Chapter 022: Being Blackmailed

Wen Yan was thinking about something and fell into a drowsy sleep when it was almost dawn.

When she woke up, it was already noon.

There is not enough time!

She got up in a hurry and came to the yard, where she saw Pei'er helping her fifth grandmother walk in the yard.

When she heard the door open, Grandma Wu turned her head towards her.

Smiling, she said, "Did Yan'er sleep well? There's warm water for washing in the kitchen, and breakfast is heating up in the pot."

"Okay." Wen Yan responded with a smile.

After washing up, she took a bowl of sorghum porridge, sat under the eaves, put her feet together, and started to eat comfortably with the bowl in her hands.

She didn't look like a daughter of an official family, but rather like a young lady born and raised in the village.

Grandma Wu was tired from walking, so Pei'er helped her sit down on the stone slab beside the courtyard wall.

A magnolia tree outside the yard is in full bloom, with its branches extending over the wall and hanging diagonally inside.

Beautiful view!

Wen Yan didn't even bother to eat. He put down his bowl and chopsticks and went into the house to move the kang table.

He spread out the paper, mixed the colors and ink, and started painting.

Wen Yan easily forgets himself when painting, and time passes by unknowingly.

By the time she put down her pen, an hour had passed.

She stretched and found someone sneaking around the gate.

When she looked over, the figure hid.

Wen Yan frowned and walked over to open the door.

Then I saw a woman carrying a load and fleeing in a hurry.

Look at that back.

Memories of her past life flooded into her mind, and her eyes were sore.

"Are you selling tofu?" Wen Yan called her.

The woman stopped suddenly and hesitated for a moment before turning around.

She didn't dare to look Wen Yan in the eye, and used a smile to hide her panic: "It's a tofu seller, do you want to buy it?"

"Give me two pieces." Wen Yan had regained his composure.

"good!"

The woman was overjoyed and ran back carrying her load.

He deftly wrapped two pieces of tofu in taro leaves and poured her a bowl of tofu pudding. "This is my first time doing business with your family. I'm giving you this bowl of tofu pudding to try. If you like it, I'll give you another one next time... and you can buy it next time."

Wen Yan called Pei'er and took the tofu back to the kitchen.

She took out ten cents and handed it over.

The woman took the copper coin, thanked him repeatedly, and left in a hurry without daring to stay.

Wen Yan looked at her back, let out a sigh, and then returned to the yard to continue working on the unfinished business.

The woman hurried home without selling all the tofu.

As soon as I entered the house, tears started flowing uncontrollably.

Her husband dropped his tools, panicking and at a loss: "Mother, what's going on?"

"She is obviously a rich lady and can also paint. She even asked me to buy tofu." She spread out her hands, in which were the ten copper coins given by Wen Yan.

She didn't dare put it in her purse, for fear that it would be mixed up with other copper coins and she would not be able to find it.

Her husband patted her on the back and said, "She has an easy life, which is better than anything else."

The woman whimpered and nodded.

He took a rope and strung the ten copper coins together carefully.

**

The next day.

The weather is extremely hot and humid.

Wen Yan took the prepared things and headed towards Wutong Academy on the top of the mountain.

She knew the mountain road was difficult to walk on, but she didn't expect it to be so difficult.

The forest was damp and hot, and the mountain road was rugged and winding.

By the time she reached the Rain Collection Pavilion on the mountainside, she was already exhausted and out of breath.

Ying Zhilin wondered how he managed to keep running back and forth every day.

"call……"

Wen Yan wiped the sweat from his forehead and sat in the pavilion to take a break.

Pedestrians pass by on the stone steps from time to time.

And most of them are men.

These people were either dressed in gorgeous clothes or dressed like Confucian scholars.

Not at all like the nearby villagers or ordinary tourists.

She took out some water and snacks to replenish her energy and continued on her way.

The sun was burning on her back, so she tried to walk close to the shade of the trees on the roadside.

Suddenly, I tripped over something.

She fell to the ground with a cry of "ouch".

"What tripped me!"

Wen Yan turned around angrily and saw a plump, pale old man with white hair and a youthful face sitting in the grass under the tree.

Wen Yan's accusatory momentum suddenly weakened a lot.

When the fat old man looked at her, he avoided her gaze at first, but when he saw that Yan Lingren's momentum had weakened, he became more excited.

"It was you who stepped on me. You, you, you... you little girl, actually bullied an old man like me in broad daylight, and you even complained first!"

Is this being blackmailed?

"I won't argue with you, so don't push your luck."

This was a confusing matter that could not be explained, but she was in a hurry to go to the academy to do her business.

Wen Yan turned around and was about to leave.

The fat old man grabbed the basket she was carrying and said, "You can't leave! You stepped on me and hurt me. You have to compensate me."

The fat old man pulled her and made a fuss about her.

Wen Yan couldn't leave, and he couldn't hit the old man!

She gritted her teeth: "What do you want?"

"You stepped on me and I can't walk anymore. You have to help me carry my bag up the mountain." The fat old man groaned twice and pulled up his trouser legs, revealing a red mark on them. It really looked like he had been stepped on.

Wen Yan really didn't want to waste time.

I thought it was just a bag, and it would be no big deal to carry it up the mountain.

Until the fat old man pulled away the weeds around him and revealed a bulging bundle inside.

The bundle was tattered and filled with books.

Wen Yan tried to lift it, but stumbled: "It's too heavy, I can't lift it."

Wen Yan asked for help from passers-by.

He ignored those in gorgeous clothes.

However, a man in Confucian robes stopped.

But he looked at the seemingly endless stairs, then looked at the huge bag, waved his hand, and walked away as if escaping.

"Wait here, I'll go up the mountain to find someone to help." Wen Yan said to the fat old man.

She turned to leave.

The fat old man curled his lips: "Wow...you little girl, you are so pretty, how could you deceive an old man's feelings..."

When the fat old man started crying, passers-by looked over here.

Wen Yan's brow twitched, and she squeezed out a sound from between her teeth, "Can't I help you move it?"

She carried the fat old man's bag in one hand and her own basket in the other, gritting her teeth and climbing up the mountain step by step.

The fat old man grabbed the black veil on the ground to cover his face and smiled cunningly.

Then he followed like a fat little bee that had stolen honey.

He chased Wen Yan, asking questions all over the place and chattering non-stop.

Wen Yan felt as if there was a beehive on his head, buzzing.

It took Wen Yan an hour to climb the stairs that took half an hour.

Wen Yan slumped on the ground and waved to the fat old man, "We've reached the top. Find someone to carry the rest. I'm leaving first."

After saying this, she was afraid that he would come back to bother her again, so she picked up her basket and ran away.

"Hey, little girl, why are you running? You helped me carry the things, and I haven't thanked you yet!"

The fat old man pulled something out of his bag and chased after Wen Yan, "This is my thank you gift to you..."

Wen Yan was so frightened that she ran away in a flash!

The fat old man pouted aggrievedly: "Is she disliking me?"

Ying Zhilin described the layout of the academy to Wen Yan, and she soon arrived at the entrance of the academy.

The main gate of the academy is tall and magnificent, with four large characters "Wutong Academy" written in iron and silver on the plaque.

There were many people gathered in front of the academy.