Jingzi’s small hands started feeling around again, searching for possible ’love letters.’
The woman in the Confucian robe hesitated to speak, looked at the sky, and sighed, "Stop ssing around, there’s no letter like you think. Ti’s almost up; I have to go give a make-up class to the students at Shuaixing Hall."
The blue-clothed girl mumbled, "Make-up class isn’t urgent, let them wait. What’s the use of last-minute cramming, hmph. Besides, they would love to have Teacher’s class; how could they have any complaints... Yes, it’s not the kind of letter I can imagine, but even mushier than I thought, right?"
"You... Jingzi, say one more word!"
Zhu Yourong rolled up the paper script in her hand, ready to knock Jingzi’s head.
The little girl jumped back, eyes shining, and snatched the paper script from Zhu Yourong’s hand.
"Hehe, hand it over. I’ve long felt sothing was off; there’s definitely sothing fishy here!"
Jingzi eagerly flipped open the paper, as if trying to find so inappropriate letters.
"What are you looking for? Give it back! This is the howork of Shuaixing Hall students, don’t ss it up."
The woman in the Confucian robe hurriedly reached out to grab it.
The blue-clothed little girl made full use of her short stature, twisting her small fra to avoid the teacher’s hand.
With her back to Zhu Yourong, Jingzi’s eyes were as bright as if she had X-ray vision, glued to the pages in her hand. She murmured softly:
"You ask what I’m looking for... Teacher, feeling guilty, huh? I noticed sothing was wrong with you a few days ago. When I was watering flowers in the garden with my girlfriends from a distance, I saw you at your desk always dazing off while writing, I wonder whom you’re thinking of..."
"And sotis when Teacher writes, halfway through, suddenly stops, takes out so paper, and stares blankly. One mont looking at flowers, another at clouds, not writing for ages, I wonder what you’re doing- sotis you even cover your mouth and laugh to yourself, silly grin..."
Zhu Yourong: "I..."
Jingzi waved her hand, "I know, I know, you’re writing a letter to him, right."
"Give it back to ..." Zhu Yourong tried to snatch the stack of paper back while explaining, "I’m not doing anything, I’m grading howork. Also, I... I wasn’t laughing foolishly..."
By the end of that sentence, the voice of the woman in the Confucian robe grew smaller, sowhat lacking confidence...
Sure enough, Jingzi wasn’t buying it, "Oh really, still denying it, hmph, don’t even know whom you’re thinking of, laughed just like the silly little one next door, getting more and more lovesick."
"......"
Zhu Yourong’s cheeks felt a bit hot, took a deep breath, tried to maintain composure, and said seriously, "I... I wasn’t."
The blue-clothed little girl wasn’t buying it; she continued to talk to herself:
"This afternoon in the study, too, Teacher was writing and suddenly stopped, propped your head up, sotis looking at clouds, sotis daydreaming staring at sothing on the desk, hmph hmph, this only fueled my firm and keen suspicion..."
"Wait a minute, what is a little girl like you doing all day, why are you always watching secretly? How did I not notice you?"
Jingzi pouted, "I was in the flowerbeds outside the window, watering the orchid sisters, you didn’t even close the study’s west window; how was I peeking? Openly watching, what’s there to stop from looking?"
Zhu Yourong thought for a mont, sighed, "Okay then, I didn’t see you... too short."
Jingzi: "???"
She was outraged, waved her little fists, and said:
"Stupid Teacher, we’ve been together so long, you didn’t even notice , boohoo... But even if you didn’t see , I was watching you. Later this afternoon, while you were napping at the desk, I quietly ca over to see what was on the table..."
"Why are you looking at my things..." Zhu Yourong slightly frowned and couldn’t help but ask, "What did you see?"
The blue-clothed little girl adjusted her hat, which was about to slide off, sighed with a worldly tone:
"Sigh, saw nothing at all. Darn it, didn’t expect you to guard so tightly. The table’s too small, and Teacher’s... so big, lying on it, didn’t even leave a paper corner exposed, guard against the wind so well." Unintentionally, the tone held a hint of envy.
Zhu Yourong: "???"
Teacher and the student attendant locked eyes, wide and small.
Monts later.
Jingzi deftly escaped the chase from the woman in the Confucian robe, her small face smug, continued flipping through the thick stack of papers, surprisingly finding out that...
After carefully flipping through what seed like Teacher slacking off, not yet fully graded howork, she found nothing related to Zhao Rong.
No inappropriate love letters or anything could be seen.
Blue-clothed girl’s small eyes, full of big doubt, looked at the woman in the Confucian robe, now sowhat out of breath and irritated because of her antics.
Unable to help herself, she mumbled:
"Hmm, impossible, how co there’s nothing... Teacher, tell , did you hide it in a more secure place?"
The blue-clothed girl’s little eyes began to randomly drift toward a certain ’secure place’ that seed puffy.
"I’m not hiding anything, you fool!"
Annoyed, Zhu Yourong snatched back the paper script from Jingzi’s hand and poked the naughty girl’s forehead with a thin finger.
"Hmm, fool..." Blue-clothed girl rubbed her poked red forehead, thought for a mont, couldn’t help but nod in agreent, "Seems like it could indeed fit in there."
"......!!!"
Thus, at the secluded courtyard’s gate, the woman in the Confucian robe, delayed for a long ti, couldn’t hold back anymore. She rolled up her sleeves and gave the blue-clothed girl a proper lesson.
Monts later.
"Seeing you makes angry, you’re not allowed to co along."
Zhu Yourong curved her finger, flicked Jingzi’s forehead, now swollen red from the beating, threw down a sentence, and left with the stack of howork.
Leaving the aggrieved and puzzled blue-clothed girl standing at the door.
She rubbed her forehead with both hands, her short legs restless, circling on the open ground at the front door, anxiously muttering to herself:
"So strange, was there really no letter, where could it be hidden, would it really be there... pfft, bad Teacher, you’ve gone bad too..."
Blue-clothed girl’s face blushed, spat lightly.
...
Zhu Yourong walked towards the Learning Hall of Ink Pool with the stack of paper.
Her serene and gentle face moved in light steps.
Her graceful posture, intellectual and orchid-like deanor.
She naturally beca the focus of the academy’s paths, the center of everyone passing by.
Students, scholars, academy teachers...
One after another, the passerby concentrated, all perfectly timing their greetings as they were about to pass this serene woman in Confucian robe walking with her papers.
Along the way, Zhu Yourong smiled and responded to each greeting.
However, occasionally, she would be absent-minded and distracted.
Like when passing by a maple tree splendidly ablaze in autumn red.
Or seeing a flock of geese flying south across the sky.
Or sotis, when she caught sight of a figure in the crowd bearing resemblance to that person.
She would turn her head to look, a slight trace of distraction on her face.
Monts later, the woman in the Confucian robe cradled the stack of paper, her gaze withdrew from the flowing clouds and geese in the sky.
Then she clutched tighter the items in her arms, turned and stepped into the Learning Hall of Ink Pool.
On the way, she seed to whisper softly to herself.
"Letters, huh... I won’t send them to you... You hurry back now, such a thick pile of howork, should I really grade it all by myself?"
"Seriously, I’ve been grading for several days now, my head aches. Before you left, why did you assign them so much howork... Zhao Ziyu, did you really stay up and insist on grading everything yourself before?"
Paused a mont.
"Mm, mm, Ziyu is still amazing, so it’s settled, they’re all yours..."
On the corridor of the Learning Hall of Ink Pool, the figure of the woman in Confucian robe walking away, leaving so whispers lingering in the air.
"Well then, if you don’t co back soon, I’ll send this stack of howork to you..."
That retreating figure of the woman seed to beco light and joyous at a certain mont.
In front of the quiet and secluded courtyard, the woman in the Confucian robe delayed long enough, could not bear anymore, she rolled up her sleeves, gave the little blue-clothed girl a proper lesson.
A short while later.
"Teacher gets angry when she sees you. Don’t follow."
Zhu Yourong curled her fingers, flicked the red forehead of the little girl, threw a sentence behind, then left with that stack of howork papers.
The blue-clothed girl rubbed her red forehead, unable to stay put, she paced circles, muttering:
"What! It’s not possible, how could there be nothing... Teacher, be honest, did you hide it in a more secretive place?"
The small chest of the blue-dressed little girl eyes began to wander slightly towards a certain ’tightly guarded place’ that was slightly puffy.
"You freaking little brat!"
Zhu Yourong, pissed, snatched the paper stack from Jingzi’s hand, stretched out a delicate finger, and poked the little girl’s forehead.
"Ugh, you big-headed fool..." The blue-clothed girl rubbed her reddened forehead, thought for a mont, couldn’t help but nod in agreent, "It could indeed fit in there."
......!!!
So, at the door of the secluded courtyard, the woman in the Confucian robe, delayed for a while, no longer held back, rolled up her sleeves, and gave the blue-clothed little girl a good scolding.
A mont later.
"Seeing you makes angry. Don’t follow."
Zhu Yourong curled her slender finger, flicking the red forehead of the beaten girl, left a sentence, and walked away with the heap of howork papers held in her arms.
With her forehead cradled and bruised, the short-legged blue-clothed girl could not sit still, paced around the open ground in front of the door, walking in circles, all the while murmuring thoughtfully to herself:
"So strange, why is there nothing... Will you tell , Teacher, did you hide it sowhere more that’s more secretive?"
The blue-clothed little girl’s cheeks turned red as she spat.
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