Great, it's just a lackey, we're saved!

Chapter 87 Marionette

On the riverbank outside Beijing, Xi Tong was happily skipping stones.

Xie Yuan knew his little pageboy very well, and what he said was indeed correct.

This child, after serving Xie Yuan his breakfast, would sneak out to play and wouldn't come home until mealtime.

Although he was called a pageboy, he was illiterate, but he was very good at teasing cats and dogs.

He was accompanied by homeless beggars from the capital, all of whom had dirty hair, but Xi Tong didn't care.

He was having a great time playing with a group of beggars, acting like a leader among the children!

That's how Hu Youniang first noticed Xi Tong.

She came to the capital to find someone who could help her cultivate, but after two months of searching, she had no results.

It wasn't until Xi Tong was found by the river that Hu You Niang's dagger reacted.

"This leader of the children actually possesses an air of refinement?"

If it weren't for the dagger as a clue, Hu Youniang would never have believed it.

Xi Tong looks completely devoid of any scholarly air.

But since the dagger was sensitive, Hu Youniang could only follow Xi Tong to find clues.

Until she discovered Xie Yuan hiding in the Jiaofangsi!

Xie Yuan's talent astonished Hu Youniang!

His scholarly air was so strong that it almost overwhelmed all the students in the capital.

But why weren't we aware of people like this before?

After a careful examination, Hu Youniang realized that Xie Yuan's overwhelming literary aura was actually being suppressed.

It was impossible to penetrate the courtyard of the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment district).

No wonder she searched for months without finding it!

However, this also shows that Xie Yuan is difficult for her to use.

Hu Youniang assumed that Xie Yuan, being a courtesan in the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution), would inevitably have to entertain guests in the future.

With such a background, one is simply not qualified to participate in the imperial examinations and achieve success.

Reluctantly, Hu Youniang gave up her search in the capital and instead devoted herself to the journey of scholars traveling to the capital for the imperial examinations.

Persistence pays off, and she finally found Chu Tiance.

"It's a pity that Chu Lang is a bit strange. He clearly possesses great fortune, but his literary talent is lacking."

"With such limited literary talent, I'm afraid he won't pass the imperial examination."

After thinking for a while, Hu Youniang thought of Xie Yuan again.

"If we were to steal the literary talent of those courtesans from the brothel and give it to Chu Lang, wouldn't that help him soar to great heights?"

After coming up with this idea, Hu Youniang appeared and bumped into Chu Tiance.

The story that followed was just like the one in the storybook, where the man and woman were identical.

One deliberately seduced the other, while the other harbored ulterior motives; the two quickly became inseparable.

"It's a pity that I've lost that dagger. Without Chu Lang's guidance, I wouldn't even be able to get into a place like the library."

When Hu Youniang helped Chu Tiance steal Xie Yuan's work, it was effortless.

Her dagger contained a trace of the Great Zhou Dynasty's destiny, so even if she freely entered and exited the palace, it would not affect her.

This is also a key reason why Hu Youniang was able to steal the exam questions!

"Right now, it's just helping Chu Lang steal an article, which isn't too difficult."

"I just hope there won't be any more big exams in the future, otherwise even if I had three heads and six arms, I wouldn't be able to steal the exam questions."

With her thoughts churning, Hu Youniang called out to Xitong.

"Xi Tong!"

Xi Tong was having a great time when he heard someone calling him. He turned around and saw the stunningly beautiful Hu You Niang standing under the tree.

He exclaimed happily, "Oh, it's Sister Hu! Sister Hu, did you bring me something delicious again?"

As Xi Tong spoke, he was about to walk toward Hu Youniang, but the little beggar who was playing with him stopped him.

"Brother Xitong, don't go."

Xi Tong turned around and glanced at the eleven or twelve-year-old beggar.

The little beggar had a bald head covered in scars; he had only started playing with them a few days ago.

"Zhu Qi, you don't know Sister Hu? Sister Hu is so kind. She often buys us pastries from Tianxianglou."

"Ask them if they've all eaten it?"

A group of little beggars nodded and swallowed hard. The way they looked at Hu Youniang was not at the beautiful woman, but at the pastries.

"Yes, yes, Zhu Qi, let's go find Sister Hu to get some food!"

Zhu Qi still held onto Xi Tong and whispered, "Brother Xi Tong, that woman has a strange aura about her. I feel uncomfortable just looking at her. You'd better not have any contact with her."

Upon hearing this, Xi Tong burst into laughter.

He pointed at Zhu Qi's bald head and laughed: "Zhu Qi, you think you're some kind of high monk with that bald head?"

"Haha, those are ordination scars on high monks, what are these on you? Sister Hu is incredibly beautiful, where is there any evil about her!"

After saying that, he ignored Zhu Qi and called to the other little beggars to go find Hu Youniang.

Zhu Qi kept staring at Hu Youniang's back until she left.

"What an enigmatic woman! Could she be a demon?"

Hu Youniang pulled Xi Tong aside to talk, and glanced at Zhu Qi without making a sound.

He asked, "Why didn't that little beggar come over? Didn't you tell him I have something good to eat here?"

Xi Tong waved her hand: "Sister, don't pay attention to him. He's new here. He must have grown up in a poor, remote area. He doesn't know how delicious Tianxianglou's pastries are."

Hu Youniang smiled and nodded, ignoring Zhu Qi.

What big waves can a little beggar stir up?

……

When Xi Tong returned to the Jiaofangsi, it was almost curfew time.

Xie Yuan was sitting at the table reading a book when he saw Xi Tong return. He casually asked, "Where did you go to play today?"

“Young master, I went to the river outside the capital to skip stones. I can skip twenty or thirty stones by myself. They are not as good as me.”

Xie Yuan couldn't help but laugh: "Just wasting time, have you even eaten yet?"

Xi Tong was taken aback when she heard this. Had he eaten?

How could I not remember?

If I haven't eaten, I'm not hungry; if I have eaten, I have no recollection of it.

Xie Yuan had been observing Xi Tong's reaction, and now he couldn't help but laugh at him: "What's wrong? You're having so much fun that you've forgotten whether you've eaten or not?"

Xi Tong scratched his head, unable to recall anything.

"Young master, you must have eaten. Anyway, I'm not hungry now."

"Young master, it's getting late. Don't read anymore; it's bad for your eyes. Let me tidy up your desk."

Xie Yuan nodded, put the book on the table, and then washed up and went to bed.

When he woke up the next day, he saw that there were some extra things on his desk.

I picked it up and flipped through it; it was all the latest policy essays.

His own rebuttal of Chu Tiance was also included.

When Xi Tong brought the food into the room, she saw Xie Yuan flipping through a book.

He casually said, "Young master, I saw this at a bookstore yesterday. The shopkeeper said it was full of good articles, so I bought it for you to enjoy."

As Xi Tong spoke, she lowered her head to set out the food.

Xie Yuan took the opportunity to carefully observe Xi Tong's expression and found that her eyes were somewhat vacant.

The hand movements were also very slow!

"The articles here are very interesting. I am particularly interested in a few of them, and I even feel like debating with them."

Xi Tong served Xie Yuan his meal and stood aside, saying, "If you want to debate, young master, you should eat first."

"But if you ask me, is there anyone in the capital whose talent can surpass that of the young master?"

"No matter how well these articles are written, they cannot compare to even a fraction of your talent, young master."

Xie Yuan was focused on eating when he suddenly turned to look at Xi Tong beside him.

Xi Tong was still talking when she felt Xie Yuan's gaze and suddenly stopped.

Looking at Xie Yuan with a puzzled expression, she asked, "What's wrong, young master? Is the food not to your liking?"

Xie Yuan waved his hand with a smile, but he was extremely shocked inside!

When he suddenly turned to look at Xi Tong just now, he clearly saw that Xi Tong looked confused.

His mouth opened and closed, but his face remained expressionless, like a marionette!

Even more terrifying, there seemed to be a faint green light emanating from Xi Tong's eyes.

It happened in the blink of an eye, so fast that Xie Yuan didn't even see it clearly.