Chapter 489 - 186: People Have Similarities
Chapter 489: Chapter 186: People Have Similarities
A brief interlude occurred on the way up the mountain.
By the time they were halfway up, a few of the young ladies grew too tired to walk and wanted to rest in a pavilion.
The pavilion was already occupied. Judging by their attire, the occupants were two young men. The two had their backs to the entrance, facing the other side of the pavilion. They were discussing poetry inspired by the rime-covered trees on the cliff, so they didn’t immediately notice the commotion behind them.
Only when Zhao Jing and the others approached the pavilion did the two men notice and quickly turn to look. One of them, a man in sapphire-blue robes, suddenly flushed red upon seeing someone in the group, his fair, shy face instantly coloring.
"Why, isn’t it Mr. Ling? I thought you went to study at the Imperial College. When did you return to the Prefecture?"
The man Wang Xiao addressed as Mr. Ling was named Ling Shuangxue. Despite his name containing the characters for both "frost" and "snow," which might suggest a cold personality, he himself had nothing to do with the word "cold"—not even for a single copper coin.
This Mr. Ling had a shy temperament. In De’an’s opinion, he was actually quite similar to Li Cun.
’Ugh, what’s wrong with me? Why am I thinking of Li Cun all of a sudden!’
This Mr. Ling was likely from a prominent family. Despite his shy nature, his speech and demeanor were restrained and appropriate, giving him an air of integrity and propriety.
He exchanged greetings with Wang Xiao and his brother, after which Wang Xiao introduced him to Zhao Jing and De’an.
It was only through Wang Xiao’s explanation that Zhao Jing and Chen De’an learned that this Mr. Ling had previously studied at the Prefectural Academy. He was seventeen years old and had passed the provincial examinations this year, earning him a place to study at the Imperial College.
A seventeen-year-old scholar was a true man of letters by any measure. Furthermore, he came from a scholarly lineage. His ancestors had served as officials in Xinghuai Prefecture, and his uncles were all either scholars or Advanced Scholars. He was, by all accounts, from a distinguished family.
Coincidentally, Mr. Ling’s father was a tutor at the Prefectural Academy and was also a very close friend of Wang Xincheng, the father of Wang Jun and Wang Xiao.
The two elders had privately discussed uniting their families through marriage. Unfortunately, the Ling family had more sons than daughters in this generation, with no suitably aged young women for the two Wang brothers. The only option was for Wang Zhen to marry into the Ling family.
The only suitable matches for Wang Zhen were Ling Shuangxue and his older brother, Ling Shuanghan, who was three years his senior.
Ling Shuanghan had already married his master’s daughter, so the prospective match fell to Wang Zhen and Ling Shuangxue.
Just in the last few days, Wang Xincheng had mentioned to his wife at home that the Ling family would be paying a visit during the New Year.
The underlying intention was to see if they should arrange a meeting between Wang Zhen and Ling Shuangxue ahead of time. If the two young people took a liking to each other, the engagement could be settled quickly. If they weren’t pleased, there was still room to maneuver. They could find an excuse to politely decline, hopefully without damaging the relationship between the two families.
Wang Zhen was aware of this, and naturally, so was Ling Shuangxue.
And looking at them now... Ling Shuangxue’s fair, handsome face was faintly flushed, and he looked at Wang Zhen with a bashful expression. Meanwhile, Wang Zhen, who just moments before had been carefree and boisterous, running all over the mountain while holding up her skirts, now had a bashful blush on her cheeks. Her eyes were glistening as she put on the perfect air of a demure young lady.
’Well... what more was there to say?’
This was a clear case of mutual affection—a match made in heaven.
Leaving Wang Xiao and his brother to catch up with the Ling brothers, Chen Wanqing and the others took Wang Zhen with them and continued on toward the City God Temple.
On the way, the girls teased Wang Zhen. "That Mr. Ling is so young and accomplished. He’d make a fine husband."
"He’s so handsome, a perfect match for our Zhen’er."
It was only De’an who sidled up to Chen Wanqing and started grumbling, "He’s the City God. Shouldn’t his temple be on solid ground? Why build it way up here on a mountain? Does that make any sense?"
No one paid him any mind.
De’an continued, "With a background like his, that Ling Shuangxue only became a scholar at seventeen? His abilities must be pretty average."
"’If I had that many scholars and Advanced Scholars in my family, forget just passing the provincial exams—I’d probably be a Champion Scholar by now!’"
Chen Wanqing glanced back at her grumbling little brother, shook her head, and continued walking uphill alongside Zhao Jing.
Meanwhile, Sheng Saya said to Zhang Lingxin, "Do you smell something sour? Goodness, it’s so strong it’s killing me! I thought I’d fallen into a vat of vinegar."
Zhang Lingxin covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. "You’re exaggerating! But it is a little sour. I’m afraid someone’s vat of vinegar must have tipped over."
Xiang’er, holding Wang Zhen’s arm, looked left and right, then back and forth. In the end, she didn’t say a word, just pretending she didn’t understand a thing.
’She truly hadn’t noticed anything different in the way Brother De’an treated Sister Wang Zhen.’
’But the moment Sister Wang Zhen’s potential suitor showed up, Brother De’an started acting all strange.’
’She might be young and not know much about love, but she wasn’t an idiot.’
’How could she not see it now? Brother De’an clearly had feelings for Sister Wang Zhen.’