White Calculation Chapter 24

Chapter 24 - Who do you like the most?

Two pieces of precious jade encountered and touched each other.  The dashing Gongzi hugged the living girl…….two people embraced each other romantically…….  Gongzi held the piece of jade in his hand and looked into her eyes with a lingering gaze ~ ~ You - understand – me!

Xiaoli continued to speak happily and excitedly.  "If this piece of white base green jade is smashed and ground into a powder then sprinkling a little of the powder on the concoction when refining pills…….the result would be blue thunderbolt pellets!"

She took out a pellet from her waist to show him.

Refining pills?  Chu Gongzi was stunned…….is this……the residence connecting with a divine heroine?

Chu Haoran felt a surge of excitement and lifting his eyebrows, he looked at her in surprise.

The script had changed…..so smooth, so natural and so easily obtainable!

Suddenly, Chu Haoran had the feeling of meeting an opponent!

His heart was filled with enthusiasm and he wanted to exchange his piece of jade with her thunderbolt pellet.  Holding the piece of jade high up in the air and he shouted with sorrow and anger.  "What kind of rare thing is this that no nobleman or commoner wants?  I don't want this useless thing either!"

After he stuffed the piece of jade into her hands, Xiaoli felt very happy and while she was looking down at it she heard Qian Yi's scream next to her ear.  She quickly raised her head with a blank look and by that time, she was already half pulled and half carried by Qian Yi, flying out of the hall.

Just as they landed on the ground outside, they heard a loud sound…….'Hoong'!

The magnificent Minister's residence was instantly shrouded in thick green smoke……

Amid the outbursts of cries and shouts, with tears streaming down his face, Chu Haoran confirmed the love of his life…….she can even make special effects smoke bombs!   He must marry her!

**8**8**8**8**

After returning home from the imperial court, as soon as Ji Ting heard about the embarrassing matter reported by the Housekeeper, he immediately rushed to Nan Hua Courtyard without even changing out of his imperial court robe.

Both the Wangfei and Princess Yanyang were present and Xiaoli was standing beside them with her head lowered.   At the side, Qian Yi, who was still in shock, was narrating the situation and Wangfei Niang Niang was looking at her daughter with a frown while Princess Yanyang was laughing her head off, swaying back and forth.  Ever since Ji Dong had gone to war in the Western Region this is the first time she had laughed so heartily.

Ji Ting hurriedly entered through the door and after sitting down, even before the tea was served, right away he asked the Wangfei anxiously.  "What is the matter?  Why is it said that Minister Chu's wife fainted due to fright?"

The face of Wangfei had turned red and she was at the brink of tears.  Princess Yanyang who had just finished listening to the whole story felt extremely happy and repeated the story vividly to Ji Ting.  Finally, she laughed as she said.  "That son of Minister Chu had already suppressed more than ten noble ladies to death*.  Those ladies had yet to step over the threshold of the Chu Family and had only promised to marry him.  All of you didn't even discuss this matter with me and sent her over as a guest to them!  But then this is truly the girl who came from our Residence!  Not only she didn't die due to suppression but she also caused an uproar in the Minister's residence!  It was a situation of chickens flying and dogs jumping*.  Aiya……I can't help it, this is making me laugh so much!……."

(Suppress ladies to death – The Chinese believe that a person's life depends on his/her 8-characters which determines a person's fate and destiny.  If the vibes of a person's life are too fierce and strong, it will cause the early death of the weaker person who is either the parents or siblings or spouse.)

(Chickens flying and dogs jumping describes a situation that is chaotic and messy.)

At the side, Qi Momo could not bear to listen anymore and gently tugged on the clothes of her Mistress to remind her ~ ~ Now that there are people who had taken the initiative to ask for the little orphan girl's hand in marriage, isn't this what they had wished for when they burned incense and prayed to Buddha?

Princess Yanyang was brought to her senses and remembered the important matter.  The tone of her voice changed and she said.  "Yi.……but then, these two children are a match made in Heaven!"

At the side, Ji Xi's handsome face had turned chilly without saying a word while Ji Bei fisted his hands and gnashed his teeth as he said.

"Fart!  Don't let this Young Master sees that guy!  Otherwise, this Young Master will act out the play of 'Wu Song fights the Tiger' with him!"

('Wu Song fights the Tiger' is a segment from the famous story 'Water Margin' about Wu Song, a strong man who killed a tiger with his bare hands after getting drunk from finishing 18 bowls of wine.)

Originally, Ji Xiaoli, who got into trouble, had her head lowered and did not dare to speak.  At this moment, she whispered to Ji Xi to remind him.  "Then you will have to bring along a piece of  tiger skin for him, otherwise he will definitely not be willing to play the part of the tiger…….."

Ji Bei glared fiercely at her and then raised his fists to frighten her.  She was so scared that she ran behind Wangfei to hide.

When Ji Ting saw that the three children were behaving improperly, he ordered the two sons to take their sister out to play.  After the door had closed, he discussed the matter with Wangfei and Princess Yanyang.  "What actually is the meaning of the Minister's Residence?"

After she had just been reminded by her momo, Princess Yanyang understood and tried her best to push this matter forward.  "What else can it mean?  They like that little idiot!"

"Yanyang! !"  Wangfei could not bear to hear the two words and reprimanded in a low voice.

Princess Yanyang sneered but she still restrained herself.  "Elder Sister, why are you frowning?  Since he is the only son of Minister Chu, who has similar status with us, they should be considered as a suitable match.  Both children are so……compatible!  Even though the matter had ended in chaos today, I don't see them display any dislike for Xiaoli.  It can be seen that they are very sincere!"

"Ai……it's just because of this that I don't feel at ease,"  Wangfei said with worry.  "Although Xiaoli was not suppressed to death by him, there is just this uneasy feeling in my heart."

"That's also correct."  When this was mentioned, Princess Yanyang began to think of the matter in a different aspect.  "Wangye is an Official in the Imperial Court.  If he is to marry off his daughter to Minister Chu's son who has a reputation of suppressing his wives to death…….if this matter is not handled well…… it would seem like Wangye is selling his daughter to gain glory."

Ji Ting smiled faintly and said.  "As long as this marriage is appropriate, as ladies of the inner residence, you need not worry about the gossips outside."

Yanyang glared at him before turning her eyes away.  Suddenly, she said.  "I have it!  Regarding this kind of matters concerning strange forces and mysterious happenings, even the whole upper capital city's gossips added up together could not even contradict a single word from Lord Guoshi.  So long as Lord Guoshi compares the 8-characters from both parties and personally says that they are a match of gold and jade! (matching couple)…….  Everything should be alright!  This is also good for Xiaoli.  Later if the Minister's Residence is not satisfied with her, even though they wouldn't give us face, they would also have to consider Lord Guoshi!"

"This……"  Wangfei was hesitant and looked at Ji Ting.

Ji Ting agreed but……..  "Chen Yubai is not someone like the old Lord Guoshi.  To trouble him for the matters of only a little girl, I am afraid I have put in some effort."

"It is not necessary.  I can guarantee he will agree!"  Holding a teacup, Yanyang snorted.  "Lord Guoshi could not wait to quickly marry off this kind of disciple1"

On this point, Princess Yanyang had the opinion that she and Lord Guoshi shared the same feelings.

**8**8**8**8**

When Ji Dong was not at home, some of the entertaining duties and tasks that were originally the responsibility of the Eldest Son of the Zhennan Wang Residence fell on Ji Xi's shoulders.  As soon as he stepped out of Nan Hua Courtyard, he was called away by the Steward.

Ji Bei eagerly pulled Xiaoli along and ran to the garden.

Like a meteor, he strode with quick steps, and to keep up with him, Xiaoli had to trot behind him as she was dragged along.  Suddenly he halted his footsteps and Xiaoli, who could not stop in time, ran straight into him and slammed her head right onto his chest.

For a male who is skilled in martial arts and has a strong hard body, naturally, he did not feel any pain at all but it rendered Ji Xiaoli into a state of dizziness.

"Aiyo! ! …….."  Holding her hands to her forehead, she screamed in pain.

Originally, Ji Bei was feeling unhappy about the matter regarding 'Wu Song fights the Tiger' but when he saw her in pain, he could not vent his temper.  His heart was in chaos and he was unable to voice out his feelings that are similar to the feelings he has just before entering a martial arts tournament.

"Hey, I want to ask you something."  He raised his face and pretended to be at ease.  "Among the four of us, Ji Dong, Ji Xi, Ji Nan, and me, who do you like the most?"

Ji Xiaoli rubbed her forehead that had turned red and replied naively.  "Everyone!"

All of them are her brothers and everyone is good to her, so there is no difference!

"No…..ai…..it's not that kind of 'like'……"  Ji Bei was at a loss on how to explain to her.  At this moment, the person who is always cheerful and easy-going has a shy and embarrassed expression on his face.   "It's……the other kind……."

"What other kind?"  Ji Xiaoli asked with a strange expression.

Why does 'liking' someone has to be divided into several kinds?  Can it be like her thunderbolt pellets that are separated into different colors?

"Um……it's that kind……of feeling when the heart thumps.  The heart will jump faster than normal and there is a wish to grab hold of the person……and give that person a good rub!"  Ji Third Young Master's ability in explanation was really limited.

He tweaked his ears and scratched his cheeks as he spoke, feeling very satisfied with himself.  Then smiling foolishly he scratched his head and looked at his family's little girl with eyes full of expectation.

Ji Xiaoli thought about his explanation carefully then suddenly she came to an understanding!

"So?!  Who gives you that kind of feeling?!"  He asked eagerly when he saw her expression that showed she was about to reply.  He held his breath and his heart was racing.

"Xiao Bai!" (This is the military pigeon Ji Xi gave her) The little adorable girl of his Ji Family said decisively.  "Whenever it suddenly pops up its head, it gives me a scare.  My heart would jump very fast and I have the urge to grab it to give it a good rub!"

The expectation on Ji Bei's face instantly froze.

The joy that filled his heart slowly cooled down little by little and his anger slowly rose notch by notch!

"Ji Xiaoli ! ! !"

In the rear courtyard of the Ji Residence, his roar shook the mountains and grounds and the sound rang through the clouds.

"This Young Master will strangle you to death and be done with it!"

Ji Xi was in a discussion with the Steward at the front courtyard of the Residence and when he heard the commotion, he knew a disagreement had erupted again.  He rushed to the rear courtyard in a hurry and as soon as he arrived, he saw Ji Bei chasing after Xiaoli.  One was running haphazardly in the courtyard covering her head with her hands and the other, showing an angry expression on his face, was chasing behind her with his hands stretched out.

Ji Xi strode over and the first thing he did was to pull the little girl behind him, then he lectured his younger brother with a serious expression.

"Have you gone crazy?!  Look, you are frightening her!"

Ji Bei was too embarrassed to tell Ji Xi the reason for his crazy behavior and only concentrated on catching the person hiding behind Ji Xi as he jumped up and down.  With her waist bent, Ji Xiaoli hid behind Ji Xi with both her hands gripping his clothes tightly while she screamed as she tried to avoid Ji Bei's hands.

With one hand protecting the person behind him, Ji Xi used his other hand to smack his younger brother away.  In a serious tone, he said.  "Don't be unruly!  Father is still inside the house.  Does your skin feel itchy again? !"

Instantly, Ji Bei ceased his actions and clenching his hands into fists, he threw a glance at the person hiding behind Ji Xi.

"General Han's nephew was injured in the Western Region and it is heard that he will be back these few days.  Pay a visit to the Han Family to see if he has returned and at the same time, try to probe for news."

Elder Brother had not sent any news home for several days and the atmosphere at home had become heavier and heavier, day by day.

Ji Bei reluctantly left.

Ji Xi turned his hand over and patted the person behind him.  "It's alright now, he's gone.  Come out!"

The little girl poked out her head to look around and after confirming that it was safe, she came out.  She patted her chest and heaved a big sigh of relief.

He helped to tidy up her messy hair and could not help but ask.  "Why did you provoke him again?"

"I didn't provoke him!  It was him who became angry after he could not compare with Xiao Bai!"  Ji Xiaoli complained and then told Ji Xi about the questions that Ji Bei asked just now.

After Ji Xi listened to her, he could not produce a smile while a complicated feeling arose in his heart and he became silent.

"Our Xiaoli has grown up."  As he spoke, his fingers slid over her long black hair and he sighed.  "A graceful and virtuous lady is a gentleman's desire."

Chu Gongzi of Minister Chu's Residence and his own brother……Ji Xi felt tremendous pressure.

Especially Ji Bei……since both brothers had grown up together, even if Ji Bei does not realize how much Ji Bei himself likes Xiaoli but he, Ji Xi, is still able to see with his own eyes.

Battle strategies are profound and since he had made the first move with the chess piece so, he had already obtained his Father's approval but he felt extremely guilty towards Ji Bei.

But…….he looked at the refreshing and beautiful little girl in front of him, but……the many years of loving her day and night, and all the years of waiting……   All his feelings of deep love had never changed and she is his whole youth…….how is he willing to give way?

"Later don't eat so much during dinner.  When it is dark, we will call Ji Bei and Ji Nan, and together we will sneak out from the back door to go to Zhang Kee to eat  'Buddha Jumps over the Wall'*!"

Ji Xi wanted to share this last precious hazy time of his youth with his brothers as much as possible.

"Good!"  Xiaoli was so happy that she jumped up with joy.

(Buddha Jumps over the Wall is the name of a soup stewed with a variety of seafood, pork, chicken, ginseng, mushroom, and herbs.  It is said that the aroma of the soup is so enticing that it could tempt the monks who are vegetarians to jump over the monastery wall and sneak out to have a taste of this meat-based soup.  This was how the name of the soup came about.)

Chapter end