"Xiao Wu is sick?" Zhu Zhuqing looked confused. "No... she seems to be doing homework?"
The sounds inside the tent continued.
"Can't solve this problem?" Zhao Linchuan asked with a laugh.
"I can't..."
"Then let your master teach you."
Smack!
A crisp sound rang out.
Zhu Zhuqing shuddered. Yikes! Why was there a whip cracking, too?
Xiao Wu cried out, "Ah! Young Master, why did you hit me?"
"You deserve it for not studying properly."
"I'll study! I'll study, okay?"
Another rustle came from inside.
"Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor! Long, long live the emperor!" Xiao Wu's voice suddenly turned solemn.
"Arise, my subject."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Zhu Zhuqing thought, Oh! Why has Young Master become a ruler of a nation now?
Strange sounds continued inside the tent for a full two hours.
Only when an exquisite crystal shoe suddenly flew out from behind the curtain and landed on the grass did Zhu Zhuqing come back to her senses.
The signal had finally come!
Her skirt was soaked through!
She straightened her clothes, then tiptoed over and lifted the curtain.
The moon was bright, the stars sparse, and the night as clear as water.
By the stream, a bonfire had been lit again. Its leaping flames illuminated the surroundings.
Zhao Linchuan sat beside the fire, turning several skewers of meat in his hands. Fat dripped onto the coals with a sizzling sound, and the aroma filled the air.
Inside the tent, Zhu Zhuqing lay limply on the bed, as weak as a puddle of mud.
"Zhuqing," Xiao Wu said, kneeling beside her with a helpless look. "Didn't I tell you? If you couldn't hold out any longer, just surrender."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
Zhu Zhuqing opened her mouth, but her voice was terribly hoarse.