Chapter 291 Teasing (First Update)

Little Jingkong looked at Marquis Xuanping with the same look he'd given someone mentally challenged: "Little chick—"

Marquis Xuanping only realized after he finished speaking that he shouldn't have added that after his name, otherwise, given the little guy's comprehension, who knows what he would have said.

Just as I feared, the little thing actually spoke.

Marquis Xuanping said he had never been so flustered even in battle. He shuddered and shouted, "Shut up! Swallow that last word!"

Xiao Jingkong shut his mouth.

Okay.

The adult world is so hard to understand! Not only do they give you such an awful name, but they also can't tell the difference between a chicken and a monkey!

Marquis Xuanping breathed a sigh of relief.

Little Jingkong put his hands behind his back and tilted his head: "Eight."

I still said the last word.

Marquis Xuanping: "...!!"

Marquis Xuanping is known for his fearlessness in battle, but this little bald guy is more lethal than a thousand troops. Marquis Xuanping never knows when he will fall into a trap!

That's terrifying!

Marquis Xuanping, who always left others speechless, finally found himself speechless with rage.

What goes around comes around.

Xiao Jingkong sighed, "Alas, my family does indeed have seven chicks, but you can't have an eighth one."

Marquis Xuanping: ...So he's overthinking it?

Marquis Xuanping grew up among scoundrels and knew more lewd language than normal speech, so it was inevitable that he would think the wrong thing. However, upon further reflection, he realized that saying he was going to become a prostitute didn't seem like a good thing either!

It's not much better than that barren thing!

How could a dignified First-Rank Military Marquis become a prostitute?

Marquis Xuanping felt he couldn't continue arguing with this brat. He took a deep breath and slowly said, "If I said I was your brother-in-law's biological father, would you believe me?"

Xiao Jingkong frowned, gave him a strange look, and after a while, nodded seriously: "No wonder."

"No wonder what?" asked Marquis Xuanping.

Xiao Jingkong stroked his chin and suddenly realized, "No wonder my brother-in-law always gets the lowest score."

He misunderstood his brother-in-law. It wasn't that his brother-in-law wasn't hardworking enough; it was that his father was never smart. His father didn't even know whether he was a monkey or a chicken!

Marquis Xuanping: "..."

Marquis Xuanping felt like he had been hit by a thousand blows. He couldn't even remember why he had come here. He didn't even recognize his own son. He clutched his chest and called Chang Jing: "Help...help me back."

Chang Jing: "Can't you walk by yourself?"

Marquis Xuanping: If you could walk, would I have called you?! Come here! You come and let this little brat piss you off!

Chang Jing was reluctant to leave because he saw the marble hole on the ground and wanted to stay and play marbles.

But they could not disobey the orders of Marquis Xuanping.

He left with the Marquis of Xuanping, his voice filled with resentment.

Not long after they left, Gu Jiao arrived home.

When Xiao Jingkong saw Gu Jiao enter the courtyard, his eyes lit up, and he ran over and hugged Gu Jiao's leg tightly: "Jiaojiao! You're finally back! I missed you so much!"

He let go of her hand again, came behind Gu Jiao, grabbed her small basket and said, "Give me the basket, I'll carry it!"

Gu Jiao took off the small basket, took out the small medicine box, and put the small basket, which was not heavy anymore, on his back.

It was a small basket for Gu Jiao, but a big one for Xiao Jingkong.

The basket on his back was almost as tall as him; he half-carried, half-dragged it, making a clattering sound as he walked into the house.

Xiao Liulang was studying arithmetic in his study. Ever since he obtained the booklet that Xiao Jingkong had given him, which was suspected to be a book of the Yan Kingdom, he would study its contents diligently whenever he had free time.

Because the book uses a completely different language, it is still somewhat difficult to understand, even with some annotations.

However, the strange characters used to represent numbers piqued his strong interest, and the formulas listed from those characters and symbols also amazed him.

Because the method of cutting is lost, the Zhao Kingdom still uses the method of cutting circles to calculate the ancestral ratio. However, even if a circle is cut into tens of thousands of sides, it may not be possible to calculate to seven decimal places.

The formulas recorded in this book are much simpler, but he hasn't fully grasped them yet.

Xiao Liulang was so engrossed in his homework that he didn't look up at the window until a loud thud was heard. He saw Xiao Jingkong carrying a small basket on his back, walking in with a slurping sound.

Behind Xiao Jingkong, Gu Jiao, dressed in an ice-blue dress, was exceptionally beautiful and graceful, a sight to behold.

At that very moment, Gu Jiao seemed to sense something and looked towards the window of his west room.

Their eyes met.

Gu Jiao smiled slightly.

Like a crabapple bud about to bloom, it blossomed unexpectedly in the night breeze, under the starry sky, and in the softest part of my heart.

Xiao Liulang's heart raced, his eyelashes fluttered, and he looked away, continuing to bury himself in his studies.

Gu Jiao, however, seemed unwilling to pretend nothing had happened. She went to the window, rested one arm on the windowsill, and propped her chin on her other hand, looking at him: "What are you doing?"

A night breeze gently blew from behind her, carrying her subtle fragrance, which instantly overshadowed the scent of ink on the table.

Xiao Liulang suddenly felt a burning sensation in his chest.

He didn't look at Gu Jiao, his eyes fixed on the booklet on the table.

"Reading a book," he said calmly.

"Oh." Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow and suddenly leaned into the window.

The sudden approach made Xiao Liulang freeze, as if he couldn't move.

She was so close to him that it seemed their cheeks were almost touching.

Suddenly, Xiao Liulang's mind flashed back to the image of her drunkenly grabbing him and wanting a kiss, just like a seductive kitten.

His throat went dry and hoarse.

"You..." Just when Xiao Liulang thought she was going to do something to him, she simply reached out and took a piece of paper from his side.

After taking the paper, she stood back in her original spot obediently.

The scent on his cheeks and nose faded, but Xiao Liulang felt a strange sense of loss.

He didn't know what he was missing.

Gu Jiao took out a charcoal pencil, scribbled a few words on the paper, then smiled slightly, left a note, and turned back to her east room.

The heat on Xiao Liulang's cheeks took a long time to subside. After regaining his composure, he glanced at the note on the windowsill out of the corner of his eye.

He took it and looked at it. He saw that the note had several large characters written on it in charcoal: "Book, take, upside down!"

Xiao Liulang recalled the meaningful look in her eyes when she left the note, and his cheeks, which had just returned to normal, suddenly burned again...

At dinner, both Madam Yao and Gu Yan were perceptive enough to see through Xiao Liulang's feigned composure. Only Gu Xiaoshun, the simple-minded one, stared blankly at Xiao Liulang for a long time before asking, "Brother-in-law, why is your face red?"

That's really bringing up the very thing you shouldn't be talking about.

Xiao Liulang said seriously, "It's hot."

"Oh." Gu Xiaoshun nodded. "It is quite hot."

Yao smiled secretly, her lips pursed.

Gu Xiaoshun wanted to ask something more, but Gu Yan stuffed a vegetarian chicken leg into his mouth: "Eat yours!"

"Hmm~" Gu Xiaoshun's mouth suddenly got busy, and he forgot what he was going to ask.

After dinner, under the intense pressure from his wicked brother-in-law, Xiao Jingkong had no choice but to confess his great feat of shaving half a class of monks.

"The first one to get shaved is Chu Yu," Xiao Liulang added sarcastically.

Xiao Jingkong was unaware that Chu Yu's surname was Qin and that he was a prince, but Gu Jiao was certainly aware of this.

Gu Jiao: Hmm, they even dare to shave the prince's head?

Xiao Liulang: ...What's with that expression? You seem to admire it a little! This child is so bold; I'm afraid someone else deserves a lot of credit for it!

Gu Jiao received a death stare from Xiao Liulang, blinked, silently swallowed her words about how amazing, brave, meticulous, and capable her child was, and said seriously to Xiao Jingkong, "Don't bring a razor to the Imperial Academy anymore. We can't give people free haircuts."

Xiao Liulang: "..."

The incident of Xiao Jingkong shaving his head caused a great uproar at the Imperial College, and the same was true in the Imperial Palace.

When Qin Chuyu walked out of the Imperial College with a round, hard-boiled head, the eunuch who came to greet him was immediately terrified.

Qin Chuyu was still unaware of the earth-shattering feat he had accomplished. He boarded the carriage back to the palace, eagerly awaiting the day he would wake up and become smarter.

In fact, Qin Chuyu was not capable enough to get into the prodigy class. It was all thanks to the Crown Princess that he got in through connections. This led to a very awkward situation for Qin Chuyu – he was the worst student in the class and always came in last place in every exam.

The teacher knew his identity and dared not speak ill of him, but he was eight years old, a mature little man, and he also had his pride.

His desire to become smarter was stronger than anyone else's, so he decisively grabbed the first spot to be ordained.

He went to Empress Xiao's Kunning Palace with his bald head.

"Mother!"

Empress Xiao was selecting newly arrived tribute materials when she heard this. She turned her head with a smile and immediately fainted.

Immediately afterwards, the emperor was alarmed.

Before long, the entire harem knew about Qin Chuyu's tonsure.

Consort Zhuang sent someone to ask if the Seventh Prince wanted to become a monk.

The emperor was furious and asked Qin Chuyu, "Who shaved your head?!"

Shaving a prince's head is suicidal!

Qin Chuyu thought this was a good thing because he was about to become smarter, so he didn't hide anything: "It was Jingkong who shaved my head!"

"Who?" The emperor was taken aback.

“Jingkong,” Qin Chuyu said, “Father, you’ve met him, haven’t you forgotten?”

The little miracle doctor's younger brother?

The emperor's rage vanished instantly: "Why...why did he shave your head?"

Qin Chuyu said, "I made him shave it. I want to be as smart as him!"

Qin Chuyu then recounted the whole story, his tone extremely boastful, as he was about to become smarter!

The emperor clenched his fists, his lips twitching upwards.

That stupid kid!

Did all that studying go to waste? Is this how you use the phrase "exceptionally intelligent"?

In the end, Qin Chuyu was very honored to have a meal of bamboo shoots stir-fried with pork prepared by his own father, the emperor.

It hurts so much, boohoo!

The emperor punished Qin Chuyu behind closed doors, and the reason for the punishment was not that he shaved his head, but that the emperor had checked his homework and he had not memorized it.

The officials and parents of the little bald boys whose heads had been shaved were waiting for the emperor's response, but the emperor said nothing, so they gave up on their idea of ​​seeking an explanation.

Strictly speaking, it's not really the little guy's fault; it doesn't seem like he did it on purpose.

Besides, even if he really did it on purpose, how can you, a bunch of six, seven, and eight-year-olds, have the nerve to cause trouble for a four-year-old after being fooled by him?

Isn't it my own stupidity?

Initially shocked, angry, and forced to endure humiliation, everyone gradually calmed down, and then they discovered something—

That's because my own child's head was shaved so clean!

Not a single stray hair!

This is professional!

"My youngest son is almost a month old, and I'd like to find someone to shave his baby hair."

“My nephew is two years old and I want to get a haircut, but I can’t find a suitable hairdresser. The one I had before didn’t shave him properly.”

"The stylist my family hired did the same thing, and he even injured me while shaving!"

The crowd escorted the child to the gate of the Imperial College, exchanging knowing glances.

However, it's best to just think about it; there's no reason to actually invite a little kid into your home to give someone a haircut.

"I don't think it's quite appropriate."

"I think so too."

"Then...shall we go?"

Let's go!

Damn it, why don't you guys get out of here!

If you're so capable, don't just stand there like that kid!

The next morning, Xiao Jingkong strode confidently to the Imperial College, only to be met with a wave of intense and greedy stares.

He didn't understand what was going on either.

Xiao Liulang let Xiao Jingkong go in first.

The crowd surged forward and surrounded Xiao Liulang.

Xiao Liulang thought the crowd had come to demand an explanation from him, and he was mentally prepared to be criticized by thousands of people. However, to his surprise, the first thing they said was, "Would it be convenient for your brother to come to my house for a haircut?"

Xiao Liulang: "..."

Xiao Liulang, of course, would not agree.

What a joke! This kid owns three mansions in the capital, and the rent from Bishui Hutong alone brings in thirty taels a month. If he goes out to develop a barbering business, will I, as his brother-in-law, still have any financial standing at home?

Little Jingkong was unaware that his grand plan to shave heads had been ruthlessly crushed by his wicked brother-in-law.

(End of this chapter)