Tigers Sniff the Rose - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Mu Wanyao, brimming with excitement, took Yan Shang to tour the residence across from the Princess's manor.

At first, Yan Shang still held out hope that perhaps the district where the Princess's manor was located might also contain some more modest homes. But as Mu Wanyao showed him around, he realized his wishes were nothing more than a delusion.

This courtyard was a standard three-section residence.

The configuration was exceptionally complete.

Just inside, there were gatekeeper quarters, a gatehouse, and side rooms; further in was an extremely spacious main hall without a front wall. This was the outer residence.

Passing through the "second gate" into the inner residence, the garden instantly became rich with scenery, no longer as rigid and solemn as the front courtyard. The backyard featured a lake, rockeries, and a water pavilion. As Yan Shang and Mu Wanyao walked along the lakeside, they saw the fish in the water still happily blowing bubbles.

The inner residence began with a two-story pavilion called the sleeping hall, a space belonging to the mistress of the house to handle the trivialities of the backyard. Further back were rows of wing rooms…

Yan Shang’s brows twitched slightly. He felt that a residence with such a complete configuration—even including gatekeeper quarters in the outer residence—was something he had only seen once since arriving in Chang'an. Yan Shang said softly, "When I visited Prime Minister Zhang previously, I noticed he had gatekeeper quarters in his home. I didn't expect this house to have them, too."

Mu Wanyao looked back at him, her eyes filled with approval.

She said, "Quite right. Gatekeeper quarters are generally found only in the homes of Prime Ministers. Because a Prime Minister’s doorstep is as busy as a marketplace, with countless people visiting every day, their residences usually set up gatekeeper quarters outside the main hall. Visitors register there first and wait in the gatehouse side rooms.

"Only when the Prime Minister has time will he summon them to the main hall."

Yan Shang nodded. "So that’s how it is."

He paused, "So, was this residence originally owned by a Prime Minister?"

Mu Wanyao smiled brightly. "Correct. Opposite my Princess’s manor was originally the residence of a certain Prime Minister. His family and relatives had lived here for over a dozen years, but some time ago, he made some mistakes, and the Crown Prince demoted him to an official post in the provinces. This house has been vacant ever since, and no one has bought it yet."

In the eyes of Great Wei’s officials, only being a capital official was considered a promising future. Many officials would become dejected or even refuse the appointment outright the moment they heard they were being sent to the provinces.

It was quite an interesting affair.

Naturally, the Prime Minister Mu Wanyao spoke of had indeed gone to the provinces to serve.

Mu Wanyao hadn't really cared whether the courtyard opposite her house was empty or not; what business was it of hers? She had lived next to that old man for many years without ever forming any deep bond.

But since Yan Shang had entrusted her to find him a place to live?

The courtyard opposite, which had been empty for a short while, immediately came to mind.

And… Mu Wanyao thought of the "Prime Minister’s tablet" she had seen Yan Shang with that day at Yongshou Temple. When she was truly half-doubting, she had linked this residence with him.

Mu Wanyao was extremely excited, feeling that she had handled this matter exceptionally well. While this courtyard was not as luxurious as her own Princess’s manor, for an official, the specifications were already extremely high.

She counted on her fingers to convince Yan Shang: "You complained that your previous dwelling was too small; this place is not small at all, the courtyard is very large.

"You said you wanted convenience, and that it shouldn't be too far from the Hongwen Hall. This house isn't just 'not far' from the Hongwen Hall; it’s also not far from the Three Departments and Six Ministries in the Imperial City.

"You said you wanted more restrictions and to be further away from the commoners. Residences within this district are quite far from the commoners, and ordinary people cannot enter the district; it completely satisfies your requirements.

"How about it? Pretty good, right?"

Mu Wanyao turned to look at Yan Shang, only to see him in a daze. Sensing her gaze, he gave her a faint smile.

Mu Wanyao’s heart went cold instantly.

It was as if a basin of cold water had been poured over her.

She hadn't just met Yan Shang today; she knew well that he was accustomed to being courteous and treated everyone with ritual politeness. His faint smile just now was that very polite, courteous, and shallow kind of smile.

A smile that didn't reach his heart.

Mu Wanyao’s face sank instantly. Without a word, she turned and walked out of the courtyard. Yan Shang, still agonizing over the dilemma, saw Mu Wanyao—who had been smiling and happy just a moment ago—turn and leave. He saw her face was cold and sullen, her lips tightly pressed.

Mu Wanyao turned and marched out of the courtyard, and after a few steps, she entered her own Princess’s manor.

She went straight into the inner residence, feeling so stifled that her chest ached. She paced back and forth along a waterside corridor, so angry she could have cursed. Seeing her maids timidly dodging away and realizing Yan Shang had followed her after asking for directions, she saw him.

Mu Wanyao sat down, expressionless.

She felt deeply wronged.

It was rare for her to help someone and think of someone else's needs, yet Yan Shang was ungrateful and even gave her such a hypocritical smile? Why was he ungrateful? Was the place she found not good? Was she bullying him?

Yan Shang walked up to Mu Wanyao, squatted down, and looked at her for a long time.

She turned her face away, ignoring him.

Yan Shang sighed, "What is the matter, Your Highness?"

This time, Mu Wanyao turned her shoulders away completely, refusing to look at him.

Yan Shang had no choice but to stand up and squat in front of her again. "Forgive my dullness, but this time I truly do not know what Your Highness is angry about. You must tell me, Your Highness, so that we can solve the problem. We are both very busy; why waste time on such trivial matters?"

Mu Wanyao had been sulking and didn't want to talk to him.

But he was… right.

Why was she wasting time on him?

Mu Wanyao looked at him, her tone sharp: "Do you not know why I am unhappy? You entrusted me with finding you a house, I helped you, but you are clearly ungrateful and think the house is bad. And I know why you think it’s bad!"

Yan Shang looked at her.

He smiled faintly.

Softly: "Is that so? But why do I feel that you don't actually know?"

Mu Wanyao’s brows arched instantly, feeling he was looking down on her intelligence!

She said indignantly, "Why else could it be? You just don't want to be neighbors with me! You think I’m a bother and want to keep your distance. You think meeting once or twice a month is enough, but thinking that if you move here, you might have to see me every single day… and you’d have to greet me every day… you get a headache.

"You’re thinking, ‘This Princess is so arrogant and willful. When there was a distance between us, I could just coax her occasionally, but in the future, I might have to coax her every day. How could I bear that?’"

She was vivid in her description, imitating his tone, and even carried three parts of fiery indignation.

However, she was beautiful and young, and being so indignant looked… quite cute in Yan Shang’s eyes.

It made him chuckle.

Mu Wanyao became even angrier. She stood up abruptly, almost moved to tears by his laughter: "You are truly laughing this time! You are mocking me; I can see it!"

Yan Shang quickly stood up, wiped the expression from his face, and reached out to grab her wrist through her sleeve.

Yan Shang said, "How could I ever look down on Your Highness? I have reached where I am today entirely thanks to Your Highness’s guidance, and since you have been so good to me, how could I be ungrateful? I am indeed dissatisfied with this house, but it is certainly not because of Your Highness. If fate allowed me to be Your Highness’s neighbor, it would be a blessing I’ve cultivated for a thousand years; how could I be dissatisfied?"

Mu Wanyao hesitated for a moment, tilting her head to look at him.

Because this man always said what she wanted to hear, she couldn't judge for a moment whether he was truly thinking this or just being perfunctory.

Mu Wanyao’s spirit weakened slightly, though she still held her chin high: "Then, since you don't mind being my neighbor, why are you dissatisfied with this house? With such a good house, what is there to be dissatisfied about?"

Yan Shang: "It’s precisely because it’s too good that I’m dissatisfied."

Mu Wanyao was stunned.

Yan Shang pulled her to sit down and explained to her: "Your Highness is high above and has never suffered for money. You don't understand. I also think this courtyard you picked is excellent—in terms of both feng shui and layout, it is truly perfect—but I truly cannot afford it. I am merely a country boy from Lingnan who farms; how could I afford a Prime Minister’s residence?"

Mu Wanyao was bewildered.

Apparently, in her understanding, this was the first time she had heard someone give such an excuse.

She was tongue-tied: "Af- af- afford?"

Yan Shang: "Yes."

Mu Wanyao was a little anxious: "However, this courtyard has good feng shui and structure, and many people want it. If you don't buy it, perhaps someone else will buy it tomorrow. You might never encounter such a place again."

Yan Shang said, "There is nothing to be done about that."

Mu Wanyao pursed her lips, unhappy.

Because she had set her heart on this house precisely because she wanted Yan Shang as a neighbor. Now that Yan Shang wouldn't be her neighbor, it would certainly be some other old man who would become her neighbor. Princess Danyang was deeply unhappy. After all, the gap between a decrepit old man and a beautiful young man was truly significant.

Originally, she wouldn't have minded, but now… well, she had Yan Shang to compare him to.

Mu Wanyao had a mind to buy the house for Yan Shang, but she knew he wouldn't take advantage of her.

So, as a compromise, Mu Wanyao said, "Then I will pay to buy it for you, and you can pay me back slowly."

Yan Shang said, "I am still waiting for an appointment at the Hongwen Hall. The 'Broad Learning and Grand Rhetoric' exam isn't until October, and I don't even know if I can pass. Even if I pass, the official post the imperial court assigns me won't be the ninth rank; at best, it will be the eighth. As an eighth-rank official, when would I ever be able to repay Your Highness?"

Mu Wanyao: "But you won't be a small eighth-rank official for your whole life. I think you will be promoted very quickly. Capital officials are very valuable; you won't be short of money at all."

Yan Shang chuckled: "Thank you for your trust in me, Your Highness. But I cannot be blindly confident, can I? Since I clearly cannot afford to live in such a good courtyard, why should I move in prematurely?"

He said realistically: "Besides, in such a large courtyard, how could I clean it alone? Wouldn't I have to buy servants? I originally planned to wait until I had an official status before adding servants. Now that things are still in the planning stage, and I am buying both a house and servants… I truly cannot bear that."

Mu Wanyao stopped talking.

She lowered her eyes, her long, dark lashes covering the expression in them.

Yan Shang said gently: "Therefore, thank you for your kindness, Your Highness, but I had better look for another place to live."

He stood up, bowed to Mu Wanyao, and prepared to take his leave.

He heard Mu Wanyao’s voice behind him: "Then what if I rent this house to you temporarily?"

Yan Shang turned back to look at her.

Mu Wanyao had already made up her mind, so she smiled to persuade him: "Since you don't want to buy the house, but I don't want to be neighbors with anyone else, then I will simply buy the house myself. Not only will I buy it, but I will also add servants to clean the courtyard.

"I will rent the house to you, and whenever you have the money and want to buy it from me, I will sell it to you then. How about that?"

Mu Wanyao stood up, grabbed his hand, and pulled him back. She rested her hand on his shoulder and sat him under the railing of the long corridor.

She stood before him, leaning over to entice him: "After all, this courtyard is really good. It only takes half a quarter of an hour to ride a horse from here to the Imperial City. You are going to be an official in the future. When the time comes to look for another suitable house, are you certain you will be able to find one?

"And are you really so lacking in ambition that you think you will never have a day to go to court? When you do have to attend, think about how far it is from other districts to the Imperial City, and how near it is from here? You have to read every day and do many things; shouldn't you save time on such small matters?

"Moving back and forth in Chang'an—how can that be easy?"

Yan Shang was pushed by her to sit down. Her hand was resting on his shoulder, her fingertips lightly brushing his neck. He turned his face away with some discomfort, his back stiff and straight against the pillar, and couldn't help but feel a bit startled.

He was also slightly silent.

He was surprised that Mu Wanyao wanted to be his neighbor so badly.

Yan Shang said in a low voice: "However, even if Your Highness rents the house to me, I might not be able to afford such a large courtyard."

Waves of light flickered in Mu Wanyao’s eyes.

She knew he had relented.

She persisted: "Everything depends on how much you have, not how much you give. Do I look like someone who is short of money? Do I live off the little bit of rent you pay? Let’s do it this way: you just pay what you can. After all, this courtyard is truly excellent; if you miss it, it will be gone."

She remembered something else: "And this was lived in by a former Prime Minister; he might have left behind many books he couldn't take with him. Wouldn't they all be given to you?"

Yan Shang pondered in his heart; he was truly a little moved.

There was just one thing that made him hesitate…

Yan Shang didn't look at Mu Wanyao, but as he lowered his eyes, he could still see her slim waist and the skirt trailing on the ground as she stood before him. The scent around her also enveloped him.

Yan Shang gave a wry smile.

He asked: "Why must Your Highness have me move in?"

Mu Wanyao said: "Because neighborly relations are important; we can look after each other. Given the choice, I prefer someone like you as my neighbor."

Yan Shang was silent.

After a long while, he said slowly: "Then, I will give Your Highness my monthly salary as rent, is that all right?"

Before Mu Wanyao could answer, he coughed and said with shame: "Naturally, this salary is quite small, but if by October I…"

Mu Wanyao smiled brightly: "It doesn't matter. I don't care."

She leaned down.

Yan Shang instinctively leaned back, distancing himself from her face as she leaned in.

Her hand still rested on his shoulder, and the tip of her little finger brushed his neck once: "Now, how about drinking a cup of tea with me?"

Yan Shang still looked down and didn't look at her, but his body had already gone completely stiff: "…Mm."

—

Afterwards, Yan Shang busied himself with the matter of moving.

It was a sad thing to think about. Since he had placed in the examinations, his relationship with Wei Shu was fine, but Liu Wenji spent his days drowning his sorrows in drink, feeling depressed. Two days ago, when their group met Feng Xianyu, Feng Xianyu had also moved out of his original house.

Feng Xianyu had moved directly into the residence of Princess Luling, which led to people pointing fingers behind his back. Liu Wenji, even more so, simply disdained to pay any attention to this man. As for Wei Shu, he was cold and aloof by nature, and he didn't care about Feng Xianyu at all.

Therefore, on the day Feng Xianyu moved, only Yan Shang and a few others went. Seeing Yan Shang’s consistently kind attitude, the matter of the third-place scholar (tanka) being replaced was something no one else even knew about. Feng Xianyu had mixed feelings; he hadn't expected that after treating Yan Shang that way, Yan Shang wouldn't have mentioned it to anyone behind his back.

And because he served the Princess, his reputation was already poor. If people knew he had replaced Yan Shang… then within the circle of Chang'an’s scholars, his reputation would be completely destroyed.

For a scholar, how important was a reputation?

Yan Shang accompanied Feng Xianyu as he packed his things, and the two ate wine and food in silence. At the time of parting, Yan Shang wished Feng Xianyu a bright future, and Feng Xianyu smiled stiffly and bowed to him. The two were now like clouds and mud, and it was rare that Yan Shang still came to see him off.

After downing the wine, Feng Xianyu called out to Yan Shang: "Yan Suchen."

Yan Shang was courteous: "Does Brother Feng have something to teach me?"

After struggling for a long time, Feng Xianyu said: "Be careful of Princess Luling."

Yan Shang was startled, somewhat confused as to how this came up. Feng Xianyu reminding him of this was already the limit. He was afraid that if he said anything more, the Princess would blame him.

After Feng Xianyu left, Yan Shang still didn't understand his words. He wondered if it was because of the tanka-replacement affair that Princess Luling had become dissatisfied with him?

But the day he handled that matter, it was through Feng Xianyu, and the method had been so gentle; why would the Princess be dissatisfied?

Yan Shang was completely baffled and could only put the matter aside for now. Even with his keen mind, he couldn't guess the Princess’s intentions toward him.

Not mentioning that, Yan Shang was pleased to discover that Zhao Wuniang hadn't come to bother him at Yongshou Temple for several days. Could it be that Zhao Wuniang had finally realized he wasn't a good match and was going to give up on him?

This was a good thing.

Yan Shang hurried to burn two sticks of incense in the temple, praying that Zhao Wuniang would soon find her destined marriage and stop pestering him with the wrong one.

The reason Zhao Lingfei hadn't come to find Yan Shang for several days wasn't, of course, because she had suddenly had a change of heart, but because she had been locked up by her father.

The reason was that Yang Sanlang, Yang Si, had gone to the Zhao family and gone on a rant about how his cousin had taken a liking to the tanka scholar, Yan Shang.

Once the Libationer of the Imperial Academy, Lord Zhao, inquired about Yan Shang’s background, he was not pleased with the marriage. Lord Zhao naturally wanted to marry off his youngest daughter, who was always running around playing with blades and guns, so he spent all day urging her to attend banquets.

But a noble family like the Zhao family sought to rise even higher. Lord Zhao climbed the social ladder so desperately that he shed his beard in anxiety, hating only that the biggest relative his family had was merely a noble house like the Yang family. Now that his daughter wanted to debase herself, how could he agree?

So Zhao Lingfei was locked up.

Across a door, the father and daughter cursed each other.

Lord Zhao puffed out his beard and glared: "If you want to marry, you must marry into a family of equal status. Yan Suchen is absolutely out of the question!"

Zhao Lingfei stomped her feet in the room: "You’ve never even met him, how do you know he’s not good? Father, people say ‘never bully a youth for being poor,’ why don't you understand this principle?"

Lord Zhao sneered: "Yang San already told me! That Yan Erlang is just a wild, dissolute fellow who spends all his time at flower-wine parties, and he only became the tanka scholar because he was lucky! If I had known you were interested in him, I wouldn't have let you go to the Apricot Garden."

Zhao Lingfei folded her arms and spat: "You old man are so unreasonable. On one hand, you tell me to marry, and on the other, you won't let me marry someone I like. You think about glory and wealth all day long; have you gone mad? Father, our family isn't short of money, so why must you be so set on climbing up to a great noble house? Look at my sisters—has any one of them lived happily?"

Lord Zhao said: "This is simply your destiny as a daughter. Lingfei, you must be obedient. I will find you a good young man another day…"

No matter what else he said, Zhao Lingfei in the room paid him no more heed. Lord Zhao left with a sigh; in the room, Zhao Lingfei paced back and forth, thinking of how to deceive her father so she could get out as soon as possible. She and her father held different philosophies; there was no point in saying more.

She was truly anxious to death!

If she didn't go to Yongshou Temple for so long, wouldn't Yan Erlang forget her?

—

Mu Wanyao sat on the third-story pavilion in her inner courtyard, fanning herself while looking at the scenery in the distance.

The small three-story pavilion in the Princess’s manor was almost superior to all others, providing a clear view of the surrounding terrain. Naturally, this included the courtyard across the alley.

Mu Wanyao saw that the opposite courtyard had servants today, moving things back and forth.

Mu Wanyao rested her chin on her fan, looking at the scenery across the way, her heart drifting.

She had long since hired servants for the opposite house, the title deed was in her hands, and the rental agreement with Yan Shang was already written. She was just waiting for Yan Shang to move in.

Looking at the work happening over there today, were they moving in?

Mu Wanyao squinted, thinking how, somehow, vaguely… why didn't she see Yan Shang?

Chunhua brought over a plate of fruit, seeing that the Princess had been sitting there for an hour. Chunhua followed the Princess’s gaze into the distance: "Can Your Highness see clearly?"

Mu Wanyao: "…I can't."

She glared at Chunhua.

Then she reacted: "I was just staring into space; who told you I was looking at something?"

Chunhua hid a smile: "Yes. Your Highness has recently been very fond of this three-story pavilion in our manor; I have already had people clean it up well. Summer is almost here and the weather is hot; it is more comfortable for Your Highness to sit here and catch a cool breeze than to be downstairs."

Mu Wanyao glared at her again.

Another maid came in to report: "Your Highness, the Princess of Jin is here."

Mu Wanyao: "…Why is she here again?"

—

The Princess of Jin, in her quest to beg for a son for the Jin Prince’s manor, must have been driven to the brink of insanity.

She came to find Mu Wanyao this time because she wanted to go to Yongshou Temple to worship the Buddha again. Too embarrassed to go alone, she wanted to drag Mu Wanyao along.

It was boring in the afternoon, and with the maids egging her on, Mu Wanyao was half-reluctantly pulled out of the house by the Princess of Jin to go to Yongshou Temple.

Upon arriving at Yongshou Temple, Mu Wanyao only offered perfunctory prayers to the Buddha before exiting the temple. She wandered casually through the grounds, and Chunhua called out from behind: "Your Highness, the quarters where Yan Erlang lives are to the south, not the west; Your Highness has gone the wrong way."

Mu Wanyao: "…"

She was so ashamed she became angry, feeling that her maids were all misunderstanding her: "Who said I was going to see him? Can’t I walk around the temple freely?"

The maids were stunned, watching with their own eyes as Mu Wanyao walked in the opposite direction from them with firm, resolute steps. Clearly, the Princess didn't know where she was going either, but in any case, it wasn't to see Yan Erlang.

Mu Wanyao was indeed walking randomly, just strolling. She saw a district within the temple and curiously headed toward it.

The major temples in Chang'an, in addition to being able to lend rooms to travelers, also maintained infirmaries to specifically care for homeless orphans. Sometimes during disaster relief, they would even operate directly out of the infirmary within the temple.

Mu Wanyao inadvertently entered the infirmary established by Yongshou Temple, and just as she pushed the door open, a young novice monk came over to pay his respects.

Discovering that this was an infirmary, Mu Wanyao intended to leave. As she turned, a familiar male voice came from behind: "Your Highness?"

Mu Wanyao turned back, her eyes slightly widened, to see Yan Shang.

Yan Shang was wearing a green robe, holding a bowl of congee in his hands, squatting among a group of small children. He didn't know which child had dirty hands, but they had grabbed a black smudge onto Yan Shang’s snow-white collar, which made Mu Wanyao knit her brows tightly.

There were not only Yan Shang here, but also other scholars whom Mu Wanyao didn't recognize, also tending to the group of children.

After Yan Shang’s greeting, the scholars all stood up to pay their respects to the Princess. Seeing the group of children looking at her with wide, ignorant eyes, Mu Wanyao quickly waved her hand, signaling them not to be too formal.

Yan Shang set down the bowl in his hand, exchanged a few words with his friends, and came over to talk to the Princess.

Mu Wanyao stood at the entrance of the infirmary, watching him look at her with gentle eyes: "Your Highness is truly kind-hearted to come to the infirmary to take care of these homeless children. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it."

Mu Wanyao blushed.

She was just walking around randomly.

She had no intention of helping in the infirmary at all.

But since Yan Shang said so… she coughed and said: "I help out occasionally."

Chunhua and the other maids watched the Princess quietly, only to be threatened by a glare from her.

Mu Wanyao resisted the burning heat on her cheeks and quickly changed the subject: "Weren't you moving today? Why are you here?"

Yan Shang was surprised: "How did Your Highness know I was moving today?"

Mu Wanyao said: "I saw vehicles parked in the alley when I left."

Yan Shang understood, explaining that his friends had sent servants to help him move. Since he was moving out of the temple, he didn't intend to keep some of his old things, so he planned to donate them to the temple. While donating, Yan Shang saw these pitiful children and simply gifted the rice and flour away as well.

Thus, a group of scholars and Yan Shang were there cooking congee and rice together, and taking books to teach the children how to read.

Just as Mu Wanyao had seen when she pushed the door open.

Mu Wanyao nodded.

If she wasn't mistaken, among these scholars, perhaps there were those who were truly helping, but there were probably many here to polish their reputations. Seeking fame and vanity—scholars all liked to do that. Just not knowing which type Yan Shang belonged to?

Yan Shang said: "Since Your Highness is here, would you like to sit for a while?"

Mu Wanyao’s heart stirred; she thought that occasionally polishing one's good reputation was conducive to improving her own political status. Therefore, she smilingly accepted Yan Shang’s invitation and entered the infirmary.

Mu Wanyao watched for a long time, then simply entered a shed, picked up a book, and began to teach the children how to read.

She was incomparably open-minded, thinking to herself that if she couldn't cook porridge and make meals, couldn't she at least teach people how to read?

—

Half an hour passed.

Mu Wanyao, sitting among the children with a dark face, puffed out her cheeks, finding them unpleasant: She couldn't teach them!

These children were too stupid!

She couldn't teach such stupid children how to read!

Mu Wanyao, with such a dark expression, and possessing the aura of a Princess, would make the attendants in her own manor tremble with fear when she sat with a straight face and didn't speak, let alone these children of only a few years old?

Mu Wanyao had only sat there for a little while when the crying started one after another in the room.

Mu Wanyao became even angrier, and suddenly she slapped the book onto the table: "Cry, cry, cry! I hate it when people cry the most! It’s just teaching you how to recognize a character, how hard can it be? Cry again and I’ll have someone hit you!"

As soon as she said that, the children cried even louder.

And the more the children cried, the more the crying gave Mu Wanyao a headache, making her even angrier.

It was precisely when her rage was soaring that Yan Shang entered and asked: "What’s wrong?"

And as soon as they saw him come out, the children wailed loudly and ran toward him: "Big brother, that sister is so fierce!"

"Big brother, we don't want to learn to read anymore, can you ask her to leave, please?"

"She even said she wanted to hit us!"

The children were either tugging at Yan Shang’s belt or hugging his legs. Yan Shang comforted them with soft words, then raised his eyes to look at Mu Wanyao.

Mu Wanyao felt guilty instantly.

She said: "I didn't hit anyone… I just—just slapped the table a bit. I didn't touch them with a single finger!"

The children sobbed: "She was scolding us…"

Mu Wanyao felt deeply wronged: "I can't even scold people, okay!"

Suddenly, there was a grievance on both sides.

The children felt Mu Wanyao was too fierce and wanted to hit them; while Mu Wanyao felt she was so gentle that it was truly too difficult to do anything.

When both were deeply aggrieved, Yan Shang sighed, had no choice but to come in, and sat down beside Mu Wanyao.

Mu Wanyao sat behind him angrily, watching him pick up the book she had slapped on the table, saying softly: "This sister just has a slightly quick temper; she didn't mean to hit or scold you. She is kind enough to come and teach you to read… her knowledge is much better than mine; you should learn as much from her as possible. How could you chase her away?"

The children were sobbing as they were led by Yan Shang to apologize to Mu Wanyao.

Mu Wanyao’s expression softened, but she still didn't know what to do about this group of children. So she hid behind Yan Shang and watched him teach this group of stupid children how to read.

She really… couldn't stand anyone being this stupid.

And a whole group of idiots at that.

Yan Shang comforted them on both sides, letting everyone quiet down and obediently follow him to recognize characters. It had taken Mu Wanyao half an hour to let them learn one character, but Yan Shang was able to let them read a sentence fluently.

And it was very obvious that the children liked Yan Shang very much.

When Mu Wanyao was here just now, they couldn't wait to hide ten feet away from her. But now that Yan Shang was here, even if that fierce young Princess was next to Yan Shang, the children were pushing and pulling, lining up to surround them, looking expectantly at Yan Shang reading to them.

Yan Shang finally said softly: "…All right, you won't remember any more than this. Remember these few characters today, and I will check your progress when I have time another day."

The children looked up: "But big brother Yan, aren't you moving away?"

Yan Shang was stunned, then pity welled up in his eyes, knowing that once he left, the person in charge of reading for these children would likely be gone. He could only say: "I will come back to see you when I have time."

Hearing that he was indeed going to leave, the children held back their tears, reluctant to part, begging him not to go.

Mu Wanyao watched from behind with great curiosity, then calmed her heart, thinking that Yan Shang was probably truly very good to this group of children.

A person can feign being good among companions for a long time because they have something to gain; but if he was this good to a group of children with whom he had no interest, then… perhaps he was just that good.

A little girl’s eyes were red from crying, and she said loudly: "Big brother, do you have a wife?"

Yan Shang: "…"

His expression was peculiar; he only wondered why he was frequently asked this question recently.

He said: "Not yet."

The little girl said happily: "Then when I grow up, can I marry you, big brother?"

Yan Shang: "Uh…"

Mu Wanyao immediately grabbed his wrist.

The little girl didn't wait for Yan Shang’s answer, but she was truly bold. She leaned over to hug Yan Shang’s neck and kissed him on the face: "Big brother, I like you so much."

Mu Wanyao: "In your dreams!"

The little girl wailed loudly, frightened by her, and fell to the ground.

And seeing that Mu Wanyao still had the posture of standing up and continuing to get angry, Yan Shang quickly grasped her hand, not letting her lose her temper and frighten this group of children—

A quarter of an hour later, the children were finally chased out by Yan Shang.

Mu Wanyao sat beside Yan Shang with an ugly expression.

Yan Shang looked at her silently.

He said softly: "What are you getting angry about with a group of children?"

Mu Wanyao said: "She kissed you!"

Yan Shang: "…They are just children."

Mu Wanyao: "She said she wanted to marry you!"

Yan Shang: "…They are just children."

Seeing him be so indifferent, Mu Wanyao became even more frustrated. She blurted out: "But I have never kissed you!"

As soon as these words were out, the room fell silent instantly.

Yan Shang turned his face away, avoiding her gaze.

His lips moved, as if he wanted to speak, but his throat rolled, and he pressed the words back down.

Back and forth twice, he still didn't say a word.

Mu Wanyao felt the air was a little hot, making her heart panic.

She found it even more unbearable for him not to speak.

She said unhappily: "What do you want to say?"

A long time passed before she heard Yan Erlang, who was standing with his back to her, say in a low voice: "…Have you really never kissed anyone?"

Mu Wanyao: "…"

Sitting with him, both were silent.