Instead of going home, he headed straight for Ji’an Martial Hall. After venting to his uncle, he secured a group of elite fighters and charged to the road, intercepting the slow-moving ox cart carrying Ji Zhexi and the girl.
The cart driver trembled as burly men surrounded them. The girl shrank behind Ji Zhexi.
“It’s fine.” Ji Zhexi noted the Ji’an insignia on their sleeves, they wouldn’t harm anyone.
Then the fighters parted, and Ruili strode forward with dark face.
The two stared at each other in silence. The fighters waited for the order to seize Ji Zhexi.
Finally, Ruili muttered, “Forget it. Let them go.”
He turned and slunk back to his carriage.
Baffled but obedient, the fighters dispersed.
“Young master…”
Ruili hugged his knees, shaking his head to silence Ban Yan.
Seeing the girl’s frightened face, he couldn’t bring himself to act. He was already annoying enough, might as well do one decent thing.
Back home, Ruili moped for days, listless and sallow. After half a month, he had visibly thinned.
Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He couldn’t get a word out of him. The doctor diagnosed melancholy and loss of appetite due to the heat. Pressed, Ban Yan claimed Ruili missed his elder brother.
“Your brother wrote that they’re settled now,” Xu He said. “If you miss him, you can visit. It’ll ease your Dad's mind.”
“Really?”
“If you want, we’ll write back so they can prepare for you.”
Ruili nodded. “I’ll think about it.”
Xu He sighed. “Alright. Ban Yan, take good care of him.”
“Yes.”
Ruili flopped onto his bed, flipping idly through a novel. He’d read countless romances and plays, he knew exactly what this inexplicable feeling was.
And that was why he was so angry. He’d fallen into the very trope he despised: the spoiled rich kid infatuated with a poor scholar.
Why couldn’t he just enjoy being adored as a wealthy young master? Why did he have to scheme and end up humiliated? Now, he'd lost both wife and soldiers - utter humiliation!
[陪了夫人又折兵 (péi le fūrén yòu zhé bīng): lit. To lose both wife and soldiers; fig. To suffer a double loss.]
Now Ji Zhexi was probably laughing at him at home.
How pathetic.
After more restless days, Ruili packed his bags and slunk off to his brother’s place.
Cangzhu Prefecture was bustling and prosperous - even more so than Siyang.
Ruili threw himself into food, shopping, and dragging Luo Yuxing around. Zhang Ruijin often returned to an empty house.
After a month, the newlywed had had enough.
“When are you going back?”
“I just got here! Are you kicking me out?”
Zhang Ruijin frowned. “Stay as long as you want, but why are you always taking my fulang out?”
Ruili huffed. “You’ve always been serious, but Xiao Xing'er isn’t! What’s wrong with me showing him a good time?”
Zhang Ruijin shook his head. "This year's provincial exams are over. I think it's better to find you a suitable match among the young scholars in Siyang and arrange an early marriage."
Ruili brushed it off, and said jokingly, "Brother, you were a prodigy, shouldn't you at least find me a jinshi (metropolitan graduate)?"
"You certainly aim high." Ruijin replied seriously. "With the new emperor's enthronement, an additional imperial exam has been announced. Those who passed this year's provincial exams are lucky, they don’t have to wait three years but can take the metropolitan exam next year."
Ruili raised an eyebrow. "So you’ve really put thought into this. But if I marry someone from the prefectural city, wouldn’t I have to move far away?"
Ruijin smiled. "Of course, we’d look for someone nearby in Siyang."
"Please, Siyang is a small place, how many talents could there be? It’s nothing compared to the prefectural city." Ruili waved a hand. "I don’t want to get married anyway."
With that, he dashed off, leaving Ruijin sighing.
Ban Yan noticed his young master sitting by the window in a daze despite the pleasant weather.
"Young master, are you wondering if Ji Zhexi passed the exams?"
"Why would I care? His life has nothing to do with mine."
Ban Yan sighed at his stubbornness. "When do you plan to return home?"
"I haven’t had enough fun here yet. What’s the rush?"
Autumn passed in a whirlwind. Ruili, who was initially unfamiliar with Cangzhu, quickly befriended the local young masters with his skills in polo, chuiwan (ancient golf), fishing, and cockfighting. Before long, it was the end of the year.
Winter in Cangzhu was milder than in Siyang, and as Siyang's heavy rains set in, Zhang Fangyuan wrote a letter advising Ruili to stay until spring. Ruili happily complied.
By the time he prepared to leave, he had gained weight, his cheeks rounder. Yet, despite the fun, homesickness crept in.
One day, Ban Yan rushed in with a letter. "Young master, the gatekeeper gave me this. It’s not from Master or Fulang, I wonder who sent it."
Ruili frowned. "Strange, if it were someone from the prefectural city, why send a letter?"
He opened it, scanned the contents, then abruptly snapped it shut.
Ban Yan blinked. "Who’s it from?"
Without answering, Ruili bolted outside.
He sprinted to the neighboring alley, where a tall scholar stood beneath an overhanging crabapple blossom, as if he’d been waiting for hours.
"I’m heading to the capital for the exams. I came to see you."
Ruili narrowed his eyes. "The road to the capital doesn’t pass through Cangzhu. You’d have to detour two extra days." His heart fluttered, but he scoffed. "Shouldn’t you be harmoniously married to your dear cousin instead of toying with me?"
Ji Zhexi replied calmly, "After my parents died, my aunt took pity on me and planned to arrange a marriage with my cousin after I passed the exams."
The plan worked (kinda?), they're both in love 🤭🤭🤭🤭
ReplyDeleteThank you for the chapter!!!!