After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

Inside the Crane Cry Pavilion, the display on the stone table today is even more extravagant than yesterday.

The Eight Treasure Duck is glossy and fragrant, the braised pork knuckle is stewed until tender and falls off the bone, the jade shrimp dumplings have thin skins and are filled with tender green fillings, and there is a pot of osmanthus wine on the side, the sweet aroma of the wine wafting into the nose.

Rong Jing sat on one side of the stone table, resting his chin on his hand. He saw Shen Jingque turn out from the bamboo path, and just as he was about to raise his eyebrows, his gaze fell on the dark and thin shadow behind her.

"Little Sparrow, what's this...?" He looked Tian Jiu up and down with interest. "Did you also follow my example and get a steady page?"

Another "steady pageboy," Wenren Du, unconsciously straightened his chest.

Upon hearing those two words, Shen Jingque laughed in anger.

She turned and glanced at Tian Jiu.

He was taciturn and kept his eyes straight ahead; at first glance, he did appear quite composed.

But only she knew that this thing had just hung upside down from the tree and scared her so much that it almost killed her.

"Stop praising me." Shen Jingque plopped down on the stone bench, reached for her chopsticks, and looked utterly dejected.

The more you praise him, the more he feels he's doing a good job.

Tian Jiu followed to the stone table, her face stern, and said, "Young Miss, the eldest young master said you are not allowed to have too much contact with Young Master Rong."

Shen Jingque glared at him: "Didn't you say you'd listen to me? Fine, you can leave after you finish your meal!"

Tian Jiu's unremarkable face froze for a second, as if he was processing the meaning of those words.

We'll leave right after we finish eating.

That way, the meal can be finished quickly so the young lady can leave as soon as possible.

The next moment, Tian Jiu reached out and picked up the whole plate of braised pork knuckle.

Shen Jingque's chopsticks missed their target, and she looked up, dumbfounded.

The serious-looking, dark-faced boy took a bite of the braised pork knuckle, the skin breaking open and the broth dripping down the edge of the plate.

They ate with great gusto, wolfing down their food.

"No, wait a minute..."

Shen Jingque was completely bewildered. What was this dark-skinned boy up to?

However, Tianjiu has its own logic.

After quickly finishing off the dishes in front of Shen Jingque, he looked up with lingering satisfaction, his gaze sweeping over the eight-treasure duck still standing in the center of the stone table.

Rong Jing raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak, Tian Jiu had already taken the duck and the plate away.

By the time the two realized what had happened, only cups and plates remained scattered on the stone table, the bottoms of the plates so clean that one could see their reflection in them.

Tian Jiu let out a burp and looked at Shen Jingque with a serious expression: "Miss, are you done eating? Can we leave now?"

Shen Jingque stared at the empty table in front of her.

She opened her mouth, stammering "I," "you," and "this" for a long time, but couldn't utter a complete sentence.

She looked at the other side, somewhat bewildered.

The two men stared at each other across an empty table, seeing the same degree of absurdity in each other's eyes.

"You owe me my meal!" Shen Jingque slammed down her chopsticks with a bang. "I haven't even had a bite yet, and you've ruined it all!"

Tian Jiu looked at Shen Jingque and honestly picked at his hands.

Didn't she say that we could leave after finishing our meal?

Now that you've finished eating, why are you angry again?

It's hard.

Rong Jing, having regained his senses, placed the peanuts back on the plate, his tone still calm: "It seems the ten-day agreement will be difficult to fulfill."

Shen Jingque turned to look at him, "Why? At worst, today's date won't count, I'll extend it for another day."

Damn it, we finally found a place with such a high concentration of rare medicinal herbs, are we going to lose everything?

Rong Jing smiled slightly: "It seems your brother doesn't trust me much. I can't force him and cause you siblings to drift apart."

Shen Jingque's face fell, and she was about to retort.

But then the man changed his tone: "However, since you had a pleasant meal with me yesterday, I will still take you to the Hundred Herbs Garden."

Shen Jingque's eyes lit up.

Tian Jiu immediately stepped forward, blocking the two: "There's no need to ask outsiders; I can bring Miss in myself."

Yes, the eldest young master said he would cause trouble if they met in private.

Shen Jingque recalled how he used his light-footed skill to leap onto the car that morning.

The image of him grabbing her by the back of the collar and flying her over the wall before plunging her head into the herb garden flashed through her mind, and her lips twitched.

Rong Jing chuckled casually: "You think that door is the only thing blocking her way?"

He raised his hand and pointed to the depths of the bamboo forest: "The reason why the Hundred Herbs Garden is a forbidden area of ​​the academy is not because the herbs in it are precious, but because the garden is equipped with Mo family traps. Once activated, you will be greeted by a barrage of arrows."

Shen Jingque blinked, then asked suspiciously, "So, if you take me in, is there a way to avoid triggering the traps?"

A flash of light appeared before my eyes.

A key flashed past my eyes.

"Of course." Rong Jing twirled the key on his finger, a lazy smile on his face. "Because I have the key."

Shen Jingque's mind went blank.

That encounter at the entrance of the Hundred Herbs Garden was by no means a coincidence.

The so-called ten-day agreement is probably a trap deliberately set by this fox.

Shen Jingque jumped to her feet, pointing her finger directly at Rong Jing's nose: "You've been playing me from the very beginning!"

Rong Jing turned his head away, his smile both cunning and frank: "That's a misunderstanding. I only proposed a deal; I didn't force you to agree."

"You were holding the key, watching me pick the lock, and you were probably laughing at me inside!"

"The way you picked the lock was truly impressive."

Shen Jingque laughed in exasperation.

She strode up to Rong Jing and demanded, though her tone was unconvincing: "Then take me in now as an apology for lying to me."

"Not today." Rong Jing put the key back into his sleeve and slowly stood up.

Shen Jingque glared at him: "Why not?"

He turned to look at her, his innocent expression making one want to punch him: "Your servant ate all my lunch. I'm hungry and need to go fill my stomach first."

He turned around immediately and waved as he walked away: "Come again tomorrow. I'll take you into the garden at this time tomorrow."

Shen Jingque stood still and ground her back teeth.

She didn't know whether she was angry at herself for being tricked by Rong Jing, or angry that Tian Jiu felt guilty and embarrassed for eating his food.

After Rong Jing's figure disappeared, she lowered her head and stomped hard on Tian Jiu's foot.

"It's all your fault!"

Tianjiu lifted his leg in pain, neither dodging nor crying out, but just looking at him pitifully with his bright black eyes.

Shen Jingque couldn't stand that kind of look.

I feel like a bully who's picking on a puppy.

She sighed, rubbing her forehead, "Never mind, as long as I can get in tomorrow."

Tian Jiu nodded slightly, took a deep breath, and then—

"belch--"

Shen Jingque glared back angrily.

"You're full while I'm still hungry, and you still have the nerve to burp?"

……

Meanwhile, after the master and servant had walked quite a distance, Wenren Du finally couldn't help but ask, "Young Master, you finally managed to make a ten-day agreement with Miss Shen, why did you give up on only the second day?"

Rong Jing shook his head, sighing with some regret.

"I was careless. I forgot that she has an older brother who is the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"That page today, if I'm not mistaken, should be a master of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's secret service."

Wenren Du scratched his head in confusion, "What is the Dark Division? That page doesn't look like a master, he seems rather dull and stupid."

"The Dark Division is divided into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow. Among them, the Heaven level not only has high martial arts skills, but also has talented people with different special skills."

"The one today is probably one of the top-ranked members of the secret guards."

"The fact that Xiao Changgeng sent out such a high-level expert to protect me shows that he has become suspicious of me."

"Oh, what a pity, eating with Little Sparrow is really delicious."