TATSD Chapter 75

The news of Baozi Xishi’s suicide by hanging caused quite a stir in Changliu Town.

At first, people talked about it everywhere they went.

But as time went on, the chatter gradually faded, and no one even bothered to visit her home to see the spot where she took her life.

About six or seven days later, Zhang Mingyuan sent word that there was progress regarding the county school and that Liu Yimian should start preparing.

This news delighted Ji Weile, who was as excited as a parent sending their child off to college. She abandoned her shop on North Street, spending every day bustling about with Liu Yimian, buying all sorts of supplies, feeling that everything was essential.

By the time the departure day arrived, they had filled an entire ox cart, leaving no choice but for them to ride on the ox’s back, jostling to Daxi Town.

If it were a short trip, it would be one thing, but after over an hour together, when they finally arrived at the county school, they were both dizzy from the bumpiness and it took a while for them to recover.

“Come on, get down,” Ji Wei said, standing beside the ox cart. She grabbed Liu Yimian’s outstretched hand and helped him jump down.

After sitting for so long, Liu Yimian’s legs had gone numb. When he landed, his calf buckled, and he nearly fell to the ground, but Ji Wei caught him just in time.

“Stretch your legs a bit; sitting for too long is never good,” she advised.

Ji Wei herself didn’t feel great either. She twisted her neck and stretched her back before unloading the items from the back of the cart.

At this time of year, it wasn’t the school enrollment season, so it was rare to see someone making such a big fuss about bringing things to the academy. Looking at the bedding and blankets, it was clear that they were students who had just moved into the county school dormitory.

“Hey, new face?”

“Ziyu, have you seen this person before?”

“I can guarantee he’s a new student; I’ve never seen him before!”

“Seems like he’s moved the whole house here.”

Students passing by whispered to each other, their curiosity apparent on their faces, and laughter occasionally drifted toward the two.

“Don’t mind them.” Seeing that Liu Yimian was watching the students with interest, Ji Wei thought he cared about what they were saying. In reality, Liu Yimian’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he said, “Ji Ge, I’ve always envied them. Now I’m finally studying at the county school with them. Is this a dream?”

“It’s not a dream; it’s real,” Ji Wei smiled.

“Then pinch me, pinch me!” Liu Yimian clung to Ji Wei’s arm and pressed it against his cheek, his eyes filled with anticipation. Ji Wei couldn’t bring herself to refuse, so she half-heartedly pinched him, not using much force.

But even with a light pinch, it left a red mark on Liu Yimian’s fair skin.

“Does it hurt?”

Liu Yimian retaliated with a hard pinch of his own, sticking out his tongue in pain. “Not at all.” Then he rubbed his cheek, clearly realizing he’d pinched too hard. “Well, it still hurts a little.”

However, this didn’t dampen Liu Yimian’s excitement. He happily rushed to the cart to grab the bedding. The bundle of blankets was heavy, towering over him as he struggled to lift it.

Ji Wei stretched out her long arms and took the bedding down for him, playfully tapping his head. “You with your little arms and legs can wait here while I help move these big items into the dormitory.”

Although the headmaster had agreed to let Liu Yimian enroll and had assigned him a dormitory, neither of them knew where it was located since it was their first time at the county school.

With the bedding slung over her shoulder, Ji Wei entered through the main gate and stopped a passing student. She pulled out the letter Zhang Mingyuan had given her. “Could you please tell me how to get to the dormitory?”

The student looked quite young, probably around fourteen or fifteen. Surprised by Ji Wei’s tall and muscular build, he hesitated before asking, “You’re not a student, are you?”

Ji Wei raised an eyebrow. “Does it not look like it?”

The student glanced at Ji Wei’s exposed arms, well-defined and muscular, shaking his head vigorously. “No, no, students are weak. You look too strong for that.”

Ji Wei chuckled but didn’t continue the conversation. Instead, she repeated her question.

The student seemed a bit embarrassed, scratching the back of his head, and pointed in a direction. “Just head west until you see a bamboo grove. The wooden house next to it is the dormitory.”

“Thank you.” Ji Wei bid farewell to the student and strode confidently westward.

The student watched her for a moment, marveling at her strength, and then shook his head in disbelief as he walked away.

The county school wasn’t large, but it encompassed a back mountain and a lotus pond, along with the dormitory and classrooms, comfortably accommodating around a hundred students.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, Ji Wei finally spotted the wooden houses hidden beneath the bamboo trees. There were two buildings standing side by side, with a path of cobblestones leading through them and into the bamboo grove behind.

The wooden houses were two stories tall, with five rooms on each floor. In the front yard, several stone tables and benches had been set up, where a few young men dressed in scholar’s robes sat, some playing chess, some chatting, and others reciting texts, creating a lively atmosphere.

As soon as Ji Wei arrived, she caught their attention.

“Newcomer! Newcomer! Come see!” One student, who had been reciting texts with his hands behind his back, excitedly waved to his friends.

His voice was loud, and the previously closed doors of the dormitory swung open, revealing a number of curious faces.

“Where’s the newcomer?”

“I’ve been here for over a month and still haven’t seen any newcomers.”

“If only I could have a roommate!”

They clearly noticed Ji Wei and the chatter about finding a roommate suddenly stopped, their expressions shifting dramatically.

“I’m used to living alone; you can have it!”

“No, no, living alone is great.”

“Anyway, there are still empty rooms. Living alone is better!”

The dormitory charged one coin a month in rent, with a serene environment and the ability to borrow from the academy’s library at any time. Many students from wealthy families chose to live in the dormitory.

The incident of the Baozi Xi Shi committing suicide by hanging caused quite a stir in Changliu Town.

At first, people were talking about it everywhere.

However, as time went on, discussions faded, and no one specifically went to her home to see the spot where she had taken her life.

About six or seven days later, Zhang Mingyuan sent word that there had been progress with the county school matter and that Liu Yimian should start preparing.

This news made Ji Wei very happy as if he were taking his child who had just been accepted into university to school. He neglected his shop on Beijie Street and spent every spare moment wandering the streets with Liu Yimian, convinced that this and that were necessary, buying a whole pile of items.

On the day they finally set off, they loaded an entire bullock cart full of things, forcing the people to sit on the bull’s back, bumping along the road to Daxizhen.

If it had been a short journey, it wouldn’t have mattered, but the two of them traveled for over an hour. By the time they arrived at the county school, they were already dizzy from the bumps and it took a long time to regain their composure.

“Come on, get off the cart,” Ji Wei said, standing beside the bullock cart. He grabbed Liu Yimian’s outstretched hand and helped him jump down.

Having sat for so long, Liu Yimian’s legs were a bit numb. As he landed, his calves buckled, nearly causing him to fall to the ground. Fortunately, Ji Wei quickly steadied him by the waist.

“Move your legs a bit. Sitting too long means you need to stretch,” Ji Wei suggested.

Ji Wei also felt a bit sluggish. He twisted his neck, stretched, and began unloading items from the back of the cart one by one.

Since it was not the school enrollment season, it was rare to see people going through so much trouble to move things to the academy. The presence of bedding and blankets made it obvious that a new student was moving into the county school dormitory.

“Hey, who’s that?”

“Ziyu, have you seen this person before?”

“I can guarantee that this person is a new student; I’ve never seen him before!”

“Are they moving in with all their belongings?”

Students passing by whispered among themselves, their curiosity evident on their faces, and occasional laughter floated over to the two of them.

“Don’t worry about them.” Ji Wei noticed that Liu Yimian was following the gaze of the other students and initially thought he was concerned about their remarks. In reality, Liu Yimian’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he exclaimed, “Ji Ge, I’ve always envied them. Now I’m going to study at the county school with them. Is this a dream?”

“It’s not a dream; it’s real,” Ji Wei replied with a smile.

“Then pinch me! Just pinch me!” Liu Yimian clung to Ji Wei’s arm, pushing it toward his face with eyes full of expectation. Ji Wei couldn’t bear to refuse, so he obliged with a light pinch, not putting much strength into it.

Even that light pinch left a red mark on Liu Yimian’s fair skin.

“Does it hurt?”

Liu Yimian promptly pinched himself again, sticking out his tongue in pain, “Not really.” He then rubbed his cheek, clearly having pinched himself too hard. “It still stings a little.”

But this did not dampen Liu Yimian’s excitement; he beamed with joy and went to pull bedding from the cart. The comforter was bulky and heavy, standing taller than him as he struggled to move it.

Ji Wei stretched out his long arm to help him unload the bedding, playfully flicking Liu Yimian’s forehead as he said, “You little weakling, just wait here. I’ll take these big items into the dormitory for you.”

Although the headmaster had agreed to let Liu Yimian enroll and had assigned him a dormitory, it was both of their first time at the county school, and they had no idea where the dormitory was located.

Ji Wei shouldered the bedding and, after entering the main gate, stopped a passing student to hand him a letter from Zhang Mingyuan. “Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the dormitory?”

The student he stopped was young, probably around fourteen or fifteen years old. Upon seeing the tall and robust Ji Wei, who could easily carry the bedding, the student was first taken aback and then couldn’t help but ask, “You’re not a student at the academy, are you?”

Ji Wei raised an eyebrow, “Doesn’t look like it?”

The student glanced at Ji Wei’s muscular arms, which were exposed when he rolled up his sleeves, shaking his head. “No, no! A scholar shouldn’t have this much strength!”

Ji Wei chuckled and didn’t pursue the topic further, instead repeating his question.

The student, feeling a bit embarrassed, scratched the back of his head and pointed in a direction. “Just walk west; when you see a bamboo grove, the wooden house next to it is the dormitory.”

“Thanks.” Ji Wei bid farewell to the student and strode westward.

The student turned back, glancing at him several times, secretly muttering to himself about the strange person as he shook his head and walked away.

The county academy wasn’t large, but it included a back mountain and a lotus pond, along with dormitories and classrooms that could accommodate over a hundred students, which was ample space.

After walking for a while, Ji Wei finally spotted the wooden houses hidden among the bamboo groves. There were two buildings standing side by side, with a stone path paved with pebbles leading through the middle that extended to the bamboo grove at the back.

The wooden houses had two levels, with five rooms on each floor. There were also several stone tables and benches set up in the front yard, where groups of young men dressed in scholar’s clothing sat, some playing chess, others chatting, and a few reciting verses, creating a lively atmosphere.

As soon as Ji Wei appeared, someone noticed him.

“A newcomer! A newcomer! Come and take a look!” An excited student shouted to his companions.

His loud voice prompted several previously closed doors to swing open, and many curious faces emerged, eager to see this extraordinary newcomer.

“Where is the newcomer?”

“I’ve been here for over a month and haven’t seen anyone new yet!”

“I hope I can get a roommate!”

They recognized Ji Wei, as those who had just been clamoring for a new roommate suddenly fell silent, their expressions a mixture of shock and curiosity.

“Ah, it’s this person!”

“He doesn’t look like what I imagined.”

“So tall and strong; I hope he won’t refuse if I need help moving things!”

“I wonder if he brought any mooncakes. I’d love to try some.”

Lin Tai, who had been sleeping inside, was furious at the noise and rushed out of his room only to see a crowd gathered outside. Puzzled, he grabbed Xu Yao’s shoulder, pulled him aside for a moment of quiet, and asked what was happening.

“Don’t you know? That Ji Wei, the one who sells mooncakes, has moved into the dormitory next door!” Xu Yao replied excitedly.

Both of them had eaten mooncakes before; Xu Yao’s family was well-off, just slightly less so than Lin Tai’s.

Although they hadn’t had the luxury of beautifully packaged mooncake gift boxes, they had certainly enjoyed the snow-skinned mooncakes, so they were extremely curious about Ji Wei.

Seeing the real person now, how could they not be excited?

Xu Yao wriggled free from Lin Tai’s grip. “Come on, I still have a lot of questions to ask Ji Wei!”

Lin Tai thoughtfully stroked his chin and murmured, “Are you sure the one coming to study is Ji Wei?”

Xu Yao hadn’t walked far, so he didn’t catch that and turned back to ask, “What did you say?”

“I heard that Ji Wei is in his twenties and has already passed the age for enrollment. I doubt he’s the one coming to study, so you don’t need to get overly excited.” Lin Tai said maturely as he stepped ahead of Xu Yao and stood at the edge of the crowd, clearing his throat.

“Make way!”

His loud voice instantly drowned out everyone else’s chatter.

The crowd of students quieted down, and the atmosphere grew calm, seemingly embarrassed about the earlier commotion. Some even took a few steps back, creating space.

“Are you the one coming to study?” Lin Tai circled Ji Wei a couple of times before finally stopping.

Ji Wei didn’t recognize Lin Tai and didn’t know what he wanted, so he remained silent.

“If I’m not mistaken, it should be from your family—” Lin Tai glanced at Ji Wei’s expression, then suddenly clapped his hands in delight, “That’s even better! We’ll get to eat mooncakes regularly!”

“Hmm?” Ji Wei couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

“The person isn’t here yet, and you don’t have all your things moved in, right?” Lin Tai said with a grin, his eyes squinting with joy. He casually threw his arm over Ji Wei’s shoulder, cheerfully adding, “Let’s go, let me help you carry your things!”

—If one ignored the effort Lin Tai put into standing on tiptoes to reach Ji Wei’s shoulder, he certainly looked like they had been good friends for years.