C16 Reporting to

Jing Bao returned home late at night. Once in his room, Mann brought him a freshly brewed herbal concoction. Jing Bao pinched his nose and drank it down. As he set the bowl aside, he noticed a red cedar chest in the room.

"Where did this come from?"

Mann lifted the lid. "It was sent from the Marquis Mansion as a gift for the Seventh Master. I took a look, and it's filled with rare items. Besides the gift, Fourth Miss's mother added an extra twenty silver dollars."

Jing Bao paused for a moment. "Keep it. Tomorrow, remind my mother to send some fine silk to Fourth Miss's mother next time she visits the Marquis Mansion."

"What about this one from Fifth Miss? How should we handle it?"

Mann picked out an embroidered pouch featuring a pair of mandarin ducks. Jing Bao felt a bit overwhelmed; they'd only met once, and already she was sending such a bold symbol!

"She's quite daring! Just hold onto it for now. We'll return it when the right opportunity arises."

Mann noted everything down and added, "That boy, Yuanji, is already in our courtyard. Do you want to see him?"

Jing Bao lazily flopped onto the bed. "I'll see him tomorrow!"

The next day, Jing Bao met Yuanji in the study. The boy was about twelve or thirteen, with delicate and striking features, almost like a girl's.

As Jing Bao was sizing up Yuanji, Yuanji was also taking a good look at her, wondering if Seventh Master liked his clumsy appearance. Just as he was feeling anxious, he heard Seventh Master speak gently, "Aside from Mann, you're the first to enter this room. Yuanji, I'll be relying on you from now on."

Yuanji had never heard such words before, and he was both surprised and delighted, unsure of how to respond. His face flushed as he banged his head on the ground three times, making Jing Bao laugh.

"What are you doing, trying to see if your forehead is tougher than these stone tiles?"

Yuanji scratched his head, chuckled awkwardly, and stayed silent, his face still red.

Mann pulled him up and carefully explained everything he needed to know, repeating the instructions several times to make sure he remembered.

Around noon, Yan returned, followed by two imposing guards with swords. Jing Bao led them to see Mrs. Lu, who smiled and rewarded them with some silver, not asking a single question about why they were stationed in her courtyard.

She knew, of course, that after the incident, someone might target her and her daughter, and this was Jing Bao's special arrangement.

After a few busy days, the time for school arrived. Early that morning, Jing Bao bid farewell to her mother and a few others who weren't particularly important, and leisurely set off on the road to the Imperial College.

The carriage wheels clattered over the cobblestone road, and Jing Bao's heart was pounding. The calm expression on her face was just a facade for others. She shared the same concerns as Mrs. Lu.

How would she manage basic necessities? More importantly, as the weather grew warmer and her clothes thinner, what would she do as her body continued to change day by day?

The carriage came to a steady stop at the entrance of the college. Soon, she reached the registration area for new students. A row of long tables and chairs was set up, and about a dozen new students were already lined up in front.

Jing Bao handed her belongings to Yan, instructing them to find a shady spot to wait, while she quietly joined the line. After a short wait, the line barely moved, and the sun was getting hotter, threatening to turn everyone into dried-up husks.

Jing Bao wore a frustrated expression, thinking, "Why does enrolling have to be so slow?"

Suddenly, she heard a commotion behind her. Turning around, she saw four servants carrying a sedan chair, swaying as they approached. The person seated inside used a fan to cover their face. Once the chair stopped, they lowered the fan lazily and glanced up.

That glance stunned Jing Bao. She had seen many attractive people, but this person's beauty was breathtaking, almost suffocating! Especially their eyes, which in the sunlight, held a mix of laziness and mischief, as if both intoxicated and clear-headed, captivating anyone who looked into them.

Jing Bao was momentarily lost in thought. Even if he didn't attend college, he could still live comfortably just by relying on his looks, with wealth piling up around him.

A "beauty" gracefully lifted her dress, stepped down from a soft carriage, and confidently stood in front of Jing Bao after scanning the area.

Immediately, two young servants approached, both with clear, handsome features. One held an umbrella, while the other offered tea.

Suddenly, the beauty turned her head, looking at him with disdain.

"You, step back a bit. You reek of sweat; it's suffocating me. I can't stand it, makes me want to puke!"

Jing Bao couldn't help but twitch at the corners of his mouth but still retreated further back.

The beauty looked Jing Bao up and down, raised her head proudly, and said coldly, "I hate when others wear the same color as me. You should have some self-awareness. Not everyone looks good in white. Wearing that outfit... tsk tsk tsk, compared to me, don't you feel ashamed?"

Ashamed, my foot!

Inwardly, Jing Bao imagined a million wild horses galloping across vast plains.

She forced a smile, "Sir, I apologize. I'm currently in mourning, so I can only wear white."

The beauty was momentarily taken aback, then frowned and turned away.

At this point, the servant holding the umbrella, out of sympathy, comforted Jing Bao, "Sir, my condolences."

Jing Bao: "It's okay. When it passed, it was peaceful, didn't thrash around. I'm not sad at all."

The servant hesitated for a moment before asking, "Who are you mourning for, sir?"

Jing Bao looked sorrowful and replied, "My parrot. I had it for ten years, and we were really close. Even though it was just an animal, I wrote a eulogy and burned it for the bird, wishing it a better next life, maybe as a human who can speak!"

Everyone fell silent, except for one person who burst out laughing.

Jing Bao looked over to see who it was, and, of course, it was Sanyi, the dapper young man.

Sanyi, after laughing his fill, swaggered over to "Beauty" and said with a smirk, "Gao Chao, looks like you're having quite a day, huh?"

Gao Chao lifted his chin, glanced up at Sanyi, and sneered, "To hell with it, I'm done with this lousy team."

"Sir?" the servant called out, concerned.

"What are you worried about? Just tell Libationer Gu that the smell of money is making me sick, and I need to head back to the dorm to rest."

Beauty Gao pointed his fan at Sanyi, a warning in his gesture.

Sanyi shrugged, unfazed, like a pig that doesn't fear boiling water.

Beauty Gao twirled his fan again, this time pointing it at Jing Bao, and with a forced smile, asked, "What's your name?"