Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The courtyard was only so large, and the house was small as well. With two young gentlemen suddenly arriving, everything felt even more cramped.

I invited the two of them to sit in the main room and asked Ah Tao to bring some fruit. She stared at me for a long moment, her little eyes blinking and blinking, and only then did I remember that there was no fruit at home. As for sweet drink, that was even more out of the question.

I changed into a clean dress, washed the mud from my feet, found a pair of wooden clogs to put on, then searched the kitchen from top to bottom. There was nothing. Even hot water would have to be boiled on the spot.

I set up a small brazier beneath the eaves and sat there warming wine. The rain slowly grew heavier, but it was not cold.

“There is no sweet drink at home, so I shall warm a cup of wine for you two gentlemen instead. The wine was bought when my uncle was still here. It is called Spring Intoxication, which seems fitting enough for the season. I hope you gentlemen will not mind.”

I turned to look at them. The two were sitting cross-legged and exchanging a few casual words about a piece of calligraphy on the wall.

“Wine is even better. Might Fifth Lady tell us who wrote the characters on the wall? There is no signature.”

“Follow the heart.” Just those four characters. I had written them in cursive script.

I had been idle and written them casually.

My grandfather loved calligraphy dearly. Everyone in the family, whether young masters or young ladies, had studied it with him. Mine was not the best, but it was not the worst either.

“It is passable, but the brushwork lacks strength. The flowing momentum is there, yet it seems somewhat unpracticed. More practice is still needed.”

Yuan Shen gave his assessment. Whatever he did, there was an air of seriousness about him.

It made one feel that whether you had done well or poorly, he would tell you the truth of it, without bringing in any personal bias.

“Fifth Lady accepts your instruction. I shall certainly practice more in the future,” I answered him with a smile.

He seemed somewhat surprised. He glanced at me, then lowered his head slightly, his gaze shifting away, revealing a fair, slender neck.

It seemed that one did not have to bare one’s chest to be pleasing to the eye after all.

“So Fifth Lady wrote it herself? It is very well done. It is only that Qilang is unmatched in calligraphy and painting, so naturally his standards are higher than most,” Pei Qian said, spreading his hands with a helpless expression.

I poured the warmed wine into cups. The cups were made of coarse pottery. One could hardly call them beautiful, but they did have a simple, charming sort of appeal.

“How would Fifth Lady feel about postponing our marriage for the time being?” Pei Qian asked me after drinking two cups of wine in succession.

He loved to smile. Whenever he smiled, fine lines appeared at the corners of his eyes-the smile lines of someone who smiled often.

“I have no objection. Or if Second Young Master finds this marriage truly difficult, it would be fine to withdraw from it after some time as well.”

I spoke seriously. If the engagement was broken, then so be it. Only, once the marriage arrangement was withdrawn, I would have to think of some way to avoid being married off for the time being.