The gurgling rain outside the house brings the chill of late autumn.
Mother Qi looked outside and said, "It looks like the rain won't stop for a while. Bao'er is going home today. Rong'er, can you call a carriage to pick him up?"
Qi Surong put down the needle and thread in his hand, stood up and said, "I'll pick it up in person, just to see how Subao is doing in Yingshu Pavilion."
"That's fine, pay attention to safety." Qi's mother warned worriedly.
Qi Surong tidied up, took Ping'er on the carriage and drove to Yingshu Pavilion.
Su Bao has been under Xu Chen's family for more than a month and usually goes home every seven days. Every time he goes home, Qi Surong will ask about his current study status. Su Bao is smart and alert, and has made remarkable progress since becoming a teacher, but occasionally there will be a hint of melancholy between his eyebrows.
Qi Surong has been busy recently, so he has neglected Subao. Having learned from the past, she had to take heed.
"Miss, Yingshu Pavilion has arrived." The coachman stopped the carriage and turned around and said.
Qi Surong opened the curtain, and Yingshu Pavilion was right opposite. There were only two or three people walking hurriedly on the street, but several carriages passed by.
She looked to the other side. Not far from Yingshu Pavilion, there was a medium-sized academy. Although it was not as good as Baiyang Academy, it was still quite prestigious. Because this academy only admits students from famous families, with less than 200 students, it includes 30% of the powerful people in Kyoto.
As the number of carriages picking up students increased, the street gradually became crowded and the speed of the carriages slowed down. Many students gathered in the attic in front of the academy to wait. The patter of rain gradually mixed with the sounds of various voices.
Qi Surong was about to ask Ping'er to go to Yingshu Pavilion to pick up Su Bao, but she saw the door of Yingshu Pavilion opened. Two people walked out of the gate. One of them was Su Bao, and the other was sixteen or seventeen years old. He had an ordinary appearance but outstanding temperament. He should be another student of Xu Chen.
The young man said to Su Bao, "I'll help you hire a carriage to take you home later."
"Thank you, Brother Ji Yun." Su Bao thanked him politely.
The young man smiled and said: "Baby, please call me Brother Ji Yun. If you are outside, please call me Brother Ji."
"Brother Ji Yun, how many times have I told you not to call me 'baby'." Su Bao said with a sullen face.
"Don't you think the title 'baby' is very affectionate?"
"Not at all."
Ji Yun shrugged and was about to say something else when he caught a glimpse of a group of students walking along the street wall from the corner of his eye.
"Brother Ji, I haven't seen you for a long time, but you still have the same style." The leader, a young man in green, bowed his hand to him.
"It turns out it's Mr. Cao, you're polite." The other party behaved in a pretentious manner and looked ill-intentioned. Ji Yun responded lukewarmly.
"Young Master of the Qi family," Cao Xiang turned to Su Bao and said hypocritically, "Would you like me to take you home on the way? With your family's current situation, you must not be able to afford a carriage."
As soon as he finished speaking, several people behind him burst into laughter.
Qi Subao's face turned pale and he looked at Cao Xiang with anger in his eyes.
Ji Yun took a step forward and said: "Brother Cao, you just lost to me at the cultural meeting, but now you want to bully even children?"
"Hmph, the literary competition is held once a month. If I lose to you this time, I will definitely win back next time. Don't be proud!" Cao Xiang said coldly, "On your side, don't you know that this young master of the Qi family is the son of a guilty minister? ? If you protect him like this, aren't you afraid of getting yourself into trouble in the future?"
"Brother Cao doesn't have to worry about my affairs."
"Haha, I heard that in order to hire a teacher for the young master, the Qi family did not hesitate to let Miss Qi personally 'visit' Mr. Xu." A man in green clothes behind Cao Xiang suddenly pointed out, "It is said that Miss Qi is beautiful. Her temperament is refined, and most men probably can’t resist such beauty, right?”
This statement contains insinuations and is obviously insulting.
Ji Yun said angrily: "Luo Chengyang, don't talk nonsense!"
"I'm not talking nonsense. Not long ago, someone saw Miss Qi meeting Mr. Xu in the temple. After that, the Qi family's child became Mr. Xu's student. If this matter is not related, who will believe it?"
"Haha, that's it." Cao Xiang laughed, "I wonder why Mr. Xu would accept the son of a criminal. It turns out that Miss Qi also contributed to it."
"Miss Qi is well-known in the capital, so she naturally has some tricks." Luo Chengyang said.
"Oh, what a pity. I am of low status and have no chance to see her beautiful face." Another person said with regret.
"Brother Guan, the Qi family is no longer what it used to be. From now on, Qi Surong will have to bow respectfully when he sees us. Why do you need to demean yourself?"
"That makes sense."
The others also agreed.
"I will definitely go and meet this young lady someday."
"She has always been arrogant and arrogant. Now she is in a state of decline. She must be too shameless to show her face again."
"That's right."
"By the way, how about I just take her as my concubine?" Cao Xiang said suddenly.
"What a great idea!" The others agreed, "Hearing what you said makes me excited."
"Okay, I'll ask someone to take care of it later."
"Hey, let's see who strikes first!"
"Don't grab it from me."
Several people were talking and laughing in a frivolous tone as if no one was watching.
"They went too far!" In the carriage, Ping'er's face was full of anger, and he glared at the people across the street.
They spoke loudly, which reached Qi Surong and Heping'er's ears intermittently.
Qi Surong had no expression on her face, watching Subao quietly through the car window.
"Miss, we don't want to go out for the time being. If we are ridiculed by them in person, it will damage the reputation of the lady." Ping'er said while holding his breath.
"Slandering me behind my back won't damage my reputation?"
Ping'er bit his lip and said sadly: "Then what should we do?"
"We are here to take Su Bao home, don't worry about other things."
"How can you not care?" Ping'er said angrily, "They actually belittled the young lady so much, and even said they would take the young lady as their concubine. It is simply unreasonable!"
Qi Surong smiled. She had heard too many such dirty words in her previous life.
"Don't be angry for irrelevant people." Qi Surong picked up the paper umbrella and said, "You stay in the car, I will pick up Su Bao."
"Miss, let me go. It's raining heavily outside and your clothes will be stained."
"No, this time, I have to pick it up myself." Qi Surong gave way to Kai Ping'er, opened the paper umbrella, stepped out of the carriage, and stepped on the water-stained and muddy ground...
"Shut up!" Su Bao's cheeks turned red with anger and he couldn't help shouting.
This group of people not only insulted Mr. Xu, but also insulted his sister. How noble my sister is, how can I allow them to speak dirty words!
"Who are you? You dare to talk to me in this tone?" Cao Xiang said condescendingly, "We can say whatever we want, what do you do?"
Su Bao gritted his teeth and glared at them with tears in his eyes.
Ji Yun said coldly: "Mr. Cao, pay attention to your words. No matter what the Qi family is, Miss Qi is also a daughter of a famous family and a good woman. How can it be the behavior of a gentleman to slander her reputation at will?"
"A gentleman?" Cao Xiang said disdainfully, "People have high and low status. To treat the nobles is to be a gentleman, but to the lowly people, why do you need to know the etiquette?"
"Ah!" Su Bao shouted angrily, rushing toward Cao Xiang fiercely like a little lion.
"Subao." Ji Yun grabbed him with quick eyes and hands. Now that Su Bao was just a commoner, he might cause trouble if he collided with the noble children.
"Let me go, let me go!" Su Bao struggled desperately, unable to suppress the anger in his heart.
"You should let him go." Cao Xiang said with a leisurely smile, "He is the son of a general. He must have some boxing and kicking skills. We can learn from each other."
"Cao Xiang!" Ji Yun shouted angrily.
"Qi Subao, I, Cao Xiang, have taken over your sister. Let her wait and become my concubine." Cao Xiang declared boldly.
"Don't even think about it!" Su Bao struggled more and more fiercely. Ji Yun almost broke free from him, and his white and tender wrists were all bruised by him.
Cao Xiang and others laughed when they saw him like this, as if he was teasing a toy.
"Subao."
At this moment, a clear voice reached everyone's ears through the sound of rain.
Su Bao was stunned for a moment, stopped struggling, and turned around to look.
The rest of the people also looked towards the place where the sound came from.
In the haze, I saw a woman standing quietly in the rain holding an aqua blue umbrella.
Her clothes are simple and her figure is graceful. She has a single jade hairpin in her flowing bun, and her hair hangs down behind her. Her temperament is as elegant and tranquil as a clear lotus.
She walked slowly and lightly, and the rain and mud stained her skirt and cloth shoes, but she didn't care, her gentle eyes always fell on Su Bao.
At this moment, all the surrounding sounds seemed to disappear, leaving only the figure of the woman in the rain.
A touch of colorful clouds and a soft song.
That moment of grace is heart-warming.
No one even saw her face clearly, but they sighed as if the moon was covered by light clouds.
"Subao, we're going home." Qi Surong stretched out his hand towards him and smiled slightly.
Su Bao looked at his sister in the rain, and the tears that had not been shed could no longer be held back, and burst into his eyes.
He broke away from Ji Yun's hand, ran towards Qi Surong quickly, and hugged her waist hard.
Su Rong touched Su Bao's head, then raised his head and glanced at the students, and said in a clear voice: "Be cautious in your actions to strengthen your ambitions, and be cautious in your words to uphold your virtues. If you are careless in what you do, you will regret what you followed. A gentleman is cautious and independent." "
After saying this, she took Su Bao's hand, turned around and left, gradually disappearing from everyone's sight.
After a long time, someone hesitated and said, "Is that Miss Qi just now?"
"Obviously it's her."
"Famous is not as good as meeting. Miss Qi is indeed extraordinary."
"Brother Cao, are you sure you want to take this girl as your concubine?"
Cao Xiang moved his mouth, but suddenly felt his throat was dry and couldn't speak. He didn't want to admit that he had just been dazzled by the beauty of the Qi family lady, and he felt ashamed at the first glance.
Ji Yun snorted coldly: "A worm in the grass wants to capture the bright moon in the sky? What a fool."
With these words, he turned around and walked back to Yingshu Pavilion, slamming the door shut with a bang.
Cao Xiang's face turned red, his eyes were fierce, and he said angrily: "What does Qi Surong mean? She is just a commoner woman now. I still don't believe it, so what's the difficulty in accepting a commoner woman as a concubine?"
"Brother Cao, I support you."
"I support you too."
"Hey!" Luo Chengyang suddenly suggested, "Why don't we make a bet on whether Brother Cao can marry a beautiful woman?"
"Good suggestion, I'll join." Everyone responded.
"What do you want to bet on?" Cao Xiang asked.
"If you lose, I'll treat everyone to a romantic night at Fengyue Tower."
"That's good, I agree."
"What if I win?"
Luo Chengyang thought for a moment and said with a smile: "Then each of us will give you a concubine gift."
"Okay, it's settled!"