Marrying The Imperial Elder Chapter 53

Young and blessed with a healthy appetite, Zhen Tingyun finished eating before long.

With breakfast over and nothing else to do, she simply remained seated, resting her chin on her hand as she quietly watched Fu Changxi eat.

Given someone of Fu Changxi’s status, he had been the center of attention since birth and had long grown accustomed to being watched. Even now, at imperial banquets, his seat ranked immediately below the Emperor’s. It could be said that he was one of the focal points of everyone’s attention. Yet he could still eat his meals calmly and unhurriedly beneath countless pairs of eyes.

Oddly enough, however…

Being stared at by Zhen Tingyun alone made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

After a pause, he simply set down his porridge bowl. Holding the spoon between his fingers, he absentmindedly stirred it around before casually asking, “Is there something else you wanted to talk to me about?”

Zhen Tingyun blinked. Her apricot-shaped eyes were large and bright, their black-and-white clarity making her look both obedient and innocent.

Once again, Fu Changxi’s hand began itching with the urge to pat her head.

At that very moment, Zhen Tingyun finally spoke. “Teacher, when are we going to hold the disciple acceptance ceremony?”

Her voice was crisp and sweet, carrying the unique freshness of a young girl.

It was exceedingly pleasant to hear.

Yet the instant the words left her mouth, there came a sharp clink.

Clang.

It was the sound of a spoon striking the side of a porcelain bowl.

Fu Changxi’s fingers were long and powerful.

At this moment, however, they had tightened slightly.

Because he had unconsciously gripped the spoon too hard, the pads of his fingers had turned faintly white, making the joints stand out distinctly.

Hearing the sound, Zhen Tingyun looked at him, slightly puzzled, her brows knitting together.

Fu Changxi’s expression remained perfectly calm.

He leisurely scooped up another spoonful of hot porridge and drank two more mouthfuls before asking, as though nothing had happened, “What made you suddenly think of that?”

Zhen Tingyun trusted him completely and naturally had no intention of hiding anything.

She explained openly, “Madam Chu told me it’d be best to complete the disciple acceptance ceremony before I enter the academy. I thought that no matter what, I should first become your formal disciple before holding the ceremony with Madam Chu.”

It was an entirely reasonable suggestion.

Putting everything else aside, Fu Changxi was actually rather pleased that she instinctively placed him first.

However…

Just as the words of agreement reached his lips, an indescribable feeling of foreboding suddenly arose within him.

Someone like him, who had spent years on the battlefield, surviving countless brushes with death, had developed an instinct for grasping even the faintest premonitions.

So he immediately swallowed the words he had been about to say.

Pressing his lips together, he changed his answer. “It’s fine. I still have some matters that haven’t been dealt with. They may end up involving you as well, so I’m afraid we won’t be able to hold any disciple acceptance ceremony for quite some time. There’s no need to worry too much about which comes first.”

Secretly, Zhen Tingyun grumbled to herself.

You?

You’re the very person who would lecture me for half the day about respecting one’s teacher if I failed to hand you a cup of hot tea first.

How in the world are you the one saying, ‘There’s no need to worry about which comes first’?

Even so, she was ultimately biased in favor of her own teacher. Since he had said so, she simply agreed.

Moreover, his words reminded her of the very first time they had met, how badly wounded he had been then. 

Then she thought about how lavishly he had been living ever since arriving in the capital.

He had a grand residence.

He had guards.

He ate well, dressed well…

He could even give her an entire chest filled with jewels and priceless paintings.

The contrast was simply too great.

There had to be something going on.

Although she knew it wasn’t really her place to ask, the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became.

She was genuinely worried about her teacher.

Gathering her courage, she cautiously asked, “Teacher… is what you’re doing now especially dangerous?”

The more Zhen Tingyun thought about it, the more frightened she became. At the same time, she worried even more for him.

She had heard that the Regent had been granted his fief while still very young, that he was decisive and ruthless, with a heart of iron forged upon countless battlefields.

A man like that was surely also deep and calculating.

His heart must already be as black as ink.

Now he had given her teacher a residence, expensive gifts…

He couldn’t possibly have good intentions.

Most likely, he expected her teacher to risk his life in return.

Then she remembered the first time she had met Fu Changxi… His entire body had been covered in wounds.

The more she frightened herself with these thoughts, the paler her little face became.

In a tiny voice, she pleaded, “Teacher… why don’t you stop doing those things? What if something happens to you?”

Fu Changxi knew perfectly well that she had misunderstood. But her misunderstanding was based on the belief that he was merely “someone serving at the Regent’s side.” He could hardly tell her his true identity outright, could he?

Besides, seeing her look so pitifully worried for him, he felt as though his old heart had been soaking in warm water, softened completely. For a moment, his throat tightened and he could not speak at all.

After quite a while, he finally composed himself and gently reassured her. “It’s all right. What I’m doing isn’t actually that dangerous. When I said ‘there are still some matters left unresolved,’ I meant that there are still things I can’t remember yet. And with the overall situation not fully settled, I naturally feel somewhat uneasy.”

Zhen Tingyun was not entirely convinced and looked at him suspiciously.

Fu Changxi could only sigh. “Can’t you have a little more confidence in your own teacher?”

Afraid she might continue imagining things, or keep questioning him, he raised a hand to pour himself a cup of hot tea to soothe his throat, then deliberately changed the subject.

“Things between you and your family have become like this. Have you thought about what you’ll do in the future?” After a pause, he added, “You may be able to live at the Women’s Academy for now, but the academy only lasts three years. You can’t stay there for the rest of your life.”

Naturally, Zhen Tingyun had already made plans of her own. “Three years at the academy means I’ll be seventeen by then. I’ll tidy myself up and get married. Why would I still bother dealing with the people and affairs at home?”

Fu Changxi had just lifted his teacup to drink.

Hearing those words as the hot tea entered his mouth, he very nearly spat it out. Even so, he was still choked by the tea and began coughing, a flush rising across his pale cheeks.

Seeing this, Zhen Tingyun hurriedly stood up from her seat and patted his back to help him catch his breath. “Honestly, Teacher, how can you choke just from drinking tea…”

After finally stopping his coughing, Fu Changxi looked up at her. His gaze was deep, carrying an emotion difficult to name. “How old are you now? And you’re already thinking about getting married?”

Zhen Tingyun took the matter very calmly. There was none of the shyness or embarrassment one might expect from a young girl. “Girls are supposed to marry once they come of age. Except for students attending the Women’s Academy, girls in the countryside often marry at fourteen or fifteen. If I hadn’t passed the academy examination this year, then once I reached my coming-of-age ceremony next year, my mother would already be thinking about finding a marriage match for me.”

As she spoke, she could not help remembering the dream she had before coming to the capital.

In that dream, Zhen Yiyun was extraordinarily beautiful, so beautiful that countless young gentlemen in the capital were captivated by her. In the end, to everyone’s surprise, she married into Yan Wang’s household and became the Yan Wang Shizi Consort.

Meanwhile, the dream’s Zhen Tingyun failed at everything. Because of Zhen Yiyun, her reputation was ruined; her parents came to dislike her; almost no one truly wanted her. The few proposals that came were mostly because of Zhen Yiyun or the Zhen family, from awkward, middling households, or from widowers seeking a second wife.

Fortunately, Father Zhen and Madam Pei cared greatly about appearances, so they would never have married her off carelessly. Instead, they had planned to send her back to her hometown and let the clan elders find her some suitable husband, allowing her to muddle through the rest of her life that way.

Thinking of that dream’s ending, Zhen Tingyun could not help sighing deeply. “Actually, one reason I’ve worked so hard to get into the Women’s Academy is that I hoped standing a little higher would give me more choices. Then maybe I could find myself a good marriage and live the rest of my life peacefully.”

Fu Changxi was almost angered to death by those words. Had he spent all that effort teaching her, guiding her, helping her pass the academy examination… only so she could choose a better husband and marry herself off?!

He inhaled, exhaled, inhaled, exhaled, trying to suppress the frustration rising in his chest. In the end, he simply could not quite contain it. Grinding his teeth, he forced out the question: “A good marriage? Then what sort of husband do you intend to choose?”

Zhen Tingyun heard the question and thought nothing strange of it.

After all, teachers sometimes acted as matchmakers. Her own parents were an example: a teacher had admired a student and married his beloved daughter to him, creating the marriage between Father Zhen and Madam Pei.

Thinking that Fu Changxi knew many people and might genuinely know someone suitable, she cautiously asked, “Then… may I tell you?”

Fu Changxi kept a cold expression that revealed nothing. “Mm.”

So Zhen Tingyun answered frankly. “I’m not looking for some grand noble family. An ordinary, respectable household would be enough. First, I care about appearance and character. He doesn’t have to be some brilliant young prodigy; as long as he looks proper and pleasant enough, that’s fine. The important thing is that his character is good.”

“Second, his family should have upright family values. If the household is simple and he doesn’t keep maidservants or concubines, that would be even better. As for everything else, Teacher, I’ll leave it to your judgment.”

Her requirements truly were not high.

She asked for neither wealth nor status, and she did not even insist that he hold an official degree.

Yet the more Fu Changxi listened, the more stifled he felt.

Waving a hand, he brushed the topic aside. “I’ll keep an eye out for someone suitable.”

Having shared so many thoughts she normally could not tell anyone else, Zhen Tingyun felt much lighter inside, and the smile on her face grew even brighter.

That afternoon, she even pestered Fu Changxi into teaching her qin for a while. The two took turns accompanying each other with qin and xiao, occasionally flipping through and memorizing music scores. The time passed remarkably quickly.

Only at dusk, when she noticed the sky growing late, did Zhen Tingyun reluctantly rise to leave.

Fu Changxi escorted her to the carriage. Only after it had disappeared into the distance did he turn and walk back inside.

With no one else around, he paced slowly through the courtyard, unable to stop thinking about the two conditions she had mentioned.

“First, appearance and character. He doesn’t have to be exceptional, just proper and pleasant to look at. The important thing is that his character is good.”

She was his only female student. He certainly couldn’t find her some crooked, ugly fellow. The man had to be handsome and of good character.

“Second, the family must have proper values. If the household is simple and he has no maidservants or concubines, that would be even better.”

Those men who kept maidservants or concubines before even taking a wife were absolutely unacceptable.

A man who did not know how to conduct himself properly clearly lacked self-control. If he could not even restrain himself in such matters, what great things could he possibly accomplish later?

Of course he could not marry his precious student to someone like that.

Speaking of which…

If the man took concubines after marrying his precious student, that definitely wouldn’t do either.

No, it would have to be someone who wouldn’t take any concubines even after marriage…

The more Fu Changxi thought about it, the more irritated he became. He simply began going through every unmarried young man he knew.

Strangely enough, all those youths who had once seemed perfectly respectable now suddenly appeared to have one flaw or another.

Everyone said that Pei Rusong, the eldest grandson of Grand Secretary Pei, was one of the most outstanding young men of his generation in the capital. Young and talented, refined and handsome, with an excellent reputation and upright character. Moreover, he was Zhen Tingyun’s own first cousin on her mother’s side, making him closer than any outsider.

But the moment Fu Changxi thought of the foolish things Eldest Madam Pei and Madam Pei had done, he immediately shook his head.

With a mother like that, Pei Rusong simply wasn’t someone his student could safely entrust her life to.

Next, Fu Changxi thought of his own nephew and his sister’s son.

His nephew through his elder sister, Rong Ziming, had been utterly spoiled by the Grand Princess Huiguo. Fine on the outside but rotten within.

Absolutely unsuitable.

His own nephew, Yan Wang Shizi, however, was another matter.

His appearance and character were both exemplary. He had always conducted himself with propriety and self-restraint and was diligent in striving to better himself. Even Yan Wangfei was a sensible, reasonable woman, not the sort of unreasonable, overbearing mother-in-law who made life miserable.

Yet after only a brief thought, Fu Changxi crossed Yan Wang Shizi off his mental list as well.

If Tingyun married him, she’d have Yan Wang for a father-in-law.

A man obsessed with seeking immortality and cultivating the Dao…

Who knew when he’d suddenly start forcing bizarre elixirs and pills on his family?

Absolutely unacceptable.

***

While Fu Changxi was busy trying to find Zhen Tingyun the perfect husband, Zhen Tingyun’s carriage finally arrived at the gates of the Zhen residence.

Whether by coincidence or not, she had left the house just before Madam Pei and Father Zhen that morning.

Now, as she returned, they also happened to arrive only moments apart.

Just as Zhen Tingyun stepped down from her carriage, she saw her parents’ carriage pulling in behind hers. Under such circumstances, as a daughter who had already seen them, she couldn’t very well turn around and leave.

She stopped where she was, lowered her head respectfully, and waited at one side for Father Zhen and Madam Pei to get out before going forward to greet them.

Soon enough, the carriage stopped outside the inner gate.

Father Zhen lifted the curtain and climbed down first.

Perhaps because his mind was occupied with other matters, he wasn’t as observant as usual. He failed to notice his younger daughter standing nearby.

Instead, he immediately turned around and carefully helped Madam Pei, who was wrapped in a cloak, descend from the carriage.

To be honest, it was already approaching the seventh lunar month, and the weather had become rather warm.

Seeing someone bundled up in a cloak at this time of year was quite unusual.

Curious, Zhen Tingyun couldn’t help taking another look.

Then she saw Madam Pei’s face.

It was swollen…

As swollen as the braised pig’s head placed upon the ancestral table during the New Year.

Zhen Tingyun: …

Forgive me… I really can’t hold it in anymore!

Hahahahahahahaha!

I don’t know which hero was responsible… but first, let me salute them with laughter!