Chapter 57 Tanmen Temple (2)
Qi Shengwen said solemnly, “Brother Wei, it is not that I want to give you a blow. It happened that I saw the girl you fell in love with at first sight. Her every movement brought a noble aura. Presumably, her family is not of low status. I think it is better for you to give up.”
He had noticed Lady Chen and her group the moment they came in. As soon as his friend spoke, he knew who he was talking about. That girl’s mannerism was that of a girl from a wealthy family. How could this friend of his get the approval of her father?
“Brother Qi, you really know how to give someone a blow,” The man surnamed Wei said frustratedly, but he didn’t blame Qi Shengwen for what he said. After all, it was the truth.
“Of course, if you really want to marry that girl, there is still a way,” Qi Shengwen paused. When the others, especially the man surnamed Wei looked over with hope, he smiled and said, “Become the top scorer at the imperial exam.”
The man surnamed Wei was immediately discouraged, “Brother Qi, if it was you, you can still give it a try. How can I qualify? It is impossible, impossible!”
“Then, don’t think more about it,” Qi Shengwen patted the man surnamed Wei on the shoulder and advised him, “Be careful of attracting a calamity.”
“Oh, it could only be so.” The man surnamed Wei sighed and accepted his fate, but there was still a bit of unwillingness in his eyes.
Qi Shengwen didn’t care much. This friend of his fell in love at first sight with eight or ten girls this year. Even if he didn’t say it, his friend would give up. Speaking of it, many days have passed since the last time he saw Lady Chen by chance. He deliberately wandered around the bookstore where she might appear, but unfortunately, he never saw her again. He didn’t expect to see her again here. The failure of last time made him wring his hands. This time…
—
On the other side, Chen Hui waited for Commandery Princess Shuning and Zheng Rongrong. Commandery Princess Shuning was no longer angry at the moment and said the moment she came back, “It is so unwise of you to come and not ask for an inscribed bamboo stick. I and cousin sister Rong got the best inscribed bamboo sticks!”
“Congratulations,” Chen Hui smiled, “That is hard to come by. I have already let Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu choose a good place outside. Let’s go enjoy the scenery.”
Commandery Princess Shuning didn’t like to be in a too solemn place like a temple. So, she happily took Zheng Rongrong out.
Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu found a dry flat ground and spread a thin cotton cloth over it according to Chen Hui’s instructions. Under Commandery Princess Shuning and Zheng Rongrong’s hesitant gaze, she took the lead to sit and beckoned at them.
Commandery Princess Shuning’s eyes lit up first and then sat down. Then, she turned to beckon at Zheng Rongrong, “Cousin sister Rong, come!”
Zheng Rongrong couldn’t resist Commandery Princess Shuning and had to sit down.
Chen Hui explained how to play flying chess to the two of them. Because of the simplicity, she just had to give a short explanation and the three of them began to play. The chessboard was drawn casually by Chen Hui. The chess pieces were small stones she found and she colored them to distinguish them. The dice was also ready-made. The three of them played happily for a while when the sky suddenly became gloomy. They got up hurriedly and went back to the temple. When they had packed their things and came in, rain began to fall.
Commandery Princess Shuning said disappointed, “Wasn’t the weather good yesterday? I thought that today would also be a rare sunny day!”
Zheng Rongrong persuaded, “We have also played. Let’s go back when the rain stops.”
Commandery Princess Shuning was dissatisfied, “Aren’t we going to play some more? It is not easy to get out of the city.”
Zheng Rongrong said, “If you want to come, we can wait until the weather is good to come again. If it rains, this road wouldn’t be easy to walk on. We may have to go back when the rain gets slower, otherwise, if we wait a long time for the rain to stop, we may not be able to go down the mountain.
Chen Hui felt the same way.
However, what was depressing was that the rain not only showed no signs of stopping, instead, it got worse and didn’t stop until noon.
The temple provided vegetarian food, so, Chen Hui and her party ate a meal here. Zheng Rongrong’s maid also asked the master of the temple if there were any rooms for a temporary stay. Looking at the boundless rain, it would be dangerous if they forcefully go on their way. Therefore, the best way was for them to stay here for one night.
When having lunch, Commandery Princess Shuning found it boring to eat in the wing and had to insist that they eat together with everyone in the dining hall of the temple. Zheng Rongrong was a bit uncomfortable with that while Chen Hui had long been used to eating in a cafeteria in modern times. She became the most natural one.
The dishes in the dining hall of the temple were not exquisite, but the taste was decent. Chen Hui ate them with relish. Halfway through the meal, she noticed that someone was looking at her side from not far away. After looking back, she realized that it was Qi Shengwen. He smiled shyly at her when he was caught and quickly withdrew his gaze. However, Chen Hui found out that there were four people on Qi Shengwen’s side. Aside from him, another handsome young man was also looking at her side…to be more precise, he was looking at Zheng Rongrong.
After realizing that Chen Hui had noticed him, the young man hurriedly withdrew his gaze, lowered his head and didn’t dare to look at their side again.
Chen Hui couldn’t help but sigh for her age and being experienced. Really innocent and youthful!
After lunch, the three of them went to rest in the abode under the guidance of the little master. Chen Hui really took a nap and fell comfortably asleep in the sound of the rain. When she woke up, it was still raining. She went to look for Commandery Princess Shuning and Zheng Rongrong, only to hear that the two were bored and went out for a walk. She took Xiao Tiao and went to look for the two while also touring the backyard. After a while, Chen Hui saw the two of them and was about to call them, only to suddenly realize that there were a few people gathered in the pavilion in front of them. Not knowing what they were doing there, she walked over slowly and whispered, “What are you looking at?”
The sudden appearance of Chen Hui almost caused Commandery Princess Shuning and Zheng Rongrong to scream from fright. It was not easy for them to calm down. Commandery Princess Shuning whispered annoyed, “Lady Chen, what are you doing? I got such a fright!”
“What…are you peeking at?” Chen Hui discovered that the position of the two with the maids was a bit hidden. The few people far away couldn’t see them.
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