My Fulang is a Delicate Flower Chapter 122 Part 1

Chapter 122 Extra (8) The Story of Da Taohe 

In the 18th year of Tianjin, Huo Shu was dispatched to the southwest to oversee salt administration affairs.

That year, Huo Anding was seventeen years old, and Xiao Taohe had finally grown into Da (big) Taohe.

"The salt merchants in the southwest are causing trouble, the situation is intricate and complex. I don't know how long it will take to handle this matter, it will likely take at least a year or so."

Huo Shu took out a letter from the desk and handed it to his son, who stood before him nearly reaching his ears in height.

The old father looked at the youthful boy, lush as spring pines, and couldn't help but sigh softly.

This kid had resembled Ji Taoyu since childhood, with exceptionally fine features.

When he was little, his gentle and soft nature made him seem like a ger, earning him much doting and pity. Even placed among a group of ger, no one would have doubted he was a ger.

Fortunately, as he grew older, his height increased noticeably, and after his features matured, they inherited some of Huo Shu's hard, masculine looks, neutralizing Ji Taoyu's strikingly beautiful and elegant appearance, so strangers no longer mistook him for a ger.

But though his features matured, they didn't worsen; instead, he grew increasingly devastatingly handsome.

People said children who were beautiful in youth often grew plain as adults, but this boy had defied the common saying

Now seventeen, having passed through more than ten years—through well-behaved phases and mischievous ones—he had never once been ugly.

When he was young, it hadn't been just one or two families who had jokingly proposed arranged doll marriage.

Ji Taoyu had refused them all, not even consenting to the proposal from his good friend Tianyin.

He said that he himself had been betrothed early in his youth. While it had seemed good at first, many things could change in an instant. Until the very end, who knew how many changes might occur along the way?

Who could have guaranteed that a well-behaved child would develop upright character while growing up? If one party had turned out poorly, it would only have led to endless trouble, potentially harming the relationship between the two families.

The You and Ji families back then were living examples—thus, one shouldn't decide a child's future based on momentary favor, the stakes were too high.

Moreover, he and Huo Shu, as a couple, had come to know each other and chosen to stay together on their own, not solely relying on parental orders and matchmaker's words.

Therefore, he hoped that Xiao Taohe could also independently choose someone who truly suited him.

This heartfelt speech had effectively deterred families seeking arranged doll marriage (arranged marriage in childhood).

Thus, they had peace for a couple of years. But last year, when Huo Anding turned sixteen, the age to marry and start a career, matchmakers seemed to have timed it perfectly, arriving in waves at their home.

These people weren't just coming to propose marriage because of the Huo family's high status, it was really because Huo Anding had a face that made people long for him day and night, and he also had some talent of his own, having already passed the provincial imperial examination.

With family background, ability, and looks all present, and his character without any major faults, of course people would compete and rush to propose.

With so many matchmakers coming daily, having to deal with them exhausted Ji Taoyu.

He thought since Huo Anding was so popular, they might as well choose one from among them, but Huo Anding refused, annoying Ji Taoyu so much he called him over and scolded him severely.

"Are your studies so perfect that you have nothing better to do? If you have no intention of marrying, then why did you go and provoke Miss Wang for no reason?"

"How did I provoke her? On Winter Solstice, after school, I saw her on the road having sprained her ankle, so I just gave her a ride home. To avoid gossip, I didn't even share the carriage with her, I let her ride inside while I rode my horse outside. The knife-like wind nearly gave me a cold."

Ji Taoyu gritted his teeth: "Didn't you think she'd be even more interested seeing you like that?"

"How would I think of such things?"

"Fine, then what about the young master from the Zou family?"

"Young master Zou? Why are they causing trouble? I've only ever met him once. During the Lantern Festival, there was an elegant gathering in the city, I saw his winter snow painting was quite good, so I praised it truthfully. We haven't spoken normally otherwise."

[Elegant Gathering (雅集, yǎjí): a historical gathering of scholars, artists, and elites to appreciate art, poetry, and culture.]

Ji Taoyu's chest heaved: "Then what about the second young master of the Chen family?"

"Ah? Who's that? I don't really remember. Could it be that ger I bumped into when you sent me to the cloth shop to pick up silk for you at the start of spring? I didn't do anything, I just thought his primrose yellow clothes were pretty, and felt like it would look good on you too, Little Father, so I asked him where he got the fabric."

Ji Taoyu: "........."

Huo Anding replied with a mixture of grievance and self-pity: "I don't mean to provoke anyone, at most I'm just softhearted, kind, and good at appreciating and discovering others' strengths."

This response only angered Ji Taoyu further, that evening, he even refused to eat shrimp for dinner.

When Huo Shu returned from inspecting the camp, upon learning the reason, Huo Anding got a serving of stir-fried bull p*nis for dinner. "Is it a letter from Brother A-Pan?"

Huo Anding hadn't yet had time to congratulate his father on his promotion. Looking at the letter handed over, he was both surprised and puzzled, so he asked first: "What's wrong?"

"This time with the transfer, I'll be gone for so long. Your little father is in poor health, so he must naturally come with me, to make it easier to care for him."

"With your little father and me both away, you, kid, alone in Tongzhou, wouldn't you just soar to the heavens?"

Huo Anding pouted: "I'm not that troublesome. Aren't Great-Grandfather and Second Uncle still here?"

Huo Shu said: "Your second uncle is occupied with his business affairs. Even if he weren't, would he actually be able to keep you in check? If you were married and properly settled down, your little father and I would stop worrying about you. But you refuse to get married."