TSWPF -Chapter 134 Bold

Liu Zhimou looked calmly at the young woman and asked in confusion, “And you are…?”

He searched his memory carefully and was certain he truly did not recognize the girl before him.

Tong Wanrong walked slowly up to Liu Zhimou. A hint of shyness rose in her heart, yet her face wore a poised and gracious smile. “Senior Brother Liu, could I trouble you to help me call my father out? I have something I need to discuss with him.”

Her eyes lingered on Liu Zhimou with an almost greedy admiration. His gentle, refined demeanor perfectly matched the image of a husband she had always envisioned.

Not only was he handsome, but his learning was also outstanding.

She had heard her father praise him many times, saying that in this year’s provincial examination, his ranking would certainly not be poor.

Such an excellent candidate for a husband—if she missed this chance, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

“Miss, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you with that,” Liu Zhimou said bluntly, refusing Tong Wanrong’s request. “If you truly wish to find your father, you can ask the gate guard to summon him.”

Before she could even react, he turned and walked straight back into the academy.

Watching Liu Zhimou’s retreating figure, Tong Wanrong stamped her foot angrily. That blockhead—how could he fail to understand her intentions?

Could it be that she wasn’t pretty enough, that she didn’t catch his eye?

Thinking of this, her confidence wavered. She stared again at Liu Zhimou’s back, let out a soft snort, then turned and headed toward her family’s carriage.

Her personal maid, Xia He, saw her approaching and hurried over. “Miss, how did it go? Young Master Liu, he…”
Why had Miss returned so quickly?

“We’ll talk once we’re inside,” Tong Wanrong said. No matter how bold she was, she still felt embarrassed to discuss another man out in the open.

If her father found out, he would definitely make her copy The Admonitions for Women as punishment.

Xia He covered her mouth and nodded timidly, helping Tong Wanrong into the carriage.

As soon as she sat down, Tong Wanrong frowned and asked Xia He whether she wasn’t good-looking.

“Miss, if you’re not beautiful, then no one is,” Xia He said sincerely. This truly wasn’t flattery—Tong Wanrong had fine features: a graceful, gentle oval face paired with beautiful almond-shaped eyes that made people think at first glance that she was a mild and virtuous young lady.

Tong Wanrong reached up and touched her own cheek, tilting her head as she asked, “Then why wouldn’t Senior Brother Liu agree to help me when I asked?” She sighed softly. “Could it be that he doesn’t like my type?”

“How could that be? Miss, you’re overthinking it. You’re so pretty—who wouldn’t like you?”

“Then why didn’t he agree to my request?”

“Uh…” Xia He’s mind raced before she forced out an explanation. “Young Master Liu is a proper gentleman. Miss, you approached him in public—he probably wanted to avoid gossip, so of course he had to distance himself from you.”

If Master and Madam learned of Miss’s actions, they would surely punish her for not stopping Miss.

Thinking of the consequences, Xia He shuddered in fear.

If Miss made a mistake, Master and Madam wouldn’t punish her too harshly—but they would definitely pin the blame on the maids instead.

To avoid such punishment, she could only do her best to persuade Miss.

“Miss, you really shouldn’t go directly to Young Master Liu like that again,” Xia He said softly as she poured a cup of tea and pushed it toward her. “If you go to him so directly, he’ll only ignore you. If you truly like Young Master Liu, you should subtly hint to Master instead. Master likes Young Master Liu so much—he would surely be willing to have such a son-in-law.”

Tong Wanrong picked up the teacup and slowly took a sip. Finding Xia He’s words quite reasonable, she let out a small hum in agreement.

Seeing Tong Wanrong accept her reasoning, Xia He finally let out a quiet sigh of relief. Next time Miss tried something like this, she would have to do everything in her power to stop her—she couldn’t let Miss act so recklessly again.

She had signed a lifetime contract of servitude and had no desire to be sold off by Madam.

“All right, let’s go home,” Tong Wanrong said.

“Yes,” Xia He replied, lifting the carriage curtain and telling the driver to head home.

Liu Zhimou had no idea that another woman had set her sights on him. At this moment, he had been summoned to Scholar Tong’s study for a discussion.

“Ziqian, you won’t miss the provincial examination again this time, will you?” Scholar Tong asked.

Two years earlier, the emperor had opened the examinations for two consecutive years in order to recruit more talent. Back then, he had urged Liu Zhimou to sit the exam.

But Liu Zhimou had refused, insisting on waiting a couple more years.

With no choice, he had agreed to let him wait.

This time, no matter what, he had to persuade him to take the exam.

Liu Zhimou nodded and said that he would indeed sit the examination this time.

Everything at home was already on the right track—there was nothing for him to worry about anymore. He could finally focus on the exam with peace of mind.

Scholar Tong stroked his beard in satisfaction. Among all his students, Liu Zhimou was the one he valued most. This time, he would surely return with an excellent ranking.

“Here,” Scholar Tong said, taking out a stack of papers and placing them into Liu Zhimou’s hands. “These are essays from previous years. Take them back and have a look.”

Liu Zhimou accepted them and thanked him.

Reading more past essays would surely give him new insights.

“After you finish reading them, come back and discuss them with me.”

“Alright.”

After asking Scholar Tong a few more questions about his studies and resolving them, Liu Zhimou took his leave.

As soon as he stepped out of Scholar Tong’s study, his shoulder was hooked by his fellow student and close friend, Xiang Yunfei.

“Ziqian, did Scholar Tong assign you that much homework again?” Xiang Yunfei clicked his tongue twice when he saw the stack of essays in Liu Zhimou’s hands. “Scholar Tong really treats you well!”

The slightly raised tone made it obvious he was being sarcastic.

Liu Zhimou pretended not to hear the implication. He glanced sideways at him and said, “After I finish reading them, I’ll leave them for you to read.”

Hearing this, Xiang Yunfei waved his hands frantically. “No, no, no! No need to save them for me. You read them yourself!” He didn’t want to become a bookworm—being crushed under so much homework would kill him.

Liu Zhimou had studied alongside Xiang Yunfei for three years and knew him well. He was quite intelligent, just not very fond of studying.

He only came to the academy to appease his family and avoid their nagging.

“Are you planning to sit the exam this time?” Liu Zhimou asked.

With a swish, Xiang Yunfei opened the fan in his hand and waved it lightly, shaking his head as he said, “Of course I have to. As for how well I’ll do—that’s another matter.”

If he didn’t take the exam, his father would break his legs. For the sake of his own survival, he’d better obediently sit it.

As for the results—that wasn’t something he planned to worry about.

Liu Zhimou glanced at him again and said calmly, “Stay after class. I’ll help you review the parts you don’t understand.”

Since they were close friends, he didn’t want to see Xiang Yunfei simply muddle through the exam.

“No need, right?” Xiang Yunfei’s face immediately fell when he heard this. He cried out miserably, “Ziqian, you should just go handle your own affairs. You really don’t need to bother with me—really…”

Liu Zhimou turned his head and looked at Xiang Yunfei in silence.

Xiang Yunfei swallowed, then forced a chuckle. “Th-then… I’ll have to trouble you, Ziqian.”

He wasn’t even that afraid of his own father—but he was inexplicably afraid of Ziqian.

Ziqian was truly a very dark-hearted person. If you offended him, you wouldn’t even know how you died.

When he wanted revenge, he never used force—his brain was more than enough.

Liu Zhimou gave a light hum and continued walking toward the classroom.

Xiang Yunfei was the type who couldn’t stand being quiet. He slung an arm around Liu Zhimou’s shoulder and whispered into his ear, “Hey, Ziqian, did you know Scholar Tong has a very beautiful daughter?”

He had once glimpsed Scholar Tong’s daughter by chance, and it had been truly eye-catching.

“Scholar Tong likes you so much—do you think he might want you as his son-in-law?” The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed.

Liu Zhimou stopped walking and turned to look at Xiang Yunfei. With great seriousness, he said, “I already have a fiancée. We’re getting married on the tenth day of next month.”

In his eyes, no one was more beautiful than his Ling’er.

“If you spout nonsense again, I’ll sew your mouth shut.”

“What?! You’re getting married on the tenth of next month?” Xiang Yunfei stared at Liu Zhimou in shock. “Y-you really have a fiancée? And you’re really getting married next month? You’re not lying to me, are you?”

Although they were close, he had never been to Liu Zhimou’s home, nor had he ever heard him mention a fiancée.

Wasn’t he just making this up?

Xiang Yunfei studied Liu Zhimou carefully. Seeing his serious expression, clearly not joking, he sucked in a sharp breath.

So it was true.

“Th-then… is your fiancée pretty?”

“Mm.” Liu Zhimou lifted his foot to leave. After taking two steps, he added, “If you’re free on the tenth of next month, you can come have a cup of wedding wine.”

Xiang Yunfei blinked and quickly followed him, grinning. “Ziqian, we’ve known each other for years, and I’ve never been to your house. How about I go back with you tonight and stay for a couple of days?”

It just so happened that the next two days were rest days—no classes.

He remembered Liu Zhimou mentioning that his home was in the countryside. He wondered if it was fun there.

He had never been to the countryside before!

Liu Zhimou looked at Xiang Yunfei’s eager expression, raised an eyebrow, and gave another hum in agreement.

They had known each other for years—if he wanted to visit, of course he wouldn’t object.

Xiang Yunfei had originally been thinking that if Liu Zhimou refused, he might have to shamelessly pester him and follow along anyway.

He hadn’t expected Liu Zhimou to agree so readily.

So readily that he didn’t quite react at first.

Liu Zhimou ignored the stunned Xiang Yunfei and headed straight back to the classroom.

Only after Liu Zhimou entered did Xiang Yunfei snap back to his senses. He yelled “Ah! Ah! Ah!” all the way into the classroom.

Running up to Liu Zhimou, he said with a beaming smile, “Ziqian, wait for me after class! I’ll go home and pack two sets of clothes, then come find you!”

He wanted to properly experience countryside life, hehe…

If only he could see Liu Zhimou’s fiancée. Well—he could only think about that in his heart. Before the wedding day, it was impossible to see the bride.

But when he finally went to Liu Zhimou’s home, saw Li Qingling, and heard Liu Zhimou introduce her—

He was completely dumbfounded.