Chapter 345: Chapter 138: Banquet
On the day the Lord Prefect held a banquet for all the new Scholars, the weather was clear and bright. There wasn’t a cloud in sight, and the sky was as blue as a fine gemstone.
In a small courtyard home in the Prefecture, Chen Wanqing was carefully smoothing the wrinkles on Zhao Jing’s clothes.
She stepped back a little to look at the young man before her, a dazed expression in her eyes.
’It has only been half a year,’ she thought, ’but Zhao Jing seems to have grown so much.’
Now, his brow was deep-set and strong, the lines of his features sharp and distinct. He seemed to have shot up in height, and even his shoulders were broader than before.
He was such a dashing young man; a single glance was enough to captivate the heart.
Chen Wanqing averted her gaze and said to Zhao Jing, "You seem to have gotten taller again. I’ll buy you a couple of new sets of clothes later."
"Store-bought clothes don’t fit right. I want the ones you make for me, Wanqing."
"I’d love to make them for you myself, but I’m afraid I’ll be too busy to find the time once I get back."
"Then wait until you have some free time, Wanqing. Whenever you can make them is fine. I’m in no rush to wear them."
A TAP-TAP-TAP sounded on the window, and De’an’s voice came from outside.
"Are you two ever going to finish? I heard you two talking in there an hour ago, and you still haven’t come out. Does it really take that long to get dressed? Sis, we’re going to a banquet, not a matchmaking session."
Zhao Jing chuckled, but Chen Wanqing said with a straight face, "It’d be great if you were willing to go to a matchmaking session. Too bad. You’re clearly two or three months older than Jing, yet you’re still a bachelor."
"Sis, that’s a personal attack! I already told Mom and Dad that I’m going to establish my career before starting a family. I had to at least wait until after I passed the Scholar exam..."
"Well, you have your Scholar title now. Does that mean Mom can start arranging matchmaking meetings for you? Fine, I’ll tell her that’s what you want when I see her."
De’an was speechless. "Sis, don’t change the subject. We were talking about you and Jing, so why did you bring me into it?"
As De’an was speaking, Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing came out of the room together.
De’an stood by the window and watched as the door curtain was lifted and the two of them walked out side by side.
Jing was wearing a periwinkle robe today, cinched at the waist with a palm-width belt. His features were relaxed and handsome, giving him a refined and elegant air. He was tall with long legs and a trim, powerful waist—he really looked the part. Anyone who didn’t know better might mistake him for a young master from some wealthy, noble family.
His sister, meanwhile, was dressed in a goose-yellow spring blouse. The bright color made her pretty features look even more gentle. Her eyes were like a clear spring on a snow-capped mountain—so lively and graceful you couldn’t help but look at them again and again.
The talented man and the beautiful woman truly made a perfect match. De’an couldn’t help but let out a loud whistle.
"Not only is Jing’s scholarship impressive, but he’s also top-tier in the looks department. I guess he’s barely good enough to be with my sister."
Hearing this, Zhao Jing couldn’t help but smile. "If I didn’t have one or two good qualities, I wouldn’t have dared to ask for your sister’s hand in marriage back then."
"Tsk, so you admit it! I knew you were up to no good, having designs on my sister from the very beginning."
The two bantered for a few more moments, but seeing it was getting late, they started to head out.
Chen Wanqing saw them off and closed the main gate behind them.
Because they had both become Scholars—and Zhao Jing had even effortlessly achieved the Lesser Triple Crown—the two of them had become quite famous in their alleyway.
Most of the nearby courtyard homes were rented out, and the tenants were mostly candidates who had come for the examinations.
Before, these people didn’t know them and had no excuse to visit, but now that they’d heard the good news, they all came knocking under the pretext of offering congratulations.
In reality, however, while some offered genuine well-wishes, others wanted to take the opportunity to ask for the secret to achieving the Lesser Triple Crown. Many simply came to ask for academic guidance, and of course, there was no shortage of people trying to build connections.
Even local residents from the neighborhood brought their children over to soak up some of the good fortune.
The constant stream of people coming and going, sometimes not stopping even late into the night, was a great source of frustration for Chen Wanqing.
So, while Zhao Jing and De’an were out for the banquet today, she took the opportunity to bolt the courtyard gate from the inside. If anyone knocked, she would just pretend she couldn’t hear and use the quiet to catch up on sleep.
De’an and Zhao Jing walked out of the lane under the golden morning sun. Chen Wanqing watched their backs disappear at the end of the alley, then decisively shut the gate and went back inside to catch up on her sleep.
Alone in the house with the gate bolted, Chen Wanqing took off her outer shirt and skirt and climbed into bed.
As she lifted a leg, she seemed to pull something down there and couldn’t help but gasp.
She looked down at her body and saw that her fair skin was covered in a patchwork of hickeys and love bites. Accompanied by bluish-purple bruises, it wasn’t hard to imagine how intense the previous night’s "battle" had been.
