Chapter 76 Part 1: Breaking Marriage Contract

Ming Yi Hall’s examination, indoor and outdoor, finally ended.

This time, the examination came vigorously and concluded vigorously as well. The one name that became known to everyone in this exam was precisely the Jiang second miss, Jiang Li.

Calligraphy, arithmetic, rites, music, horsemanship and archery; single-handedly winning all parts. This was the first for Ming Yi Hall since it opened. If this Jiang second miss was someone whose reputation as a child prodigy had been spread far and wide since childhood, then it didn’t matter. On the contrary, this Jiang second miss was sent off when it was just time for her to receive learning; a little girl who stayed alone at a nunnery for eight years. Compared to a child prodigy, this awed the people very much.

The gambling dens in the streets and alleys of Yanjing made a huge profit. Reason being, for the wager made with Meng Hong Jin, most people placed their bet on Meng Hong Jin, only a small number of people placed their bet on Jiang Li. Even if they bet on Jiang Li, they only bought a little bit. As such, the profits went to the banker; therefore the gambling owners of the gambling dens loved Jiang Li very much. Every time they met people, they would say some good things about Jiang Li——just treat it as giving dividends, they had to give back a bit. As a result, Jiang second miss’s reputation had, unexpectedly, become very good due to this exam.

In the same way, there were gains and there were losses. Jiang second miss made such a big move during the examination, especially in music and equestrian archery. Many pairs of eyes witnessed Jiang second miss’s true ability, the other ladies could not compare at all. As a result, in this year’s exam, only Jiang second miss stood out alone. There wasn’t the situation where a hundred colorful flowers were vying like in the past.

People remembered Jiang Li, while the formerly stunning Jiang You Yao was already tossed to the back of the head by the people. Even if the people remembered Meng Hong Jin, that was because her arrow injured Princess Yongning during equestrian archery. In addition, there was that laughable wager between her and Jiang Li which didn’t display her elegant manner.

Some people remembered the Jiang family’s third miss as a sweet and pleasant girl, beautiful and lovely. Some people also remembered Jiang second miss as incomparably elegant and attractive, witty and graceful. “There are 3,000 scoops of water on earth”1, each has their own favorite scoop. But whether they could acquire the scoop of water they fancied entirely depended on fate.

In Ning Yuan Marquis’s residence, Zhou Yan Bang was sitting in a daze. The pages of the book on the table were blown by the wind, yet Zhou Yan bang didn’t take note.

Appearing before his eyes was a young lady in the racecourse, her cyan clothes flew like the wind.

Zhou Yan Bang was somewhat crazy. The past few years, he had never set his heart on a female like this. Even with the fiancee he was very satisfied with previously, Jiang You Yao, in Zhou Yan Bang’s heart, women weren’t the most important thing. Taking a young lady as a wife, giving her a life of luxury, handing the residence over for her to manage; this was called a wife.

But now, Zhou Yan Bang understood that Jiang Li was the only wife he fancied.

The girl was like a riddle, the more she dismissed Zhou Yan Bang, the more Zhou Yan Bang clung to her. Especially since Jiang Li used to be his fiancee, so she should be his. If it were not because an unforeseen event happened in the Jiang family, how would it be so troublesome like now? Today, in the racecourse, seeing that there were many people looking at Jiang Li apart from himself, Zhou Yan Bang wasn’t happy as he saw their gazes.

That is his person, how could she be seen at will by others?

Previously, Jiang Li’s reputation wasn’t good, there’s a concern that she would have difficulty in finding a potential husband. But through this examination, everyone knew Jiang Li’s talented reputation. She was born with a beautiful countenance, moreover, she was Jiang Yuan Bai’s legitimate daughter. Jiang Li had also reached marriageable age. It was very likely that soon there would be people coming to propose marriage……. With Jiang Li’s qualification, afraid the number of people who were interested in her wouldn’t be small.

Zhou Yan Bang felt upset and restless. When he thought of Jiang Li marrying other people, he felt as if his own wife was being taken away, feeling utterly angry and regretful.

As he was feeling distressed, his servant boy came into the room and said: “Heir, madam is here.”

Ning Yuan Marchioness walked inside.

Zhou yan Bang stood up hurriedly and greeted: “Mother.”

Ning Yuan Marchioness smiled and said: “I asked the kitchen to make plum cake for you. The weather has been hot in the past few days, eating some will cool you down a bit.” The marchioness paused upon seeing the messy books on Zhou Yan bang’s table. She looked inquisitively at Zhou Yan Bang and asked: “Yan Bang, have you been worrying about something recently?”

Footnotes:

1: “Three thousand weak water, I only take a scoop to drink”: this saying came from a Buddhist scripture. The Buddha asked an unhappy person why he was unhappy and the man replied that he had too many things so he didn’t know what to choose. The Buddha told the man a story of a person who was dying of thirst. The Buddha took him to a lake but the man didn’t drink a single sip. When inquired why, the man said that the lake is so big while his stomach is so small, so he must not be able to hold so much water. The Buddha told the moral of the story: that there were many beautiful things in the world, but as long as you grasp one thing with your heart, it would be enough. Too greedy will easily lead to nothing and will lose more things. On another note, in ancient times, weak water usually refers to dangerous and difficult-to-cross rivers.1.:leftwards_arrow_with_hook: