Chapter 231 Heavenly handsome Childes
He Danggui looked up at the 2 uninvited guests, and couldn’t help sighing that all the people of Meng’s Family were good-looking. From the Earl Baoding Meng Shan who was more than 50 years old to his sons, Meng Ying and Meng Xuan, they were all outstanding people. However, why didn’t they do their own things but came to her yard for a stroll?
Seeing that they were approaching, He Danggui stood up and told Chan Yi to make tea. She took down the silk handkerchief from her robe, and twisted it into a flower. Then she saluted them and said with a smile, “I have heard that you 2 childes have lived in Luo’s Mansion. I don’t expect that you come to the Tao Yao Yard today. Are you here to enjoy the peach blossom? Should I make a place for you?”
The 2 men walked in tandem to the stone table where He Danggui was sitting. Meng Ying lifted his robe and sat down, while Meng Xuan stood with his hands clasped behind his back. They were dressed in white round collar robes with same styles, but they had different temperament. Since Meng Xuan probably stayed with the army all the year round, he had the same rhythm in his leisure time and busy time. So, in the eyes of others, he was too strict in his leisure time. He could stand like a pine tree and sit like a bell. Besides, he was too relaxed in his busy time, as if he was confident to do everything.
Earl Baoding Meng Shan had 11 sons. 4 of them were legitimate sons, and 7 of them were the sons of the concubines. The two eldest sons were the sons of the concubines. The third son Meng Ying was the eldest legitimate son, and the seventh son Meng Xuan was the second legitimate son. Although He Danggui had never met any other childes of Meng’s Family, she could guess that Meng Xuan must be the most outstanding son of Earl Baoding. Compared with Meng Ying, Meng Xuan was more distinguished.
Chan Yi said before that many maids secretly evaluated that Meng Ying was more handsome than Meng Xuan. That was true. He Danggui looked at this young man in a long robe with embroidered edges of golden thread and chrysanthemum. He was the most handsome man that she had ever seen in her 2 lives, and he was full of masculinity without any smell of rouge.
But his bearing was a little bit worse than his younger brother Meng Xuan. Anyway, Meng Xuan’s eyes were bright and mild. People could know that Meng Xuan was a first-rate senior after seeing him, but could not know how powerful he was. Although Meng Ying had a pair of bright piercing eyes, he only gave He Danggui the impression of being uninhibited, which showed that his martial arts were limited. Of course, this was also the result of comparison with Meng Xuan. If he was compared with other childes, he could still be set off by contrast like the sun.
He Danggui thought that the men of the Meng’s Family were really outstanding. No wonder the women were not afraid of the Instructions of Meng’s Family and wanted to be their daughter-in-law one after another. She heard from Qing’er that many matchmakers went to the Meng’s Family, which could almost tread down the threshold of their house. And the criteria for the Meng’s Family to choose their daughter-in-law were also increasing day by day, which tested all kinds of knowledge. As long as someone could pass the test, maybe she had the power to become a female Jinshi.
While He Danggui was commenting on Meng Xuan and Meng Ying in her heart, they also looked at her face. Meng Ying looked at her silently for a while, then suddenly grinned, “Third Miss, you are not only beautiful, but also kind. I have seen 7 or 8 women who looks like you in a Lord’s mansion.”
When He Danggui heard this, she didn’t understand what he meant. Did Meng Ying know something so that he said such words to ridicule her? What he said “a Lord’s mansion” referred to the Lord Ning’s Mansion. She was in doubt. But when she saw Meng Ying’s beautiful face was facing her direction with a big yawn, this beautiful man’s image in her heart fell dramatically because of his extremely deformed face.
Meng Ying finished yawning, and accumulated tears in his eyes. He touched all over the body but could not find a handkerchief. All of a sudden, he stretched his long arm to the chest of He Danggui who was on the opposite side of the stone table. He impolitely took away the handkerchief on her button, wiped the tears and gave it back to her. He said thanks and praised, “Your handkerchief smells good. It smells like my brother’s handkerchief.” It was a low voice, and was a little bit silly like Xiaoyou. Was this his true appearance? Or was he defending himself and making a deceptive appearance?
He Danggui took the handkerchief and put it into her sleeve. At the same time, she looked up at Meng Xuan, but she could not read any useful information from his poker face. Looking at Meng Ying, who had been demoted from “immortal brother” to “silly brother”, she said with a smile, “I’ll ask the maid to make a pot of scented tea for you and bring you some dessert. Please enjoy the flowers.” Then she stood up and wanted to leave. Now everything was complicated. She had no spare time to play riddles with the 2 young masters.
Meng Ying immediately bounced up from his seat. He pressed her shoulder with his hand without hesitation and pushed her back to the seat. He smiled and said, “I see that you are in good spirits. You don’t look like ill. Since we all have the spare time today, let’s play 20 or 30 games of Go. Duke it out.”
He Danggui was not satisfied with Meng Ying’s unconventional behavior. Was he so unruly to strange women? When she heard the words like “spare time”, she was even beat his head with a club in her heart. He was free and had nothing to do, so he asked her to accompany him. And his words and deeds went too far. What did he want to do? He Danggui looked up at Meng Xuan and hoped that he could be normal and take this problem child to go to other place to have fun. Meng Xuan felt her line of sight, but his eyes were staring at a relief pattern on the stone table. Obviously, he didn’t want to have any eye contact with her.
He Danggui was angry in her heart. How dare Meng Xuan ignore her?
What made he feel sulk? She was embarrassed by the “bamboo forest incident” on that day, so she hid in the yard every day to avoid meeting Meng Xuan. She didn’t want to review the things she had done. But Meng Xuan brought his brother to Luo’s Mansion, and then lived next door to her. Now he came to her uninvited. If it was said that he didn’t appear purposely in front of her, she would not believe it. Now that he had taken the initiative to this point, it was obvious that he wanted to make up with her and become a master and apprentice again. Why did he assume airs and play a role of iceberg king? She was full of troubles, and he made her annoyed more. And that time in the bamboo forest, although it was her fault to accept his kiss, he was the one who took the initiative!
He Danggui pursed her lips and said to Meng Ying, “I had a fever a few days ago. It made me have a headache so that I can’t even remember how to play Go. I’m afraid I will spoil your interest, Childe Ying. After all, how dare I pretend to know? And if I remember correctly, your brother is a senior Go player. You don’t want to compete with a senior player, but you want to compete with me. You are really doing a trouble thing.”
Meng Ying propped his chin with both hands and looked at her face. He smiled and said, “What a clever girl! With your posture, I think you are a senior Go player. What’s more, Meng Xuan is full of praise for your Go skills. He said that you are the only genius he has ever seen in his life. You are born with the talent to play Go.”
“Oh?” He Danggui looked up at Meng Xuan who stood behind Meng Ying, and said confusedly, “I remember someone once said that there is no genius in this world. Genius pays a great effort and pays for dozens of times more than others. Childe Xuan, how can you suddenly admit that I am a talent? It really makes me surprised.” Meng Xuan didn’t look at her and regarded her as the air just now. Now she asked the question to him directly. He could not avoid answering it any more. What an unpredictable person! If Meng Xuan wanted to avoid her, why did he come to her and meet with her?
Unexpectedly, Meng Xuan didn’t say anything. Instead, Meng Ying answered for him, “Third Miss, you are too modest. What we mean is that even if others have genius, they are only improving by high-intensity training and hard work. Otherwise, they can’t become a talent. But there are some differences in playing Go. It needs to use tactics. The more careful the mind is, the more skillful the player is.”
Did she have the gift of using tactics? Was her mind careful? He Danggui smiled. The 2 man didn’t come to play Go with her at all, but came to quarrel with her.
This was really strange. Although she had offended Meng Xuan once, she had never met Third Childe Meng Ying. How could he always talk to her with an aggressive attitude? It was hard to imagine that Meng Xuan, who was young but mature, would tell the story about her and him to Meng Ying and ask Meng Ying for help. Meng Xuan was more than 30 years old actually. He should have been out of this childish stage for a long time.
Meng Ying raised his left eyebrow. He stared at He Danggui’s face and said aggressively, “Do you think my words are ridiculous? Do you have any other opinions? I’m all ears.”
“I am flattered.” He Danggui turned the white jade bracelet on her wrist and said calmly, “When it comes to playing Go, I am not proficient. But I have some acquaintance about it. I think there are 2 kinds of people in the world who can play Go well. The first kind of people is knowledgeable and can memorize 10 million of Go manuals and compositions. It’s true that if they have read a hundred times, they will be a Go master. Another kind of person is Meng Xuan who is standing behind you. He is a gifted Go player. Because he can keep himself freely and show no mood on his face. And his opponent can’t guess his mind. Therefore, he is the kind of person who is called ‘Go genius and born with talent’. As for me, I think I should be the first kind.”
Meng Ying smiled and said, “I’m so sorry I was wrong. The person who called you are a talent Go player is Lord Ning, not my brother Meng Xuan. Lord Ning not only praised you have superb Go skills but also said that you were the most perfect goddess in his mind, just like the goddess in the moon. After listening to his words, I only believed rare. But today I meet you, and I believe all. Anyway, Lord Ning really takes you as his goddess. He looks for women according to your standards and gives them the similar name like yours.”
When He Danggui heard this, she was anger and said with a sneer, “You are really joking. I live in Yangzhou city and grow up in my boudoir. I never meet a great man such as a Lord. And you, a Shizi of the Earl Mansion, are also a noble man for Luo’s Family. Although I am not familiar with Lord Ning, I know that his fief is in Daning. The north military is about thousands of miles away from here. In the past few years, I have never heard that the County Government in Yangzhou City set up a guard of honor to welcome any seignior. It can be seen that Lord Ning has never been to Yangzhou City. So, how could I earn his praise if he has never come to here and met me? What’s more, it’s the first time that I have met with you. You said many strange words that I can’t understand. Do you reveal yourself too much before we get closed?”
“Too much? How could you feel that?” Meng Ying looked at her and said, “If you enter Meng’s Family in the future, everyone will be very close. So, today I have to explain to you that I should say. Whether my words are strange or deceptive, whether you’re pretending to be confused or not, whether you are every body’s darling, and whether you twist others around your little finger, you and I are both well aware.”
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