0094 Guanyin Swallow (Seven)
Meanwhile, under the shade of the spectator tent, Liang Zhiyan intended to take this opportunity to curry favor with everyone, but unfortunately, Li Qiao had used wine to dissolve his makeup at the Kuai Zai Pavilion last time, revealing the scars on his face, which greatly damaged his image.
The group of upright gentlemen who used to associate with him disliked his lustful nature and no longer wanted to associate with him. Even those playboys looked down on his previous pretentious manner and did not take him seriously.
Therefore, he, a promising Hanlin official, ended up being ignored by everyone.
As Liang Zhiyan was drinking alone, a figure in a blue robe suddenly stood up from the crowd not far away, gazing into the arena.
"Who is that woman in the dark brown dress, wearing number two?" the man in the blue robe asked, turning his head to the person beside him.
The man was taken aback when asked, and quickly replied, "That's the second young lady of the Shu family... Is the young master from out of town? How come he doesn't recognize her?"
The man in the blue robe asked in surprise, "Does Miss Shu have such a great reputation? Does everyone in Chang'an know her?"
The man chuckled, "It's not for any other reason than that Miss Shu is beautiful, and all the young men in Chang'an know her. Even though she was engaged before, no one dared to say anything. But now... her engaged Mr. Liang has made a bad reputation. Not to mention that the elders of scholarly families don't like it, I'm afraid Miss Shu herself is not very willing to continue the marriage."
Liang Zhiyan, who was not far from them, felt as if his face had been slashed by a knife upon hearing the other party's words. The burning embarrassment was unbearable, yet the other party seemed oblivious to his presence and added another sentence:
"If you are also interested, brother, why not visit them after their marriage is dissolved?"
How dare these people despise him so much for lusting after his fiancée right in front of him!
Liang Zhiyan's eyes twitched, and he almost blurted out a curse, but the man in blue spoke first.
“Brother, you misunderstand. I had no such intention,” the man paused slightly and added, “My name is Shen Congqing. I am from Suzhou and I came to Chang’an this spring, hoping to take the imperial examination next year.”
These words immediately extinguished Liang Zhiyan's burgeoning resentment.
His surname was Shen, and he was from Suzhou.
He might have some past relationship with that official in charge of evaluating officials, Shen Langzhong, in the Examination and Appointment Department. His promotion and advancement depend on Shen Langzhong, so he must not act rashly.
Liang Zhiyan took a few deep breaths, forcefully suppressing the burning anger in his chest.
Fortunately, Fu'er had sharp eyes and quickly poured him a small cup of Five Clouds Noodles. He was overjoyed and pretended to be tipsy, barely managing to cover up his embarrassment.
"Besides..." Shen Congqing continued, "Who says that there is nothing else between men and women besides romantic love? I asked about Miss Shu because I had read a few of her poems in my hometown of Suzhou. Seeing her again today, I feel that she is gentle on the outside but resilient on the inside, and I have some respect for her, just like my respect for you."
"If you never cared about her, how could you have read her poems?"
Shen Congqing paused, a slight blush creeping across his face: “It was my fiancée who told me… Miss Shu’s maternal family is the Luo family of Suzhou. She and her Luo cousins often correspond, and my fiancée has a sworn sisterhood with the Luo sisters, so she has also read her poems.”
The other person clicked their tongue in amazement: "Chang'an and Suzhou are so far apart, yet they can be such good friends..."
"In the words of my fiancée, 'Never underestimate them. Although we have never actually met, we have long admired each other in spirit. The Huai River and the Qinling Mountains cannot separate us.'"
The other person laughed heartily, and was about to tease him for talking about his fiancée every three sentences, when suddenly there was a commotion from several sheds on the sidelines.
The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw that all the other women and men under the shade of the shed had stood up, and one of the men even shouted angrily into the center of the room:
"Lady Qin, what do you mean by this? You're already in the lead, why throw the ball and almost hurt Young Master Sang!"
Before Qin Mi could speak, Qin Youan stood up abruptly, grabbed the ceramic cup from the table in front of him, and smashed it at the man's feet.
"Pah! If you're blind, you can cut off your mouth too! It's clearly that guy surnamed Sang who lost so badly that he tried to hit Miss Shu's horse with his polo stick! If my cousin hadn't noticed, she would have been thrown to the ground by now!"
Li Miao had been focused on playing ball and hadn't noticed this, but upon hearing Qin Youan's words, his face immediately darkened. He spurred his horse forward and coldly asked Sang Wulang, "Is what she said true?"
Even Zheng Yuanzhu was taken aback, frowning and turning his head: "Sang Wu, have you gone mad?"
Na Sang Wulang finally came to his senses, his face turning pale and then flushed.
In truth, he didn't know what he was thinking just now. It was just that Qin Mi seized the opportunity to score another goal, and the score was now 2-0. Unfortunately, Shu Erniang was riding her fast horse toward the goal again. If they were allowed to continue, they would lose to them by three goals.
Losing by three goals is embarrassing even in a small match between ordinary men, let alone against a group of women like this.
His mind went blank, and before he could react, his golf club had already tripped Shuf's horse.
Shen Congqing stood in the shade of the shed, his long eyebrows slightly furrowed, and couldn't help but say, "Losing is nothing, but what this young master Sang did was somewhat disrespectful and lacking in integrity."
Although the others did not say it outright, they all had the same thought in their hearts.
Sang Wulang felt many eyes on him and was immediately filled with shame. Without saying a word, he grabbed the reins and rode off the field.
"Sang Wu, Sang Wu!"
Seeing Sang Wulang leave without saying a word, Zheng Yuanzhu called out to him repeatedly but to no avail, and felt quite embarrassed.
But the polo match was about to end, and after a moment's thought, Zheng Yuanzhu decided that leaving the field would be more dignified than losing a few more points to them. He then bowed to Li Miao from afar.
"The princess has also seen it. Sang Wulang has actually left. It seems that the competition cannot continue. Why not end it here and let both sides be at peace?"
Qin Youan, who was watching from the sidelines, was so angry that his face turned red and he almost fainted. He was about to curse again that he was a cowardly scoundrel, but Li Miao spoke up first.
She sat high on her horse and scanned Zheng Yuanzhu from top to bottom.
Zheng Yuanzhu was sweating profusely from watching her, and was almost unable to hold on any longer when he finally heard Li Miao snort and say coldly, "You may leave now."
Zheng Yuanzhu felt as if he had been granted a pardon and led the remaining two back to Anshan, leaving the scene.
Although the score was only two goals higher, it left a clearer distinction in the minds of everyone present.
———
Winter is here, and I feel like I've become less talkative TAT
Feifei's screen time has been a bit short lately... (flips fingers) Please wait a little longer, the next chapter will probably feature romance...
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