Hearing such words from Ji Bozhai was no easy feat. Mingyi raised an eyebrow at him and said honestly, "You don't have that many complications about you. Even if you lose to me the first year, your chances of winning would be great the next."
Yong Wang was already seventeen. Meng Shi wouldn’t tolerate her for many more years—if she didn’t act this year, she would surely do so the next. Mingyi couldn’t keep winning forever.
Ji Bozhai shot her a sidelong glance. "Praise you a little and you take it seriously. I said I might not win, not that I definitely couldn’t. With your habit of overthinking, if just one person in your team makes a mistake, you’ll end up getting hurt. And once injured, how do you expect to compete with me in the later rounds?"
Mingyi’s lips twitched. She averted her gaze and reached for a spare rib. "A leader must consider the bigger picture. If you only want to be a fighter, of course you can preserve yourself till the end. But with any of the other three as leader, none of you would likely make it to the later rounds."
She spoke the truth. Today’s match had proven that while these individuals weren’t weak, their teamwork was abysmal. If even one city’s team targeted them individually, they’d collapse instantly.
Such a team couldn’t hope to compete for the Upper Three Cities—whether they’d even survive was another matter.
Ji Bozhai flipped his chopsticks and deftly snatched the rib she’d just picked up. "My only task is to win the final Combat Skill match. The rest has nothing to do with me."
Mingyi froze, frowning as she reclaimed the rib. "You—"
No sense of city pride whatsoever. He was just here to win the most advantageous match for himself, then use the glory and status it brought to continue avenging his benefactor.
Understandable, but she didn’t like his attitude.
The perfectly good ribs were now mangled by their chopstick skirmish. Xiuyun glanced between them and finally couldn’t take it anymore, extending her bowl to catch the contested rib.
"I don’t understand what you’re arguing about, but I spent an hour making this dish," she pouted. "If it’s not to your taste, you can eat in the dining hall tomorrow."
The two quickly snapped out of their battlefield tension and resumed eating.
Her expression softening, Xiuyun chuckled. "I’ve arranged with the kitchen. Tomorrow is the Academicians' Court’s Visiting Day—I’ll make you a feast, so remember to come back on time."
The Academicians' Court required students to reside on-site, so every three months, there was a two-day Visiting Day. The entrance would bustle like a marketplace during this time.
But Mingyi had no family here, nor did Ji Bozhai, and Xiuyun had cut ties with hers. The three had planned to gather and keep each other company.
Unexpectedly, the next morning, the earliest arrival with a cart turned out to be Xiuyun’s family.
Xiuyun was momentarily stunned, then delighted. She hastily bowed to Mingyi and Ji Bozhai. "I’ll have to go first."
"No problem," Mingyi waved her off. "I’ve earned quite a few Shell Coins lately—I’ll have Flower Branch Pavilion deliver a feast."
Ji Bozhai, leaning against a pillar behind them, was even less concerned.
Xiuyun left brimming with joy. As the door opened, distant greetings between elders and teachers drifted in, along with servants hauling in chests of goods. A fussy steward followed, chattering, "Young master, how your father has missed you! You’ve grown so thin.""Young master, this is the soup the madam personally stewed for you."
"And these are new clothes made by your sister-in-law."
The lively commotion outside made their own quarters seem all the quieter.
Mingyi lowered her gaze, stood up, and went to gather the soft iron, taking the opportunity to repair the damaged Thundering Force.
Ji Bozhai glanced at her, remained silent for a long moment, then stepped outside.
The scene out there was truly something else. Some families had gone so far as to bring in entire carts, loaded with everything from summer robes and cooling quilts to winter heaters and padded coats—even a whole roasted suckling pig on a spit.
Ji Bozhai had never seen such a spectacle before, but he figured Mingyi probably had.
Not that he pitied her—he had better things to do than waste sympathy on others—but seeing everyone else receiving gifts, he thought for a moment and decided to slip out the back gate of the Academicians' Court.
The streets today were just as crowded, with every roadside stall packed with people. Buxiu struggled to push through the throng behind him, shouting, "Whatever you need, just order this lowly one to fetch it! Why trouble yourself to come out?"
His voice was half-drowned by the bustling crowd. Ji Bozhai muttered vaguely, "You wouldn’t know what I’m missing."
Buxiu didn’t catch it, but before he could ask, his master had already walked into a silk shop on his own.
"Please wait a moment, my lord. The esteemed guest ahead will be leaving shortly," the shopkeeper greeted him with a smile, ushering him to a side room to sit.
Ji Bozhai nodded and had just taken a sip of tea when the curtain across from him was lifted, revealing Situ Ling staggering under a box taller than his own head.
"Fu Yue, watch my step for me," he said, carefully feeling for the threshold with his foot.
The tall guard beside him sighed helplessly. "Let this subordinate carry it for you."
"No way! I said I’d prepare everything for Ming-jiejie with my own hands, so I’m doing it all myself—no help from you!" Situ Ling finally made it past the threshold and heaved the towering box onto a carriage before exhaling in relief. "Took so many shops to find robes elegant enough. The rest were just too gaudy."
Fu Yue chuckled wryly. "Most women’s robes in this world are brightly colored."
"She doesn’t like bright colors. She prefers clean, simple ones." Situ Ling huffed, completely oblivious to Ji Bozhai in the side room. He clapped his hands and hopped onto the carriage shaft. "Hurry, Flower Branch Pavilion is just ahead!"
Buxiu watched their carriage depart, then hesitantly glanced at his master. "Well… since Young Master Situ has already prepared so much for Ming Guniang, perhaps you should also buy something?"
Ji Bozhai’s mind was filled with the image of Situ Ling grinning brightly at that box. He narrowed his eyes slightly. "Why should I buy anything? What’s the point?"
"Then why are we here?" Buxiu looked around.
"Can’t I buy a couple of robes for myself?"
"Of course." Buxiu immediately picked out two light robes suited to him.
Ji Bozhai’s expression darkened as his gaze flickered toward the women’s garments nearby.
Mingyi didn’t like bright colors? He had made her plenty of flamboyant dresses before, and she had seemed perfectly happy with them. Situ Ling clearly didn’t understand her at all.
The sharp-eyed shopkeeper took one look at him and quickly offered, "As thanks for your patronage today, for every men’s robe purchased, we’ll gift a women’s dress. My lord, you’re welcome to pick one."
Buxiu immediately waved a hand. "There’s no lady in our household who could wear such dresses. Let’s just settle the bill—how much was it again? Three thousand Shell Coins?"
"The total is six thousand Shell Coins," the shopkeeper said, bowing to Ji Bozhai. "My lord, why not pick two dresses? They’d make fine gifts—very cost-effective."Since the other party was so enthusiastic, Ji Bozhai had no choice but to reluctantly agree. With an air of indifference, he waved his hand and said, "Bring me the first set from the top left and the third set from the bottom right."
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