Chapter 202: Fishing
Su Yaoguang stood up, selected a few pastries, and put them away.
Zhou Wangshu saw this: “They won’t taste good once they’re cold. If you like them, fresh ones will be delivered tomorrow; no need to save them to eat later.”
“I wanted to send some to my maternal aunt and maternal uncle-in-law.”
“That’s even less necessary. I already sent a portion over just now.” Zhou Wangshu put down the things in her hand. “You clearly like them, so eat them first yourself; don’t always consider others.”
Su Yaoguang touched Zhou Wangshu’s hair: “Wangshu really lives up to being someone about to take the Imperial Examination; he’s truly grown up, and older sister is very gratified.”
Zhou Wangshu: “…”
He slapped away her hand, glared at her grumpily, and said to the two onlookers nearby: “Are you done eating?”
Zhong Chushan swallowed his last bite and nodded elegantly: “I’m done.”
Chen Buyu swallowed another small steamed bun in one bite and said indistinctly: “No rush; it’s still early, and the others probably haven’t gotten up yet.”
“You think everyone’s like you, lazy like a pig.” Zhong Chushan mocked.
“Hey, is there any point in attacking me like that? In the county town, people like us are called double wastes, you know? When you talk about me, you’re actually talking about yourself too.”
Zhou Wangshu kicked each of them once, extremely disdainful: “I see you quite like that title; you shout it so loudly—are you afraid others won’t hear?”
Su Yaoguang sat in the courtyard, watching the three playfully bicker as they went next door, and dragged the overly nervous Wang Huanzhi out the door.
Wang Huanzhi was participating in the Imperial Examination again after many years; compared to the young lads nearby, he was a bit older and extremely tense. Actually, being overly nervous was not helpful.
It was still early, and many shops hadn’t opened yet, so she wasn’t in a hurry to go out.
She first tidied up the room, collected Zhou Wangshu’s dirty clothes from yesterday to wash, and hung them in the courtyard.
After she finished all this and was about to go find Cui Rong, she saw the Cui family’s horse-drawn carriage stopped outside the courtyard gate.
“Yaoguang, want to go stroll around today?” Cui Rong got out of the carriage.
Su Yaoguang called out: “Wait for me a moment first; I was just packing things up and haven’t had time to change clothes.”
“No rush, take your time packing; I’ll wait here for you.” Cui Rong saw she was willing to go out, and joy flashed in his eyes.
It seems Zhou Wangshu isn’t here!
With him not here, it’s perfect to be alone with Yaoguang. He didn’t believe he lost to him in any way—he was even a year older than him; there was no reason for Yaoguang to choose the other over him.
Su Yaoguang was changing clothes inside, while Cui Rong looked over the nearby houses; when he saw that room not much bigger than a bird’s belly, his eyes were full of disdain.
“Yaoguang really… she won’t live in a big house and insists on living in this small house with that younger brother. If she lived with me, there would be servants to serve her, and she wouldn’t have to worry about any trivial matters.”
Jiang Yihuan came out carrying a vegetable basket, walked out of the courtyard, and as she passed by Cui Rong’s side, her body swayed and she fell toward Cui Rong.
Cui Rong saw this and shifted to the side, dodging her touch.
Bang! Jiang Yihuan fell on the ground.
“Ah…” She winced in pain, clutched her bumped head, and slowly got up, looking at Cui Rong with aggrieved eyes. “Young Master Cui, why didn’t you help me up? I fell and it hurts.”
“Did I bump into you?” Cui Rong said indifferently.
“Though you didn’t bump into me, we’re not strangers, and we had a good relationship before. Can’t you help me up when you see me fall?” Jiang Yihuan was aggrieved.
“We had a good relationship before? I don’t remember that.” Cui Rong was full of disdain. “Oh, you told me before that our Jin Le Fang’s business was bad because Yaoguang schemed against us, and that Yaoguang deliberately stepped on Jin Le Fang’s shoulders to climb up, and now they’ve become the leader in cosmetics. You said many bad things about Yaoguang, making me resent her. If that’s what you call a good relationship, shouldn’t I properly repay you for your guidance?”
Cui Rong hadn’t been in the county town before; later, he was transferred by the family to manage the business in the county town, and then he met the troublemaker Jiang Yihuan, which made him resent Yaoguang.
Fortunately, at that time, the county town had a disaster, and before he could do anything to Peach Blossom Workshop, he was busy with relief efforts for the county town. By the time he was mostly done, he had some understanding of Su Yaoguang’s character. At that point, those troublemakers from the Imperial Palace came knocking, asking the Cui family to offer good things to the benefactors in the palace. He knew these people were hard to deal with, so he thought to redirect the trouble and let Peach Blossom Workshop handle those eunuchs.
What happened after that was just like that.
Su Yaoguang not only didn’t resent him but also helped him out of the siege, freeing him from danger. At that moment, he felt extremely regretful and repented for his pettiness.
Now, no one could sway him; he absolutely wouldn’t do anything to hurt Su Yaoguang.
Jiang Yihuan’s face paled somewhat.
She had originally thought this Young Master Cui was easy to coax and wanted to hook him as her fish, but he had actually gotten smart.
Su Yaoguang came out from inside and happened to see Jiang Yihuan quickly running off carrying her vegetable basket. She said puzzledly: “Did that woman have another episode?”
Cui Rong nodded: “I was standing here fine, and she suddenly fell toward me, saying she was dizzy and wanting me to support her. I didn’t, and she ran off with light footsteps.”
“Young Master Cui doesn’t know how to cherish women a bit!” Su Yaoguang teased him. “This Jiang Yihuan is famously a sick beauty; she faints from fear when she sees a handsome young man—that’s what she calls dizziness. She had an episode today; she must have seen Young Master Cui, who is as handsome as Pan An, and her old ailment flared up again. We shouldn’t blame her; after all, it’s a problem she’s had since birth.”
Cui Rong laughed: “Yaoguang, that mouth of yours really doesn’t spare people. Luckily, I haven’t offended you.”
“Let’s go; we’ll see how the bosses in the provincial capital do business.” Su Yaoguang said, “No one here knows me, so my face won’t work; we’ll have to use yours.”
Xiao Yanci stood by the window, watching Su Yaoguang and Cui Rong chatting and laughing as they got into the carriage.
In his previous life, he didn’t seem to have seen Su Yaoguang with such a bright and generous smile. When facing him, she was always cautious; once his expression changed, she would show a distressed look.
This life was different; she had become so dazzling, and she interacted with people openly and gracefully.
On the contrary, Jiang Yihuan was becoming more and more sullen, without any of the cleverness from her previous life; she had become rigid and dull.
As long as he passed the Imperial Examination as a juren scholar, he could leave this place and head to the capital city to prepare for the courtyard exam and palace exam; he could completely discard everything here. He could still marry the daughter of a high official, while a village girl like Jiang Yihuan from a small family could be a concubine.
This time, he couldn’t be foolish again; he couldn’t reject the overtures from an official’s daughter for a village girl.
