She served the fish soup diligently, "I had some and it is really delicious, I immediately thought of Second Brother. You study very hard so you should replenish yourself."
Xiao Yi took the small porcelain bowl from her.
He drank the soup and smiled coldly, "Nan Baoyi, you brought me soup made by my own maid?"
Nan Baoyi was embarrassed, "Doesn't this mean I am thinking of you too? Furthermore, fish soup is nourishing, and drinking more of it can make you smarter so Second Brother should drink more!"
After saying this, she felt that she phrased it wrongly, as though Xiao Yi was very stupid.
Fortunately, Xiao Yi was not bothered by it.
She leaned her face against the bookshelf and said innocently, "Second Brother, what books are you reading recently? The imperial examination is in two years, you should really be prepared for it."
She blinked and continued, "Second Brother, Spring Flower Festival is coming soon this end of the month and I'm planning to participate in the competition. However, the question to qualify for the competition is about the Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism. I'm not that smart and I'm afraid I won't be able to answer properly. Can you teach me these few days?"
"No."
Xiao Yi was expressionless.
Nan Baoyi secretly rolled her eyes.
I knew that he would reject me!
She clasped her hands behind her and calmly paced around, "The last time I saw Fourth Brother studying, he was reciting a sentence repeatedly, something ultimate wisdom is the comprehension of absolute integrity, something common people, something perfection…"
"The way of ultimate wisdom is the comprehension of absolute integrity, genial development of the common people, and endless pursuit of the perfection of humanities."
"Yes, yes, yes, this is the sentence!" Nan Baoyi clapped her hands, her eyes shining brightly, "I heard this sentence is very famous, do you think it will be used as a qualifying question during the Spring Flower Festival?"
She was clear that this sentence was not used as a qualifying question in the Spring Flower Festival.
But it was used in the imperial examination.
She remembered it clearly because when Cheng Deyu participated in the imperial examination, he took out his answers after the examination and let everyone read it. He received unanimous praises. Everyone knew the official second son of the Cheng family was talented and expected to score the examination with honors.
In the end, when the results were out, Cheng Deyu indeed received first place.
At that time, she was very proud of him. Even though she did not like to study, she incited his answers repeatedly and could still recall the contents of the answer today.
She could not take out ten thousand gold to return to Xiao Yi. And so, she could only use this indirect method to reveal this question that would appear in the imperial examination.
However, Xiao Yi did not bother, "The Spring Flower Festival is only a pastime for dignitaries, the qualifying question would not be hard."
"Then would the imperial examination ask such a question? If yes, do you know how to answer it?"
Xiao Yi looked at Nan Baoyi sideways.
The little girl ran towards the bookshelf again and rested her chin with both hands. The gold braided hairband on her two flat buns was a little loosen, she looked very naughty and cute at the same time.
After a moment of silence, he reached out and took off her hairband.
The little girl's hair was thin and soft, flowing down from his palm like silk.
She tilted her head, looking puzzled.
The cute and fair face, with her slender and charming phoenix eyes and red cherry lips, vaguely showed an incomparable beauty when she grew up.
Xiao Yi recalled when he was having tea in a restaurant, everyone praised the beautiful daughter of Nan Guang's mistress. But he felt that in two years' time, Nan Baoyi would definitely be the most beautiful young woman in Jinguan City.
"Second brother, why did you take off my hairband?"
The little girl was unhappy.
Xiao Yi recovered.
He saw the little girl's hairband was loosened and wanted to help fasten it for her at first. However, when the moment he reached out, he took off her hairband and messed up her hair.
"Second Brother is so annoying…"
The little girl muttered the blame softly, turned around, and walked towards a mirror. She took out two new hairbands from her wide sleeves and combed her hair hard.
Xiao Yi looked at her.
She looked prettier with her hair flowing down than when it was tied up.
He watched Nan Baoyi slowly tie up her hair and felt the urge to take off her hairband again.
"Miss!"
He Ye's knock suddenly sounded from outside of the study room.
Nan Baoyi straightened some baby hair from her forehead, "What is it? I'm studying with Second Brother."
He Ye pushed open the door in embarrassment, "Someone passed a message from the front yard, saying that Third Master had not eaten or drunk anything the whole day. Nobody could persuade him… I'm worried something would happen to Third Master so I came over to tell Miss. Miss do you want to go over and take a look?"
"That troublesome father of mine!"
Nan Baoyi sighed. She took the fish soup that Xiao Yi took a sip of and followed He Ye to the front yard.
Xiao Yi still held on to the two hairbands.
The bands were exquisite, woven with gold and red threads, looking expensive and clean.
He lowered his head and sniffed.
There were still traces of hibiscus scent that only the little girl had.
He remained silent for a long time and tied the hairband on his wrist without reason.
...
Front yard.
Nan Baoyi pushed open the front door.
The room was silent. A few lanterns were lit behind the screens, faintly reflecting a figure lying on a huge bed.
She walked over with the food container, "Father."
Nan Guang turned his back against her and ignored her.
"I heard you have not been eating or drinking anything, I'm very worried so I brought over some fish soup to visit you."
Nan Guang cried hoarsely, "All of you want to see me living miserably, I know it clearly… I want to marry Liu Xiaomeng, why is it so hard?"
"Nobody in the residence wants you to live miserably."
"Then why can't I marry my Xiaomeng?!" Nan Guang suddenly sat up, "Speaking of which, all of you are just jealous that I found my true love, jealous that Xiaomeng and I are happy and affectionate!"
Nan Baoyi shook and had goosebumps.
She touched her cheeks, her tooth felt so sour like it was about to fall off because of him…
She sat beside a round table and took out the fish soup, "You saw it for yourself, Grandmother clearly allowed Aunt Liu to marry into this family. Unfortunately, Aunt Liu was dishonest and covered up the truth about her indenture. Who can we blame on this?"
The fish soup was very delicious.
Nan Baoyi stirred the soup and drank a spoonful, "Since you are refusing to eat, then just be hungry. You can eat when you accept the situation and move on. Hmm, this soup is really good."
When she drank the second spoonful, she suddenly remembered that Xiao Yi used the spoon before.
She pressed the corner of her mouth with her handkerchief and put down the spoon quietly.
Nan Guang was already very hungry.
He clutched his hungry tummy and looked at the fish soup greedily.
For a while, he licked his lips, "Since you are begging me to eat, Father will fulfill your sincerity!"
He hurriedly walked over to the table. Without using a spoon, he took the bowl and drank it without leaving a drop.
Nan Baoyi could not help but smiled.
She wiped away the soup in the corner of his mouth lovingly, "You are already a grown man, you can't just think of yourself, you should also think about Grandmother. Aunt Liu is not a good person, from the way she hid her indenture you can see that she has a hidden agenda. You should not obsess anymore. Isn't it better if we have a good and proper life together as a family?"