Chapter 220: The Road to High Office 20 (Correction)

Chapter 220: The Road to High Office 20 (Correction)

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me again, shame on me.

Xu Zeping looked at Cheng Ge Er's triumphant expression and felt both amused and exasperated. He could only manage to say with a dry laugh, "You really don't know the meaning of shame, do you?"

Just as he was about to stand up, Cheng Ge Er suddenly grabbed his collar. Xu Zeping lost his balance and fell forward, narrowly avoiding landing on Cheng Ge Er's face by catching himself with his hands on the small daybed.

Their breaths mingled in the close distance.

As their eyes locked, emotions stirred between them.

The sweet scent of peach blossoms made Xu Zeping's heart flutter. He quickly got up.

But Cheng Ge Er, undeterred, wrapped his arms around Xu Zeping's neck. His warm lips brushed against Xu Zeping's ear as he murmured, "Pingping, didn't you already know I have no shame?"

Xu Zeping's ear was his sensitive spot, and this touch caused an immediate reaction.

"Brother Cheng, do you really want me to take you right now?" Xu Zeping couldn't control himself and wrapped his arms around him, his hoarse voice filled with restrained frustration. This made Cheng Ge Er's heart skip a beat.

Their legs and bellies were touching, and Cheng Ge Er could feel the change in the man above him.

His heart raced in fear, and he curled up in Xu Zeping's arms like a guilty kitten.

It took Xu Zeping a good while to calm the fire in his heart. Looking down at the young master's twinkling eyes, he said resentfully, "If you ever act like that again, I won't go easy on you."

"Pingping, I know I messed up." Cheng Ge Er climbed up Xu Zeping's neck with both hands, obediently coaxing, "Don't be angry, okay?"

"If you sit properly, I won't be angry."

Xu Zeping had originally planned to share the joy of his success in the imperial examination with Cheng Ge Er. Although Cheng Ge Er already knew, it wasn't the same as hearing it directly from him.

However, after the commotion with Cheng Ge Er, he no longer wanted to share that news.

Seeing the young master sit properly, Xu Zeping looked at him with joy in his eyes. "Cheng Ge Er, Father and Mother are already working with the matchmaker on the engagement details."

Cheng Ge Er's eyes filled with happiness, and he couldn't help but want to pounce on him. But under Xu Zeping's gaze, he could only sit obediently, his voice uncontrollably cheerful. "Really?"

"Really." Xu Zeping reached out and smoothed the errant hair on Cheng Ge Er's head. "If everything goes well, the date will be set in mid-October. Mother has consulted the calendar, and the tenth day of October is a lucky day for the engagement."

As Xu Zeping spoke, Cheng Ge Er noticed the difficulty in his voice and anxiously asked, "Pingping, is there something inappropriate?"

Xu Zeping lowered his eyes and voiced his concern.

At the teahouse, Xu Songshan had explained the process to Xu Zeping. Whether following the customs for a husband-in-law or the traditional three books and six etiquettes, the betrothal documents and gifts were all in the Xu Family's hands. Xu Zeping wasn't satisfied with either option.

In the Great Jing Dynasty, a husband-in-law didn't hold much status. Many saw them as little more than laborers and, when grown, they were simply married off.

As for the betrothal documents and gifts being in the Xu Family's hands, it would not look good if word got out. People might start spreading rumors that the Xu Family is acting improperly or disrespecting tradition.

After much thought, Xu Zeping came up with a compromise.

Since they would live separately after the engagement, Xu Zeping decided to have Cheng Ge Er move into the small courtyard on West Lin Street early. The betrothal documents could be delivered there, and he could be welcomed from that courtyard back to the Xu Family.

Once they were married, they could move in together right away.

West Lin Street is predominantly inhabited by scholarly families, and the neighborhood is quite safe.

Moreover, the Liu family and the Ding family also reside on West Lin Street, just a short distance apart.

When the time comes, we’ll invite Madam Jiang to oversee things and have Hualan stay in the courtyard to keep Cheng Ge Er company. We can also arrange for some maidservants to go there as well.

With these arrangements, you don’t need to worry about Cheng Ge Er’s safety while he’s living there.

Xu Zeping had considered moving in himself, but Xu Songshan pointed out that the house now belongs to Cheng Ge Er. "Since you two aren’t married yet, it wouldn’t be proper if you moved in first."

Xu Zeping wasn’t worried about being seen as dependent… but Xu Songshan couldn’t stomach it!

For all his openness, deep down, he was still a traditional patriarch.

"When am I moving in?" Cheng Ge Er asked with a smile in his eyes. To him, these were minor concerns. As long as he could marry Zeping, he could overcome anything.

Xu Zeping couldn’t help but take his hand, the calloused pads of his fingers rubbing against Cheng Ge Er’s hand, making Cheng Ge Er’s heart flutter.

"Cheng Ge Er."

The words were on the tip of Xu Zeping’s tongue, but he didn’t know how to start. Should he talk about his reluctance?

Before his parents agreed, he had been worried they might not.

Now that they had agreed and set a date, he was worried about when his elder brother would marry.

Without the elder brother marrying, even if he and Cheng Ge Er were informally betrothed, they couldn’t hold the formal ceremony. The uncertainty of when it would happen was what frustrated him the most.

His mother was right—his elder brother wasn’t in any rush. He couldn’t just pick someone at random for his brother to marry, could he?

Thinking of this… a person suddenly came to mind—Su Yuheng!

In that novel, Su Yuheng was his brother’s destined partner.

A light suddenly dawned on him. His brother wasn’t marrying because he was waiting for his previous life’s husband!

With this realization, his reluctance became a little lighter.

He didn’t know his brother’s path in this life, but he remembered that his brother would be "captured as a groom" after the imperial examination. His brother was about to take the spring examinations…

He would marry by next year at the latest!

Having sorted out the timeline, Xu Zeping looked brightly at Cheng Ge Er. "At the latest, in the nineteenth year of Sheng'an... Cheng Ge Er, if I pass the imperial examination during the spring examinations, I will come back and we will have the grand ceremony, okay?"

"Okay." Cheng Ge Er withdrew his hand and placed it on Xu Zeping’s palm, giving a faint smile. "It’s settled, shouldn’t we seal it with a stamp?"

Looking at the fair back of Cheng Ge Er’s hand on his palm, Xu Zeping’s mind flashed back to the time when he had drunkenly taken liberties with Cheng Ge Er.

Under the moonlight, the drunken and frenzied youth had pulled Cheng Ge Er's hand to his mouth and mumbled about sealing it with a stamp.

"Alright, a stamp."

Xu Zeping lowered his head and reverently kissed Cheng Ge Er’s ring finger.

His hoarse voice made Cheng Ge Er’s cheeks heat up, feeling light-headed.

The time that followed felt like an old fan in Xu Zeping’s memory, each turn representing a day.

On the twenty-fifth of September, the courtyard on West Lin Street was ready. Since there was no male head of the household, no plaque was hung, but the sound of gongs and drums made the neighbors aware that new owners were moving in.

On September 27th, on a day chosen by Xu Linshi, Cheng Ge'er moved into the new house with Lady Jiang.

At first, the people of Qingxi Town were quite puzzled. Why would the Xu Family’s cousin, who was living there comfortably, suddenly move?

It wasn’t until Xu Linshi arrived at the house with a matchmaker that they learned the Xu Family’s cousin was going to discuss marriage with the youngest legitimate son of the Xu Family. This house was part of the dowry prepared by the late matriarch of the Xu Family for her nephew as a gift for his marriage.

Since there was no male head of the household, Xu Zeping couldn’t accompany Xu Linshi to visit. He could only wait anxiously at home.

On September 30th, Xu Linshi formally entered the small courtyard with silk fabrics, headpieces, and a wild goose as betrothal gifts to Lady Jiang.

Xu Zeping had already prepared the red silk and the elaborate gold headpieces while he was in Changxiang Prefecture.

He had long harbored the intention of marrying Cheng Ge'er, so he didn’t want his mother and family to spend money on these things.

As for the wild goose, he had personally shot it down, a traditional symbol of loyalty in marriage.

In the Great Jing Dynasty, a full set of bridal accessories for a groom wasn’t complicated: one hairpin, one hair clasp, one necklace, two earrings, two bracelets, and two rings.

Excluding aristocratic families, it was rare to have a complete set. Many would be lucky to have a hairpin, two earrings, and two bracelets.

But Xu Zeping had prepared a complete set, which shocked Xu Linshi. She realized how deeply her youngest son was in love, and she was glad she hadn’t opposed this marriage.

Cheng Ge'er vaguely remembered his adoptive mother having many headpieces—jade, pearl, and gold-inlaid ones. But none of them compared to the set before him now.

A complete set of “Four Seasons Peace and Good Fortune Bat” headpieces, symbolizing good luck and prosperity throughout the year.

Cheng Ge'er couldn’t help but feel extremely sweet as he looked at the matchmaker, who couldn’t contain her envy. He would marry Xu Zeping wearing this headpiece.

On October 5th, Xu Linshi once again invited the matchmaker to inquire about Cheng Ge'er’s name and birth date...

Although Xu Linshi had already had someone check their horoscopes for compatibility, this step in the process couldn’t be skipped.

Upon receiving the result of a perfect match and harmonious union, Xu Zeping smiled so widely that his mouth couldn’t close.

This made Xu Zeli especially envious. With the second and third sons, and the youngest all having partners, Xu Zeli felt even more lonely.

He was so frustrated that he didn’t want to come out anymore, spending whole days in his study reviewing books.

Of course, when the youngest came to him, he couldn’t help but give him a few playful jabs.

After the inquiry of names, it was time for the third ritual: the announcement of the engagement.

The ceremony involved exchanging the birth records of the bride and groom.

The date for the ceremony had been set for October 10th, so both Cheng Ge'er and Xu Zeping waited patiently at home.

During this waiting period, Xu Zeping had also decided what kind of shop to open.

His parents had mentioned setting up a shop for him, but he hadn’t thought of what kind of shop to open until he received a note from Cheng Ge'er the previous day. In the note, Cheng Ge'er wrote that he would sew wedding clothes for him.

Following his mother’s wishes, after their engagement, they didn’t plan to have Cheng Ge'er involved in the work at the embroidery workshop to avoid suspicion.

The embroidery workshop would eventually go to his older brother.

Cheng Ge'er was clever and skillful, and his embroidery work was top-notch.

In the past, he had been busy with work in the embroidery workshop. If he were to stay idle at home in the future, he would surely be bored. Xu Zeping thought it would be better to open a tailor’s shop and let Cheng Ge'er manage it to pass the time, so he wouldn’t be bored.

Moreover, he still had the imperial examinations to focus on, which were crucial for advancing in government service. If Cheng Ge'er didn’t have something to keep him busy, he would become bored.

Xu Zeping acted promptly after making his decision and discussed it with Xu Linshi, who agreed after a day’s consideration.

In the seventeenth year of Sheng’an, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Xu Linshi went to the courtyard with the betrothal papers.

After exchanging the betrothal papers, Cheng Ge Er prepared a meal for Xu Linshi as part of the Naji ceremony (a traditional ritual marking the acceptance of the marriage proposal).

As Cheng Ge Er saw her off at the gate, Xu Linshi paused, gently patting his shoulder. Looking at the well-behaved little brother, she said affectionately, “Cheng Ge Er, I feel bad about this for you.”

Cheng Ge Er shook his head, “No, Auntie, it’s fine.”

“Once the youngest child finishes the spring examinations (a civil service exam held in the capital) in Shang Jing, I’ll come get you and bring you back home.”

“Alright.”