Unintentional Surprise (GL) - Chapter 13

Sunlight filtered through the gauze window; whispers passed through the curtains.

Inside the Pavilion of Music and Strings, Dongqing had been prying and probing until she finally unearthed the gossip straight from the source.

“It really was you who saved the top scholar’s life? And you—you even secretly provided clues for solving the case?” Dongqing nearly bounced up from the bed. She had always known that Wen Dinglan was capable, but today, she realized her abilities were far more varied than she’d imagined.

To put it crudely—

It was like discovering that Marshal Tianpeng could also perform the 72 transformations of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

She had clearly underestimated her.

“It wasn’t really anything that important…” Wen Dinglan replied modestly, idly flipping the corner of the silk quilt back and forth. “I only drew a sketch of the suspect’s back…”

“Only? That’s just ‘only’?”

“What else then?” The quilt turned and folded over again and again, like the thoughts in her mind—already marked by traces.

Dongqing grabbed Wen Dinglan’s shoulders: “It’s a big deal! Your sketch captured the person’s height, build, clothing, and hairstyle. Without your drawing, how would Jiang Shunyao have been able to get the city guards to catch the suspect?”

She wasn’t wrong—that’s exactly how it had happened.

Wen Dinglan didn’t look directly at Dongqing. Even when her shoulders were turned to face her, she averted her gaze, not letting anyone see the smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

“Is that so? Being able to help her… feels pretty good.”

Jiang Shunyao’s aloof, awkward demeanor flickered in her memory like a ghostly impression—unexpectedly stirring a ripple in the deep, still well of Wen Dinglan’s heart.

For someone whose heart had long been still as a well, it wasn’t easy to be moved.

Yet, once stirred again, the ripples were not likely to cease.

Wen Dinglan was aware of her own change.

She knew the change stemmed from that night banquet—from Jiang Shunyao.

What would happen between them from now on? Wen Dinglan couldn’t help but imagine the possibilities.

Her thoughts spun like a revolving lantern, guessing many outcomes—yet none could reveal where the top scholar might be now.

A life-saving encounter, a brief meeting in passing. Perhaps they had only a fleeting connection, with nothing more to follow. That was a real possibility.

Dongqing went on chirping and chattering, and Wen Dinglan felt as if a magpie were fussing in her ear. She responded only with a casual “mm-hmm,” brushing off Dongqing’s rambling.

Until—

A dancer from the pavilion knocked on Wen Dinglan’s door, interrupting Dongqing’s rambling and Wen Dinglan’s drifting thoughts.

Wen Dinglan instinctively regained her cool and aloof demeanor: “What is it?”

Dongqing looked curious too.

The dancer curtsied low, eyes downcast and gentle, and reported, “Outside the pavilion, someone has sent a gift.”

A gift?

Receiving gifts at the Pavilion of Music and Strings was common—nothing to fuss over.

Why did it warrant a personal report from a dancer?

The dancer seemed sharp and didn’t wait for the two managers to ask. She explained the situation in detail on her own: “This gift is quite unusual. I had no choice but to come report it.”

“What’s so unusual about it?” Wen Dinglan and Dongqing asked in unison.

Gold, silver statues, bronze armor, iron wares—they’d seen it all. What else could be so special?

The dancer chose her words carefully, laying it all out clearly: “The quantity is extraordinary—ten full carts, lined from the street all the way to the pavilion’s entrance; the attendants are extraordinary—bearing an imperial guard’s token, so no one dared obstruct them along the way; and also…”

“And also what?”

The dancer grew nervous: “People outside are saying… the ten carts of gifts were first delivered from the palace. They went to the top scholar’s residence first, and before the night was even over, they were then sent—cart after cart—to the Pavilion of Music and Strings.”