The bard fantasized again.

Is Chapter 229 a Tang Qi? (4k)

The moon vine, which blooms all year round, does not show any signs of decline when autumn arrives.

It droops its head under the clear sky, revealing a deep blue like the ocean.

At night, the moonlight would flow through the goddess's fingertips and sprinkle on the gray stone fortress, like a light, cool blanket covering the flower stamens.

The red moon following the double moon cannot overshadow the brilliance of the blue moon, and they thus overflow with a starry, purplish hue, a color that has remained unchanged in Weinberg for decades.

This makes Moonlight Castle remain unchanged throughout the autumn.

Goya stood before the matte black, exquisite wrought iron gate, a sight she hadn't seen in a long time.

Actually, it didn't take that long, less than two months.

But she instinctively refused, and every few days she would come to Tang Qi's 'ancestral home' to act as a carrier pigeon delivering messages—

Especially carrier pigeons that have brought false information.

"The only saving grace is that this family didn't care much about Tang Qi. Even after learning of his death, they weren't particularly saddened."

But that would make the 'zombie' seem less important, so why did you have me report on his whereabouts...?

I remember when we were leaving, Instructor Ulasang straightened his wig and scolded Goya like this:

“I wrote clearly on page 188 of ‘In Praise’ that ‘for noble lords, information that is of vital importance is like that of the common people in their territory—it may not be important, but it cannot be absent’!”
"Goya, how could you forget something so important? Did you think that just because you won the teaching assistant position, you could forget about studying? You've really disappointed me!"

Goya did not remember this part.

So after being scolded, she specifically opened "Praise" and looked at page 188—

That page was the title of Chapter Three, "One Hundred and One Ways to Appease Noble Gentlemen."

It has been proven that tutors do not need references when educating students.

Ulasang wrote "Praise," and Ulasang was in charge of the writing.

Pulling her thoughts back, Goya sighed softly, tucked her smooth hair behind her ear, took a deep breath, and revealed the polite smile she had practiced countless times.

Then he rang the doorbell.

The bell rang softly, like water droplets falling on a lake, somewhat muffled.

But it was very effective. Before long, Ye Nai, who was even colder than the moonlight, pushed open the simple door of her house.

Her face showed no surprise or hesitation; she simply lifted her long skirt, revealing a section of her calf encased in snow-white cotton socks and her gleaming leather shoes—

Square-toed black Mary Jane high heels, 'Jasmine' brand.

It must be true; she saw these leather shoes in the shop's display case and loved them terribly.

However, the price was very high; a pair of leather shoes would cost her half a year's salary, so she never had the heart to buy them.

Of course, she would subtly express her desire for these shoes while chatting with friends, so that her suitors would know her preferences and receive appropriate gifts on her birthday.

There's still some time until her birthday, so she can keep looking forward to it.

"Hello, Miss Yuexi, thank you for coming. Are you here today again for Don Qi Weinberg, my brother whom I have never met?"

"Ah, yes."

Goya was also a little embarrassed.
"Please forgive my intrusion. But there has been new progress regarding Tang Qi..."

"He's not dead?"

"You know?" Goya blinked in surprise.

Could it be that Tang Qi has recently been in contact with the Weinberg family?

"No. In fact, I can't think of any other reason why you come here. You always come for him."

“He is, after all, my junior, and this is an apology gift that Professor Ulasang asked me to deliver.”

Goya casually made up an excuse and took out the apology gift she had prepared beforehand—

It was a ring set with a black opal, but it wasn't a pure black stone.

In reality, under sunlight, it reveals a transparent dark green color, interspersed with black shadows and gold spots, and its price is even higher than those shoes.

Even if it's a nobleman without power, or even if it's the nobleman's indifferent son, the tutor will still pay out of his own pocket to save face.

“Then I will accept it on behalf of my father.”

This time, Yena did not summon the Mage's Hand again. Instead, she opened the courtyard gate herself, took the ring box from Geya, confirmed the apology, and bowed slightly to Geya.

"Why don't you come over to my house for a cup of tea and we can talk about what happened?"

"Is it convenient?" Goya hesitated.

"If my father finds out that I have neglected our distinguished guest, he will surely criticize me for not knowing manners."

"Alright then." Goya stepped into Tang Qi's house for the first time.

The gray stone floor was a bit rough, and as she walked into the stone castle, the polished marble slabs almost made her slip.

Invited into the spacious reception room, a rich sandalwood scent filled the air.

The interior of Greystone Castle was also decorated in a simple style, quite different from the noble mansions she had seen in the city of dying. The only thing that could be called valuable was the famous oil paintings hanging on the walls.

The reception room is the room where the "face" of the family should be most prominent.

It's clear that the Weinberg family isn't wealthy.

But why is it that Yena, as their maid, is able to buy a pair of expensive 'Moriana' brand leather shoes?

No one answered the question in her heart. After she sat down on the fairly soft sofa, Ye Nai continued:
"Please rest for a moment, I'll make you some tea."

"Do not bother……"

Just as Geya was about to refuse, she saw that Yena had already closed the door to the living room.

She could only say dejectedly, "So cold."

But what she didn't know was that Yena had to do this—

She couldn't let her guests see that she was hiding the apology gifts she had sent.

"This can fetch a good price."

It's mine.

She examined the ring in her hand, then returned to her room expressionlessly, hiding it in a hidden compartment of a drawer before going to the tea room to continue her work.

Just like the pendant that Goya brought last time as a 'gift of comfort,' it couldn't escape being resold by her—

This was Goya's third visit, but Yena never intended to report this news to her father.

Because she knew very well that her father didn't care about 'Donkey Weinberg' at all.

There's no need to waste time bothering Father with such unimportant news.

She naturally kept all the complimentary items.

Otherwise, with his salary, how could he afford to wear 'Moriana's' shoes and make his sisters jealous?

Yena never revealed these thoughts.

So much so that people always say she is a 'beautiful stone sculpture'.

But this appearance clearly fooled Goya as well.

She hadn't realized the truth of the matter. Only when Ye Nai had brewed the black tea and placed it in front of her did she suddenly ask:

Where is Lord Weinberg?

"There will be a performance of 'Reincarnation Sotoma' in the city of Lamentation tomorrow. My father and my younger siblings will stay in the city of Lamentation for two days before returning."

Goya suppressed the urge to ask, "Why didn't you go?"

This is clearly a sad topic.

She needed to quickly move on: "Then you can just relay this to me later—"

Tang Qi simply hadn't had time to reply to the letter in the past period of time, not because anything unexpected had happened.

The mentor was simply too anxious, which led to the miscommunication.

"only these?"

"Um...yes." Goya couldn't reveal too much, so she could only give this answer for now.

Ye Nai, however, sat down opposite her.

With no one else at home, she has more freedom:
"Is my brother important to the Academy of Poets?"

Goya was taken aback: "Why do you ask that?"

"Otherwise, why would they keep notifying us about such trivial matters?"

"As a junior student, you are the son of Lord Weinberg, so of course your mentor will value you..." Goya tried to use some official language.

“You are a smart man, and so is Mr. Ulasan. Now that you know that my brother was eventually sent to the Academy of Poets, you should understand that he was of no value to Father.”

"but……"

“I investigated the records of ‘Donkey Weinberg’ at home. Before the age of 12, he was just an illegitimate child who was arranged to live in Greystone Village with his mother.”

He was quite lucky. Although he didn't inherit the family bloodline, his father doted on his mother and eventually sent him to a poet's academy to make a living on his own. Eight years have passed since then.

If Mr. Ulasan truly valued this son, he should have brought news of him to Moonlight Castle eight years ago, instead of waiting eight years and four months for him to visit three times in succession…

Yena's tone was emotionless, which only made her seem more certain.
“Miss Goya, why don’t you tell me what my brother did eight years later that makes you all value his existence so much?”

"Phew... You really think a lot."

Goya sighed, unsure how to respond.

The supervisor was too impatient.

she thinks.

Tang Qi's connection with the [Forgotten Stone Tablet] deepened his importance in his mentor's heart.

So much so that when they realized his 'death,' they subconsciously regarded him as an 'important person' and urgently sent the message to the Weinberg family.

Thus, he overlooked the fact that, in Lord Weinberg's eyes, he was merely a bastard son who had been sent away.

Having given herself away, she couldn't hide anything more—

Dragon Gold City is not a small city; its position in the Lords' Alliance is of paramount importance.

This will inevitably cause the news that Tang Qi caused in Dragon Gold City, along with the "Guide" that incurred the dwarves' wrath, to travel across the ocean and reach every corner of the City of Dying... it's only a matter of time.

Based on this, all she could do was hide the content related to the [Forgotten Stone Tablet] and skip over the content that slandered the nobles:
"...So, judging from the letters he sent, my junior classmate must have become a remarkable person."

Ye Nai stared blankly at the black tea in front of her.

In the dark eyes, the steam rising from the tea gradually faded until it finally turned into ice.

It seems to be processing a lot of complex information.

A crack finally appeared on her stone-like expression.

He almost twitched the corners of his mouth as he asked:
"Are you sure... the 'Tang Qi' you're talking about is the same person as my brother?"

"I am absolutely certain of that."

Ye Nai took out a handkerchief and wiped the fine beads of cold sweat from her forehead.

An illegitimate child who was treated as a nuisance and sent to a poets' academy to distance himself from others.

Eight years later, he transformed into a legendary figure who caused a sensation on the other side of the mainland.

The strangeness of this situation is no less than waking up the next morning to find that the head maid has become her younger sister, and her father taking her hand and telling her:

“My dear daughter, today your father will personally take you to school—the future of the family rests entirely on your shoulders.”

"Are you alright?" Goya couldn't help but ask when she saw that Goya had been silent for a long time.

This older sister is really calm and collected.

Goya can never forget the look on her face when she saw this message on the stone tablet:
“I understand you. After all, when I learned about all this, my first priority was to check if Camus had won the ‘Best Actress Award’ at the City of Dying Drama Competition.”

You may not know who Camus is; he was a cat I used to have that died five years ago—I mean, that's impossible.

But that's the truth.

"This is a very important matter."

Having regained her composure, Ye Nai said calmly,
"I will tell my father the news as soon as he returns."

I was lying to her.

She would never tell any of her family members before the matter fully escalated.

Anyone can see that Tang Qi, who shines brightly on the other side of the continent, will be an undeniable force once he returns to the land of the Tyran Empire.

Eloquent, skilled in magic, capable of overthrowing lords...

Importantly, he has a genuine baby dragon by his side.

She would fake that she cared about Don Qi Weinberg before anyone else noticed.

For example, she could write 20 birthday letters and give 20 gifts to prove that she had inquired about his situation every year and to express her concern as his older sister.

Furthermore, because her younger siblings were fighting over it, the gift was delayed in being given out.

As a fellow illegitimate child, she was naturally more approachable.

Ye Nai sorted out her thoughts in her mind.

She considered the issue primarily from a pros and cons perspective, and wasn't overly emotional, so she didn't show it in her expression.
"Thank you for bringing this message. My father will be very grateful to you when he finds out."

After completing her mission, Goya bid farewell to Yena after exchanging pleasantries and boarded the magic train bound for the City of Fallen.

She certainly noticed the difference in Ye Nai's attitude.

But she didn't think it was a big deal.

When you have nothing left, you will feel that the world is always hostile to you.

Once you have fame and fortune, you'll find that the world treats you like honey.

Just like how the bards' attitudes toward Don Qi have changed drastically since then, so too have those of her, her mentor, Pluto, and others.

No one questions Tang Qi's abilities anymore.

Now, Goya even feels anticipation because of Tang Qi:
How many more stories can you tell that fuel our imaginations?

With such aspirations in mind, she unknowingly arrived at the gates of the Poet Academy.

"Geya."

Someone called out to her loudly.

Turning around following the sound, I saw a magnificently decorated carriage parked on the side of the street not far away.

She recognized the carriage.

Even seeing it reminds me of the manuscripts I once had that were rejected.

The nobles' money was returned in full, while the commoners' money was split 30/70.

"What bad luck."

She struck a standard smile.

"I want to go back and read my diary as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)