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Chapter 18: Lu Shujin Felt Terribly Wronged

Lu Shujin suddenly looked up at him, her dark eyes seeming to be covered with a layer of light, filled with surprise, “Young Master Xiao is willing to help me?”

“Of course, it’s not for free,” Xiao Jin said.

“I only have twenty-eight taels and seven hundred wen on me,” Lu Shujin said hastily.

The value was so precise, as if it were a conclusion reached after counting many times, and Xiao Jin was immediately startled, forgetting what he was about to say. “All of your money?”

Lu Shujin nodded and added, “Twenty taels of which I borrowed from someone else.”

“You only have eight taels in total?” His voice was full of shock. He looked at Lu Shujin again and again, and only then did he realize that her coarse linen clothes were sold at the cheapest shop on the street, her long hair was tied with a gray hair tie, and there wasn’t a single valuable thing on her. It was clear that this poor scholar, Lu Shujin, was much more destitute than he had imagined.

“Eight taels and seven hundred wen,” she corrected.

Perhaps it was because she was usually quiet, with fair skin and bright eyes, and always kept herself clean, so people didn’t notice that she was so poor.

No wonder she had secretly peeked at the box of grapes on the table before. She probably hadn’t eaten much but was greedy, yet in the end, she didn’t ask for any due to her pride. The more Xiao Jin looked at Lu Shujin, the more he felt that the two words “pitiful” were written all over her face.

Lu Shujin saw that Xiao Jin hadn’t spoken for a while and was worried that he had changed his mind. She immediately regretted her loose tongue and said quickly, “If it’s not enough, I can go and borrow more. Young Master Xiao, just tell me how much money is enough.”

Looking at her anxious expression, Xiao Jin felt both annoyed and like laughing.

How could this person be so poor, yet all she could think about was the girl in the brothel, so obsessed.

He was very puzzled and said, “With so little money, even if you do manage to buy her freedom, what will you eat and drink with afterward?”

Although that was true, human lives were more important than money. When money was gone, there was always a way to earn it again.

Lu Shujin said twice, “It’s fine, it’s fine.”

Xiao Jin peeled another lychee, not asking any more questions. He said, “You don’t need to spend any money. You help me get through tomorrow’s test, and I’ll help you get the person out of Yuhua Pavilion.”

“Really?” Lu Shujin was delighted, but soon a look of confusion appeared on her face. “How can I help you get through the test?”

Jiazi Hall had a test every half a month. The main content of the test was the official text, focusing on the eight-part essay, policy essays, or questions set by the master himself. It wasn’t a very important exam, but it was the first test since the class started, so Qiao Bailian was more attentive and would personally supervise it.

Xiao Jin had planned to return to the ‘Ding’ class before the test, but Qiao Bailian saw through his intentions and made it clear that he had to participate in this test, and if he didn’t pass, he wouldn’t be allowed to return.

Xiao Jin had a headache.

He said, “Help me write it.”

“But there isn’t enough time in one test to write two answer sheets.”

“Then just write faster,” Xiao Jin clearly didn’t consider this problem for her. He only said, “You consider whether you can do it or not. I don’t care about these things.”

“I can.” How could Lu Shujin still be entangled in these issues? Let alone writing two copies, she would try her best to write four. Without thinking, she agreed, “I can do it. Please help me, Young Master Xiao.”

Xiao Jin smiled with a hooked lip and raised his eyebrows, saying, “Of course.”

Although Lu Shujin didn’t show it on her face, she was overjoyed in her heart. She knew that if Xiao Jin took action, saving Yang Peier was a sure thing. Even though helping Xiao Jin cheat on the test was against her principles, she couldn’t afford to worry about that much right now.

Xiao Jin felt tired of eating the lychees after half a box, and the remaining half was left on the table, and he didn’t even glance at it all afternoon.

He didn’t care, but Lu Shujin, his deskmate, was extremely conflicted. She remembered the box of grapes was the same last time. This young master, who grew up with a golden spoon, didn’t care about these things at all. If he liked to eat it, he would eat it; if he didn’t, he would throw it away, regardless of its value or how precious it was.

When Lu Shujin looked at the lychees in the box for the tenth time, it was already close to the end of class. The master had left early, allowing the students to study on their own.

She knew that once the bell for the end of class rang, Xiao Jin would, just like last time, not care about this box of fruit and would throw it away the next day. Last time it was grapes, this time it was lychees.

“Young Master Xiao,” Lu Shujin couldn’t hold back and called him in a low voice.

Xiao Jin was absorbed in his book and only slightly turned his head when he heard the voice, letting out a low “Hmm?” from his throat.

“Aren’t you going to eat these?” Lu Shujin pointed at the lychees and carefully chose her words. “Summer is hot, and lychees are delicate. If they are left here overnight, they won’t be edible tomorrow. Instead of being wasted…”

She wanted to say, “why not take them out and share them with those few little followers who surround you all day long,” but before she could finish, the bell outside rang, and it was time to end class.

Xiao Jin looked up from his book, glanced out the window, and closed his book while standing up. He stretched his shoulders and then turned to look at her, saying nonchalantly, “Then take them and eat them. If you finish them, it won’t be a waste.”

After speaking, he impatiently walked away. The master wasn’t in the classroom, and when the bell for the end of class rang, he was the first to walk out, as if he was in a hurry to get out of prison.

Lu Shujin’s gaze followed his back until it disappeared, then she retracted it, staring blankly at the lychees.

The people in the classroom left one after another, and after most were gone, Lu Shujin came to her senses and began to pack up the things on the table.

Not accepting alms from others was a habit she had developed at her aunt’s house. Even if life was hard, gritting her teeth and enduring it would get her through, and her backbone was still stiff.

But this situation didn’t count.

She tidied up Xiao Jin’s writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, cleaning them up. Those few lychees were the reward she deserved, not alms.

Lu Shujin thought to herself as she tidied up Xiao Jin’s desk.

In the end, she took those few lychees and couldn’t resist eating one on the way. The flesh was white and full of juice, and it tasted entirely sweet, without any sourness.

Lu Shujin decided to crown lychees as the most delicious fruit in the world, with grapes coming in second.

Because Xiao Jin had promised to help save Yang Pei’er, Lu Shujin slept very soundly that night and also got up early the next day. It wasn’t very bright outside when she left.

When she arrived at the Jiazi Hall, the room was still a bit dark. Lu Shujin took a candle holder from the cabinet behind the door. As soon as she lit it and turned around, she saw someone standing at her seat and was instantly startled.

She looked closely and said in surprise, “Wu Chengyun?”

“You’re here so early?” Wu Chengyun forced an awkward smile.

Lu Shujin was very puzzled about him standing at her seat. Just as she was about to ask, she saw a book open on Xiao Jin’s desk, which Wu Chengyun had clearly just taken out. “What are you doing?”

Wu Chengyun scratched his head, as if it was difficult to speak. He stammered, “I… I’ve seen Xiao Jin reading a book in class these past two days, and I was just curious what he was looking at.”

Lu Shujin fell silent. She placed the candle holder on the desk, the light falling on the cover of the book. Her eyesight was good, and with just one glance down, she saw a line: “Tucking her red trousers, crossing her legs on the green quilt. Their lips met, one arm supported her head.”

Her eyes darted away as if they had been burned, and the roots of her ears felt hot. Lu Shujin walked around to her seat and sat down, her tone not very good. “Don’t touch his book. If he finds out, he’ll lose his temper.”

Wu Chengyun quickly agreed twice, closed the book, put it back in its original place, and then left in a hurry.

Lu Shujin opened the book and stared blankly for a long time, the words she had just seen in Xiao Jin’s book still in her mind. She couldn’t concentrate at all. It wasn’t until the sky gradually brightened and more people entered the classroom that she calmed her thoughts.

Before the class bell rang, Xiao Jin entered the classroom with a gust of summer wind. The students’ discussions instantly quieted down. Lu Shujin looked up at the commotion and saw Xiao Jin swinging a jade carving with a red string on it, slowly walking to his seat.

His steps were slow, as if he was very reluctant, truly unwilling to come to the classroom to study.

As soon as Lu Shujin saw him, she remembered the two lines she had just managed to forget. Waves of heat rushed to her face. She lowered her head and focused on driving out the distracting thoughts.

Xiao Jin sat down, played with the jade carving in his hand, and took out his book. He took one look at it and his movements stopped. He turned his head to glance at Lu Shujin.

He saw her with her head bowed, revealing the side of her face. A faint blush stained her skin from the roots of her ears upward. Her eyes were fixed on a certain spot on the book, looking as if she was trying to act calm.

“You…” Xiao Jin had just spoken when Lu Shujin’s body stiffened almost imperceptibly. Then she heard him ask, “Did you touch my book?”

Lu Shujin was still relatively calm at this point: “I tidied up the desk after class yesterday.”

“You know I don’t mean that,” Xiao Jin raised his eyebrows slightly, leaned closer, and his voice was almost right next to Lu Shujin’s ear, very low. “You opened it and looked, didn’t you?”

Lu Shujin didn’t say a word. She didn’t dare to look up into Xiao Jin’s eyes, nor did she say that Wu Chengyun was the one who opened it. With Xiao Jin’s temper, if he found out that Wu Chengyun had opened his book, he would definitely hit him.

“Which part did you look at?” Xiao Jin didn’t get an answer and didn’t give up. He pressed on, “Was it when Yan’er was pressed down in the wheat field by Wang Sanlang, or when she was carried to the bed by Li Xiucai…”

“Neither.” Lu Shujin felt as if her face was on fire. She couldn’t bear to hear another word from Xiao Jin, so she hurriedly interrupted and denied, “I didn’t look.”

Xiao Jin looked at the side of her face. Her fair skin was dyed the color of a fiery sunset, spreading upward from her neck, and the tips of her ears were bright red. This shy and innocent reaction only made him find it extremely amusing.

What young man hadn’t read a few erotic novels? Ji Shuoting ran to his house with this kind of novel when he was seven. After Xiao Yunye found it, the two of them were punished to kneel in the courtyard together. But Lu Shujin seemed to have never been exposed to such things. She would blush completely at the mention of it, lower her eyes, and not dare to look up at people, retreating into her shell like a turtle.

And this brat wanted to go to a brothel to buy someone out?

Xiao Jin maliciously teased her, “If you like to read it, you should have said so earlier. Why be so sneaky? I’ll bring you a few books. There are all kinds, like the monk and the married woman, or the scholar and the young lady of a wealthy family. I’ll bring you seventeen or eighteen.”

Lu Shujin wanted to plug her ears. She clenched her fists in embarrassment and refused very decisively, “I won’t read them!”

“Are you sure you won’t?” Xiao Jin leaned in closer, a smile on his lips as he tilted his head to look at her. He snorted and pretended to criticize, “Well, you’re just pretending to be proper. You visit brothels and secretly look at my books. Your mind isn’t on your studies at all.”

Lu Shujin felt terribly wronged.

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