DKGWF Chapter 7

| Previous | Table of Contents | Next |

By the time Rong Jiahui and her mother bid farewell to the old Marchioness Jingguo and returned home, it was still early. Her father was off somewhere enjoying himself, and her brother was still at the clan school.

Having spent the entire day at her grandmother’s house, messing around with her sisters, Rong Jiahui was quite exhausted. As soon as she entered her room, she collapsed onto her bed, closing her eyes to rest. Surprisingly, despite being made of jade, her cooling mat wasn’t too cold but instead smooth and comforting. It was so comfortable that, although she had only intended to rest for a bit, she accidentally fell asleep.

Thus, by the time she opened her eyes again, the sun had already set.

She never liked having too many people in her room, so once she had fallen asleep, her maids had quietly retreated outside to wait.

“Bailu, Shuangjiang, Hanlu, Guyu.”

She called out the names of her personal maids, expecting whoever was outside to enter first and serve her.

Soon, with a soft creak, the door was pushed open. Bailu and Shuangjiang walked over to help her sit up and prepare her clothes, while Guyu came rushing in excitedly, pointing outside as she exclaimed, “Miss, I just heard from Sister Lichun, who serves the young master—apparently, he got beaten up by Young Master Zhongli again! They say it’s because someone stuck a drawing of a turtle on Young Master Zhongli’s back.”

Rong Jiahui remained expressionless and merely let out an “Oh” before saying, “Ah Ze must have gone looking for trouble again. Serves him right.”

Guyu quickly shook her head. “No, no, I heard from Sister Lichun that it really wasn’t the young master this time. He even swore in front of all his sisters and cousins.”

Rong Jiahui chuckled. “Since when did you all start believing his words? That boy is full of tricks, and he’s always been at odds with Zhongli-gege. Trust me, don’t believe him. I won’t be used as his shield again.”

Guyu added, “But I also heard from Dongzhi that the young master cried the entire day. His voice is so hoarse he sounds like a drake and can barely speak properly.”

His voice was gone from crying? Rong Jiahui was momentarily stunned. It seemed the situation was more serious than she had initially thought. Fortunately, it was just about time for dinner, and she could ask about it at the table.

In the Rong family, apart from breakfast, meals were usually eaten together. When Rong Jiahui arrived at the dining hall, her parents had yet to come, but Zhongli Luo and Rong Jiaze were already seated, both looking rather sullen.

Under the flickering candlelight, Rong Jiaze’s nose and eyes were still red, clear evidence that he had cried terribly. Seeing this, Rong Jiahui’s heart ached as the eldest sister.

She sat down beside her brother and asked, “Ah Ze, what happened to you this time? Not even when our grandparents passed away did I see you cry like this.”

Rong Jiaze sniffled, turned away, and muttered, “I don’t need you to care. We’re not best friends anymore.”

Rong Jiahui resisted the urge to roll her eyes, turned his face back toward her, and said, “Who said I was your friend? I’m your big sister. Now, tell me—what trouble did you get yourself into this time?”

Rong Jiaze pouted, aggrieved, and pointed at Zhongli Luo. "He threw me! He just threw me for no reason! I wasn't the one who stuck the turtle on his back—I didn't even get a chance to do anything!"

"Oh," Rong Jiahui responded with a slow, deliberate tone. "So, what exactly were you planning to do?"

Realizing that he had let something slip, Rong Jiaze shuddered and immediately clamped his hands over his mouth. "Nothing!"

Rong Jiahui sighed helplessly, ruffled his hair, then turned to Zhongli Luo with an apologetic smile. "This kid is just mischievous. He doesn’t mean any harm—please don’t take it to heart."

Looking at Rong Jiahui’s gentle, smiling face, Zhongli Luo's expression softened slightly. "It was my fault for making him fall. He’s still young and speaks without thinking. I shouldn’t have taken it too seriously."

Rong Jiahui chuckled. "Oh, drop the 'young master' formalities. Just call him Jiaze—no need to inflate his ego. By the way, what exactly did he say that made you so angry?"

Before Zhongli Luo could answer, Rong Jiaze blurted out, "I only called him an idiot! I mean, come on—who doesn't notice someone sticking a turtle on their back? He just stood there looking clueless while everyone laughed at him! If that’s not being an idiot, then—ow!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Rong Jiahui smacked him on the forehead.

Though she also found the situation a little silly and endearing, proper manners had to be maintained. Calling others idiots so casually was not in line with the Rong family's values.

Twisting Rong Jiaze’s ear lightly, she turned to Zhongli Luo and said, "If this brat ever annoys you again, just come to me—I’ll handle him for you."

She was still defending her little brother, Zhongli Luo thought. Even so, her words somehow filled his heart with a warm sense of comfort.

"Alright," Zhongli Luo agreed readily.

Seeing how easily he accepted the offer, Rong Jiahui smiled and sighed in relief. Being the peacemaker wasn’t easy these days.

However, it seemed these petty troubles were far from over.

Early the next morning, as soon as Zhongli Luo stepped into the clan school, he found something extra on his desk—what looked like a dead spider pretending to be alive.

The spider was about an inch wide, completely black, and covered in fine hairs. At first glance, it looked alarmingly real and was enough to give anyone a good scare.

Seeing the group of delicate young scholars, all around thirteen to fifteen years old, looking so frightened, Zhongli Luo felt nothing. It was just a dead bug—what was there to be scared of?

She pinched one of the spider’s legs and lifted it up, then asked, “Who put this here?”

As she spoke, she moved the large spider closer to a few of her classmates. The student closest to her gulped in fear, hurriedly pointed at the chubby boy with a perpetually smiling face, and stammered, “Not me! It was Rong An’s younger brother, Rong Ping! I told you, so please have mercy—just take it away! I… I…”

Seeing that the boy was on the verge of tears, Zhongli Luo nodded to show she understood, then walked step by step toward a trembling Rong An.

Rong An stared at the oversized spider, which was larger than a copper coin, and, despite his usual bravado, couldn’t help but be afraid. His voice shook as he said, “Young Master Zhongli, I apologize on my brother’s behalf! I’ll go home and give him such a beating—he’ll be unrecognizable! I’ll smack him until even our parents can’t recognize him, until he’s so dazed he won’t recognize them either. So… can you please take that thing away now?”

Walking around carrying a spider like that—even a clueless three- or four-year-old wouldn’t dare do such a thing! This Zhongli fellow really lived up to his reputation as a wild southerner—so ruthless! Oh no, his legs were going weak.

Zhongli Luo gave him a long, deep look, then tossed the spider directly at his head. “I don’t like this gift very much. You should return it to your brother.”

Unfortunately, Rong An didn’t hear her words. The moment he saw the spider flying toward him, his vision went black, and with a loud “thud,” he collapsed to the ground. The airborne spider landed perfectly on his face, covering one of his eyes.

Zhongli Luo glanced at him indifferently. So, you dared to stick a turtle on my back? Well, revenge is best served at any time.

She dusted off her hands and looked at the unconscious Rong An. “When he wakes up, tell him to warn his brother—otherwise, next time, I’ll shove it in his mouth.”

Everyone around her swallowed nervously and nodded rapidly.

From that day on, Zhongli Luo’s reputation spread. The story of the dead black spider, however, quickly evolved. By the time it had been passed around, it had turned into a living spider, as big as a grown man’s fist, covered in multicolored fur, capable of spinning silk—silk that shimmered in five vibrant hues and was highly poisonous. What had started as a childish prank by ten-year-old Rong Ping, who wanted to stand up for Rong Jiaze, ended up being dramatized into an epic battle against a demonic spider. The absurdity of it all made Zhongli Luo both amused and exasperated.

That evening, as Zhongli Luo was heading home from school, she spotted a group of young girls standing gracefully on a bridge, feeding the fish. They giggled as they watched the beautiful koi in the pond scramble for food.

At that moment, they noticed her too. One of the girls, upon seeing her, waved with a smile, holding a packet of fish food in her hand. “Zhongli-gege!”

Zhongli Luo chuckled. It was Rong Jiahui.

She liked the way Rong Jiahui’s eyes curved into crescents when she smiled. This girl, despite her young age, always tried to act mature, like a little adult. She called her younger brother “child” as if she were worlds apart in age, though they were less than two years apart. Yet no matter how much she tried to put on airs, her natural innocence always shone through.

Zhongli Luo was an only child, born to elderly parents who had long given up hope of having children. They raised her as if she were a son, teaching her to read, write, and practice martial arts, even hoping she would serve the court one day, as if she truly were a boy. After pretending for so long, she had almost forgotten she was supposed to be a girl. If she ever wore women’s clothing now, people might mistake her for a man in disguise.

She reached up to touch the neatly coiled bun on her head and, for the first time, found herself envying Rong Jiahui’s beautifully styled hairpins and ornaments.

Seeing her lost in thought, Rong Jiahui waved a hand in front of her eyes. “What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?”

Zhongli Luo shook her head. “Nothing. You’re feeding the fish?”

Rong Jiahui grinned and nodded. “Yep! But you know, I can’t help wondering what these beautiful koi taste like. What do you think? Should we catch a couple and try them someday?”

Before Zhongli Luo could react, Rong Jiahui stuffed two packets of fish food into her hands. “Come on, let’s do it together.”

Zhongli Luo stared at the fish food in her hands, dazed for a moment, then looked up at Rong Jiahui. The girl simply smiled at her, eyes sparkling like stars.

When she noticed Zhongli Luo spacing out again, Rong Jiahui nudged her arm with her elbow. “Come on, focus! That yellow-and-black one over there—it’s always getting bullied by the others. Feed it more, or it’ll go hungry. And that little red one—it’s so tiny, it needs extra food to grow!”

Zhongli Luo gazed at her, the corners of her lips curling into a soft smile. Without a word, she obediently followed Rong Jiahui’s instructions, letting herself be ordered around.

T/N: Please give support on my ko-fi page, thank you🍊🍊🍊