"So where are we?"

"Supposed to help a scholar with his issues."

"You mean that guy who has been looking at that since morning?" For lack of better contrast as it was almost late night as of now. A lot of time had pa.s.sed and at the same time had not. She didn"t think that was all too normal. She remembered Yuntong who was a scholar who preferred to wander around. He was unusual but anyone will be given the situation. It was normal to not have spent the day home looking over the books like crazy.

"He"s going through his exams. Which to me it a little strange. I do have a lot of scholars friends but none quite like him." Nothing that gave the feeling that something was wrong or right. This was something that told something was off.

"And I was engaged to one, none of them had this kind of thing." It was clear that this was something more. Something that on a deeper level will have been worse on so many accounts.

"And the person who asked this had been his nanny." Because only the poor took care of their children personally. And needed to attend to each child. It was strange just to see how he acted. Even as Zhixun wondered just why had they come here. Dianyu knew that on some level it held a lot of truth.

"So is that why we"re waiting at the back entrance?" It was clear given how all the servants ran inside. And what she knew of mansions, although she had only been in one once. But the way that the front entrance was never used unless for guests meant that servants got around through another exit. It made more sense.

"That seems so." He nodded. Given just how long it was taking them just to wait for her.

Before a woman finally came up. And showed them a small letter. Then did they know that it had been their client. They had been waiting for the better part of an hour. And they were tempted to believe that there was no one waiting for them. Nothing explained just how long it was going to take at the end of the day.

"Are you two part of them?"

"Yes, we are." He took the lead, making it clear that he was the senior here.

"I wasn"t expecting you to be like this." They didn"t have a clue what it was. Dianyu merely blinking, they had been a little odd but not strange. This was not in their mind. "Why are you carrying a birdcage and she a parasol?"

"We"re performers." That was the only thing that they could come up with that didn"t seem half-baked to say the least. Even as they had no idea just what to do next. This was the best they could come up with.

She blinked. "That makes sense. I wonder what kind of tricks you can use."

They both had a worry. Wondering just how they could have bluffed their way out of this. Or even how they needed to keep this act. This was a necessity for them to try. Before following her to the boy. In closer hindsight, he had brought all of his books with him and to the outside.

They were gazing, wondering just what had been the point of this. He had not even looked up at this point, nor had he done anything else. Other than just gaze into his books. Zhixun stepped forward first in an attempt to understand just what was wrong or to find out just how much work they will be doing.

"Don"t bother, he won"t do anything." Before she stepped forward placing food. He put it down and began to eat.

"It all began after the master"s death, and the young master plunged himself into this." Referring to the boy and how he was obsessed with this. It was strange, weird and something that even they agreed was not healthy in the long run. They knew that as it was almost strange doing this. "The more he does it, the more he is harming his body."

"Where is his mother?"

"Encouraged him, even without knowing just how bad the situation is. She has never spent more than an hour looking after him." And thus never knew just how extreme this had gone. "He already has lost a lot of weight from that."

And it had been rather clear from the fact that this would have ruined him, eventually.

"Can you do something?"

A dead relative, it almost sounded like that too. And this could not have been uncommon, as many will have a.s.sumed that he was grieving for his father. But in reality, it was so much more than that now. But no one really saw that with the exception of her. Because she knew so much about his private life that anyone else did.

"We"ll try." That was all she needed. As no one else could think that this could get worse and take a toll on him. Many will think that he was simply willing to work harder than most to get into good schools. It wasn"t even desperation given the shape of his house. It was nothing of the sort.

"But we need to be alone," Zhixun suggested it, which could mean that it was how he did things. Before he took out the bird. "Take this if you"re worried, he"s my favorite."

If she didn"t know that he had simply grabbed it at the moment she asked about why he was bringing around a birdcage she will have believed him. As it was, she was doing her level best to not laugh out loud. As she left in that instant. And she laughed because she could hold it back no longer.

"I do this often. Many people question my sanity whenever I"m doing this." For lack of better word too, as it seemed. As it made no sense to be carrying around an empty cage and have no better way to have explained this at the end of the day. This was all something that he had to adapt to.

"You got lucky unless you"re doing it in the spring." Anytime had been a good occasion for them, and even then they were only looking at something long term. Otherwise many could a.s.sume that she was carrying around one because it didn"t take a long time.

"I wonder how you get winter by when there are no birds." She certainly will have liked to see how he dealt with it. Before he stopped.

"I don"t. I simply carry it around and hide it within my coat." Because by then it will require them to dress warmly. "The cold is felt the strongest when you"re in Chang"an." And the western parts of the country from what she knew. And out west was where it was inhospitable that even those who made it their home there often relied on one thing, trading and hunting to survive. It was hard to grow plants, thus hard to rear any animals. Which made them reliant on hunting.

And coming down to trade their game. Mostly good fur pelts. Those things were the ones which tended to be sold here as there were few animals which could be hunted for their skins here.

"And thus you"re mostly here until then."

"Or I kidnap a poor bird and let it freeze to death." In this situation, she had no idea just how true it was. They had better things to get back to, like the fact that they were now stuck with someone who for lack of better word was glued to the book. His eyes didn"t even notice the fact that she was gone. And neither did he even bother to see how he was eating. Simply taking a spoon and stuffing into his face.

In a way, they were surprised as to how he has not managed to choke from the food itself. But they didn"t feel the need to do so at the end of the day. As Zhixun finally went to the man and tapped him on the shoulder. "Who are you?"

He stared at them unblinkingly. Anyone else will have been put on alert in that instant. But not him, as he knew it because it seems so strange that someone else was here. "I"ll get someone to bring you tea." He was about to leave before heading back here. Not even asking them any questions but merely looking back at the books.

They both looked at each other once more. Before he decided to tap once more. "We don"t need anything. We"re performers, here to cheer you up. What"s your name?" Dianyu joined his side holding her umbrella up at the end of the day. More than happy to give the impression that it was so. They didn"t want him to simply go back to ignoring them.

"I"m sorry, but I need to get back to this. Perhaps you can come back once I"m done. By the way, my name is Zhen Yan." As far as he knew the earliest time an examination occured was in the autumn. And even that took a large amount of time given the fact that months will fly by with nothing happening. And months will be spent here.

Plenty of time to drive someone fully insane. If his behavior didn"t give that impression as it was. Before even she was rather tired. But Zhixun gave her a look. She didn"t get what he meant initially. Mostly because she wasn"t used to him.

"Well, we can"t do anything until we put on a good show." He gave a wink. She smiled in return, before wondering just what a man carrying around a birdcage could do on his own. She was fairly curious.

Before he grinned and went to the table, jumping right on it. Before standing on his hands. And coming right back down. Just like that girl her mother hired recently, she was as flexible as this was. And what she knew was that they had to be taught from young before their bones hardened, then it will be too difficult to try.

Taking the book right in front of him. Before throwing right at her. Her first instinct had been to throw it back but she caught it with much annoyance but still willing to hold it. Even as he noticed just how this changed. He went straight to her. Asking for the book back before he went back to the seat only to have Zhixun grabbed another book.

In a mere second, Dianyu guessed that he also grew tired of this and sought to find ways to end it. Although she wasn"t sure whether his behavior will have ended with them being thrown out of the house. From what she did know, it was a likely option. As no performer in their right mind will be doing this.

"Just stop." Before Zhixun landed gracefully on the table. He was used to this. "Why do you keep distracting me? I have to do this or I"ll be out of the house. Mother told me that I was not worth her time if I didn"t make it in."

The expectation that he will succeed. Zhixun sat on the table, pensive more than ever. "Tell me then, why are you doing this."

"To get my mother"s love."

"Then what if the next time she asks, she asks you to become the Emperor, will you do it?" It was not possible, but worth a consideration. She didn"t know this, girls were treated with much fewer expectations conferred onto them. Their life had been planned for them, to be alive but never truly live. She didn"t know the same had been done for boys too. That they had the same circ.u.mstances as them. Except in a different way.

Never asked what was it they truly wanted in their life. The same way that she was too.

"I don"t know."

"What are you living for?" Dianyu could answer it to an extent. "Is this the decision that you wanted or someone else did."

He didn"t say another word. Zhixun became a lot more serious, even as Dianyu merely observed. She didn"t know how to handle this. "To put yourself through such misery and not know why are you living, it"s a path to a prison. Where you can"t let go because it will mean disappointing them, and it will mean losing too much. You can still pick your own choices and how you want things done."

"That"s enough word coming from a guest." In that instant, they were looking at their mother. Even as Dianyu remained a bystander to this, as much as she didn"t know how to jump inside. But Zhixun did everything to tell him.

Like the first time, Feiyu took her out. This was what strayers did, to instill in others that in the end fate did not fully control them. That they were free to pick a path.

But she knew that this woman was not. She took out her parasol and opened it. Ready to shield from anything. Even as Zhixun"s birdcage remained on his hands.