Zhu Ziwen felt a considerable sense of pride having such a cousin, and gave a restrained nod. Just as he was about to urge the group to move along, he saw Fan Ziming rush up to the carriage and bow deeply before it. “I am Fan Ziming. I have long admired the First Young Lady. Now that fate has granted us this meeting, I wonder if the Young Lady would be willing to give me a chance…”

“Fan Ziming!” Zhu Ziwen finally registered what was happening and cut him off with a sharp shout, his expression thoroughly ugly. He had never imagined that this man, whom he had known for years, would set his sights on his cousin. He was at once furious and resentful, wishing he could beat the man senseless on the spot.

“Brother Zhu, my feelings for your cousin are entirely sincere — there is not a single other thought behind them. We have been brothers for years; you know me!”

Zhu Ziwen gave a cold laugh. “Your sincerity is to ruin my cousin’s reputation in broad daylight before the public?”

“That is absolutely not my intention!”

“Then what exactly are you doing right now?”

Fan Ziming paid Zhu Ziwen no heed and instead addressed the carriage: “I acted rashly in my excitement, but whatever consequences may follow, I, Fan Ziming, am willing to bear them fully!”

The place was already lively enough, and with such a spectacle unfolding, the crowd of onlookers grew larger and larger. Chen Liang received word and immediately led every available man rushing over — some had not even bothered to mind their stalls — clustering around the carriage to serve as a protective wall and prevent anyone from drawing near.

Zhu Ziwen was so furious he ground his teeth, wishing he could throw himself at Fan Ziming and tear him apart. The other classmates exchanged helpless glances, uncertain what to do. They had been genuinely excited at the prospect of seeing the First Young Lady and admired her greatly, but none of them had ever entertained the thought of causing offense. What Fan Ziming had done was truly…

“Consequences? What consequences does Young Master Fan speak of? Rumors spreading through the entire city? And you will bear them? How, precisely, would you bear them?” Hua Zhi’s unhurried voice drifted out from inside the carriage. “Would you bearing the consequences mean I bow to public opinion and marry beneath myself to you? Or would it mean bravely standing against that public opinion and giving everyone one more thing to gossip about over tea?”

That was unmistakably the First Young Lady — sharp as ever, striking straight to the heart, leaving no room for escape.

Fan Ziming raised his chin high. “I am not so contemptible a person. I was in the wrong to bring this trouble upon the Young Lady, and I dare not ask for her forgiveness. It is simply that on ordinary days there is rarely any opportunity to see her, and today, finally having such a chance, I wished by any means to make my feelings known. I was rash.”

He was a clever one. Hua Zhi leaned back against the side of the carriage, posture quite undignified, and saw straight through his calculations. Had this been a woman who had truly grown up in this world, few could have resisted a man who appeared so ardent and so genuinely devoted. Fan Ziming had an excellent grasp of a woman’s heart — clearly he had practiced this on others more than once. Unfortunately for him, she was not truly seventeen years old.

She rarely went out on ordinary days, and on the rare occasion she did, something like this had to happen — and involving her cousin’s classmate, at that. She was beginning to believe the talk that she had become the most sought-after prize in everyone’s eyes. She had thought that after Yanxi had spread word of what was between the two of them, no one would come scheming after her anymore.

But whether someone wished to use her for their calculations or to achieve some purpose through her — she was sorry, that road was closed.

“You have feelings for me?”

Fan Ziming was momentarily taken aback, then hastily replied: “Yes. I dare swear it before everyone here — there is not a single false word.”

“On what grounds do you presume to have feelings for me?” Hua Zhi gestured for Liu Xiang to lift the curtain. Liu Xiang pressed her lips together and reluctantly complied.

Fan Ziming finally laid eyes on the person he had so wished to see. All of the capital had said the First Young Lady of the Hua Family was remarkably beautiful, and now he understood exactly what remarkable meant. What held his gaze even more than her beauty was her pair of eyes — nothing like those of other women, with their furtive glances and bashful timidity. She looked at him directly, open and unguarded, yet sharp as a blade.

The flicker of indignation that had just begun to kindle in Fan Ziming’s chest went out entirely.

But Hua Zhi had no intention of leaving it at that. “The Hua Family once possessed a library collection without equal in the world. I have read more than half the books in it. May I ask whether Young Master Fan has read as many? I was personally taught by my grandfather from the time of my earliest learning, educated under his guidance for many years, and have studied the Four Books and Thirteen Classics. In which area does Young Master Fan excel? Shall we hold a debate right here and now?”

Hua Zhi gave a cold smile. “My zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting were all taught directly by my grandfather. My horsemanship and archery were taught by Fourth Uncle, Pingyang. Would Young Master Fan care to put any of these to the test? You claim to have feelings for me — does your self-respect permit you to have feelings for a woman who surpasses you in every single thing?”

Fan Ziming was by nature a proud man, and had never been subjected to such humiliation. He barely managed to hold himself together and not immediately lose his temper in front of the crowd. “Even if the Young Lady thinks nothing of me, there is no need to humiliate me in this manner and trample upon my sincere feelings.”

“Sincere feelings built upon the destruction of a woman’s reputation? I have no use for that.” Fan Ziming’s expression called to mind a former acquaintance from another life — one who had played the same sort of sanctimonious role, equally revolting in his pretense. So long as they could achieve their own ends, had they ever given any thought to another’s life or death?

“I was only being rash…”

“You were only being rash, yet a woman must forfeit her entire life. What virtue, what capability do you possess that entitles you to that?” Hua Zhi’s smile carried no warmth whatsoever. “Shall we compare ourselves, in any matter you choose? I will accept any challenge.”

Compete against someone personally cultivated by Hua Yizheng? Fan Ziming dared not take that risk. If she had merely been embellishing her own reputation, that would be one thing — but what if she truly was that formidable? Fan Ziming suddenly recalled Zhu Ziwen once mentioning that his cousin had served as a teacher for the Hua household for a time when they lacked proper instructors. Would she have dared do so without the ability? And would the Hua Family have allowed her to do as she pleased?

With this thought, Fan Ziming dared even less to accept the challenge. He had only intended to use this method to deepen his impression upon the First Young Lady and advance whatever scheme he had in mind. He had never intended to lose every shred of his dignity right here.

“I did not think things through adequately. I ask the Young Lady’s pardon.”

“You will not compete?”

“The scholarly attainments of Elder Master Hua — who in all the world does not revere them?”

“…” With that level of thinking, he still dared to study for the imperial examinations and aspire to office? One could only hope the Emperor did not hear that remark — otherwise it would not only be Fan Ziming who found himself in trouble!

“Cousin.”

Zhu Ziwen was overcome with shame. He turned away without the courage to meet his cousin’s eyes.

“Your standards for choosing friends… what exactly are they?”

Zhu Ziwen was left without a word to say, and felt all the worse for it.

The oppressive irritation that had been building in Hua Zhi’s chest had finally been fully vented. Her mood considerably improved, she let the curtain fall. “Your cousin offers you this piece of advice — you would do better to spend more time learning how to read people from your grandfather. Farewell.”

Watching the carriage make its way out of the crowd, Zhu Ziwen’s expression turned wretched. There was no concealing this matter; when he returned home, his grandfather would certainly give him a thorough dressing-down.

The show was over, and the spectators dispersed — though the looks they cast upon Fan Ziming were peculiarly complex. If at first some among them had thought Fan Ziming showed a certain boldness, the First Young Lady’s words had brought them all to their senses. The method he had used was genuinely underhanded; anyone with a slightly more delicate constitution could have paid for it with her life.

Every household had sisters and cousins. Those who put themselves in her place for even a moment could not summon an ounce of goodwill toward Fan Ziming. A man like that — it was only right that the First Young Lady had given him what he deserved.