Chapter 108: Running Away from Home

Early in the morning, Fubao was promptly sent off by her mother to the Sacred Academy. Yet today, the academy felt unusually quiet. Fubao noticed that there seemed to be far fewer of the young ladies around.

When they arrived at the classroom, only the tutor and Fubao were there, staring at each other in silence. The tutor, furious, grabbed his ruler and stormed off toward the neighboring men’s academy.

Ah! Today was calligraphy class—Miss Chen was doomed! Fubao couldn’t help but feel a bit gleeful at that.

Meanwhile, Gu Li and his cousin had been ushered to the gates of the Sacred Academy early by their aunt, as if they were prisoners. Just as Gu Li stepped down from the carriage, he was met with a pack of predatory gazes. After a moment’s thought, he decided it was better not to go in at all, quickly slipping back into the carriage with a swoosh.

Gu Li felt like a little lamb who had unwittingly wandered into a den of wolves.

Gong Shaoyu, listless, barely poked his head out of the carriage before his cousin bumped him right back in.

“Hey! Cousin, what are you doing?” Gong Shaoyu rubbed his head and crawled out from the corner, clearly annoyed.

“Uh, cousin, I think maybe we shouldn’t get out yet,” Gu Li said, fixing his hair.

“Why not?” Gong Shaoyu asked, puzzled.

“Uh, it’s hard to explain.”

“Hm?”

“What’s so hard to explain?”

“Well…”

“Enough! We’re running late! The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we’re free!” Gong Shaoyu interrupted impatiently. Since they had to go anyway, it was best to be obedient.

Gu Li fell silent for a moment. “Are you sure?”

“What’s there to be unsure about?”

“Alright then, please!”

“This is so weird,” Gong Shaoyu muttered as he lifted the carriage curtain and dismounted. Gu Li, seeing his cousin’s retreating back, suddenly dashed inside and quickly pulled the curtain tightly shut.

Leaning back, Gu Li said softly, “Why aren’t you getting out? We’re in a hurry!”

Gong Shaoyu was speechless. He already knew this handsome cousin was a mischievous little schemer.

In the end, the two boys hiding inside the carriage were rescued by the arriving tutor.

“You kids! Instead of studying properly, you’re here causing trouble. When you go back, I want fifty pages of calligraphy practice from each of you. Anyone who doesn’t finish will have to continue tomorrow!”

From the female academy, Fubao watched as tutors from various grades rounded up their students for a stern lesson in discipline. She suddenly felt immensely satisfied.

Eventually, Fubao happily left under the resentful gaze of Miss Chen.

Meng Yun noticed her daughter was in a good mood today, eating two large bowls of rice without complaint.

“Bao’er, are you happy today? What’s the good news?”

Hearing this, Fubao brightened and eagerly recounted the day’s events. Ha! She didn’t have to write the calligraphy sheets—perfect!

However, her joy was short-lived. Meng Yun pondered for a moment and said, “Since the young ladies at your academy are all doing it, you’ll write fifty pages too. You can’t fall behind in your studies.”

Fubao was speechless. Ah, the devil!

Lin Sanlang, seeing Fubao’s obvious dejection and looking toward the family matriarch Meng Yun, thought it over and quietly slipped Fubao a chicken drumstick. As a father, he was powerless to challenge the authority of the household head, so he could only comfort his daughter with a small kindness.

That night, Fubao looked over at the little ginseng root sleeping nearby, drooling, and then glanced at her towering stack of calligraphy sheets. “I’m running away from home!”

At the same time, in the Gong residence, a sneaky figure slipped away from a crowd of sleeping people.

“Young master, don’t think about escaping!” A voice startled the person trying to sneak away. After speaking, the voice turned over and went back to sleep.

“That scared me to death! Turns out you were just talking in your sleep!” The figure was none other than Gong Shaoyu, whose master had mentioned that they would be leaving tomorrow. He wanted to slip away quickly and not stick around.

Gong Shaoyu was experienced in sneaking away. During their travels, after being forced to wash dishes a few times for freeloading meals, he and his master had learned some tricks. Every time his mother blocked his way, he always managed to slip out—and this time was no exception.

Just as Gong Shaoyu was perched on the wall, preparing to jump down after assessing the terrain—

“Hey, cousin, why are you sitting on the wall so late at night instead of sleeping?” Gu Li appeared from a corner, arms crossed, watching him.

“Uh, I’m watching the moon. Do you believe me?”

“What do you think?”

“Fine! I’m escaping! Can you keep it a secret?”

“Why should I keep your secret? I won’t.”

“Then... how about we escape together?”

“Alright!”

Gong Shaoyu was not surprised. He knew his cousin was a sly one.

Gu Li then pulled out a large bundle from the corner, even bigger than Gong Shaoyu’s bag, and handed it over.

“Hurry, take this. We have to leave quickly!”

Gong Shaoyu was stunned. This guy had come prepared!

So, under cover of night, the two young men slipped away. The next day, two major events shook the city:

First, the eldest young master of the Gong family ran away with his cousin, who had just come from the countryside.

Second, the prime minister’s granddaughter and niece left a letter with Miss Chen, declaring their intention to roam the world in wild abandon.

As for Miss Chen, she was soon scolded by her own father and then snuck away under cover of night. By chance, she met the runaway Fubao, and after some discussion,

the three of them decided to form a trio of free-spirited young women, setting off together to wander the world.