Chapter 47.3

Shen Huyang looked indifferent, “That’s why Third Brother started looking around for a scholar who is willing to join him. If it wasn’t for the loyalty of that person Grandfather left you, I wouldn’t have known that Third Brother was actually eyeing my marriage.”

Speaking of that, the hint of relaxation on Shen Hu’an’s face also completely disappeared, “I’m the one who got Sister into trouble. If it wasn’t for me…”

“Even if it weren’t for you, I still wouldn’t have been able to make my own decisions about my marriage.”

“We’ll just leave it up to fate…”

Shen Huyang looked down at the people who were talking and laughing together, “I’ve been watching a lot of Jurens these days, and they’re pretty much the same… Since Father Emperor decided to look for a son-in-law for me this time, it’s the same no matter who I choose.”

“It’s just a matter of mutual respect. Either way, with my status as a princess, even if I don’t have a good relationship with my husband, I would still be able to live a comfortable life.”

She was born as a princess without the protection of a biological mother, and although she had a younger brother, it only made it harder and harder for the two of them to live in the palace.

Shen Huyang was not favored and neither was her younger brother. She was fine; being a woman, at most, she would only be subjected to the ridicule and sarcasm of the other princesses. But her younger brother was different. He was a prince; as soon as he was born, he was a thorn in some people’s side. Losing their mother’s protection didn’t lead to people showing them mercy, instead, they became more and more unscrupulous.

They grew up, alive and well, but if they didn’t start to fight back, based on the nature of their brothers, no matter who gets the throne in the future, they wouldn’t be able to live well. So why not fight?

The expression of the man on the other side, who still had some youthfulness in his features, became obscure, “I’m the one who got Sister involved.”

Because he was a prince, others wouldn’t let his sister marry a husband with a good family background.

Thus this time, the choices for Shen Huyang’s husband were very few. They had almost exhausted all the connections left by their maternal grandfather, but this time, none of the jurens with good grades and were of appropriate age managed to enter the eyes of the two.

They were born as a prince and a princess, so even if they were bullied, the education they received made it difficult for them to take interest in an average person.

Just thinking that his wonderful sister, because of him, could only marry a random person, he clenched his fists tightly as determination flashed in his eyes.

He must get the throne and protect his sister’s health for the rest of her life!

Someone hurriedly came upstairs and approached the two, “Fifth Highness, someone has come with a letter.”

Shen Huyang saw the anxiety on the guard’s face and told her brother, “Go to the private room. I’ll stay and look around a bit more.”

“Okay. I’m going to go in first, you guys, stay and protect the princess.”

“Yes!”

Seeing her younger brother leave, Shen Huyang’s expression was somber as well.

She was a woman and had lived in the palace since she was born. How could she not have imagined, if she gets married in the future, what her husband would look like, what kind of conduct would he have, whether he was really talented, or whether he was willing to treat her well?

But she just didn’t expect to be married off in such a hurry.

Right now, the imperial rankings haven’t been published yet, but during this time, her younger brother has already searched out those Jurens who scored good results with the connections left by their maternal grandfather. There were also some good ones, but generally, they had already married early while the remaining ones… Though there were no problems with their academic knowledge, everything else was very mediocre.

Shen Huyang sighed, a bitter smile hung on the corner of her mouth.

What else do you expect? She and her younger brother didn’t have their biological mother anymore, so they were lucky enough to have grown up safely. Asking for too much would only add to their sadness.

She was about to turn around and leave when two young gentlemen walked in.

***

“Brother Hu!”

Hu Chuan was talking with some people when suddenly there was a cordial call from behind. The voice sounded familiar yet very strange and held a hint of excitement and affection.

Feeling strange, he turned, recalling that he didn’t have any particularly close friends who he hadn’t seen in a while, and he met Zhao He’s smiling face.

“Brother Hu! Long time no see, long time no see!!”

Zhao He disregarded Hu Chuan’s expression, which was like he had seen a ghost, stepped forward and greeted him.

Hu Chuan stiffened for a while, then slowly responded, his voice had become a bit obscure, “Brother Zhao…”

What was this Zhao He doing? He used to run away once he(ZH) saw him(HC)! So why was he so attentive and can come up to him now!?

Could it be that he was going to become like that treacherous villain Lin Shiheng, and they were teaming up to deal with him again?

As soon as he thought of this, the blue-clothed juren who followed behind Zhao He slowly stepped forward with a gentle smile and performed a slow, methodical salute, “Brother Hu, it’s been a long time since we last met.”

Hu Chuan, who had just finished getting up after returning Zhao He’s salute: “…”

What haven’t seen each other for a long time?! They clearly met yesterday!

These two people! They really could lie with their eyes open!!

No matter how much resistance and reluctance he had in his heart towards returning the salute, he was in the full view of the public, so Hu Chuan still gritted his teeth and bent over slightly in return while being extremely wary of these two people.

“Haven’t Brother Zhao and Brother Lin always been reluctant to attend such gatherings? How is it that both of you are also here today? I wonder which brother managed to invite you two?”

Hu Chuan also hasn’t heard from anyone that they had invited them.

To have come uninvited, if the word spread…

“Brother Lin! Brother Zhao!”

One of the organizers of the get-together happened to come over. When he saw the two people, he had a face full of surprise, and he hurriedly came forward to salute, “I had thought that Brother Lin would be weak after the exam and would need to recuperate, while Brother Zhao would need to take care of Brother Lin, so I didn’t send you two an invitation… Unexpectedly, to find the two of you here… If I had known this, I would have sent the invitations. This is my fault.”

“Where’s the fault in that? It was Brother, you, who was being considerate.”

Lin Shiheng bowed his head slightly and coughed twice with a pale face, then he looked up as if there were starlight in his eyes and smiled gently, “It is true that I am not feeling quite well, but I was just thinking about how Brother Hu vomited some blood yesterday and I couldn’t rest assured, so I asked Brother Zhao to bring me here to take a look.”

“So that’s the case! I didn’t expect Brother Hu and Brother Lin to have such a good relationship! Then I won’t bother the three of you.”

After the host had left, Zhao He smiled at Hu Chuan, who had a gloomy face but could only put on an ‘I’m good, everyone’s good’ expression because there were so many people around.

“Brother Fang was mistaken, I’m the one who has a good relationship with Brother Hu. After all, we studied in the same county, and now, we are both testing in the same examination season. If we were to speak about ‘fate’, naturally, it would describe the two of us best.”

Having said this, he raised his eyebrows at Hu Chuan who was sporting a stiff expression, “Brother Hu, don’t you think so?”

Hu Chuan: “…”

He took a deep breath and tried to keep himself from gnashing his teeth, “Naturally, of course.”

“That’s good, I thought that Brother Hu’s expression was a sign that we were not welcome… Come, Brother Lin, sit down quickly! Brother Hu has invited us to sit with him!”

Hu Chuan, who did not extend an invitation: “…”

Just now, several Jurens had already sent their greetings and left, but at the moment, there were still scholars coming and going all around. So with this many pairs of eyes watching, he really couldn’t directly try to get rid of them.

It was fine if Zhao He just planned to sit down, but his mouth kept on chattering, “Brother Hu, I heard you vomited blood yesterday? I was very worried after hearing that and couldn’t bear to wait before coming to see you right away. By the way, from what Brother Lin told me, I heard you liked the hotpot base from my house? In that case, I’ve brought some for you today.”

He took out a small box and handed it to Hu Chuan.

“Brother Hu, this is unique to my house. And you’ve already seen it before during the test, so naturally,click you know how delicious it tastes, don’t you?”

Hu Chuan looked at the little box on the table with a sullen face, and immediately remembered how he had been miserably tortured by its fragrance during the exam.

As he was struggling to write, the fragrance wafted by his nose.

As he was eating rice congee, the fragrance wafted by his nose.

As he was sleeping, it was still that same fragrance!

Every time he opened his eyes and drooled because of the aroma in his sleep, he would think about how nice it would have been if he had accepted it when Lin Shiheng said he wanted to gift it to him. Even within his dreams, he was surrounded by the aroma, night after night.

However, although he could smell it every day, he just wasn’t able to eat it.

Thinking of those days of holding back, Hu Chuan clenched his fists in a death grip, while next to his ears, Zhao He asked him extremely affectionately again, “Brother Hu, you haven’t answered me yet. Yes or no?”

Hu Chuan gritted his teeth, “Yes.”

“That’s great. Here, put it away. We’re classmates, so it’s only right that we look after each other.”

Damn you, classmate!!

Hu Chuan endured so much anger that he had to take a few vigorous gasps. Zhao He quickly y leaned over with concern, “Brother Hu, why do you look so pale? You’re not going to vomit blood again, are you? Quick, quick, I’ll pour you a cup of tea to suppress it!”

“I’ll be fine after a bit.”

Lin Shiheng smiled and lowered his eyes slightly. He picked up the teapot with a pair of white hands. First, he moved the teacup forward, then aligned the teapot’s spout and slowly poured out a cup of tea.

“Brother Hu, please.”

Hu Chuan stared at him, this was the exact same pose the other made when he moved the bowl of soup to make him hungry during the middle of the exam. Hu Chuan’s chest choked with a fierce tightness.

He stiffly picked up the cup.

“Many thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Lin Shiheng looked up and smiled at him.

This landed in Shen Huyang’s eyes, who was watching them from above, and she was slightly startled.

He really was a pure and innocent gentleman.