CH 24

Chapter 24: The Cause of Little Marquis’ Nightmare

Wen Yantong got goosebumps. Li Boyuan's current look was terribly familiar to her. It was definitely a prelude to scolding her.

She quickly explained. "It's so dark already. It's not safe for Little Marquis to walk home at night, so I don't dare to bother him. Besides, my dormitory is not far from here. I..."

"Shut up," Chi Jingxi said.

"Okay," Wen Yantong meekly replied.

Chi Jingxi replied to Li Boyuan, "Don't worry, Teacher. I will send him back to the dormitory."

Only then did Li Boyuan smile. "Among all the students I’ve taught, you are the one that gives me the most peace of mind. Go and be careful on the road."

Chi Jingxi nodded. "Rest early. This student is leaving."

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Wen Yantong. She immediately opened her mouth. "This student also bids farewell."

Li Boyuan urged her again. "Don't forget to practice your calligraphy when you go back. If you write a cloud of ink again, I will not spare you lightly."

translate(d) by puretl . com / do not steal / re po/st

"Yes yes yes." Wen Yantong nodded like a pecking chick.

Chi Jingxi turned around and left. Wen Yantong hurriedly followed behind him, walking not too far nor too close, and left Li Boyuan's lodging.

Wen Yantong shivered in the cold wind, wishing to fly back to her bedroom immediately, light the hot stove, and have a good meal.

Speaking of eating, Wen Yantong felt very hungry.

The night sky was dark, and the stars and the moon could not be seen. The lamp hanging on the road emitted a faint light, casting a soft shadow around them.

Chi Jingxi's sedan chair was parked not far away, and a servant boy was waiting beside it. When he saw Chi Jingxi coming out, he immediately greeted him with a lantern and saluted.

Wen Yantong stood beside him, planning to wait for him to leave.

Chi Jingxi said to one of the guards, "Send him back."

The order was vague. Nevertheless, the guard with a lantern standing beside the sedan chair stood up and responded to Chi Jingxi. He then walked over to Wen Yantong and asked in a low voice, "Where are you going?"

Wen Yantong didn't expect that Chi Jingxi would really send someone to see her off. She had spent a whole afternoon alone with Chi Jingxi. Although she only said a few words to Chi Jingxi and may have not left a good impression, being able to accompany him without disgusting him completely was the first step to success.

She thought for a while and then said to Chi Jingxi, "Thank you, Little Marquis, for today. If there is a chance in the future, I will draw you something else. I am not only able to draw Psyduck and Old Man Ding, but I also can..."

"See off." Chi Jingxi interrupted her.

After speaking, he stepped into the sedan chair and lowered the thick curtain.

Seeing that he was in such a hurry, it seemed that he really didn't like her company. Wen Yantong sighed. "Old Man Ding ah. Old Man Ding, unfortunately, you couldn’t arouse the Little Marquis' interest.”

After the sedan left, Wen Yantong told the guard next to her where she was going. In order to accommodate her disability, the guard walked very slowly and  sent her all the way to her lodging.

When the guard saw a maid coming out of her home with a light, he couldn't help but wonder, "This place..."

Wen Yantong asked, "What's wrong?"

The guard shook his head hesitantly. "Nothing. Your Excellency, please go in. This subordinate will leave after completing the task."translate(d) by puretl . com / do not steal / re po/st

Wen Yantong thanked him and then got into the house impatiently.

The stove was already on in the house, and after waiting for ten minutes, hot food was delivered. After an afternoon of torture, Wen Yantong ate so deliciously that she almost licked the plate upside down.

Finally, she let the maid change her bandage, apply some medicine to her wound, and wipe her body before she laid down comfortably in the warm bed to enter into her sweet dreamland.

Wen Yantong slept comfortably, but Chi Jingxi's side was not very peaceful.

He dreamed of many ‘Old Man Ding’s.

They surrounded him while calling Wen Yantong's name. Then when Wen Yantong was summoned, she was holding an ink pen in her hand.

After that, he saw Yantong stuffing something into her mouth to eat while drawing on the ground. Immediately after, Old Man Zhao, Old Man Qian, and Old Man Sun all jumped out and circled around him.

However, the nightmare wasn't over yet. When he wanted to escape, he was shocked to see many Psyducks lining up to go up a tree. Wen Yantong explained proudly beside him, "These are the Psyducks from my hometown. They will line up to climb the tree.…”

Chi Jingxi woke up suddenly, only to realize that it was a dream.

He touched his face filled with sweat and looked out the window. It was still dark. However, he could not sleep any longer, so he summoned a servant to help him wash up and dress.

"What time is it?" Chi Jingxi asked lazily.

"Replying to the Little Marquis, it's not yet mǎo-shí (5-7am)."

Chi Jingxi rubbed his tired eyes. He woke up an hour earlier than usual because of this terrible dream.

pure tl . com is the original tler / don’t re-post

So much so that he had a languid demeanor and was not in good spirits all morning. Cheng Xin saw this and smiled. "Why did you go last night? It's not the first time you copied articles for the teacher. How can you be so tired?"

Chi Jingxi waved his hand. "I didn't sleep well."

Cheng Xin said, "Did you meet some beautiful woman in your dreams?"

Chi Jingxi replied in a deadpan voice, "There were no beautiful women but a lot of old men."

Cheng Xin was startled, and after a long while, he opened his mouth. "We’ve been friends for so long, but I never knew you had such a preference."

Chi Jingxi was quite tired, so he didn’t have the strength to clarify that he was dreaming about Old Man Ding, let alone explain what this Old Man Ding was.

He had no choice but to say, "Stop talking nonsense. Let’s just find Yang'er for dinner."

When they walked to Dingliu Hall, they saw Mu Yang and Wen Yantong head-to-head and didn't know what they were talking about. Fu Zixian leaned in beside them, and the three were chatting happily.

Cheng Xin called out from the door, and the three looked up at the same time.

Chi Jingxi was caught off guard by Wen Yantong's gaze. The dream from last night suddenly appeared in his mind, so he turned his face away a little irritably.

Wen Yantong keenly felt Chi Jingxi's emotions but was confused where his annoyance came from. Shrugging, she scratched her head and said goodbye to Mu Yang.

There was a bright smile still lingering on Mu Yang’s face when he came out to meet Cheng Xin and Chi Jingxi, so Cheng Xin asked, "What’s the matter? What made you so happy?"

"I learned a peculiar painting from Wen Yantong today," Mu Yang replied.

Chi Jingxi's eyebrows twitched, and an ominous premonition flooded his heart instantly.

Cheng Xin said, "What is it? Let's hear it."

Mu Yang snickered for a while and stretched out his hands. He then used one of his hands like a paper, tracing on it using the index finger on his other hand. "Watch this! An Old Man Ding lent me two eggs—"

"Shut up." Chi Jingxi clasped Mu Yang's wrist with a very bad expression. "...Don't mention Old Man Ding again."

Mu Yang looked bewildered. Cheng Xin smiled in understanding. "Okay. Let's not mention it. He probably doesn't want to hear about an old man right now."

Mu Yang looked at his face, amused, and then changed the subject. "It's getting colder and colder recently. Is the first snow coming soon? I heard that there will be girls playing the qin at the upcoming First Snow Banquet..." 

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The author has something to say: 

Old Man Ding: I will cut off the marriage line between the two of you!

Can I request for a review today?