The Sickly Senior Sister Ran Away After We Got Intimate - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Stop Talking, Master is Watching You!

“I… I didn’t.” He Chen tightly clutched her satchel, pouting in denial.

Wen Yingyi shot He Chen a look, signaling her not to argue further, then took a step forward and bowed to Chang Nong.

“Master, I was aware of this matter throughout. The Schizonepeta was replanted by me in secret; Junior Sister was unaware. Because I have been feeling unwell these past few days and was not thinking clearly, I transplanted the herbs into Third Junior Sister’s field.”

She understood that Chang Nong had already seen through the lies, and further excuses would only be counterproductive.

Wen Yingyi indeed knew the full picture and harbored her own private motives, which was why she had instructed Yun Li and Chao Ling to help cover up He Chen’s mistake. She considered that Yun Li and Chao Ling had only arrived recently and absolutely could not be innocently implicated; it was most appropriate for her to step forward and take responsibility.

Wen Yingyi also knew that the replanting job was full of holes, so she used her own physical discomfort as an excuse, subtly implying that she was under the influence of the miasma poison and thus committed such an oversight.

Chang Nong’s gaze lingered on Wen Yingyi’s face for a moment, then she slowly raised her head to look at the sky.

The sun hung high, its light scorching. By this point in the assessment, the coolness of the morning had vanished. Chang Nong realized that the truth was already plain to see. Thinking that Wen Yingyi’s miasma had just flared up and she shouldn’t be in the sun too long, and seeing that He Chen’s attitude in admitting her fault was relatively upright, she did not intend to delve deeper.

However, this matter had become common knowledge. As the Eldest Senior Sister, Wen Yingyi had failed to lead by example and set a standard—especially by committing such an error during Chang Nong’s seclusion. If a symbolic punishment were not administered, it would not only fail to quiet the gossip of the crowd but would also make it difficult for Wen Yingyi to command respect in the future.

Chang Nong kept her eyes closed in deep thought for a long while before slowly speaking: “He Chen, C-Lower. Qingqing, B-Upper. Yingyi—”

“C-Lower, huh… not bad, only one grade lower than last time.” He Chen muttered quietly, the worry on her face dissipating instantly. She twisted her mouth and stared at Chang Nong, waiting for her to announce Wen Yingyi’s grade.

In He Chen’s view, Wen Yingyi getting an A-Upper was a foregone conclusion. After all, for as long as she could remember, Wen Yingyi had never received a grade other than an A. Although a small accident had occurred today, she still held a glimmer of hope.

Chang Nong always kept public and private matters separate. Since the trouble started because of her, and she had already received the corresponding punishment, He Chen believed that was the final result. One thing was one thing; Wen Yingyi shouldn’t be further implicated for no reason.

However, He Chen was young and lacked experience; how could she know Chang Nong’s mind?

Chang Nong sighed and pondered for a moment before continuing her announcement: “Yingyi, D. As for the following four fields, except for the last one which is an A-Lower, the rest are B-Upper.”

“D… a D?” The worry that had just left He Chen’s heart surged back to her throat. She could no longer restrain herself; gritting her teeth against the pain, she walked quickly to the bottom of the ridge and looked up to meet Chang Nong’s eyes.

Clearly she was the one who made the mistake, yet He Chen acted as if she were the innocent one. Her brows were tightly knit, her eyes flashed with anger, and her cheeks were flushed with emotion. Despite her appearance, her tone and demeanor still betrayed a sense of childishness when she spoke.

Her body trembled slightly, and her voice involuntarily rose a few decibels: “Master, Senior Sister’s field is among the best of us; everyone has seen it. Even if she… she shouldn’t get a D. Besides, there has never been a D grade!”

“That’s right, Master, Eldest Senior Sister truly shouldn’t get a D,” Xiang Qingqing followed closely to plead for Wen Yingyi.

“Ma… Ma… Master.” Yun Li stammered, also wanting to plead for Wen Yingyi, but she was timid. She had just opened her mouth to call Master when she was frightened into silence by Chang Nong’s expression and hurriedly retreated to the side.

Chang Nong gave a light scoff and said, “From this day forth, there is.”

As soon as her voice fell, she turned and swept her sleeves as she walked away.

“Master, it was my momentary greed for food that failed your expectations!” He Chen shouted, following at a trot. The running jolted her waist injury, and her eyes filled with tears. Looking quite pitiful, she caught up to Chang Nong in a few moments.

Gasping for air, she hurriedly grabbed Chang Nong’s sleeve and pleaded, “I am willing to bear the mistakes I made myself. This has nothing to do with Senior Sister. I beg Master to re-evaluate.”

Chang Nong turned to face He Chen, her gaze landing on Wen Yingyi, who was walking toward them from behind.

“As the Eldest Senior Sister, she shielded you and helped you hide the truth. That I did not void her assessment results entirely is already exceptionally lenient. If you plead further, you shall receive the same punishment as her.”

Chang Nong withdrew her gaze and settled it on He Chen, her brow twitching slightly: “Seeing how agile you are and how you run as if on wings, it seems your waist injury is no longer a major issue. For the next few days, go help in the back kitchen.”

Finished speaking, Chang Nong strode forward, adding without looking back, “I shall wait for you all in the study.”

“But there’s no difference between a D and a voided grade. Master is far too heartless…” He Chen’s head slumped as she stared blankly at Chang Nong’s departing back, her heart filled with intense self-reproach.

By this time, Wen Yingyi had reached He Chen’s side and comforted her softly, “This matter was caused by my oversight, and I intentionally shielded you later. Junior Sister, you needn’t worry; Master’s handling is not inappropriate. There are still two assessments left; you should focus your mind on them.”

After Wen Yingyi spoke, she turned to instruct Xiang Qingqing and Bu Lanfang, who had just caught up, “I trouble Second and Third Junior Sisters to support Fourth Junior Sister to the study.”

The medicinal field inspection thus concluded. The disciples’ reactions varied; some were happy while others were worried. Most outer disciples received B or C grades, and among the five inner disciples, only Yan Junhua received an A-Lower. The others, due to the incident with He Chen, all saw their grades drop compared to the last monthly exam.

Xiang Qingqing and Bu Lanfang were listless, their moods affected. Wen Yingyi, however, showed nothing. She remained composed, her face normal, showing neither joy nor anger.

In this way, the group returned in a grand procession from the fields to the study. By the time they arrived, Chang Nong was already sitting upright at the front desk, holding a book. On the desks, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were all laid out, waiting for the transcription check.

Seeing this, the crowd hurriedly took out their transcription notebooks from their cloth bags and gathered in groups of two or three. He Chen also pulled out the notebook Xiang Qingqing had prepared for her and handed it over to Bu Lanfang.

When Wen Yingyi arrived at the study, most people had already finished handing in their work. Only Yun Li and Chao Ling were still walking toward the desk. She stopped them and said gently, “Give them to me.”

The two handed over their notebooks and turned back to their seats.

Wen Yingyi placed her and He Chen’s notebooks beneath those of Yun Li and Chao Ling, set them on the desk in a neat pile, and then walked to her own seat.

Everyone was seated; some were silently memorizing with closed eyes, some were reminding each other of key points, and some looked confident, waiting for the questions.

Thump, thump— Chang Nong tapped the table, signaling everyone to quiet down and prepare for the assessment.

Because He Chen’s right hand was injured, holding a brush was difficult. She had given up on reviewing early on, deciding to just “break the jar” (let things go). If she hadn’t been injured, she might have made a show of reading some books. Her mind wasn’t on studying anyway, and she had no intention of competing for the future position of Hall Master, so she didn’t care about the rankings.

Fortunately, He Chen had an astonishing memory; as long as she was willing to look at something, she would never forget it. It was just that she found the contents of the books dull and uninteresting. Memorizing too much was mentally draining, and reading always made her feel uncomfortable. She would often read a few pages before tossing the book aside to indulge in daydreams.

Usually, during the listening test, He Chen would first observe Chang Nong’s expression. If Chang Nong looked to be in a good mood, He Chen would be bold; if she encountered something she didn’t know, she would simply leave it blank. If she saw Chang Nong was in a bad mood, she had to rely on the help of her other Senior Sisters, managing to copy a bit here and there when Chang Nong wasn’t looking. She muddled through every time.

But today was different. Having just seen Chang Nong lose her temper because of her, she thought Chang Nong might pay special attention to her today. She felt timid and didn’t dare repeat her old tricks. Then, thinking that she couldn’t hold a brush with her injured arm, sitting idly among her peers who were writing furiously would be extremely conspicuous. This would only make Chang Nong angrier.

She thought that since Chang Nong already knew her waist injury was from catching rabbits, it wouldn’t hurt to let her know the hand injury was from the same cause. It would be better to confess proactively.

“Master—” He Chen raised her hand. When Chang Nong looked over, she lifted the sleeve of her injured arm, revealing the bandages, and acted weak: “Master, I… my hand is also injured. I’m afraid I won’t be able to participate in the listening test today.”

Chang Nong felt disappointed by her lack of ambition. She shook her head, then suddenly remembered something and said eerily, “Use your left hand.”

Besides her photographic memory, He Chen had another skill that set her apart: she could write with both hands simultaneously. She was a natural lefty and had written with her left hand for a long time as a child. It was only after much instruction from Chang Nong that she switched to her right. Although her left-handed script wasn’t as neat as her right, it was still legible. She had once tried to be lazy by writing transcriptions with both hands at the same time, but Chang Nong caught her and punished her severely. Since then, she had never used her left hand to write.

He Chen was filled with regret. Her hand slowly dropped, and she defended herself with a hint of helplessness: “Master didn’t let me use my left hand; I’ve long since forgotten how to write with it…”

Her voice grew smaller and smaller, her heart filled with unease. She lowered her head and stared blankly at the paper in front of her.

“Write, and you can be exempted from helping in the kitchen. Don’t write, and I’ll add a few more days.” Chang Nong spoke flatly, and without waiting for He Chen’s reply, she picked up the book and prepared to read.

“Just write, Junior Sister. The kitchen work is heavy; with your thin arms and legs, you can’t handle that rough labor. You’ll have to touch water and move things, and your injuries haven’t healed yet. Just write.” Xiang Qingqing used a piece of paper to cover her head and turned to whisper advice to He Chen.

He Chen lowered her voice and whispered back, “But I haven’t read the books or reviewed. My mind is a total blank. How can I write anything?”

“It’s fine, your Senior Sister is here. Third Junior Sister will help you too.” Xiang Qingqing tilted her head toward the right, signaling that Bu Lanfang would also help.

He Chen leaned back slightly while keeping her eyes fixed on Chang Nong. Her lips were pressed tight as she squeezed a sentence through her teeth: “Third Senior Sister, I’m counting on you.”

But as she expected, Chang Nong indeed had her eye on her. At first, the copying went smoothly. Xiang Qingqing helped provide cover, and Yun Li and Chao Ling occasionally coughed to draw Chang Nong’s gaze away. But after a short while, these small tricks stopped working.

Chang Nong walked directly to He Chen’s seat and looked down at her with a meaningful, overhead stare. He Chen felt unprecedented pressure and knew her behavior of relying on others had been exposed. Until the papers were collected, she couldn’t copy a single word more and was forced to just scribble nonsense.

After the listening test, the next part was the transcription check. This item was much more relaxed compared to the first two. The evaluation criteria were based on the neatness of the handwriting and the quality of the insights, aiming to assess how much the students had read and what they had gained.

The students knelt orderly at their desks, waiting for Chang Nong to review and grade them one by one.

He Chen, however, was not behaving. Her eyes were tightly shut, her head tilted back, as she sniffed the air vigorously. Then she slowly leaned back and whispered, “Hey, Third Senior Sister, do you know what they cooked for lunch? It smells so good; I can smell it from here.”

Cough, cough— Bu Lanfang gave two light coughs and poked He Chen’s back with her hand, warning her to pay attention.

“Senior Sister can’t smell it either?” He Chen didn’t realize the danger. She continued to turn around stealthily and press the question.

“Stop talking, Master is watching you!” Bu Lanfang reached out to steady He Chen’s head and forcibly twisted it back.

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