Chapter 136: Chaos
Jiang Yihuan watched Su Yaoguang enter the academy’s gate. She, who had originally been hesitant, no longer hesitated and stepped through that door.
From what Su Yaoguang meant, was there a situation at Xiao Yanci’s place?
“What are you doing?”
Jiang Yihuan stood at Xiao Yanci’s window and looked inside from the window, seeing a woman hugging Xiao Yanci’s waist. She was instantly furious.
However, she quickly calmed down.
She looked at Xiao Yanci with sad eyes, covering her mouth and crying piteously.
“I went to so much trouble to escape from home, and this is the surprise you give me? Xiao Gege, how could you do this to me? Wuwu…”
As she spoke, her body swayed, as if unable to bear a heavy blow, looking like she might faint at any moment.
Xiao Yanci hurriedly came out, but he was too weak now. Any big movement made him prone to falling. He had just gotten up when he fell downward. Wen Shi caught him, and his lips brushed across Wen Shi’s cheek.
Xiao Yanci was stunned.
Wen Shi’s eyes reddened, and she shyly lowered her head, stammering, “I… I’m fine. As long as it’s for my benefactor, I’m willing to do anything…”
“Xiao Ci, is this how you repay me?” Jiang Yihuan angrily stomped her feet and turned to run out.
Xiao Yanci was extremely anxious and wanted to chase but couldn’t, so he could only watch Jiang Yihuan run away.
“Wen Dasao, that was an accident just now. I didn’t mean to.” Xiao Yanci looked at Wen Shi’s still charming appearance and said stiffly.
“I know. Benefactor is like a heavenly god; a delicate woman like me would never dare to covet benefactor.” Wen Shi sobbed.
Su Yaoguang pulled Wangshu to watch from the opposite window and said to Wangshu, “How about it? Isn’t it a good show? Look at him—with that face alone, he can mesmerize women. You’re much more handsome than him, so why haven’t I seen any young lady fall for you?”
“Are you sure it’s him mesmerizing women, and not women playing him silly?” Wangshu pursed his lips. “How blind would I have to be to let a woman like that get close?”
Su Yaoguang looked at Wangshu in surprise, sizing him up and down, then patted his shoulder reassuringly. “Sister doesn’t need to worry about your marriage prospects anymore.”
“She still does.” Wangshu said, “After all, I’m already a married man at such a young age. If I’m divorced later, who knows if any good young lady would be willing to take me on.”
Su Yaoguang: “…”
She could tell—this boy was in a bad mood today, speaking sharply and always retorting at her.
“I’ll go make food.” Better not to provoke him; time to avoid the storm.
From the opposite side came the sound of a woman crying, and Xiao Yanci’s forbearing, gentle coaxing voice that he couldn’t vent.
The more chaotic it was opposite, the better her mood.
She hummed a melody while making a small hot pot. Once the small hot pot was ready, she called Wangshu over to eat.
Wangshu saw her in a good mood and for a moment didn’t know if it was because of that ‘Zi Zhan Young Master’ or the pair of brothers they had just taken in.
In the middle of the night, Su Yaoguang was startled awake by a miserable scream. She sat up and looked puzzled at the outside.
“Come sleep on the bed!” Wangshu said. “That spot is close to the window with a lot of wind. Be careful not to catch a cold. In the current situation, even a common cold can be fatal.”
“No, I’m not cold, but I don’t know what happened outside. That sound is really scary.” Su Yaoguang wrapped the quilt tighter.
Tonight’s atmosphere was just like the night she was killed.
Not to mention, lying by this window and listening to the wind made her heart race with fear.
She wrapped herself in the quilt and got out of bed, put on her shoes, and trotted to Wangshu’s bedside. Before Wangshu could react, she had already climbed onto the bed.
“I’ll just lean here for a bit. I won’t disturb you. You sleep!” Su Yaoguang shrank into the corner.
Wangshu noticed something was off with her, but since she wouldn’t say, asking was useless. He sat up, looked at her huddled in the corner, and patted the spot beside him. “Sleep here.”
“That wouldn’t be good, right?”
“You’ve already climbed onto the bed, and you’re afraid of this?” Wangshu said. “I’m not that old. Aren’t you treating me like a younger brother? If you’re so afraid to lie over here, were all those earlier words just to coax me?”
Su Yaoguang swore she absolutely wasn’t falling for his goading, but rather…
She needed someone with her right now.
She lay over.
Wangshu said, “That sound outside seems far away. What are you afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid. The wind from the window is too strong. I’m a bit cold.”
“Alright, sleep then!”
Wangshu turned his back to her.
Su Yaoguang lightly exhaled.
Although she was quite familiar with Wangshu, lying on the same bed with such a handsome boy was still quite awkward. Now that he had his back to her, she could relax a bit.
She reached out and grabbed the corner of Wangshu’s clothes.
“What was that sound outside?” Voices came from outside—it sounded like two sick scholars. But those two scholars had improved a bit and had even gotten out of bed to walk around today.
That earlier sound was so shrill that even Su Yaoguang was startled awake, so others must have heard it too. Once they heard, they couldn’t help but inquire about what happened, leading to the conversation outside.
“I just asked the guard. He went out to investigate. We’ll know what happened outside when he returns.”
“Luckily the academy hired guards to watch the home and courtyard. Otherwise, with only these weak scholars left in our academy now and so many refugees outside, they could rush in at any time.”
“The guard is back.”
“You two scholars, rest early. We’ve arranged manpower to guard the academy. We won’t let thieves break in.”
“Did something happen?”
“Some refugees broke into an orphan and widow’s home, harmed that mother and daughter pair, and killed them. The government office has sent people to arrest them. There should be news soon.”
“Those refugees shouldn’t be allowed to stay in the city. They should be driven out. The ones who rushed in to rob our things that day were refugees. The County Magistrate shouldn’t sympathize with them. The city gate should be closed to keep them out.”
“Qian Xiong, don’t get so agitated. Your body hasn’t fully recovered yet.”
“I heard the medicine we’re taking was provided by Peach Blossom Workshop. Isn’t that Peach Blossom Workshop the shop of Wangshu’s young wife? So, the medicine we’re taking is the same as what Wangshu is taking?”
“That’s right. Wangshu went out today and looked pretty good. We’ll recover soon too. Qian Xiong, the most important thing now is to recuperate. Don’t lose the big picture over something small.”
“I even bullied Wangshu before. Thinking back now, I really feel ashamed.”
“You just mocked him that his qin playing was worse than grinding millstones. That was hurtful but not really bullying. Jiang Yihui and his group urinated on Wangshu’s quilt—that was real bullying.”
Su Yaoguang clenched her fists and sat up angrily. “He actually dared to urinate on your quilt!”
The conversation outside stopped.
Wangshu sighed softly, feeling extremely aggrieved. “Exactly, it was really too much.”
So, while he was bathing, the bathhouse caught fire, and he ran a lap around the academy bare-bottomed, becoming everyone’s laughingstock.
