The Villainous Classmate is My Lucky Star Chapter 146
Translated by Pure (ko-fi)
Chapter 146 Her disguise was crumbling apart (2)
The people continued to chat as they walked out one after another and Wen Yantong sluggishly fell behind in a daze. Seeing her so absent-minded, Chi Jingxi gently pinched her ear and asked, "What are you thinking? Pay attention to the road under your feet."
Wen Yantong came back to her senses, and raised her head to ask, "Little Marquis, are you heading back now?"
Chi Jingxi answered, "I still have to enter the imperial palace."
Wen Yantong was a little disappointed. "Alright then."
Chi Jingxi clearly caught her microexpression. He pondered for a moment and said, "I will be a little busy these days. If you need anything, just have someone send a message to the Marquis’ Mansion."
"Okay." Wen Yantong nodded.
Chi Jingxi continued to add, "If you have nothing to do and feel bored, I'll ask Yang’er to go and play with you. Tell me when you prepare to head back to your hometown, and I'll arrange a carriage for you."
Wen Yantong was overwhelmed by flattery, and shook her head repeatedly. "No need, no need! I have some things to do recently, Teacher Hua said that she will come to see me tomorrow, she should have something for me to do."
Chi Jingxi fell silent and did not speak again.
The two of them left the Jiaren Building together, but as soon as they came out, they were squeezed together by the crowd. Then the noise was deafening, Wen Yantong was pushed onto Chi Jingxi's body, and almost fell to the group from the sudden onslaught.
It turned out that the people of the theater were throwing special theater tickets. Five of these tickets could be exchanged for a complete theater ticket. Commoners were most enthusiastic when given the opportunities of receiving free items. Even though the guards tried their best to block them, they couldn't resist the madness of the crowd, so everyone was all squeezed together in an instant.
Chi Jingxi subconsciously held Wen Yantong in his embrace and backed away. Wen Yantong took the opportunity to put the note into Chi Jingxi’s sleeves. Chi Jingxi was only concerned with avoiding the crowd and keeping the small and short Wen Yantong away from the chaos. So he seemed to not have noticed the small movements of the person in his arms.
After the crowd dispersed, Chi Jingxi released her and asked, "Are you injured?"
Wen Yantong shook her head. Her face was a little hot from Chi Jingxi's arms, moreover she was feeling a little guilty, so she laughed it off by touching Chi Jingxi's clothes. "The fur on Little Marquis' robe is really soft."
Chi Jingxi lowered his eyes and touched his chest, "Don't tell me you left your saliva on it."
Of course Wen Yantong didn't, but she still pretended to rub his chest with her sleeve, "Even if there was, it’s clean now!"
The corners of Chi Jingxi’s mouth curved upwards. He hummed softly, "Good that you are aware."
The two continued to walk after a good laugh. Fu Sheng and Mu Yuan had already left, taking their respective sons home as well. Mu Yang left the carriage to send Wen Yantong home. Cheng Yanchuan was still waiting not far away, Chi Jingxi took a look, and stopped suddenly.
Wen Yantong was confused by his actions, so she looked at him suspiciously. Soon, she heard his low voice, "Do you know Wen Yan?"
"What’s with this sudden question, Little Marquis?" Wen Yantong wondered.
"You know them?" Chi Jingxi's eyes turned slightly, as if frozen, he looked at her fixedly.
Wen Yantong tried to read his expression, Chi Jingxi's expression was soft and not oppressive. Thinking that he was just asking casually, she replied truthfully, "I don't know, I haven't heard of them."
Chi Jingxi's expression didn't change and he didn't mention the name again. "Go back quickly, and I'll find you when I'm free."
Wen Yantong nodded, but still hoped that he would concentrate on preventing the assassination of the prince, so she said, "Little Marquis, you must concentrate on your own affairs. If I have anything, I will come to you. Don't lock me outside your door, ok?"
Chi Jingxi couldn't help laughing. Looking at her expression, his hands felt a twitch. But he held himself back because they were public, so he secretly clenched his fists and replied, "I know."
Wen Yantong subconsciously waved goodbye to him, Chi Jingxi was a little puzzled by this unfamiliar action, and tilted his head. But he didn't ask any more questions, and turned to leave.
Wen Yantong got into Mu Residence's carriage, lying on the soft couch in the carriage, and heaved a long sigh of relief.
On the other side, Chi Jingxi lifted the curtain and got into the carriage. After taking his seat, Cheng Yanchuan ordered the carriage to set off, and the carriage became quiet for a while.
Chi Jingxi sat quietly for a while, and suddenly took out a crumpled piece of paper from his sleeve, and slowly unfolded it.
He looked down at the words on the paper and silently contemplated for a while.
Seeing that he was so engrossed by a sheet of paper, Cheng Xin curiously asked, "What are you looking at?"
He then looked over to read the words and his expression suddenly sank, "What is the meaning of this?"
Cheng Yanchuan sat on the opposite side and he couldn’t read the words, so he wondered, "What's wrong?"
Chi Jingxi’s face remained the same, he just raised his eyes and asked, "Shezhao ge, what kind of tea will be served at the Hundred Flowers Banquet?"
Although still clueless, Cheng Yanchuan still answered truthfully, "It's the Long Jing tea from a neighboring country. My father specially allocated it for me to use during the Hundred Flowers Banquet. My father attaches great importance to your future wife."
Chi Jingxi's expression turned gloomy, and his dark eyes turned even darker. He no longer talked and just put the paper on the table.
When Cheng Yanchuan saw it, he instantly understood the meaning of the words. He asked in a deep voice, "Who gave you this paper?"
Chi Jingxi replied slowly, "Wen Yantong."
After Wen Yantong went back, she had a meal, took a hot bath, and fell asleep comfortably, completely clueless that her hard planned ‘disguised note’ had already been exposed.
She got up early the next day, knowing that Hua Mo would come to visit, she didn't dare to be lazy.
When Hua Mo arrived, Wen Yantong had already waited for a long time. Regardless, she happily invited her into the main hall.
"Teacher, you’ve come so early today. Did you need something?" Wen Yantong personally served her music teacher tea.
Hua Mo smiled. "I wanted to see what the imperial decree bestowed residence looks like. I’ve worked for the imperial palace for more than thirty years, yet I have never received such a big reward."
Wen Yantong rubbed her head, "It was just a happy accident."
Hua Mo took a sip of tea. "I came to you this time mainly to ask if you want to participate in the qin performance at the Hundred Flowers Banquet."
"Hundred Flowers Feast?" Wen Yantong was stunned. Was there such a coincidence?
"It's the banquet that the crown prince is going to host. The palace has ordered us to form teams and perform at the banquet. After thinking about it, I think you are good at playing xiqin, so I wanted to ask if you want to go."
Wen Yantong replied, "...I only occasionally play my xiqin for fun, and am not a professional, if something goes wrong..."
Hua Mo continued to persuade, "Your qin skills are good enough, comparable to most of the musicians in the palace."
Wen Yantong never planned to refuse this opportunity, she was only pretending to be embarrassed. Thus she quickly agreed, "Okay, then when is practice?"
Hua Mo smiled, satisfied. "That's the right attitude. I actually came to you this time, half out of my own selfishness. I want you to do me a favor."
Wen Yantong asked curiously, "Teacher, what else is there I can help with?"
Hua Mo was still unused to being addressed as a ‘Teacher’, so she said, "We’re not in the Academy anymore, just call me Hua jie. I have studied qin in the palace since I was a child. There’s someone surnamed Wang who liked to compete with me ever since I was there, and always likes to try to outdo me. A few days ago, she took in a rather talented apprentice, and she has been gloating and bragging about it to me all day long. Because she mocked me for not having one, I want you to pretend to be my apprentice to help me so I can get revenge."
Wen Yantong couldn't help laughing. Hua Mo was already at this age, it rather childish of her to argue over such a trivial matter.
"Hua jie, don't worry, I will be your apprentice from now on." Wen Yantong patted her chest and announced very righteously.
Hua Mo was so happy that she rubbed Wen Yantong's face several times, and then told her the time and place of the practice.
The performers for the Hundred Flowers Banquet were actually already set by the imperial palace. However, Hua Mo was first in command in the stringed instrument group and a small matter such as switching the participants could be easily done, and so Wen Yantong was soon scheduled to be in the program.
For the remaining twenty days, Wen Yantong practiced the song Hua Mo had provided. Mu Yang also came to look for her a few times, but Wen Yantong refused his invitations because she was busy. Hence, Mu Yang could only say a few unhappy words and leave empty handed.
