Volume 6: Dream Record Chapter 401: Hypocrite Ouyang Xu wants to do something bad to Pan'er
After many twists and turns, they arrived at Sanyuan Inn. As there was only the last upper room vacant, and Zhao Pan'er didn't want to go anywhere else, Yuan Xudong let the women stay there first, while he went to Laifu Inn two streets over.
After Yuan Xudong left, Sun Sanniang looked at Zhao Pan'er who was sitting alone on the bed sulking and asked hesitantly:
"Pan'er, what's wrong with you? Why did you quarrel with Master Xiao for no reason?"
"No, we didn't quarrel!"
Looking at Sun Sanniang, and Song Yinzhang and Yinping girl standing on her right, Zhao Pan'er suddenly cried softly:
"Sanniang, I might actually like him a little bit!"
Seeing Zhao Pan'er suddenly burst into tears, Sun Sanniang hurriedly comforted her:
"Pan'er, this is a good thing, why are you crying?"
"But, I originally hated Ouyang Xu for betraying me, being unfaithful and marrying someone else, but I myself..."
Zhao Pan'er's voice was choked with sobs. Before she finished speaking, Sun Sanniang had already understood what she meant and said with a smile:
"Pan'er, why do you care so much? Ouyang Xu changed his mind first, and you fell in love with someone else later. Besides, it was Young Master Xiao who forced your body. It's all the men's fault. None of these men are good. This is none of your business, so stop crying!"
"But……"
Seeing that Zhao Pan'er wanted to say something, Song Yinzhang on the side hurriedly said:
"Sister, you should go to bed early. Tomorrow is Grain Rain, and you still have to go to Gao Guancha's house to meet Ouyang Xu!"
"Yes, Sister Pan'er, you should rest early. Young Master Xiao is more than ten thousand times better than that Ouyang Xu. You will definitely be very happy in the future!"
Yin Ping continued to persuade Song Yinzhang, and looking at Zhao Pan'er who was somewhat relaxed, Sun Sanniang continued:
"If we find Observer Gao, we will definitely find Ouyang Xu. I heard from Master Xiao that Gao's mansion is just two streets over. Tomorrow morning, I will accompany you to find Ouyang Xu and make things clear with him face to face. From now on, he will be the son-in-law of the Gao family, and you will be the daughter-in-law of the Xiao family. You two will keep yourselves separate and never have anything to do with each other. All right, go to bed early and get up early tomorrow to go to Observer Gao's house!"
"Okay, I'll go to sleep first, you guys should get some rest too!"
"Okay!"
…
The next morning, the sun rose and the morning glow covered the sky. Yuan Xudong had not come to Sanyuan Inn yet, but Zhao Pan'er got up early and left Sanyuan Inn. She did not tell anyone and went alone to the vicinity of Gao Guancha's residence.
Zhao Pan'er found that there were no big red lanterns hanging outside the Gao family's gate, and it didn't look like anyone was going to have a wedding. She stumbled to the door of the Gao family, but when she saw the high stone steps and the majestic stone lions in front of the door, she suddenly felt a little timid.
After taking a deep breath, Zhao Pan'er brushed her hair, straightened her clothes, and then walked up the stairs. Just as she was about to knock on the door, a carriage stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and a handsome scholar in a blue shirt got out of the carriage. When he saw Zhao Pan'er, he was surprised and said:
"Pan'er?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Zhao Pan'er turned around suddenly and saw Ouyang Xu, who had changed a lot from head to toe. She was a little afraid to recognize him and said:
"Ouyang?"
Looking at Zhao Pan'er walking towards him, Ouyang Xu pretended to be surprised. He glanced at the door plaque of Gao Guancha's house without leaving a trace, and a trace of panic and timidity flashed in his eyes. He reluctantly said:
"Pan'er, why are you in Tokyo?"
"I heard from Uncle De that you won the third place in the imperial examination. He also said that you were going to marry Observer Gao's daughter..."
Without waiting for Zhao Pan'er to finish her words, Ouyang Xu interrupted her immediately, fearing that his relationship with Zhao Pan'er would be discovered by the Gao family:
"Did you receive my letter? Then why didn't you wait for me to pick you up in Qiantang? Why did you come here on your own? It's a long way to go. If something happens, wouldn't it make me worry?"
"You wrote to me saying you would come to Qiantang to pick me up? Then why did Uncle De tell me that?"
Hearing Ouyang Xu say this, Zhao Paner was confused. Could it be that Ouyang Xu really had not changed his mind, and everything was the idea of Uncle De and the Gao family?
"How did you meet Uncle De? I sent him back to his hometown in Zhaozhou, which is east of Qiantang and west of it, completely in two different directions!"
Ouyang Xu pretended to be confused. After that, he looked at Zhao Pan'er and frowned slightly.
"What did Uncle De tell you?"
"Uncle De said you..."
Before Zhao Pan'er could finish her words, Ouyang Xu interrupted her and said:
"Look at me, I forgot. We can't talk about this in front of someone's door. There's a nice teahouse nearby. Can we go there and chat slowly?"
"OK!"
Looking at Ouyang Xu, Zhao Pan'er said with a complicated expression, if Ouyang Xu had not changed his heart, if Ouyang Xu did not want to marry Gao Guancha's daughter, if Ouyang Xu still remembered his original oath and promise, then wouldn't she, Zhao Pan'er, be the one who truly changed her heart?
Ouyang Xu opened the curtain for Zhao Pan'er, and Zhao Pan'er got into the carriage in a daze. What she didn't notice was that after she got in the carriage, Ouyang Xu subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. He took one last look at Gao's mansion, then got into the carriage and told the driver to rush to a nearby teahouse.
Along the way, Zhao Pan'er only told Ouyang Xu about Uncle De, but didn't know how to start the conversation about Yuan Xudong. Ouyang Xu explained that all this was Uncle De's own decision, and he had never forgotten the vows he had made and the promises he had made to Zhao Pan'er. Looking at Ouyang Xu's gentle face, Zhao Pan'er felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave. It turned out that she was the unfaithful person. For a moment, she felt that she was sorry for Ouyang Xu, and wanted to confess to him the relationship between her and Yuan Xudong, but she couldn't say it out loud!
Inside the carriage, looking at the tender and attractive Zhao Pan'er, Ouyang Xu's heart was actually pounding. Compared with Gao Guancha's daughter, Ouyang Xu liked Zhao Pan'er more, because Zhao Pan'er was not only virtuous and beautiful, but also had once been a member of a lowly family. She always had a sense of inferiority in her heart and always admired himself, a scholar.
On the contrary, Gao Guancha's daughter was of noble birth and domineering. In front of her, Ouyang Xu had a low status, which was exactly the opposite of what he did when facing Zhao Pan'er. If he said a few more words to any young lady, Gao Hui (Gao Guancha's daughter) would lose his temper, and Gao Guancha, her father who regarded her as the apple of his eye, would even scold Ouyang Xu loudly.
In front of the Gao family, Ouyang Xu always bent his back and was submissive. But in front of Zhao Pan'er, who was of low status, he, Ouyang Xu, was a scholar, a newly-appointed Jinshi, and even a third place in the imperial examination with a bright future. He could speak with his back straight and show his grace, magnanimity and integrity as a scholar.
In short, in the Gao family, he was a son-in-law who married into the Gao family and had no status at all. Even Gao Hui's wet nurse dared to give him a hard time. But in Zhao Pan'er's place, he was a high-ranking scholar, a dignified and upright man. People often talk about getting a name on the imperial examination and having a wedding night. In the past, he failed the imperial examination and had to rely on Zhao Pan'er's support to continue his studies and take the imperial examination. At that time, as long as Zhao Pan'er disagreed, he did not dare to do anything wrong, for fear that Zhao Pan'er would look down on him.
But now that he had passed the imperial examination, his status was reversed. Looking at the extremely beautiful Zhao Pan'er, he couldn't help but have some ideas. For the sake of his career, Gao Hui must be married. As for Zhao Pan'er, the Gao family didn't agree with him taking a concubine, so it would be nice to keep her outside as a mistress. Thinking of this, Ouyang Xu couldn't help but reach out his hand to the confused Zhao Pan'er, wanting to hold her in his arms and caress her properly. As soon as he touched Zhao Pan'er's arm, Zhao Pan'er was startled and quickly dodged backwards, saying in surprise:
"What are you doing?"
Seeing Zhao Pan'er's reaction so big, Ouyang Xu felt a little angry. It would have been fine if she didn't let him touch her before, but now she still didn't let him touch her. She was just a singing girl in the Jiaofang Bureau. Was it necessary for her to be so chaste?
Although he was thinking this in his heart, Ouyang Xu smiled gently:
"Pan'er, I haven't seen you for a long time. I miss you a little . I can't help it. It's all my fault. I scared you!"
"It's okay, I understand!"
Although she said that she understood, Zhao Pan'er subconsciously moved to the side, obviously not wanting Ouyang Xu to touch her. Seeing her like this, Ouyang Xu was secretly angry, but he didn't know what to say, so he just continued to pretend to maintain his persona and said:
"Pan'er, Tokyo is big and it's not easy to find a place to live. You're alone in Tokyo and you're unfamiliar with the place. It's not convenient for you to stay at my place, so I can only let you stay at the inn for the time being. I still have some money..."
Before Ouyang Xu could finish, Zhao Pan'er interrupted him and said:
"No need, I'm staying at Sanyuan Inn now, it's very good there, you don't have to worry!"
"Sanyuan Inn?"
Hearing that Zhao Pan'er was actually staying at Sanyuan Inn, the best inn in Tokyo, Ouyang Xu couldn't help but be a little surprised:
"I heard that Sanyuan Inn is the best inn in the whole Tokyo City. The cheapest room there costs one kan a day . Why do you stay in such an expensive inn?"
"The cheapest room costs one kan a day?"
I didn't expect the accommodation fee at Sanyuan Inn to be so expensive. I secretly cursed Yuan Xudong for being such a spendthrift. The cheapest room costs one guan per day. How much does the best upper room they are staying in cost per day? No wonder all the other rooms are full, but this best upper room is still empty. Is it just waiting for someone to take advantage of it?
