The Red Fades, the Fragrance Disappears; Who Will Pity It? (10)

                                    

                                          
"Ai, this Liang Shao really is blind. For a village girl without influence or power, he unexpectedly went so far as to avoid the emperor's bestowed marriage!"
"Who said he isn't? Princess Anping has talent and beauty, and also has a doting father emperor. After marrying her, he'd immediately rise to the skies in power. He's buying and selling, steadily making profit without any loss. There are always people who are fortunate and don't appreciate it."
"It can't be said like this, right? Isn't Princess Anping weak and frail, unsuitable to carry children—"Please read at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
"Men take three wives and four concubines, do they still need to fear having no children?"
The jeering, followed by the sound of everyone talking at once, slowly made its way to Liang Shao's ears. He smiled stiffly, forehead protruding with blue veins. With a clatter, the chopsticks in Liang Shao's hands snapped in two. Nobody heard the quiet sound other than Chen Bing'er at his side.
Hearing the sound, Chen Bing'er's face turned deathly pale. She clearly knew Liang Shao was a bit regretful now— no, no, she couldn't allow this kind of thing to happen!
Though in her heart she was extremely aggrieved and indignant, Chen Bing'er's face didn't show even a sliver of it. Nobody discovered that, inside her sleeves, her hands were clenched into fists. Her nails had long pinched her palms bloody. 
Liang Shao also didn't notice Chen Bing'er's strangeness. He was steeped in regret and unwillingness. He was young and famous, had a high position, and even obtained the emperor's bestowed marriage. He was always the target of everyone's worship and envy. But in a short few months, how did everything change?
Princess Anping was originally his, Liang Shao's, fiancée. The jealousy and well-wishes should also be his!
In the midst of the lively noise, Liang Shao suddenly stood up. He cupped his fists towards Xie Fei and said loudly, "I've often heard Young Master Xie is unmatched in both literature and martial arts. I don't know if today you can give me an opportunity to let this Liang experience it?"Please read at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com
As soon as these words left his mouth, the entire surroundings went completely silent. Everyone's expression changed. Although Young Master Xie was brilliant and well-learned, look at his gentle and refined appearance, as though he was too weak to withstand a gust of wind. No matter how you looked at him, you couldn't tell he was talented in both literature and martial arts, right?
Xie Fei turned to look at Liang Shao. Calmly, he said, "If you want to experience it, fine. I'll wait and see what kind of price you can put out."
Liang Shao frowned and thought. He was born to a merchant family; honestly, his background was nothing much. In these years, he had marched and fought in battles; he also didn't have many presentable things. But last time, after winning a battle, he had looted a famous painting. He said, "I heard Young Master Xie loves the landscape. This Liang happens to have Great Master Qi's "Landscape of Bright Autumn Ink Painting". I don't know if I can convince Young Master to compare with me?"
Xie Fei lowered his head, sipping at the fine wine. After muttering for a bit, he nodded. "How do you want to compete?"
Liang Shao's face showed excitement. This Xie Fei really had a high opinion of himself, even daring to let him choose the method of competition. This was also good. He would take this opportunity to run Xie Fei's driving spirit into the ground. He would let Princess Anping and the laughing at him people see that he, Liang Shao, was absolutely not like Xie Fei, a useless person who didn't have strength to truss a chicken!
Thinking about this, he looked around, saw the far away bow and target, smiled slightly. He said, "It happens that the festival has bows and arrows. There's no harm, let's compete in who can use the bow to shoot arrows farther and more accurately. What does Young Master think?