Watching Li Shu swaying and shyly trotting past him, the young man outside the door felt very upset. He couldn't understand why his cousin was so dismissive of him, a son of a second-rank official, but was so attentive to such a boy with unknown origins and mediocre looks!
I am a man of both literary and martial arts, and my appearance is one in a million. How could my cousin allow herself to fall into depravity
The young man outside the door was very upset, and he came to Zhu Ping'an's room, stood there, pointed at Zhu Ping'an, and shouted: "Who are you?! How dare you be so bold in the Marquis' Mansion and be so presumptuous to the young lady of the Marquis' Mansion!"
Zhu Ping'an ignored the young man who came to question him and turned his attention to Li Yanzhou who was following closely behind him.
How dare you ignore me?!
The young man was very upset to see Zhu Ping'an ignoring him, and his anger was rising. However, before he could lash out, he heard this plain-looking boy who ignored him speak.
"Brother, who is this young man?"
Zhu Ping'an's casual words instantly silenced the young man. What the hell, he called Yan Zhou "cousin"? "Brother-in-law"?! What does that mean? Could it be that... Thinking about Li Shu and Zhu Ping'an's actions, the young man guessed the truth of the matter, and then he felt as if he was struck by lightning.
When my aunt said she wanted to introduce my cousin Li Shu to me earlier, I was a little hesitant. Li Shu was just the least favored daughter of the third master in the Linhuai Marquis's Mansion. But after meeting Li Shu today, I was instantly stunned by her beauty. She was the best of the best, several times more beautiful than the head courtesan in Taohong Courtyard.
Such a beauty should be matched with my talent in both literature and martial arts!
The young man made up his mind to agree to his aunt after meeting Li Shu only once. But, damn, what's with this "brother-in-law"
"Ahem... This is my cousin, Zheng Duo, the second son of my uncle, Mr. Zheng, the governor of Zhejiang. Ahem, cousin, this is Zhu Ping'an, the man that my third uncle arranged for my fifth sister in the countryside. My third uncle just told the family about this marriage, and I haven't had time to tell you yet."
Fatty Zhou coughed twice and began to introduce himself.
"Ah. Cousin Shu'er is engaged? And in the countryside?" Zheng Duo seemed unable to accept the news. He looked Zhu Ping'an up and down with disdain and indignation. "Is cousin Shu'er the biological daughter of Uncle San? Why does Uncle San treat cousin Shu'er like this? No, I can't watch cousin Shu'er fall into the fire pit."
After saying this, Zheng Duo seemed to feel the call of justice, and vowed to rescue his cousin Shu'er from the fire. He turned around and walked out with an indignant look on his face, probably to find the wife of Marquis Linhuai or the old lady of the Marquis's mansion.
"Cousin, wait for me." Fatty Zhou shouted and chased after him with his fat body swaying.
Zhu Pingan watched the two people leave and smiled slightly. A "rival in love" suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He estimated that his days in the Marquis' Mansion would not be peaceful, but he would just deal with it as it came, and then he lowered his head and continued to eat his meal.
Things happened almost as Zhu Ping'an had expected. Just after he had taken a nap in the afternoon, a servant came to tell him that Young Master Li Yanzhou, Young Master Zheng Duo, the second young lady of the Marquis's Mansion and others had held a tea and poetry party in the Bamboo Garden and invited Zhu Ping'an to attend.
Ugh, so boring!
The fat man who had been kissed, the second-generation rich man who thought he was Pan An in the world and Li Bai in the body, the young lady who was scheming in the back house. Such a poetry gathering would at best be the poetry gathering of the heroes on Chongyang Festival in Dream of the Red Chamber.
But Zhu Pingan still overestimated this poetry meeting...
The scene of the poetry gathering was well decorated. Several maids cooked tea with charcoal in the courtyard. There was a pavilion in the bamboo garden. In the middle was a table for writing poems. There were also several calligraphy works hanging in the pavilion, which were probably found in the treasury to set off the atmosphere. The ground was covered with thick carpets inlaid with gold threads. Next to the pillars was a person-high carved silk incense table. The long incense was mixed with some spices, and the fragrance was overflowing when it was burned. There was even a little maid who was good at playing the piano to play in public in the courtyard. There were also many ribbons tied to the bamboos in the bamboo garden.
Several young ladies from the Marquis' Mansion, including Li Shu, were also present. There was also a group of maids and nannies serving them. In addition, the mansion's naughty kids and little loli were also there to join in the fun.
When Zhu Ping'an was led into the bamboo garden by the servant, the young master Zheng Duo was about to compose a poem. At this moment, Young Master Zheng had changed into a white brocade suit, spotless, tight inside and out, very decent, and his hair was crowned with the finest flawless jade, looking a hundred times more gentlemanly than Zhu Ping'an.
At this moment, Master Zheng had his hands behind his back, his eyes sparkling, his eyebrows as black as ink, and he seemed to be more courageous than any other man, as if he could express his lofty ambitions as soon as he opened his mouth.
As soon as Zhu Ping'an reached the pavilion, Mr. Zheng started to write a poem with great enthusiasm:
Ode to Penglai Pavilion
What a beautiful Penglai Pavilion, with gods sitting on it.
The warm sunlight and the sea water shine in the center.
Put the wine by the window and sing to the sea.
If we’re going to compete in drinking, it’s better to get drunk!
After finishing this poem, Master Zheng placed the brush in his hand on the inkstone, neatly and swiftly, showing the demeanor of a gentleman.
As soon as Zhu Ping'an walked up to the pavilion, he saw the poem praising Penglai Pavilion. The artistic atmosphere that hit him in the face almost choked him.
The second and third ladies of the Marquis' Mansion twitched their lips after reading the poem written by their cousin, but they couldn't say a word. Li Shu rolled her eyes and didn't even want to look at it again.
Fatty Zhou did shout a few times, and of course the maids and old women around him also joined in the cheering, saying "good poem, good poem" and so on. Master Zheng was smug and pleased with himself amid the cheers.
"Oh, isn't this the talented man from the country? Come on, write a poem based on Penglai Pavilion." When Master Zheng saw Zhu Ping'an, his eyes lit up and asked Zhu Ping'an to write a poem as well.
What a great Penglai Pavilion, singing to the sea... ... What's the point of participating in this kind of poetry gathering! I might as well go back and read more books and prepare for the palace examination.
"Ahem, ahem, Mr. Zheng is so talented that Ping'an feels inferior to him... Well, Ping'an has something important to do, so I'll leave you later." Zhu Ping'an said with a smile on his face, then bowed to everyone, turned around and left.
Watching Zhu Ping'an turn and leave, Zheng Duo was a little surprised. This result came too easily. Zheng Duo had originally planned to lead this poetry meeting to show off his talent in front of Li Shu, and to use his talent to crush Zhu Ping'an and make Li Shu realize that he was the right match. However, he did not expect that his goal would be achieved so easily.
Look, the way cousin Li Shu looks at me is different from before.
Zheng Duo felt that he needed to keep up the good work and write another poem to completely consolidate his reputation as a talented person, so he walked back to the table, picked up the brush and prepared to write another poem.
"I still have some things to put away in my room, you guys can enjoy it." Li Shu said calmly, and then she led the little maid Baozi away gracefully. (To be continued.)