Chapter 232: Mutual Indifference

Chapter 232: Mutual Indifference

Lu Zheng chased after the carriage of the Huan Wang residence.

From a distance, he saw Lin Yunwan being assisted onto the carriage. With just one glance, he recognized that familiar figure.

"Yunwan..."

"Yunwan!"

Lu Zheng's horse stumbled on a stone as he focused on the distant carriage, failing to jump over it, resulting in his fall from the horse.

"Get up! Get up!"

Struggling to lift his horse, Lu Zheng realized its leg was broken, and it couldn't stand.

Abandoning the horse, he ran frantically.

The descent down the mountain made the carriage's progress swift.

The carriage from the Huan Wang residence soon vanished from his sight.

"Bang."

Lu Zheng punched a giant tree beside him, his knuckles bleeding.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, he reluctantly turned back to find his horse.

The Chang family's carriage passed by him without Mrs. Chang sparing him a glance.

Mrs. Chang's maid inquired, "Do you believe what the Lu family and that lady said, or Mrs. Chen's words?"

Mrs. Chang sighed, "Isn't it obvious?"

"I was initially intimidated by Mrs. Chen's status from Xingguo Duke's residence. But on reflection, what the other lady said makes more sense."

"It's possible the Lin family offended the Chen family, or what that young master Lu said is true."

The maid asked, "So what do you think, madam? Your daughter is about to meet the young master Lin. Is this a meeting or not?"

Mrs. Chang fell silent, deep in thought.

"She gritted her teeth, 'No more consideration!'"

"Lady Chang sighed, 'Even if the Xingguo Duke's mansion was lying, we have to treat it as the truth. Otherwise, if the Chen family wants to make life difficult for our lord in the future, even if the miss gets married, she won’t have good days ahead.'"

"Moreover..."

"She consoled herself, 'The Lu family and that young lady praised Lin Yunyi highly, but I doubt it.'"

"'He's only seventeen, how could he pass the provincial exams this year? That’s the provincial exam, not the child student exam! It’s common to see seventeen-year-old scholars, but seventeen-year-old juren? I, your mistress, haven’t seen many to this day.'"

"'Missing out isn’t a big loss.'"

"Yet her servant lamented, 'Young Master Lin of the Lin family has an excellent reputation. If the miss misses out on this good match...'"

Madam Chang, harboring a stroke of luck, said, "How could such a great match just fall into our laps? If he really was that desirable, he wouldn't be getting engaged at eighteen or nineteen."

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

Madam Chang stated, "My daughter must marry into a respectable family to live comfortably. As for the Lin family — having offended the Duke of Xingguo, their prospects are grim. But now, it's no concern of ours."

She made up her mind, "Once we return, I'll tell the matchmaker to cancel the meeting with the young master of the Lin family."

On her way back, Lin Yun Wan's carriage encountered Qi Lingheng's carriage.

The carriages on both sides came to a halt.

Qi Linghen got off his carriage and sat in Lin Yunwan's, smiling, "Luckily, I didn't miss you."

Lin Yunwan made room for him, saying, "If you can't catch up, then don't. What if you took the wrong road? Wouldn't that have been a wasted trip?"

"But here I am, just in time."

Qi Linghen took her hand, asking how her day at Chixiang Temple went.

"Did you meet Lady Chang and Lady Chen from the Xingguo Duke's residence? What did you think? Are you satisfied with Yunyi's marriage arrangement with the Chang family?"

Lin Yunwan recounted the events of her day.

She spoke indifferently, "The Chang family is indecisive and lacks discernment. If Yunyi himself is unsatisfied, he needn't marry into such a family."

Qi Linghen laughed, "Then why bother talking to them?"

Lin Yunwan, feeling helpless, said, "I couldn't just stand by and watch them slander Yunyi. If rumors spread, Yunyi's reputation would be even worse. When would he ever get married?"

Qi Linghen wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Lin Yunwan gently leaned into him.

"Yunyi is an excellent brother; he will also make a great husband in the future."

"'Yunwan, don’t blame yourself. Good marriages are worth waiting for.'"

"Lin Yunwan nodded."

"She went back and told Yunyi about everything, letting him make his own decision."

"Lin Yunyi, touching his nose, smiled and said, 'Elder sister, it's not really up to me to decide anymore.'"

"'How so?'"

"'The Chang family has already sent someone to say they no longer wish to consider the match with me.'"

"Lin Yunwan fell silent for a moment, then commented, 'They acted quite swiftly.'"

"Lin Yunyi said indifferently, 'The provincial exam is in two months, and frankly, I wasn’t really interested in the match either.'"

"'Great talents often mature late, and perhaps good marital matches come later too!'"

"He said playfully, 'Like you and brother-in-law, right?'"

"Qi Lingheng then chimed in, 'You just focus on preparing for your exams.' He patted Yunyi’s shoulder."

"After dinner, Lin Yunwan played the guqin. Her skills had grown rusty since giving birth to Qi Zaijun, but by the third piece, Lin Yunyi could already discern the improvement."

"'Elder sister, I didn’t expect you to become proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. I feel ashamed in comparison.'"

"Lin Yunwan stood up with a smile, 'Let me test you then, to see what progress you've made these past years.'"

"Lin Yunyi offered to compose a poem for Lin Yunwan to review."

"Cuiqin prepared the ink and paper, and Qi Lingheng's staff arrived, so he excused himself to the study."

"Lin Yunyi wrote a five-character quatrain."

"After reading it, Lin Yunwan said, 'You have improved a lot compared to a few years ago, but your calligraphy... still looks the same, seems like you haven’t devoted much effort to it.'"

"When it came to calligraphy, Lin Yunyi laughed, 'My handwriting is nothing special. Elder sister, you really should see Changgong’s calligraphy. His writing now...'"

"He stopped speaking midway."

"Lin Yunwan, quite curious, asked, 'How is his calligraphy now?'"

"Lin Yunyi fell silent for a moment, then said warmly, 'His clerical script is identical to yours, elder sister. However, he rarely shows it to others, usually writing in the Guange style at Ming Shan Academy.'"

"'I remember one day seeing his clerical script and thought it was you who had written it.'"

"Lin Yunwan, holding the five-character quatrain written by Lin Yunyi, suddenly fell silent."

"Over the years, she had deliberately avoided thinking about Changgong, but to say she never missed him would be untrue."

"After all, he was a child she had once cared for personally."