Yan Hongzhi and Minister Wang sat in the seats of honor, taking in the expressions of the four younger ones.
Both were old foxes; in arranging this scene, each had his own considerations. But in any case, as the ones in power, once they agreed, no one else would comment.
Minister Wang finished half a cup of tea and asked, “What shall we compete in?”
Yan Hongzhi asked, “Do you see that pot of peonies of mine?”
“Extravagant,” Minister Wang said bluntly.
“San-lang gave it to me.”
“Admirable filial piety.”
Yan Hongzhi showed it off for a round, then said, “Though there is tea but no wine, in the severe cold of winter, to be able to see flowers is likewise a refined pleasure. You all shall take ‘peony’ as the theme, one line each – oh, each is limited to the beginning or the end.”
Wang Wu-lang had already begun to ponder hard.
Cheng Danruo still did not understand. “What does that mean?”
“It means ‘peony’ must be at the beginning or the end,” Wang Yongxu answered first. “Do we each choose beginning or end?”
“The guest comes first, and San-niang is the youngest, so you choose,” Yan Hongzhi said generously.
Wang Yongxu, full of confidence. “I choose the beginning.”
Xie Xuanying said, “Please.”
Wang Yongxu started. “The peony flowers fade, the oriole’s song rests.”
Xie Xuanying continued, “Melancholy before the steps, the red peony.”
Wang Wu-lang added, “Only when the peonies are gone do I return.”
Cheng Danruo thought for a long while, then dug out from the depths of her memory a poem by Bai Juyi. “Among all flowers, only the peony?”
Xie Xuanying smiled slightly at her.
Wang Yongxu stalled for a moment, then reported the verse she had thought of. “The peony especially claims the spring wind for itself.”
Xie Xuanying continued, “It also claims the fragrant name of peony.”
Wang Wu-lang thought for a long time. “The peony is moved to be planted in the garden.”
Cheng Danruo: “…”
She could see it now: two top students, one average student, and one poor student. There were plenty of poems about peonies, but being limited to the last two characters was too difficult.
“A single branch of red peony,” she guessed blindly.
Wang Wu-lang looked confused. “Is there such a line?”
Xie Xuanying shot him a glance and said coldly, “The wind-blown curtain, swallows dance, orioles sing by the willow; by the dressing table, she binds her hair, her slender hands lowered. The hairpin is heavy, the bun coiled – a single branch of red peony.”
Minister Wang said, “Niu Songqing’s poem – rather obscure.”
Cheng Danruo said frankly, “I guessed.”
“Count yourself lucky,” Yan Hongzhi said with a laugh.
Then the three of them went another round. Wang Wu-lang scratched his ears and cheeks for a long while, and finally said, “The peony weeps in the rain toward the setting sun.”
Xie Xuanying gave him a cold sneer.
Wang Wu-lang blushed a little.
Cheng Danruo hesitated. “Why… must one envy the peony?”
Xie Xuanying sighed slightly.
“The herbaceous peony receives spring’s favor – why did it ever envy the peony?” Yan Hongzhi said teasingly. “Wrong guess, wasn’t it?”
Cheng Danruo said very readily, “I concede.”
“Then let San-lang take your turn,” Yan Hongzhi said indifferently.
But Xie Xuanying said, “I also concede.”
The word “peony” that had reached Wang Yongxu’s lips was swallowed back, and her head was full of question marks.
Wang Wu-lang was astonished. “You concede?”
Wang Yongxu wished she could step on his foot and hurriedly tried to smooth things over. “Sister Cheng has only just begun her education. This is really too hard. I think it would be better to switch to, uh, feihualing.”
She glared at her brother. Wang Wu-lang came to his senses, realizing this was not a competition of archery before the emperor but a matchmaking meeting, and quickly said, “San-niang is right.”
Minister Wang said with a smile, “Why not? Just continue from Wang Wu-lang’s line just now.”
This was a bit easier.
Cheng Danruo thought for a moment and said, “The warm spring spreads its virtue, all things shine with radiance.”
“Radiant radiance brings forth all faces; brilliant brilliance admires talented gifts.”
“Talents as lovely as Ban of Han; bright and clear as Fan of Chu.”
Wang Wu-lang tried hard not to embarrass himself. “Consort Fan, Fan Kuai… Fan…”
“Fan Kuai was a commoner of the marketplace; Xiao He was a brush-and-document clerk,” Wang Yongxu had to substitute for him.
When it came to a rare character, Cheng Danruo could not answer and forfeited.
Xie Xuanying took her place. “The office toils the fine scholar; the guest banquet gains a superior talent.”
After that, it was a battle of gods.
Most of the poems and verses Cheng Danruo had never even heard of; they were far beyond the scope of compulsory education. She listened like someone hearing heavenly books as the two continued to respond, and drank her tea.
Suddenly she felt someone looking at her. She raised her head, and it was Wang Wu-lang.
He looked a little embarrassed and awkwardly averted his gaze.
Cheng Danruo smiled politely and continued drinking her tea.
After many rounds.
Yan Hongzhi had grown tired of listening. “Enough. Are you two going to compete until tomorrow?”
Minister Wang did not care about victory or defeat at all; his main purpose was to assess Cheng Danruo. Hearing this, he smiled. “Very well, let it be a draw.”
Yan Hongzhi set down his teacup and said, “In poetry and prose, Dan-niang loses unfairly. Three months of hard study – how could that win against your Wang family’s more than ten years of immersion?”
“Let the next round be decided by you,” Minister Wang said.
Yan Hongzhi did not hesitate. “Dan-niang has studied arithmetic before. How about comparing that?”
Minister Wang nodded indifferently.
Cheng Danruo hesitated: Was it not a bit too unfair to bully the ancients in mathematics? But on second thought, they had not hesitated to bully her for not having read poetry and prose, so she agreed.
The method of competition was that each person would set one question, and whoever answered correctly the fastest would be the winner.
Wang Yongxu set the chicken-and-rabbit-in-the-same-cage problem, Wang Wu-lang set Han Xin’s counting of soldiers, and Xie Xuanying set the cup-floating-on-the-river problem.
For the first and third questions, Cheng Danruo was the first to calculate the answers, but for Wang Wu-lang’s question, Xie Xuanying actually calculated it faster than she did.
He even drank his tea very calmly, pretending it was very easy.
Cheng Danruo immediately cast aside simple problems and, very wickedly, set a solid geometry problem.
“A piece of pastry – with four cuts, what is the maximum number of pieces it can be cut into?”
All three answered, and all were wrong.
“The answer is fifteen,” she said happily.
Xie Xuanying frowned. “How do you cut it?”
Cheng Danruo replied, “I am not telling you.”
He: “…”
And then, today’s competition came to an end.
Yan Hongzhi kept them for lunch – of course, only the males.
Wang Yongxu was taken by Cheng Danruo to the inner quarters and ate with Lady Hong. After eating, they talked for a while, and then word came from the front that they were returning.
“I’ll come find you to play next time.” At the moment of parting, Wang Yongxu seemed to want to ask something, but held back and did not speak.
Cheng Danruo pretended not to know and smiled as she saw her off.
In the carriage, Wang Yongxu could not hold back and pressed her brother. “Fifth Brother, what do you think?”
Wang Wu-lang scratched his head. He knew that given Grandfather’s open-mindedness, today was already the limit, so he had quite attentively sized up the other party. If he had to say, there was nothing particularly unsatisfactory, nor anything very satisfactory.
There was some regret about her appearance; he hoped his wife could be prettier. But looks had never been the standard for taking a wife, so he could accept it. What comforted him somewhat was that Miss Cheng’s literary talent was ordinary. The sisters in the family were all skilled in poetry and prose, and Wang Wu-lang had been rather afraid his wife would also be a talented woman.
So the answer was – “She seems all right.”
The meaning was that he did not oppose it.
Wang Yongxu breathed a sigh of relief and looked toward Minister Wang.
Minister Wang closed his eyes to rest and gave no response. She sat down beside him and said coaxingly, “Will I have a sister-in-law next year?”
“Yan Zizhen still has not nodded.” After all, she was his most beloved granddaughter, so Minister Wang spoke. “That man – hm, if you think that because he travels around lecturing and is free-spirited and unrestrained, you are greatly mistaken.”
Wang Yongxu looked puzzled.
But Minister Wang refused to say more. After returning to the residence, he directly summoned his fourth son and fourth daughter-in-law and came straight to the point. “Today I took San-niang and Wu-lang to Swallow Lane.”
Fourth Madam Wang wanted to speak but stopped.
“That young lady – I saw her myself,” Minister Wang said slowly. “As for appearance, she is about the same as the young ladies of our family. Her character will not be poor. She has quite a bit of quick wit, and the key is that her temperament is steady, which suits Wu-lang perfectly.”
Was the competition about poetry and prose? Of course not.
If it were truly a contest of poetry and learning, why would Yan Hongzhi have let Cheng Danruo come out? It was only a pretext to see her ability to adapt on the spot and her mindset at a critical moment.
She dared to guess blindly at poetry – her courage and quick wit were both not bad. After failing, she conceded calmly; she was not narrow-minded. Facing Wang Wu-lang, she was natural and poised, and did not say anything contrary to propriety, which showed she had not been made foolish by the rites.
Minister Wang was already sufficiently satisfied.
Fourth Madam Wang said, “The person you favor is naturally not bad, only…” She hemmed and hawed. “How much dowry can the Yan family give her?”
Afraid that Minister Wang would misunderstand, she quickly explained, “I am not greedy for my daughter-in-law’s family wealth, but Wu-lang is not the eldest. In the future, when the family divides… only with a solid foundation can I feel at ease.”
Minister Wang glanced at her and said, “Wait until the Yan family agrees, then discuss it slowly.”
Fourth Madam Wang had no choice but to swallow the rest of what she wanted to say.
Xie Xuanying stayed alone in the study for an entire afternoon.
Of books, he did not read a single word. Of essays, he did not write a single word.
He just sat there withered and dazed, letting himself be drowned by confusion and fear. Having grown this old, this was the first time someone had, while he was present, looked at someone else.
What was so good about Wang Wu-lang? He was neither accomplished in letters nor in martial arts, rash in temperament, loud and blustering. Aside from being Minister Wang’s grandson, he had nothing to recommend him.
Why did Dan-niang smile at him? Was she very satisfied with this marriage? Satisfied with Wang Wu-lang?
What was so good about him? Xie Xuanying was furious with hatred, yet he also clearly realized that no matter how bad Wang Wu-lang was, there was always one point on which he surpassed him.
The Wang family had already come to propose marriage.
And what about himself? His marriage had fallen into a political vortex, and he did not know when he could extricate himself unscathed.
This was also what made Xie Xuanying feel powerless.
He could certainly go and confess to Yan Hongzhi, confess to his parents, and demand that they go to propose, but the result needed no trial to know: his parents would absolutely not agree to his willfulness.
Speaking rashly would only plunge Dan-niang into irrecoverable ruin.
Compared with obtaining her, what he needed most now was, on the contrary, to protect her.
But protecting her might mean never obtaining her again.
The Chen family was not a good match. He could take her away with a clear conscience, but what about the Wang family? Did he dare deny that, in the eyes of the world, this destination was already not bad?
If Dan-niang herself was also willing, and the two parties were mutually fond, what right did he have to interfere?
Was his selfish desire more important than Dan-niang’s happiness?
Did he dare be certain that if Dan-niang missed the Wang family, he would in the future be able to marry her and live together in love and harmony until old age?
Every time he questioned his own heart, it caused him immense pain.
In the small courtyard, Cheng Danruo was tying surgical knots, pondering what she had seen and heard today.
She could tell that Wang Wu-lang’s temperament was somewhat rash, his talent mediocre – not outstanding, but not bad either. He lacked empathy for those at the bottom, and had a certain arrogance of a scion of a prominent family. It could be foreseen that, like most educated ancient men, as long as his wife did not take a wrong step, he would always grant her dignity.
Marrying him would mean a passable family fortune and a stable little life. Dealing with him would not be difficult either – praise and coax him a bit more, give him pretty maids to serve him, be good to his sister, be respectful to his mother, and he would think his wife was virtuous and considerate, and that he had not married the wrong person.
How simple. How stable!
Ten years of life in the ancient world were enough to make her understand that stability was an extremely luxurious thing in ancient times.
War, natural disaster, disease, political upheaval… any one of them could cause a family to collapse. The ancient clans banded together precisely to resist risk after risk.
The Wang family was a great ship. It would not have to sell fields and land because an elder fell ill and needed medicine, nor would it sell its sons and daughters because of drought or flood that year.
This lifelong position was not high in difficulty, its benefits were tolerable, and most importantly, it came in time.
She could not remain in the Yan family forever. Lady Hong’s illness had already improved. For a year’s food, clothing, lodging, and travel, how much silver was that? By what right should she continue to eat and use theirs? And if the Chen family came to the door, the Yan family could certainly refuse to release her, but they would bear responsibility for nothing.
Marrying into the Minister’s household was different.
The Chen family would not obstruct it, and she could also repay Yan Hongzhi’s kindness in recognizing her worth. Apart from never being happy, there was truly nothing to find fault with in this marriage.
And yet… her gaze fell on the Collected Commentaries on the Four Books on the desk, and for a long time she could not look away.
Outside the room, Xi Que and Zi Su were also talking.
Zi Su asked, “Good sister, how is the Wang family?”
Xi Que pondered and said, “The family traditions are not bad. Old Madam Wang loves to worship Buddha. As for Fourth Madam Wang, I am not clear. Still, given the young lady’s background, this is a rather good marriage.”
Zi Su let out a breath. Amid her joy, there was also a hidden worry between her brows.
Xi Que had long since figured out what was on her mind and spoke frankly, “By the young lady’s side, you are the only familiar one. As long as the marriage can be arranged, asking the Chen family for your indenture will be easy. That is the Minister’s household – what reason would your master and madam have to refuse to let go?”
Zi Su smiled embarrassedly and said, “Then will you come along too, sister?”
Xi Que said calmly, “That depends on Madam’s arrangements. As servants, we just follow our master’s instructions.”
In the study of the outer courtyard.
The old servant entered the room quietly.
Yan Hongzhi lay in a reclining chair reading, and hearing the movement, did not even raise his head. “How is it?”
The old servant said, “Young Master Xie will not see anyone in his study, and Third Young Miss’s side is quiet.”
“Neither has made a move?” Yan Hongzhi half-closed his eyelids and said as if to himself, “They are quite able to hold steady.”
The old servant smiled.
“Very well. If one is not deaf or mute, one cannot be a family elder.” He picked up his book again and said with a smile, “I will just quietly observe how things develop.”
