CH 32

Chapter 32 A Gift

Wen Yantong sighed again. At this time, she missed Teacher Zhao's ‘goodness’.

While she was still reminiscing, Hua Mo rushed inside the room. As soon as she entered, she was startled by Wen Yantong, who was standing next to the door. Hua Mo covered her heart and took a few steps back. "Oh mother--!"

Wen Yantong was confused. "What's wrong, Teacher Hua?"

Hua Mo rubbed her frightened heart. "It’s good that you’re still well and standing!"translate(d) by puretl . com / do not steal / re po/st

Wen Yantong wanted to retort that she wasn’t actually fine, almost

getting beaten up by Chi Jingxi. Her lips moved but decided to not say anything in the end. "I’m being punished."

After hearing this, Hua Mo narrowed her eyes and stared at Wen Yantong. "Has the Little Marquis been here?"

Startled, she replied with another question, "Were you aware that he was coming?"

Hua Mo hurriedly explained, "I didn't know it at first. I heard Teacher Zhao say that few people come to these rest rooms. The Little Marquis also never set foot in these kinds of places, so I arranged for you to change here."

"Then why was he here today?" Wen Yantong wondered out loud.

Hua Mo said, "I also only heard about the reason just now. Apparently, the Fu Residence's sixth young lady accidentally fell on the Little Marquis. The powder on her face rubbed onto his clothes, leaving a slight mark and smell, so the Little Marquis immediately ordered someone to bring him new clothes to change here."

Wen Yantong recalled Chi Jingxi's heavy expression when he came in. He had changed into light yellow clothes before going out, so she concluded that what Hua Mo heard should be true.

She angrily scolded the original culprit for Chi Jingxi’s bad mood. "Was Fu Shi doing splits while walking? How could she fall onto someone else? And it was onto the Little Marquis no less!"

Hua Mo also sighed in exasperation. "It's a little girl's method to catch someone’s attention. It's really a joke."

Wen Yantong was so angry that she knocked on the ground twice with her crutch. She mulled over her bad luck. How could this shit also fall on her head?!

Hua Mo patted her on the shoulder. "Well, don't think too much about it. It's almost time for us to go on stage. Let’s go prepare first."

The most important thing at the moment was to finish the banquet first. Wen Yantong also knew her priorities, so she followed Hua Mo to the Eight Pillars Hall without another word.

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When they arrived backstage, she saw a group of beautifully dressed girls gathered in the room. Some were testing their qin, while others were quietly chatting with each other.

Only Fu Shi sat in the corner. She was wiping her instrument’s strings, her movements gentle, but it seemed that she was being ostracized.

Wen Yantong guessed that Fu Shi couldn't participate in chitchat because these girls were laughing at the fact that she fell onto Chi Jingxi.

What a joke. No matter how bad-tempered Chi Jingxi was, he was still a prestigious Young Marquis. He was a serious boy with a jade face, whom countless noble girls in Chaoge looked forward to marrying.

As such, Fu Shi's rash action provoked public anger.

Wen Yantong chose to pay her no mind. As soon as she entered the door, all the girls in the room, who let out bursts of exclamations, stared at her curiously.

She quickly lowered her head, making others believe that she was embarrassed to show her face. Hua Mo was kind enough to help her out and take her to the corner. As she settled down, she saw that there were actually two xiqins on the table.

One was the original xiqin Wen Yantong had casually bought. She didn't cherish it very much, so the neck of the xiqin was a little dark. The other one, on the other hand, was brand new, with a mahogany body made with real snakeskin membrane. Anyone could tell at glance this was an expensive item.

Wen Yantong was startled and was about to ask when Hua Mo came over and said, "A student by the name of Fu Zixian sent this to you."

Wen Yantong was surprised at first, but then she realized that this was probably from Fu Tanghuan. She had always thought that Wen Yantong used her body to block the carriage, and she was grateful to Wen Yantong for saving her life.

Although Wen Yantong explained that she was only trying to run away, Fu Tanghuan was still ever-so-grateful and would occasionally send her gifts.

Wen Yantong touched the mahogany xiqin and felt very elated. She tried a short tune and immediately held the qin without letting go. She was ready to carry it directly to the stage.

Before going on stage, however, Fu Shi suddenly appeared beside her,suddenly reaching out to touch the mahogany xiqin.

Wen Yantong looked at her suspiciously and subconsciously moved her xiqin behind her back.

"Did Third Sister give you this?" Fu Shi asked with a seemingly innocent smile.

"No." Wen Yantong said, "Fu Zi gave it to me. Didn't you see it when he brought it over?"

Fu Shi's smile didn't falter. "I've only been here for a while."

Of course. Since she was busy falling on Chi Jingxi, Fu Shi naturally did not have the time to come so early.

Wen Yantong lowered her eyelids and internally mocked her.

"Are you going to bring this new qin to the stage?" Fu Shi did not leave even when she was given the cold shoulder. Instead, she continued to find words to keep the conversation going.

Wen Yantong glanced at her and knew that she still had more to say.

Sure enough, Fu Shi pointed at the old qin and said, "You are used to that qin. To change to a new qin right before going on stage, aren’t you afraid of being too unfamiliar with it?"

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After hearing her reasoning, Wen Yantong thought for a while but still didn't understand what she meant, so she faked a smile, saying, "It doesn't matter. The more expensive, the better. This qin is not ordinary. Since we’re going to perform, naturally, we have to use the good stuff."

Disdain flashed in Fu Shi's eyes, but she just continued to smile and turned away without saying anything else. Wen Yantong looked at her back, her intuition telling her that this matter was not quite simple.

But before she could think about it carefully, it was time to go on stage. Hua Mo kindly took her crutches and helped her up stage herself.