Those who successfully passed the trial were naturally invited to the top floor.
Before long, someone came to invite Lu Nian Fu, Ouyang Wen, and Ji Jin: "Young Master Gu has succeeded in the trial and invites you three to dine with him on the top floor. This way, please."
Zeng Wei Yang was very disappointed. She had hoped to see the future Seventh Prince again, but he had already gone upstairs.
Lu Nian Fu was lost in thought. She knew Gu Yan Chen was skilled in martial arts, but she never knew he gambled. He hadn't entered a gambling house in their two years in Yangzhou. Had he indulged in it at the military camp?
After informing Zeng Wei Yang, she walked up the stairs with the other two.
Watching the three backs, Yin Zhu stamped her feet in anger: "Eldest Miss, look at her. Does she show any sisterly affection towards you? Why are you being so warm to someone so cold?"
"Be quiet." Zeng Wei Yang glanced at her. "Go tell them on stage that I want to challenge the zither trial."
Lu Nian Fu was wary of her, and rightly so, as she harbored ill intentions. But it didn't matter that she wasn't brought to the top floor. She could impress everyone more by getting there on her own merit.
After several setbacks, Zeng Wei Yang had long since understood.
Relying on others was not as good as relying on herself. Both were daughters of the Zeng family, and both could serve as a medicinal catalyst for Zeng Guang Yi. Yet, Zeng Guang Yi dared to demean herself without hesitation, but wouldn't dare touch Lu Nian Fu. Why?
Was it not because she had married well?
What Lu Nian Fu could do, she certainly could too. Zeng Wei Yang clenched her fists. She was determined to control her own destiny and never again die weakly, her blood drained dry, as in her dream. As for that weak and incompetent scholar husband, she would never marry him again.
Lu Nian Fu, of course, could not understand Zeng Wei Yang's thoughts. Although she had eaten her fill, she happily ascended to the top floor. The wind was strong at the top, but the view was truly beautiful. Very few had succeeded in the trial. The four of them occupied a corner, eating and looking down.
Lu Nian Fu had eaten her fill at Drunken Fragrance Tower and had no appetite for the dishes on the table. She simply enjoyed the scenery. The lanterns below formed a river of colorful light, extending far into the distance.
The three men had good appetites, but at this moment, they couldn't stomach heavy dishes. They were all picking at small dishes and tasting wine. Ouyang Wen ate and complained, "I knew Ming Yue Tower only pretended to be elegant. They don't even put their hearts into cooking, yet they have the nerve to charge so much silver."
Lu Nian Fu chuckled, "In such an elegant place, Young Master Ouyang, speaking of silver is rather vulgar."
"I am a vulgar person by nature."
Ji Jin glanced at him. "Truly vulgar. You should get married soon and let Old Madam embrace a grandchild. I visited her the other day, and she's still worried you plan to become a monk."
Ouyang Wen's spirits immediately drooped by half. "Good brother, can we not bring this up? You're not young either, why haven't you married?"
"I'm just a humble imperial physician, and not favored by my family. What family would be so foolish as to marry their daughter to me to suffer? I wouldn't even be able to afford a decent betrothal gift, wouldn't that be deliberately humiliating the young lady?" Ji Jin tossed a peanut into his mouth, saying leisurely.
Ouyang Wen patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, brother. As long as you get married, I'll cover your betrothal gift. I guarantee the other party won't be wronged in any way."
"Go, go. If I marry a wife and you provide the betrothal gift, whose wife is she then?"
"Naturally yours. A brother's wife must not be deceived. Do you think I don't understand this principle?"
Gu Yan Chen: ...
"I say, you two, enough. What kind of talk is this, can't you see my wife is still here?" They are so loose-lipped all day. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. What if my wife thinks I'm unreliable too?"
Ouyang Wen patted Gu Yan Chen's shoulder and sighed. "Little Yan Yan, you're still the impressive one. Not only did you become an official on your trip to Jiangnan, but you also married the woman you desired. Love and career, both successful, tsk tsk tsk, truly enviable."
"If you're envious, why don't you take a trip to Jiangnan too? Maybe you'll find a wife."
Ouyang Wen was deeply resentful, his voice even carrying a hint of grievance. "I've been twice already."
Gu Yan Chen said to Lu Nian Fu, "Don't mind him. This fellow loses control of his tongue when he drinks."
Lu Nian Fu nodded obediently, thinking to herself that even when he wasn't drunk, his tongue didn't seem to have a latch.