Chapter 422: The Library in the Cold Winter
Qi Siyuan was the most doted son of the Tang Country’s Eldest Princess, and his prospects were limitless. Therefore, many high officials and nobles often tried to think of every way to get to know him and curry up to him.
Qi Siyuan’s status was too dignified, and most high officials’ children had no right to get close to him. However, Qi Siyuan had his friends as well.
Bian Yuanshan was the son of Jinling’s guardian general, similar to Bai Ziyu in that they were both related to the military. Their relationship was quite alright, so this time around, Bian Yuanshan had attended Qi Siyuan’s welcoming banquet on Bai Ziyu’s account.
Bump!
Qi Siyuan placed his wine cup heavily on the table, looking at Bian Yuanshan without a smile on his face. His cousin was the greatest treasure that he valued most, and anyone who dared to humiliate her would die!
“Little Prince, don’t misunderstand. I don’t mean anything else when I said that!”
Bian Yuanshan felt very awkward and quickly explained, “I only heard that her Highness has great beauty and is pure and elegant. Moreover, she also possesses photographic memory. That’s why I want to have the chance to meet her!”
“Siyuan, he is the son of Jinling’s guardian general!”
Bai Ziyu got close to Qi Siyuan’s ears and mumbled, “You heard it as well. He just admires her Highness Ziqi!”
“Hmph!”
Qi Siyuan’s countenance eased up a little.
“Go, call Li Dajia here. Have someone sing a song for the Little Prince to relieve his boredom!”
Bai Ziyu instructed.
The Drunken Immortal Inn wasn’t a brothel, but Bai Ziyu was the son of a general. Therefore, it was a simple thing for him to be able to get a famous prostitute to accompany them in their drinking.
There wasn’t even a need to spend a lot of money to get this done. The name ‘Bai Ziyu’ alone was enough.
With Qi Siyuan angered, everyone else, with the exception of Bai Ziyu and a few others who were in a closer relationship with him, became quiet like cicadas in winter.
After having small chats about the scenery and court affairs, the conversation between the group of young men turned back to Li Ziqi.
“Siyuan, I heard that her Highness has acknowledged a teacher? Is that true?”
Bai Ziyu seemed as if he didn’t mind, but his heart was raised because he wanted to marry Li Ziqi. If he could do that, he’d be able to rise with a single step, enjoying great glory and riches that could last him for several lifetimes.
Of course, other than that, Li Ziqi was also very beautiful. It’d be ten lifetimes’ worth of blessing to be able to marry a beauty like her.
“Let’s not talk about this!”
Qi Siyuan’s countenance was dark, and he didn’t wish to talk about this matter. Why did his cousin come to Jinling? It wasn’t just to relieve her boredom. It was because she had asked to study under a secondary saint, but was rejected.
“What do secondary saints matter? If my mood is bad, I’ll burn down their school!”
Of course, this was just a thought. Secondary saints were really very amazing. Otherwise, given his uncle’s status as the King, how could she still be rejected?
“I heard about it as well. It’s a teacher from the Central Province Academy.”
Someone interjected.
“Central Province Academy? Old Headmaster An has woken up?”
Qi Siyuan was taken by surprise. He felt that other than the Old Headmaster An, who was a secondary saint, the other great teachers didn’t have the rights to take in his cousin as their disciple.
After all, the Central Province Academy was already in decline. Its reputation and strength were no longer comparable to before.
“Not yet!”
Bai Ziyu frowned. “You really don’t know? The rumor has been like wildfire in the circle recently. It’s said that not only has her Highness acknowledged a teacher, but her teacher isn’t a great teacher either!”
Someone of Li Ziqi’s status was what the aristocrats and nobles placed great attention on, especially the men. They wanted to have an encounter with her and receive her favor.
Some people even secretly made plans for a heroic rescue of a damsel in distress.
Other people might feel that it was too embarrassing to acknowledge a teacher who didn’t even have any great teacher title, but Li Ziqi wouldn’t. On the contrary, she felt that it was her good luck and thus she didn’t try to intentionally hide this piece of news.
Half a year had passed and some people would notice some traces. However, they didn’t dare to be sure about this. After all, given Li Ziqi’s status, it was impossible for her to acknowledge a 5-star great teacher, let alone a teacher without any title.
“Are you joking?”
Qi Siyuan gulped down a mouthful of wine. “If my cousin were to acknowledge a teacher, would my family not know of it?”
“That’s why I’m worried that her Highness might have been deceived. After all, she is so innocent!”
Bai Ziyu sighed.
Qi Siyuan frowned and took another sip of wine before asking in a deep voice, “What is the name of that teacher?”
“Sun Mo!”
Bai Ziyu spurted out the name.
Pa!
Qi Siyuan smashed the wine cup and jolted up. “Come, let’s go to the Central Province Academy. If that Sun Mo dares to deceive my cousin, I’ll skin his entire family!”
Rumble!
The group left the inn in a grandiose manner.
Hearing that, the Drunken Immortal Inn’s boss quickly came chasing after them with a smile on his face. “Little Prince, why are you leaving so quickly? Is the food not to your liking?”
Qi Siyuan waved his hand impatiently, swung his horse whip, and left.
His attendant immediately took out a 1,000-tael silver note and handed it to the boss.
This was Qi Siyuan, a generous person. Although Bai Ziyu and the others were the ones to welcome him, he was the one forking the money.
...
The weather today was good. The winter’s sunlight was very warm and cleansed one’s heart.
In the private library that was located in the northern area of the villa district.
An Xinhui pushed open the door and listened. Her index finger then brushed past the wooden stairways as she went up to the second floor. She then saw Sun Mo.
Her childhood friend was leaning against a bookshelf and reading a book.
Not far away, the sunlight passed through the windows and scattered on the ground. Dust could be seen floating in the air.
An Xinhui suddenly didn’t feel like destroying this tranquility. She stood at the side and watched Sun Mo quietly, looking at his face, his brows, and his lips...
He was really a handsome man. When he was quiet, he was filled with a scholarly air.
“He’s still a man who always brings surprises!”
An Xinhui smiled lightly and then felt a little disappointed. How could she improve her relationship with Sun Mo? An Xinhui, who was already used to being wooed, had never taken the initiative to talk to men before. Therefore, she felt at a loss.
“Sigh, there’ll always be a first time. Why not start today?”
An Xinhui took in a few deep breaths and walked out, wanting to call Sun Mo. But then, she heard a ‘thud’.
Both of them turned and saw a head rolling out slowly.
The two-meter-tall guardian warrior was in an OTL pose, crawling on the floor and looking for its head.
“...”
Sun Mo was speechless. (Where is the might and dominance you emitted when I first met you? You fool that keeps on dropping your head. Return the astonishment I felt back then to me!)
After a round of rumbling around and grabbing its head, a ‘kaba’ sound rang out and it pressed its head back down. Then, it held the katana by its waist and straightened its spine, leaving with huge strides.
“Is this also considered the Central Province Academy’s guardian?”
Sun Mo felt curious.
“Maybe!”
An Xinhui’s voice was very soft because this was the first time she saw this side of the guardian warrior.
In the past, this warrior hated strangers the most and thus never appeared in front of the people who came to the library. She had no idea if this was an accident or if it was because of Sun Mo.
“Is something the matter?”
Sun Mo put the book back.
“I’ve circled out the land and forbidden unrelated people from getting close. You can build the darkness illusion dojo any time now.”
An Xinhui didn’t like Sun Mo’s attitude of doing things strictly in a businesslike manner.
“Alright, then let’s do it in the afternoon!”
Sun Mo planned on letting Xuanyuan Po and the honest guy be the rough labor.
“How’s your preparation for the great teacher exam?”
An Xinhui walked over.
“It’s still alright!”
As a person of modern society, he had spent over ten years taking examinations after examinations. Although they were different from the examinations in the Middle-Earth’s Nine Provinces, he definitely wouldn’t feel any mental pressure.
“You’ve grasped six great teacher halos, and your two students, Xuanyuan Po and Ying Baiwu, aren’t bad. They have a chance of getting into the Greencloud Rankings. Therefore, you can advance to 2-star next year.”
An Xinhui suggested.
“Liu Mubai plans on advancing by three stars, right?”
Sun Mo asked. He had grasped eight great teacher halos, but he couldn’t be bothered to show off such things.
“That’s right. Liu Mubai is extremely talented. Moreover, he had lay low for two years, and he had just been waiting to comprehend sufficient great teacher halos.”
An Xinhui sneaked looks at Sun Mo, realizing that he hadn’t been infuriated because she said that Liu Mubai was talented. She then smiled in self-mockery.
She was really being too careful. Given how open-minded Sun Mo was, how could he be concerned about such trifling matters?
“He’s wooing you?”
After Sun Mo asked this question, he felt that this question was very silly. If Liu Mubai didn’t have this thought, he’d long have since gone to one of the Nine Greats to teach. Why would he stay in the Central Province Academy for the past few years?
An Xinhui felt very awkward. After all, the one standing in front of her was her fiancé.
Sun Mo shrugged and turned to look for a book.
“Sun Mo, I’ve never promised him anything. It’s all his one-sided feelings!”
An Xinhui saw Sun Mo’s indifferent expression, and her heart ached then tightened up. She quickly wanted to explain.
“It doesn’t matter!”
Sun Mo thought that if Liu Mubai were to hear this, he’d probably be driven to death from anger, right? Long Chen had no idea if Liu Mubai would then wash his face with tears and drown his sorrows in alcohol.
Given how Liu Mubai was so amazing yet was still willing to curry up to her, An Xinhui’s charm was really great.
Seeing Sun Mo leaving, no longer having any mood for a chat, An Xinhui felt anxious. She chased after him quickly and took Sun Mo’s right hand.
“Little Momo, you must believe me. I’m your fiancée. I’ll be responsible for this identity and toward you!”
An Xinhui looked at Sun Mo’s eyes, speaking with a solemn tone.
“There’s actually no need to do this.”
Sun Mo swung his arm. He was someone from modern society after all, having a natural deterrence toward arranged marriages.
An Xinhui couldn’t understand Sun Mo’s behavior and thought that he was angry. Feeling anxious and not knowing what to do, she then clenched her teeth and took a step forward, going for the kill.
“Hmm?”
Sun Mo was surprised and took a step back subconsciously.
Their gazes met, and the library sank into silence once again.
An Xinhui lowered her head and turned her gaze away. Her beautiful face was dyed in a flush, and it was as if there was a small rabbit in her chest, thumping quickly.
(An Xinhui, what are you doing? Are you crazy? To think that you took the initiative to kiss a guy? Sun Mo won’t think that I’m a frivolous woman, right? That mustn’t do. I must explain.)
“That... that... kiss, was my first!”
After saying that, An Xinhui felt so embarrassed that she found it hard to meet others.
Sun Mo was also a virgin. As a young man in his late twenties who was about to be promoted to a great mage[2] soon, all of his experience came from videos.
“Judging from An Xinhui’s expression and her awkward kissing technique, this should be her first!”
For some reason, Sun Mo felt a little happy.
[2=1] A reference from the manga ‘Dosperado’ where there was a line saying that if one still retains their virginity at the age of 30, they could use magic.”