Chapter 22: Wan Er's Worries

  In the Rose Manor, Gao Fu Nei, Mr. and Mrs. Gao sat in armchairs, with Second Uncle, Sheng Huaiyin, the county magistrate of Changshu County, sitting on the right. His wife, Jin'er, the second daughter of the Gao family, was also seated beside him. "Second Uncle, what about the matter I asked you to investigate? Next year is the deadline, and Wan'er's marriage is imminent. If Deng Gongzi fails the imperial examination again, it won't be my fault if this marriage falls through." Mr. Gao seemed resolute.

  Sheng Huaiyin nodded slightly and said, "Uncle Yue, my son-in-law has sent someone to investigate the situation. Last summer, Deng Zixuan recruited a group of book boys to accompany him in reading, and in autumn he went to Guangzhou to pay homage to his master with bodyguards following him. This May, he returned home around the 20th, and around July, Deng Zixuan purchased a piece of land on the beach in Pudong through Wang Jie, the governor of Songjiang Prefecture, and is currently building houses and preparing to build a dock. The situation is roughly like this!"

  "Buying land in Pudong? The Deng family doesn't have that kind of power?" Gao Jiren's eyes widened in surprise. "It seems to be for someone else, it was Deng Zixuan who made the purchase through his brother-in-law Gao Shizong." "Gao Shizong is not only his brother-in-law but also the instructor at Songjiang Prefecture, no wonder Daotai gave him so much face. However, this young man is a bit idle and doesn't study the classics at home, instead getting involved in buying and selling! Who did he buy the land for?" Gao Jiren asked.

  Sheng Huaiyin smiled and said, "This is not strange. At present, the imperial court encourages trade and industry, and Shanghai has already become prosperous. Last year, my cousin Sheng Huaixuan went to Tianjin to join Li Hongzhang's camp, precisely to expand his business. If your husband has such vision, it may not be a bad thing. Currently, Deng Zixuan has done nothing out of line!" "I don't care about these things," said Gao Juren, still unyielding. "If he fails the imperial examination again, forget about becoming my son-in-law!"

  "Father! I heard that my sister has not been feeling well lately, I'll go take a look at her." Second Miss Gao Jin'er said. Mrs. Gao said: "Wan'er has been dazed and distracted recently, and her appetite has decreased greatly, but I don't know what's wrong with her. You sisters have the best relationship, please advise her for me!" Gao Jin'er arrived at the backyard and walked straight into Wan'er's boudoir. At this time, Wan'er was holding Deng Zi-xuan's handkerchief in a daze.

  "Sister! What are you looking at so intently, is your heart aching?" Gao Jiner asked with a puzzled smile. Wan'er hastily put away her handkerchief in surprise: "Second sister came, and didn't even announce herself, scaring me!" Gao Jiner walked forward, holding her sister's hand to examine it carefully, laughing: "Look, after not seeing you for several months, you've lost so much weight. That Deng Zixuan is really no good, actually making you wait three years in vain, wasting the beautiful nights and moonlit moments!"

  "How dare you talk about him?" Gaowen Er instinctively reacted with dissatisfaction. "Look! You're already defending him, if Deng Gongzi was an ugly freak, would you still be like this? It's enough to make you disgusted for a lifetime." "It's not that, Deng Gongzi he......!" Wen Er discovered she had misspoken and immediately stopped herself. "Could it be that you've met before?" Gao Jin'er asked in surprise. Gaowen Er could only truthfully say: "Sister, promise to keep it a secret!" "I promise!" Then Gaowen Er recounted the events of last year when Deng Zixuan came to their residence to pay his respects for three years, and how he secretly met with her, but she concealed the secrets of giving him jewelry and handkerchiefs.

  "Now I understand why you've been so distracted, sister. It turns out that Deng Gongzi has already secretly agreed to marry you! It's clear that this Deng Gongzi is quite the charmer and not an ordinary person. However, he's certainly bold enough to have made such a move. Father and your brother-in-law are discussing him in the main hall right now... Father says that if Deng Gongzi fails the imperial exam again, he'll call off the engagement!" Gao Jin'er said.

  "Sister! How can this be?!" Gao Wan'er exclaimed in distress.

  "We must obey our parents' orders, little sister. Let's just accept our fate and hope that Deng Gongzi passes the exam as you wish!" Gao Jin'er sighed.

  "Born to the Deng family, dead as a ghost of the Deng family. Young Master Deng has already held me in his arms, I will not marry anyone else!" Gao Wan'er said resolutely. Gao Jin'er was shocked and widened her eyes: "Sister! Did you two make a vow?" Wan'er hesitated for a moment before pulling out a handkerchief from her bosom. Jin'er saw the blood-stained words on the handkerchief and was deeply moved, saying: "Sister! It's clear that Young Master Deng is a romantic and righteous gentleman. May heaven have eyes, let those who are meant to be together become a family!"

  Gao Jin'er comforted her for a while and said many comforting words. After sister left, Wan'er remembered father's words and couldn't help but burst into tears. Yinger Bixia and Danxia also shed tears when they saw the young lady was heartbroken. After a long time, maid Bixia said: "Young lady, Jin'er sister said that Mr. Deng has recruited a batch of book boys and went to Guangzhou to pay respects to his master. It seems that Mr. Deng is very diligent. Otherwise, I'll take a letter from you to investigate the truth?"

  Dan Xia said: "We are young ladies, how can we go out of the house? What if Master finds out?" Bi Ying said firmly: "I can disguise myself as a man and won't reveal any flaws. Miss, please agree!" Wanyi hesitated for a moment and said: "Bring paper!" Soon, the letter was written. Wanyi instructed: "Bi Ying, when you see Mr., ask him to write back one letter, go quickly and return quickly!"

  In the afternoon, Deng Zixuan walked into the classroom. "Stand up and pay respects to the teacher!" Along with Deng's strong and childish shout, 20 students stood up in unison and shouted: "Good teacher!" The clear and crisp voices of the children were pleasant to hear. "Everyone sit down!" After a year of careful nurturing, the children's skin tone showed healthy contours, their small faces were rosy, and they had all grown taller by a big margin. Deng Zixuan said sternly: "You have made great progress over the past year, I feel very pleased. In the future, you will all be pillars of society, so I want to change the study plan, add two more subjects ahead of schedule. And on the basis of language and mathematics, add science and English."

  "Sir, what is English?" a curious student asked. "English is the language foreigners speak! In the future, you will be dealing with foreigners, and if you don't know their language, it will be difficult to make progress. As for why I'm making you learn a foreign language, you'll understand later." Deng Zixuan said, turning around to write English letters on the blackboard. After finishing writing the letters, Deng Zixuan instructed Deng Qiang to distribute the simple English textbook he had compiled.

  An hour later, Deng Zixuan announced that everyone would be studying on their own and reviewing the English alphabet for a class period. After returning to his room, Xiao Hong hurriedly brought in tea and said: "Young master! Don't overwork yourself, there are still more than three months left!" Deng Zixuan glanced at the quiet courtyard and knew that Chen Jintang had taken the brothers out for training. At this time, the brothers were very enthusiastic, leaving at dawn and returning only after dark.

  "Ah, Big Brother is here, please come in!" Hearing Xiaohong's greeting, Deng Zixuan raised his eyes and saw his older brother, Zide, walking in. "Big Brother, you're here, please sit down! Xiaohong, serve tea!" Normally, it was rare for his older brother to visit his residence across the courtyard, so Deng Zixuan was slightly surprised. "Younger Brother! I'm busy and won't come in. There's a young master who wants to see you, I brought him along!" "Hey, come on in!" Zide turned around and left, immediately followed by a refined-looking young man walking in.

  "Down here is happy, come to visit Deng Gongzi!" The person who came did not turn his eyes and stared at Deng Zixuan. The person in front of him was clearly a woman, with clear eyebrows and beautiful eyes, although she didn't have her eyebrows painted or makeup on, but Deng Zixuan wouldn't mistake it. Upon closer inspection, he looked a bit familiar, and quickly pushed Xiao Hong away.

  The newcomer removed the small melon-shaped hat, revealing a head of beautiful hair. Deng Zixuan smiled and sat down, unable to recall where he had seen the lovely young woman in front of him before. He could only casually pick up his tea cup and take a sip, pretending to be completely unsurprised.

  Biyin stomped her foot in anger and said, "Deng Gongzi, don't you want to know who I am?"

  "Haha! This young master is quite the charmer, perhaps we met somewhere before, but I really can't recall where. Since Miss has come uninvited, this young master will graciously accept, come closer to me!" Deng Zixuan teased.

  Biyin's face turned bright red as she said, "Miss had a deep affection for you, never thought you'd be so flirtatious."

  "You're talking about Miss Wan'er, aren't you? Are you...?" Deng Zixuan stood up in shock. "Master Deng, take a closer look, I am Biying, Miss Wan'er's maid. Don't be unreasonable!" "Oh, it's Biying! I said you looked familiar. Sorry about earlier, I was just joking with you, don't mind it!" "What do I have to mind? I'm worried for my mistress, and after all this time, you're a philanderer! My mistress thinks of you every day and is getting thinner, but you're actually so carefree!" Biying glared angrily.

  "So that's what you mean, Miss Wan'er has arrived. Where is she? Take me to see her quickly!" Deng Zixuan stepped forward and grabbed Biyun's hand. Biyun quickly withdrew her hand and said: "Please, young master, be respectful. The miss hasn't come, she asked me to bring a letter!" Biyun finished speaking and pulled out a letter from her bosom. Deng Zixuan opened the letter in confusion, only to see a line of elegant handwriting on the paper: In heaven, I'd like to be a pair of birds flying together; on earth, I'd like to be two trees with branches that are intertwined. After reading the letter, Deng Zixuan felt somewhat moved.

  Then Deng Zixuan ground and wrote: Next year, the magpie is high on the branch. Hold the case and fly high! "Biying, just now my discourtesy please forgive me. The reason is that seeing you is like seeing Miss, handing over the letter to Miss she will know at a glance." After Biying left, Deng Zixuan muttered to himself: "Isn't it just taking the imperial examination? It's simply a piece of cake. Next year I not only want to marry Miss with great fanfare, but also take the initiative to enter the Gao family as a son-in-law. Gao Juren, what can you do about it?"

  After dusk, Biying rushed back to Rose Manor. Wan'er finished reading the letter and couldn't help but press it against her chest, a happy expression on her face. "Miss! What did Mr. Deng's letter say?" Biying asked in confusion. "He told me not to worry, next year we'll receive good news from the imperial examination!" Wan'er said softly.