Chapter 85: You’re Too Old! (Part One)

At first, Wu Tan insisted on traveling with Jiang Yuzhi and the others. From what Huangfu Qi knew of her, he simply thought the girl must have come up with some new scheme, and didn’t truly care what mischief she was up to.

When Wu Tan suddenly asked a question, he had a moment of clarity—his eyes lit up, then he frowned deeply. He glanced at Lin Yan Yao, whose spirits were low, and hissed through his teeth, “That… can’t be, right? Just for the sake of fame?”

His personality was too capricious, and since he wasn’t born into an official family, he’d never been much bound by rules. He was, in truth, hardly reliable.

Wu Tan feared his big mouth might say too much and alert Lin Yan Yao, so she raised her hand and punched him, warning in a low voice, “Just answer what I ask, where’s all this nonsense coming from?!”

To him, her punch was really no different from a tickle.

Huangfu Qi grinned and twisted his waist to dodge, then teased, “Don’t go grabbing me in the middle of the street, or I might accuse you of improper conduct!”

He was always so irreverent, never serious.

Wu Tan glared at him.

Knowing she was close to Lin Yan Yao, Huangfu Qi dared not joke too much about this, so he restrained himself somewhat, walked back to her side, and whispered, “Fourth place!” He paused, then sighed, “If I hadn’t interfered, he could have entered the top three.”

Since everything was still speculation, Wu Tan didn’t want Lin Yan Yao to know and be troubled. Hearing Huangfu Qi’s words, she suddenly recalled something and suspiciously scrutinized him.

Ahead, the crowd hadn’t dispersed in time, blocking the way; pedestrians and carriages stretched as far as the eye could see.

The two walked until they unconsciously stopped to wait.

Wu Tan kept staring at Huangfu Qi. At first, he didn’t mind, but after a while, he felt the pressure.

Suddenly realizing something, he retreated two steps, wary as if afraid she’d pounce and beat him up, ready to bolt at any moment. He protested, “You’re not going to blame this on me, are you?”

Surely she wasn’t thinking that, because he took the top three spot from Jiang Pingzhi, the guy was forced into murder and robbery?

That would be far too much to bear.

His anxiety made him raise his voice.

Wu Tan had been avoiding Lin Yan Yao to ask him questions privately, and his sudden outburst made her tense. She instinctively rushed forward, intending to cover his mouth, but remembering propriety between men and women in public, she instead angrily kicked him and cursed, “Would it kill you to lower your voice?!”

Lin Yan Yao was also blocked by the crowd ahead, absent-mindedly waiting for the guards to clear the way.

Huangfu Qi’s careless words were indeed loud. She was startled, turned to look, saw them horsing around, and was momentarily puzzled before smiling knowingly and turning away.

She had her own worries and didn’t want to disturb the two.

Seeing her glance over without suspicion, Wu Tan breathed a sigh of relief and glared at Huangfu Qi once more.

He instinctively flashed a grin.

Wu Tan’s lips twitched at his behavior, and recalling her interrupted train of thought, she asked again—suspiciously, “I want to know, did you bribe the examiners? Your essays aren’t even as good as my second brother’s. How could you place so high?”

Huangfu Qi winked at her, everything clear without words.

Wu Tan was shocked, “Did you really buy your ranking? Are you mad?”

Then she realized—no, even if the Huangfu family was wealthy enough to sway the chief examiner, the top three in the palace examination were appointed by the emperor himself. Did Huangfu Qi bribe the emperor?

She stared at him, not blinking.

He straightened his chest, proud rather than ashamed, and said lazily, “Oh, don’t say things like ‘buying offices,’ it sounds so sordid. The bureaucracy isn’t that corrupt. It’s just, recently there have been disasters in the south, right? Before the palace exam, I donated two million bushels of grain and a million taels of silver for relief.”

Leaning closer, he shielded his mouth and whispered, “You know, when someone accepts a favor, even the emperor feels obliged. He was so delighted, called me into the palace and praised me, and I mentioned I’d be taking part in this year’s spring examination. So, if you insist I bribed the examiners… I suppose you could say that.”

Wu Tan never imagined such maneuvering was possible within the imperial examinations. She stared at him oddly for a long time, unable to find words.

Huangfu Qi waited smugly for her reaction, but when she didn’t speak after a while, he sidled over, bent down so their eyes were level, and said, “Wu family girl, don’t you want to ask why I went to such lengths to secure this ranking?”

Wu Tan rolled her eyes, “You’re not suited for officialdom anyway. What, do you plan to wreak havoc and harm the realm?”

“You see, you understand me! I’ll certainly never be an official…” Huangfu Qi clapped his hands, then lowered his voice further, waggling his eyebrows, “I heard you want to pick a handsome candidate from this year’s graduates to marry into your family? When I entered the palace this morning, I took a careful look around. Of all the successful candidates, I’m the best looking…”

Wu Tan bristled, her face flushing instantly.

Joking with her brother behind closed doors was one thing, but having someone else say it to her face was quite another.

She nearly jumped up, whipping around to face Huangfu Qi.

He was so close she almost collided with his face.

Wu Tan stared at that devilish face inches away, exerting all her will not to leap up, then pushed him away with a cold tone, “Then I won’t choose you!”

It was just nonsense to fool her brother—did he really believe it?

No, Wu Tan knew, with Huangfu Qi’s mind, he wouldn’t believe it, but to go to such lengths just to tease her was infuriating!

Huangfu Qi exaggeratedly stepped back.

They’d been joking and hadn’t noticed a carriage behind them had also been forced to stop for some time.

Now, Huangfu Qi’s abrupt retreat made him bump into it.

“Why can’t you choose me?” He didn’t care, just glanced back, then hurriedly returned to Wu Tan, shamelessly continuing, “After the New Year, you’ll be thirteen. Madam Wu will start planning your marriage, right? I’ve known your brother for years, we know each other inside out…”

“No!” Wu Tan didn’t want to listen to his banter, nor look at his face, so she cut him off.

Huangfu Qi pressed, “Why not?”

Wu Tan rolled her eyes, still not looking back, and made up, “You’re too old!”

Huangfu Qi: “…”

He was so struck that he finally quieted down.

Just then, the crowd ahead was gradually dispersing.

The carriage beside them couldn’t push through for fear of hitting pedestrians, so it was still blocked, but Wu Tan and the others squeezed forward with the crowd.

Seeing Huangfu Qi silent for so long, Wu Tan wondered if she’d said something too harsh, so she turned to look at him.

He did seem genuinely hurt, unusually serious, brow furrowed in thought.

When she looked at him, he raised his hand to touch his face, earnestly asking, “Do I really look that old?”

It was only a random excuse to shut him up, so she regretted responding now—he was shameless, not easily offended.

“Yes, yes! You’re getting on in years, so stop being so unserious!” she agreed, but didn’t want to continue the joke, so she sobered and said, “I know Madam Huangfu has a long line of matchmakers chasing after you. If you won’t give up your carefree days, don’t use me as a shield. If you keep dragging me into it, your grandmother and mother might really blame me.”

Huangfu Qi was still unconvinced, “Your brother isn’t married either.”

Wu Tan retorted, “But my grandmother is open-minded!”

Huangfu Qi: “…”

They bickered half the length of the street. When they turned off Chang’an Avenue, Wu Tan hurried to catch up with Lin Yan Yao and linked arms with her.

But Lin Yan Yao was clearly dispirited. Wu Tan tried to chat, but she spoke little, mostly listening to Wu Tan’s chatter.

Returning to the Lin residence, Wu Tan was eager to find Wu Qinglin and didn’t go inside to greet the old chancellor and Madam Li. She waited at the gate, had her carriage brought around, and left.

She didn’t ask Huangfu Qi to escort her, nor did he insist, but lingered outside the Lin residence until he watched her carriage turn onto another street before leaving.

Meanwhile, Lin Yan Yao returned to the inner quarters, absent-mindedly heading toward her own courtyard when she met Madam Li hurrying out with her maid.

“Yao’er!” Seeing her, Madam Li rushed forward, grabbed her hand anxiously, “I just heard something happened near Zhuque Tower—someone died? Where’s Tan? Are you all alright?”

Lin Yan Yao smiled, soothing her, “We’re all fine. The street was just crowded, it took ages to get out. Don’t worry, Tan said she was tired and went straight home.”

Seeing her daughter intact, Madam Li’s worry finally eased. “So long as you’re safe. I was just about to send people out to look for you.”

“It’s nothing!” Lin Yan Yao led her toward her rooms.

Back in the room, Madam Li asked about the incident at Zhuque Tower.

Lin Yan Yao didn’t want to frighten her, so she avoided mentioning their near miss, and spoke vaguely about the other accident, “The railing on the third floor was removed, and during the parade for the top scholar, it collapsed, injuring several people. The city magistrate is handling it—it doesn’t concern us.”

Madam Li was uneasy, “The parade? Then your cousin from the Jiang family…”

Mentioning Jiang Pingzhi made Lin Yan Yao feel blocked inside.

She pulled Madam Li back into the chair, “He’s fine. I saw him before I came home, he’s alright.”

“That’s good, that’s good!” Whether as a future son-in-law or simply a child she watched grow up, Madam Li’s heart was naturally anxious, patting her chest for relief. “Your aunt came to report joy—Pingzhi placed fourth in the palace exam. If anything happened now, how heartbreaking that would be.”

Lin Yan Yao didn’t want to speak further, but with her mind troubled by the day’s events, she hesitated before starting, “Mother, about cousin Jiang…”

A girl’s marriage is always hard to broach.

Madam Li misunderstood, smiling and chiding her, “Pingzhi passed the exam, do you know why I’m so happy? He’s my nephew. Of course I’m pleased, but not so much for him—it’s for you! Since your aunt is eager to share the news, it’s about your match. She wants us to rest assured. I figure, within this month, or next at the latest, she’ll come to discuss settling your engagement. I don’t mind keeping you a couple more years, but Pingzhi isn’t young. If he hadn’t waited for you, he wouldn’t have delayed so long.”

Jiang Pingzhi was twenty-one this year; to marry, he’d have to wait until Lin Yan Yao came of age, nearly a year more—not exactly early.

“Mother!” Lin Yan Yao interrupted, a little vexed, “That’s not what I meant!”

She wasn’t fussy, but she couldn’t stand imperfection. She hadn’t seen through the schemes and plots as Wu Tan and Xiao Yue did, but she could discern Jiang Pingzhi’s attitude toward her.

Such a major incident at Zhuque Tower—though chaos might have kept him from noticing her near fall, when they later met, he didn’t show concern, and his greeting was perfunctory. As for their parting—

He didn’t escort her home, and his manner clearly drew boundaries.

Though marriage was arranged by parents, if she knew from the start that this man had no intention of marrying her, how could she shamelessly go through with it?

Madam Li was startled by her daughter’s changed demeanor, “What’s wrong?”

The Lin family raised their girls as proper ladies; Lin Yan Yao had never lost her temper.

Despite embarrassment, Lin Yan Yao steeled herself, “Mother, my engagement to cousin was arranged by you and aunt. What if he’s unwilling?”

Madam Li frowned, “How could he be? This has been settled for years. If he didn’t like you, he’d have said so long ago. Why are you suddenly saying this? What are you thinking?”

But Lin Yan Yao was convinced—

Today, Jiang Pingzhi’s attitude was off; at least, it wasn’t as before.

She didn’t want to complain to Madam Li without evidence, so she only held her hand and pleaded, “Mother, we haven’t seen cousin in a while, and now that he’s risen in status, maybe he has new ideas. Please, do me a favor—go to the Duke of Ping’s mansion and ask him directly? We haven’t formally exchanged betrothal gifts, it’s just a verbal agreement between you and aunt. If cousin has changed his mind, let’s pretend nothing happened—it won’t shame either side.”

Madam Li had never imagined her daughter would think this way. She was straightforward and laughed at the idea, “Just because he passed the exam, you’re so anxious? Does he really think the Lin family isn’t good enough now?”

Though the old chancellor was retired, the family’s reputation in the capital’s noble circles was unmatched.

Great families value heritage—many things aren’t measured by immediate gains or glory.

But Lin Yan Yao was determined, “Mother… just humor your daughter! Please, ask cousin directly. If he repents now, I can bear it. If we wait until after marriage…”

Her pleading was so earnest that Madam Li couldn’t refuse. She tapped her daughter’s hand, “Nonsense! Don’t say such unlucky things!”

Seeing Madam Li’s implicit agreement, Lin Yan Yao smiled in relief, “Alright, as long as you’ll go to the Jiang family, I’ll agree to anything.”

Yet, she couldn’t shake the discomfort from today—

Not only did Jiang Pingzhi leave her with doubts, but so did Jiang Yuzhi…

Though Wu Tan didn’t state it outright, her words implied she’d spotted the flaw, convinced the culprit was Li Xun’er. As far as Lin Yan Yao knew, Jiang Yuzhi and Li Xun’er had never been close. If Li Xun’er was truly behind it, what role did Jiang Yuzhi play? Was she merely present by chance, or—

The more Lin Yan Yao thought about it, the more unnerved she felt, as if caught in a whirlpool. Considering the possible connections chilled her to the bone.

Those she’d grown up with—was her suspicion too deep, or had they changed, or had she never truly understood them? The day’s shocks were overwhelming, making her feel her fourteen years of life had been turned upside down.

She knew she couldn’t keep ruminating, so she shook her head to calm herself.

Thinking of Wu Tan, she suddenly recalled the favor Wu Tan had asked before the incident.

No time like the present—today would do.

She glanced at Madam Li, who was still in good spirits, blowing away tea leaves from her cup…

Lin Yan Yao pondered her wording, then called, “Mother… may I ask you something?”

Madam Li didn’t look up, replying, “What is it?”

“This morning, I heard Tan asking Grandfather about Aunt and Uncle…” Lin Yan Yao began, carefully choosing her words.

But before she could continue, Madam Li’s hand trembled, spilling hot tea onto her fingers. She let go, and the cup fell, splashing water everywhere.

—Extra Notes—

Thunder: Huangfu Qi is only nineteen, our prince is already twenty-two… Enough, time to wash up and sleep. No need to worry about this anymore~o（＞_＜）o~

First published by the author, please do not repost!