Red Sleeve

"Why, Rong An! You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"You were clearly annoyed that I tricked you just now, so you made a fool of me!"

"Rong An! You're so petty!"

"Rong An..."

Chapter 29: Red Sleeve

The women's dormitory was just ahead when Rong An stopped. His brows drew slightly together as he called out to Zhao Huiluan.

"Your Highness, you said you went to the Imperial Prison and saw my honored teacher. Was that true?"

Zhao Huiluan nodded and was about to speak when Shen Zhiyun came running over.

"Jianjian! You're finally back! I thought you..."

Seeing Rong An standing beside her, Shen Zhiyun hurriedly fell silent and greeted him. "Vice Chancellor."

Rong An nodded and said to Zhao Huiluan, "Your Highness, please return and rest. I shall take my leave."

"All right."

Shen Zhiyun linked arms with Zhao Huiluan and walked her toward the dormitory. Still shaken, she said, "Those fireworks just now were so grand. Did they frighten you, Jianjian? Zhang Yanli and I looked all over and couldn't find you. Then we came back to the dormitory and you weren't here either. I was so afraid you'd hidden in some cupboard to cry, like you did when you were little!"

"Do I look like someone who would cry?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Even a boiled duck's beak isn't as stubborn as Zhao Jianjian's."

Zhao Huiluan made as if to hit her, but she ducked her head to one side and dodged.

"I don't know what happened to you. You clearly loved watching fireworks before you turned seven. Were you with the vice chancellor just now?"

Zhao Huiluan nodded. "I was with Master at the Hall of Exalted Literature."

Then she angrily blamed Wen Yan. "It was all that brat Wen Qingyu's fault! If I'd known he had prepared fireworks, I never would have helped him!"

"Then you can rest easy. Before he was even halfway through setting them off, the lecturer and teaching assistant caught him and took him to the Hall of Discipline for punishment! If he hadn't left early, Zhang Yanli would have gone to beat Wen Qingyu up when he couldn't find you! Who would have thought you'd be at the Hall of Exalted Literature, so close to the pavilion?"

"Oh no! Zhang Yanli!" Shen Zhiyun suddenly remembered. "He's probably still searching the whole Imperial College for you!"

The two immediately turned back to look for Zhang Yanli.

They had only just reached the fork where the male and female students went their separate ways when they saw Zhang Yunchi walking toward them with Rong An.

Presumably, Zhang Yunchi had run into Rong An and learned that Zhao Huiluan had returned safely to the dormitory.

"Zhao Huiluan!"

Spotting Zhao Huiluan from afar, Zhang Yunchi rushed straight over, his eyes red. He looked her over carefully from head to toe, then roared, "You scared me to death!"

Then his tone softened, and he asked her plaintively, "Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Zhao Huiluan rose onto her toes and reached up to pat Zhang Yunchi's head with a grin.

"Don't be scared, Brother Yanli. Jianjian'er hasn't lost a single hair."

"We'll have a holiday in a few days. Jianjian'er will take Brother Yanli to Between Water and Clouds for lily crisp-skinned chicken and to Red Sleeve House for wine, all right?"

"I don't want to go!"

Zhang Yunchi was all wounded pride. He tossed his head and stalked off toward the men's dormitory in a huff.

Zhao Huiluan laughed at the sight. Remembering that Rong An was beside her, she cupped her hands to him.

"Sorry for the trouble, Master."

Rong An gave a slight nod, a trace of admiration and envy in his eyes.

When Zhang Yanli learned that he had brought Zhao Huiluan safely back to the dormitory, he too had cupped his hands and thanked him just as sincerely.

What an enviable bond between brother and sister!

If only he had never written out his own deed of sale...

Rong An shook his head inwardly, feeling he was thinking too much.

Five days later, Zhang Yunchi, who had said "I don't want to go," sat in a Heaven-ranked private room at Between Water and Clouds. Before him was a table laden with the finest dishes, and the sight set his appetite stirring.

If Rong An, Wen Yan, and the two Shen girls hadn't also been sitting at the table, he would already have torn off a chicken leg and started gnawing on it. The food at the Imperial College really was thin soup and little else.

Zhao Huiluan couldn't resist teasing him, and he shamelessly muttered under his breath.

"I thought you'd grown generous and were treating me to meat and wine. Turns out you're borrowing Young Master Wen's feast to present someone else's flowers to the Buddha."

"I did him an enormous favor. How could I not take him up on a grand feast? How much can one person eat?"

"All right! Don't worry, I'll help you eat your fill and get your money's worth!"

Everyone at the table listened to the two of them whispering in voices loud enough for all to hear, secretly suppressing their laughter.

Wen Yan said, "I'm treating you today, so please don't stand on ceremony, fellow students. You too, Vice Chancellor!"

Zhao Huiluan looked at Rong An across the table and lowered her voice for real this time. "Why did Master come too?" she asked Zhang Yunchi.

Zhang Yunchi looked at her first, then at how the two Shen girls were dressed. He replied quietly, "How could the vice chancellor feel at ease with you young ladies going out like this?"

Zhao Huiluan looked down at the men's clothes she was wearing.

She, Shen Zhiyun, and Shen Zhiyao had only disguised themselves to make it easier to get around. She had even looked in the mirror before leaving the Imperial College that morning, and she had clearly looked like a handsome young man.

Besides...

She looked up and glanced around at Rong An, Wen Yan, and Zhang Yunchi.

They had all clearly been surprised when they first saw the three of them come out dressed as men!

"Don't we look like young men?"

Zhao Huiluan turned to ask Shen Zhiyun.

"We do!" Shen Zhiyun said firmly. She turned to look at Shen Zhiyao. "Sister Yao looks the most like one."

Cool and aloof, she looked like a handsome young master who was indifferent and sparing with words when she kept silent.

Yet when the three of them appeared at Red Sleeve House, the madam in charge looked them up and down and gave a knowing smile. Then she turned to Wen Yan.

"These three..." She smiled. "Are these three young masters with you, Young Master Wen?"

Zhao Huiluan understood. Their supposed disguises as men were something others could see through at a glance.

After entering the private room, Zhao Huiluan stopped the madam as she was about to withdraw.

She was genuinely curious. Just what had they failed to do properly?

To avoid giving themselves away, they had bound their chests with cloth, and the bindings were still uncomfortably tight. What was more, before entering Red Sleeve House, she had made a point of buying three folding fans from a stall so they could imitate Wen Yan's foppish manner.

"I can't say exactly what's wrong. It's more that, at a glance, everything looks wrong. Your eyes, your mannerisms, all of it."

The madam glanced at Wen Yan and added, "You've been a young lady for more than ten years. How could you easily turn yourself into a man just by changing clothes?"