Her gaze wavered as she contemplated. Then, she pouted and said, "Fine. I"ll beg you then. I admit that I can"t clean up the entire mess on my own. Please help me." Although she was asking for help, she sounded arrogant as usual.
Mo Ruo scoffed, "Is that how you beg someone? That"s not the right att.i.tude when asking for help."
"You…"
"It doesn"t matter if you refuse to beg me. You can completely disregard the offer I made previously." Mo Ruo was good at playing this game!.
He stood up as if preparing to take his leave. Panicked, Tang Si cried, "Fine, fine. I"m begging you. Young Master Mo, at any rate, I"ve saved your life before, you can"t just leave me to die!" Her att.i.tude was much humbler than before.
Mo Ruo was pleased as he nodded his head. He was in disbelief as he listened to the haughty woman begging him on her own accord. Her polite tone and sentences were so rare it amused him.
He slapped his thigh, "This is shocking! The honourable Miss Tang is begging me over such a petty matter."
"Don"t be too conceited. I, Tang Si, am an adaptable person. It"s only just words, it"s not a big deal. Are you taking back your words now? I"ve already sincerely begged you," she asked impatiently.
"I always take my promises seriously. Once I"ve spoken, I"ll never take my words back. Moreover, to be able to have you begging me, it"s worth it!" He snapped his fingers as he finished his sentence.
Two guards entered the memorial hall. They bowed to Mo Ruo and asked, "Young Master Mo, is there something you want us to do?"
"Listen. Both of you shall take over Miss Tang"s work. I order you to clean up the place thoroughly; dispose of the broken furniture and replace them with new ones as soon as possible."
The two guards exchanged gazes and stammered, "Young Master Mo, but according to the prince, Miss Tang is supposed to fulfil her punishment personally."
"Did your prince prohibit aid?"
They shook their heads. "He didn"t."
"If that is the case, you"ll be Miss Tang"s support. Is that alright?"
"Of course not!"
"Yes, of course." The moment the words left their mouths, the two guards had an urge to slap themselves. Spineless!
Tang Si immediately took the rag off her shoulder, along with the broom, and tossed them aside. She dusted her hands as she expressed her grat.i.tude to the guards, "Thanks!"
"You"re welcome." They picked up the broom and the rag before they commenced their ch.o.r.e.
At this moment, the pageboy of the academy appeared. He studied the situation and spoke, "Miss Tang, if you are done with the cleaning, then you have to kneel at the memorial hall."
"What are you talking about?" She glared at the pageboy.
"Before, Teacher Yu ordered that you kneel at the memorial hall after you finished cleaning."
She had completely forgotten. She quickly threw a glance at Mo Ruo, silently asking for help.
Unlike what she expected, Mo Ruo shrugged, "That has nothing to do with me. I only agreed to help you to clean up the study hall. I"ve never mentioned that I would help you with the punishment at the memorial hall."
"That"s so mean of you!"
"Mean? How am I mean? I made it clear that I was going to help you with the cleaning, not kneeling." Mo Ruo was absolutely right. However, he s.h.i.+fted his cunning eyes and continued, "But, if you continue begging me, I might consider sending someone to kneel at the memorial hall on your behalf."
"Nonsense, I"m not going to beg a despicable person like you. It"s merely kneeling. I"m not afraid of that." She turned to face the pageboy. "Let"s go. Bring me to the memorial hall," she voiced in a domineering tone.
"This way." The pageboy beckoned and ushered her to the memorial hall.
There were tablets of Sage Immortal Teachers in the memorial hall, all meticulously cleaned but not arranged in order. Meanwhile, the faint scent of joss sticks and candles wafted in the air.
The pageboy pointed at the ground, "Miss Tang, you can kneel here."
There was nothing on the floor!
"Are there no cus.h.i.+ons?" she asked fl.u.s.teredly.
The pageboy chuckled, "How can there be cus.h.i.+ons in the memorial hall? It"s normal for the teacher and students to kneel here without any cus.h.i.+ons. Or does Miss Tang think the floor is dirty? Don"t worry. It"s been swept not long ago. It"s definitely clean."
"That"s not my concern!"
"Then…"
She was just worried about hurting her knees! "Forget it." She waved her hand dismissively. "You can go now."
Yet the pageboy stood still. "Miss Tang, I can only leave after I witness you kneeling."
Tang Si"s face turned sour. Suppressing the anger within, she glared furiously at the pageboy with her teeth gritted.
The next second, she was on her knees. "Are you happy now?"
"Yes, I am!" The pageboy nodded and left.
Her face distorted by anger, Tang Si stared at the tablets as she mumbled, "You all are so shameless. Why should I have to kneel for you? You"re all already dead, yet are still so overbearing."
She relaxed her body, sat her b.u.t.t on her heels and began to study the room leisurely. Meanwhile, she played with the red ribbon, repeatedly wrapping and releasing it around her finger.
All of a sudden, the window at the side of the memorial hall was opened quietly and cautiously. Having years of experience loitering in mountains and woods, Tang Si was exceptionally sensitive to faint noises. Upon hearing the noise, she could identify that it was not from the wind. She was certain that someone was behind it, either a thief or someone with an agenda.
She did not react instantly. Instead, she glanced discreetly in the direction and saw three pairs of round eyes staring into the memorial hall from the window. It was Lin Shu and his friends, the three audacious brutes!
Lin Shu was holding a black bag that contained something moving. Just when he was about to toss the bag into the memorial hall, one of his friends gently pulled him by his arm and said in a m.u.f.fled voice, "Lin Shu, maybe we should discard this idea. What happens if we endanger her life?"
"What are you afraid of? Nothing can go wrong. These are pet snakes and they aren"t poisonous."
"But, if Teacher finds out…"
"You"re such a coward. That girl has made a great fool out of us, I am only taking revenge. You can leave now if you"re scared." Lin Shu flung off his friend"s hand.
Then, he stuck the black bag through the window, grabbed a corner of the bag and flipped the bag upside down. Four long and thin snakes fell on the floor! The soft and slippery creatures first curled into a ball before they slowly separated themselves from each other and steadily crawled toward Tang Si.
Lin Shu grinned insidiously. "Let this be a lesson for you." Followed by that, they squatted down at the corner of the wall, awaiting the loud cry from inside the memorial hall.
Unknown to them, Tang Si had witnessed everything and was looking as Lin Shu released the snakes. Owing to the years she had spent in the woods and snowy mountains, she had encountered innumerable amounts of ferocious beasts. She had no issues at all with catching and slicing the snakes up, not to mention touching them.
When the four snakes approached her, she removed her jacket and quietly wrapped all of them up. Stealthily, she stood up and walked to the window.