Wei Luo turning left, he also turned left; Wei Luo turning right, he immediately moved right.
Was he doing it on purpose?
Wei Luo raised her head and glowered at him. She didn’t have time to waste with him here. Lin Huilian was about to disappear into the distance while he was blocking her way. Feeling anxious, she lashed out, “Step aside!”
The little girl’s viciousness was quite formidable. Her pair of big eyes were open widely as she glared at him as if she wanted to eat him. But Li Song had deliberately come to oppose her. If she wanted him to step aside, he definitely wouldn’t. Did she believe everything was over because he hadn’t yet looked for her to settle their accounts over the other day’s matters?
He’d never received such a huge insult in his whole life. Zhao Jie and her had joined hands to humiliate him in front everyone, he naturally hated the both of them. There was no opportunity to trouble Zhao Jie, but encountering Wei Luo on the street now, of course he wouldn’t let her off. When he saw her holding a little dough figurine that looked exactly like her, he couldn’t help frowning. Snatching it from her, he threw it on the ground. “Ugly girl, this young master won’t step aside. What can you do about it?”
As dough figurines were essentially fragile, getting thrown on the ground twisted its shape right away, so that it didn’t have its previous smiling expression.
Wei Luo fixedly stared at the fallen figurine, pursing up her rosy lips without saying a word.
Lin Huilian had already disappeared into the crowd and Wei Luo couldn’t find her again. She had no way to ascertain whether that maiden was Ah Dai or not. If it hadn’t been for Li Song suddenly jumping out to hinder her, things wouldn’t have turned out like this. She clenched her teeth and raised her reddened eyes to glare at him. Li Song, whether it was in her previous life or her current one, was equally annoying.
Li Song was out with his younger sister. While his sister went to the building across to buy pastries with the maid, he alone stayed in the carriage. Being bored to death as he waited, he never expected to see that little girl Wei Luo when he lifted the curtain. Her smiling face as she chattered sweetly was especially dazzling. On what basis could she smile so happily, when he had suffered such a miserable humiliation? Unable to endure, Li Song stepped down from the carriage and deliberately obstructed her way, wanting to see her anxious.
He called her ‘ugly girl’ not because she was actually ugly, but because of her missing front tooth. Whenever she opened her mouth, the tooth gap became visible. It looked a little funny but it absolutely couldn’t be called ugly. Li Song also didn’t think much when he said ‘ugly girl’, but as he noticed Wei Luo’s complexion turn white, he felt extremely accomplished.
Wishing to pour oil on the fire, he went on, “What are you glaring at? Everything I said was true…”
Who would’ve thought that Wei Luo would lift her hand to cover her eyes, her small mouth releasing a ‘Wah’ as she started crying without the slightest warning!
She was suddenly weeping. Just a moment ago she still had a vicious expression, yet her tears flowed at the blink of an eye. Her teardrops rolling down, soon her whole face was soaked. The tears slid down her cheeks, wetting the front of her clothes. With no sign of stopping, she called out as she cried, “Big brother… Big brother Song Hui…”
Li Song was dumbstruck. What was going on? Why was she crying?
Not long after, Song Hui rushed over from the back, pushing his way through the crowd. He carried her up in his arms and used his sleeve to wipe her tears, as he asked her tenderly, “Why is Ah Luo crying? Who bullied you? Why did you suddenly run just now, big brother Song Hui almost lost you.”
When Wei Luo unexpectedly ran a moment ago, only Jin Lu and Jin Wu had managed to catch up with her. Song Hui and Changhong had only been a step too slow and they couldn’t find her form again. If she hadn’t cried so loudly while calling his name, he definitely wouldn’t have been able to find her this quickly.
Wei Luo was weeping sorrowfully, her small face covered in tears. Her pair of black eyes seemed even brighter with the sheen of moisture. She choked up as she pointed at Li Song, saying accusingly, “Big brother Song Hui, he threw away the dough figurine you gave me… He also called me ugly…”
Finished speaking, she hugged Song Hui’s neck and kept sobbing with a distressed appearance.
Song Hui’s gaze followed the direction she was pointing at, seeing Li Song, whose expression had turned unsightly, standing a few steps away. Li Song was clearly scared silly by Wei Luo’s abrupt crying.
Looking down, there really was a broken dough figurine lying on the ground.
The crying sounds attracted the attention of the passersby on the street, who gradually gathered around to look. One was an eight or nine year old little boy, the other was a six year old little girl. It was unnecessary to argue about who was right and who was wrong. Just a look was enough to know. Everyone focused on Li Song at once, condemnation clearly written within their eyes. Strong bullying the weak… How exactly did he bully her? Obviously it was her bullying him!
Li Song was rooted to the spot, stubbornly staring at Song Hui. In the end, he wasn’t willing to retreat.
Soon after, a maidservant led Li Xiang out of a building. Catching sight of the battle formation in the distance, she felt things weren’t good, so she walked over to ask what was happening. She noted that the children in front were dressed in expensive clothes and their appearance was remarkable. It wouldn’t be good to provoke them. First she placed Li Xiang in the carriage, then lowered her head to apologize to Wei Luo and Song Hui with an ingratiating expression. Finally, she offered to buy another dough figurine to Wei Luo.
Song Hui revealed a rare for him resentment, indifferently replying, “No need.”
The maidservant had no choice but to repeatedly apologize again.
The crowd on the street was getting bigger and bigger. The maidservant didn’t want to stay any longer, so she hurriedly took Li Song to return home. Before he entered the carriage, Li Song glanced back at Wei Luo. She had already ceased crying, her eyes clear and bright. Where was the grievous appearance from just now?
Carrying Wei Luo, who had snuggled at his neck, Song Hui turned around. She sensed Li Song’s line of sight and raised her eyes toward him. With a blink, a victorious smile slowly materialized on her face. It looked cunning, as well as mocking. She wasn’t the least bit worried if he discovered her transformation.
Li Song came to a realization at long last. Had she been pretending to begin with? She hadn’t cried for real?
He only felt his vision darken. Annoying to death!
*
After the trip to Qingshui mountain, Wei Luo was very concerned over what she’d witnessed on the streets. If things were really as she suspected, the Lin Huilian couple would have probably adopted Ah Dai in this life. Would Ah Dai be her replacement and get buried alive?
It would’ve been nice if she could have taken a clear look. It was all Li Song’s fault for butting in, interrupting her good deed. Thinking of it, Wei Luo’s resentment for Li Song deepened even further.
Presently, Zhao Zhang wasn’t attending classes. Apparently, he had gotten sick with smallpox and was currently recuperating in his own palace. Only his personal attendants could meet him. Since Li Song was the fifth prince’s study partner, while the fifth prince wasn’t there, he naturally didn’t need to come, either. Because the two of them weren’t in the First Study to stir up trouble, it was rather peaceful.
After the day’s classes, Wei Luo and Zhao Liuli practiced writing in Chenhua hall. The two young ladies were sitting at opposite sides of the black low table with ivory engravings. Each of them was holding a goat’s hair brush and copied the contents of ‘The Analects of Confucius’. Wei Luo’s letters were neat and delicate, with a somewhat fancy style. She always wrote very earnestly, but she was in a daze today. Thinking about Ah Dai and Lin Huilian’s relation, she only wrote down two characters, then propped up her cheek as she looked outside and drifted off.
Zhao Liuli asked her what was wrong, but she didn’t answer as she kept musing.
Before long, someone came through Chenhua hall’s entrance. The palace maids bent their knees to salute and just as they opened their mouths to greet him, he raised a hand to stop them. He was wearing a navy blue lined brocade robe. On the belt around his waist hung jade ornaments with Kui carvings. When he walked, the two jade ornaments knocked into each other, producing a crisp sound. The man already stood beside her, yet Wei Luo still had no response. He picked up the paper in front of her, that she had just written on, and commented with an unhurried and sweet voice: “The style is neat, and the handwriting is pretty. It’s only a little scattered, lacking some effort. Is this your writing?”
Wei Luo finally recollected herself and raised her head to meet Zhao Jie’s eyes, then nodded sluggishly.