Chapter 150 Renascence and Time Travel
Ms. Zheng repeated, “Wouldn’t anybody like to sit by her? Come on! Anyone?” Some female students sneered, some knew the reason didn’t say anything, some were confused. All in all, no one wanted to sit by her.
It was not supposed to be a big problem to sit without order. But Ms. Zheng felt awkward for getting no response. Therefore, she repeated her question again and again. She asked every line of girls to sit there. However, it seemed that they were all against her on purpose. Eventually, no one moved to there.
Luo Baiqiong and her cousin laughed out low, and then more girls followed to laugh with handkerchiefs coving their mouths. Even someone made catcalls. It was obvious that the catcalls didn’t aim at Ms. Zheng because the first rule of Chengxu Academy was “respecting the teachers and teaching.”
Peng Jian had looked at the girl with over-painted red cheeks for many times, and he suddenly recognized that she was his Third Sister. They hadn’t seen each other for several days. Hey! Why did you isolate her in such a way? Peng Shi could feel the forthcoming outbreak of anger of his brother, so he held his brother’s body and warned, “If you don’t behave yourself and tend to make trouble, I’m going to make a final letter to let you go home. What’s more, you’ll fail to help her out, and she doesn’t need your help.”
Meanwhile, stubborn Ms. Zheng was standing awkwardly there, and she had to let someone fill the empty seat. However, the girls didn’t want to sit there for a second. At that moment, nearly all the people were focused on the disharmonious accidental matter.
Mr. Bai, the headmaster, frowned and thought, “What’s the matter? Stop making a show of yourself! Today, there are many special guests. It’s the first time that Taoist Sage and Mr. Zhang have come here. And Mr. Sun is the Second Place at Palace Examinations.” Duan Xiaolou sat on pins and needles. Sister He was laughed at there. Would it be suitable for him to help her out?
He Danggui looked calm and lowered her head receiving the unkind laugh. But she didn’t know why they were laughing at her. Her hairpins and dress were all first-class goods given by the servants of First Madam Luo. Her face was just painted redder than before by Huai Hua, but hundreds of girls were all heavily dressed on their face. Even some people’s faces were much redder than her. How did they distinguish that she was unusual? Only a few people knew her here. How did they know who they were laughing at was inferior to them?
When it was in a stalemate and He Danggui wanted to say or do something, a fat girl with flower ring on her head suddenly rushed and sat next to her. The stout girl almost made He Danggui off her seat due to her strong strength.
“Sorry!” she apologized at once, “I didn’t hear that just now, or I’d come earlier. My name is Liao Qing’er. It’s my first time coming to Yangzhou City. And I don’t know the roads of this city. Please take care of me in the following days!”
He Danggui tried not to be hit off her seat and nodded. Just when she was about to say, “It doesn’t matter”, the fat girl showed her two balls of cotton. She said with a high voice, “I didn’t lie that I really didn’t hear what Ms. Zheng said. Look, I used them to block my ears so that I could not hear those annoying people calling. And I was chewing gum just now.”
After her words, other girls stopped speaking and all the people was looking at them. Liao Qing’er was aware of that and still spoke continuously to He Danggui, “A lot of girls were talking about the candidate handsome men such as Duan Xiaolou, Guan Mo, Peng Shi, Peng Jian, and Meng Xuan, and Luo Baiqian. Those girls said that they were all exceedingly good-looking with different characteristics and personalities. I don’t know anyone of them, and I don’t think they would be better at least than my private guard. He has a strong body, bronzed skin and powerful arms. And I like his wild but gentle personality, as well as gloom and depressive looking. He is just the standard of men, and I believe every girl would like him. Now, I’m trying to get his heart.”
He Danggui stared at this fat girl surprisingly. Meanwhile, she looked around and found that it was fairly silent.
“And you…” Liao Qing’er took out a little wooden box and took a white handkerchief. She said, “This is a disposable wet napkin that made by myself. You know, in the age of puberty, at times I need to wipe the oil on my face.” Liao Qing’er held the face of He Danggui to wipe her blusher while speaking.
He Danggui looked at that white napkin nervously. She felt in relief when seeing that it hadn’t been used. Liao Qing’er said with a big smile, “Just now when I saw you coming in here, I thought you are so pretty and you made me refresh suddenly. Though you use too much blusher to be as normal as others, I know you are hiding your beauty with the blusher. You are more beautiful than those girls who look like lanterns.” Meanwhile, she pointed at the gorgeous jade, gold and silver hairpins on the hairs of Luo Baiqiong and Luo Baiqiong’s cousins. After what Liao Qing’er said, people felt that they really looked like lanterns.
Then, over there, Peng Jian was stopped laughing by Peng Shi’s heavy pat. Peng Shi said with a low voice to Peng Jian, “Don’t laugh out loudly.” Suddenly, Luo Baiqiong as well as others felt so awkward and their faces were pale.
He Danggui didn’t know where this fat girl coming from and couldn’t express any feelings. She could just say, “Yeah, yeah, right. It doesn’t matter. Thank you.”
“Let’s go out. It’s so boring to listen to their platitudes. It’s a waste of time. Let’s go around in the campus.” Liao Qing’er picked He Danggui’s hand and left the place. He Danggui denied at first, but then she followed Liao Qing’er to go out.
Right, Liao Qing’er was right. She was not willing to go to the academy originally. And she was not willing to be the focused one. She was even also not willing to take the boring opening ceremony. Why did she stay here? Just run away.
In this way, she was led by a strange girl. They walked for a long time. Suddenly, Liao Qing’er stopped walking, and then He Danggui rushed to a chest of a man with fragrant smell. He Danggui looked up and saw the passionate eyes of Duan Xiaolou.
“Who are you? Do you come to take us back?” Liao Qing’er said and glared at the handsome man who took He Danggui in his arm.
“Duan…Shizi (the eldest legitimate son and heir of a Lord)?” He Danggui called him tentatively. And she guessed that he had lost his memory.
Duan Xiaolou was irritated by this calling, so he didn’t care about the stranger. He caught the hands of He Danggui and said heavily, “I miss you every day and night. I miss you at every moment of my breath. You said you wanted to make a “star bet” with me. You said half a year later if there was a meteor shower in the Zhinv Bridge of the Milky Way, it would mean that we don’t have the destiny to be together. I received that bet because I love you and I believe we are destined to belong to each other. But I heard from Qi Xuanyu, the Imperial Astronomer of Qintianjian Celestial Prefecture, that he predicted that after half a year, there would be a meteor shower in a possible area in the south. To be honest, I don’t believe that, but I also don’t want our destiny to be decided by that ridiculous thing. So, I come to see you.”
Seeing Duan Xiaolou, He Danggui didn’t know what to say. Sorry? Good bye?
“Sister He, I saw you that day in the Xin Rong Hall. Though I was as happy as a lark, I couldn’t say hello to you. Because you will be my wife and I don’t want others know that we have private love before marriage. That’s bad for you. When I saw that you were wearing the clothes that I gave you as a gift, I knew you have me in your mind. I was so happy that I wanted to have a sword dance. But that banquet spent so much time that day. I really wanted to talk with you that how sad I was when I could not see you. When I heard that you were trodden by the horse, I felt so anxious. I wanted to see if you were hurt; if you have taken good care of yourself and lost weight without my company. When I mistook that you had died, at that moment, I just wanted to go to the paradise at once to accompany with you. When I knew that you were caught by an unknown assassin, my heart was as if being cut by someone. That hurts. When I heard that you had been saved and was safe, my broken heart recovered at that time. It was like that my heart was linked with yours…”
“Sneeze…” A loud sneeze interrupted the serious true confession. Liao Qing’er used her handkerchief to hide her nose and said right now, “Excuse me, excuse me. You go ahead.”
“At the beginning, I didn’t know whether I truly liked you, and I was not sure what made I like you at that time. But I’m afraid that I’d regret that I miss you. After all, you are the first girl that I affect. So, I let Lu Jiangbei be our matchmaker to propose for me. And then I was not discouraged by your refusal. It made me beware clearly that I love you and I want to spoil and protect you every day. After I returned to the capital, I began to miss you. I missed your hair, fragrance, eyes, and voice. Your smile was like a shadow around me. Every time I turn back, I could see you watching me. I’d run to you as long as you saw me in that gentle eyes in spite of everything. I dreamed several times that I saw you wearing a red wedding dress. You waved to me and said, ‘I’ve found my Mr. Right, and I hope you could find a right girl.’ I was aware that one could make you sad means you love her in the deepest heart. Sister He, I love you, I know you, and I treasure you. I’ll wait for you to become my bride. Would you like to marry me?”
At one moment, she wanted to nod and say, “Yes, I’d love to.”
“No way!” However, Ling Miaoyi suddenly rushed and said, “Brother Xiaolou, you can’t like her. She is a bad girl. And she has affair with two men at the same time. She has affair with the husband of my sister! My brother-in-law loves her, too!”
Duan Xiaolou looked at Miao Lingyi with surprise and said, “Gao Jue? Don’t bullshit, Miaoyi!”
Liao Qing’er wiped her tears and mumbled, “Gao Jue? That cool guy I’m fond of?”
He Danggui looked at the left in an amazement. She said in a lower voice, “Little Master? Why are you here? You… In fact, I… How long have you been here?”
Meng Xuan seemed to smile but without emotion. He said, “Just arrived for a few minutes. I just heard a little.”
“Hey senior guy, who are you?” Liao Qing’er looked at the right thick growth of grass and asked with astonishment. That man looked like Zhou Botong, an old naughty guy.
Bai Yangbai with a grass ring on his head stood up and waved to He Danggui. He said, “My King. Receive my respect, please. I have just arrived for a while and I have just heard a little.” Only a little.
“I come to see whether you are in trouble.” Meng Xuan said, “Since nothing, I’ll leave.” Then, he walked away towards left.
“I leave too. I have nothing here.” Bai Yangbai left to the opposite direction.
Ling Miaoyi cried like dropping dogs and cats. She shouted to Duan Xiaolou, “You’ll regret to like her. Brother Xiaolou, she doesn’t match you.” And then she ran off here.
“Stop! Miaoyi!” Duan Xiaolou shouted suddenly. He apologized to He Danggui at once, “Sorry about that. Miaoyi is just a stubborn girl, and she is actually very kind. And I’m going to talk with her. She has been off home for a long time. You just wait for me, and I’ll come back soon. I’ll never regret for loving you. I’ll love you forever.” He released her hands and ran to follow Ling Miaoyi.
“Hey, are you OK?” Liao Qing’er patted her shoulder and said worriedly, “You look pale. By the way, what’s your name? I’m Qing. I don’t know why I like to talk with you so much. Why don’t we make a friend?”
He Danggui sat on the grass slowly with her arms around her knees. She buried her head to her lap as if she could not understand what had happened.
The end lines of time and space got across in this moment. It was a torture for her to be rolled into such series of strange things. She could not understand why it could happen, and she felt helpless in this situation. Her heart was left in another space, but why could she feel a pain on her chest? That hurt. Who made that?
Let time deal with all these things. She was just a ghost flowing with wind.
—-October 1, 27th year of Hongwu Period in the Ming Dynasty, at the garden of Chengxu Academy. Sorrow.
—-In the next volume the story will begin from December 17, 30th year of Hongwu Period. In that year, He Danggui will be 13 years old and become a close friend with Liao Qing’er. It will be told with flashback to make the knots open, which are the feeling of gratitude, resentment, love and hatred during the three years. More stories are going to be told in the next volume.
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