Chapter 265: My Cousin Runs Pretty Fast
"He said he went to Jinyi County, which is under Fengjie Prefecture. I still don't understand how he was able to get a position so far away. Your father knows about this matter. Find some time to ask him."
Xu lifted the curtain from the car window and watched as her eldest son held the younger son tightly in his arms. He was riding a horse quite well indeed. Only then did she dare to put down her hand and turn back to look at her eldest daughter, a sigh of worry in the corners of her eyes and brows.
"Your cousin is so old, and he's still alone, not even talking about starting a family.
Alas, since he hasn’t married or had children, we can’t just let him take up his post alone, right?
How can your aunt be at ease?
You must follow along."
Before Jiang Wan could even say "oh" to indicate he understood, the old lady sitting in the middle spoke first.
"Oh my, you're someone's aunt, but this time you're finally putting your heart into something good!"
If you talk about other topics, she might not understand, but if you start talking about matchmaking and other such things, won't that just fall right into the old lady's bowl?
Old Mrs. Wang glanced at her most partial daughter-in-law, then glanced at the pair of troublesome girls next to her, and curled her lips fiercely.
"You are not an old woman. I want to tease you in person. What kind of idle things do you worry about all day long?
You have so much free time, why not use it to worry about finding wives for my eldest grandson and your nephew from your mother's side?
"When you marry your daughter off, just prepare the dowry. Why are you bothering with so many trivial things? I keep you busy all day long. I don't know what to say to you..."
"Grandma, it seems like I haven't beaten Jiang Lao San for a while. Is the branch still there? How about I perform another show for you later?"
Jiang Wan smiled calmly and spoke in a very filial tone, which immediately shut up Old Wang, who was nagging and looking for trouble.
The eldest girl was not at home during this period, and there was no one to interrupt her. The old lady, who was used to teasing her daughter-in-law in person, forgot about the little enemy and came back to attack her again.
"Humph, I just babbled a few random words and didn't say anything. Don't hit my grandson again!"
The old lady quieted down. Xu glared at her eldest daughter with a smirk. Jiang Wan also raised an eyebrow and smiled. Even Jiang Er, who was clinging to Jiang Da's arm, pouted in displeasure.
"Grandma, I deliberately didn't respond to you today. Are you acting normally? You didn't perform well today, do you know that?"
Humph, it’s another day when Jiang Lao San fails to get beaten. He’s so unhappy.
The old lady curled her lips and was too lazy to pay attention to her granddaughter who was almost stupid.
Jiang Wan lowered her eyes and raised her hand, her fingertips gently placed on the back of her sister's hand, patting it warningly. Jiang Han looked up at her sister's smiling face and reluctantly closed her mouth.
Although it was disappointing that Jiang Laosan didn't get beaten, she didn't want to take the blame and be beaten up by her sister.
After the old man and the young had quieted down, Jiang Wan took over his mother's conversation and the two continued chatting.
"Mom, what you just said is too exaggerated. What do you mean my cousin is that old? He is clearly a handsome young man in his prime!"
"Puff~~"
Jiang Han couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Sister, stop teasing me. You don't even know what cousin Xu Hui is like now? He's as ugly as Jiang Lao San. He wants to be torn into pieces. Hahaha..."
Jiang Wan's eyes widened.
"Isn't that possible? My cousin is such an elegant and handsome scholar, wouldn't he like to pay attention to the gentleman's manners? Besides, Master Qin would never allow his personal disciple to be unkempt..."
She was speaking with great confidence at first, but seeing the somewhat uneasy look on her mother's face, her words became less and less confident.
"…mother?"
“Cough cough cough!”
Lady Lingguo covered the corners of her lips with a handkerchief, coughed hard a few times to clear her throat before she began to explain, trying to restore the last bit of reputation for her nephew from her natal family.
"You also know that Hui-ge'er has a good-looking face. In terms of beauty alone, he can be on par with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, right?"
"Well, isn't it common knowledge that the Xu family has handsome men and beautiful women? That's not right, mother. With Xu Hui's looks and talent, why wasn't he chosen as the third place in the imperial examination by the emperor?"
A generation of young handsome guys couldn't get the position of the handsome guy, so how incredibly handsome does the third place in this subject have to be to be considered handsome?
Jiang Wan's eyes suddenly flickered. Although that was no longer her cup of tea, everyone loves beauty. She had to take a look at the handsome man officially recognized by the imperial court. Who was he?
Xu looked at her eldest daughter with a strange look in her eyes.
"I heard your cousin almost got the third place, but he was so nervous during the palace examination that he lost his composure in front of the emperor. He accidentally lost his balance and hit his head on the Panlong Pillar, leaving a big bruise. Doesn't this make it look less noticeable?"
Oh, it's obvious there's a story behind this?
Jiang Wan stretched her ears towards her mother with great interest, her face saying, "You continue to talk and I will continue to listen." Seeing her eldest daughter's familiar look, Xu could only sigh and whisper the reason in her ear.
"Princess Jianing seems to have taken a fancy to him."
"Li Xiaoliu?"
Thinking back to that cute and timid girl, the smile on Jiang Wan's face faded.
"Is this what the Emperor and Empress want? They want to recruit cousin Xu Hui as their consort?"
"The Queen doesn't have such thoughts, but Princess Jianing's biological mother, Concubine Liang, once expressed this intention to me."
Xu sighed.
"Although the current dynasty is not as strict about formalities as the previous one, it's obvious that the imperial consorts will never allow them to pursue a romantic career.
Your cousin is the last hope of the Xu family in Gaoyang, and he is so capable and ambitious. Not to mention that we elders would never agree, even he himself would definitely not be willing to marry into the royal family!
"Um."
Jiang Wan nodded, then frowned and asked.
"How did my cousin get involved with Jianing?"
"I don't know. Anyway, after I came back and told him what Concubine Liang meant, he suddenly changed from a refined scholar to a broken horse Zhang Fei. I suspect that the reason he ran so far may have something to do with this."
As she spoke, she couldn't help laughing.
"Good-looking men are easy to attract. Ever since he passed the imperial examination, your aunt said that the Xu family's doorstep has been nearly broken down by matchmakers!"
Jiang Wan thought about how Xu Hui, that traitor who only cared about his future and wanted to stay away from love, and she found it particularly funny.
"With so many people proposing marriage, is it possible that my aunt and her family haven't found anyone they like?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
