Her guards

Chapter 75 Lingyu's Curiosity

"teacher!"

Just as Lingyu was about to cross the covered corridor, she saw Wang Zaitian walking towards the palace where the princess was studying.

Wang Zaitian swaggered closer, hands behind his back, glanced at him, and noticed that Ling Yu wasn't holding a book: "Why are you running around instead of studying?"

Ling Yu frowned and glanced in the direction Wang Zaitian had come from: "Teacher, why are you wandering around instead of studying?"

Wang Zaitian stroked his beard and said, "What do you mean by wandering around? I am the chief priest, and it is my duty to check on the students' classes."

“You didn’t say that before,” Ling Yu said. “You said that the two of us should take this opportunity to read all the books in the library and not get distracted or meddle in other people’s business.”

Wang Zaitian glared at him and shushed him. Students and teachers passing by greeted him with surprise and delight. Wang Zaitian smiled and nodded.

Ling Yu sneered from the side: "Look, everyone is surprised that you came out. What have you been doing? I was reading in seclusion when I heard some students outside saying that you went to watch the princesses read."

Wang Zaitian walked towards the library and said, "You already know all this, why are you asking?"

“How could you possibly watch the princesses read?” Lingyu followed up.

"We have to give His Majesty face no matter what," Wang Zaitian said with a smile.

Ling Yu continued, "Then why didn't the princesses go to see it on their first day?"

Wang Zaitian scoffed, "Going on the first day? How embarrassing would that be for me?"

Ling Yu was speechless; he couldn't win an argument with his teacher.

As they spoke, they arrived at the library, greeted the instructors on duty, and Wang Zaitian walked straight to the top of the path, with Ling Yu following him in.

“I still feel like something’s wrong with you, teacher,” he said, sitting down without picking up his book, pondering what was unusual about the day.

Wang Zaitian's days are simple: eating, reading, sleeping, meeting with the instructors at the National Academy every five days to chat about miscellaneous matters, and attending one long lecture every month.

Today is neither a time for handling miscellaneous tasks nor a time for large lectures, so like the day before yesterday, I only eat and read.

The only anomaly is...

Ah Sheng's cousin!
Ling Yu suddenly raised her head: "Teacher!"

Wang Zaitian was already reading the book when he was startled: "What are you shouting about? Mind your manners as a scholar."

The teacher was even less composed than him when he yelled, Ling Yu muttered to herself, ignoring his accusations, she sat up straight, her eyes fixed intently on Wang Zaitian behind the table: "What did Asheng say in his letter to you?"

Yesterday, he went to the door as usual to bring Ah Sheng in, but he didn't see Ah Sheng. He then asked the tutor in the princess's study, who said that Miss Liu hadn't come.

When a bodyguard has no other way to make a living, and the young lady doesn't study, he can't come to study either.

Ling Yu felt a pang of sadness.

Before leaving home today, he asked the instructor, who said that Miss Liu had arrived. But when he came out, he still didn't see Ah Sheng. It was Ah Sheng's cousin who had come.

The cousin said, "Ah Sheng has gone out on business. Also, he wrote a letter to Mr. Wang and asked Young Master Ling to pass it on."

As expected, he was ordered to stay away and couldn't come. Lingyu took the letter. Ah Sheng was truly a gentleman, very polite. Although he didn't go to see the teacher after arriving, he still wrote a letter to the teacher personally.

He personally delivered the letter to the library, but Wang Zaitian was busy eating dry biscuits and reading, so he only asked him to leave it on the table.

"Teacher, take a look. It was written by Ah Sheng himself," he added.

Then I went back.

Then the students heard that the chief priest had gone to see the princesses reading.

Ling Yu leaned forward and asked, "Did they tell you to look after his young lady, so you went over there to check on her?"

Wang Zaitian raised his head: "His word? Where does he get such influence? You really underestimate your husband."

Ling Yu ignored what he was saying and shook her head, saying, "No, A-Sheng isn't the kind of person who would bother others to look after someone for him."

Although Ah Sheng asked him for help during the selection process, Ah Sheng actually wrote the answers himself.

After enrolling, he asked once if he wanted to take care of Miss Liu, but Ah Sheng smiled and declined, saying that his own young lady was very capable.

He wouldn't even speak to his fellow students, so why would he bother his teacher? That's not A-Sheng's style.

Ling Yu's eyes searched the table.

"Let me see Ah Sheng's letter."

Wang Zaitian waved his hand impatiently: "Go away, go away. Don't look at what is improper. Why are you looking at other people's letters? What do you want to know? Ask him yourself when he comes back."

Ling Yu looked at the desk; the writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone were scattered about, but there were no letters.

"You brat, you never listen to me, you just keep imagining things," Wang Zaitian said indignantly. "I just went to see the princesses studying. Now that I'm at the Imperial Academy, I'm a student. What's wrong with me watching students study? You insist my behavior is suspicious. Well then, I'll just do even more suspicious things..."

He looked at Ling Yu, his eyes narrowing.

"The grand lecture in the middle of the month will be attended by the princess and her companions."

……

Ling Yu left the library carrying two stacks of books.

The teacher is good at sophistry; you can't get anything out of him by asking questions.

But he firmly believed that there must be a reason for the teacher's sudden strange behavior.

When he reached the covered corridor, there was some noise ahead, but it was different from the noise of students leaving get out of class. The sounds of birds chirping and singing were cheerful, indicating that the princess and her companions had finished class.

Ling Yu stopped, intending to avoid it, but then, thinking of Ah Sheng, he subconsciously looked in that direction...

I wonder what task Miss Liu assigned to Ah Sheng.

When can we get Ah Sheng back?
If I had known he was going out, I should have given him two books to carry with him.

But people who are just trying to make a living probably don't have time to read.

A mountain breeze blew by, making the women's laughter even lighter. Ling Yu sighed softly, looked away, and walked towards her study with her books in her arms.

The tall stacks of books obscured the faces of the young students, whose clothes fluttered and whose steps were light.

"Ah Luo."

There was a voice calling softly.

Mo Zheng turned her gaze away from Ling Yu, who had walked away, and smiled at Liu Chan in front of her.

Liu Chan didn't notice the students around her. Although school was over, she was still a little nervous and asked in a low voice, "Should we still follow behind the princess?"

Mo Zheng looked at the princesses in front of her.

Princess Heisei listened with a smile as she recounted the nervousness of the young ladies when they were randomly selected for inspection by the chief priest.

This time, Princess Wuyang and Princess Nangong did not walk away with long faces and blank expressions.

Princess Nangong patted her chest and said, "I was really scared when the Grand Master came. Will Father Emperor laugh at me for being so spineless?"

"Then just don't tell Father Emperor when you see him later," Princess Wuyang said, pouting.

Although she still pouted, she was beaming with joy, emphasizing the words "later" and "meeting the Emperor" so that the ladies around her could hear her clearly.

Things are different now; Father Emperor will meet with them now.

Princess Heisei ignored her boasting; in any case, she was genuinely pleased that the chief priest had come today.

Yang Hui was dejected. The fact that the chief priest hadn't chased away the three lowly maids on the spot made her even angrier. She had no mood to squeeze behind the princess and walked listlessly at the back of the crowd.

Seeing this, Mo Zheng said in a low voice, "No need, the two princesses don't need our support."

Liu Chan nodded.

Yang Luo, who was always alone, took a step back.

“Don’t worry.” She said softly, a smile on her face. “The chief priest didn’t kick us out, so it seems he has agreed to this arrangement.”

Liu Chan said with lingering fear, "To be honest, I was really scared when the chief priest came in." Then she looked at Yang Luo and said, "Miss Liu, you are so calm. You even dared to stand up and ask the chief priest to look at your homework."

Yang Luo lowered her voice: "As Miss's maid, of course I must protect her."

She looked at Mo Zheng.

Mo Zheng smiled and said, "The chief priest is a very good teacher. No matter what the reason, as long as the person can come, is willing to come, and wants to study, it is a good thing for him."

Yang Luo looked at her, and that strange feeling resurfaced: "Ah, Miss is very familiar with the Chief Priest..."

“I know,” Liu Chan interjected, smiling at Mo Zheng. “Miss A Luo understands scholars best.”

Indeed, Ah Sheng truly understands scholars and is adept at persuading them. Yang Luo glanced at Liu Chan and couldn't help but smile.

Mo Zheng was about to raise her eyebrows and smile smugly, but then she realized what she was doing, so she raised her sleeve to cover her mouth and chuckled softly. She was a girl now.

……

……

"Look, look."

A young woman whispered to Jiang Rui beside her.

"That Liu Chan was quite enthusiastic towards the two new Miss Yangs."

Jiang Rui glanced back and said calmly, "It's not surprising. With Yang Hui blocking her way, she can't get close to Princess Pingcheng, so she can only try to get close to Princess Wuyang and Princess Nangong. It's much easier to get close to these two new Miss Yangs than to get close to Yang Hui."

His companion looked on with a sudden realization, then glanced back at him, his expression turning even more disgusted.

Jiang Rui clenched her hands in front of her, a hint of shame flashing across her usually indifferent face. She shouldn't have talked about and speculated about others like that. Even if this person didn't get along with her, she could tolerate it if they didn't like her. But this Miss Liu had humiliated Zhu Yunxiao.

That was her lover; she couldn't bear it.

(End of this chapter)