CHAPTER 44
The fleeting portrait looked very familiar, but the crumpled pieces of paper were either torn up and thrown in the trash can by the female teacher or taken away. Sheng Qing waited until the female teacher left before squatting down next to the trash can and guarding it anxiously.
No, it's one thing to tear up the portrait, but what is she going to do with it? Doesn't this just prove that she was daydreaming in class?
She can't possibly take it back for herself to admire, can she? Damn it! She's holding back; she's definitely planning to tattle on us to the city lord.
Sullenly, Sheng Qing found a stick and stirred it in the trash can. Oh well, whether it looked familiar or not, he decided to find out why that woman with the jade crown and tied-up hair had wronged him like this.
She grabbed someone at random and asked them a question. The person recognized Sheng Qing's face and looked extremely apprehensive: "What are your orders, Miss?"
"Did you see a young woman with her hair tied up in a jade crown? About my height." Sheng Qing recalled that although the woman's expression was slightly greasy, she also had a certain heroic air. Remembering her flamboyant clothes, she added, "Her clothes were about the same as mine."
"According to military discipline, soldiers must wear military uniforms. Is the young lady you mean by 'Miss'?" The man thought for a moment and then said, "It must be General Cheng Yuanjin's younger sister, Cheng Yuanxiu, the Second Miss Cheng."
"She also came to get extra tutoring from the female teacher?" Sheng Qing blurted out.
"..." The man paused for a moment, then quickly explained, "Miss Cheng must be here to participate in the archery and horsemanship competition later in the day."
"A horseback archery competition? I've never heard of that." Sheng Qing only remembered that Sheng Zhilin had dragged her into training, how did it suddenly turn into a horseback archery competition? Wasn't this deliberately trying to embarrass her? To be precise, it was embarrassing Sheng Zhilin himself.
"It was a last-minute arrangement by the city lord, and he may not have had time to inform the young lady yet." Seeing Sheng Qing's expression change, the man finished speaking and prepared to leave. "If the young lady has no other plans, I will take my leave."
Losing face is a small matter; the real headache is the punishment that follows. Given Sheng Zhilin's nature, how could Sheng Qing possibly get away with it?
"Mmm." Sheng Qing was quite annoyed and waved his hand casually.
"etc."
"Is there anything else you need, Miss?" The man stopped, his voice trembling slightly, clearly not expecting to be called back again.
"Don't be afraid, I just want to ask where that Miss Cheng is," Sheng Qing said irritably. It seems the original owner of this body was not an easy person to deal with.
"I haven't seen the younger one either. He should be with General Cheng." The man's voice trembled even more.
"Take me there." Sheng Qing glanced at it and muttered, "What are you afraid of? I'm not going to eat you."
Along the way, she encountered many patrolling soldiers who greeted her one by one, but all of them looked fearful, as if she, Sheng Qing, were some kind of devil.
"Miss, this is General Cheng's residence. Should I go and announce his arrival first?" The man asked, as if afraid of not being thorough enough in his words.
"No need, you can leave now." Since Sheng Qing already has a bad reputation, she doesn't mind adding another one. Besides, she can't deviate too much from her original persona, otherwise she'll have to face the test of that terrifying woman, Sheng Zhilin.
As soon as she entered, she saw the young woman who had wronged her. This Miss Cheng was putting a plate of delicious-looking dishes into her mouth when she saw Sheng Qing's aggressive appearance and looked puzzled.
"You surnamed Cheng, what's the meaning of throwing those tattered portraits at me?" Sheng Qing's stomach began to churn uncontrollably, and she was furious. "You've ruined my..."
Before Sheng Qing could finish his sentence, Miss Cheng pounced on him and covered his mouth tightly. Her strength was so great that she must have been a trained fighter.
"My dear aunt, didn't you see my sister?" Miss Cheng said in a low voice.
"Ah?" Sheng Qing then noticed that a woman in military uniform was sitting far away opposite Miss Cheng. The two looked seven or eight parts alike, but the latter had a more stern and murderous air about her.
"What portrait?" Cheng Yuan'an's tone was sharp and authoritative. "Jing'er, are you being silly again?"
"I didn't, she's talking nonsense." Cheng Yuanxiu winked at Sheng Qing, signaling her not to talk nonsense.
“A portrait of a handsome man.” Sheng Qing ignored it. Hmph, serves you right for getting me punished.
As expected, Cheng Yuanjin gave him a look, and Cheng Yuanxiu immediately put on a mournful expression. "Sister, my dear sister, I was wrong, I will never dare to do it again."
Sheng Qing promptly left the room, leaving the stage to the Cheng sisters. He even thoughtfully closed the door behind him, and soon after, Cheng Yuanxiu's pig-like screams echoed from inside.
After a while, the door opened, and Cheng Yuanxiu, with messy hair and clothes, came out and gave Sheng Qing a fierce look.
"Spare the rod and spoil the child. You two sisters have such a good relationship," Sheng Qing joked.
“I heard you were dealt with by the city lord yesterday, no, you were pampered this morning too.” Cheng Yuanxiu retorted, not to be outdone. “You and your mother have such a good relationship.”
"Likewise."
"I think you two get along quite well, why don't you become in-laws?" A teasing voice came from afar.
"ah?"
Sheng Qing and Cheng Yuanxiu looked at each other in bewilderment.
Don't play matchmaker! Besides, isn't Sheng Qing already engaged? Has she forgotten about Yin Yin by Daming Lake?
"Spare the rod and spoil the child, that's what they say." Sheng Zhilin appeared from around the corner, nodded and smiled at Cheng Yuanjin, who had just stepped out of the room. The latter nodded slightly with an indifferent expression.
“I do not agree to this marriage,” Cheng Yuanjin said coldly.
"Alright, alright, I was just joking." Sheng Zhilin sighed helplessly.
Only those who share the same bad habits can become close friends. One second Cheng Yuanxiu was sulking with Sheng Qing, and the next second he shamelessly snuggled up to her.
"I heard they're new recruits they just found recently. So, have you found anyone you like?" Cheng Yuanxiu's expression turned greasy again as he raised an eyebrow at Sheng Qing, clearly implying something.
"What?" Sheng Qing didn't react at first, but after a few seconds she realized she was referring to the portraits of handsome men. "You've taken a liking to them?"
"Tsk tsk tsk, the quality is not bad." Cheng Yuanxiu said with longing. "Especially that one with a cold and aloof appearance, who looks arrogant, is exactly my type."
"Which one?" Sheng Qing tried hard to recall, but all of them had been taken away by the female teacher, and he didn't even have a chance to feast his eyes on them.
"Anyway, it's not your type. You just like that kind of naive, clueless type. I don't know what's so fun about that." Cheng Yuanxiu said with a look of disdain.
"I didn't..." Sheng Qing thought of the handsome young man Tao Sheng who had been sent to bed. It seemed that the original owner really liked this type, but Sheng Qing could only enjoy the sight of him and at most talk about him. Once he got close to her, she wished she could dig three feet into the ground and stay far away.
"Tch, stop pretending in front of me. It's not like I just met you yesterday."
"What a coincidence, it really is the first day." Sheng Qing thought to himself.
"It's your debut tonight, get your money ready and go check it out." Cheng Yuanxiu raised an eyebrow.
Handsome men are important, but Sheng Qing still has principles. In the past, she could just look at them from the cloud, but going to the scene? She didn't have the guts.
"It's a pity, I have to attend a banquet with the city lord tonight, I don't have time." Sheng Qing found a ready-made excuse to refuse.
"You mean that military camp welcome party?" Cheng Yuanxiu asked casually. "My sister wants me to go too. It's bound to be incredibly boring."
"Mmm," Sheng Qing mumbled, unsure if they were talking about the same thing.
“That doesn’t conflict with the show. The debut performance at Xiaoxiangfang is at midnight. We can go after the banquet. There’s plenty of time.” Cheng Yuanxiu said easily. “If all else fails, I’ll just send someone to let them know that Miss Sheng is coming. What’s wrong with asking them to wait?”
"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Sheng Qing blurted out before even thinking.
"No, why are you so timid today? You're Miss Sheng, they'd love to climb up to you!" Cheng Yuanxiu asked suspiciously.
Huh? Does this confirm her reputation as a troublemaker in the Shengqing era?
"What, you have some handsome young man I don't know about hiding in your house?" Cheng Yuanxiu looked Sheng Qing up and down, circling around him. "When are you going to bring him out for a look? Never mind, he's definitely not my type." As he spoke, he pulled out a portrait from his pocket and muttered to himself, "This is what a true beauty looks like."
"Please. I'm about to start a family too, I need to control my temper." Sheng Qing found another ready-made excuse, ignoring Cheng Yuanxiu's teasing. She didn't have the energy for it; her schedule was already full enough for the day, and she just wanted to finish up as soon as possible and go home to rest.
"When did you get married? I've never heard my sister mention it." Cheng Yuanxiu carefully put away the portrait and asked with a puzzled look.
"Yinyin, you don't know?" Sheng Qing suddenly realized that he didn't know the name of the girl who was about to become his other half.
"What Yinyin? Male or female? It must be a female. How could the city lord allow a mere man to enter the sect?" Cheng Yuanxiu's doubt didn't seem feigned.
It's strange, though. How come Yinyin disappeared after she woke up? She wasn't even there when we had breakfast.
"Why are you so curious? I'll introduce you to him in a couple of days," Sheng Qing said dismissively.
Upon hearing this, Cheng Yuanxiu immediately lost interest and took out the portrait from his pocket to examine it closely.
"What handsome man? You're making yourself dizzy." Sheng Qing leaned closer for a glance.
Huh? Sheng Qing blinked, making sure she wasn't seeing things. Why did the person in the painting look exactly like Meng Yunxi?
How can people in this world look so alike?
"Let me see." Sheng Qing reached out, wanting to take a closer look. "Don't try to take it from me." Cheng Yuanxiu looked possessive. "Didn't you say you didn't like this type?"
"Don't get me wrong, this person looks kind of familiar," Sheng Qing explained helplessly.
"Looks familiar? Isn't it a bit too early to start a conversation? We haven't even met her in person yet."
"Be careful, don't break it." Cheng Yuanxiu let go and handed over the portrait.
"It really looks like it." Sheng Qing focused her attention on the face of the person in the painting, trying her best to avoid looking at the parts that might be exposed or revealing. Well, there was just a strange feeling about it.
"You've really changed your taste?" Cheng Yuanxiu asked, feigning surprise. "Really? You're actually blushing?"
"Don't talk nonsense, I just feel, I feel..." Sheng Qing felt increasingly strange. Could it really be Meng Yunxi? "When and where was your debut performance?"
"Interested? Shall we go together after dinner?"
"Mmm." Sheng Qing nodded solemnly. There was a high probability that Meng Yunxi was in trouble, and she would have to play the hero and save the damsel in distress.
Even if it isn't true, it wouldn't hurt to go and take a look.
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