Kong Bin waited in the Front Courtyard until dusk, yet Xiao Zongting never returned.
Zhu Xiaoqi remained busy with her work and did not acknowledge him again.
Kong Bin stood alone in the Front Courtyard for the better part of the day, dryly enduring it. He was already so hungry his chest clung to his back, and the evening sun was setting against the tower.
With an ugly expression, Kong Bin walked over to Zhu Xiaoqi, who was watering the fruits and vegetables in the patch by the wall, and said, "Little Seven, please tell Old Xiao that I came by!"
Zhu Xiaoqi merely gave a grunt through her nose without even raising her eyelids.
Kong Bin's face was as cold as stone as he turned and left the courtyard.
Xiao Zongting had stood him up despite their appointment.
Xiao Baijiao had made a sachet for Duan Rong. He had merely asked about it, only to be cursed until he was drenched from head to toe in abuse.
They were all Apprentice Escorts from the same batch, yet one side was treated as though the stars circled the moon, while his own side had become a nuisance everyone disliked.
Only those caught within it could truly understand the taste of it.
Though Kong Bin was resolute by nature, after leaving Xiao Zongting's courtyard, his gaze gradually grew despondent as he walked, and a trace of self-pity could not help rising in his heart...
Though it was mealtime at the Middle Courtyard dining hall and Kong Bin's stomach was gnawing with hunger, he hardened his heart. As if punishing himself, he skipped dinner altogether and went straight to the courtyard where firewood and charcoal were piled in the Front Courtyard, beginning his stance training.
Kong Bin had only stood for a