"It turns out that Pei Yanzhi actually has a pair of affectionate eyes."
In the pitch-black night, Pei Yanzhi, carrying a palace lantern, gently patted her head with a smile.
At that moment, they were extremely close.
Jiang Shuwan also discovered that the person with the cold and handsome face had a pair of affectionate eyes.
For a long time afterward, Jiang Shuwan did not see Pei Yanzhi.
The boy left early and returned late, going out before dawn and returning after dark. Neither Jiang Shuwan nor Liu Yunyan encountered him.
"Miss, Miss Biao is here again."
"The second young lady has arrived as well."
Standing under the eaves in the distance, watching the two people walking towards them from the end of the garden path, Qingxing looked annoyed. "That's strange. Did they plan this? Why do they keep coming this way to us?"
Recently.
Perhaps out of boredom and because she couldn't see Pei Yanzhi, Liu Yunyan kept running to Jiang Shuwan's courtyard, finding all sorts of excuses to brag to Jiang Shuwan about the days she spent going to school with Pei Yanzhi when she was a child, how good Pei Yanzhi's scholarship was, and how much she admired him.
Then, Pei Yanzhi described how good he was to her, how he taught her her studies, and so on.
As she spoke, she wore a shy expression like a young girl in love, and at the very end, she added, "My relationship with my cousin is just that of brother and sister, and I hope my sister-in-law won't mind."
Whenever she heard these things, Qingxing would get so angry that she would tear her handkerchief, but there was nothing she could do about it.
As for Jiang Yao, ever since Pei Lingyu failed Pei Yanzhi in the autumn examination, she has not approached Jiang Shuwan.
Recently, because Pei Yanzhi has offended many people by taking charge of commercial taxes, she has become arrogant again, running to Jiang Shuwan's courtyard every day, constantly talking about who has impeached Pei Yanzhi today, and who has joined forces to boycott Pei Yanzhi tomorrow.
The worse Pei Yanzhi's situation became in court, the more violently she trembled.
"Big sister, it's not that I look down on your husband, it's just that he's not cut out to be an official."
"Look, it's only been half a month, and there are already more than ten memorials against my brother-in-law. If this continues, I'm afraid the young master will offend all the officials in the court."
"If you ask me, I shouldn't have let my brother-in-law become an official. He has a hereditary title and can eat and drink to his heart's content. Why bother fighting for such a petty gain?"
Inside the room, Jiang Yao spoke while proudly waving her handkerchief, "Speaking of which, my brother-in-law is really short-sighted. His Majesty only appointed him as a minor sixth-rank official, and he went there eagerly, not even caring about the injury on his hand. He's just like those ignorant poor kids."
Hearing these sarcastic remarks, Jiang Shuwan remained calm and drank her tea. However, Liu Yunyan, sitting to her left, couldn't stand it and said sarcastically, "Sister Jiang Yao's words are utterly unreasonable. What's wrong with being a sixth-rank official? If you think the rank is too low, why does Brother Lingyu have to study so hard in his room? I saw that Brother Lingyu ranked 200th in the autumn examination. He might not even be able to get a sixth-rank official position."
"After all, only two hundred people were selected for the autumn examination. My cousin was first, and my brother Lingyu was also first, but he was last."
"What do you mean! Who are you cursing!" Jiang Yao slammed her hand on the table in anger. "Let me tell you, if it weren't for the strong wind and rain on the day of the poetry exam, and my husband accidentally soiling the exam paper, it would be hard to say who would have been the first place winner. Haven't you heard that my husband's poems from the autumn exam have already spread throughout the capital?"
At this point, Jiang Yao became smug again.
Pei Lingyu had worked hard but only came in last place in the exam, which made her quite ashamed. However, her poems had now spread far and wide, making her famous in the capital, and were praised by scholars and literati.
She was certain that if the poem scroll hadn't been so dirty that the handwriting was illegible and thus no points were awarded, her Yulang would definitely have been among the top students.
He might even rank higher than Pei Yanzhi.
and.
As far as she knew, even the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, who was also Pei Yanzhi's teacher, praised those poems highly.
"If you ask me, my Yulang is a genius, a natural-born poet. I don't know if someone is stopping him, but the Grand Master might have already taken him as a disciple."
As she spoke, she glanced at Jiang Shuwan.
Jiang Shuwan understood her implication, put down her teacup, and said with a soft laugh, "Second sister, don't worry. If the Grand Master is willing, the young master and I will not stop him. The Pei family has two households, how could we stop our own family members from advancing?"
Jiang Yao snorted coldly, clearly not believing it.
However, she didn't dwell on the issue too much. She just sat down happily, picked up a piece of hibiscus cake, and said with great enthusiasm, "Forget it, taking on a master requires choosing an auspicious time for the ceremony, which is too time-consuming. My Yulang is busy preparing for the imperial examinations, so he doesn't have time to take on a master."
"After all, we are not like some people who relied on connections to become disciples of a master and then got a good ranking in the autumn examination. They thought they had great talent, but they were dismissed with a sixth-rank official position. They don't even prepare for the spring examination. Do they know that they are not talented enough to pass the spring examination?"
That's really going too far.
Liu Yunyan stared venomously at Jiang Yao opposite her. These days, Jiang Yao had been running around to Jiang Shuwan's side every day, and every word and action of hers was aimed at Jiang Shuwan.
Therefore, she should befriend him.
But for some reason, Jiang Yao not only constantly belittled her cousin, but also treated her with disdain and bossiness.
The scene of encountering Jiang Yao at the courtyard gate just now flashed through Liu Yunyan's mind.
Jiang Yao didn't come to the Marquis's residence often. Even when she did, she would go to Jiang Shuwan's courtyard. Since Jiang Shuwan wasn't there, she tried to get close to her and curry favor. When she saw her, she would greet her with a smile.
"It's Sister Jiang Yao! Sister Jiang Yao has come to my sister-in-law's courtyard again?"
"What? You can come but I can't? You're just a girl staying here, yet you're interfering in everything, even my business!"
"How could that be? I just admired Sister Jiang Yao's bright and elegant demeanor and her unparalleled grace. I really like her." Suppressing her anger, Liu Yunyan leaned closer. The two walked along a path, with various yellow and purple chrysanthemums blooming beautifully on both sides.
“I heard that you also like chrysanthemums. Purple chrysanthemums are noble and elegant, which is perfect for you. I had some free time recently, so I embroidered two purple chrysanthemum sachets. I gave one to the old lady, and I’ll give this one to you, sister.”
Jiang Yao jumped away in a flash.
Are you trying to harm me again?
"..."
With a forced smile, Liu Yunyan said, "Sister, why do you say that? We have no past grudges or recent conflicts. How could I possibly harm you?"
"Ha, how could I not know you? You despicable bastard, you'll use any means necessary..."
Having said that, he ran off in a flash, leaving Liu Yunyan standing in the bleak cold wind, still clutching a purse in her hand.
This is really baffling. I've never offended you.
If you can't please them, then there's no need to care.
"Sister Jiang Yao's words are really too much. Everyone else wants to have good luck when taking the imperial examination, but Sister Jiang Yao is implying that my cousin will fail before the exam has even started. I don't know what her intentions are."
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