Chapter 266: 152 Youth Toasting (Second Update)
The last lesson of the day at Shuaixin Hall today was self-study, which Xiao Liulang decided to skip.
Xiao Liulang went to the junior school to pick up Little Jing Kong.
“You’re playing truant again!” Little Jing Kong scolded him, hands on his hips.
“There’s no lesson,” answered Xiao Liulang.
Little Jing Kong crossed his arms and admonished him seriously, “Isn’t self-study also a lesson?”
Xiao Liulang: Who’s the parent here anyway, you or me?
“Let’s go.” Xiao Liulang grabbed his bag and had him put it on.
Even though Little Jing Kong did not understand the adults’ confusing behavior, he missed Jiaojiao. Carrying the bag Jiaojiao had personally made for him, he followed Xiao Liulang out of Guozijian.
The streets of Chang’an Avenue were bustling with people.
The candy hawker who sold candied haws had changed his location that day, which was just near their residence.
Gazing at the sparkling candied haws in the distance, Xiao Liulang asked Little Jing Kong, “Want some candied haws?”
Little Jing Kong: “Yes!”
Xiao Liulang: “I’m not buying.”
Little Jing Kong: “…”
This was the second adult behavior that Little Jing Kong did not understand.
But he was not one to be bullied.
He halted in his steps, hands on his little waist, and declared fiercely in a babyish manner: “I’ll raise your rent!”
Xiao Liulang: You know how to raise rent?!
In the end, Little Jing Kong did not manage to get his desired candied haws because of Xiao Liulang’s dawdling. By the time they got there, the last bunch had already been sold out.
Little Jing Kong was infuriated!
Oh, how annoying! Taking an adult out is really too much trouble!
Little Jing Kong pouted as he slowly made his way home.
And just as they were about to turn into Bishui Alley, they heard a trembling voice from the front, “Ah… Ahen?”
The voice was old and filled with excitement, quivering as though it had come from the depths of his soul.
Xiao Liulang suddenly froze in his tracks.
He did not raise his head.
Leaning on his crutch with one hand, he quickly grabbed Little Jing Kong’s hand with the other and quickly pulled him into the alley.
“Agh, I don’t want you to hold my hand! I can walk on my own!”
It was the whining voice of Little Jing Kong.
An elderly man had followed, nearly slipping on the icy path.
Thankfully, the steward, Liao Quan, managed to support him in time, “Master, please be careful! It’s been snowing in the Capital City and the roads are all icy already, don’t slip!”
The elderly man was shaking all over from excitement: “Did you just see him?”
“See who?” Liao Quan asked.
“Ahen!” the elderly man said.
“Young Master Ahen? The Junior Libationer?” Liao Quan, who had been the elderly man’s servant for many years and managed his house affairs, was confused, “Master, are your eyes playing tricks on you? The Junior Libationer has already passed away.”
“Ahen…” The elderly man felt a sudden pang of loss as he stared down the empty alleyway.
Liao Quan comforted him, “Master, perhaps it was someone who looked similar.”
But the elderly man shook his head.
If it had been a stranger, surely he would have instinctively lifted his head to look when called. His reaction wasn’t like that at all.
He had clearly recognized his own voice. Caught off guard, he was unable to conceal his surprise and had hurried away to prevent his abnormalities from being noticed.
“It was Ahen! It was him!” The elderly man’s emotions remained turbulent. He strained to recall, “He appeared to be wearing a Guozijian uniform.”
Liao Quan said, “Then it’s even more impossible, isn’t it? How could the Junior Libationer become a student of Guozijian?”
After all, he was the personally appointed Junior Libationer of the emperor!
The elderly man found it bizarre too, but seeing is believing. “Firstly, go and find out more, and also, I saw him limping with a crutch. It seemed like he was injured.”
“Yes, master,” Liao Quan complied helplessly.
With the myriad students in Guozijian, finding out about a particular one would not be easy. However, looking for a lame one was less tricky.
Playwright Zheng Siye’s recent incident had brought Xiao Liulang some fame in the Guozijian, and in less than half a day, Liao Quan found out all about Xiao Liulang.
Liao Quan: “As it turns out, this student has quite a connection with us. He studied at the Tianxiang Academy and lives in our benefactor’s village!”
The elder: “What’s his name?”
Liao Quan: “Xiao Liulang.”
The elder was taken aback: “Is it him?”
Of course, the elder had heard this name before. When he stayed in Tianxiang Academy, the Dean had called for Xiao Liulang more than once to the Zhongzheng Hall.
He had read Xiao Liulang’s articles and felt that this child had too much defiance in him to be suitable for taking as a disciple.
He had always stayed behind the screen and hadn’t come out to deliberately take a good look at each other’s appearance.
If he had come out to look at him once, would he have discovered that he was Ahen earlier?
He hadn’t recognized his voice because the seventeen-year-old boy’s voice had changed.
But what about the handwriting and the style of his writing?
The formerly gentle and jade-like young boy seemed to have turned into a cold and defiant person overnight, and had even changed his identity.
What exactly had his Ahen gone through?
On the other hand, after Xiao Jingkong was dragged back home by his brother-in-law, he secretly categorized this behavior as adults’ confusing behavior number three.
“Why did you run?” He asked, looking up.
“I didn’t run, I just walked a bit faster.” Xiao Liulang said without changing his expression.
Xiao Jingkong asked, “Why did you suddenly walk faster? Don’t you know that walking fast can trip you up? We are the most prone to tripping in our family!”
Didn’t he have an idea of how fast he could walk?
Xiao Jingkong again asked, “The old grandpa just now called you Ahuang, which huang? The huang from tyrannical behavior? Or the huang from cold confrontation?”
Xiao Liulang said, “These two are the same huang. And you misheard it; he wasn’t calling me.”
“Oh.” Xiao Jingkong was disappointed that he hadn’t managed to trip him up.
Xiao Liulang changed the subject, “Don’t dwell on it. We are learning Chen language today. Have you finished the homework I assigned you yesterday?”
Ever since Xiao Jingkong scored low on the entrance exam, he had begun the miserable experience of catching up on foreign languages after school every day.
Xiao Jingkong’s attention was successfully diverted. He flipped through his bag to find his homework: “Of course, I finished it! Do you think I am like you? Needing a nudge to do anything! Without a push, you would still be at the bottom of the class in exams!”
Is it impossible to get past the bottom of the class gag?
Xiao Liulang reviewed his homework, which had virtually no errors. Still, although teaching both students, it was undeniable that tutoring Xiao Jingkong took much less effort than tutoring Lin Chengye.
“Ahen…” Xiao Jingkong suddenly mimicked the elderly ladies outside, lifted his little orchid finger, and called for Xiao Liulang in a melodious tone.
Xiao Liulang shivered all over, thunderstruck!
He… he’d better go back to teaching Lin Chengye!
On the other hand, after the elder personally witnessed Xiao Liulang, he couldn’t calm his emotions for a long time. His intuition told him that was his Ahen, but all of Xiao Liulang’s information indicated he was a complete stranger.
To clarify the truth, the elder decided to pay a personal visit.
He remembered the day when the two disappeared into Bishui Alley, but he had to go door-to-door to find out which mansion it was.
He chose a day when the Guozijian was on holiday.
Today, Qinghe Academy was also on holiday.
The four men in the house weren’t idle; they all went out to buy new year’s supplies.
So when the elder came to their courtyard, the courtyard was empty.
The door was slightly ajar.
This was the door left open by the old lady for her mahjong friends.
“Excuse me, is Xiao Liulang in?”
The elder asked politely.
The elder guessed that they were in the backyard, thought for a moment, and stepped in: “I’m looking for Xiao Liulang, is he at home?”
The old lady was in the backyard cracking melon seeds, hearing the noise, she turned around, thinking it was one of her mahjong friends.
A new mahjong player?
The elder also saw the old lady clearly, and his reaction was much larger than the old lady’s.
His legs gave way and he knelt down!
The old lady: …Not really necessary.