Chapter 98 Every word my nephew said came from the bottom of his heart.
"Nonsense!" Rong heard and quickly stopped him, "How dare you say such nonsense?"
Gold silk, jade silk, and wedding satin with wild goose calligraphy—these were clearly the three letters and six ceremonies, the gifts for the engagement. Yuan Song's words were so bold that Rong had to interrupt him.
However, Yuan Song did not rise, maintaining his polite posture, and said, "My nephew's words come from the heart. I also know that a good marriage requires the will of parents and the words of the matchmaker. I will return home and ask my uncle to come and propose on behalf of my parents."
After saying this, he bowed solemnly again and, as he stood up, looked towards Su Ying. His eyes were unfamiliar and serious, unlike his usual playful expression. Then, he let Qingyun lead the way and left the Du Mansion on his own, leaving Rong and Su Ying standing in the side hall, stunned.
About half an hour later, Su Ying and her aunt gradually came to their senses.
She looked towards the door and whispered, "Aunt, don't listen to his nonsense! He's angry with me!"
Su Ying thought she understood Yuan Song. She figured it must be the Lantern Festival incident that had upset him. Yuan Song had always been like this. When they were little, he'd play with her and have fun with her, but as soon as someone else tried to get close to her, he'd be like someone's robbed of their snack, and he'd have to snatch her back, allowing her to play with him alone.
I remember when I was young, a new student arrived at the academy. She looked only a few years older than Yuan Song. Because of the window-slamming incident, my grandfather had allowed her into the main room to attend the lecture, though she was still separated by a screen, not allowing her to get too close to others. The new student, seeing a woman and men in the same class for the first time, and someone so young, became interested and decided to test her.
Yuan Song was the only one in the academy who was a year older than her; the other brothers were all adults. They never took her seriously, even when she wrote well, and they treated her like a child. Now that someone wanted to challenge her to a literary competition, she happily accepted.
Who knew that when Yuan Song heard about this, he immediately frowned, stood in front of her, and said to the man, "If you want to compete with her, you have to beat me first."
Admission to Su Ying's grandfather's academy wasn't something one could do without; one had to be personally assessed by his grandfather. Yuan Song's admission at such a young age was a testament to his exceptional talent. The newcomer, unaware of the situation, felt he couldn't possibly lose to a child, given his age. However, Yuan Song completely convinced him, and he repeatedly praised Yuan Song's essays for their relevance, novelty, and brilliance.
He raised his eyes, curled his lips, pointed at Su Ying, and said to the freshman, "She's known as the academy's top female scholar. You can't even beat me, and you still want to compete with her? I advise you to give up this idea as soon as possible!"
With just one sentence, the newcomer would only bow from a distance when seeing her from then on, and would call her "Senior Sister" with extreme respect, never daring to show any disrespect again.
Su Ying thought that this situation bore some resemblance to that scene from the past. Back then, he had forbidden others from writing with her, so he would do it himself, putting them off. Now, he wouldn't allow anyone else to approach her, so he proposed marriage himself, putting an end to other people's hopes. To put it bluntly, he was still a child at heart.
Thinking of this, Su Ying was both amused and angry. She was amused by the fact that, after not seeing him for three years, he had grown taller and his features had broadened, but his "food-guarding" look hadn't changed a bit. She was infuriated by the fact that when this guy got angry, he would speak without restraint and let loose. He even said the word "engagement" so effortlessly. She wished she could go back to Yandang, borrow her grandfather's ruler, and teach him a lesson for his nonsense.
But Rong had a different perspective. Ying'er was simply lost in the situation. When they were little, Yuan Song would often take Ying'er on odysseys through Yandang Mountain. Seeing the way Yuan Song had looked at Ying'er just now, she knew his affection for her had only grown since childhood. Furthermore, her mother's letter mentioned that Yuan Song's mother had taken the initiative to inquire about Ying'er. This reassured her.
There was only one thing that made her hesitate: Yuan Song seemed to be too frivolous and not calm enough.
Never mind, never mind. Since he said he wanted to go back, let's see if he comes back! There's no need to ask my uncle and aunt to intervene in this matter. It's still a little premature to think about this.
When Du Heng and Cheng Shi returned to the mansion, the sun had already set. He rode ahead on horseback and vaguely saw a little beggar wandering around the mansion gate.
He asked Qingquan to go up and check, but as soon as Qingquan got off the horse, the little beggar discovered them and ran away.
So, he didn't care anymore, waited for Qingquan to knock on the door, and returned home.
After finishing dinner and cleaning up, I returned to the study. It was almost midnight.
Normally, he would review his work for the day and think about his plans for the next day. However, today, after visiting the Nanshi Painting Studio and then the Xu residence, he still felt uneasy, so much so that he couldn't even read a book.
He asked Qingquan to call Taoxi over.
Taoxi naturally knew why the young master was looking for her.
But she didn't get the job done, and without saying anything, she was persuaded to go back by the young lady.
So, she entered the study room with a worried look in her heart. She did not dare to raise her eyes. She approached Du Heng, bowed, and whispered, "Sir."
Du Heng asked, "Have the books been delivered?"
Taoxi has also been serving in the study for many years. Although she is not as close a servant as Sister Chunnuan and Manager Qingquan, she knows that the young master will not be happy if she hides things or only talks about the good things.
So, she kowtowed to Du Heng and told him word for word how Su Ying hadn't even glanced at the book, and that she would leave sooner or later and advised her to go back to Du Heng's study.
She knew that the young master would be angry, so she didn't dare to stand up. She just lowered her head, lowered her eyes, and spoke her words while kneeling.
The entire study was eerily quiet, the only sound coming from the paper being crumpled into a ball. The rustling, rustling sound was irritating, and Taoxi lowered her head even lower.
After an unknown amount of time, a sigh came from above my head: "I know. What about you? Do you want to come back?"
Taoxi immediately fell to the ground again after hearing this. She said, "Young lady is kind and good. As long as she stays in the Du Mansion for one day, I will serve her for one day."
"Okay, I'll go tell the Second Madam tomorrow, and you can go to the side courtyard to serve the young lady."
Taoxi was overjoyed and hurried to express her gratitude.
Just as he was about to stand up, he heard the young master say, "If you go to the young lady, she will be the first priority in everything. My situation here will have nothing to do with you. Do you understand?"
Taoxi paused, but quickly grasped the meaning of the young master's words. He meant that if she followed the young lady, she would be hers. She couldn't be like this now. What's the saying, "My heart is in Cao's camp, but my body is in Han"? She had learned how to do things in the study from her sister Chunnuan. She knew she had to be a loyal servant, and she knew how to be one.
After she said "yes", Du Heng let her leave.
After Taoxi and Qingquan left, the study fell silent once more. Normally, Du Heng preferred this kind of stillness, allowing him to focus his thoughts on his desk without distraction. But tonight, the stillness left him feeling uneasy.
The relationship between them cannot be decided by her alone, she should also listen to his thoughts.
Otherwise, it would be unfair.
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