Chapter 532: The Femme Fatale in the Double Life Story (31)
The time after the New Year passed quickly. With the imperial examination approaching, Xie Qinglan lived directly in the villa. He repeated the daily routine of solving questions and writing essays, and gave them to the teacher for review and revision...but there was basically nothing to revise.
With his experience as an official in his previous life, these questions were easy for him to answer.
The great scholar whom even the Marquis of Yongchang respected so much even said frankly that with his level, he would definitely be among the top candidates in this imperial examination. If it were not for the emperor's unpredictable mind, the great scholar even wanted to say that the top spot would belong to him.
The closer it got to the imperial examination, the calmer Xie Qinglan became.
While others were working hard, trying to seize every minute to read, Xie Qinglan was leisurely choosing a hairpin for Su Yu.
"Sir, please take a look at this. It's a tasseled butterfly hairpin made of the finest Dushan jade. It's suitable for giving to your sweetheart or to your sisters at home." The shopkeeper tried his best to sell it.
Xie Qinglan looked around and found that the jade hairpin recommended by the shopkeeper was indeed good. He did not ask the price and said directly: "Pack it up."
"Okay! I'll pack it for you right away."
He also selected a pair of jade bracelets in the store and packed them together, spending a total of seventy taels of silver. Most of Xie Qinglan's money was gone in an instant.
After buying some food that Su Yu liked, Xie Qinglan returned from the town, and met his former classmates during the trip.
"Thank you, long time no see."
"Brother Li?"
The classmate thought it was a coincidence and said with a smile: "I haven't seen you in the academy for a long time. I heard that you got married. Is it true?"
Xie Qinglan's eyes softened for a moment: "Yes, we got married before the New Year."
The man cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations."
"Thank you very much."
"The examination is coming up soon, are you sure, Brother Xie?"
Xie Qinglan said modestly: "Do your best."
After a brief greeting, the two parted ways.
Along the way, Xie Qinglan saw many scholars carrying book boxes. With the imperial examination approaching, the capital city became much more lively. People who came to Beijing to take the exam stayed in the inn one after another, and their faces, young or old, showed their anticipation for the imperial examination.
At the Xie family, Su Yu asked Mrs. Zhao to think of some food that could be brought into the examination room: "There will be three examinations, each lasting three days. My husband must eat better, but he must not dirty the examination paper. Pastries that fall apart will not do. Biscuits that are dry and hard to chew will not do..."
Before we decided what food to bring, Lan Ying suddenly came in, looking unhappy.
"Miss."
Su Yu asked Mrs. Zhao to go out and continue thinking, then she looked at Lan Ying: "What's the matter?"
Lan Ying walked up to her and whispered, "The wedding date between the eldest lady and the prince of Duke Xin has been set. It will be in May. The Duke's Mansion is ready to propose."
Su Yu's expression paused, and her palms clenched instantly.
In the end, he couldn't help but sweep the things on the table away. The ebony teacup rolled a few times and stopped in front of a pair of black boots. Looking up along the green clothes, Xie Qinglan had handsome eyebrows and a calm expression.
He bent down to pick up the teacup at his feet, walked over and put it on the table: "Who made you angry?"
Su Yu glanced at him and snorted coldly: "Did you know that Su Miao'er is going to get engaged to the Duke of Xin?"
Xie Qinglan raised his eyes slightly: "Are you angry about this?"
"No way?" Su Yu gritted her teeth, "Why is she so lucky?"
Xie Qinglan lowered his eyes and poured Su Yu a cup of green tea to reduce internal heat: "Actually, you don't have to keep staring at her."
In Xie Qinglan's opinion, the Duke of Xin's Mansion might not be a good destination.
When the present emperor first ascended the throne, the nobles in the court were still in their heyday. However, after so many years of suppression, they can no longer cause any trouble. Most of them just hold sinecure positions and have empty titles.
If not for this, Marquis Yongchang would not have married Su Yu to him.
What's more, the Prince of Xin is not a good man. In his previous life, Su Miaoer died a few years after her marriage, which seemed to be related to the Prince of Xin's concubine in the backyard.
Marquis Yongchang and his wife went to ask for an explanation, but in the end they only dealt with the concubine. The Prince of Xin continued to have affairs with other women as usual, and there was no impact at all.
Xie Qinglan handed over the tea and said calmly, "Marriage is not just about family background."
Su Yu was angry. When she heard this, she became furious and brushed away the teacup in front of her.
The slightly hot tea was poured directly onto Xie Qinglan's hands, which quickly turned red.
Su Yu didn't even look at him. The emotions that had been suppressed for many days suddenly burst out. She sneered and said, "If not family background, what else do you look at? Xie Qinglan, you really are talking without any pain. You dare to say that you didn't marry me because of my family background? Otherwise, why didn't you marry Lin Xiuxiu next door? I think she likes you very much."
Xie Qinglan's dark eyes sank: "What did you say?"
Su Yu was so angry that she lost her mind and said bluntly, "Am I wrong? When men and women marry, they look at family background. If I were a legitimate daughter, I would not marry a poor scholar like you. If I were not the daughter of a marquis, you would not abandon Lin Xiuxiu who loves you and marry me."
Xie Qinglan looked at her intently, focusing on the last sentence: "Is this how you think of me in your heart?"
Su Yu looked at him without dodging or avoiding: "Yes."
Lan Ying was so anxious that she was like an ant on a hot pan. If she had known that her brother-in-law would come back at this time, she would not have told the young lady about this.
Don’t quarrel, don’t quarrel, Lan Ying prayed in her heart.
Xie Qinglan suddenly found it ridiculous. In Su Yu's eyes, all he did was just to covet her family background.
How ridiculous.
He didn't care about Su Yu's plot and frame-up, nor did he care about the cup of poisoned wine in her previous life. He treated her with care, tried his best to make her live a good life, loved her, protected her, and cherished her.
In Su Yu's eyes, he was just coveting her family background.
To Xie Qinglan, it was like his sincerity being ruthlessly trampled into pieces by someone, and in the end that person still complained that the pieces hurt his feet.
…
Xie Qinglan hadn't come back for several days. Although the reason he gave was that the imperial examination was approaching and it would be more convenient for him to live in the villa and receive instruction from his teacher, everyone knew that it was a lie.
Su Yu was too embarrassed to apologize, so she just stood there.
Lan Ying blamed herself for speaking at the wrong time.
"It has nothing to do with you." Su Yu knew that this matter had always been a rift between her and Xie Qinglan. "If you don't tell me now, you will tell me later."
"Don't let this affect his imperial examinations. If he fails to even pass the imperial examination, I will divorce him." Su Yu murmured.
Lan Ying still had tears in her eyes. She burst into laughter and cried while laughing: "Miss, why are you still urging me to make progress at this time?"
Su Yu glanced at her and said, "I just want to live a better life, so that I won't be inferior to Su Miaoer in the future."
Thinking of Su Miaoer, Lan Ying's mood also became depressed: "But even if my son-in-law passed the imperial examination and became the top scholar, he can't compare to the prince."
Su Yu: "Yeah, why is he so useless?"
Lan Ying: “…”
Oops, it seems I have unintentionally made the young lady's impression of her brother-in-law even worse.
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