Chapter 131: The Tests Begin
"We shall begin then," he stood and walked toward her holding out his hand and helping her to her feet. "We will begin testing your verbal comprehension, processing speeds, working memory and visual perception."
Changying followed him to the table realising he was about to administer an IQ test. She said nothing in return taking the seat he offered and waited for further instruction. He took his time slowly gauging each of her answers and watching her critically.
"You may go to your cell and rest before dinner," he said abruptly as she finished the second subtest. Packing up the items she had been working on, he added, "We will continue this tomorrow."
"Thank you, Marshall," Changying stood and walked toward the door. She walked into the corridor beyond and through a door on the opposite side leading to the dining hall. This place was not so hard to navigate she decided and walked toward the stairs leading down to the lower level and her cell. She was pleased to find her small bag and a few of the books she had requested had arrived.
She went about unpacking her meager belongings and storing the phone in the drawer with her journal, so she was not tempted to use it outside of the set times. She placed the two photos she had brought with her on the top of the dresser and smiled back at the faces of Chunhua and Wang. These were the two people she knew loved her best in the world, and she could do anything they asked of her here knowing they waited for her.
She sat on the small bed leafing through one of the books that detailed some of the histories of the Battaglia scanning the text lightly for any mention of the twelve tables when she heard noise in the corridors outside. Realising it must be dinner time she closed the book and left her cell.
She noted the various coloured toga's that walked along the main corridor past the one her cell was located in. Two men in the black and white Battaglia uniform walked with three women who wore the orange toga assigned to family members. She remembered the incident at lunch and watched the women telling herself it was just a figment of her imagination, but when Baozhai turned to look directly at her, Changying stopped in her tracks.
Wang had told her that Baozhai was in a rehabilitation facility, but she hadn't connected the dots until right at that very moment. She wasn't sure what to do. Should she tell the Marshalls of her falling out with Baozhai? Not that it was falling out with Baozhai exactly, it had been Chen who had done Baozhai's dirty work. Even though she was sure that Baozhai was behind Chen's actions she had no real proof, it would sound like she was paranoid if she did make a fuss. By the time she had gathered herself together and made her way to the dining hall, she had convinced herself that it was better to say nothing about the unease she felt at seeing Baozhai here. She decided it was best if she just avoided the woman as best she could.
Once again she sat by herself at the white table. She ate quickly so she could dispose of her tray before Marco came to get her. She kept her schedule tucked into the belt of her toga, and as she sat quietly at the end of the meal time, she looked it over again. It took her through to breakfast the following morning, and she assumed she would get another schedule then.
"In the future, you will make you way down to the Stanhope room when it is on your schedule," Marco instructed her as she rose from the table. "As it is your first day here I understand the necessity of collecting you but it will not happen again." He turned and walked away expecting her to follow. He walked back through the dining room in the direction of the library. The middle door on the left side she knew led to a library at the end of the walkway.
Ignoring the door to the library, Marco walked into a cleverly concealed passageway to a room that seemed to run the whole length of the rear of the stone building. It was made of rich polished wooden beams that held toughened glass panels that made up the walls and the ceiling. Unlike the conservatory at the Donati home it held few plants but rather was filled with a rich, eclectic variety of antiques grouped together at various intervals. Lounging areas sat beside dining tables which then sat beside couches as every sort of chair and table that Changying could ever think of seemed to have been jumbled together here. Despite the strange variety of shape and mass of the furniture, it all seemed like it belonged here in this room.
"Within this room I will do you the courtesy of calling you Miss Ma, and you will address me as Marshall Marco," he said inviting her to sit with an arm gesture. Taking her cue from him, Changying took a seat and sat demurely crossing her legs at the ankles and tucking them under her chair.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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