CH 30

Chapter 30: A Lie That Quickly Spilled

Wen Yantong was so shocked that her brain became a mess. She lowered her head and hid her face in her hair, for fear of being recognized by Chi Jingxi.

But just now, when she had opened the door for Chi Jingxi, he should have already gotten a good look at her face, so there was no way to completely cover up.

Wen Yantong panicked and instinctively felt that it would be better to leave Chi Jingxi's sight as soon as possible, so she immediately gave Chi Jingxi a salute and walked out quickly.

Just after two steps, the leading servant from the entourage next to Chi Jingxi rushed over and shouted, "Little Marquis! The snow is slippery. You have to walk slowly!"translate(d) by puretl . com / do not steal / re po/st

Who knew that when he saw Wen Yantong, his voice immediately stopped for a moment and then suddenly continued with a stern tone. "Who are you? How dare you sneak around in the Little Marquis' room?!"

Wen Yantong's brain turned extremely fast, and she quickly came up with a lie, saying, "...This maidservant was… was here to get the crutch for Young Master Wen. He is in a rush to use it, so this maidservant is sending it over now."

This was a reasonable lie. After all, Wen Yantong was also Chi Jingxi's classmate, so it wasn’t completely out of the question that a servant would do this for her.

The attendant looked up at Chi Jingxi, trying to see something from his expression. However, his expression was tepid and only seemed a bit unhappy that someone appeared in his exclusive rest room.

The attendant hurriedly moved out of the way and urged her to leave. "Hurry up and go!"

Wen Yantong breathed a sigh of relief and was in a rush to leave.

But just when she was about to squeeze out the door, her back collar suddenly tightened, and Chi Jingxi's voice sounded from above, "What were you doing in this room?"

It may have been because he was so close, but Wen Yantong could clearly feel the danger in his words. The breath of relief that she had just exhaled was sucked right back in.

"This- this lowly one is..."

Chi Jingxi tightened his grip and interrupted her words by pulling her back two steps and pushing her against the door. He then said coldly, "Stand still."

Wen Yantong had no choice but to stand against the door panel, not daring to say anything. She just kept looking down at the ground in a state of confusion.

Chi Jingxi actually -saw! -through! -her -disguise! QAQ

What to do now?! How can she fool him? No. That won’t work. Instead, how can she dissuade him from telling the emperor about her disguising as a man?! If words spread about what she had done, then even if she had eight mouths, she would not be able to convince the emperor to exonerate her from her crime!

While Wen Yantong was having a meltdown, Chi Jingxi glanced at his attendant.

The leading servant quickly returned to his senses and waved to the people behind him. After a while, two people entered the room, holding splendid attire in their hands.

After the leading servant closed the door, the room suddenly became extremely quiet. Then there was a rustling sound. Curious, Wen Yantong quietly raised her eyes to take a peek.

She saw the two followers lightly unbutton Chi Jingxi's coat, revealing the snow-white silk jacket inside.

Wen Yantong's eyes went up very slowly, but she was still caught by Chi Jingxi. Seeing that she was discovered peeping, she quickly lowered her eyes and pretended to be obedient again.

The entourage divided their work and efficiently helped Chi Jingxi don a pale yellow robe with a gold embroidered ruyi pattern. There was luxurious mink fur at the cuffs.

There was a jade crown on the top of his head where his long black hair was tied up. In addition, a jade button merged the ends of his top piece, and a light-colored pendant hung by his waist. The soft colors on Chi Jingxi today made him look like a benevolent man.

The lead attendant held the clothes Chi Jingxi changed out of in his hands and asked for instructions, "Little Marquis, these clothes..."

Chi Jingxi frowned in disgust. "Throw them away."

The servant complied, and all of the three servants quietly stepped aside and waited for more orders.

Soon after, someone loudly called out at the door, "Little Marquis."

As soon as Chi Jingxi raised his eyebrows, one of the servants beside him quickly stepped forward to open the door. In came a tanned-faced man, who quickly bowed to Chi Jingxi. "This servant has successfully gathered information. She is the sixth lady of the Fu family, who is known as Fu Shi. She is currently studying in the academy and has a younger brother who shares the same mother, a concubine of Prime Minister Fu."

Wen Yantong was extremely surprised. Unexpectedly, Chi Jingxi was already interested in Fu Shi. Why was he investigating Fu Shi's background?

According to the content of the original book, Fu Shi did not meet Chi Jingxi until after the New Year's Banquet. How did this encounter already happen? Could it be that Chi Jingxi had noticed Fu Shi before meeting face to face?

Still in doubt, she heard Chi Jingxi squeeze out a long hum from his throat in acknowledgement, but he didn't say anything else.

As such, the tanned-face attendant continued his report. "Fu Shi's mother is a concubine-born daughter from the Ministry of Rites, Qian Shilang's family. According to stories, she is highly favored by Prime Minister Fu. Fu Shi’s younger brother is fifteen years old and is studying at Qingyun Academy on the eastern streets of Chaoge. Her half-brother, Fu Zixian, is also studying in Songhai Academy and has a good relationship with Wen Yantong."

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

Wen Yantong widened her eyes when she heard her name, wondering what interest Chi Jingxi had in Fu Shi. Did he want to investigate all of her ancestors from the past eighteen generations?

Chi Jingxi's unreadable gaze rested on Wen Yantong, and not long after, he said in a low voice, "Fu Zixian?"

Finally hearing his voice, the tanned-face servant breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "This was all this servant has found at this moment."

Chi Jingxi raised his hand to signal him to retreat.

After listening to the servant’s report, Wen Yantong, who was sentenced to stand for a while, became more and more uneasy.

Badump. Badump. She swallowed several mouthfuls of saliva. She still hadn’t come up with a legitimate excuse when she heard Chi Jingxi ask in a deep voice, "What were you doing in this room?"

The question still hadn’t changed one bit. Wen Yantong almost immediately felt the pressure of Chi Jingxi as a superior. He was obviously in a bad mood and didn't want to listen to lies.

Before he became impatient, Wen Yantong confessed, "To change clothes."

Chi Jingxi looked at her from top to bottom. "Where did they come from?"

The clothing was specially provided by the palace as demonstrated by the unique style of the embroidery that was specially made in the palace. Favored by the emperor, Chi Jingxi is a frequent visitor of the palace, and he was never short of gifts coming from the palace. At a glance, it could be seen that these clothes were impossible for a commoner like Wen Yantong to own.

Wen Yantong suddenly realized that Chi Jingxi only seemed to believe that she was a man who was wearing women's clothes, not that she was a woman who was usually disguised as a man. Thus, she calmed down a bit, and she steadily and honestly answered, "...It was given by Teacher Hua who taught the qin."

"Why change here?"

"Because there was no one here." Wen Yantong then pointed to the package on the table. "I didn't move anything in the room, and I planned to leave after I changed. If you want someone to blame, Little Marquis..."

Chi Jingxi's eyes were dark. He didn't say anything to what Wen Yantong said. Instead, he walked to the table and sat down. One of the attendants next to him stepped forward to test the temperature of the teapot with the back of his hand.

The tea was naturally cold, so the servant hurriedly took it out to fill it with hot tea. While the attendant was busy moving around, Chi Jingxi took a book from the shelf and sat on the soft chair.

As if Wen Yantong did not exist, he leisurely read the book.

Wen Yantong knew his intentions, so she didn't dare to escape. She could only stand against the door panel obediently.

It was obvious that Chi Jingxi was in a bad mood when he arrived. However, she could see that his face was darker now, and his long eyelashes were drooping down. His eyes lightly glided over the pages of the book, making it hard to figure out what he was thinking.

Wen Yantong didn't understand how his mood worsened at first, but after a quick glimpse of her crutches from the corner of her eyes, she suddenly broke out in cold sweat.

Only then did she suddenly realize that her lie was too poorly thought out.

She was leaning on the crutches in her hands instead of holding them. Chi Jingxi was not a fool, so he could see at a glance her limping posture.

It was just that she was so anxious at that moment that Wen Yantong completely forgot about it!

She regarded Chi Jingxi as a fool. Similarly, in Chi Jingxi's eyes, she was also a fool.

.

.

.

The author has something to say: 

Chi Jingxi: Still the kind of fool who would always yell at the rooster to lay eggs.

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

Tongtong will not fall off her horse for the time being, because the conditions do not allow it.