DKGWF Chapter 9

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Early in the morning, Rong Jiahui sat by the window, staring blankly at the white jade hairpin that had been returned to her a few days ago. It had been repaired by the best silver shop in the capital, now adorned with delicate golden filigree swirling around the jade, looking so exquisite that it seemed as if it had always been meant to look this way.

It was truly beautiful.

The incident of Zhongli Luo retrieving the hairpin from the water was barely known to anyone, and she had deliberately suppressed any talk of it. She didn’t want the story reaching her parents' ears, fearing they might develop improper thoughts about the relationship between their godson and their daughter—perhaps thinking they were getting a bit too close.

After all, for a boy to jump into the water just to retrieve a girl’s hairpin—how could anyone take that purely at face value? Even though her parents understood Zhongli Luo’s nature well, knowing that he would probably do the same for anyone, the fact remained that they had only known each other for just over a month. Besides, she was still a young girl, not yet fully grown, with a slightly chubby figure. It was only her own self-perception that insisted she was exceptionally beautiful.

She twirled the hairpin in her fingers, and through the lustrous sheen of the jade, she seemed to catch a glimpse of Zhongli Luo’s elegant face once again.

Ah, what was she even thinking? If her soul could be so easily taken away just because someone retrieved a hairpin for her, that would be utterly ridiculous. She pinched her own plump cheeks hard, leaving a red mark, reminding herself that she was only twelve and a half years old—not twenty-four! Thinking too much at her age was just embarrassing!

Still, as she gazed at the hairpin, a sweetness crept into her heart. This was something he had personally retrieved for her from the water. In her past life, because everyone knew she had been engaged from a young age, no young men ever tried to pursue her. Meanwhile, her talented and beautiful cousins had matchmakers lining up at their door.

As a result, no one had ever shown her such attentiveness before. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so easily flustered now—just because a silly boy fished out a hairpin for her. How utterly useless of her!

But then again, she was just a girl—why should she care about being "useful"? She covered her face, thinking to herself. After all, in this era, a woman’s entire life was defined by three titles: someone’s daughter, someone’s wife, someone’s mother…

How pathetic.

At this thought, an inexplicable chill settled in her heart. She didn’t like this fate. But what could she do? She shook her head, placed the repaired hairpin back into its jewelry box, and sighed. She was only troubling herself with useless worries again.

Mid-Autumn Festival Gathering

Time passed like an arrow, flowing like water, and soon, the Mid-Autumn Festival arrived. The family sat in the courtyard, eating mooncakes under the bright full moon.

While his father was reciting poetry and the rest of the family nodded along in agreement, Rong Jiaze took the opportunity to stuff his mouth with as many mooncakes as possible. Suddenly, he found one that was especially delicious. After taking a couple of bites, he eagerly held it out to his sister like a treasure.

“Sis, this one’s really sweet and delicious! Try it!”

Rong Jiahui looked at the mooncake, already missing a chunk and bearing clear traces of his saliva. She couldn’t help but smack him on the head.

“You little brat! What is wrong with you?!”

Seeing that his attempt to share had completely backfired, Rong Jiaze pouted and silently resumed munching on his mooncake.

Madam Yu, watching her son’s dejected expression, covered her mouth and chuckled.

However, her attention was soon drawn to a few unfamiliar glimmers of gold in her daughter’s hair. She asked curiously, “Jiahui, where did that gold-inlaid jade hairpin come from? I don’t recall you having anything like that.”

Rong Jiahui was still young, and her mother managed all of her jewelry. Madam Yu knew every piece in her collection by heart.

Upon hearing her mother’s question, Zhongli Luo’s gaze also shifted toward her.

Rong Jiahui reached up to touch her hair, then glanced over at Zhongli Luo, who was looking at her, before smiling and explaining, “It was originally just a jade hairpin, but about a month ago, it accidentally broke. This was the only way to fix it.”

Hearing this, Madam Yu found it rather unusual. Was this really her pampered daughter speaking?

Frugality was good, but Madam Yu still gently advised, “Silly girl, if something is broken, just get rid of it. This kind of jade is nice, but it’s not exactly rare. Our family is not in such dire straits that you need to be so frugal. If others find out, they might laugh at you.”

Rong Jiahui merely smiled and said nothing.

Seeing that her daughter wasn’t taking her words seriously, Madam Yu sighed. She glanced at her husband, who was happily chatting with their well-behaved godson, and then at her son, who was still wolfing down mooncakes.

She couldn’t help but lament—why were her own children both so disobedient, while the obedient Zhongli Luo wasn’t actually hers? What a shame.

If only her daughter weren’t already engaged… Sigh.

Really, it was all her foolish husband’s fault.

Thinking this, Madam Yu cast a fierce glare at Rong Chen.

Rong Chen, who had been engrossed in a lively discussion with his “godson,” froze.

He was just talking—how had he managed to offend her now?

A Holiday for the Scholars

For all the scholars, the Mid-Autumn Festival was more than just a time for family gatherings—it meant three whole days without school!

Typically, the Rong family’s private academy only granted a three-day break once a month, which was never quite enough for the children to truly enjoy themselves.

Just, Zhongli Luo was the type of person who preferred to stay in the study and read all kinds of books, even during holidays, unlike Rong Jiaze, who was always running around and nowhere to be seen. At first, Rong Jiahui felt a little embarrassed to go looking for him, but after knowing him for a while, she began to stroll in and out as she pleased.

On the last day of the three-day holiday, early in the morning, Rong Jiahui ran off to find Zhongli Luo again. The door to the study was not closed, and the morning sunlight stretched the shadow of the threshold long across the ground. She ordered the servants to keep quiet and then carefully stepped inside.

She tiptoed to stand behind Zhongli Luo. As expected, his delicate "Zan Hua Xiao Kai" script was even more refined than her own handwriting—it truly had a certain elegance to it.

"Hey, is this your homework? You know, instead of writing Yan, Liu, or Ou styles, why do you always practice Zan Hua Xiao Kai?" she suddenly asked aloud.

Zhongli Luo, who had not noticed her presence, was startled. His hand trembled, and the brush suddenly skidded across the paper, leaving a long, dark ink streak. Just like how a single rat dropping could ruin a whole pot of soup, this single stroke had ruined an entire page of beautifully written characters.

Rong Jiahui puffed up her cheeks, realizing that his work had been wasted. After all, she was someone who knew when to bow her head, so she quickly lowered it and apologized, "I'm sorry! I messed up again."

Zhongli Luo also felt it was a pity—he had spent a long time writing it.

However, when he saw the round little face of the girl in front of him looking slightly aggrieved, he couldn't bring himself to scold her anymore.

He picked up the ruined paper, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it aside. Then he said, "I used to practice Yan style as well, but Zan Hua Xiao Kai is elegant and lively—I just like it better."

Seeing how he brushed past the issue as if it was nothing, just like he always did, Rong Jiahui playfully stuck out the tip of her tongue and continued, "Well, I also love the beauty of Zan Hua Xiao Kai, but aren't you afraid people will make fun of you?"

Zhongli Luo simply smiled without saying a word.

There were always people who would laugh at him, but when faced with overwhelming martial prowess, even those who wanted to mock him could only swallow their words.

She laid out a fresh sheet of paper, pressed it down with a paperweight, and was about to write when Rong Jiahui patted her shoulder and finally, in a seemingly casual manner, revealed her real intention:

"Brother, since we both practice Zan Hua Xiao Kai, and since we’re good friends, if the teacher ever punishes me by making me copy texts again, you should help me copy them too!"

It wasn’t a big deal, so Zhongli Luo nodded. "Alright."

The moment he agreed, Rong Jiahui immediately reached for a book from his bookshelf, flipped through it, and pointed to a particular essay with a fawning smile.

"Um… my teacher said I have to copy this fifty times, neatly, and hand it in tomorrow. I've only copied it twice in the past two days," she said, making a gesture with her fingers to show the number.

Zhongli Luo was stunned. Such a long essay, fifty times, and neatly written—this so-called gentle female teacher was even stricter than the old scholars in the clan school who liked to smack students' palms with a ruler. At this moment, when he looked at Rong Jiahui’s bright, smiling face again, he finally understood—she had come specifically to trick him into this task.

"A gentleman's word is his bond." Rong Jiahui grinned mischievously. She personally brought over a stool and sat beside Zhongli Luo. His study desk was large enough for two or three people to write comfortably.

She took out her paper and brush, wrote a single character, then noticed that Zhongli Luo was still sitting there in a daze. She nudged him with her elbow.

Seeing him snap back to reality, Rong Jiahui tilted her head and said sweetly, "Brother Zhongli, you already promised me! Come on, let's get started!"

Zhongli Luo dumbly responded and picked up his brush, really helping her copy the text.

The two of them copied from sunrise to sunset, finally completing forty-eight copies. Including Rong Jiahui’s earlier two, the task was done.

Rong Jiahui rubbed her sore eyes and thanked Zhongli Luo profusely before happily running off with the fruit of their labor.

To be precise, it was the result of Zhongli Luo’s labor for an entire day—Rong Jiahui had only copied four of them. If she hadn’t felt guilty seeing Zhongli Luo writing so diligently, she probably would have slacked off even more.

Seeing how she kept taking breaks—claiming her hand was sore and she needed water, then saying she was hungry and deserved a snack—it was likely that if left to her own devices, those fifty copies would have taken her a month or two to finish.

Zhongli Luo shook his aching hands and blinked his sore eyes, watching Rong Jiahui’s joyful figure disappearing into the distance. He couldn’t help but chuckle foolishly.

After an entire day of hard work, she was so exhausted that she skipped dinner and collapsed onto her bed. But for some reason, she felt like she had forgotten something important.

It must be her imagination.

Anyway, she’d figure it out after a good night's sleep.

The next day, the only one who hadn’t completed her assignment was her. So, carrying two buckets filled with water, she stood at the door in punishment for the entire day.

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