CH 5.3

It was a good thing that Liu Chengji won first place in the exam, and Ruan’s mother didn’t want to talk about those sad old things. The conversation changed, and she talked about how to arrange marriage, send invitations, and have banquets.

It was late at night, and the full moon was high in the sky. The lights in Ruan’s mansion had turned off, but the Feiyu Pavilion, which was Ryan Longling’s courtyard, was still brightly lit.

Ruan Yumei was also very happy when she heard the news of Liu Chengji’s achievements today and went to Ruan Longling’s Feiyu Pavilion to congratulate her. At that time, Ruan Longling was embroidering her wedding dress. The candle flames danced and shook so painfully that it hurt people’s eyes. She held the silver needle up and down and finally finished the last stitch.

Even though it was so late, Ruan Yumei was still excited. On the way from Ruan Longling’s place, Ruan Yumei said to her maid Xiaohong, “Xiaohong, Brother Chengji actually won a prize! That’s a disciple of the Son of Heaven! My sister is going to marry the emperor’s protégé! From now on, she will be Mrs. Liu. How beautiful it would be on the day of getting married and holding a banquet! How proud!”

The maid, Xiaohong, smiled. “Isn’t it? The third miss will be Mrs. Liu, the wife of the emperor’s protégé from now on, and the fourth miss, you will be the sister-in-law of the emperor’s protégé from now on! You are about to reach the age of Ji, and it is a suitable age to discuss marriage. You have a brother-in-law who is an official at the court. So, there will be a queue of noble young masters who want to marry you.”

Ruan Yumei was thin-skinned and muttered with a blushing face, “You… what nonsense are you talking about!”

……………..

On the seventh day of March, Liu Chengji arrived in Yangzhou. But Ruan Longling received a letter from Liu Chengji on the ninth day of March, inviting her to meet him.

The weather on the ninth day of March was not good. The dark clouds covered the blue sky, indicating there would be rainfall. Although the environment was gloomy, Ruan Longling’s heart was filled with joy and happiness.

She deliberately got up early in the morning, bathed and dressed carefully, and even took care of every strand of hair. She walked lightly and cheerfully, with the joy of seeing her sweetheart soon, and went to Taowu alone.

With the sound of a “squeak”, Taowu’s wooden door opened, and the figure of a familiar man came into view.

Liu Chengji had a thin figure and stood in the wooden house in a long robe.

The moment Ruan Longling saw him, her eyes curled up with a smile, and she pouted slightly with a young girl’s charm, pretending to be angry. “Normally you would have come to meet me earlier!” ‘ Why didn’t he come to meet me earlier? He came two days ago, and other times he would meet me as soon as he came. Why this time? Was he surrounded by congratulatory relatives at home? Why didn’t he come to see me until today? Could it be that now that he’s an official, he’s very proud?’ “Do you want me to visit Liu’s mansion?” Ruan Longling asked with a soft voice.

Ruan Longling originally wanted Liu Chengji to coax her like before and say a few soft words, but Liu Chengji’s tense back didn’t move at all. She didn’t realise that something was wrong and even took a few steps forward. “Actually, you almost succeeded. If you don’t ask me out today, I will definitely not be able to hold back, and I will go to Liu’s mansion to find you tomorrow. Aji, you have been in the capital for half a year, how are you doing?”

After saying that Ruan Longling wanted to tug at the corner of Liu Chengji’s sleeve as usual, who would have thought that the moment her fingertips were about to touch the fabric, Liu Chengji moved aside? Then he turned around and faced Ruan Longling with a frowning face. There was not a single trace of joy, happiness, or warmth, as usual, but a coldness. “Four days ago, you went to Liu’s mansion to force my aunt to pay the debt, right?”