Jing Li was so angry that he wanted to throw the little thing out.
He repeated to himself several times that this was his cub, he gave birth to him, and only then did he suppress his anger.
Qin Zhao sighed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and stood up to hold the little fish in his palm: "Little fool, aren't you uncomfortable because of the lack of water?"
Looking at the little fish's appearance, you can tell that he doesn't feel uncomfortable at all, and he even rubs it happily in Qin Zhao's palm.
Qin Zhao suppressed his laughter and turned his head to Jing Li and said, "He really looks like you."
Jing Li pursed his lips unhappily and did not answer.
How unlike him! He was not so ignorant when he was a child.
Qin Zhao stood up and put the little fish back into the fish tank. The latter anxiously wagged its tail and wanted to jump out again.
"No, stay in the water." Qin Zhao pushed him back and reasoned with him, "Do you know what you have disturbed?"
The little fish is wagging its tail in the water.
Qin Zhao measured the size of the fish tank with his palm and threatened: "If you jump out again, I will make a lid to lock you in, and you will never get out again."
The little fish understood what he said. Its fins shrank and its body floated down onto the small bamboo bed.
"Be good and sleep well." Qin Zhao touched his head and then turned back to the bed.
Jing Li asked curiously, "How do you know how to deal with him?"
"because… "
Because that's how he treated this kid's father back then.
But the little koi was not so sensible at that time. He had to use a lot of effort to stop the little thing from jumping out every night to prevent itself from dying of dehydration.
Qin Zhao didn't continue talking. He lowered his head and kissed Jing Li on the side of his face: "Go to sleep."
"Are you sleeping already?"
Qin Zhao looked back in the direction of the little fish. The little thing didn't run out again. It just swam around in the water grass boredly. "Your son is still awake. Are you still interested?"
"You are obviously still..." Jing Li didn't finish his words, he stood up and put down the gauze curtain, "This, this will do..."
The young husband took a bath and lit incense tonight, and now he took the initiative to let down the gauze curtain. How could Qin Zhao refuse
"It would be disrespectful to refuse." Qin Zhao gently pulled open Jing Li's belt and whispered, "I'll be gentler."
Qin Zhao really moved very gently, and only the bed creaked from time to time.
They were clearly in their own home, but they had the illusion of having an affair. Jing Li was shaking violently, and soon became overwhelmed by the other party's gentle movements. She couldn't help but let out a sob, which was blocked by Qin Zhao's lips.
The little fish in the water raised its head curiously, but didn't see anything, so it continued to lower its head and play with the water plants.
The two of them quarreled for most of the night, and the next day, even Qin Zhao woke up only after dawn.
Jing Li nestled in Qin Zhao's arms. Feeling the person beside him move, he frowned impatiently: "Don't make noise..."
"Okay, I won't bother you." Qin Zhao rubbed Jing Li's hair soothingly, and then said, "But if I don't get up, your son will starve to death."
Jing Li: “…”
Jing Li didn't move, but Qin Zhao knew that he must be disliking his own child in his heart again.
After a while, Jing Li let go of his hand, rolled up the quilt and turned over.
Only a furry back of the head was left for Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao chuckled and got up to get food for the little fish.
After another half hour, Jing Li finally got enough sleep and turned back into the father who enjoyed playing and joking with his son.
In the afternoon, Qin Zhao prepared to go out.
According to Mrs. Gu, Gu Heng was unable to get out of bed in the morning, so his husband was asked to go in the afternoon and arrive at Gu's house before 4:15 p.m.
Qin Zhao simply waited at home until 2:15 p.m. before taking his sleepy little husband out of his arms.
"Is it time?" It was all because of the excessive noise last night that Jing Li was so sleepy that he couldn't open his eyes.
Qin Zhao said: "Well, I'm going out."
Jing Li rubbed his eyes and asked softly: "When will you come back..."
Qin Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Before dark at the latest, if you're hungry, just eat dinner by yourself. You don't have to wait for me."
"Okay." Jing Li responded softly, groped and pulled Qin Zhao's collar, raised his head and kissed him on the lips, "I give you the good luck of me and Yuzai, everything will go well today."
Qin Zhao smiled and kissed him back: "I will."
At four quarters after pm, Qin Zhao appeared at Gu's house on time.
Madam Gu had greeted all the servants yesterday, and when the doorman saw him, he immediately led him into the mansion.
This time, he did not go through the small door he had gone through yesterday, but the main gate.
The servant of the Gu Mansion led Qin Zhao to a small courtyard with exquisite decorations and pushed open a room: "This is our young master's study. Please wait here for a moment."
Qin Zhao thanked him, and the servant served him tea before leaving the room.
This room was obviously not often used. Although there was no dust, neither the paper and pens on the desk nor the books on the bookshelf showed any signs of use or reading.
This suddenly reminded Qin Zhao of the study room in the home of the county magistrate in the county town.
Such good books were all treated as decorations.
Qin Zhao sighed silently, and suddenly saw something else.
On the other wall of the study, there is a calligraphy piece hanging.
The ink is a bit old, but it is well preserved. The handwriting is bold and elegant.
There are four big characters written on it.
—“Practice diligently and achieve far-reaching goals.”
Qin Zhao stared at it for a moment, then retracted his gaze, turned around and walked to the bookshelf, and took out a book at random. He sat down at the table and began to read openly.
After he had read more than ten pages, he heard footsteps outside the door.
Then a young boy's voice sounded: "Why are you touching my things?"
Qin Zhao paused in turning the pages of the book and raised his head.
The young man in gorgeous clothes stood by the door, frowning at him, his handsome and childish face full of displeasure.
Qin Zhao closed the book slowly and said calmly, "You are late."
Gu Heng snorted coldly and stepped into the study room: "You are the new teacher my mother mentioned. They said you are the top two candidates this year?"
Qin Zhao: “Yes.”
Gu Heng added: "What's so great about being the first in two cases? I've had many successful candidates come to my house before, but they couldn't teach me. Do you think you can?"
"You can give it a try."
Qin Zhao's lukewarm attitude made Gu Heng even more unhappy, and he challenged him, "Okay, let's give it a try and see what you can do."
Qin Zhao pointed to the chair beside the table and said, "Sit down."
Gu Heng looked at him for a moment, then walked over and sat down.
Qin Zhao said: "I heard from Madam Gu that you have finished studying the Analects?"
Gu Heng propped up his chin and said impatiently, "Yes."
"The Analects of Confucius, Daode, line 7. Please recite it to me."
Gu Heng: “…”
"Zi, Zi said..." Gu Heng stumbled over these two words and couldn't continue, so he simply said, "This young master doesn't remember."
"Everyone's mistakes are due to their own party. By observing their mistakes, you can know whether they are benevolent or not." Qin Zhao explained, "It means that you only need to observe the mistakes a person makes to know whether he has a benevolent heart."
Gu Heng said "Oh" and it took him a while to come back to his senses. He said angrily: "You scolded me?!"
Qin Zhao retracted his gaze: "You need to relearn the Analects. Open the book."
Gu Heng stood up and walked out without even touching the Analects that he had placed on the table early in the morning.
Just as he reached the door, he stopped again: "You won't stop me?"
Qin Zhao had already opened the book in front of him again and said calmly, "If you don't want to learn, why should I keep you here?"
Gu Heng frowned: "But my mother hired you to teach me to read."
"That's true, and your wife has already promised that she would not drive me away unless I took the initiative to refuse to teach any more." Qin Zhao glanced at him and said indifferently, "If you don't want to learn, then forget it. I'm still happy to get paid for nothing."
"You don't look like a scholar at all!" Gu Heng's ears turned red with anger, and he said sternly, "I'll tell my mother right now!"
He stepped out of the room and stopped again.
Of course he could go to his mother and cry now. His mother has always doted on him the most. If he insisted on not wanting this gentleman, his mother would definitely not take this verbal promise seriously.
But that would be... so embarrassing.
As if she was afraid of him.
And if this person goes outside and says something, how will the Gu family save face
Gu Heng turned his head and saw the man still sitting behind the table, looking relaxed and comfortable.
If he hadn't actively refused to teach anymore, the Gu family wouldn't have driven him away. This agreement was clearly a provocation to him.
He was provoking Gu Heng and there was no way he could be forced to leave.
Thinking of this, Gu Heng suddenly laughed and went back into the house: "Sir, please don't blame me. I was impulsive just now. I have figured it out now."
Qin Zhao didn't even raise his head: "Then open the book."
"No hurry." Gu Heng walked up to Qin Zhao, took the book from his hand, and said, "Before class starts, I want to go somewhere with the teacher."
Qin Zhao: "Where?"
Gu Heng said: "You will know if you come with me."
"Why should I agree to you?"
"If you are willing to accompany me, I promise to be well behaved in the following time." Gu Heng said, "Although my mother promised not to drive you away, if I continue to oppose you, you will not have an easy time in the mansion."
Qin Zhao laughed: "You mean, as long as I accompany you, you will study hard."
"right."
Qin Zhao: "Lead the way."
The carriage stopped by the roadside. Qin Zhao lifted the curtain and looked out, frowning: "Gambling house?"
"That's right." Gu Heng was helped by the servant to jump off the carriage. He tilted his head to look at him and said with a smile, "Why are you still standing there? Get off the carriage and go in with me."
The gambling house that Gu Heng brought Qin Zhao to was the largest in Jiangling Prefecture. Ordinary gambling houses would only open during the night market, but this one was the only one that was open day and night.
Qin Zhao looked at Gu Heng's back, refused the servant's help, and got out of the car by himself.
The gambling house was filled with smoke and dimly lit.
The lobby was crowded with people, and several gambling tables were lined up in a row, with people surrounding each table.
There were many people smoking in the casino, and the air was filled with various unknown smells. Qin Zhao frowned and saw a waiter coming up to him: "Hey, Master Gu, how come you have time to come here today?"
Gu Heng was also a little overwhelmed by the smell inside, and took out a banknote from his sleeve: "Bring friends to play, the old rules."
"Okay!" The clerk took the banknote and left happily.
Gu Heng turned back triumphantly, looking at Qin Zhao with an unfriendly expression, and asked, "What's the matter, sir, are you scared?"
Qin Zhao: "You shouldn't come to this kind of place."
"Sure enough, this is what a nerd would say." Gu Heng said disdainfully, "Are you going to tell me next that playing with things is not the way of a gentleman?"
Qin Zhao shook his head: "This place is full of mixed people. You are young and shouldn't be hanging around in such a place."
Gu Heng's expression changed.
He looked away: "What do you know? Rich people in the city all play like this. Oh, I almost forgot, you came from a poor and remote place, so of course you don't understand."
The guy quickly came back with the exchanged chips. Gu Heng didn't count them. He turned his head and asked Qin Zhao: "Sir, do you want to play a little? I can lend you some money."
Qin Zhao asked: "You brought me here just for this?"
"If I were a pedantic scholar who couldn't tolerate any grain of sand in my eyes, I would definitely think you were hopeless and back off. But if I'm just a show-off, that would be even better. You can lend me money for fun, and I might lose it all. Not only would I have no face to stay in the Gu Mansion, but I would also owe you a large sum of money."
Qin Zhao said: "Were the previous gentlemen also forced away by you in this way?"
Gu Heng threw the chips to the servant beside him and frowned, "What does it have to do with you? Do you want to play or not?"
"Play." Qin Zhao said, "But it's just you and me."
Gu Heng asked: "What do you mean?"
Qin Zhao: "Let's make a bet. If I beat you, you have to listen to me from now on and study hard at home."
Gu Heng: "What if you lose?"
"I'm leaving the Gu Mansion."
"make a deal!"
A gambling table was cleared in the casino, and Qin Zhao and Gu Heng sat on both sides of the table, with a gambling cup in front of them.
Gu Heng threw out ten taels of chips and looked at Qin Zhao with a smile: "Comparing the size, you know the rules, right, sir?"
The last two words took him very seriously.
Qin Zhao slowly pushed out the only chip in front of him.
—He didn’t bring much silver with him when he went out today, so he borrowed this from Gu Heng.
"Who is Master Gu playing with again?"
"Why are you only pressing so little? This is not Master Gu's style. Master Gu, come play with me later. Let's play big!"
Gu Heng is quite famous in this casino, but not because he is good at gambling, but because he is generous.
The so-called gambling relies mostly on luck. The money that ordinary people win in a day's gambling may not be as much as what they win in a single bet with Gu Heng, so naturally everyone wants to play with him.
"Shut up, everyone." Gu Heng shouted, "Let's get started, Mr. Qin."
They both raised their gambling cups at the same time.
Gu Heng originally thought that a scholar like Qin Zhao, who had just come from a mountain village, would not have played this kind of gambling game before. However, he did not expect that the other party was not at all awkward when he started, and shook the gambling cup slowly and steadily, which obviously was not his first time.
His eyes darkened slightly, and he had a vague sense of foreboding.
The cup was opened, twelve to fifteen, Qin Zhao won.
"Is that all right?" Qin Zhao pushed the gambling cup forward and said calmly, "Come back with me to study."
Gu Heng didn't move: "One more round."
"You promised..."
Gu Heng interrupted, "In the last round, if you win, I will go back and I will listen to you from now on."
Qin Zhao sighed slowly.
Gu Heng threw out another ten taels of chips.
But the second game ended in the same way.
Gu Heng didn't believe it, so he pulled Qin Zhao to play the third game.
The third game, the fourth game, the fifth game...
More and more people gathered around the gambling table. Qin Zhao won every time, and Gu Heng soon lost all the chips in front of him.
The look in Gu Heng's eyes when he looked at him gradually changed.
"Go and change it for another fifty taels for me—" Gu Heng reached into his arms, but his expression froze.
There is nothing in my arms.
"Let's stop here today." Qin Zhao stood up in front of the pile of chips. "You lost at least two hundred taels of silver to me. Don't continue."
Gu Heng also stood up: "You are not allowed to leave, I have more at home, wait for me to get it-"
Qin Zhao glanced at the sky outside and said, "It's getting dark. I promised my husband that I would go home before dark."
Gu Heng was startled, and said unwillingly: "It's not even the hour of the dog yet, so Mr. Qin is still henpecked?"
Qin Zhao shook his head: "No, I promised, I must keep it. And..."
If he comes home too late, the little one will be scared.
Qin Zhao didn't explain any more. He pushed the chips in front of him forward and said calmly, "Take this money back. Classes will start at 7:00 tomorrow. You are not allowed to be late or leave early."
After Qin Zhao finished speaking, he turned and left the gambling house.
Before the last ray of light in the sky disappeared, Qin Zhao saw from afar the half-open door of his house and his young husband sitting on the doorstep holding a wooden barrel.
Seeing him appear, Jing Li's eyes lit up, and he stood up and ran towards Qin Zhao: "You're back!"
"No, I smell all over." Qin Zhao hid for a moment and asked, "Why are you here? How long have you been waiting?"
"Not long after." Jing Li said, "I thought you might be back soon, so I came out to take a look."
Qin Zhao glanced at the little fish that was sleeping soundly in the wooden barrel, and felt that things were not as easy as Jing Li said.
He didn't expose her, but took the barrel and walked back with Jing Li in his free hand: "Have you had dinner?"
Jing Li said with a guilty conscience: "No..."
"I guessed it." Qin Zhao smiled and said softly, "Wait for me to change my clothes and go cook for you."
Jing Li: “Yeah!”