Female Lead Quits 11
Su Yuan’s Was Very Upright. First, She Screened Out Her Cousin Wu. “I’ve Always…”
T/N: Here is my second kowtow. If I kowtow a third time, we might as well get married (๑oωo)
Su Yuan was very upright. First, she screened out her cousin Wu.
“I’ve always thought of him as my elder brother. How can a pair of siblings marry? It’s too awkward and won’t work out.”
Cousins were related by blood, hence it’s highly likely their children would be born with a genetic disorder. She didn’t think she was fortunate enough to be that small, lucky percentage, nor did she have such feelings towards her cousin – after all, he was family1.
“I’ve also met Zhang Yuting once. His looks are pretty good and he has an amiable temperament. However, I still don’t know if I’m able to get along with him. Let’s first take it slow – don’t you think we’re going a bit too fast?”
“What ‘fast’? It’s not as if we’re having you decide now. If you have an inclination towards someone, we’ll arrange for you two to meet a few times and chat a bit more. We cannot blindly marry off our daughter, but the final decision is still up to the both of you. If you two can get along, we’ll meet the Emperor and ask him to bestow a marriage. If you don’t hurry now, all the good men will be taken by others and you won’t even have the chance to feel regret – after all, we can’t possibly choose someone younger than you,” Mother Su hurriedly advised.
Although they needed to be careful, they still had to act when the time called for it. Either way, nobody would know if the two were to meet up and chat, so even if it didn’t work out, it wouldn’t impact the two children’s reputations.
Su Yuan’s attitude towards this matter was quite positive. In the end, she had to choose one, so she naturally would choose someone suitable for herself.
Very soon, the opportunity to meet came. Dean Zhang brought his son to visit the Duke’s Residence. Su Dong was a student at the Baiyun Academy; although Dean Zhang didn’t teach, he was still the academy’s dean, so the students all had to call him ‘sir’. Though uncommon, it wasn’t a first for a dean to visit their student’s parents.
Over here, Dean Zhang and Father Su conversed on the way of teaching; over there, Su Yuan was also chatting with Zhang Yuting.
The two were well aware of their family’s arrangements. Since they agreed to do this, it also meant they were both prepared.
Zhang Yuting knew Princess Anle wasn’t reputable for her talents, but she was still the daughter of a Tanhua minister2. Even if she couldn’t write any notable poems or articles, she certainly wasn’t an illiterate who couldn’t read large characters.
Besides, the princess was born into the Duke of Qi’s residence and was also the Emperor’s younger sister. With her identity alone, he already felt mostly content; after meeting Princess Anle in person, his ‘mostly content’ turned into a hundred percent satisfaction.
The world judged faces – the Zhang Family’s son was of no exception. Princess Anle had a beautiful face and a prosperous heroic spirit different from any other woman. Just by standing there, she carried a distinguishable imposing manner; as expected of a lady born from a family of military leaders, her valiance far surpassed her scholarly impression.
Zhang Yuting couldn’t say he fell in love at first sight – however, his favourability towards the Su Family’s eldest daughter definitely increased. With full patience, he conversed with her.
“I’ve lived in the Baiyun Academy with my parents since young, hence the most people I come into contact with are teachers and students. It’s relatively simple and quiet there. I don’t know whether Dong-lang3 has mentioned the academy’s martial arts field to you before? Students would frequently learn and compare their martial arts there. Right beside it is a cuju4 field…”
Zhang Yuting didn’t talk about poems or articles; instead, he only spoke about subjects he felt Su Yuan might be interested in. Ladies born into a military family should be interested in things like martial arts, cuju, archery, and such.
Su Yuan was only responsible for quietly listening and nodding in agreement from time to time beside him. Baiyun Academy sounded pretty nice, similar to the university she attended in her past life. There were study, exercise, and entertainment areas, friendships between teachers and students, and envious harmony between students.
Unfortunately, Baiyun Academy only accepted male and not female students; otherwise, she definitely would’ve signed up for the Baiyun Academy’s entrance exam.
“I’ve long admired Baiyun Academy – it’s a pity there isn’t a women’s academy in this world. The Zhang Family single-handedly established Baiyun Academy and educated students for more than a hundred years. I wonder if you’ve ever thought about establishing a women’s academy? Although women cannot participate in the Imperial Examination, studying grants wisdom whilst practising martial arts strengthens one’s body. If such an academy is founded, I believe there will be many applicants.”
Su Yuan wasn’t requesting Zhang Yuting to create such an academy. Weren’t they chatting? That meant they could converse about any topic without offending the other party.
Su Yuan didn’t feel she’d offended the other party, but Zhang Yuting’s expression almost changed. “Princess must be joking. It’s naturally a good thing for women to be literate and understand the cardinal principles of righteousness, however, it’s unnecessary to establish a specialised academy just for this reason. For women, showing up in public is not a good thing after all. I understand you have good intentions, but this method may not be preferable – instead, forming poetry or literary societies may be more appropriate.”
“Childe Zhang is right. It was I who thought this matter too simply,” Su Yuan sincerely responded. Indeed, it’d be difficult to establish a women’s academy, even for the Zhang Family that single-handedly formed Baiyun Academy. Perhaps only the royal family could set an example and break the shackles.
“Princess has a good heart. It’s just, people in this world often live according to society’s opinions and have no choice but to think thrice before making a decision. Relatively speaking, the academy is quite a simple place with no complex intrapersonal disputes.”
One could tell that Zhang Yuting, who was only sixteen years old, already had his own philosophy of life. He was very mature and reserved.
Su Yuan appreciated such people, but her standard was different when looking for a future husband. Su Yuan was looking for someone who could match her three views, not someone whose three views were… Worlds apart from hers.
Su Yuan was thick-skinned and didn’t quite care about other people’s opinions. Most of the time, she lived according to her heart’s wishes, not to society’s opinions.
Perhaps it was because she had lifetime-more memories compared to others. Just like a deceased who regained a life, Su Yuan was more open-minded than an average person. No matter if one’s coming in or passing from this world, nothing can be brought with them. The most important thing to do is not leave any regrets rather than being someone else’s expectations for an entire lifetime.
The two could still converse quite well. However, no matter if it was Su Yuan or Zhang Yuting, both realised the other wasn’t what they were looking for.
In Su Yuan’s opinion, Zhang Yuting was somewhat old-fashioned, whilst in Zhang Yuting’s opinion, he felt Her Highness’ thinking was far too bold and undisciplined; hence, before their conversation even ended, neither of them felt the same way about each other compared to the start.
After, Su Yuan systematically explained her train of thoughts to her parents, not hiding a single idea.
As parents, what could they do? Their daughter was unwilling and the Zhang Family appeared less approving than before – it seems neither children liked the other.
The two candidates they’d screened out after much effort were both unsuccessful. All they could do was take out the name list again and reselect.
However, before Father and Mother Su could even worry a few days, a matchmaker came. This matchmaker wasn’t an outsider either – she was the current Empress Dowager, Su Yuan’s blood aunt.
The Empress Dowager arrived wearing casual clothing, having entered the Capital without informing anyone. She lived in a temporary imperial residence away from the Capital with the Retired Emperor. They didn’t bring any of his concubines. It was just the two of them, with a dog and cat. Every day, they’d play with their pets, admire the flowers outside, go fishing, go canoeing, fly kites…
During this lifetime, neither of them had felt this comfortable and free. Being the Empress Dowager was definitely more leisurely than being the Empress.
If it wasn’t because she was entrusted by someone to take care of a matter regarding her niece, she wouldn’t bear returning to the Capital.
Since she was secretly coming back, the Empress Dowager didn’t even write her own name on the message; instead, she wrote her wet nurse’s name. First, she went to see her mother. Then, she went to find her brother and sister-in-law. As for her father, she decided not to disturb the old man.
“Someone begged for help directly to me and the Retired Emperor. They entrusted me to say one thing – it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work out. The Zhou Family is also afraid we’ll rebuff without consideration, which is why they didn’t personally come over,” the Empress Dowager said first. She didn’t come here to force her maternal family to agree.
The Zhou Family was the Retired Emperor’s maternal family, whilst the Su Family was the Empress Dowager’s maternal family. If asked whether the two families were close, one would say they definitely were.
“The Zhou Family?” Mother Su understood without needing to ask. Other than the Zhou Family, who else could plead directly to the Retired Emperor? “Could it be the Zhou Family’s Liulang?”
The only unwed son from the Zhou Family was Zhou Liulang. This person was very well-known in the Capital – no – his name was known throughout the entire Dayan, although he was praised as much as he was blamed.
The Empress Dowager nodded with slight awkwardness. “Yes, Liulang. This child admires our A-yuan, but he also knew his reputation wasn’t very pleasant, which was why he begged directly to my imperial residence instead of having his parents come directly to our family’s door. Don’t worry – the Zhou Family has already made a vow in front of me and the Retired Emperor. If this matter doesn’t work out, outsiders won’t get a single wind of this.
“The reason why I’m here is not entirely for the Retired Emperor and the Zhou Family. Although Liulang has quite a sharp tongue, his character and scholarly knowledge is of a high standard. He has an earnest background from the Imperial Examination. Back then, if it wasn’t because of his young age and his handsome appearance, it isn’t an exaggeration to say he might’ve been a Zhuangyuan5 with his literary talents.
“I’ve also assigned people to investigate. His backyard is very clean – let’s not mention a concubine, he doesn’t even have a servant girl in his bedroom. It was unbelievable! I even had an imperial physician read his pulse – there’s nothing wrong with his body. This person is just a bit fussy and has a high standard…
“That child came to my imperial residence with Lady Zhou. In front of both me and the Retired Emperor, he made an oath – if the marriage can proceed, he won’t accept a single concubine in this lifetime, nor would he be disloyal. I find Liulang to be quite reliable.”
Liulang’s name never appeared on Father and Mother Su’s name list only because his age was unsuitable. Liulang was already twenty-two years old this year, whilst their Su Yuan was only fifteen.
After all these years, Liulang never married nor was he engaged; he never even looked upon another. Rumors said the reason was due to an unmentionable illness Liulang was suffering from.
Of course, if there was something wrong with his body, the imperial physician would definitely treat it – the Zhou Family wouldn’t dare lie to the Retired Emperor and Empress Dowager either.
“We have to think about it – Liulang’s reputation isn’t very good after all,” Mother Su said with signs of reluctance.
The reason why Zhou Liulang was known throughout the entire Dayan wasn’t because he became a Tanhua at sixteen, but because his mouth was too good at offending people.
Studying should grant one with reason, but when it came to Zhou Liulang, studying allowed him to curse people with a different method. Without a single dirty word, he could curse a living person to death and curse a dead person to life.
If cursing people could also be ranked, Zhou Liulang would be standing unrivaled at the pinnacle.
In the Imperial Court, more than half of the ministers there have been cursed by Zhou Liulang before. Although this person was physically at the Hanlin Academy, he challenged the Imperial Censorate with all his power – this person was even more unwelcome than the censors.
Translator's Notes
- 表兄也是兄 – (lit. translation) ‘cousin brother is also brother’. ‘表兄’ (biao xiong) means ‘cousin (masc.)’ and ‘兄’ (xiong) means ‘brother’.
- ’探花’ (tanhua) – ranked third in the Hanlin Examination
- 冬郎 – I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but ‘lang’ refers to ‘youth’ (usually a masc. term)
- 蹴鞠 – ancient Chinese football/soccer
- ’状元’ (zhuangyuan) – top scorer in the Palace Examination; highest rank in the Imperial Examination
