Chapter 57: Love Rival (I)
Chapter 57: Love Rival (I)
For a moment, Lin Qingyuan felt that the noisy crowd around him disappeared, leaving only him and the smiling beauty alone.
Lin Qingyuan fell into a daze. When others saw this, they noisily turned their head and called him: “Master Zhuangyuan is here, why should we be afraid? Compiler Lin, please come and help!”
Lin Qingyuan quickly recovered his mind. He secretly smiled at himself, laughing at his sudden strangeness. Suppressing the throbbing in his heart, Lin Qingyuan waved his hand resolutely: “No. Since eldest Miss Cheng has said so, how can I still be impetuous?”
Everyone roared: “Lin Zhuangyuan’s scholarly talent is top-notch. I don’t remember you backing off from debating with others before. Why are you so humble today?”
Lin Qingyuan’s cheeks were a little red, but he couldn’t lose his bearing in front of so many people. He said: “I am also a person with a younger sister. I can sympathize with eldest Miss Cheng’s sincere feeling and don’t want to overstep.”
Seeing that Lin Qingyuan refused to help, the crowd was disappointed and went to find another helper noisily. Seeing them gone, Lin Qingyuan secretly sighed in relief. But when his nerve had just relaxed, he suddenly felt a shiver, and a chill ran along his spine. Lin Qingyuan quickly turned around and saw a person standing at the gate. The aura around the man was out of sync with the festivity at this place. Without showing any particular emotion on his face, he stared at Lin Qingyuan with a deep gaze.
Seeing his friend was here, Lin Qingyuan should feel relieved. Still, for an unknown reason, the nervousness as of being stared by something dangerous did not dissipate in the slightest, but became more obvious instead. Lin Qingyuan put on a smile and waved to the newly-came person: “Jingxing, why are you here?”
Other people in the courtyard were busy trying to pick up the bride, and most of them didn’t notice Cheng Yuanjing’s arrival. Cheng Yuanjing slowly walked on the pathway. He looked at Lin Qingyuan quietly and said: “This is Cheng family’s manor. Why cannot I come?”
Lin Qingyuan was startled. What happened to Cheng Yuanjing? Although this man was indifferent, he wasn’t arrogant and had a good sense of courtesy. Normally, Cheng Yuanjing would not be so rude.
Lin Qingyuan didn’t put it into heart. He thought that Cheng Yuanjing simply didn’t like crowds, so his temper was a bit irritable today. Lin Qingyuan smiled brightly and said: “Jingxing, it’s a pity that you didn’t help to block the gate earlier. Otherwise, how can those people break in so easily…”
When a man took a bride, it was natural that he would get blocked by his in-law family, and the new son-in-law couldn’t get angry either. If the bride has many uncles and brothers, the groom would have to please them one by one. The male relatives were still okay, because female relatives were much fiercer when dealing with a new son-in-law. Sometimes they would even use a broom and rolling pin to beat the welcoming team. Asking some literary questions like Cheng Yujin did now was truly nothing.
Cheng Yuanjing didn’t bother himself with today’s wedding. He didn’t even show his face. But just now, his servant reported that the welcoming team had arrived at the second miss’ boudoir and was making trouble there. Cheng Yuanjing knew that with Cheng Yujin’s character, she would never make trouble at her own initiative. Still, it wouldn’t good if some of the men brashly charged in and collided with her.
Cheng Yuanjing couldn’t help but worry about Cheng Yujin, so he went to the new bride’s courtyard. Who ever thought that he would witness such a scene the moment he arrived?
Among the crowd, Cheng Yujin raised her head, and her gaze fell on Lin Qingyuan accurately. She smiled at him sweetly and even spoke with a plea of intimacy. On top of that, Cheng Yuanjing could see clearly how Lin Qingyuan fell into a daze.
Cheng Yuanjing was very sure that at this moment, Lin Qingyuan’s heart was moved. Cheng Yujin wanted to marry Lin Qingyuan, and Lin Qingyuan himself gradually sank into her temptation. The man had the feeling, and the woman had the intention. Others would praise them for being a match made in heaven. What else could prevent them from forming a marriage tie?
At this moment, Cheng Yuanjing was like a lion king whose territory was being invaded. The cold aura around him was so dense that it almost visible. Cheng Yujin was busy buying time for the bride inside and didn’t notice that Cheng Yuanjing was here.
Huo family and Yichun Marquis manor were not at the same level. Huo Changyuan himself had a promising career in the military, and the welcoming team he invited today were all young talents with good looks. In contrast, the Cheng family had no one to show off. Therefore, at the gate just now, it was very easy for Huo Changyuan and his team to break the blockade. The welcoming team saw how the Cheng family’s men were defeated so easily, and they became so excited that they even felt that the bride-welcoming had already succeeded. Who thought that in the last pass, at the door of the new bride’s boudoir, they would be blocked by the bride’s sister, the eldest miss of the Cheng family.
Cheng Yujin stood in front of the door. Her bearing was elegant, her manner was graceful, her posture was unperturbed. But in fact, she wasn’t as calm as on the surface. She glanced at the crowd. There, standing in the center, was Huo Changyuan, dressed in red exactly like the memory she saw. But so what? She would never marry him again in this life. Whether Huo Changyuan was dead or alive, was a ghost or human, had nothing to do with her.
When Cheng Yujin saw Huo Changyuan, except for disgust, her mood didn’t fluctuate in the slightest. For now, she had to put on an act and buy more time. After glanced briefly at Huo Changyuan, Cheng Yujin no longer paid attention to him, but thoughtfully observed the two people next to the groom.
Weddings and funerals were a major event. Betrothal gift, dowry, and even the guests invited at this day were undoubtedly a symbol of the family’s standing and prestige. Consequently, the people Huo Changyuan invited into his welcoming team were also of high standing. Of the two groomsmen that stood by his sides, one was the second-ranked jinshi from the nineteenth year of Jianwu and still considered a relative of the Huo family. The other one, very unexpectedly, turned out to be Duke Cai, Zhai Yanlin.
It was completely different than her previous life. Cheng Yujin was curious, but she was even more vigilant. What did Huo Changyuan do that he could invite a man with Duke Cai’s standing into his welcoming team? After thinking hard, Cheng Yujin couldn’t figure it out. She could only put the matter down temporarily and tried to find out later.
Although Cheng Yujin was very studious, she was also very aware of her shortcoming. As a woman, she hadn’t studied scholarly literature in an orthodox manner. She could only exploit the loopholes by using glib-tongue and word traps. However, this trick was merely enough to fool people like Xu Zhixian but absolutely useless in front of people with a solid academic foundation.
Cheng Yujin successfully stopped Lin Qingyuan temporarily. She then looked at Zhai Yanlin calmly. Zhai Yanlin’s lips curled up a bit, as if finding the scene extremely interesting. He was not in a hurry to join in. Cheng Yujin secretly sighed in relief. As long as Lin Qingyuan and Zhai Yanlin didn’t interfere, she could hold on for a few rounds.