Chapter 13: What is Liking?

“You want to learn how to make a flower wreath?” Hu Youning asked in surprise, “But didn’t you say that you have no feelings for Lady Li? Sending this flower wreath would be accepting the blessing of the Mountain Goddess.”

He stared at the stunned young gentleman, “Jiu Jiu, don’t you want to divorce Lady Li?”

“How… how could that be.”

Meng Jun lowered his head, secretly taking a deep breath, and rounded off the lie, “Of course I want the divorce.”

“As for this flower wreath, I want to learn how to make it, and then give it to Sister Wei.” The young gentleman was finally less stumbling when he said this.

Upon hearing this, Hu Youning’s brows and eyes relaxed. After his expression eased, he immediately got closer to Meng Jun and gossiped, “Sister Wei? Is she the girl you’re thinking of?”

“Yes.” The young gentleman nodded somewhat guiltily, and casually plucked a small red flower beside him, putting it to his nose to sniff.

The scent entering his nose was sweet and fresh, quite similar to Li Ruantang’s hair fragrance.

These past two days, whenever the young gentleman opened his eyes in the early morning, he was sleeping on her pillow, so he was very familiar with it. He didn’t know how a woman could also smell so nice, it was extremely pleasant.

Even though she only used his bath water to bathe.

Meng Jun curiously hooked his hair with his hand and sniffed it, then listlessly put it down again. With this moment of distraction, his thoughts shifted elsewhere.

The young gentleman continuously plucked quite a few small flowers of the same color, carefully holding them in his robe. In the end, he was still muttering to himself, wanting to use them to take a bath tonight.

No matter what, he was also a male concubine, how could he be outdone by Li Ruantang.

“Jiu Jiu.”

Hu Youning glanced at the young gentleman who was concentrating on picking flowers out of the corner of his eye, pursed his lips and said softly, “Tell me, what exactly does it feel like to like someone?”

“I’ve also read some storybooks, but each book writes differently.”

Hu Youning was quite troubled as he tugged on his sleeve, “There’s lingering affection, lovesickness over red beans, and even life and death together. But no matter which kind, the books only say that love arises without knowing why.”

“I can’t ask Father either.” He was stunned, his eyes confused, “Jiu Jiu, how did you know that you like Miss Wei?”

“Me?!” The young gentleman’s flower-picking hand paused, and for the first time, he started to think seriously.

Actually, he wasn’t very familiar with Sister Wei. To put it bluntly, he had only written a five-character quatrain borrowing the scenery to express his feelings at the poetry gathering, and had never even had a proper conversation with her.

Moreover, if he hadn’t gone with his close male friends to Qingshan Academy last year to watch the female scholars shoot arrows, he wouldn’t have known that there were such brilliant girls in the capital.

Everything was a coincidence.

He happened to see Wei Yunruo, who excelled in both horseback archery and literary talent, and was also the best among her batch of dormitory students in terms of appearance and temperament.

Just a faint smile while glancing back on the archery field was enough to make many male concubines blush.

In addition, in this year’s spring examination in March, she took first place in the world and stayed in the Hanlin Academy to work as a compiler. It was known that the current prime minister, Lady Su Jin, had risen step by step from the Hanlin Academy.

With such glory and a bright future ahead, which male concubine wouldn’t be moved?

Earlier, Han Fushi had also told him that many young gentlemen from aristocratic families in the capital had their eyes on Sister Wei. But she valued loyalty and was willing to observe a one-year mourning period for the gentleman she was engaged to before his death, thus putting an end to the aristocratic families’ thoughts of forming a marital alliance with her.

Thinking of this, Meng Jun cautiously said, “Well, about that.”

He sat on a large rock and told Hu Youning while counting on his fingers, “Sister Wei is of upright character and has achieved scholarly honor. She has both prospects and a gentle personality, naturally the best choice for a wife-master.”

Although he had only seen Wei Yunruo three times, he still had to boast a little.

Meng Jun raised his brows slightly, “Moreover, the so-called liking is that when you think of her, your heart will feel very happy. Every time I see Sister Wei, I feel very happy, so naturally I like her.”

“Then……” Hu Youning listened in puzzlement and asked, “What about Lady Li?”

“You’re asking about my wife-master?”

The young gentleman rested his chin in his hand and spoke without thinking, “The way she is now, she’s very good at peeling potatoes, and she takes care of me attentively, helps me wash my clothes, and helps me pick out the small bones in the fish.”