Chapter 33: Catch them and treat them like slaves
When Qi Wuhan met the old tutor, the old tutor asked him who those men in black were last night. He said they were members of the Black Lotus Sect. The old tutor scolded them as traitors and villains with evil intentions.
"You're already so old, calm down and don't let it get you in trouble." Qi Wuhan asked the old tutor to drink some tea to calm down, and then jokingly said, "I don't know what they can do with you after they captured you. Do they want you to teach them how to study and pass the imperial examination?"
The old tutor was so angry that he blew his beard and glared at him, and taught him seriously how a gentleman should speak and behave.
Qi Wuhan listened without listening in one ear and out the other, and even yawned, which made the old tutor very angry.
"In your opinion, which student in this academy will be able to win the top three in the next spring examination?" Qi Wuhan asked seriously again.
After the old tutor calmed down, he said, "If we talk about literary style and integrity, Minister Jiang's eldest son is in the top three."
"Where is Young Master Cui?" Qi Wuhan asked.
The old master stroked his beard and said, "Although the style of the article is good, it is too violent. If it can be honed for another year or two, it can be ranked among the top three."
"Isn't there a Master Lin? I heard that he was admitted to the academy at the age of six. Why doesn't the old tutor talk about him?" Qi Wuhan said.
The old tutor sighed and said, "Excessive wisdom will lead to harm. The child is weak and not suitable for a place like the officialdom where there are intrigues. I plan to let him stay in the academy as a teacher in the future." Speaking of the word "books", the old tutor thought of the tens of thousands of books in the library, all of which were burned to ashes, and he was filled with sadness again.
"The old must go before the new can come. Please accept my condolences, old man." Qi Wuhan comforted.
"Those are all out-of-print books~out-of-print books~~~"
Amid the old tutor's heartbroken wails, Qi Wuhan immediately said goodbye.
After coming out, he joked to Ling Feng, "Judging from the sound of his voice, this old man can definitely live another twenty or thirty years."
Ling Feng listened to the wailing sounds coming from the house, which were very loud.
On the way back, Qi Wuhan looked at the moon in the sky and said meaningfully, "The princes have all grown up."
Ling Feng asked, "My Lord, do you suspect that someone in the capital is secretly colluding with the Black Lotus Cult?" He then asked, puzzled, "If it was really someone in the capital, why would they attack the academy and even capture the old tutor?"
"Which sect does that old man belong to?" Qi Wuhan suggested.
"It's His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Ling Feng knew that the old tutor was a loyal supporter of the Crown Prince, but he had resigned from the post of tutor and left the court five years ago, so he should not pose a threat to anyone.
"Which school do you think the students taught by that old man belong to?" Qi Wuhan twirled his fan nonchalantly. "Who arranged for the dignified Prince's tutor to come all the way to Sangcheng to become the headmaster of a college?"
Ling Feng immediately understood that it was arranged by the emperor to build up power for the prince and prepare for the future.
"Maybe I'm overthinking it. The Black Lotus Cult just wants to capture that old man and make him work like a slave." Qi Wuhan said jokingly.
“…”
Ling Feng suddenly felt a little sympathy for the old tutor as he was still being treated like a slave by his own master at such an old age.
After returning, Qi Wuhan walked into the yard and saw the lights on in the house in front of him, and a sense of warmth spread in his heart.
At this time, Jiang Lan opened the door and walked out. Seeing him standing in the yard, a surge of joy surged uncontrollably in her heart, but she restrained herself and stood at the door without taking another step forward.
"Are you waiting for me?" Qi Wuhan walked over with a slight smile on his face.
As he walked in front of her, Jiang Lan turned and went into the house and was about to close the door when he had already stepped one foot in.
"I'm going to sleep."
"Where does this lord sleep?"
Qi Wuhan smiled playfully, leaned forward and moved closer, but was pushed out by Jiang Lan, who then closed the door with a swish.
"Rogue."
She cursed softly, and when she passed by the bronze mirror, she accidentally caught a glimpse of her own face in the mirror. It looked like it was stained with two blobs of rouge, as bright as a peach blossom. She raised her hand and touched her face, which was a little hot. She walked a few steps closer and stared at the face in the mirror silently.
Is there really some resemblance...
Are the eyes like the nose or the mouth like...
She felt that she was getting stuck in a rut, so she immediately pushed away the distracting thoughts, walked to the bronze mirror, sat down, took off her jewelry, and prepared to rest.
There was another knock on the door.
She thought it was Qi Wuhan, so she kept silent.
Hearing the voices of Qing'er and Gui'er coming from outside the door, Jiang Lan came over to open the door. Ling Feng brought the people in, bowed to her and said goodbye. Jiang Lan brought the two into the house and asked about the situation in Zhuyuan. She was happy to learn that Jiang Shen was able to get out of bed and walk a few steps.
"Miss, please have a good rest these two days. The eldest master is being taken care of by the housekeeper, so you don't have to worry." Qing'er said as she made the bed.
Gui'er also said: "Miss, you don't have to do anything these two days. Just eat well and sleep well."
Jiang Lan smiled and said yes, her eyes filled with a smile, as refreshing as the bright moon in the sky.
Gui'er was a little stunned, and quickly ran over to pull Qing'er over to look at her. Jiang Lan felt a little embarrassed by the two of them staring at her.
…
The next day during breakfast, Qi Wuhan came uninvited and sat down next to Jiang Lan in a familiar manner, fanning himself gracefully.
"Don't you feel cold so early in the morning, Lord Marquis?" Jiang Lan glanced at the fan in his hand.
Qi Wuhan casually put away the fan and took a bite of the small bun she had just picked up with chopsticks. Jiang Lan glared at him and didn't even want the chopsticks, giving them to him. She picked up the spoon and scooped up the porridge to drink.
"Why do I feel that today's buns are particularly delicious~" Qi Wuhan picked up the chopsticks and picked up another small bun.
Jiang Lan ignored him and drank two mouthfuls of porridge in silence before she said something, "Yesterday I found someone hiding behind the wall and peeping."
"I will ask someone to pay attention to it." Qi Wuhan put down his chopsticks, supported his head with one hand and watched her drink porridge with a doting look.
At this time, Ling Feng came over and said, "My Lord, the old tutor wants to see you."
"Go and tell him to mourn his loss. When I return to Beijing, I will find three carts of out-of-print books and send them to him." Qi Wuhan said nonchalantly while supporting his head with one hand and looking at Jiang Lan.
"Yes." Ling Feng bowed and took his leave.
Jiang Lan casually asked, "Were all the books burned?"
"It was all burned to ashes." Qi Wuhan sighed again, "The old man was so sad that he fainted from crying."
Jiang Lan turned her head and glanced at him, feeling that this man seemed to be gloating over other people's misfortunes and even asked others to mourn. Could it be that he had some personal grudge against the old tutor...
After breakfast, Qi Wuhan took Ling Feng out again. He came back at noon and had lunch with Jiang Lan. He went out again in the afternoon and came back before dinner and had dinner with her.
After dinner, Qi Wuhan asked Qing'er and Gui'er to go downstairs and told Jiang Lan about the person he had peeked at yesterday.
The man came again this morning and peeked into the yard by standing on tiptoe with stones just like yesterday, but he changed his position.
The Black Armored Guards discovered him and followed Qi Wuhan's instructions not to alert the enemy.
"I asked someone to check, and he is also a student of this academy, his last name is Xu."
It’s indeed him, Jiang Lan thought.
"Do you know him?" Qi Wuhan asked casually.
Jiang Lan replied, "He came to visit my eldest brother before." She paused, as if thinking about it, and continued, "He also told me to be careful of Young Master Cui, saying that he and my eldest brother have always been at odds, and I'm afraid he will come to cause trouble for me." After she finished speaking, she saw him looking at her with a gentle look in his eyes. Jiang Lan turned her face away, pretending she saw nothing.
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