CH 11.2

Without waiting for the young master to speak, Lei Lei nodded immediately and agreed, “Go, go, we’ll definitely go when the time comes.”

“We?” Everyone was stunned.

The young master ate in silence.

Qin Liu Feng suppressed his laughter, “She asked Brother Xiao to compose poetry, what is a little girl like you going for?”

Seeing him trying to find fault on purpose, Lei Lei replied confidently, “Of course I will be taking care of the young master and keeping him safe.”

The young master glanced at her speechlessly.

Even He Tai Ping could not help laughing this time.

Qin Liu Feng said, “I couldn’t tell that you’re capable.”

Lei Lei kept a low profile, “Isn’t it better to hold a poetry meeting with as many people as possible? I can also learn poetry from you all.”

“You?” Qin Liu Feng looked her up and down, “A little girl can also compose poetry?”

Leng Zui said lightly, “Brother Qin’s words are far from the truth. Who said women can’t compose poetry? If Miss Lei Lei is willing to go, then of course it would be good.”

Having unconsciously made a faux pas, Qin Liu Feng coughed, “It’s not that women can’t compose poetry, it’s just that she…” He looked at Lei Lei, “I have to give you a test to feel at ease. Improvise a poem, no limit to topic or rhyme.”

Improvising a poem? Lei Lei had not expected this trick and began to sweat. When she traversed, the girls had recited poetry about the moon, admiring flowers, and drinking alcohol. Yet now, nobody was drinking alcohol, it seemed too early for the moon to come out, and there were no flowers or plants for her to recite about. There was only one table of people eating right now. Which great poet had written a poem about eating?

Qin Liu Feng fiddled with the chives in his bowl with his chopsticks, “Composing poetry?”

Due to the suddenness, Lei Lei had no inspiration at all. After thinking for a long time, she still could not think of any poems about eating. Looking up and seeing Qin Liu Feng’s teasing expression, she became more depressed.

If she had known about this earlier, she would have memorised a few more poems when coming here!

Just like the pain of book authors, this deeply confirmed the truth — “Inspiration was always forced out”. As she was being depressed, Lei Lei hit on an idea in her desperation and finally remembered a very famous and deeply educational poem. This poem was taught since kindergarten and must be recited every time they ate, continuing until the third grade in primary school. Who knew how many generations in modern China had been taught this? The memory was particularly deep.

It was too childish to recite this thing now, so she felt a bit awkward bringing it out…

The situation was urgent so let’s deal with it first! Lei Lei wiped the sweat from her forehead and opened her mouth, “Hoeing the grass under the sun at noon, sweat dripping to the soil on the ground.” She stopped and carefully observed everyone’s expressions.

The topic had run far from the table of food in front of them to hard labour. Leng Zui frowned and put down her chopsticks.

The young master’s mouth twitched at the corners.

“Interesting,” Qin Liu Feng picked out a chive from his bowl, “Hoeing the grass under the sun at noon, sweat dripping to the soil on the ground, and then?”

Seeing that she was being looked down upon, Lei Lei did not care much anymore and loudly threw out the last two sentences, “Who knows that in the meal on this plate, every single grain of rice represents hard labour!”

The dining table immediately fell silent.

Qin Liu Feng stared at his chopsticks holding the chives in midair for a long time. He coughed and in the end, decided to sacrifice his sense of taste and put it in his mouth. He frowned and swallowed hastily.

Looking at her leftover half bowl of rice, the talented woman Leng Zui lowered her head and picked up her chopsticks again.

With no one praising, Lei Lei was a bit disheartened.

After reciting this short poem, a cold wind blew over the dining table. He Tai Ping could not help looking at Qin Liu Feng and laughed, “It is indeed a good poem. Each grain of rice and millet is not easy to come by and must be cherished more. I only hope that everyone in the world can understand this truth.”

Qin Liu Feng smiled wryly and went ahead to tackle the remaining chives in his bowl.

After all, Xiao Tai Ping’s level of appreciation was high! Having experienced firsthand the pleasure of a kindergarten aunty successfully educating children, Lei Lei ignored the suffering of the others and was very pleased. Turning around, she found that the young master was looking at her with his eyes upturned into a smile. Immediately, she was stunned with shock.

His handsome and cunning smile brought infinite charm.

In the evening, they discussed in detail the matter of the longevity fruit. After setting a date for the next meeting, He Tai Ping led everyone to bid farewell and left. Lei Lei accompanied the young master to send them away. Everyone got into their carriages with just the two of them staying behind.

Leng Sheng Yin turned around and cupped his fists, “Matters are urgent so I must depart tomorrow to go back. Brother He will go to Jin Jiang City for inspection in a few days. I will leave my younger sister in your care.”

It turned out that Leng Zui refused to go back with her brother so that she could stay and host the poetry meet. She was stubborn by nature and it was too inconvenient for Leng Sheng Yin to meddle too much.

Both the young master and Qin Liu Feng nodded, “Don’t worry.”

Leng Zui opened the curtain of her carriage, “Brother Xiao, don’t forget the poetry meet on the 15th at Ting Yun Lou.”

Lei Lei nodded like pecking at rice, “No, definitely not.”

Qin Liu Feng half leaned out of the carriage and raised an eyebrow at her, “Not only Brother Xiao, but also Miss Lei.”

Having found out that this person did not have any good intentions, Lei Lei immediately hid behind the young master. She cursed him in her heart, what was the number one talent worth? At that time, I will scare you to death by reciting a few poems by Old Li and Old Du!

Finally, the carriages all drove away.

Next to the pavilion, the two watched the guests leave far away. The setting sun was gone and the evening wind blew at their robes. The young master in the breeze looked more and more leisurely, standing tall and straight with a peaceful handsome face.

He turned around, “Let’s go back.”

Lei Lei came back to her senses and thinking of his trust in her, she felt a little guilty, “Xiao Bai.”

The young master looked at her.

Lei Lei thought for a while and looked at him, “Actually, I made up the story of being chased and to death.”

The young master was silent.

Lei Lei added, “But I really did lose my memory and can’t remember what happened before.”

The young master finally nodded, “I know.”

Sure enough, he already knew she was eating and staying for nothing. No wonder he was willing to help her hide it. Lei Lei was happy.

The young master looked away and walked off, “Your issue, I’ll get someone to help investigate.”

Investigate? Don’t, I’m a little demon! Lei Lei chased after him, “Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai, you’re so kind. Actually, there’s no need to investigate. I don’t remember anyway. I’ll stay here and serve you from now on and be your maid, okay?”

“…Let go.”

“Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai?”

“…”

With his sleeve being pulled and a person hanging halfway between his arms, the young master could no longer maintain his calm and composed demeanour. Embarrassed, he led her back.

On 15th September, at the poetry meet at Ting Yun Lou, Lei Lei was determined to show off her skills. She decided to work hard to prepare materials from now on. She made a summary of poems she could think of and memorised them several times. So after having dinner with the young master, she hid in her room. Reciting from “The moonlight in front of the bed” to “Asleep in spring unaware of the dawn”, then from “Two golden orioles” to “Goose, goose, goose”, she secretly speculated, what themes might be arranged for that day’s poetry meet?

The night fell and a crescent moon hung in the west part of the sky, shaped like a crescent eyebrow.

Seeing this, Lei Lei’s poetic inspiration flourished. Leaning on the window and shaking her head at the moon, “When will the endless cycle of spring flowers and autumn moon come to an end? How much of the past does one know?” In fact, she still had a lot of cultural connotations.

There was the sound of someone’s laughter.

Having the experience of being kidnapped, Lei Lei was so frightened that she immediately jumped away from the window. She opened her mouth to shout for help but a cold hand quickly covered her mouth. Then came a tangy fragrance and someone took her into his arms.

“Don’t shout, it’s Elder Brother.”

A gentle smile filled the room with brilliance.

The full moon was by her side, shining brightly. Who else would pay attention to the new moon in the sky? Lei Lei was in a daze.

Reflecting the lights, the perfect face looked so elegant and gentle. However, against the dazzlingly cold snow-coloured outfit, the alternating cold and warmth formed an almost eerie temperament.

“When will the endless cycle of spring flowers and autumn moon come to an end? This phrase is not good. How can us siblings do that?” Shang Guan Qiu Yue let go of her. With sparkling eyes and a soft voice, “How much of the past does one know? How much of the past do you remember?”