Chapter 48: Qi Family's Manor
After listening to Li Dong's story, Chen Tang's admiration for Feng Xi increased even more. However, before she could ask how to raise a toad, Qi Huaijing reached out his hand to her.
"Come ride a horse?"
"Hurrah!"
Chen Tang stood up and prepared to get off the car, but unexpectedly Qi Huaijing caught her hand, bent down and picked her up, then carried her directly from the car to the horse in front of him.
Chen Tang was caught off guard and felt his body suddenly float in the air. He couldn't help but exclaimed. When he came to his senses, he found himself sitting on a hot horse's back.
The autumn wind was rustling, the horse's back was shaking, and she couldn't help but sigh with a trembling voice.
"Wow, it's really tall... This is the first time I've ridden a horse in my life."
Qi Huaijing smiled and hugged her waist tightly, but felt her shiver a little.
"What's wrong? Are you scared?"
Chen Tang knew that he was always nagging, and was afraid that he would hear the word "afraid" and refuse to let him ride a horse, so he clenched his teeth.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. You underestimate me."
Even so, Qi Huaijing loosened the reins and slowed down.
Chen Tang gradually got used to sitting there, but couldn't help but urge him.
"Cousin, why are you riding so slowly? Lidong is already ahead of you. We still have a long way to go. If we keep going so slowly, how long will it take us to get there?"
Qi Huaijing didn't expect that he would be disliked by others, and smiled softly.
"So Tangtang is so anxious. Okay, sit tight."
As soon as he finished speaking, he cracked the whip, and the horse's hooves flew, galloping away, soon leaving everyone behind.
The galloping horse's back was bumpy and difficult to keep steady. Chen Tang didn't expect him to be so fast. He heard the whistling of the wind and saw the autumn trees on the side of the road flying by. His heart was pounding.
Qi Huaijing noticed that she was clutching her belt tightly, and he deliberately leaned close to her ear and asked.
"Madam, do you want it to be faster?"
Chen Tang refused to admit defeat easily and still insisted on being tough.
"More...faster!"
Qi Huaijing smiled, held her waist tightly, and whipped the horse even faster.
After running for seven or eight miles in one breath, Chen Tang could no longer bear the bumps on the horse. Not only was his heart beating fast and his mouth dry, but even his legs felt a little weak. That's why he softened his voice and changed his words.
"Wait a minute... slow down! Let me take it easy."
"Oh, don't you want to hurry up?"
"...It's too fast! How can you be so reckless as you? You almost make people's souls fly away."
Qi Huaijing chuckled and really slowed down. Looking at her cute red ears, he deliberately leaned over and bit them lightly.
"That sounds familiar."
Chen Tang was stunned for a moment, then realized that his words were not serious, turned his head away and ignored him, but his ears became even redder.
…
It was late autumn, and the road was filled with lush autumn colors and dense forests. The group walked and played as they went, until the late afternoon, when they finally arrived at the Qi family's farm. The head of the farm had already received the news and came to greet them from afar into the owner's house.
This house is the ancestral property of the Qi family. It has been around for some time. It has three courtyards, one in the front and two in the back. It has blue bricks and red tiles, pine walls and bamboo paths, and peach and willow trees. The main room in the backyard is furnished with gold-sprinkled bed curtains, ebony tables and chairs, diamond-shaped mirrors, hanging paintings and incense burners, and is also kept clean and tidy.
This was also Qi Huaijing's first time here. He had only been here for two days and felt that although this place was not as wild and terrifying as Madam Yue described, it was indeed a bit... too wild.
Without mentioning anything else, just the first day, the couple thought they didn't have to get up early to pay their respects, so they played until midnight before going to bed.
Unexpectedly, just after four o'clock the next morning, when the night was still dark, the sound of roosters crowing could be heard in the village, each one louder than the last.
The couple woke up in shock, unable to get up or sleep well, and covered each other's ears to seek peace and quiet.
After getting up, Qi Huaijing called Lidong and asked him to take the silver and buy all the roosters in the nearby villages. He paid the money and killed them on the spot. The chicken carcasses were left for the owner to make soup.
Farmers had never encountered such a good thing before. Since the rooster didn't lay eggs and they could make a lot of money for free, they were happy to make the deal.
On the third day, the crowing of roosters had indeed become much less frequent, except for one household where the crowing of roosters was still loud and clear, disturbing people's sweet dreams.
Lidong replied that it was the school on Zhuangzi's property, not the tenant farm of the Qi family. The teacher personally raised a flock of chickens and would not kill them no matter how much money was offered. He only said that he wanted to keep them for their crowing to remind himself to study hard and get up early, and he would not sell them no matter how much money was offered.
Qi Huaijing seldom encountered things that he couldn't accomplish even after spending money, which was very troubled. He called Lidong during breakfast and discussed with him to take advantage of the dark and windy night, quietly enter the circle, kill the chickens and discard the bodies, without anyone noticing.
Lidong nodded without saying anything.
Chen Tang couldn't help but burst out laughing when he heard the two people's childish conspiracy.
"If I were to tell you, you two should give up this bad idea as soon as possible. This matter is not a big deal, but the chickens on the farm are very valuable, and scholars are very good at talking. If the news spreads, we will only stay for three or five days, but I am afraid that the bad reputation will last for three to five years. Didn't the farm manager ask you to inspect the fields this morning? Go ahead and do your work. Leave this matter to me."
After breakfast, Chen Tang asked Li Dong about the location of the school and went out with the painting screen.
Before lunchtime, Huaping sent a message back, asking Lidong to take the servants to the school to catch chickens.
Qi Huaijing was surprised to hear this. How could she get the chicken that he couldn't even buy with his own money just by talking?
Huaping explained the whole story to everyone through words and gestures.
"I was just wondering, that teacher was so arrogant, when he heard that we wanted to buy his precious chicken, he almost refused to open the door. But later when he heard that my young lady was the daughter of Mr. Shen from the Academy, he showed her respect, not only letting her in, but also offering her a seat and serving her tea, calling her 'young lady' over and over again!"
Qi Huaijing was moved when he heard this. He didn't know that Shen's uncle, who was such a low-ranking official, had such a far-reaching reputation.
This good reputation seems to be more useful than his family's money.
Chen Tang took the tea and couldn't help laughing.
"What a coincidence! I saw an old edition of the annotated Five Classics on the teacher's desk. It looked almost torn apart. I remember that this set of books already has a new edition, one of which was written by my father. The teacher has been in the countryside for a long time and didn't know about this, so I promised to give him a new set of books..."
Huaping continued, "The teacher was so happy when he heard this that he thanked me repeatedly. He would even give me a sheep, let alone a few chickens! Before he left, I deliberately asked him, 'Teacher, if you don't have these chickens crowing, aren't you afraid that you will miss your studies?'"
Huaping imitated that person, lowered her voice, and waved her hands quickly.
"It doesn't matter. If I can get a good book annotated by Mr. Shen, I'm afraid I won't even remember to eat, let alone sleep in!"
These words made everyone laugh.
Qi Huaijing also laughed, but his laughter was not very enjoyable.
After everyone left, he quietly called Lidong and asked him how old the teacher was and what he was like.
Li Dong told the truth: "He is young, well-read, good at speaking, and is preparing for the imperial examination."
He thought about it and added another sentence.
“She’s not bad looking, either.”
Qi Huaijing gritted his teeth and told him to stop talking and get out of here quickly.
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