This scholar is a bit cruel

Chapter 163 Who is prettier, Daiyu or Xiangyun?

In the front hall, the banquet has begun.

Luo Zijun followed Jia Baoyu and his party to the front, entered the house, and sat down at a table.

Other guests also came one after another.

Because it was not a formal banquet, the Jia family did not invite too many people today.

They are all close relatives and friends, mostly younger generations.

The other three major families, as well as several other families such as the Wang family and the Zhang family, all sent people.

Grandmother Jia liked quietness and did not come out.

Jia She and Jia Zheng were also afraid that these younger generations would feel uncomfortable, so after coming out and saying a few words, they went to the back with Jia Yucun and others.

Because Jia Zhen was Xichun's brother, he stayed to entertain the guests.

In addition, Jia Lian and his wife, Jia Rong and others also helped.

Luo Zijun sat down in the room, but looked through the window at Jia Zhen, who was talking to someone in the yard with a smile on his face.

Jia Zhen was a tall and thin man with short eyebrows, small eyes and a short beard under his chin. He looked no more than forty years old. He had a warm smile and was polite to everyone.

His son Jia Rong was about sixteen or seventeen years old and looked quite handsome.

Luo Zijun thought secretly in her heart: If Qin Keqing is going to marry me, it will probably be in the next one or two years, very likely this year, and it should be before the Grand View Garden is built, but she doesn't know where to find her.

Looking at Jia Zhen's appearance, he suddenly felt a little anxious.

If we wait until Qin Keqing marries, it will definitely be too late. We must stop it before she marries.

Seeing him looking outside, Jia Baoyu took the initiative to introduce: "That is Zhen Ge'er from Ningguo Mansion, and next to him is his son Jia Rong."

Luo Zijun came back to his senses and asked, "Has that Young Master Rong married?"

Jia Baoyu said, "Not yet, but I heard that his family is helping him find one. Why do you ask this, Brother Luo?"

Luo Zijun smiled slightly and said, "It's just a casual question. I just want to know, for aristocratic families like your Jia Mansion, at what age do most of the young men and women get married?"

Jia Baoyu smiled and said, "They are all the same as in ordinary families. The boys are about fifteen or sixteen years old, and the girls are fourteen or fifteen years old, and some are even younger."

Luo Zijun said: "It's quite early."

Jia Tanchun, who was sitting opposite, said, "It's not too early. In order to increase the population, we have a regulation in Daliang that if a girl is still unmarried at the age of sixteen, her family must pay an additional tax every year. Therefore, some poor families have already started arranging for their daughters to get married when they are twelve or thirteen years old."

Jia Baoyu said: "We are not afraid of fines. Even if the sisters never marry, we can still support them. I hope that we can all stay together forever and have a lively time. I feel sad when I think that everyone will get married one by one and the house will become more and more deserted."

Jia Tanchun laughed and said, "You are a man, and you will marry and take concubines in the mansion. If the girls don't marry and leave, won't they be lonely and miserable for the rest of their lives?"

Jia Baoyu sighed and suddenly felt a little depressed.

Lin Daiyu suddenly smiled and said, "Sister Tanchun doesn't need to marry outside the family. The old ancestor is reluctant to let her go. Just find a son-in-law for her when the time comes."

Jia Tanchun looked at her and smiled, "The one that the old ancestor is most reluctant to let go of is you. Anyway, you can't leave."

Shi Xiangyun, who was standing by, also laughed and said, "Sister Daiyu is the most beautiful person in our Jia family. If she gets married, who knows how many people will cry."

Lin Daiyu blushed and said, "Xiangyun, what you said will offend many sisters in the mansion. I am not pretty, I can't compare with you."

Shi Xiangyun smiled and said, "Whether you are pretty or not, everyone knows it. If you are afraid that everyone will deliberately say good things about you, why don't you let Master Luo judge it today?"

After hearing this, Lin Daiyu's face turned even redder. She glanced at the boy opposite her and said shyly, "If I have to criticize someone, it's you. You're just a talker."

Shi Xiangyun smiled and said, "Then let Master Luo judge between the two of us to see who is the prettiest. If you win, you have to give me your newly embroidered "Phoenix Hairpin" handkerchief."

When Lin Daiyu heard this, she immediately tried to strangle her.

Shi Xiangyun blocked it with her hands and said to everyone with a smile: "Let me tell you, Sister Daiyu's handkerchief not only has the lyrics of "The Phoenix Hairpin" embroidered on it, but also has a painting...ah!"

Lin Daiyu pinched her body and covered her mouth in a hurry, saying with a face full of shame and anger: "Xiangyun, you are not allowed to talk nonsense!"

Shi Xiangyun continued to speak while smiling.

Lin Daiyu blushed and hurriedly covered her mouth with one hand and tickled her with the other to make her unable to speak.

Shi Xiangyun laughed so hard that her body went limp and she fell into Tanchun's arms, gasping for breath, "Sister Tanchun, save...save me..."

Then she begged for mercy again: "Pinpin, I...I was wrong, I won't dare to do it again..."

Lin Daiyu said shyly again: "Don't call me Pinpin!"

Shi Xiangyun laughed so hard that she almost couldn't breathe.

Lin Daiyu was afraid that something might happen to her, so she had to let her go. Her fair face had already flushed with shame, and she looked as beautiful as a flower.

Such a small movement made her gasp for air and she felt like she was almost suffocating.

Seeing this, Jia Tanchun said quickly, "Okay, stop making a fuss, we have guests here."

The two of them gave up.

Unexpectedly, Bai Qingtong, who was sitting on the other side of Luo Zijun, suddenly looked at him and smiled: "Sir, can you please give us your opinion? Who is prettier, Sister Lin? Or is Sister Xiangyun prettier?"

On the other side, Jia Baoyu moved his lips, wanting to express his opinion, but he was afraid of upsetting others, so he had to endure it.

Jia Tanchun smiled and said, "Master Luo, don't be afraid of offending these two girls. Just tell the truth."

When Lin Daiyu heard this, her face immediately turned red and she lowered her head.

Shi Xiangyun was all smiles, with a pair of dark and lively eyes, looking at the young man opposite her openly, and said with a smile: "Mr. Luo, just say it, I'm not as stingy as someone."

When Lin Daiyu heard this, she wanted to strangle her again.

Shi Xiangyun laughed and said, "I didn't say anything about you, so why can't you help but admit it?"

Lin Daiyu said angrily, "Who are you talking about?" Shi Xiangyun looked around and suddenly pointed at her maid behind her and said with a smile, "I'm talking about Cuilu. Cuilu is the most stingy and gets angry every day."

The little maid named Cuilu suddenly burst out laughing.

Jia Tanchun was afraid that the two would quarrel, so she said quickly, "Let Mr. Luo speak, and you two stop quarreling."

The two of them finally calmed down.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Luo Zijun had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "To be honest with you, I am actually... face-blind."

This question is not easy to answer, the only way is not to offend anyone.

Jia Baoyu, who was standing by, asked in confusion: "Brother Luo, what is face blindness?"

Luo Zijun said: "I just can't tell who is beautiful and who is ugly. I have been like this since I was a child. When I look at any girl, I feel that they all look the same. I have no idea whether they are beautiful or ugly."

Everyone: "..."

Jia Tanchun laughed when she heard this: "Is this true? Mr. Luo, you are a scholar, you can't lie to others. Don't say this on purpose just because you don't want to offend others."

Luo Zijun said seriously, "It's absolutely true. I can only tell if a woman is tall, short, fat, thin, black, white, big or small. I really can't tell if she is beautiful or ugly."

Shi Xiangyun blinked her lively eyes and said, "Mr. Luo, I know height, weight, and black and white, but what is size? What size is a girl's?"

Jia Tanchun, who was standing by, was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and her cheeks suddenly turned red.

Luo Zijun replied, "Of course it's age. I can still tell whether a woman is fourteen or fifteen, or thirty-four or thirty-five."

Shi Xiangyun immediately laughed and said, "If you can't tell the difference, then you are blind."

Jia Tanchun's eyebrows twitched and her cheeks turned even redder.

Bai Qingtong suddenly said with a half-smile: "Sir, are you really face-blind and can't tell the difference between a beautiful and ugly woman?"

Luo Zijun nodded and said, "I dare not deceive Third Miss."

Jia Baoyu, who was standing by, suddenly grabbed his hand again and said with envy, "Brother Luo, it's good to be face-blind. You can't tell the difference between beauty and ugliness, so you won't feel sad. You will see every woman the same, and it doesn't matter who you marry. You won't be lustful, and you won't be troubled by women. No wonder, no wonder Brother Luo is so talented!"

Luo Zijun quickly pulled back her hand and said, "Brother Baoyu, don't be envious. If you want to do it, it's actually very simple. Just cover your eyes with a piece of white cloth when you wake up every day."

Jia Baoyu sighed and said, "If that's the case, then I'm really blind."

At this time, Lin Daiyu, who was sitting opposite, couldn't help but ask curiously: "Mr. Luo, can you tell the difference between a handsome and ugly man?"

Luo Zijun looked at her and said, "Do men still have beauty and ugliness? Aren't all men filthy?"

As soon as these words came out, Jia Baoyu who was standing beside him suddenly jumped up, clapped his hands, and then hugged him, unable to restrain his joy and said, "Good brother Luo! You are exactly the same as I said! I said that girls are made of water and boys are made of mud. I feel refreshed when I see girls, but feel foul when I see boys! You said that boys are filthy things! You and I have the same idea! Fate, fate, ah——"

As he said this, he couldn't help himself and put his cheek close to hers, wanting to caress Luo Zijun's cheek, but suddenly he screamed again, jumped up, and covered his waist.

Seeing this, Xiren behind him came to ask in a hurry.

Jia Baoyu looked down and found that there was nothing on his waist. He rubbed it and looked puzzled: "It was so hot just now! Am I sick?"

He wanted to lift up the clothes to see, but felt it was inappropriate, so he sat down and rubbed it, saying, "It's nothing serious."

Then he looked at the handsome scholar beside him with a burning gaze, and said excitedly: "Brother Luo, if you and I don't become sworn brothers, heaven and earth will not tolerate it!"

Jia Tanchun immediately shouted, "What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean by unacceptable to heaven and earth? If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tell Daddy. Be careful and he'll beat you up again!"

Jia Baoyu quickly smiled and begged for mercy: "Good sister, I won't say it anymore, I won't say it again..."

Jia Tanchun glared at him, then looked at Luo Zijun and said apologetically, "Mr. Luo, ignore him. This guy just loves to go crazy."

Then he looked at Jia Baoyu and warned him, "Stop flirting with Mr. Luo and stop sticking to him. How can you be so frivolous?"

Jia Baoyu smiled and said, "I am just so happy to see Brother Luo that I can't help myself."

As they were talking, they suddenly heard the sound of a bell coming from far away outside.

Then, another bell sounded from another direction.

"when--"

"when--"

"when--"

The bells kept ringing.

Everyone was stunned, their faces full of confusion.

The people outside immediately stood up, looked in the direction where the bell sound came from, and talked about it.

"when--"

"when--"

"when--"

After the bell rang for dozens of times, Jia Tanchun's face suddenly changed.

Bai Qingtong hurriedly got up, walked out, stood in the corridor, raised his head and looked in the direction of the palace.

At this moment, the faces of many people outside also changed drastically.

Jia She, Jia Zheng and others also hurried over from behind, looking towards the direction of the palace, their faces full of fear.

Another moment passed.

A man suddenly rushed in from outside the gate. As soon as he entered the gate, he suddenly fell to the ground, crying and shouting: "My king is dead!"

(End of this chapter)