Noticing Ren Yaoqi's gaze, Xiao Jingxi felt a surge of delight, his smiling face becoming even more captivating.
Xiao Jinglin cleared her throat lightly, glancing sideways at Xiao Jingxi as she said, "It's getting late. Let's go, or we won't make it back by afternoon."
Ren Yaoqi was somewhat surprised and couldn't help asking, "Where are we going?"
Xiao Jinglin had mentioned earlier that they were out for a spring outing today. Ren Yaoqi had assumed it would be around Tianqing Mountain, but from the sound of Xiao Jinglin's words, it seemed they were heading somewhere quite far.
Xiao Jinglin shot a glance at Xiao Jingxi.
Xiao Jingxi smiled at Ren Yaoqi and said, "To the hot spring villa. I had some large kites made, and there isn't enough space to fly them here."
Upon hearing this, Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but feel hesitant. Naturally, she enjoyed spending time with Xiao Jinglin, but the mountain-climbing gathering had been organized by Lady Xu and her mother. While it was fine for her to slip away for a short while, it wouldn't be appropriate to be absent the entire time.
As if sensing Ren Yaoqi's hesitation, Xiao Jinglin said, "When I came to find you, I already spoke with Teacher Ouyang. She knows my temperament well, so don't worry—she'll cover for you."
Ren Yaoqi found this somewhat strange, though she couldn't quite pinpoint why at the moment. Still, she remained hesitant.
Xiao Jingxi paused for a moment before suddenly saying, "I drew the kites."
"Huh?" Ren Yaoqi blinked, looking at Xiao Jingxi, momentarily taken aback.
"I drew the kites," Xiao Jingxi repeated.
Though he was still smiling, a hint of disappointment flickered in his eyes. He added softly, "Aren't you coming?"
Ren Yaoqi's cheeks flushed slightly. She wanted to say that today really wasn't convenient, that she shouldn't just leave like this. But when the words reached her lips, for some reason, she found herself unable to utter them under Xiao Jingxi's gaze. When she inexplicably blurted out the word "Yes," even she was stunned.
Her voice was soft, but Xiao Jingxi heard it clearly. The corners of his lips curled into a pleased arc, and the earlier hint of disappointment in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a brightness that seemed to pierce through the clouds.
Xiao Jinglin turned her head away as if unable to bear the sight, snorting inwardly.
Ren Yaoqi bit her lip, feeling as though she must have been bewitched just moments ago. But since she had already agreed, there was no turning back now. She could only turn and board the carriage, not daring to look at Xiao Jingxi again.
Xiao Jinglin let Ren Yaoqi board the carriage first. Once Ren Yaoqi was inside, she gave Xiao Jingxi a disdainful once-over and said, "Do you know what you look like right now?"
Xiao Jingxi was in high spirits. Though he knew Xiao Jinglin likely had nothing good to say, he still smiled good-naturedly. "What?"
Xiao Jinglin rolled her eyes. "A peacock! A male one! In full display! So don't you dare turn your back to me now!" With that, she hopped onto her own carriage.
Xiao Jingxi: "..."
Halfway through the journey, after wrestling with her thoughts for a long time, Xiao Jinglin said to Ren Yaoqi with a blank expression, "Do you know how King Zhou of Shang and King You of Zhou lost their kingdoms in history?"
Ren Yaoqi was taken aback, unsure why Xiao Jinglin had suddenly brought this up. Just as she was about to respond, Xiao Jinglin sighed and continued with a grave tone, "The bloody lessons of history teach us one truth: don't be easily swayed by beauty. A beauty's tears are a hero's grave!"Ren Yaoqi: "..."
Having thought she already understood Xiao Jinglin quite well, Ren Yaoqi pondered all the way but still couldn't grasp the deeper meaning behind Xiao Jinglin's words. Ultimately, it came down to their vastly different definitions of "beauty" and "hero."
The journey from the southern suburbs to the hot spring villa took over half an hour. Once the carriage entered the villa grounds, the three of them alighted.
Ren Yaoqi glanced around and smiled, "Isn't the Double Ninth Festival for climbing heights? Where are the high places in this hot spring villa?"
Hearing this, Xiao Jingxi chuckled and pointed toward the southwest. "Isn't that one over there?"
Ren Yaoqi followed his direction and was momentarily taken aback.
To the southwest of the hot spring villa stood a nine-story pagoda, known to the people of Yunyang City as the "Star-Reaching Tower." It was visible from afar. Ren Yaoqi had seen this pagoda during her previous visits to the villa, but it was said to be a restricted area within the grounds, guarded and off-limits to visitors.
She had overheard other young ladies and matrons discussing it—some claimed the nine-story pagoda was actually a stupa housing Buddhist relics, while others said it enshrined the ancestral tablets of the Xiao Family and their hereditary military texts. There were even rumors that the "Star-Reaching Tower" held a Yanbei "state preceptor" over a hundred years old, and that the Prince of Yanbei would visit before every military campaign to seek divinations for auspicious or inauspicious outcomes.
However, judging by the expressions of Xiao Jingxi and Xiao Jinglin, the "Star-Reaching Tower" didn't seem to hold any great secrets. Still, as a restricted area, it didn't seem quite appropriate as a climbing spot for the Double Ninth Festival.
Xiao Jingxi merely smiled dismissively. "It's just an empty tower. The reason people aren't allowed inside is simply because the pagoda is too tall, and climbing it could be dangerous."
Xiao Jinglin glanced at Xiao Jingxi but said nothing.
Though Ren Yaoqi harbored some doubts, since Xiao Jingxi had spoken so plainly, she felt it inappropriate to press further.
As the three walked southwest, chatting along the way, a rustling sound suddenly came from the grass by the path. Ren Yaoqi turned and saw Silly Girl poking her head out from a nearby shrub. Her tail wagged cheerfully, and with an "aowu," she was about to emerge when Tong He appeared out of nowhere, patting her head. "You've rolled around and gotten covered in mud. Come with me for a wash first!"
Silly Girl's wagging tail paused abruptly. She turned and let out a fierce roar at Tong He. By now, Silly Girl was nearly the size of a full-grown tiger, and her roar startled the birds from the surrounding branches into flight. An ordinary person would have trembled with fear at the sound.
Xiao Jingxi walked over and flicked Silly Girl's forehead with his finger, a faint smile on his lips. "So energetic? How about a few extra baths?"
Instantly, the tiger who had just been asserting her dominance tilted her head and retreated, widening her round, innocent eyes as she looked at Xiao Jingxi. Her tail wagged even more obsequiously, with none of the majesty befitting the king of the forest.
Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
Tong He laughed beside them. "This little one only behaves and takes baths when the young master is around. She's quite the troublemaker in the garden otherwise."Silly Girl spent most of her time at the Hot Spring Villa, where there were many animals of all sizes. Her favorite thing to do was to chase chickens and dogs, but even when she caught up with them, she wouldn’t bite. She only liked to carry the small animals in her mouth and roll around in the grass to play. Once she was happy, she would return the cats and dogs safely, only to play with them again the next day. Silly Girl was now the undisputed ruler of Hot Spring Villa.
This big tiger was usually majestic and domineering. Since everyone in the estate knew she was Xiao Jingxi’s beloved pet, no one dared to do anything about her, which only made her more unruly. If she was unhappy, she would let out a "tiger’s roar" to show her displeasure.
However, in front of Second Young Master Xiao, she had no temper at all, obedient as a big dog.
Xiao Jinglin once teased Xiao Jingxi, saying that no matter how much he pretended, it was useless in front of Silly Girl! Tigers recognize people not with their eyes but with their noses, which shows that you have a deeply ingrained scent of a villain.
In the end, thanks to Ren Yaoqi’s plea, Silly Girl was spared from being taken back for a scrubbing and happily followed them to the Nine-Story Pagoda. However, the silly tiger’s mischievous nature remained. Every few steps, she would imitate a cat, chasing flies, pouncing on butterflies, or playing with her tail. Along the way, she was the happiest, amusing herself.
As expected, there were guards outside the Nine-Story Pagoda, but with Xiao Jingxi present, the guards didn’t even glance up when the three of them and the tiger entered. However, Pingguo and Hongying were left outside.
From a distance, Ren Yaoqi had thought the pagoda was tall but assumed the interior would be narrow. Upon entering, however, she discovered that each floor was quite spacious. The first floor was empty, with no furnishings at all. The second floor had a square table with a chessboard on it, set up with a complex puzzle of black and white pieces locked in a fierce battle.
Starting from the third floor, bookshelves appeared. They reached the ceiling and lined all four walls, filling the entire room and even blocking the windows, making the pagoda very dim. Xiao Jingxi walked ahead, holding an oil lamp he had found from somewhere. As he climbed the stairs, he turned slightly to watch those following behind.
Ren Yaoqi was still curious about this mysterious pagoda spoken of by others, so she observed her surroundings as she walked, wondering if the next floor would reveal something extraordinary. Unfortunately, up to the eighth floor, all she saw were bookshelves.
Fortunately, when they reached the eighth floor, skylights on all sides were exposed, allowing light to stream in and instantly brightening the pagoda.
Xiao Jingxi blew out the oil lamp and placed it in a hidden compartment beside the stairs.
Just as Ren Yaoqi was about to turn and speak to Xiao Jinglin, she realized Xiao Jinglin was gone.
"Jinglin?" Ren Yaoqi called out, only to find her voice echoing repeatedly in the pagoda—seven or eight times. She couldn’t help but be startled.
"This pagoda is actually called the 'Echo Pagoda,'" Xiao Jingxi’s voice sounded beside her, also echoing.
Ren Yaoqi looked at the person standing so close and felt her heart skip a beat.Earlier, when going upstairs, no one spoke, and she had been focused on the stairs underfoot and observing the tower's interior. Hearing footsteps behind her, she assumed Xiao Jinglin had followed. Now, upon reflection, the footsteps she heard earlier might have just been echoes.
Chapter 360 and Chapter 356 share the same title. Let's just treat it as the author's playful quirk ^^~
OpenNovel