CHAPTER 24: CHAPTER 24: THE LITTLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER

Night falls silently, people settle into their places.

In the dark room, the candlelight flickers indistinctly.

An elderly man with white hair carefully seals the collected silver needles into a needle pouch, then takes out a porcelain box, opens it, dips the tip of a brush lightly, and dots it on the tear mole at the corner of the boy’s left eye, to mask its excessive beauty.

The boy’s slender and frail figure leans on the armrest, his lip color like paper after the needle treatment, beads of cold sweat on his forehead unwiped, listening with closed eyes to the low report of the black-clad man beside him: "...For His Highness’s safety, apart from the Prime Minister and the central envoy, no one is allowed to visit... Master Xu argued with reason, enraging the superior, resulting in an order for him to reflect behind closed doors—"

"Tell Master Xu not to endanger himself again." Li Mu opened his eyes, the firelight reflected in them still cold and desolate.

Crown Prince’s tutor Xu Lang was his enlightenment teacher.

No Crown Prince ever had only one teacher, even a regular prince wouldn’t have just one.

But because he was "weak and sickly," he couldn’t bear the fatigue, even Xu Lang was seldom permitted to enter the mansion to teach, not to mention appointing him more scholars.

Now, even Xu Lang is not allowed in.

"Yes..." A slight pause, "Your Highness, Mr. Zhang will soon arrive in the Capital City, should arrangements be made for him to enter Duke Yan Mansion?"

"No," a flicker in Li Mu’s eyes, "have Mr. Zhang enter the Gu Family academy."

Although the Zhang Family of Qizhou had been reclusive for many years, their reputation still resonated within the scholarly world.

Xu Lang had some connections with the Zhang Family, which is why they were able to invite a descendant to come out of seclusion to teach him governance and statecraft.

The original plan was to secretly send him into the Crown Prince Mansion, but since that couldn’t happen now, a more suitable path emerged.

Thinking of this, Li Mu couldn’t help but curl his lips.

This little girl always seems to do this, disrupt his original plans on one hand while supplementing with better choices on the other.

For instance, he originally stayed in the West Wing, chosen and planned in advance, and went through quite some effort to dig a secret path through.

But the Second Miss Tang chose this old courtyard for him, which originally had an exit from a secret path, and it was even more secluded. If it weren’t for her insistence, he, with his servant status, could never have stayed here.

For example, this time, having Mr. Zhang enter the Crown Prince Mansion would be dangerous, and entering the Duke Yan Mansion would seem too deliberate. Just right, the Second Miss Tang wanted to take him into the Gu Family academy...

...

The admission date was set for April 19.

Brush, ink, paper, inkstone, maids, and attendant students, everything was ready.

However, on the day of April 17, people from the Gu family suddenly said—

"Yesterday, Mr. Sun claimed old ailments and returned to his hometown."

Tang Xiaobai was extremely surprised: "Wasn’t it said that Mr. Sun had neither kin nor connections in his hometown?"

"It’s said that he received a letter from the village elder, claiming that they found the long-lost daughter of his nephew—" For this matter, Eldest Aunt Gu came to the Duke Yan Mansion herself to explain, "Mr. Sun’s brother and nephew are both gone, leaving only this grand-niece, so he had to leave."

It indeed seemed like an unavoidable situation.

Tang Xiaobai sighed in disappointment.

What a suitable person Mr. Sun was, yet he suddenly left.

"Mr. Sun is gone, is there anyone to replace him?" the Gu Family asked.

Tang Xiaobai perked up his ears to listen again.

Eldest Aunt Gu’s expression was somewhat nuanced: "Originally, we planned to let an elder from the clan fill in for two months, then slowly look for a suitable candidate. Coincidentally, just as Mr. Sun left early yesterday morning, the Princess recommended a scholar from Qingzhou named Lv Xia—"

...

"Lv Xia?" The boy’s gaze sharply intensified upon hearing the name.

"You know him?" Tang Xiaobai was quite surprised too.

The boy immediately composed his surprised expression and shook his head.

Tang Xiaobai saw the boy’s brows slightly furrowed, seemingly heavy, and speculated: "Do you...not want this person to teach at the Gu Family academy?"

The boy’s eyes were deep like ink, staring at her for a while, then very slowly shook his head.

Tang Xiaobai: ...

Could it be any more obvious?

"Alright, I understand now!" Tang Xiaobai nodded.

It’s a responsibility to oneself to pick up on such hints from a revered young ancestor.

But why did Little Qin react so strongly to this Lv Xia?

Could it be—

Tang Xiaobai’s eyes widened in shock.

Could Lv Xia recognize Little Qin?

...

After sending off the seemingly enlightened Second Miss Tang, Li Mu swiftly turned and entered the room.

"Where is Mr. Zhang?"

"Reported this morning, Mr. Zhang can reach the Capital City tomorrow."

Li Mu was silent.

Only two days late, yet someone beat them to it.

A small elementary teacher, was it a coincidence or deliberate?

"Investigate Lv Xia of Qingzhou!"

...

"Do you know a Qingzhou scholar named Lv Xia?" Tang Xiaobai looked slightly upwards, expectantly at the young man before her.

The young man had just taken a bite of Bi Luo and, upon hearing this, was so surprised he withdrew it from his mouth: "What? Who?"

Tang Xiaobai observed the bite mark on the Bi Luo and said, "Actually, you can finish this bite before answering, I’m not in that much of a hurry."

The young man simply put down the Bi Luo and curiously asked: "Who is Lv Xia?"

Tang Xiaobai was disappointed: "You don’t know him?"

The young man found it amusing: "Why would Second Miss think Su would know him?"

The little girl blinked her bright eyes and sweetly said, "Because you seem very capable, producer officer!"

Su Shunqing let out a "hiss," shivering with goosebumps, and laughed: "Second Miss sure knows how to compliment." Since when was he so popular with young girls?

"Then can you help me investigate this person’s background?" The little girl asked again.

Su Shunqing was extremely surprised.

He glanced at the little girl twice, called for the trembling storekeeper of Bi Luo Store, wrapped up the Bi Luo he was holding, tucked it in, stood up, and said: "Let’s talk outside, don’t disturb the store’s business."

Tang Xiaobai looked at the sparsely seated customers in the store and didn’t feel it was affecting any business.

Turning around—

Ah!

More than ten people blocked the entrance in two neat rows, no wonder there was no business!

Upon closer inspection, weren’t these ten just her attendants?

She could only blame herself for getting too excited upon seeing Su Shunqing, forgetting she had a string of followers behind her.

Tang Xiaobai hurriedly ran a little, following Su Shunqing out of Bi Luo Store, taking along the group of door gods.

"What did that scholar Lv do?" Su Shunqing asked.

Tang Xiaobai deliberated before recounting the incident of replacing the teacher at the Gu Family academy, adding: "Mr. Sun left in a hurry, and Lv Xia came in a hurry, don’t you think it’s strange?"

Su Shunqing stroked his chin, not answering directly: "Second Miss, did you specifically come to Bi Luo Store to find me for this matter?"

"No," Tang Xiaobai replied, "it was by chance."

Indeed it was by chance; she originally intended to go to the Zhenzhou Imperial Court to find Su Shunqing, but upon arriving at Changxing Village, she saw him having breakfast at the roadside Bi Luo Store.

Su Shunqing smiled ambiguously and said, "If Second Miss finds it odd, shouldn’t you ask your family elders? Why come to Su, an outsider?"

This matter truly intrigued him. He barely had any acquaintance with this little girl, yet she thought of asking him to help investigate?

The little girl blinked her eyes again, sweetly saying, "Because you seem very capable, producer officer!"

Su Shunqing couldn’t help but smile wryly: "What makes Su so capable?"

"With such good looks, producer officer is surely capable!" The little girl said without blinking.