The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

50. The Jasmine

Translator: Iris Guo

“River? Ladle?” A’Chou looked at the drawing curiously, and her black eyes rolled several times, “Where are they? I didn’t see anything.”

Chen Qingxuan was amused by A’Chou and he almost smiled, but he tried not to laugh out loud in case she might think he was making fun of her. Then, he explained patiently: “The sentence is from the Buddhist Scriptures, which is actually used as a metaphor that there might be various attractive things or people in your life, and you cannot be greedy but choose only one that you favor most.”

“I see.” A’Chou had a moment of enlightenment. She stared at the drawing of fish on the teacup for a while. The more she thought about it, the more she found what Chen Qingxuan said reasonable. Therefore, when she looked at him again, her eyes were filled with admiration. “Mr. Chen, you are so knowledgeable. Oh! Of course you are! You’re a teacher! I almost forgot about that although I called you Mr. Chen so many times.”

“Haha!” Chen Qingxuan couldn’t help laughing, but out of his good manners, he stopped soon, so that A’Chou wouldn’t feel awkward.

A’Chou became even fonder of Chen Qingxuan. She asked him while holding the teacup: “Mr. Chen, how come I never saw your students in the study?”

“They went home when you came over,” said Chen Qingxuan with a smile, “The Jixian Study opens at 5 am and closes at 9 am every day, and it’s already past noon now.”

“Ah, that sounds like a long time,” responded A’Chou while sipping at her tea. Then, she suddenly stared at the tea and shouted in surprise, “Mr. Chen, your tea is so fragrant, even more fragrant than the jasmine hair oil! And its smell is not too strong, perfect!”

“Have more if you like it. There’s plenty in the pot.” said Chen Qingxuan while putting the teapot on the table.

“I’ll help myself then.” answered A’Chou readily. She gulped the tea and refilled the cup, when a piece of jasmine flowed down from the spout into her cup. She hastened to put down the pot, bent over the table, stared at the floating flower, and murmured, “How can it be so beautiful?”

Chen Qingxuan had never seen a girl like A’Chou. He had been studying hard and barely went out. Thus, he had no chance to meet girls. At the age of 20, he was certified as Xiucai, which was unprecedented in the small Chen Village. Even Magistrate of Prefecture sent someone to congratulate him, saying that one day the Emperor would surely make him a government official.

His house had seen numerous visitors since then. Female matchmakers told him that Miss Li was a good helper in handling household affairs, Miss Chen looked gorgeous, and Miss Zhou was virtuous and dignified. He was unutterably bored with either their endless nagging or those snobbish parents who couldn’t wait to marry their daughters to him. Besides, he even began to hate the girls in Chen Village, so he built Jixian Study at the foot of the mountain for peace and quiet. He managed to avoid the matchmakers, but he could never avoid his grandmother’s intervention.