"Just a country bumpkin from the sticks," Pang Guanyu thought disdainfully. "At best, he might have some decent looks. How could he possibly possess extraordinary, transcendent qualities?"
He recalled the children of officials from other provinces studying at the Imperial College. Even the most outstanding among them couldn't hide a certain rustic air, a provincialism that paled in comparison to the refinement of those like himself, raised in luxury in the capital since childhood. From the bottom of his heart, he didn't believe a word of what Chen Liejiu had said.
He was convinced it was just empty boasting, meant solely to humiliate him. Once he laid eyes on that unsophisticated country husband, he would repay the insult a hundredfold!
Sure enough, several travel-worn carriages came to a stop. The curtain of the first carriage was pushed aside, and out stepped a graceful young man. His features were quite regular, but his face was full of youthful immaturity; he looked like a child who hadn't grown up yet.
Pang Guanyu pursed his lips. "This is it?"
Apart from some surprise that some so young had become a Juren, Pang Guanyu couldn't find anything remotely "peerlessly brilliant" about him.
"Nothing special. Compared to me—" Pang Guanyu was about to say that aside from being a few years older, he wasn't much worse than this youth when his voice suddenly cut off.
Shortly after the youth alighted, another man jumped down from the carriage. This man was older and more visually appealing than the previous youth.
Dressed in gorgeous, colorful brocade robes, he exuded an air of free-spirited unrestraint. His demeanor and appearance were indeed superior to Pang Guanyu's own capital-bred style.
Pang Guanyu's heart sank a little, but his mouth remained stubborn. "Still not exaggerated enough to be called 'peerlessly brilliant'!"
He felt that for Chen Liejiu's words to be so insulting, the man had to be some so stunning that glance would shake 's soul. These two, while not commonplace and lacking any country bumpkin's inferiority complex, were far from breathtaking.
"Sure enough, a country man has country tastes. His standards are just this low—" Pang Guanyu was about to mock Chen Liejiu when his voice halted abruptly again.
Because another scholar descended from the carriage. Unlike the previous two— youthful, dashing—he wore no extra accessories. His clothes were simple white robes. As he stepped down, the capital's biting wind caught his robes, making them billow. Combined with his innate scholarly aura, he looked like a sage stepping out from the pages of a book.
Pang Guanyu immediately choked back his sarcastic words. Could this be Chen Liejiu's husband?!
Pang Guanyu scrutinized him. Although his looks weren't top-tier, his overall bearing was no inferior to the top students favored by the Chancellor at the Imperial College.
Remembering how he and others had to respectfully bow and call such students "Senior Brother," Pang Guanyu's face flushed from white to red, burning with shame.
If this was Chen Liejiu's husband, then "peerlessly brilliant" would indeed be an apt description. Even the senior brothers at the Imperial College seemed to lack this man's striking presence.
Just as Pang Guanyu was feeling utterly mortified by this elegant and lofty scholarly aura, the carriage produced yet another passenger.
This man had a mature, was tall and straight, and extraordinarily handsome. He also wore white robes. Though he appeared dignified and solemn, the winter sunlight falling on him seemed to cast a halo of sanctity around him.
He embodied both authority and gentleness, like a medicinal herb growing on a cliff face—clearly possessing healing powers, yet requiring great sacrifice just to harvest.
Pang Guanyu pressed his lips tightly together.
This man's scholarly air wasn't as pronounced as the previous 's, but his striking handsomeness and his sacred, inviolable presence made the term "peerlessly brilliant" seem not at all mistaken when applied to him.
He had lost! He had lost completely!
The warm and mellow , the dashing and romantic , the graceful and youthful , the dignified and austere —each had their own distinct characteristics, each unique. Moreover, they all exuded the particular bearing of well-read scholars, an inner richness reflected outwardly.
They were clearly worlds apart from some like him, all show and no substance.
No matter which of these four was Chen Liejiu's husband, he had lost. And he had lost thoroughly.
Pang Guanyu had initially come out to mock and ridicule, but now any of these four men could make him look like the joke. He was so ashamed he wished he had never left his house today.
He even wished the Imperial College weren't on break, so he wouldn't be stuck here, too ashamed to either stay or leave.
Just as Pang Guanyu, mortified to the point of resentment, was thinking, 'No matter how extraordinary these men are, they're still marrying into a family for my!', Chen Liejiu came running out of the house, his face lit up with joy.
But he didn't head towards the four men Pang Guanyu already found impressive. Instead, he walked up to a carriage that had remained quiet after its passengers disembarked. Smiling broadly, he lifted the carriage curtain.
Was there some else inside?
Could this be Chen Liejiu's actual husband?
Pang Guanyu's interest was piqued. The previous four were already outstanding. Surely there couldn't be a fifth even more exceptional?
Chen Liejiu, unaware of Pang Guanyu's thoughts, was completely focused on his little husband. He pulled back the curtain and called out joyfully, "A-Qian!"
"My legs are numb from sitting! Why did you take so long?" The moment Xu Huaiqian saw Chen Liejiu, his face also showed delight—finally, his wife! But then, remembering the hardships of the journey, his expression turned aggrieved.
"My fault, my fault. Shall I carry you down?" Chen Liejiu was immensely apologetic. The house being too big wasn't always good; it had taken the servant forever to find him, and by the time he ran out, Duan Youyan and the others were already out of their carriages.
"No need." Although being carried by his wife sounded nice, there were too many people outside. If he were really carried down, where would his masculine dignity be? He haughtily extended his hand to Chen Liejiu. "Just help me down."
"Alright." Overjoyed to see his little husband, Chen Liejiu was happy to comply. He promptly offered his hand for Xu Huaiqian to steady himself.
Then, Pang Guanyu, who was still hoping Chen Liejiu's husband would be average-looking, stared in disbelief.
First, a jade-like, pale, and slender hand emerged from the carriage, resting on Chen Liejiu's hand. Then, out stepped a man who was the very picture of noble elegance and refined handsomeness.
Just glimpse of his profile suggested some of transcendent, peerless quality. And when he stood beside Chen Liejiu after alighting, his bearing—bright as the sun and moon entering 's embrace, pure and lofty like a jade tree in the wind—made him look like a noble young master from an illustrious, centuries-old family.
Instantly, Pang Guanyu froze on the spot.
This! How was this possible?!
If the previous four men each had their own distinct merits, he couldn't find any words to describe this . He simply surpassed Pang Guanyu's entire understanding of "peerless brilliance."
He had only seen such breathtaking grace and talent in person before: Shen Wennian, the eldest son of the Shen family, who embodied the pinnacle of Jiangnan's talent and was in the prime of his youth.
Yet this man exuded the accumulated of a millennium-old aristocratic family. His own background surely couldn't be bad. How could he possibly have chosen to marry into another family? And to Chen Liejiu, a merchant man?
Pang Guanyu couldn't comprehend it. He wanted to deny they were a couple, but seeing their tightly clasped hands, any rebuttal died in his throat.
"Who is he?" Xu Huaiqian, sharp-eyed, spotted the figure lurking by the neighboring gate the moment he stepped down. He asked Chen Liejiu.
"The son of the Ministry of Works official living next door," Chen Liejiu replied, glancing over casually without much concern, his attention fully on Xu Huaiqian. "Don't mind him. Are your legs still numb?"
"No. But his attitude seems off." Normal people observe new neighbors openly. This guy, however, was sneaking glances, clearly up to something. "He hasn't been... interested in you, has he?"
Xu Huaiqian might be indifferent to many things, but his radar for detecting love rivals was infallible.
"He offered to marry in," Chen Liejiu didn't hide it, hstly explaining to Xu Huaiqian. "I used you to insult him. He's probably here now because he's not convinced and wants to see what you look like."
"Let him look. Seeing you will teach him what 'self-inflicted humiliation' means." If nothing else, Chen Liejiu felt the praise he'd heaped on Xu Huaiqian in front of Pang Guanyu wasn't exaggerated at all. If only he were more educated and had a richer vocabulary, he could praise his little husband as utterly peerless, under heaven and on earth.
Hearing this, Xu Huaiqian understood. He deliberately lifted his face, presenting it clearly for the rival next door to see.
Pang Guanyu, still lost in disbelief, was caught off guard by this move and got a perfect, clear view of Xu Huaiqian's face.
Consequently, his legs gave way, and he slumped to the ground.
How could such a beautiful person exist in this world?
His face, with features like clouds and the moon, clearly showed a sickly pallor, yet it didn't appear withered or haggard. Instead, this very paleness added a touch of ethereal and fragile beauty to his peerless looks. The more ill he seemed, the more an aura of noble elegance and refined grace circulated around him. Combined with his undeniably aristocratic bearing, it was truly enough to captivate and fascinate at first glance.
Pang Guanyu's heart raced uncontrollably. Did even Shen Wennian possess such peerless beauty?!
He recalled his earlier boast to Chen Liejiu, claiming he would be better than his "country bumpkin" husband. Now, seeing the reality of Chen Liejiu's actual husband, Pang Guanyu felt that "self-inflicted humiliation" and "mortification" weren't even strong enough to describe his current predicament.
If possible, he wanted to be reincarnated!
Even being a st in his next life would be better than being trapped in this utterly unbearable situation.
Seeing that he hadn't even d anything, merely revealing his face had caused the rival such distress, Xu Huaiqian shook his head indifferently. His opponent was too weak; he couldn't even muster the desire to compete.
"Let's go," Chen Liejiu said, completely unconcerned with some as insignificant as a passerby. He took Xu Huaiqian's hand and led him towards the house. "Come see the new home I prepared for you."
Barring unforeseen circumstances, they would live here for a very, very long time. He hoped Xu Huaiqian would like it.