His gaze fell on the examination questions. He pondered whether to use this thing to threaten Xu Fei.
However, on second thought, he felt it would not work. The examination questions had not even been finalised yet. If he said this was the examination questions, it could not serve as evidence at all and could not threaten anyone at all.
Another point was that if the matter was true, the person behind Xu Fei’s uncle should be a figure with immense power and connections. If he dared to act recklessly, he would not be able to shake the other party in the slightest. On the contrary, he feared he himself would not be able to return to Liezhou alive.
On this point he still had self awareness. Although he was the dignified leader of the Linglong Temple, in the eyes of that kind of figure he was nothing at all.
In the end he still needed to find an opportunity to collect the debt.
After his thoughts turned and he made up his mind, Yu Qing bent down and pulled up the crying insect child. “Alright, alright. Stop crying. I was joking with you. I will not report it to the authorities.”
After speaking he walked behind the desk again and sat down. He put both feet up on the desk, lay back in the chair, fanned himself with a folding fan, and could not be bothered to comfort him. He let him cry. What was there to comfort about a grown man acting like a woman? He would just wait.
Time was the best comfort.
After the breakdown, the insect child gradually restrained his emotions. He slowly stopped sobbing. After repeatedly wiping his tear stains with his sleeve, he began to take his leave. “Young master Shiheng, the Cao residence is far from here. If it gets late, I will not be able to return to the Cao residence before dark. I should go now.”
“Hmm.” Yu Qing nodded. He pointed at the examination questions on the table with his fan again. “Rest assured. I will not let your young master know about this matter. As for these examination questions, I will also pretend I did not see them and will not make use of them. So you can act as if nothing has happened and return with peace of mind.”
The insect child was stunned for a moment. He said with some urgency, “Young master Shiheng, I know you are a talented person. You are just keeping a low profile. Even without getting the examination questions in advance, the imperial examination will not be able to stump you. However, since my young master was able to obtain the examination questions, perhaps others can obtain them too. If those people with ill intentions seize the opportunity first and squeeze you out, insect child will be the first one not willing to accept it.”
This was indeed his honest words and also one of the reasons he was willing to deliver the examination questions to Yu Qing. He could not let only bad people gain the advantage and cause truly talented good people to suffer losses.
I have talent? Yu Qing was actually stunned by what he said. He did not know where the insect child saw that he had talent. He himself did not even know he had ever had talent.
Little did he know that even if he and Xu Fei did not say anything, the insect child had already guessed who the real first place in the Wen Hua Academy character guessing riddle was. This was exactly the reason he said Yu Qing was keeping a low profile.
The insect child did not know how difficult the character guessing riddle was. He only knew it was also an assessment. Young master Shiheng had overwhelmingly suppressed all the provincial examination candidates from the entire Liezhou. It was said that even the top scorer of the provincial examination, the jieyuan, had been left far behind. This definitely meant he had great talent.
Yu Qing did not understand. He subconsciously took it as mere praise and stood up again. “Alright, I will weigh it myself. Let’s go. I will see you off.”
“No need. I can return by myself…” Before the insect child finished speaking, his face turned red again. Because Yu Qing casually hooked his neck and put his arm around his shoulders, holding him close. The insect child silently obeyed and walked out of the study together with him.
Yu Qing shook the fan with his left hand and hooked the insect child with his right hand. They strolled together towards the small courtyard gate. “Since you need to return before dark, I will not keep you for dinner. I will arrange a carriage to send you back. Remember, do not get off at the Cao residence gate. Get off at a place slightly farther from the Cao residence to avoid being seen by the people of the Cao residence, which would be hard to explain. Do you understand what I mean?”
Send him back alone in a carriage? The insect child felt he was not worthy at all. He felt alarmed and hurriedly said, “No need, no need. I can walk back. There is really no need to trouble yourself like this.”
Slap! Yu Qing knocked the fan in his left hand on the insect child’s head. “Whatever I tell you to do, you just obediently listen. Where do all these words come from? If you nag any more, I will really get unhappy.”
For him, it did not cost him anything anyway.
He wanted to get some money from Ah Shiheng’s father in law’s family but felt embarrassed to make a move. He could only take some small advantages like this. He quite liked doing things that were顺水人情.
The insect child wanted to speak but stopped. He still felt it was too much of an honour for him.
Yu Qing had already hooked the person to the gate. The servants outside who were always on standby immediately ran over.
Yu Qing released the insect child and pointed while saying, “This is my friend. You immediately go and arrange a carriage to send him back. Remember, pass down the instruction that wherever he wants to go, listen to my friend’s arrangements. If anyone dares to neglect him, I will not forgive them.”
Friend? A bright light instantly shone in the insect child’s clear and large eyes. He gazed at Yu Qing with burning eyes. Just because of the two words “friend”, it instantly filled his heart with warmth and made him feel that this trip had not been in vain.
Friend? That servant subconsciously looked at the insect child’s clothing. He did not say anything, but everything was understood without words. He nodded repeatedly with “yes, yes, yes” and then politely extended his hand to invite the insect child. “Young master, please follow me.”
The insect child understood the look in the other party’s eyes. He felt ashamed of his own inadequacy, lowered his head to look at his own toes, softly hummed in agreement, then turned around and bowed slightly to Yu Qing to take his leave.
Yu Qing smiled and nodded as he saw him off. Often staying cooped up in the study would affect one’s mood somewhat. The newly learned habit of elegantly shaking a folding fan had not been corrected.
The insect child followed the person away. He looked back every few steps, and the warmth in his heart remained.
He was willing to deliver the examination questions not only to repay a favour.
On the journey to the capital, this young master Shiheng liked to call him for all kinds of odd jobs. He ordered him around perhaps even more casually than his own young master Xu, but that “casualness” was not the casualness of a master towards a servant. He felt it was a feeling of equality.
Young master Shiheng would casually put his arm around his shoulders. His own young master Xu, maintaining the identity of a master, would never do that.
Young master Shiheng would secretly give him delicious food to eat and would also find ways to arrange a comfortable sleeping environment for him and so on. That warmth he still remembered clearly to this day. That was also something his own young master could not do.
Today, young master Shiheng personally said it. The two of them had an equal “friend” relationship.
He was willing to deliver the examination questions. There might be other reasons, and it might also be the most important reason, something young people cannot speak of but can burn their hearts for…
After seeing the person off, Yu Qing closed the fan in his hand with a snap, lifted it over his shoulder, inserted it into the back of his collar, and poked his itchy back as he returned to the small courtyard.
Back in the study, he walked to the side of the desk and picked up the examination questions on the table again. He looked at them and found the handwriting neat and quite elegant.
This so called examination questions had been copied in a sloppy handwriting by the insect child when he secretly copied them. When he brought them here, he had carefully copied them again.
However Yu Qing only glanced at them casually before sneering and throwing them aside.
What did he want this for? He could not possibly pass the examination. Even if he could pass, he could not pass. There was no way. It was destined.
But then he picked up the examination questions again. With a ripping sound he tore them. He felt it was better to destroy this thing. If it really was the examination questions and someone saw them in advance, when the real examination questions came out and matched, it would probably cause real trouble.
However after tearing a few times he stopped again. He slowly sat down in the chair and muttered in his heart. Could this really be the imperial examination questions?
As for the insect child, after interacting with him for so long on the journey, he felt he still understood some things about him. He probably would not deceive him.
The problem was there was also no need to fool him with a fake thing.
After some thoughts turned in his mind, he quickly laid out the torn examination questions piece by piece on the desk and pieced them together again.
He did this because he thought of Ah Shiheng’s instructions, which were quite difficult for him.
However Ah Shiheng’s words made sense. It required some thought. He could not act recklessly. He could fail the examination, but he could not let the examiners look at the paper and immediately want to investigate him.
But he really did not understand. He was afraid he could not grasp that balance properly.
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But if this examination questions were real, would it not be exactly like someone delivering a pillow just when he was sleepy?
He could completely prepare suitable answers in advance and then use them in the examination hall to get through.
Just thinking about it made him energetic. He hurriedly restored the torn examination questions…
The next afternoon, the listless Teacher Ming arrived late, yawning.
Yu Qing had already been waiting under the eaves. Seeing the person arrive, he quickly stepped forward to greet him respectfully. “Sir has arrived.”
Teacher Ming casually waved his hand, indicating there was no need to be polite.
Teacher and student went straight to the study.
As soon as they entered the room, Teacher Ming went to a box, opened it, and took out the blanket and pillow inside.
This box had originally been for storing books. He had temporarily requisitioned it to avoid always having to run to the bedroom to get sleeping things, which could easily be discovered.
He threw the things onto the low couch and sat there yawning, waiting for Yu Qing to use the insect to boil water and make tea.
After drinking a few cups of water he would sleep. When he woke up from needing to urinate, it would just be evening. Getting up and going home would be just right.
After half a month, he had already gained experience here.
Yu Qing smiled as he stood by, lifting the hanged ghost insect to boil the water. He brewed tea for Teacher Ming, served it, and invited him to drink.
Teacher Ming had already become accustomed to the matter of using the insect to boil water. He blew on the hot steam, took a small sip, swallowed comfortably, and looked quite enjoying it.
Yu Qing made a motion as if lifting his ponytail with one hand but grabbed empty air. He realised he was now in proper attire and stopped. “Sigh!” He suddenly let out a heavy sigh.
Teacher Ming rolled his eyes and glanced at him. While blowing on the tea soup he said slowly, “What is wrong? Is the lower road blocked and you cannot shit?”
Yu Qing was truly convinced by this person. He could say such things while drinking tea. It was so crude!
On the surface he still sighed heavily and said, “Not being able to shit only harms the body. I am now heartbroken. Today I was mocked by a servant.”
Teacher Ming gave a laugh and said, “I observe that the Zhong residence is managed quite strictly. How could it raise such an arrogant servant?”
“Arrogant? Yes. Sir truly deserves to be called sir. The wording is precise. It is exactly arrogance!” Yu Qing slapped his thigh in approval. While pouring water into his own teacup he sighed, “Sir does not know. It is a newly arrived servant. He was once a scholar. Because something unexpected happened in his family, he had no choice but to sell himself into the Zhong residence as a slave. Originally there was nothing to it. I do not know where this fellow heard that sir is teaching me here. He actually spoke wildly…” He shook his head and stopped there without continuing. He slowly drank his tea.
Teacher Ming had already been successfully hooked with interest. The person opposite however stopped speaking. He immediately said, “What do you mean by saying only half of what you want to say, kid? Saying only half means no good person… From the meaning in your words, how does it feel like the one being mocked is not you? You would not be saying that the one being mocked is me, right?”