Chapter 4 Rejection He doesn't like girls older than him
Shen Youran was in the yard but her mind was elsewhere. After writing the 500th word in a restless mood, she threw the pen away, picked up her skirt and ran out.
As soon as she ran to the gate, she saw that her sister had already returned and was standing by the window, looking at her with a smile.
"When did you come back? What did the Pei family say?" Shen Youran took her sister's hand and asked impatiently, "Did the eldest son of the Pei family agree to this marriage?"
It was rare for her to finish writing 500 words before running out, so Shen Yunshu didn't keep her waiting any longer: "I've been back for a while. The person who came today was Madam Pei's maid Jiang. She said that Master Pei was willing and asked me what I thought. I nodded, and she went back happily..."
"And then what?"
"Then," Shen Yunshu pursed her lips and smiled, "Madame Jiang also said that Madam Pei will invite the official matchmaker to the mansion to propose marriage tomorrow."
"That's great!" Shen Youran's bright and clear almond eyes curved into a crescent shape, and she smiled so hard that her nose wrinkled. She accidentally said what was in her heart, "Big sister, you are finally getting married. When you get married, I won't have to read books, practice calligraphy, play the piano, or paint all day long..."
After he finished speaking, he realized that he had said something wrong and quickly covered his mouth. Only his pair of black eyes were left blinking as he looked at Shen Yunshu guiltily.
"You, you..." This lazy sister, how can an older sister feel at ease to get married?
Su Bai's slender fingers poked her forehead. Shen Yunshu looked at her with a mixture of anger and amusement, and told her to go back to the table and practice calligraphy.
The next day, a matchmaker came to the Shen residence with the selection gift.
The elders of the two families had already agreed to each other's feelings, and seeing that the two children liked each other, Wei, as Shen Yunshu's stepmother, appeared and agreed to the matter, handing a rough note with Shen Yunshu's birth date and horoscope to the matchmaker.
After the Pei family got Shen Yunshu's invitation, they sent it and Pei Huaijin's to the temple for divination. They calculated that the two had compatible destinies and their horoscopes, so Mrs. Pei began to prepare to go to the Shen family to make the engagement.
Pei Huaijin had already returned to Lingzhou at this time, and the engagement and subsequent matters were all handled by his elders. Half a year later, he was transferred back to the capital, and the six ceremonies would be almost completed, so the marriage would be put on the agenda.
Pei Huaijin's marriage was arranged by the old lady. Zhu didn't get involved much due to her poor health. After all, her son was the eldest grandson in the family and the most outstanding among the younger generation, so the old lady would naturally give him the best.
While Zhu was happy that her eldest son's marriage was finally settled, she was also worried about her niece's marriage.
That day, the old lady mentioned that Meng Wanxin could be betrothed to Pei Huaian, the seventh son of the third house. Zhu then called Meng Wanxin over and asked her about her wishes. The girl Meng was stunned for a moment, but she bit her lip shyly and agreed.
Zhu originally thought that as long as Meng girl agreed, the marriage would be almost certain. After all, Qilang had been without a mother since childhood and had always respected her as his aunt. With her acting as a matchmaker, Qilang would not refuse.
So she asked someone to keep an eye on Pei Huaian. Xiao Qi often played outside until very late and would sneak out in the morning at any time. It really took her people a few days to finally bring Pei Huaian to her.
Zhu looked at her sixteen-year-old nephew in front of her. The boy was fair and handsome. He looked nothing like his older cousins and did not resemble his father at all. He probably looked like his mother who passed away early. However, it was so long that Zhu could no longer remember what his mother looked like.
Zhu always felt sorry for him every time she saw him, and this time was no exception. She couldn't help but give him some more advice, asking him to stop playing around and read more books. Maybe in the future he could be on the list and become an official like his elder brother.
He listened with boredom, his slightly upturned eyes wandering around, obviously not paying attention.
Zhu sighed helplessly before talking to him about business.
I thought it was a sure thing, but I didn't expect him to refuse it.
He didn't say anything wrong about Meng Wanxin, he just said that he didn't like girls older than him, and Meng Wanxin was seventeen years old this year, just one year older than him.
No matter how Zhu praised Meng Wanxin's appearance and personality, he just turned a blind eye and did not respond. In short, he refused to change his words.
Seeing him like this, Zhu felt there was no need to continue lobbying, so she waved her hand and told him to leave.
After he left, Meng Wanxin, who had been eavesdropping behind the screen, ran out in shame and anger with tears in her eyes.
Zhu rubbed her clogged chest, but she was helpless...
*
Time passed by slowly, and the daytime gradually became longer, long enough for Chen Youran to finish writing five thousand words, playing a piece of music for half an hour, and reading half a book. The setting sun was still hanging on the wall, quietly spreading its melting light on the ground.
While it was still light, Shen Yunshu would ask her to help embroider the wedding dress, just as a way to practice needlework.
Shen Youran's embroidery was never good, so Shen Yunshu only asked her to embroider simple patterns, such as pomegranates, cloud patterns, and double happiness. As for the more complex patterns like dragons and phoenixes, peonies, and lotus flowers, Shen Yunshu naturally embroidered them herself. Because her eyesight was poor, Shen Yunshu stopped asking her to embroider as soon as it got dark.
Although they didn't embroider much, the sisters worked together and quickly finished embroidering the wedding dress.
There were still three months left before the divorce, and Shen Youran thought that the matter was settled and she would have more time to have fun in the future. However, her sister took out a piece of brocade, cut it into clothes according to her body shape, and then pulled her to embroider it together.
Shen Youran was puzzled: "I'm not in a hurry to get married, why are you embroidering a wedding dress for me now?"
"Why not? Yesterday, the General's House sent a matchmaker to propose marriage to you. Their Liang Liulang is quite good. What do you think?"
Liang Liulang is a martial artist and is currently on duty in the archery squad of the Palace Front Department. It is said that he is a straightforward and chivalrous man who does not care about trivial matters and has a strong appearance. Previously, Shen Yunshu had included him in her list of future husbands and secretly asked someone to investigate him. However, her fate with Pei Huaijin came faster, so she naturally did not think about Liang Liulang anymore.
Now the Liang family came to the mansion to propose marriage, and Shen Yunshu had known Liang Liulang for a long time, so when her father asked for her opinion, she thought this man was okay.
Now it all depends on the third sister's wishes. If she is willing, the two sisters will get married at the same time.
"Although I've never met the Sixth Young Master of the Liang Family, if Daddy and Sister both think he's a good person, then I'll marry him," Shen Youran said with a smile as she embroidered the pomegranates on her wedding dress. "Besides, his family is a family of generals, so they shouldn't mind my lack of skills in music, chess, calligraphy, or painting, right?"
"What do you mean you should marry him just because Daddy and I like him? You're so careless! Aren't you afraid that on your wedding night, when you lift the veil, you'll find that you don't like your husband's appearance?"
"That's right," Shen Youran said thoughtfully, "After all, couples sleep in the same bed at night. If my husband is too ugly, I won't be able to sleep..."
Shen Yunshu's hand trembled, and the needle in her hand almost pricked herself. She raised her eyes and teased her: "What do you mean by sleep or not? You are still a girl in the boudoir. Aren't you ashamed to say such things?"
"What's there to be ashamed of? You're not telling anyone else. If you feel shy, I'll give you two storybooks. If you read more stories about men and women, you won't feel ashamed anymore..."
"Didn't I tell you not to read those messy books? Are you secretly reading them at night again?" Shen Yunshu scolded her softly, "Your eyes are already not good, and if you read too carefully, you will damage your brain too..."
Since Shen Youran did not reject Liang Jia Liulang, Shen Yunshu discussed with her father Shen Tingyu to ask the two of them to meet each other in advance.
"The day after tomorrow, on the eighth day of the lunar month, there will be a temple fair at Daxiangguo Temple. Why not use the excuse of burning incense to ask Third Sister and Liang Jialiu Lang to meet each other..." Shen Yunshu gave her father an idea.
Looking at the eldest daughter who looked like her mother, Shen Tingyu couldn't help but think of her original wife, and sighed: "If your mother and I hadn't divorced back then, the marriage of you two sisters should have been planned by us as parents..." Instead of what happened now, the eldest daughter's marriage was arranged by herself, and the second daughter's marriage was also arranged by her as the elder sister.
"The past is over. I have no right to interfere in your affairs with Mother. I just want to compensate my third sister and find her a good husband so that she can live a worry-free life for the rest of her life..."
When Shen Yunshu thought of Shen Youran's tearful eyes, she felt extremely guilty.
Back then, my father went to Muzhou to try to win my mother back but failed, and they eventually ended up getting divorced.
That night, Shen Yunshu was awakened by the sound of her parents talking in low voices. She overheard the result of their discussion, which was that the six-year-old her would return to Beijing with her father, while her four-year-old sister would stay with their mother.
She didn't want to leave her mother, so she hid secretly in the middle of the night, thinking that her father couldn't find her and would not take her back to the capital.
Later she really stayed, but her sister was gone in her mother's arms.
When her father set out on his journey, he still couldn't find her, so he took her younger sister with him instead.
Although her mother did not blame her later, she still felt that she had stolen her sister's life over the past ten years.
*
On the eighth day of the fifth lunar month, the weather was clear and peaceful. Daxiangguo Temple was open for business, with various performances taking place and people doing business. The solemn and dignified temple was bustling with worship. The air was thick with the aroma of incense hanging between the yellow walls and brown tiles.
Shen Youran loves to join in the fun the most. These days, she has been confined in the boudoir by her elder sister and has to keep a low profile. It is a rare opportunity for her to go out, so she decided to have a good time before going back.
The encounter with Liang Liulang took place by the release pond behind the Heavenly King Hall. Since the two families were close together, Shen Youran was able to observe Liang Liulang up close. He was tall and handsome, with broad shoulders and a slightly dark complexion, but his eyes were extremely bright. When Shen Youran met his gaze and smiled, he actually looked away first, his ears seeming to turn red.
The two families stayed for less than a cup of tea before leaving. Liang Liulang accompanied Mrs. Liang to burn incense, while Chen Youran took her sister and couldn't wait to go to the temple fair to play.
There were a dazzling array of goods at the temple fair. The two sisters wore veils and veils. The veils concealed their good looks, and the tulle hanging under the veils also hid their equally graceful figures, allowing them to move freely among the bustling crowd.
After Shen Yunshu accompanied her sister to stroll through the two corridors, Danruo and Qinghe behind her had their arms filled with embroidery, pearls, flowers and some funny little things selected by Shen Youran.
Shen Youran wanted to buy more, but the purse around her waist was empty, so she set her sights on her sister's purse.
Shen Yunshu asked Danruo and Qinghe to deliver the things they had just bought to the carriage at the foot of the mountain, and then took her sister to the Zisheng Gate behind the Buddhist temple, where books, zithers, inkstones, calligraphy and paintings, and ancient artifacts were exhibited and sold.
"Come with me to the book fair. I want to buy a painting. The rest of the money will be yours..."
Although Shen Youran couldn't appreciate those elegant arts, she still happily followed her sister.
*
Pei Huaian and his friends were strolling around under the colorful curtains and open-air houses in the temple. With such a lively temple fair, he naturally wanted to call his friends to have some fun.
Thinking that my grandmother’s birthday is coming soon, I would like to pick out a gift here to celebrate her birthday.
A few friends were tired from shopping and decided to go to a vegetarian gathering to eat something.
Pei Huaian hadn't chosen a gift he liked yet, so he asked them to go to the vegetarian gathering first, while he went to the book exhibition in the back hall.
He was good-looking, and many girls along the way threw handkerchiefs to him, but he ignored them. He passed by a stall selling Nuo masks, bought a mask and put it on his face.
In this way, he successfully arrived near Zisheng Gate. Of course, he didn't know anything about calligraphy and painting, but he was attracted by a pair of red parrots.
The pair of red parrots, frightened by the Nuo mask on his face, fluttered and flew around. The stall owner held down one, and he caught the other. Just as he was about to ask the price, he suddenly saw a graceful girl standing in front of a bookstall not far away. A breeze lifted the veil under the curtains, and he saw a pair of bright eyes, like the moon in an ancient painting, full of brilliance, shining straight into one's heart...
The author has something to say:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
