Chapter 125 Taking my mother with me to climb over the wall...
"What are you investigating?" A voice rang out from afar. The old Imperial Guard gave a wink, lowered his head, and left with Wu'er.
Qi Chengming turned around and saw Zhang Ji walking towards him from a distance. The young man's face showed no reaction, but he repeatedly asked, "Brother Qi... you've been gone for a long time."
"Someone from home came over and we had some business to discuss. I'm sorry to have worried you," Qi Chengming replied calmly before heading back.
That's his secret.
Even if someone is flustered, as long as they maintain an unwavering expression, no matter how lame their excuse is, some people will soften their stance and even begin to doubt themselves.
This kind of emotional manipulation is very effective, although Qi Chengming hasn't used it yet.
Turning and stepping into the shop, Qi Chengming was once again surrounded by a bustling atmosphere, the air filled with the enticing aroma of food. He cleared his mind and listened to the students discussing playing the "Flying Flowers" game.
However, because the teachers have been strict lately, this meal consisted of tea, and even the "Flying Flower Order" game was played with tea instead of wine.
"You guys play, I'll just watch." Qi Chengming surrendered on the spot with a completely innocent look on his face. It's perfectly normal for him, the son of an uneducated merchant, not to know how to play the "Flying Flowers" game, isn't it?
Actually, the Three Hundred Tang Poems and Chinese language education he received before transmigrating weren't for nothing; he could at least scrape together a few poems if trouble came up. But what Qi Chengming feared most was... this was just an ancient world in a book; what if there was a poem that wasn't here? If they thought he was the original author, that would be a huge problem.
Qi Chengming has not yet reached the point where he needs to plagiarize ancient poems to prove his worth.
His literary skills were naturally inferior to those of these ancient scholars.
"I'm not coming either... Call me next time you have a drink! Otherwise I'll be full from drinking tea." Hu Hong waved his hand in shame and refused to come. He wasn't progressing that fast yet; he was still at the level of studying the basics diligently at the academy, and he had only memorized a few poems and didn't have the energy for more.
The Zhao family girl was furious. She raised an eyebrow and said, "You're all slacking off. How are we supposed to play? Come on! The teacher said we can't drink alcohol, but if you keep doing this, I'll go get some fruit wine. It won't make you drunk. Whoever doesn't know will be punished."
She had a fiery temper and immediately ordered her maid to fetch fruit wine.
"Come on! Let's all play together!" The students clamored enthusiastically. A familiar-looking boy winked at Hu Hong and whispered, "I'll give you a hint later."
Before Qi Chengming could even refuse, Zhang Ji awkwardly nudged him, lowered his head, and said in a mocking tone, "Don't worry, Brother Qi..."
Qi Chengming: "..."
He surveyed the room with a pained expression, but who couldn't see Zhang Ji's blatant manipulation? At least the young man in front of him whispered a warning amidst the noise, but Zhang Ji practically shouted to the whole room, "I'm up to no good!"
Fortunately, his friends were truly loyal; though they were having fun, they were somewhat aware of Qi's predicament. A group of young men and women coughed, subtly and awkwardly averting their gazes, trying to change the subject: "Then let's think about what kind of 'flying flower' game we should play." "Ahem... shall we use the word 'flower' as the game number?"
"No, 'water' feels better this season." "Isn't 'snow' more refreshing than 'water'?"
When it comes to the sweltering heat of this season, the boys complain endlessly, and they all come up with a game of playing the word "snow" today, as if they can borrow some cool and refreshing meaning from the poems to beat the heat.
Huang Meimei nudged the Wen family girl, who then somewhat shyly began to explain the rules of today's "Flying Flower Order" game, glancing subtly at Qi Chengming:
"Everyone takes turns saying sentences containing the word 'snow.' If the first person's 'snow' is at the beginning of the sentence, the second person's 'snow' must be the second character in the sentence, and so on, going past the fourth and eighth characters, and then going back again. There are no restrictions on meter or rhyme. Whoever can't do it... has to drink a cup of wine!"
Having received the look and understood why the rules needed to be explained again, Qi Chengming was speechless.
He leaned back in his chair, relaxed, and calmly crossed his arms, resigned to his fate.
Anyway, he doesn't know how, so we'll have to rely on Brother Zhang later! Everyone in the room can see that.
"I'll go first." The Wen family girl regained her confidence, her soft voice returning to normal. The Huang family girl beside her smiled broadly, her eyes crinkling with satisfaction: "Snow darkens the Tianshan Road."①
“A traveler returns home on a snowy night.” Another student chimed in.
Sitting next to the student was Brother Huang Shi. His brows furrowed slowly, and after a moment's thought, he cautiously said, "Snow on the river, wind by the shore."
Then everyone looked at Qi Chengming.
Qi Chengming: "…………"
Okay, he knew everyone was intentionally letting him have it, deliberately giving him the best line they could think of. There are indeed quite a few lines of poetry where the character for "snow" is in the fifth position...
But he needs to find a poem that matches the current situation. It doesn't have to rhyme, but it can't be completely unrhymed, right?
But Qi Chengming's mind was now filled with "A bountiful year with heavy snow" and "Fishing alone on a snowy river"... which sounded completely unrelated.
“The Snow Hall was actually formed in the snow.” Zhang Ji whispered the answer he had thought of, and Qi Chengming read it aloud, feeling relieved to have passed the test smoothly.
"I'm saved...!" Hu Hong breathed a sigh of relief, his tension as if he himself had just been in a difficult situation.
Qi Chengming sat down and whispered a compliment to Zhang Ji: "As expected of Brother Zhang."
When it was Zhang Ji's turn, he quickly came up with a poem to pass the test. It can only be said that this kind of free-flowing poetry game, without restrictions on meter or rhyme, might be too easy for the children of wealthy families, but for the local students of Liuzhou, the challenge was just right. For students like Hu Hong and Qi Chengming, who had only studied diligently for a year, it was simply impossible to learn.
...
The party finally ended, and the students left in high spirits, having drunk their fill and enjoying the perfect atmosphere. Everyone piled the prizes they had prepared onto Zhang Ji's car, and Zhang Ji gave Hu Hong and Qi Chengming a ride.
As the hosts, the Huang family members watched them leave from the doorway.
The smile on Zhao's face faded, and she looked at Brother Huang Shi: "How are things now? Why do you have to be so suspicious?"
"It's just a preliminary assessment; he really is illiterate." Brother Huang Shi smiled and shrugged. He was indeed the kind of person who was naturally outgoing, but that didn't mean he was careless or silly.
Among the group of friends, only the newcomer, Brother Qi, was not in the academy and his background was unknown. There was something mysterious about him, but upon closer inspection, it was hard to pinpoint exactly what was suspicious; he seemed unlike an ordinary person. Brother Huang Shi was somewhat worried for Zhang Ji and decided to observe him further.
Looking at it now, Brother Qi is just a merchant's son who is illiterate... Perhaps it's because he is a young man with good looks and temperament, and a touch of refined elegance, that he always makes misunderstandings.
Brother Huangshi shook his head, no longer dwelling on it.
The wheels creaked, and a silence fell over the vehicle.
Zhang Ji suddenly said, "Brother Qi, don't worry about it... Next time, let's play pitch-pot, or paint, whatever you're good at."
This taciturn young man was clumsily trying to comfort someone. It was he who noticed Qi Chengming's deep thought and thought that the previous poetry contest had still made Qi's younger brother unhappy.
"No." Qi Chengming came back to his senses and answered with a smile, "I won't take it to heart. We'll play pitch-pot next time."
Yeah, right.
He thought to himself.
This is something we must keep in mind!
They all realized that this was Brother Huang Shi testing his identity. Had it been his recent act of jumping into the water to save someone, coupled with his past words and actions, that aroused suspicion? They felt he wasn't the son of an ordinary merchant…
Qi Chengming immediately decided to cover up his true identity and have someone reinforce the details as soon as he got back. Fortunately, he genuinely didn't understand classical literature and poetry, nor did he have the original owner's memories after transmigrating into the book. His true reaction and expression should dispel any suspicions!
I'm still shaken.
When Qi Chengming arrived in the city, the sun was setting, and he spent the day with his friends.
This time, since there were still many prizes in the car, Zhang Ji dropped the people off at their homes, and Qi Chengming was forced to return to the "Qi Residence" he had previously settled in.
Urgent! I need to ask online: how can I demonstrate my familiarity with a house I've only visited once?
The young prince was still bracing himself and thinking about the matter quickly.
When the coachman went to knock on the door, Liu, the wet nurse who was at home admiring the newly purchased maid, heard the noise and temporarily put it aside to come out and greet the two young men: "You're back from playing? Young gentlemen, why don't you come in and sit for a while?"
Zhang Ji seemed genuinely interested. He'd never seen such a small house before, nor had he ever visited a friend's home. A hint of awkwardness lingered in his expression as he hesitantly looked at Hu Hong, unsure if it would work. Hu Hong, on the other hand, was quite adept at the elders' usual pleasantries and polite exchanges, waving his hands repeatedly.
"No, no... Madam Qi, we're late getting home today, we need to hurry back now!"
This resulted in two students fleeing in disarray, relieving Qi Chengming's predicament.
"Phew...that's a huge help." Qi Chengming breathed a sigh of relief. He felt more and more that it was brilliant of Nanny Liu to maintain this false identity! She was also very good at covering things up.
Let's provide another cover then.
Qi Chengming rubbed his cheeks, which were a little hot from drinking, and immediately perked up: "Nanny, let's go out for a bit."
He waved to the side, and sure enough, several imperial guards, their backs bent, filed out of the alley, followed by a carriage.
"Do you know where Zhang Ting and the others live? Let's go and try to bump into them again," Qi Chengming said.
He knew that a thorough investigation would take time, so these words weren't impatience or a way of urging him on, but rather a sign that Qi Chengming was somewhat afraid—
He had witnessed the boy's extreme state, like a string about to snap, and he was always worried about him. It's no exaggeration to say that he felt Zhang Ting might start a big fight at any moment.
The Imperial Guards were unaware of the boy's frantic reaction, and Qi Chengming couldn't rest easy without keeping a close eye on him. Things had come to this point... frankly, even if the Zhang family had absolutely no value or connection to the matter, he couldn't allow it to escalate into a tragedy.
Without asking any further questions, Nanny Liu eagerly went back to change into a pair of comfortable shoes before heading out.
She seemed to be more comfortable with and fond of her new identity than Qi Chengming.
However, after the mother and daughter strolled around the inn as if taking a walk after their meal, they encountered several unfamiliar young girls, several women coming out to wash up, a very proud young boy surrounded by a group of people, and Zhang Rui himself, who had an air of official authority.
They've practically recognized her face every time, but they still haven't seen Zhang Ting before.
Qi Chengming had a bad feeling. He looked up at the inn and had to give his men a meaningful look.
An inconspicuous young man who was helping to feed the horses at the back door of the inn came over. When asked, he whispered, "Your Highness, I haven't seen him leave the inn. I've only seen his servant come out a few times to ask for things. Their room should be the second one from the top left."
“…I understand.” Qi Chengming looked up and estimated the height.
As if recalling something, Nurse Liu took a deep breath and said resolutely, "Your Highness, shall we not climb the tree this time, but instead climb through the window?"
Qi Chengming turned around, somewhat caught off guard: "?"
Wait, 'us'?
He thought he was going up alone...
Because... who's ever seen someone go on an adventure to rescue a friend, dragging their own mother along to scale walls to look for them?!
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Author's Note: Sources of poems and verses quoted in the text:
① Yu Shinan, "Leaving the Frontier".
② Liu Changqing, "Staying Overnight at the Home of the Master of Furong Mountain in the Snow"
③ Zhang Zhihe, "Fisherman's Song - The Fisherman in Zhaxi Bay"
④ Cao Xueqin's *Dream of the Red Chamber*
⑤ Liu Zongyuan's "Snow on the River"
⑥ Zhao Fan's poem "Sent to Lin Xianjingsi's Snow Nest"
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