CH 76

Chapter 76: The Carriage Arranged by Little Marquis (2)

After Wen Yantong and Zhang Jieran registered their names at the door, they were assigned room cards. There are many rooms in this temple, but they still had to pair up in a room.

The two were led by the little novice Buddhist monk. After passing through the three large arches, they turned left at the fork. The little novice Buddhist monk said, "To the right is where the female benefactors of your Academy live. Gongzi, please refrain from going there. Otherwise, guards will detain you."

After walking through the chaoshou veranda[1] and passing through a forest covered with snow, they arrived at the housing area where they would live. Two eye-catching, large bells that were about the height of a person came into view. The bells were engraved with scriptures, but because both bells were on the ground, they wouldn’t be able to make a sound when struck.

The bells guarded a flower-shaped stone gate. After passing through the stone gate were rows of houses. Chi Jingxi and Cheng Xin were standing in the open space, looking up at Mu Yang climbing up the wall.

The little novice Buddhist monk hurriedly shouted when he saw him, "Benefactors! Don't jump over the wall! Be careful not to get hurt!"

This voice made the group look back. Mu Yang jumped down, clapped the dust off his hands, and said with a smile, "You guys arrived very fast."

As soon as Zhang Jieran saw them, he whispered timidly to the little novice Buddhist monk, "Did you lead the wrong way? We shouldn't be here."

Confused, Wen Yantong said, "What's wrong?"

"This is the housing for the influential officials, not somewhere we can live in," he replied.

Mu Yang walked over and said, "Yes, I deliberately told the people at the door and asked them to assign Wen Yantong here. There are many rooms here anyway."

Wen Yantong's eyes cracked with a smile. "I really didn't couldn’t tell how loyal you are."

"Of course! I have always been loyal." He wrapped his arms around Wen Yantong's neck and said, "Come on. Quickly thank Brother Xi."

Wen Yantong was taken to Chi Jingxi. She looked at his handsome appearance and smiled like a laughing Buddha. "Little Marquis, thank you for the carriage you sent this morning. It really helped me out! I am so grateful to you! I adore you so much! How can I find someone with a better heart than you in the Academy..."

This greasy speech caused Chi Jingxi discomfort. He raised his hand and said, "Shut up."

Wen Yantong obediently closed her mouth.

Cheng Xin laughed for a while and then said, "Unexpectedly, Wen Yantong has quite an eloquent mouth."

Chi Jingxi snorted softly. "He has a smart mouth."

Wen Yantong replied, "I am truly sincere."

Mu Yang also nodded. "Indeed. Wen Yantong likes to praise people and often praises me for being a ‘dumb musclebrain’, ‘dumb sand sculpture’, and the like."

Wen Yantong touched her nose with a guilty conscience.

Cheng Xin frowned suspiciously. "...Are those really compliments?"

Mu Yang nodded confidently. "Yeah! Wen Yantong said that adding the word ‘dumb’ in front of a criticism cancels it out and makes a compliment. It’s the dialect from his hometown, such as ‘dumb idiots’."

Cheng Xin still had some doubts. He really didn't want to believe it.

But Mu Yang continued, "The three of us are all ‘dumb idiots’!"

Chi Jingxi interrupted him. "No need to include all three of us. Just yourself. I can't stand such compliments."

Naturally, he did not believe that these words were compliments at all. Chi Jingxi clearly remembered when Wen Yantong ran out of the dining hall and bumped into him. During that time, he was still scolding another person, and the last words of Wen Yangtong’s sentence were ‘You dumb*ss.’

These were obviously swear words. But Mu Yang, who was standing next to Chi Jingxi at that time, had completely forgotten about it.

Chi Jingxi was too lazy to explain to the unenlightened Mu Yang. Seeing that the guard was standing behind Wen Yangtong with their baggage, he ordered, "Go put your things away in the room."

Wen Yantong bid her goodbye, and then went back to her room with Zhang Jieran. After unpacking all her things, Wen Yangtong decided to eat a snack and take a nap since it was still early. 

After sleeping for a while, the rest of the people from the Academy came one after another, and the outside of the house became lively. It was then that the little novice Buddhist monk knocked on the door of her room. He came to notify the one sleeping and the one reading in the room to go around the temple and get familiar with its terrain.

Wen Yantong happened to have slept enough, so she went out the door wrapped in a cotton coat. With Zhang Jieran, she headed to a place with a lot of people.

That place had a building filled with enormous sculptures of different deities. In front of the building were two seven-layer-stone steps leading into the same direction from two different paths. In between the two staircases was a large piece of land. In the middle was a slope with a thick layer of ice, and many people were skating and playing on it.

Wen Yantong saw Wu Yutian also standing in the crowd and talking to other people. Suddenly she thought of a plan to teach that b*stard a little lesson.

"Brother Zhang, do me a favor." Wen Yantong poked Zhang Jieran next to her.

She climbed the seven stairs by herself and walked to the top of the slope in the middle of the land. Her hometown was in the North, so it would snow every winter. As a result, all the roads would freeze, so she was forced to play ‘ice slipping’ every year.

Wen Yantong knew which posture was better to stabilize the body. After gearing up and correcting her pose, Wen Yantong chuckled when she saw Zhang Jieran call Wu Yutian to stand under the inclined slope.

My little Wu. Today I will shovel you until even your parents won’t be able to recognize you!

With just a single step forward, she quickly stepped on the thick ice. Wen Yantong slid down the slope and straightened her left foot forward. Anyone who was hit by her foot at this speed will be knocked down. From experience, this method worked ten out of ten, with no exception.

Wen Yantong had often used this trick before to make others pay.

Who knew, just when Wu Yutian was approaching the designated spot, someone suddenly shouted his name, so Wu Yutian turned and left. Wen Yantong was shocked; it was impossible for her to stop now. Zhang Jieran didn't have time to dodge, so he was hit by her shoe tip and fell hard onto the ground.

However, it wasn't over yet, Wen Yantong still couldn’t stop and continued to slide down the slope. In a panic, she couldn't keep her standing posture and fell to the ground, butt first. She shouted in horror, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way— !"

Her voice was drowned in the crowd. Chi Jingxi, who was passing by, heard her voice and paused for a few seconds. Soon, he saw Wen Yantong sitting on the ground, sliding full speed towards him. Chi Jingxi could have dodged, but he was lost in thought, missed the time to dodge, and was hit by Wen Yantong.

So the Little Marquis was also knocked down without exception. Ten out of ten!

When he fell, Chi Jingxi’s whole body pressed on top of Wen Yantong. His head slammed on her side face, causing Wen Yantong's head to hit the ground, making a crisp ‘bang’ sound.

Wen Yantong's eyes darkened.

F*ck my life!

.

.

.

Footnote:

[1] chaoshou veranda - a structure often building a Chinese courtyard houses. Highlighted in purple:

"Standing in front of the second door, if you want to make the most of the inner house, you have to walk through the side doors on both sides, or along the porch to enter the courtyard. I would like to remind you that once you have passed this Chuhua Gate, you will enter the inner house of the family's home. This [chaoshou verandah] refers to the corridor along the courtyard. It is connected to the Chuhuamen. It looks like a hand and arm when a person is copying one's hands. It embraces the inner courtyard, so it is called "the chaoshou veranda." It can shade, shelter from rain, rest, and stand under the veranda to watch the scenery in the yard."