Chapter 529: A Talk
Hot Recommendations: , , , , , , ,
In the end, it was proven to be the latter.
Xu Yourong looked up at Chen Changsheng and asked, "Why aren't you eating?"
"Oh, eating." Over the past two years, influenced by Tang Thirty-Six, Chen Changsheng had become much more talkative. But in front of her, he seemed to revert to that honest young Daoist boy from Xining Town, speaking with extreme simplicity, his thoughts pure, unable to hide a single emotion.
For instance, he was somewhat flustered at this moment, so when he picked up his chopsticks, he nearly dropped them. He snatched them out of midair with a swift motion, but in doing so, he pushed aside the yellow oil-paper umbrella. As a result, the ongoing argument from the kang table in front once again reached their ears.
"Last spring, when little Dean Chen first entered the capital and suffered such humiliation at the Divine General's Mansion, he was repeatedly suppressed afterward. Despite his extraordinary talent and excellent exam scores, he was forcibly removed from the admission lists of all the academies. If not for the covert protection of His Holiness the Pope, he might not have even gotten into the already dilapidated National Academy. You all say his annulment of the engagement was a heartless act, but have you ever considered that if the Xu family hadn't acted so shamelessly, how could this marriage have turned out like this?"
"What does that have to do with Miss Yourong? Back at the Green Vine Banquet, when the white crane returned north, she had already acknowledged this engagement in that letter. Otherwise, even if Chen Changsheng held the marriage contract, how could he have silenced the southern envoy delegation? Even if Chen Changsheng holds a grudge against the Divine General's Mansion, there's no reason to make Miss Yourong suffer such humiliation!"
"Hmph, Xu Shiji refused to recognize this marriage from the start. The people of the Eastern Divine General's Mansion scorned the poor and fawned on the rich. Now that little Dean Chen is no longer what he used to be, they turn around and try to cling to him? Utterly shameless! You say little Dean Chen's annulment was a humiliation? In my view, it's the Eastern Divine General's Mansion humiliating itself!"
"But this matter has nothing to do with the Holy Maiden. Why should she have to bear all these rumors and gossip?"
"One can only say the Holy Maiden is unlucky, born into such a household, with such parents!"
...
...
The kang table in the corner fell silent. The broth in the iron pot bubbled with a gurgling sound.
Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong sat on either side of the kang table, and the atmosphere grew heavy once more.
He had been in the capital for nearly two years now. The engagement had long spread across the entire continent—the humiliation and suppression the Eastern Divine General's Mansion had inflicted on him, their subsequent change in attitude, and his transformation from a country boy Daoist into the heir of the state religion—all of this was endlessly discussed by everyone.
This morning's battle at the Bridge of Helplessness seemed like the final conclusion or judgment of this story, yet it didn't truly end anything. Instead, it pushed people's interest in the tale to its peak. Just like the diners at that table, countless family banquets across the capital were surely discussing this very matter.
He had never forgotten the humiliation the Divine General's Mansion had dealt him. He had also harbored many emotions toward her, far away in the south. But as that guest had said earlier, she had never truly harmed him in this matter. Yet now, she had to bear the ridicule and criticism aimed at the Divine General's Mansion.
That might be somewhat unfair.
Chen Changsheng didn't know what to say.
"After all, they are my parents."
Xu Yourong's expression was very calm, as if unaffected by those remarks, but her next words took a sudden turn.
"I want to drink some wine."
"Alright."
Chen Changsheng asked the owner to bring two small jars of the best wine. He unsealed one and poured it into her bowl, filling it seven-tenths full.
Xu Yourong thanked him softly, took the other jar, opened it, and filled his bowl to the brim. Then she looked at him and said, "Speak."
Chen Changsheng still didn't know what to say. After thinking for a moment, he looked at her beautiful face and asked hesitantly, "The face?"
"A technique from Nanxi Zhai."
"Oh."
After this brief exchange, silence fell again beside the kang table.
Xu Yourong picked up her wine bowl and took a small sip. Just one sip, and her face flushed slightly.
"Don't tell anyone that we met in the Zhou Garden."
"Why?"
Chen Changsheng hadn't understood her request on the Bridge of Helplessness, and now, confirming that she truly didn't want anyone to know about the whole affair, he was even more puzzled.
Xu Yourong didn't directly answer his question. She said softly, "Hasn't the engagement already been annulled?"
This was a rumor that had circulated in the capital for a long time, never confirmed by the National Academy or the Eastern Divine General's Mansion. But as one of the parties involved, she naturally knew it wasn't just a rumor—it had indeed happened.
Chen Changsheng remained silent for a long time.
When the snowy wind on the bridge had blown away the white veil and he saw her eyes, it was the happiest moment of his sixteen years. Happier than when he had memorized the last volume of Daoist scriptures in the old temple, found his fate star in the National Academy, achieved first place in the Grand Examination, or discovered Wang Zhice's notes in Lingyan Pavilion...
She was still alive. She was her. She was his fiancée. Was there anything more miraculous or wonderful in the world than this?
While bathing in the small building of the National Academy, he had already decided to go to the Li Palace and ask His Holiness the Pope to restore the marriage contract. Then, he would take Tang Thirty-Six and the others directly to the palace to find her. If she agreed, he would propose to her outright.
He had never experienced matters of the heart, but once he was certain of something he wanted to do, he pursued it with utmost seriousness and focus, seizing every moment.
But now she said this matter couldn't be spoken of. How could he convince His Holiness the Pope to revoke the decree annulling the engagement?
A month ago, he had worked very hard to finally dissolve this engagement.
Now, he found himself desperately needing it.
Tang Thirty-Six had been right.
"I thought you were dead. Back in the Zhou Garden, I promised you I would annul this engagement, so..."
He looked at Xu Yourong with some helplessness and said, "Since you knew it was me, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Xu Yourong's expression turned slightly cold. "In the Zhou Garden, you deceived me. I discovered the truth myself. Why should I have told you?"
Chen Changsheng felt wronged. "When did I deceive you?"
"Wasn't your name Xu Sheng?"
"And you weren't First Meeting Girl."
"Why didn't you admit you were Chen Changsheng?"
"Then why didn't you say you were Xu Yourong?"
They looked into each other's eyes and almost asked these questions in unison.
Then they remembered that when they first exchanged names in the snow temple by the White Grass Path, they had also spoken in unison, giving two false names...
They wondered what they had been thinking back then.
Chen Changsheng recalled his feelings at the time. He hadn't wanted her to know his identity, mainly because he didn't want her to know he had a world-famous fiancée. Perhaps Xu Yourong had felt the same way, not wanting him to know she had a universally known fiancé?
"Having a fiancé like me—is it something shameful?"
He looked at Xu Yourong and asked, his tone earnest, tinged with bitterness and sorrow.
...
...
(Lying in bed all day, in a daze... I said I wouldn't give reasons for taking leave, but I didn't ask for leave today, so I'll explain: I have a bad cold. Wishing everyone a happy holiday and good health.) r1148