Er Niu trotted in, wagging its tail. Seeing its master sitting motionless, it lay down beside him, resting its muzzle comfortably on Yu Jin’s shoe and closing its eyes.
Er Niu’s quiet obedience drew Yu Jin’s gaze. He reached out to pat its head, murmuring, “She really won’t rest until she drives me to my grave…”
He asked for nothing else, only hoping to grow old with the girl he had held in his heart since childhood. Why was it so difficult to achieve?
Yu Jin had never thought of giving up.
He had already given her a choice once.
When he learned of her engagement, he had even suppressed the urge to kill and burn, silently wishing her well. But her engagement fell through, and he couldn’t bear to watch her marry someone else.
But why was she so unwilling?
Yu Jin was perplexed.
He wasn’t a philanderer who gracefully flitted from flower to flower; he wasn’t skilled at pleasing women. His repeated approaches to Jiang Si were driven by nothing more than a persevering heart.
But now he had tasted what heartache truly meant. He wanted to carve out his heart and throw it before his beloved, to show her his sincerity and ask her why.
She wouldn’t even want to marry him if she were to marry?
Just thinking about these words coming from Jiang Si’s mouth made Yu Jin feel as if he were sinking into an ice hole, feeling nothing but bone-chilling cold and an overwhelming sense of suffocation.
She would never see him again?
Yu Jin picked up the teacup and gulped down some cold tea. After finishing, he threw the cup to the ground.
Surprisingly, the cup didn’t break. It rolled towards the corner and stopped midway by Er Niu’s paw. The dog stretched out its tongue to lick the remaining tea.
The big dog wore an expression of discomfort.
It didn’t taste good; no wonder the master was unhappy.
Yu Jin stood up and paced back and forth in the room.
Heartbreak was heartbreak, anger was anger, but he still cherished Si!
What did it matter to hear these words from Jiang Zhan? Even if he had to hear them, he would only accept them from Si’s mouth.
After pacing for a few rounds, Yu Jin made up his mind: if Si wouldn’t come to see him, then he would go see Si. It was better than tossing and turning alone until he developed an internal injury.
If he truly fell ill from anger, there would be no one to care for him.
Yongchang Marquis’s mansion and Dongping Marquis’s mansion were separated by just one wall, and the layouts of the two mansions were quite similar.
But Yongchang Marquis was good at management. A few years ago, because of his great achievements, his title, which was originally to be revoked after three generations, was allowed to continue. The entire Yongchang Marquis’s mansion had been renovated, looking more vibrant than the Dongping Marquis’s mansion.
Xie Qing Yao’s boudoir was decorated with several pots of fresh flowers, also exuding a vibrant energy.
“Si, are you listening to me?” Xie Qing Yao had been talking for a while, and seeing her friend distracted, she reached out to nudge her.
Jiang Si came back to her senses: “What?”
By now, her second brother should have talked things over with him. She wondered how he had reacted—
“Look at you, lost in thought again.” Xie Qing Yao suddenly leaned in, her eyes blinking, “Si, be honest, have you fallen in love?”
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Jiang Si glared at her friend, putting aside her messy thoughts.
Xie Qing Yao dismissed the maids and said with a gossipy expression, “Haven’t you heard? Recently, a jade-like young gentleman has appeared in the capital.”
“What jade-like young gentleman?”
“They say he’s the son of the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. He’s handsome, talented, and has only recently arrived in the capital.”
The son of the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture?
Jiang Si immediately imagined a middle-aged man with a long beard and wise eyes.
Could the young man Xie Qing Yao mentioned be the son of Official Zhen?
“If he’s just arrived in the capital, how has he gained such a great reputation?” Jiang Si asked, following Xie Qing Yao’s lead.
Xie Qing Yao widened her eyes in disbelief: “Si, haven’t you been paying attention to what’s happening outside these past few days?”
“I only heard that the Seventh Prince was titled a king. I didn’t hear about anything else.”
These past few days, she had only been concerned about Yu Qi’s sudden disappearance. How could she have had the leisure to pay attention to some jade-like young gentleman?
Xie Qing Yao covered her mouth and laughed: “What do princes and kings have to do with us? Of course, the story of the jade-like young gentleman is much more interesting.”
As Xie Qing Yao explained, Jiang Si learned about another eye-catching event that had occurred in the capital over the past two days.
There was a restaurant in the capital called the Top Scholar Tower. Students would go there to drink for good luck whenever they achieved any recognition. The owner of the Top Scholar Tower was also quite savvy; he would waive the bill for any student who composed an impressive poem on the spot. Over time, the Top Scholar Tower became a gathering place for scholars and intellectuals.
The Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture had been an official in the capital in his early years, and his children were born in the capital before following their father to his post. When the jade-like young gentleman returned to the capital, naturally, some childhood friends threw him a welcome banquet at the Top Scholar Tower.
As it happened, there were a few scholars from Xi Liang at the Top Scholar Tower that day, taunting the Da Zhou students drinking in the restaurant.
Xi Liang and Da Zhou were neighbors. Xi Liang had once been a vassal state of Da Zhou. Later, although Da Zhou’s culture and economy remained prosperous, its military became incompetent. Xi Liang’s wings had hardened, and they gradually stopped taking Da Zhou seriously.
By now, Xi Liang was competing with Da Zhou in terms of culture, even claiming that they were the true source of the Hundred Schools of Thought.
This was intolerable. The Xi Liang people quickly surpassed the Qi people and the Southern Orchid people to top the list of those most despised by the Da Zhou people.
Yet the two countries were so close, with similar cultural customs, and had more exchanges than with any other country. For instance, it was common for Xi Liang students to come to Da Zhou to study.
When scholars clash, they naturally wouldn’t and wouldn’t deign to use their fists. Instead, they competed in poetry, music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Among the Xi Liang scholars, one was particularly talented, seemingly overwhelming all the Da Zhou students in the tower. It was at this moment that the jade-like young gentleman appeared. From rhyming couplets to composing poems, he severely crushed the Xi Liang scholars’ arrogance, making them admit defeat and leave with their tails between their legs.
The people of Da Zhou love to watch such spectacles, especially when they bring honor to their own. Soon, the story of the jade-like young gentleman defeating the Xi Liang talent spread far and wide.
“That Young Master Zhen, I heard he’s already a xiucai despite being not much older than us, and he’s going to participate in the autumn imperial examinations this year. Isn’t that impressive?” In front of her close friend, Xie Qing Yao didn’t hide her excitement, her eyes sparkling as she discussed the topic that all young ladies loved to talk about.
Jiang Si nodded: “Indeed impressive.”
With a father like Official Zhen, Young Master Zhen must be an extremely intelligent person.
Seeing Jiang Si’s lack of enthusiasm, Xie Qing Yao dropped the subject.
It was only natural for outstanding young men to attract the attention of young ladies, but to say they had secretly given their hearts was an exaggeration.
“Miss, the snowflower cakes are ready,” a maid in green clothing entered with permission from Xie Qing Yao, carrying a lotus leaf-shaped porcelain plate.
On the green lotus leaf plate were white cakes shaped like flowers and rolled in coconut shavings. They looked refreshing and appetizing, making one’s mouth water.
Xie Qing Yao smiled and picked up a snowflower cake, bringing it to Jiang Si’s lips: “Si, try this. The snowflower cakes made by our manor’s cook are unparalleled. I eat two every day, and if I weren’t afraid of getting fat, I could eat a whole plate.”
Jiang Si took a bite and found it indeed delicious, immediately praising it profusely.
Seeing Jiang Si’s enjoyment, Xie Qing Yao smiled with pursed lips.
Looking at her friend’s sweet smile, Jiang Si thought to herself that the worries of Yongchang Marquis’s wife must have been resolved.
Little did she know that the very next day, a major incident would occur at the Yongchang Marquis’s mansion.