TPATTHU Chapter 57
by VolareFresh air filled his lungs, and Zhao Xiaosi fell onto the bedding, coughing, alarming the servants outside.
“Young Master, what’s wrong?”
Came the anxious and concerned voices of the servants, and some were even about to push the door open to check.
Zhao Xiaosi’s pair of bright, round eyes darted around Xiao Zhinian’s fierce face, and he immediately raised his voice, “Don’t come in and disturb me! Get out of here!”
The servants chorused their acknowledgement and fell silent.
Zhao Xiaosi was also frightened by Xiao Zhinian. He subtly shifted his rear backward, wrapped himself in the blanket, and whispered, “Why are you in my room? My father and the others are drinking in the front, shouldn’t you be there?”
The naive Zhao Xiaosi had seen Xiao Zhinian dining with Yang Shihui and the others at the banquet before, and thought they were together.
Xiao Zhinian had just emerged from the cellar, originally intending to go to the prison to inquire about Shen Zhejiang’s situation. He was about to leave when he saw the constables chasing him all over the streets. Coincidentally, Zhao Xiaosi had just returned to the Zhao residence.
After considering the matter, he felt that he was outnumbered and not strong enough to force his way in. So, he changed his strategy midway and followed Zhao Xiaosi all the way here.
“I have a question for you,” Xiao Zhinian said, “Where have you been these past few days?”
Hearing this question, Zhao Xiaosi’s spirits instantly lifted. He threw off the blanket and scrambled over to Xiao Zhinian, using both hands and feet. He completely forgot that Xiao Zhinian had almost strangled him to death just now, and said excitedly, “Finally, someone is willing to ask me! Great! Let me tell you, I went to Wu City for a few days and had so much fun. My father rarely allows me to go out and play alone. I don’t know why he changed his mind this time. But that’s not important. Do you know…? I…”
Xiao Zhinian’s head was aching from his chatter. He was already annoyed, and now he had to deal with this talkative, never-ending kid.
Zhao Xiaosi was completely oblivious to Xiao Zhinian’s disgust and continued to ramble on, “I met a merchant leading camels on the road and even bought a fun, rare trinket from him. I’ll send it to my teacher tomorrow. I miss him so much after not seeing him for so many days.”
Xiao Zhinian couldn’t bear it any longer and snapped, “Who’s your teacher? Who wants you to miss him?”
“What’s it to you! Just because the portraits at teacher’s home are all of you, don’t think you can monopolize teacher. Let me tell you, don’t even think about it! You’re not allowed to steal my teacher!”
Zhao Xiaosi puffed out his cheeks, his voice growing louder and louder.
If Xiao Zhinian hadn’t covered his mouth in time, he might have attracted the servants outside.
“Shen Zhejiang can only be mine! If you spout any more nonsense, believe it or not, I’ll tear off your head and feed it to the dogs!”
“…”
Zhao Xiaosi indeed shrank his neck. He originally wanted to argue a bit more, but when he met Xiao Zhinian’s almost murderous gaze, he immediately lost his voice.
No joke, he felt that Xiao Zhinian was really capable of killing him.
“I’m going to stay in your room for a couple of days. You’re going to do something for me,” Xiao Zhinian glared at him coldly, thinking of something, and then said, “I’ll only tell you once. If you dare to betray me, watch your head!”
“Ugh… bas…ed…” With his mouth covered by Xiao Zhinian, Zhao Xiaosi spoke unclearly, struggling frantically, “Let…me…”
Xiao Zhinian said extremely quickly, “Shen Zhejiang is in prison. I want you to help me save him, hiss!”
A pain in his palm, it turned out that Zhao Xiaosi had bitten him.
Heh, this kid is quite quick-witted.
Zhao Xiaosi spat and sputtered, finally realizing what Xiao Zhinian had said, “What did you say?! How could teacher be in prison?!”
“I can’t explain it to you clearly. In short, just honestly help me with what I need to do. In the future…”
Xiao Zhinian paused suddenly.
What about the future?
Zhao Jianji had committed heinous crimes, and he would naturally not let him off lightly. But Zhao Xiaosi, as his blood relative, would inevitably be implicated and unable to escape this calamity.
…Forget it. If Zhao Xiaosi really helped him succeed, it could be considered as offsetting his sins and it wouldn’t be impossible to spare his life.
Thinking this way, Xiao Zhinian met Zhao Xiaosi’s questioning gaze and said, “We’ll talk about it later.”
Zhao Xiaosi’s thoughts were simple, so naturally, he couldn’t guess that Xiao Zhinian in front of him had already gone through a winding path of consideration. He asked, “Okay, I don’t even know why I should trust you. Maybe it’s because I’ve known you ever since I met teacher. What do you want me to do to save teacher?”
“There’s a family named Han across from Shen Zhejiang’s house. A woman lives there. Early tomorrow morning, you go ask her for something. Just tell her who I am, but don’t let anyone find out.”
–
Zhao Xiaosi indeed listened to Xiao Zhinian and went out as soon as it dawned. He was used to running around the city, so the servants didn’t find it strange and let him play on his own.
Xiao Zhinian waited in his room, but he was restless, sometimes pacing back and forth, sometimes leaning against the pillar in a daze, and sometimes flipping through Zhao Xiaosi’s usual homework. He found a collection of poems under the table.
“I didn’t expect that kid to be quite diligent. His handwriting is comparable to mine.”
Xiao Zhinian leaned against the edge of the table, casually flipping through the book while muttering to himself.
At this moment, his ears twitched.
Someone was coming.
Xiao Zhinian jumped onto the roof beam. A book fell from where he had been standing, its pages fluttering.
Who was it?
He quietly lay on the beam, staring intently at the door. Before long, the closed wooden door was cautiously pushed open a crack.
“Xiaosi? Xiaosi?”
The person outside called out twice but received no response.
The door was pushed open wider.
Then, Xiao Zhinian discovered that the person squeezing in was actually –
Zhao Jianji.
What was he doing here stealthily?
Xiao Zhinian’s gaze followed Zhao Jianji’s fat figure below.
Zhao Jianji quickly closed the door behind him after entering, as if afraid of being noticed. Seeing that the room was empty and no one was there, he breathed a long sigh of relief.
“Where did he run off to so early in the morning? He’s never home. Well, this is convenient for me.”
Zhao Jianji’s whole body was obviously relaxed. He spoke to himself and walked towards the bed.
Xiao Zhinian’s gaze shifted over, but he didn’t expect to be mostly blocked by the curtain hanging from the beam. He had a thought, tiptoed along the beam, bent over, and peered through the gap to observe secretly.
What was he doing?
He saw Zhao Jianji skillfully lift the bed board. It was difficult for such a fat man to be able to move such a heavy object.
Books?
Xiao Zhinian narrowed his eyes, confirming that he wasn’t mistaken. Hidden under the bed board was a pile of old books.
“Yang Shihui, you old fox, you thought you were so smart, asking me to burn the account books?”
Not books, but account books.
Xiao Zhinian frowned, his eyes even colder. It turned out that Zhao Jianji had hidden all the account books here. No wonder he couldn’t find them in the study last time.
“Hehe, I didn’t expect you to fall into my hands one day. I’ve clearly recorded every transaction I’ve made over the years, and your receipts of money are all written in black and white,” Zhao Jianji said, wiping the sweat from his brow, happily taking out one of the books and flipping through it, muttering to himself, “With this handle in my hands, let’s see what tricks you can play.”
Xiao Zhinian finally understood.