Chapter 895: The beloved cousin escaped from control (21)
"Of course I know her, because she also asked me about returning to Beijing to see her." Zhao Hui told Du Shichu very directly and frankly.
Du Shichu immediately felt that there was something wrong with Miss Lin Er. What kind of good girl would go around asking other girls of the same age which young talent they liked?
Seeing Du Shichu's thoughtful expression, Zhao Hui was immediately amused and said gloatingly, "Lin Ersheng was afraid that you would fall in love with her sweetheart, so she came to you to get information. How about it? Do you feel insulted by her?"
Du Shichu shook his head: "This is understandable, but it's too impulsive and stupid. Is it good for your reputation to go around asking for information like this?"
Zhao Hui said with a smile: "I can't help myself! Hey, do you want to know who her sweetheart is?"
Du Shichu was quite interested in this. She was also a gossiper, so she asked quietly, "Who is it?"
Zhao Hui answered straightforwardly without deliberately keeping the audience in suspense: "It was Cui Fansheng, the number one scholar in the previous imperial examination. He is also Miss Lin Er's distant cousin. He lived in the Lin family during the previous spring examination. I think he and Miss Lin Er fell in love at that time."
Du Shichu recalled the top scholar of the previous session, and remembered that this top scholar Cui actually looked very ordinary, and did not look like the tall, strong and rough type that would be popular with girls.
She paid more attention to this imperial examination because of Zhou Yizhui and Liu Weian, but she was not impressed by Cui Fansheng, so she couldn't understand why Miss Lin Er fell in love with him. Is talent really all that matters?
"Cui Zhuangyuan's appearance is not my type, Miss Lin Er doesn't have to worry that I will fall in love with him." Du Shichu shook her head and said, then she became a little confused, "If the two of them are attracted to each other, why don't they just get engaged or get married? Miss Lin Er won't regard everyone as a rival in love."
"Tsk tsk, you think too simply." Zhao Hui curled her lips and said, "Although the champion Cui is a relative of the Lin family and he passed the imperial examination and entered the official career, his family is just a wealthy gentry landlord, which is far inferior to the family background of Miss Lin. Miss Lin may like him, but the Lin family may not like him."
"It would have been necessary for Mr. Cui to work hard to gain the approval of the Lin family and make this marriage happen. Why would the second Miss Lin be allowed to declare her ownership to everyone like this?" Du Shichu couldn't understand.
"Declare ownership? Your statement is so accurate!" Zhao Hui clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Didn't Lin Er secretly tell everyone that Cui Zhuangyuan was hers? Wow, she's really courageous."
"But Cui Zhuangyuan doesn't have any sense of responsibility as a man." Du Shichu shook his head. "Whether this marriage is successful or not, he has to express his attitude to the girl and not let her feel so insecure."
"You're right! Although no other girl would like him except Lin Er, haha..." Zhao Hui said with a laugh, "Is Lin Er considered as cherishing his own possessions?"
When Du Shichu heard her words, he burst out laughing and said, "You used this idiom too insultingly! But it's correct."
Zhao Hui raised her chin and snorted proudly, saying, "Of course, I am just so talented in writing."
Du Shichu was very fond of Zhao Hui, a straightforward girl, so he asked her, "Do you have any young talents that you like?"
Zhao Hui sighed and shook her head, "No. The people I like don't like me. They despise my rude and barbaric behavior and lack of elegance and nobility of a lady from a wealthy family. And I don't like the people who like me. After all, although I don't have too many requirements for my future husband, at least he should not be too frivolous, not too ugly, and have good character, right? Oh, it's really troublesome to find a man!"
Du Shichu was amused by her again. This girl was probably because she grew up with her father in the border areas where people didn't care much about red tape, so she had a carefree and generous personality, which created a generation gap between her and these "young talents" in the capital.
Zhao Hui sighed for a while, and when she saw Du Shichu laughing at her, she said sourly, "Don't just laugh at me. You will soon be a marriageable girl, and it's time for you to choose a prince's husband, right? You have gone through a lot more trouble to choose a prince's husband than I have. Now all the unmarried young men in the capital are eyeing you covetously, so don't be dazzled by the choices."
"As long as I don't want to, it doesn't matter who is staring at me." Du Shichu snorted and said, "Your Majesty has promised me that I can decide my marriage myself. If there is no one you like, I can stay single for the rest of my life."
"So do you have a candidate in mind?" Zhao Hui couldn't help asking out of curiosity.
Du Shichu shook his head: "No, I'm still too young to consider marriage."
"How can she be young? She's almost 150 years old." Zhao Hui retorted.
"I feel young, that's just my wish." Du Shichu said confidently, "Even if I'm 20 or 30, as long as I still feel young, then I'm young and it's not time for me to get married."
Zhao Hui stared at her in amazement, and after a while she gave her a thumbs up: "Sister, you are awesome."
Du Shichu nodded proudly: "Of course, who can force me?"
Zhao Hui said enviously, "If only my father could be so open-minded. I clearly said that I didn't want to get married, but he insisted on sending me back to the capital for a blind date. He also said that there are many outstanding men in the capital. In my opinion, there are also many outstanding men in the border town. My father just doesn't want me to marry a military commander, saying that he is afraid that I will become a widow..."
When Du Shichu heard her words, he didn't know whether he should praise General Pingxi for being so direct and frank. He was so open-minded that he could even say that he was worried about his daughter becoming a widow. However, this showed that he was really good to his daughter. After all, if he didn't really care about his daughter, how could he worry that she would definitely become a widow if she married a big military general?
"There are scholars in the border town, right?" Du Shichu asked.
"Yes, but very few, and the quality is not very high." Zhao Hui sighed and said, "Do you think it is in places with a strong literary atmosphere like the capital or Jiangnan? There are only tough men in the border towns, and few scholars. After all, even if someone wants to study, there are no good teachers to be found."
"That's true." Du Shichu knew very well that even a thousand years later, the education level in remote areas would be far inferior to that in prosperous cities, not to mention in the more backward feudal era.
"Princess Duanyang, if you have any outstanding talents that you like, please share their information with me. The person you don't like or who is not suitable for me may be suitable for me." Zhao Hui said to Du Shichu without any politeness.
Du Shichu was speechless for a moment. This young lady really didn't treat her as an outsider.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
