CH 83

Chapter 83: A Small Revenge Against Wu Yutian (1)

On Wen Yantong's side, the walk to the canteen was very smooth. Chi Jingxi and Cheng Xin were chatting, while Cheng Xiao was listening at the side. Meanwhile, Mu Yang was circling around Wen Yantong as if wanting to ask something.

Everyone had understood what Wen Yantong had said just now; the clues were rather obvious.

But smart people, such as Chi Jingxi and Cheng Xin, like to contemplate problems like these by themselves. The two of them ignored the matter as if they didn't see it at all, but the truth was, they had already figured it all out.

But some were a little bit stupid, such as Mu Yang, who not only couldn't figure it out but was anxious to know the answer. So he really wanted to ask Wen Yantong himself.

Of course, others were completely ignorant and not curious, such as Zhang Jieran. He was nervous right now because it was the first time he was going to have a meal with the sons of the royal family and the high-ranking officials.

Wen Yantong could see that Mu Yang was restless, so she took the initiative to talk to Zhang Jieran. She didn’t want to give Mu Yang a chance to ask. "Brother Zhang, which temple did you clear snow for last year?"

Zhang Jieran turned to look at her and answered, "I was still at Nian'an Temple."

She was surprised. "How was it here? Is the vegetarian meal here delicious?"

Zhang Jieran replied truthfully, "There is nothing to be picky about the vegetarian food, but the accommodation..."

Wen Yantong immediately became interested. "What? Didn't you sleep well?"

"There was….a lot of noise at night, so I wasn’t able to have a good rest," Zhang Jieran replied in a low voice.

Wen Yantong was getting more and more excited. "What kind of noises? Explain more clearly."

Zhang Jieran raised his head timidly to look at Cheng Xin and said in a quiet voice, "It’s better to tell you when we get back. It's not appropriate to talk about it here."

She nodded.

Mu Yang, who was eavesdropping, was anxious to know. He pressed Zhang Jieran's shoulder. "Why is it inappropriate to say here?"

Zhang Jieran was taken aback. He hurriedly said, "Nothing. Nothing!"

Mu Yang persisted. "I just heard you say there was something..."

Wen Yantong pawed at him. "What are you doing. Why are you trying to embarrass Brother Zhang?"

Mu Yang said, "I want to hear it too."

"Then why don't you come to see us at night?" Wen Yantong said, "Our rooms are not far apart."

Mu Yang thought she had some sense, so he didn't continue to question Zhang Jieran.

They soon made their way to the almsgiving building of Nian'an Temple. There were ten large rooms, and all of them had tables and stools set up inside.

But after arriving, Wen Yantong found out that Chi Jingxi and the others had their own separate room. A row of guards had already stood at the door of that room, and they all saluted when they saw Chi Jingxi and others appear.

The room was extremely warm. There was a big carpet at the door, which sucked away the snow from everyone's shoe soles. Several lamps were lit in the room; even though the windows were covered by thick cotton curtains, the room remained very bright.

The chairs beside the table were all with backrests. Originally, there were only four chairs. However, when the guards saw that there were three more people, they moved in three spares.

Wen Yantong sighed and quietly lamented: No wonder Mu Yang said that there will be delicious food if she followed them. These noble young masters were given preferential treatment!

Although the imperial order stated the imperial princes and noble sons sent to Songhai Academy were all students of the academy and should be treated equally. But in fact, in this case, a prince was still a prince, and the Little Marquis was still the Little Marquis; they were different from ordinary people.

Wen Yantong was envious and jealous at the same time and couldn't help slightly flattening her mouth.

Who knew that this little movement was discovered by Chi Jingxi. "What? You’re not happy being invited to eat here?"

Wen Yantong's mouth immediately turned up, and she laughed, "I was just in shock from happiness. Why would I be angry? The Little Maquis has misunderstood."

Cheng Xin smiled and said, "Then you should eat more."

In just a short while, the piping hot dishes were served. There were ten dishes plus two different soups; the room was instantly filled with a delicious fragrance.

Wen Yantong looked at the food carefully and found that these dishes were all vegetarian. This was a big blow to her, who ate meat every day.

How can a meal be called a meal without meat?

The next step was the normal process: the guards came up to inspect the dishes for poison.

After the dishes were inspected, Cheng Xin, who had the highest status on the table, would move his chopsticks first. After he had his first bite, then the others were allowed to follow suit.

Wen Yantong was hungry, after all, so even if there was no meat, the food was nevertheless delicious in her mind. Halfway through the meal, Wen Yantong realized that Zhang Jieran and Fu Zixian were very reserved. They seldom picked up food from the table and only kept eating rice in their bowl.

Wen Yantong sighed secretly. It seems she wouldn’t be able to eat with Chi Jingxi and the others at the temple again. Otherwise, her two little friends were determined to never eat their fill.

Furthermore, switching back and forth between public chopsticks and private chopsticks was quite strenuous when trying to enjoy a meal.

The few people were well-bred. They would not speak easily once they moved their chopsticks, so the meal was finished in silence.

Zhang Jieran had previously told Wen Yantong that the real start of snow clearing was after lunch. After the snow removal, they would need to go to the temple to silently recite scriptures and pray for blessings.

On the first day, they were to pray for the prosperity of the country and the people. The second day was used to pray for good weather and good harvest, and finally, on the third day, they prayed for themselves and their families.

Wen Yantong walked around the room after eating, and not long after, the bell rang again. Then some monks passed by while banging on a gong. They loudly announced for everyone to gather in the East Side Courtyard.

By the time she arrived, the teachers of the Academy were already present, waiting on top of the seven steps. After seeing that just about everyone had made their way there, the teachers lectured the students about the meaning and practice of the Snow Clearing Festival. Afterward, they assigned and allocated each snow-sweeping area to every class.

Sixth Ding Hall, the class Wen Yantong was in, was assigned to a yard that almost no one visited. The snow there was extremely thick.

With a shovel in her hand, Wen Yantong let out a long sigh. It seems there was no way around it; she still had to work. Just as she was going in, Zhao Yu pulled her back and whispered to her, "Your leg just recovered, so don't overwork yourself. Just go through the movements casually, so as not to damage your leg again.”

Wen Yantong was very moved and quickly nodded.

In fact, Zhao Yu didn't need to say it. Wen Yantong knew only a fool would really work hard.

However, as soon as she turned her head, Wen Yantong saw Fu Zixian shoveling the snow diligently.

Wen Yantong walked beside him, dug at the snow twice, and then rested for a while. She repeated the process over and over; her act of avoiding work was quite skilful.