CHAPTER 117: CHAPTER 117: DO YOU KNOW SHE’S A GIRL

"The eldest young master ordered me to bring Second Miss the Gehua Drink—" Ah Yuan said with lowered eyes.

"The eldest young master sent you?" Tang Xiaobai asked in surprise.

"Yes." Ah Yuan replied, lifting her gaze with gentle joy in her eyes.

Tang Xiaobai was puzzled.

She had thought there was something wrong with Ah Yuan, which was why Tang Ziqian had kept her away, yet now Ah Yuan was sent over just a day later?

But since she came as she did, it would be improper to waste the opportunity.

"You read your book for a while, let me have a few words with Ah Yuan!" Little Ancestor Chao said this, and then Tang Xiaobai took Ah Yuan outside.

Standing outside the Book Collection Pavilion, Tang Xiaobai looked around and, seeing no one, turned her gaze back to Ah Yuan.

Ah Yuan had arrived at her side when she was only twelve, skinny as can be, but now she had grown a lot.

At first glance, there wasn’t much to see, only that she seemed a bit more plump than Ah Xiao of the same age, but with the same grown face—

A pointed chin, bright eyes...

"Are you... a girl?" Tang Xiaobai whispered.

If not, then truly quite feminine for a boy.

But as soon as she asked, Ah Yuan’s pupils shook, and her face turned an ashen pale.

This was effectively a confirmation.

"It really is..." Tang Xiaobai murmured, "Does the eldest young master know too?"

Ah Yuan, with a pale face, nodded with difficulty.

"Wait... I need to process this..." Tang Xiaobai held her forehead and leaned against something for support, "Could it be you are a little spy sent by some rival?"

"N-no!" Ah Yuan quickly shook her head in denial.

"Then why are you dressed as a boy in our house?"

Ah Yuan nervously pursed her lips, speaking softly, "At the start of last year, my mother passed away, and I had nowhere to go, so I came to the Capital City... Mother said, when she’s not around, I should dress as a boy, so that no one would bully me..."

I see...

Tang Xiaobai felt a pang of sadness, her tone softening a bit: "When did the eldest young master find out?" As she asked, she recalled last year’s New Year’s Eve.

"It was last New Year’s Eve," Ah Yuan lowered her face, her ears turning red, "I was returning to my room to rest, not knowing the eldest young master was inside..."

Tang Xiaobai’s face changed slightly.

Surely it wasn’t one of those clichéd dressing-change-shall-we-load-spoilers?

"Why didn’t you refuse the eldest young master’s request for you? If I had known you were a girl, I wouldn’t have handed you over to Tang Ziqian."

"I was afraid the eldest young master would expose me..."

Tang Xiaobai pinched her palm and cautiously asked, "Is everything okay with the eldest young master?"

Her brother is a good brother, but in ancient times, there aren’t such distinctions; it’s common for a young master to keep a maid in the room.

But in her eyes, Ah Yuan won’t even turn fourteen until next month, still a child!

"The eldest young master... treats me very well." Although hesitantly, her expression remained somewhat normal.

Only then did Tang Xiaobai let out a breath of relief, adding, "But since you are a girl, staying with the eldest young master is not ideal, how about I ask for you back?" Thinking it a particularly brilliant idea, "We are going to take the exam at Huntian Academy, and with your diligent study, you’ll surely achieve above Third Class. By then, I’ll have the eldest miss remove your indentureship!"

Possibly from having suffered hardship, Ah Yuan studies far more diligently than Tao Zi and Cheng Zi, even more than Ah Xiao.

But this time, Ah Yuan didn’t seem inclined towards diligence.

She hesitated for a while, then shook her head: "The eldest young master seems to have some misunderstanding about me lately, Second Miss raising this now might deepen the misunderstanding, thinking I influenced Second Miss."

"What is the misunderstanding the eldest young master has about you?" Tang Xiaobai thought of the circumstances she encountered when she tried to meet Ah Yuan yesterday, perplexed.

Initially, she also thought Tang Ziqian was guarding against Ah Yuan for something, but today he easily sent her over, indicating he did not see Ah Yuan as a threat.

Ah Yuan shook her head: "The eldest young master hasn’t said."

...

After speaking with Ah Yuan, Tang Xiaobai turned back to the Book Collection Pavilion.

Upon entering, she saw Ah Xiao’s pair of dark, deep, beautiful eyes staring intently at her: "Done talking?" carrying a not too evident yet easily detectable displeasure.

Tang Xiaobai was amused.

Why does it feel just like being caught in an affair?

He has always been so jealous of Ah Yuan—

Wait! Always?

Tang Xiaobai closed the door, ran to the square desk, sat down, leaned toward Ah Xiao, and asked in a low voice, "You’ve lived with Ah Yuan for so long—"

"Though we lived in the same courtyard, there wasn’t much interaction." Li Mu separated the boundary immediately before she could finish.

Tang Xiaobai observed him thoughtfully, and continued to ask: "Did you know Ah Yuan is a girl?"

Such a story of a girl disguised as a boy living together, tsk tsk tsk...

Li Mu felt a chill on his scalp under her gaze, tightened his grip on the book scroll, and replied calmly: "I had some suspicion, but never verified."

In fact, before Tang Ziqian returned, he had already investigated Ah Yuan’s background and naturally knew she was a girl.

But for some reason, when Miss Tang asked, he inexplicably felt guilty and dared not admit it.

Tang Xiaobai didn’t doubt his words, feeling: "You noticed too... She told me, her deceased mother was afraid she, being a girl, would get bullied, so had her disguise as a boy—"

"What she said may not be the truth." Li Mu said.

Tang Xiaobai nodded: "I also hope it’s that simple a reason, but my brother wouldn’t suspect her for no reason, after all, he didn’t suspect anything when she just joined him."

"With the eldest young master around, Second Miss doesn’t need to worry about these things." Li Mu said, organizing the book scroll in front of her.

He just didn’t want the young miss to keep thinking about Ah Yuan, so he had Tang Ziqian send Ah Yuan over. But even after Ah Yuan left, the young miss was still mentioning her endlessly.

The Second Miss who focused on studying with him was much more adorable!

Tang Xiaobai adjusted her posture, lowered her head ready to read, then suddenly looked up earnestly and said: "I think Ah Yuan bears no malice towards us!"

Just wondering if Tang Ziqian believed it—

...

"Second Miss said anything to you?"

While speaking, Tang Ziqian was wiping and maintaining his sword, his gaze focused on the blade, not looking at her, his tone lazy, as if casually asking.

"Second Miss asked if I was a girl."

Tang Ziqian paused, looked up: "Did she ask if you wanted to return with her?"

His voice was as gentle as spring rain and autumn moon, his brows as serene as green water and blue mountains, yet his hand on the sword hilt tightened deliberately and then slowly released, the blade reflected a winter-like cold gleam by chance.

Ah Yuan lowered her eyes, shook her head: "No."

"Oh?" Tang Ziqian chuckled playfully, who knows if he believed it, "You didn’t take the chance to complain to her?"

Ah Yuan looked up at him, suddenly feeling wronged: "What exactly is the eldest young master suspecting Ah Yuan of? Ah Yuan has never harbored ill will towards the Duke Yan Mansion!"