Chapter 48 The passionate are always troubled by the heartless.
Rongyue's happiness was palpable; even after dinner, the corners of her lips were still turned up.
Master Chi was very pleased to see this and praised his daughter for her beautiful smile, saying that she should smile more often in the future.
Rongyue didn't speak, and neither did Yangqing.
In some ways, Master Chi and his wife were remarkably alike.
The second wife treated those flowers and plants like precious gems, and autumn and winter were her busiest times, for fear that any of the famous plants would freeze to death.
As for Master Chi, he only knows how to compose poems and couplets all day long. In his youth, he was admired as a romantic and talented man, but now he can only be described as a very dissolute person.
Neither of them were bad parents; on the contrary, they were quite reliable in certain important matters. But that didn't stop them from being almost invisible on calm, uneventful days.
It was impossible for Master Chi to understand the reason for Rongyue's joy. He valued making friends through poetry and elegance, which went against Rongyue's insistence on competing with him.
When he encounters someone more capable or stronger than him, he will just foolishly chase after them, grabbing their hand and refusing to let go, while muttering things like, "Brother, please accept my bow."
The second wife could understand, but she would never be happy about it.
In her opinion, these were just trivial matters for young women to pass the time, not worth mentioning. Right now, Rongyue's most important thing was to find a good man to marry as soon as possible and stop wasting her time and energy on Mingmiao and her.
If Mingmiao were a man, that would be a different story.
Yang Qing listened with interest, and a thought struck her: "That's right, why doesn't Rong Yue want to compete with Si Jia Mu?"
After dinner, on the way back, Yangqing couldn't help but ask Rongyue, "Young Master Si is the recognized young talent, why did you never think of comparing yourself to him before?"
Rongyue paused for a moment, then lowered her head and thought for a while before replying, "He's alright at writing those official essays, but when it comes to other things, he's not my match."
Yang Qing couldn't help but laugh and said, "Sister, you have quite the nerve. He's the top scholar who passed all three levels of the imperial examinations. Since our dynasty started using the imperial examination system to select officials, there's only been one like him. And you still look down on him?"
Rongyue raised an eyebrow and said, "He was able to pass the imperial examination with top honors, so he must have real skills. However, I am not familiar with poetry, wine, flowers and tea. Of the four arts of qin, chess, calligraphy and painting, he only has calligraphy worth a look. The others are just ordinary people."
Yang Qing smiled and asked, "Then why did you get angry because he said Ming Miaohe's zither playing was better? He's just an amateur. Why did you take his words to heart?"
Rongyue sneered, "Since he is not good at this, he should be careful with his words. Doesn't he know his own identity? No matter what he says, these people will take his words as the truth. They should keep quiet even if they can't tell the difference between good and bad, but they make wrong judgments because of some kinship. Others may be misled by his reputation, but I won't."
After she finished speaking, she felt something was off. "You're acting strange today. Why are you talking about him all the time?"
Yang Qing quickly replied, "I didn't mean it was always him. I just remembered and mentioned him a couple of times. Since you don't like him, I won't mention him again."
After the words were spoken, it was time to part ways.
Yang Qing felt a pang of regret. She should have found a place to talk to Si Jiamu instead of rushing off for fear of being seen by Rong Yue.
She was now genuinely curious about what Si Jiamu wanted to ask.
I have a feeling it must be related to Rongyue.
On Princess Shengping's birthday, Rongyue and Mingmiao only subtly competed with each other during the poetry recitation game after the banquet, and did not dare to overshadow Princess Shengping.
In reality, Princess Shengping didn't care much about these competitions; she seemed to have her whole heart and soul focused on Si Jiamu.
Then there's Huo Lu. His bizarre and "carefully dressed" appearance today really worked, making Princess Shengping completely lose interest in him.
Sigh, there's also Xu Yanran in the Xu family mansion who's acting like she's about to die. The relationships between these people are really complicated and incredibly messy.
******
Yang Qing saw Xu Pianran again on her grandmother's birthday.
It was early winter, and the cold wind was biting. Everyone was wearing winter clothes, and Yang Qing was no exception.
She wasn't actually that afraid of the cold, but because she was going to see her grandmother, she deliberately wore two extra layers, making her look bulky.
Although Yangqing didn't spend much time with her grandmother, she still liked her very much.
My grandmother hadn't received much formal education, unlike other refined and polite ladies, but her open-mindedness was something they couldn't emulate.
Most importantly, although her grandmother had a bad temper, she was really good to the younger generation. Unfortunately, because of her unavoidable need for rest and recuperation, they could only visit her during festivals.
Getting old is really not good. Yang Qing is a little afraid of getting old. If she also gets this tormenting disease, she would rather die peacefully in her sleep.
But she still didn't want anything to happen to her grandmother. This old lady, who looked quite healthy, didn't seem sick at all. She sat in her high seat with a big smile, waiting for her children and grandchildren to come up and offer their congratulations. She received many gifts, but gave out more than she received.
The birthday celebrations with family members were all done in a very rushed manner, taking less than an hour.
Outside, there was a lively and bustling atmosphere. Gifts from the palace and those who admired Old Master Chi were all being sent in.
Li Shangxuan and Princess Shengping also arrived. Old Madam Chi was still unaware of Yang Qing's marriage to him, as her family had kept it a secret from her.
Not only is getting angry unacceptable, but extreme joy or fury is also unacceptable; no one wants such an auspicious event to turn into a disaster.
Yang Qing was pleasantly surprised to see Xu Pianran and her sister again. Xu Yanran was already thin, but now she was so thin that she looked like a piece of paper, like a paper beauty. She just sat there without saying a word.
Xu Pianran, on the other hand, was still the same as before, unchanged.
Yang Qing took her hand and whispered to her, "What's going on at your home? I've come to see you several times, but I've been turned away every time. Why won't you let me see guests?"
Xu Pianran scoffed, "It's all because of my second uncle's moralistic attitude. He said it's because she's been playing around too much that she's become so arrogant. He also said that Sister Yanran used to be such a well-behaved person, but she changed after coming to the capital. It shows that the atmosphere among young ladies in the capital is not good. I just talked back a few times, and my father, that muddle-headed idiot, won't let me go out."
Yang Qing said, "A wise person knows when to yield. Why couldn't you have been more lenient back then?"
She glanced at Xu Yanran, but didn't dare to speak to her, afraid of bringing up her sad memories.
I heard that the Xu and Zhou families have even set a wedding date.
Xu Pianran glanced around furtively and asked in a low voice, "Where is your Crown Prince? He should be here today, right?"
Yang Qing blushed and scolded, "What do you mean by 'my prince'? You're so annoying."
She really couldn't understand why everyone was making fun of her about this.
Xu Pianran quickly said, "Alright, alright, I misspoke. Seventh Miss, you are very magnanimous, please don't hold it against me. I was talking about serious matters. The Crown Prince should be here by now, right?"
Yang Qing was puzzled, but nodded nonetheless. "They've arrived. They should be talking to Father and the others right now. You know, they're probably just being polite."
Xu Pianran's face lit up with joy: "Then did Lord Huo come along too?"
Yang Qing guessed what she wanted to say and sighed, "Why are you still mentioning him? But he did come."
Xu Pianran said, "I knew it! Yangqing, you have to help me and my cousin. In a little while, could you call Lord Huo over and let Sister Yanran say a few words to him?"
Yang Qing disagreed: "But... since he said that, why should we still look for him? Aren't other men okay?"
Xu Pianran softened her voice and pleaded coquettishly, "Yangqing~ Yangqing~ my good sister, please help me this once. It's just preparing a room and inviting Lord Huo over to talk to Sister Yanran. It's not something outrageous."
This is her home, so Yang Qing is naturally easy to arrange. She sighed softly, "I know this isn't something that defies all reason, but if he's unwilling, why bother trying to win him over?"
Although these words were addressed to Xu Pianran, they were actually spoken to Xu Yanran.
Xu Yanran understood what she meant, and the corners of her mouth turned up, revealing a light but gentle smile, "I have to hear him say it to me in person before I can truly give up."
Since she insisted, Yang Qing had no choice but to agree.
First, Lili called away the maids from the Xu residence, and then Xiaoman called Huo Lu over. Although Huo Lu was full of doubts, she was the future Crown Princess, so she came over with Xiaoman.
However, as soon as he entered the room, he felt something was very strange. There were no other servants in the room, only a young lady from an unknown family waiting for him.
He seemed careless, but he was actually very cautious. He immediately suspected that this was a trap set for him by someone using Chi Yangqing's name, and turned to push the door open to leave.
Xu Yanran hurriedly called out in a pitiful tone, "Lord Huo, please wait. I have a few words to say to you."
Huo Lu felt a chill run down his spine. He had been through swords, spears, and clubs, but he had never been in contact with such a delicate girl before.
The only girls he's ever been in contact with in his life are Chi Yangqing and Xin Wanyou, but neither of them are the delicate type, or rather, they wouldn't act delicately towards him.
He coughed awkwardly and carefully began to speak, "Miss, please speak quickly if you have something to say. It's not proper for the two of us, a man and a woman, to be alone in a room together."
Xu Yanran looked up at him, her eyes glistening with tears, "Do you still remember who I am?"
Huo Lu scratched his head sheepishly: "I'm really sorry, I don't have a very good memory. I just felt that the girl looked familiar, but I can't remember her name."
Actually, he barely looks at the girl's face; if he doesn't even look, he naturally can't remember or recognize her.
However, since it was Yang Qing who had acted as a matchmaker, he had a vague idea of her identity, but it was better to be cautious before he was sure.
So even if he had a guess, he wouldn't say it aloud, but would just pretend to be clueless.
This was something she had anticipated. Xu Yanran smiled slightly, "You really don't remember me."
Huo Lu: "Miss, if there's nothing important, I really have to go..."
Xu Yanran asked abruptly, "Will you marry me?"
Huo Lu was stunned. He really didn't expect that the girl in front of him, who looked so gentle and weak, would be so bold.
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