

The curtains stirred slightly, and Shen Yan peeked out with half her face visible.

Her once beautiful face now had an eerie bluish-green tinge, and on the swollen back of her hand was a tiny red dot that had spread into a spiderweb of purplish-black lines.

Her eyes were filled with tears, and her voice trembled:

"Brother...this must be a villain's deliberate attempt to harm me."

Shen Xian looked at her quietly.

Those eyes, which held a gentle smile, were now as calm as a frozen lake in the depths of winter, without a ripple.

He took a half step forward, his movements elegant, his tone still calm:

"Yunhua has always been kind to people, how could anyone do such a despicable thing? Don't think too much about it, just rest well."

Every word was perfectly chosen and every expression was flawless.

But Shen Yan's heart grew colder and colder.

Looking at the ever-gentle and impeccably composed eldest son of the Shen family, she suddenly felt incredibly weary.

She's kept this jade sculpture warm for so many years, acted for so many years, why can't she warm the heart of this jade sculpture?

He was as perfect as a puppet meticulously crafted by a century-old family tradition.

They rarely get angry, and never show emotion. They live in a world of perfection that others envy, forever separated by an invisible glass dome.

But she had liked him since childhood and wanted to win his heart, to make this gentle, heartless white jade grow a heart for her.

"The Chief Justice still has official business to attend to." Shen Xian withdrew his gaze and turned to Shen Cuo. "Wu Jiu, you stay here and take care of things."

Seeing that the poison was not life-threatening, he didn't even consider staying a moment longer.

After all, he wasn't a doctor.