Chapter 101

Chapter 101: Mochi! Just a coward!

Zhu Cici, who had grown up in the Zhu family, left the Moon Terrace.

Only Nan, now an “old maid,” remained standing by the waterside pavilion.

Zhu Cici invited Sister Nan to visit the peach blossom forest, hearing that the peach blossoms had bloomed.

But Nan rejected it with “What’s so great about a few peach trees?”

As Nan watched the younger generation gradually move away, she couldn’t help but sigh, her expression tinged with worry.

Proposing marriage for the Xu family was to repay her old man’s favor. Whether it succeeded or not, Nan didn’t care; in fact, Nan even hoped Cici wouldn’t agree.

Although the eldest son of the Xu family in Minghai County matched well in status, the Xu family was too power-hungry, and the eldest son gave off similar vibes.

Cici’s laid-back nature might indeed make her unsuitable to be with him.

But Nan truly didn’t want this bright future ahead of the younger generation to be hindered by the word “love.”

“Several measures of longing, several measures of sorrow, all chrysanthemums have fallen, people part.” Looking at the distant girl, Nan shook her head, “Why bother?”

Nan shifted her gaze and looked down at the Moon Terrace beneath the water pavilion. In her mind, there floated the image of a scholar walking while reading a book, eventually falling into the water looking disheveled.

A smile tugged at the corner of the woman’s mouth, her eyes under long lashes filled with indescribable emotions, as if reminiscing, as if mocking herself: “Yes, why bother?”

With another sigh, the woman dismissed her thoughts, kicking that man out of her mind, hands behind her back, she strode down the mountain.

Time to report back.

Just say that she, the matchmaker, did her best.

And just as the woman walked down the mountain, she paused, stopping her steps.

Not far away, a man was digging up bamboo shoots on his knees, working very hard.

The woman looked left, then right.

Then she smiled happily but dared not laugh out loud.

The woman quietly approached the man, found the right angle, lifted her foot, and kicked the man directly on his butt.

“Ouch!”

The man fell forward onto the grass, eating a mouthful of mud.

“Who is it? How could you be so mean? Why kick me for no reason? Zi Yue…”

When the man, cursing and slapping his butt, angrily got up to argue, his voice suddenly stopped.

“What does Zi Yue say?” Nan asked with a smile.

“Sister-in-law… It’s been a long time since we last met. Why are you back at the academy?” the scholar laughed.

“I came to the academy to find a junior.” Nan crossed her arms, “Little Six, you haven’t told me yet, what exactly are you going to ‘say’?”

“Zi Yue says: A year’s plan starts with spring, and bamboo shoots taste the best.” The man named Lu Xiaoliu laughed, wiping the bamboo shoots with his Confucian blue robe, “Sister-in-law, why don’t you take some bamboo shoots? The academy’s bamboo shoots are so crisp, perfect for stir-fried meat.”

Nan completely ignored his calling her ‘sister-in-law’: “Little Six, how can someone who claims to be a gentleman look like this, covered in dirt, digging bamboo shoots on your knees? You don’t seem like a gentleman at all.”

“Hehehe, Sister-in-law, what you said…” Lu Xiaoliu wiped the mud from his mouth, “Big Brother Xiao is still a ‘true gentleman’ in the academy, almost becoming the youngest Mountain Head, but he also stole a chicken from the principal once.”

“You talk!” Nan grabbed a stone and threw it at Lu Xiaoliu (who dodged nimbly), “That guy made me copy the ‘Book of Rites’ a hundred times!”

Lu Xiaoliu felt wronged and muttered quietly: “Back then, it was because you wanted to eat the chicken the principal raised, Big Brother Xiao caught it for you. Both chicken legs were eaten by you, I only ate the chicken butt…”

“What did you say?” Nan narrowed her eyes and asked.

“Nothing, nothing…” Lu Xiaoliu quickly shook his head.

Nan hummed twice: “Mochi has been down the mountain for nearly ten years. Why are you still here? Not returning to Yue Kingdom?”

“Why should I return to Yue Kingdom?”

Lu Xiaoliu shrugged, his tone filled with grievance.

“Now that Mother has redeemed herself, she is living quite well. Dead or alive, she doesn’t let me go back. She says if I go back to Yue Kingdom, she’ll beat me out with a cane. Where else can I go?

I said I would go to Wu Kingdom, but Big Brother Xiao said I’d cause trouble for him and told me to get lost.”

Speaking of this, Lu Xiaoliu looked up and sighed heavily: “So vast is the world, but where can I go?”

Nan rolled her eyes at Lu Xiaoliu: “I heard the first dynasty of the human race – Qin Kingdom, invited you. Why don’t you go?”

“Qin Kingdom is too big.” Lu Xiaoliu shrugged, “If I, a foreigner, go to Qin Kingdom to serve as an official, won’t I be bullied to death by those officials?”

Lu Xiaoliu weighed the bamboo shoots in his hand: “So it’s still more comfortable at White Deer Academy. If you enter the imperial court, you will be affected by the Mountain and River Fortune, consuming life essence.

Once you’re in the deep sea of politics, if your life essence is almost consumed and you can’t leave the political arena, or after leaving you can’t break through to prolong your life, aren’t you done for?

Sister-in-law, look, I dig bamboo shoots every day, fish a bit, pretend to read books, and I’ve already become a Gentleman.

If I keep mixing around, waiting until those old guys die, won’t I become an old scholar?”

“…” Nan was speechless. She wanted to say something to counter him, but upon careful thought, it seemed Lu Xiaoliu wasn’t entirely wrong.

Nan shook her head: “Your Big Brother Xiao said your ambition lies in the Imperial Court.”

Lu Xiaoliu wiped the bamboo shoots in his hand: “Maybe before, now I’m not sure.”

“Fussing like a woman.” Nan huffed, continuing to walk down the mountain, “Go on, continue digging your bamboo shoots.”

“Sister-in-law.” When Nan gradually walked away, Lu Xiaoliu called out from behind.

“What?” Nan turned around.

Lu Xiaoliu smiled:

“Sister-in-law, don’t think Big Brother Xiao is stubborn, and don’t think Big Brother Xiao is heartless. I heard that when Big Brother Xiao learned you were engaged, he drank himself unconscious that night.

Sister-in-law knows, what Big Brother Xiao is trying to do is extremely difficult. One small mistake could lead to falling into the abyss. To achieve those things requires tremendous courage. Actually, Big Brother Xiao just doesn’t want to drag you down.

Everything Big Brother Xiao does is for his pursuit.”

“Hmph.”

Nan coldly laughed, turned around, and continued to leave. Her voice came from behind her.

“For the pursuit? And he doesn’t even dare to marry me, how can he talk about achieving his ideals?

Mochi! Just a coward!”