Chapter 19 Water Dragon Chant (Nine) Not a Gentleman.
Ye Mu's ears immediately burned, and he felt resentful.
When adults talk, they always end up talking about things that make people's hearts race and their conversations always revolve around bedtime matters.
Take her father and mother for example. Ever since her grandmother dealt with Lady Zhang, the managers under her no longer dared to act arrogantly towards her mother. Her mother's brows relaxed, and she became more composed when handling affairs. Her father then moved back from Baopuzhai.
In the past few days, Ye Mu had seen her father pacing deliberately in the corridor, waiting for her mother to come through the passageway. Their eyes would meet, filled with an indescribable tenderness. It seemed her father had put a lot of effort into preparing for the wedding.
She couldn't help but frown in confusion. In her previous life, when she was a wife, she had also experienced these things, but she rarely found anything interesting in them.
Jiang Si was always in a hurry, and his pinching hurt. She usually just bit her lip to get through the task. Only before she became pregnant, during the time she recuperated in the temple, the mountain air was crisp and clear. During the day, she listened to Master Wenkong preaching Buddhism, the chanting of Buddhist sutras ringing out. At night, she felt as if the daytime chanting had melted into the night's lingering emotions, like a babbling brook. Even Jiang Si's intimacy had lost some of its former roughness.
Only on those few occasions did she not feel uncomfortable, but it was still not enjoyable.
Now, listening to these cryptic whispers from the adults makes one curious: could there be some secret she hasn't figured out yet?
Sister Xia was still rambling on, "Third Grandma, you don't know, he used to be willing..."
Liu nudged her gently with her elbow and gave her a look, "The child is here."
Ye Mu felt incredibly embarrassed, but pretended not to have heard clearly. She reached out and gently tugged at Xia Jie's sleeve, shaking it innocently. "What are you whispering about with your mother? You're so secretive, your fourth aunt wants to hear too."
Seeing her like this, Liu breathed a sigh of relief. "It's just some trivial gossip among adults. Why should your little ears listen to it?"
Seeing that Ye Mu was still pouting, she gently changed the subject, "If you have some free time, why don't you go and prepare the accounts for the Dragon Boat Festival competition the day after tomorrow? The old lady will be checking them herself. If not, go to the study to calm down and practice a few pages of calligraphy. Don't you have a calligraphy class this afternoon?"
Ye Mu readily agreed and then fled the cramped room.
Wen Kong taught lessons, which were scheduled to take place once every seven days.
After being delayed for a whole month the first time, he came on time without fail, rain or shine. After some time, the two gradually became familiar with each other, but their interactions were limited to academic matters. Ye Mu couldn't get any other information from him. However, now Ye Mu dared to bargain with him.
"This character '夫' is clearly much better written than last time. Look at this stroke; what ordinary child could have my skill? You still want me to write it fifty times? I won't stand for it." She held up three slender white fingers and waved them. "Thirty times at most, no more!"
Wen Kong looked down at her, his face expressionless. "Forty-nine times."
"Only one less time? I don't care." Ye Mu said angrily, "Just thirty times, I promise I'll write it with more care than fifty times."
Sixty times.
"You..." Ye Mu choked on her breath, pointing at the still-wet calligraphy copybook with her fingertips, feeling both aggrieved and angry, "Hmph, bad master, forty-nine times it is."
"Isn't it sixty times?"
"You said it forty-nine times, so there's no reason to go back on your word. A gentleman's word is as good as his bond."
“This humble monk is not a gentleman,” Wen Kong said, slightly raising his eyelids. “This humble monk is a Buddhist monk.”
This person is always one to contradict others.
Ye Mu insisted on praising him, saying, "How is Master not a gentleman?"
She recalled her past life at Baoxiang Temple. It was a sweltering summer day, and she was sitting on a stone bench under the shade of a locust tree. She couldn't bear the heat, so she pulled out a handkerchief from her sleeve to wipe the fine sweat from her neck. Just then, Wen Kong brought over a few slices of melon on a wooden tray. When he saw her like this, he immediately turned around and faced the yellow walls of the palace, his back straight as if even looking at her for a second would be a transgression.
He naturally knew nothing of those past events, so Ye Mu could only talk about things from this life.
“Last winter, I saw that Master had frostbite on his hands, so I specially sought out some ointment,” she said with a slight smile, tilting her head. “But you avoided it like the plague, firmly refusing to accept it. Such adherence to etiquette—if you are not a gentleman, then who in this world is worthy of the title?”
Wen Kong listened silently and said calmly, "Still forty-nine times."
Jokes are useless; praising him is a waste of breath.
Ye Mu rolled her eyes. "Master is truly a stubborn rock, impervious to both soft and hard approaches."
Wen Kong's lips twitched slightly, as if a smile was about to appear, but it quickly vanished.
After a short while, Ye Mu dipped his wrist in ink again and wrote a few strokes. His mind drifted back to the blue booklet that Aunt Xia had mentioned. His pen paused involuntarily, and a small blot of ink spread across the paper.
She glanced at Wen Kong by the window. "Master, do you know that Grandmother will test my and my third sister's accounting skills the day after tomorrow, on the Dragon Boat Festival?"
"I don't know."
Ye Mu's face immediately fell, and she said anxiously, "I've mentioned it to you several times, why don't you take it to heart...?"
But then she saw a faint smile flicker in his eyes, and Ye Mu immediately realized he was teasing her. Her annoyance turned to delight. "So you can play tricks on people too! I knew you had the best memory, you would never forget."
"I'm not free the day after tomorrow."
"Who asked you to come and watch the game? There's something important..." Ye Mu relayed what Sister Xia had said, "...I suspect that Mr. Chen secretly gave Third Sister the questions, and that booklet might be in her room. It just so happens that Second Aunt took Third Sister to visit Second Brother today, so this is the perfect opportunity. Master, would you come with me to investigate?"
Because the Emperor was going to personally supervise the Imperial Academy during the Dragon Boat Festival, the students not only had to check their homework books repeatedly, but also had to practice the etiquette of welcoming the Emperor and bowing. The eldest and second eldest brothers had to stay in the academy and were not allowed to go home.
Wen Kong's gaze remained fixed on the bamboo shadows in the courtyard, and he said in a calm tone, "Entering a woman's private quarters is not the act of a gentleman, I will not go."
He really knows how to annoy people!
He had just said he wasn't a gentleman, but he used the title of gentleman to shut her up.
Ye Mu had been planning to have him come along, so she made up her mind, put down her pen, stood up, and shuffled over to Wen Kong, grabbing his light gray sleeve. "Then Master, you'll play the villain with me today."
Wen Kong lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the small, white hand on his sleeve. He still waved his sleeve, shaking her down. "This is a one-time thing, don't do it again."
It can be considered tacit approval.
Ye Mu didn't forget to flatter, looking up with a grin, "I knew Master was the best."
On her way to the second courtyard, Ye Mu deliberately chose secluded paths, using the flowers and trees for cover, and sneaked in through the side gate. Wen Kong followed behind her and asked, "Why are you so fixated on this exam? Is victory or defeat that important to you?"
Ye Mu was peeking out from under the eaves to see if anyone was coming when he whispered back, "Of course it's important. If I win, Grandmother will allow me to touch needlework less in the future and learn more about accounting and mathematics."
"You don't like female workers?"
“It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s that I feel it’s useless. Embroidering a flower takes half a day, and all I get is to decorate my clothes. What else can it do besides look pretty? But if I can understand an account and sort out an income and expenditure, I can know the true state of my family’s business and understand the foundation of my livelihood.”
Wen Kong remained silent and said nothing more.
However, things did not go as Ye Mu wished. She searched Ye Qing's room but did not find the blue booklet. Apart from some ordinary boudoir items and a few books, there was nothing suspicious related to the accounts in Ye Qing's room.
Just as she was feeling disappointed and preparing to leave, she suddenly heard the grumbling of the cleaning lady from outside. Ye Mu was startled and hurriedly hid behind the floor-length curtains beside the bed, holding her breath.
Just then, the old woman went into the room and tidied up for a while, muttering to herself. She was about to lift the curtain to make the bed when, thankfully, a crisp cracking sound came from the corridor outside the window, as if a porcelain vase had fallen to the ground. This was followed by a rustling sound, mixed with the meowing of wild cats, which ran away in fright.
As the old woman was led outside, she muttered, "These stray cats are such a nuisance. I'll definitely have someone clean them up properly another day..."
Ye Mu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After the footsteps faded away, she crawled out of the tent and met up with Wen Kong, who was keeping watch outside. The search had yielded no results, and she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. "Master was just standing there watching? I almost got caught by the old nanny! Luckily, a wild cat suddenly appeared out of nowhere and helped me a lot."
Wen Kong remained calm, only lowering his eyes to straighten his sleeves, without replying.
Suddenly, Ye Mu had a flash of inspiration and his eyes widened. "Wait... could that cat be you, Master? The meow is so similar! It's almost indistinguishable from the real thing. Master, please teach me!"
"I won't teach."
"Why not teach me? Who are you going to pass this unique skill on to? I am your only disciple."
"The time has come, I should go back to the temple." Wen Kong remained unmoved and took a step to walk out of the mansion.
"You stingy master!" Ye Mu blocked his way. "How about I give you another half hour's worth of incense money?"
"Amitabha."
"Should we agree or disagree?"
"No."
"Then shall I make you new clothes?"
"No need."
"Why do you keep saying no, no, no? You can't possibly wear this outfit from winter to summer until the sleeves are too short. Shall I make you a new summer outfit?"
“I have clothes.”
"Then why aren't you wearing it?"
Wen Kong glanced at her indifferently, "Why don't you have this kind of inquisitive spirit when you're practicing calligraphy?"
"Because I write well."
"...Amitabha."
After this round of banter, Ye Mu's annoyance dissipated considerably. She then thought, even if she did find the booklet, so what? If Mr. Chen was biased, he would have other ways to deal with it. It would be better to calm down and deal with the situation as it came.
Dragon Boat Festival is here.
Before dawn, the entire Marquis's mansion was already bustling with activity. Calamus and mugwort were placed on the doors and windows, and realgar wine was sprinkled in every corner, filling the air with the bitter scent of herbs and trees.
Ye Mu got up early in the morning, and Zi Jing helped him change into brand-new summer clothes. After eating a couple of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), he went to Ronghe Hall.
The old lady was in poor spirits, but she forced herself to accept the gifts from the younger generation and be given a longevity thread. Before she could say anything, she felt a throbbing pain in her forehead and a tightness in her chest. With the help of Granny Lin, she slumped onto the warm couch.
"Grandmother, did you not get a good night's rest last night?" Ye Mu asked softly as she stepped forward.
"Perhaps she was trying to cool off and opened half a window last night, getting caught in the night wind. She's getting old and can't take it anymore." The old lady tried to sit up straight, but felt dizzy. Lin Mama quickly handed her some warm ginseng tea.
Madam Liu gently advised, "Mother's health is of utmost importance. Today's examination was originally intended to help the children improve. If it causes you to worry, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse? Why not postpone it for a few days until you are fully recovered before making any further plans?"
“What my third sister-in-law says makes sense, but she’s being a bit too cautious. The girls have been preparing for this exam for so long, and they’re at their most excited right now,” Zhou Shi protested. “If we suddenly stop them, wouldn’t that spoil the fun?”
A note from the author:
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