The Exiled Life of the Noble Girl

Chapter 174

Li Mingwei arranged for the people her mother had brought over, so the Tangs didn't have too much to deal with. Except for the maids and servants who personally attended to Tang Jue, Tang Jue had dismissed the rest and sent them back to Anhuai County.

Tang Jue was busy with his studies and came back very late every day. There were no changes in the people around him, so he didn't notice anything at first. It was only when he saw the signboard of the Liu family's residence erected at the main gate that he clicked his tongue, thinking, "My sister-in-law is really rich to be able to buy such a big property just like that."

He walked to the back garden and saw Li Mingwei sitting there. He couldn't help but ask, "Sister-in-law, did you buy this property?"

Li Mingwei gave a light laugh and poured him a cup of tea. "It was mine to begin with."

"Huh?" Tang Jue turned back and saw the smiling face of the steward, realizing that the reason they didn't let him stay in the main house was because of this. He had been so ignorant before.

He took a sip of the tea and saw some potted flowers on the ground. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed a small child squatting behind the flower pots, playing in the mud with his back turned to them.

"Sister-in-law, why are you letting Xiao Bing play in the mud? That's so dirty."

"He's not playing in the mud! He's planting flowers!" Li Mingwei said, unable to hold back.

If she didn't let him plant some flowers, he wouldn't know the hardship of growing flowers that his mother had. She wanted to see if he'd still dare to ruin her flowers next time.

Li Mingwei glanced at Xiao Bing, who was still digging in the dirt, and couldn't help but urge him, "Hurry up, you've been at it for half a day and haven't even dug a hole yet. When you ruined my flowers last time, your hands were so quick!"

Xiao Bing looked up at her, seeming to sense her displeased tone, and continued to dig into the soil diligently.

Tang Jue felt a bit bad for Xiao Bing, but there was nothing he could do.

Li Mingwei examined Tang Jue's clothes and noticed that since she came to the capital, he had started dressing much more simply, unlike before. "Your fashion sense has changed since coming to the capital city?"

Tang Jue let out a long sigh, his brow furrowed with an indescribable bitterness. "It's not that I want to, but the other students at the academy all dress very plainly, and I stand out too much in the classroom. The teacher has called on me like eight out of ten times."

He had just started there not long ago and was still adjusting. He often couldn't answer the questions, which was very embarrassing. So he had quickly made a batch of plain clothes to hide himself.

Li Mingwei lowered her gaze, understanding that they were just catering to Granduncle's preferences.

Tang Jue said helplessly, "The teacher even called on me once. I couldn't answer, and I was so embarrassed that I was sick for several days after."

Li Mingwei comforted him, "It's okay, I'll talk to Granduncle to call on you more often. Do you have any topics you're particularly good at? I'll ask him to specifically quiz you on those."

Tang Jue spat out his tea, thinking, "Can you really do that?"

However, he couldn't help but start reminiscing about his strongest subjects, feeling a bit pleased at the thought of having a backdoor like that.

Li Mingwei noticed his serious contemplation and secretly smiled, thinking that Tang Jue was still as straightforward as ever.

Thinking about it, Tang Jue started to feel sleepy. He yawned and his gaze became a little hazy. "I'm feeling sleepy. I'll think about it another day."

He leaned tiredly on the table. "Steward, go to the kitchen and get me something to eat. I'll eat, wash up, and then go to sleep early."

Li Mingwei looked up at the sky. "You're feeling sleepy so early? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Since he left the academy at the hour of the Ox, he had only chatted for a bit, so how could he be this tired already, not even past the hour of the Rooster.

Tang Jue said pitifully, "It's not that I didn't sleep well last night. Ever since I entered your family's academy, except for the monthly break, I haven't slept well at all."

"Those people at the academy are just like Ah Xiu."

Even though classes ended at the hour of the Ox, when he had packed up and was ready to leave, he would look around and not a single person had moved, they were all still reading books. He had waited for a while, then stood up, and they all gave him strange looks, making him too afraid to leave. He had pretended to go to the restroom and then hesitantly returned to the classroom.

He had been placed there, so he didn't dare to stand out too much and just had to "do as the Romans do."

Every day, he had to wait for at least one or two people to leave before he could set off, so he always got back very late. Today, he was just so tired that he hurriedly made an excuse about a family matter and rushed back.

Li Mingwei teased, "Then why don't you go to the girls' school? I used to leave right after class."

Tang Jue looked at her pitifully. He would love to, but he was afraid of getting beaten up.

Just then, a maid hurried in and called, "Miss... I mean, Madam, the Old Master has arrived and is heading this way."

"Granduncle?" Li Mingwei stood up and quickly walked out, but before she had gone more than a few steps, Li Yi came down the side path.

"Granduncle, what brings you here?"

"I was just coming back from the academy and thought I'd come see you. You said you'd come back in a few days, but it's been longer than that."

Li Mingwei linked her arm with his and complained, "It's all because of Mother. She sent so many people the next day, and I've just finished arranging them."

She helped Li Yi sit down and poured him a cup of tea, then glanced up and saw the now fully alert Tang Jue standing politely to the side. She couldn't help but chuckle.

"What are you doing?"

Tang Jue obediently greeted, "Greetings, Master Li."

"Ah, Tang Jue, right?" Li Yi smiled. "I remember you. Come, have a seat."

Remember what, that he couldn't answer the question? Tang Jue's heart skipped a beat, and he had to suppress the urge to cry as he bowed and said, "Yes, thank you, Master."

Li Mingwei saw how stiffly he sat, completely different from his earlier fatigue, and his hands clenched tightly under the table. She tried to put him at ease, saying, "You don't need to be so formal here. This is home, not the academy."

Tang Jue smiled, but he still didn't relax much.

The students at the academy usually acted this way around him, and Li Yi was already used to it. His gaze fell on Xiao Bing, who was still playing in the mud, and he smiled, "Xiao Bing, are you playing in the mud?"

"No, he's planting flowers," Li Mingwei huffed. She tattled, "Last time when my mother brought him, he pulled out all the flowers in my little garden. Now he has to plant them back to make up for it."

"You..." Li Yi couldn't help but scold her a little. "Fighting with your mother and taking it out on the child, do you have the nerve to make your mother compensate you?"

"I don't have the nerve." Li Mingwei admitted.

Since her flowers got ruined, she had to be compensated, and she couldn't control her mother, so she couldn't control her son either.

Li Yi saw that Xiao Bing's clothes were covered in mud and felt a bit sorry for him. "There are still many flowers blooming nicely in the garden. You can just go take a look, and if that's not enough, I'll have someone transplant a couple more for your little garden. He's still so young, how could he know how to plant flowers?"

"Ah Xiu is helping him, it's not like I'm letting him do it himself," Li Mingwei said smugly.

Li Yi could only nod reluctantly and let her be.

Li Mingwei called out, "Xiao Bing."

Xiao Bing stopped working and looked back at her.

She spoke softly, "Are you enjoying planting the flowers?"

"Mm-hmm!" Xiao Bing smiled at her and then continued digging the holes with Ah Xiu's help.

Li Mingwei turned to Li Yi proudly, shaking her head. "See, he's doing it willingly."

Li Yi could only nod half-heartedly and let it go.