Chapter 33 You Glare at Me
She's only fifteen! How can she get married like that?
In the midst of this awkward atmosphere, Pei Wu suddenly spoke up, politely turning to Wang Chong: "My younger sister is still young, it's a bit too early to talk about marriage. Let's wait until she's older before bringing it up."
As soon as these words were spoken, the matchmaker chimed in, "Fifteen! Most girls are of marriageable age at this age, she's not young anymore."
Although the marriage age for men in the Great Xia Dynasty is fifteen and for women it is thirteen, in reality it is much later. It is common for women to marry at eighteen. It is not an exaggeration to say that Jiang Ru is too young.
The matchmaker's words were rather inappropriate at this moment. Pei Wu raised his eyes, calmly glanced at her, and then turned to Wang Chong and said, "My sister and I are very close, and I don't want her to be involved in marriage too early. Minister Wang, you should choose someone else."
Wang Chong hadn't held out much hope, so he wasn't displeased upon hearing this. He then spoke with Pei Wu about other things before leaving.
Pei Wu escorted her all the way to the door. When he returned, Jiang Ru was sitting at the wooden table, her face stiff and numb.
Pei Wu smiled and asked, "What's wrong?"
Jiang Ru was puzzled: "Why would they go to such lengths to marry off their children?"
Pei Wu replied, "It's not for those reasons."
Jiang Ru looked at him, and perhaps afraid that she would overthink things, Pei Wu told her, "I will not use your marriage as a bargaining chip for personal gain, so you can rest assured."
Not to mention Pei Wu wouldn't, Jiang Ru wouldn't marry just anyone either. She lived alone for ten years in her previous life and did just fine; she didn't need to get married.
Moreover, if Pei Wu were the kind of person who could easily manipulate her, she would have run away long ago.
After Wang Chong set this precedent, the threshold of his house was almost worn down that day as suitors came one after another. Pei Wu could only entertain them well and then politely see them off.
These officials seemed to have arranged it in advance, one after another, leaving Pei Wu busy all day. He brewed several pots of tea and ate several plates of pastries.
Later, Jiang Ru hid inside the house, afraid that if someone saw her, they would try to harm her.
It wasn't until evening, when no one came to the door, that Jiang Ru dared to come out of the house. Pei Wu was sitting in the main hall, and when he saw her come out, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The Great Xia Dynasty valued literature over martial arts. Pei Wu was the right age, a top scholar, and had a promising future. Who wouldn't want such a good son-in-law?
Jiang Ru shrugged at him: "There's nothing I can do. There will be many more days like this in the future. If you get promoted, even more people will come to visit."
Upon hearing this, Pei Wu seemed troubled and frowned slightly.
Jiang Ru shrugged: "Top scholar, learn to get used to it."
But that wasn't what Pei Wu was thinking. Just as Jiang Ru was about to turn and leave, Pei Wu suddenly said, "I want to ask, why was my cousin angry this morning?"
After being interrupted by Minister Wang, Jiang Ru had completely forgotten about the incident. She doesn't hold grudges; she was just teasing Pei Wu this morning, but Pei Wu actually took it to heart.
Jiang Ru was exhausted after today's events, so she stopped beating around the bush with Pei Wu and simply said, "You were drunk last night and glared at me."
Pei Wu exclaimed in surprise, "I glared at you!"
Jiang Ru nodded: "My cousin is quite fierce."
Pei Wu remembered that he shouldn't glare at people casually, let alone glare at Jiang Ru, so he shook his head: "I won't glare at you."
Jiang Ru: "...Then the one who glared at me last night was a ghost."
Pei Wu, without changing his expression, continued, "Perhaps my cousin is mistaken."
Only Jiang Ru was present last night, and there was nothing Pei Wu could do if he didn't believe her. Anyway, the matter was over, so she didn't care much: "Never mind, I won't hold it against you."
However, even though she said she wouldn't hold it against him, Pei Wu called her back. When Jiang Ru turned around, Pei Wu looked up at her seriously and said, "I won't glare at you. If I do, you must be seeing things."
One was standing and the other was sitting. Pei Wu was really too tall. Even when he was sitting, he wasn't much shorter than Jiang Ru. Jiang Ru was at a disadvantage in terms of presence and immediately complained, "How did you grow so tall? Didn't you eat vegetarian food for the past few years? Can you grow this tall by eating vegetarian food?"
Pei Wu explained earnestly, "I was already this tall when I was thirteen."
So, if he hadn't been a vegetarian, he might have grown even taller. Jiang Ru looked him up and down and felt discouraged: "Grow less."
It's getting longer, almost two meters long.
Jiang Ru abruptly commented on his height. Pei Wu looked down at himself and said in a low voice, "It's not up to me to decide."
Jiang Ru didn't hear those words. She turned and went to the kitchen, where Xia Xia and Xiao Zhu were cooking. Their cooking skills were much better than Jiang Ru's. The dishes they made were exquisite and delicious, and she could eat three big bowls of food in one meal.
They used to be poor, but now that Pei Wu has become the top scholar in the imperial examination, they are living a better life. The grain delivered yesterday alone is enough to feed them for several months.
Jiang Ru helped them for a while, then Pei Wu came over, and soon after, Xiao Fang and Xiao Chen also arrived.
The small kitchen was crammed with six people, and there wasn't enough room for anyone to move around. Finally, Jiang Ru spoke up and arranged for the others to sweep the yard, and it was finally quiet.
Pei Wu's leisurely days were numbered; he would soon be taking up his post at the Hanlin Academy.
Of the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), the three top-ranking scholars went to the Hanlin Academy, while most of the others were sent to various prefectures. Some remained in the capital, including Zheng Qiuhong, who ranked in the second class and was appointed as the eighth-rank Assistant Director of the Military Equipment Bureau.
A few days before Pei Wu became the top scholar in the imperial examination, many of his colleagues came to visit him, leaving him no time to rest. After the number of visitors decreased slightly, Pei Wu was about to take up his post.
It seems the newly appointed scholars are not in much better shape. Zheng Qiuhong had originally arranged to visit them, but he was too busy to do so.
Upon entering the Hanlin Academy, Pei Wu's daily work was very complicated, and sometimes he would not return until late at night.
Fortunately, he was only a sixth-rank official and did not have to attend court. If he did, he would have to get up at three in the morning, and in winter, he would be shivering from the cold on his way to court.
Only officials of the third rank or above are required to attend court. It's only a matter of time before Pei Wu is promoted to the third rank, and he will be even busier then than he is now.
Jiang Ru observed two seconds of silence for him and then found something to do.
Pei Wu was a sixth-rank official, with a monthly salary of twenty strings of cash. In addition, he received dozens of bushels of millet, clothing, fertile land, and so on, which added up to far more than twenty strings of cash.
Since Pei Wu took office, countless things to eat and use have been continuously sent into the mansion, dazzling people. His monthly salary is equivalent to all their previous possessions, as they were really too poor before.
The salary wouldn't be paid until next month, but the grain and cloth had already been delivered. Jiang Ru took Xia and Xiao Zhu to town when she had some free time, and took a few bolts of cloth to the tailor shop. Pei Wu was, after all, an official, so he needed to have a few clothes made to make a good impression.
There was a lot of cloth, and Jiang Ru made two outfits for herself. The other four family members also received two bolts of cloth.
After finishing all that, Jiang Ru took a look at the land that Pei Wu had been allocated.
Officials in the Great Xia Dynasty usually rented out their land, and they could collect a lot of rent alone, so the total salary they received was astronomical.
With so much land, Jiang Ru couldn't possibly cultivate it all herself; it would definitely be more cost-effective to rent it out.
After the land is rented out, the money collected might be enough to start a small business. We don't need to make a lot of money; just enough to break even and make a small profit is fine.
As Jiang Ru walked, she pondered the bustling streets of Bianjing, where pedestrians thronged the streets. Jiang Ru decided to take a look at the lively scene.
When we arrived at the street outside Zhuque Gate, we could see a commotion in the distance, and many pedestrians were even running around.
Jiang Ru cautiously avoided getting closer. Xia Xia, seeing that something was wrong, tried to pull her away to hide, but there were too many people on the street, and they couldn't escape.
They found a stall to hide behind, when suddenly, with a loud "bang," a person fell right in front of them.
Even from a distance, Jiang Ru could clearly see the man's miserable state; he had fallen so hard that he had vomited blood.
Jiang Ru gasped in shock. Not far away, a young man dressed in fine clothes and with his hair tied in a tall crown stood in the crowd. His face was gloomy, and he was even holding a whip in his hand.
The people on the ground were probably his handiwork, but even so, he was still not satisfied and wanted to pick up the whip and continue to beat them.
At the critical moment, a man stepped out from the crowd and called out, "Brother Chen Gou, why get so angry?"
The newcomer was dressed in a blue brocade robe, with a gentle demeanor and a kind smile on his face, appearing to be a good-tempered person. The servants behind him all lowered their heads, not daring to breathe loudly.
The young man called Chen Gou paused briefly, then snorted coldly, seemingly unconcerned.
The visitor could only continue, "Minister Chen has been troubled these days by the matter of repairing the Wenqing Pond. I think we shouldn't bother him with such a trivial matter."
After saying this, Chen Gou finally stopped. He glanced at the scene with a gloomy expression, sneered, and casually tossed the whip to the ground. The servants behind him quickly picked up the whip and chased after Chen Gou.
The chaotic scene was finally brought under control for the time being. The young man in blue looked down at the person on the ground and sighed, "Take him to the clinic."
Several servants stepped forward and carried the person away. Only then did the young man smile at the panicked crowd: "It's alright, everyone, don't worry about it."
Although he said that, there were hardly any people left in this area. Everyone was running or walking away, and Jiang Ru quickly pulled Xia and Xiaozhu to go around them.
Without her having to ask, Xia answered for her: "The one who beat people up is the eldest son of the Minister of Revenue. He is extremely arrogant. When he is in a good mood, he will throw money around from time to time. When he is in a bad mood, he will beat people up at will."
Jiang Ru frowned: "Nobody cares?"
Xia looked around and lowered her voice: "His aunt is the Empress Dowager."
Indeed, there have always been people like this who use others' power to bully others. With the backing of the Minister and the protection of the Empress Dowager, it's no wonder they are so arrogant.
Jiang Ru then asked, "What about the people who stopped him?"
Xia said, "That's Han Kai, the son of a Hanlin scholar."
If Hanlin is a scholar, then his father is Pei Wu's superior.
Even the young master of the Hanlin family couldn't do anything about it, which shows that really no one dares to interfere with him. Jiang Ru sighed, "Don't tell Pei Wu yet."
They both agreed.
That night, before Jiang Ru could figure out how to bring up the day's events with Pei Wu, the first thing Pei Wu asked her when he got home was, "Did you go out today?"
Jiang Ru nodded: "I went to get some clothes made, and then I looked at the land you were assigned."
Seeing that she seemed to be in relatively good condition, Pei Wu thought for a moment and then asked, "Were you frightened?"
Jiang Ru shook her head, then suddenly realized something and whispered to Pei Wu, "You know?"
Pei Wu gave a soft "hmm" and quietly looked at Jiang Ru.
Jiang Ru realized what he was going to ask, so she shook her head: "I wasn't scared, I was far away."
Pei Wu said, "It's good that you're alright."
Afterwards, Jiang Ru followed him to the study and watched as Pei Wu took out paper and pen, seemingly about to write something.
Jiang Ru leaned closer: "What do you want to write?"
Pei Wu: "Memorial to the Throne."
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Author's note: Check back tomorrow morning. I might update, or I might not, depending on whether I can finish the next chapter.
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