The Villainous Classmate is My Lucky Star

Chapter 165

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Character Index

The Villainous Classmate is My Lucky StarChapter 165 The Girl Who Came Out Of The Painting (1)About fifty or so kilometers west of Chang'an was the Huaihe River, and its tributaries spanned the entire Shaojing.From Chang'an to the river was a two hour carriage ride.Wen Yantong brought a few of the Wen Residences servants with her when she went out. This included Mo Li as well as the personal maid who had served the little cannon fodder for several years. The two maids were very quiet, and had almost no sense of presence in the carriage.Wen Yantong wrapped herself in a cotton blanket. Since no one talked with her, she decided to sleep on their ride to the river. Even if she couldnt fall asleep, Wen Yantong insisted on closing her eyes and feigning a nap.Not long after she left, someone knocked on the door of Wen Residence's House.The attendant held the jade token and handed it to the servant outfront and said, "My master is looking for Miss Wen."When the servant glanced at the token, he was so frightened that his knees almost collapsed. He supported himself as he scrambled to inform Wen Qin. Not long after, Wen Qin came out with Madam Wen. Seeing a guard at the door, the couple rushed forward.It was near impossible for Wen Qin to cross the entrance threshold in his wheelchair, so he could only respectfully ask inside the door, "Was there something the young lady of the Marquis Mansion needed from my precious daughter?"The guard repeated, "Master wants to see your daughter."Wen Qin looked distressed, "As luck would have it, my precious daughter went to participate in an exhibition at the Huaihe River. She should have already left Chang'an City by now."The guard paused, but did not fault Wen Qi, and just asked, "When did she leave?""About an hour ago." Wen Qin replied. Although his life had been smooth sailing, Wen Qin was still just a commoner. He has always lived in Chang'an City but had never been honored to meet anyone from the Marquis Mansion. Now that the young lady of the Marquis Mansion came to him in person, he was naturally terrified.After the guard asked a few more simple questions, he saluted to Wen Qin before he turned around and left. Wen Qin let out a long sigh of relief and asked someone to push him back after a sigh.The guard returned to the side of the carriage, saluted, and reported, "Master, Miss Wen left for the Huaihe River Exhibition an hour ago, and has already left Chang'an City."Chi Jingxi frowned, "What is she doing there?"The guard didn't know, so he chose to remain silent.Chi Jingxis expression remained indifferent, but the fast tapping of his finger revealed his inner irritability. After a moment of silence, he ordered, "Head to the Huaihe River Exhibition."The guards responded and got on their horse immediately. Soon after, the carriage rushed towards the Huaihe River.Wen Yantong had two main purposes for going to the exhibition One was that she hadn't seen Chi Jingxi for several days, and she really wanted to see him. The second reason was to familiarize herself with Chang'an City. Though this was the place where the Wen Residence took root, to Wen Yantong, it was a truly unfamiliar capital. Moreover, it wasnt good to bound herself indoors all the time, she needed to get to know more people.The news of the banquet-like exhibition organized by the Marquis Mansion traveled far and wide, and almost all the aristocratic families in Chang'an City brought their children to it. Some of these aristocratic families either had ancestors who were officials conferred personally by the emperor, while others had great literary reputation passed down generation to generation.Of course, the Marquis Mansion did not restrict common civilians from entering, so Wen Yantong could also openly report her familys name and enter.As its name would have it, Huaihe River Exhibition was a show of famous paintings on the river. The artwork would be displayed on the boats that steadily float upstream on the Huaihe River; in about every twenty minutes, a new boat will pull toward shore.Many pavilions and kiosks were built along the river; people were allowed to rest in these buildings while waiting for the paintings.It was said that the night scenery on the Huaihe River was truly a sight to behold. All the boats on the river would be lit with lanterns. From a distance, it looked like a flowing river of stars, and the brilliant lights of the lanterns and stars would merge and splendor on the rivers surface.When Wen Yantong finally arrived, it happened to be lunch time. There were several streets beside the Huaihe River, with restaurants being the most numerous.She randomly picked a restaurant, planning to go there first to fill her stomach before going to take a look at the river.Unfortunately, the restaurants by the Huaihe River were bustling like never before. Wen Yantong went to several restaurants, but couldn't find an empty spot. She couldnt help but repeatedly sigh at her blunder.She should have expected this, an exhibition hosted by the Marquis Mansion was bound to attract many people. As such, those people would also need to find a place to fill their stomachs when it was meal time. Furthermore, restaurants like these looked highly on their clients status. Though some may have told her that they were full, in fact there were still unoccupied private rooms upstairs, which are reserved for the rich and powerful.However, no matter how much Wen Yantong offered, she still couldnt buy a private room. This made her extremely infuriated. In the middle of her frustrations, someone suddenly called her nickname."Tongtong!"The voice came through the restaurant's noisy lobby, Wen Yantong turned her head suspiciously, and saw a man dressed in a bamboo green gown, rushing over with a smile.The man was a stranger in Wen Yantongs eyes, she had no idea who this person was at all. Hence, she immediately turned around and asked her personal maid, "Xiao Yun, who is that?"Xiao Yun had been with the original cannon fodder for many years, and has always served her personally. However, when Wen Yantong brought back another maid this time, Xiao Yun felt her position threatened and that she had fallen out of favor. From the day she returned, Xiao Yun had constantly stayed by Wen Yantong striving to present herself in the best way possible.So she immediately answered, "Miss, this is the second son of our Madams elder sister. You met him two years ago."Wen Yantong pretended to suddenly realize, "Second Elder Cousin?"Xiao Yun nodded.Wen Yantong immediately greeted him with a smile, "Second Elder Cousin, how come youre here as well?"This Second Elder Cousin was never mentioned in the original novel and most have been, at most, a passerby. Without any background knowledge of this person, Wen Yantong could only blindly feel as she goes.The benevolent looking Second Elder Cousin replied, "Of course Im here for the exhibition today, isn't that why you came here too?"Wen Yantong smiled and replied, "Yes."Second Elder Cousin then asked, "Youre here to eat, right?"Wen Yantong replied, "That's right, it's just that this place seems to be full. The front desk told me that there was no more room."The Second Elder Cousin waved his hand, "Come, sit with me. Youre just in time, my food hasn't been served yet."Wen Yantong was overjoyed. "Really? Then I won't be polite."This Second Elder Cousin was practically sent from heaven, appeared in the nick of time and saved a seat for her. In order to fill her stomach, Wen Yantong disregarded social etiquettes, and went to sit with her Second Elder Cousin.There were only a few pastries and appetizers on the table. Second Elder Cousin asked his servants to get another pair of chopsticks and a bowl for her and then said, "Tongtong, you can order whatever you want. Its my treat."Wen Yantong wasnt short of money, but she accepted her cousins generosity with a smile.After the Second Elder Cousin ordered Wen Yantong's share of food, he chatted with her idly, "Tongtong, I heard that you have been Chaoge for a while now, when did you come back?"Wen Yantong answered casually, "I just came back a few days ago. I have been learning embroidery in Chaoge."The Second Elder Cousin poured himself a small cup of wine, and poured a cup of tea for Wen Yantong. "Look at you. Im sure there are plenty of schools that teach embroidery in Chang'an. Youre just a young girl, why bother to go so far to Chaoge? It's not safe nor is it convenient.Wen Yantong held her tea cup and answered, "I just heard that there was a very famous embroidery hall in Chaoge, so I wanted to go and have a look."