Extra 3-6: Like You

Thanks to the efforts of various departments, the celebration for the 200th anniversary of the founding of Great Zhou was a huge success.

Tao Sheng and Ji Yanming also took some time to relax after all the hard work.

Ji Yanming had some work to do in the south, so he made a trip there. Tao Sheng took a half-month break, as was customary, and joined him.

The trip wasn’t difficult. Ji Yanming only needed half a day to gather information from local officials and handle the necessary paperwork.

The trip also took them near the academy where Ji Yanming had studied. Hearing that some of his former teachers were still there, Ji Yanming took Tao Sheng to visit them.

Unfortunately, not long after they arrived, the local governor, Lord Pei, came to see Ji Yanming. Lord Pei had helped Ji Yanming a lot during his previous patrols. Most importantly, Lord Pei’s cousin was the Princess of Chu, who had also been the matchmaker for Ji Yanming’s marriage to Tao Sheng.

After Ji Yanming left, the dean, Song, spoke freely to the vice-deans. In just one hour, Tao Sheng learned many interesting things about Ji Yanming’s time as a student there.. 

It was past 9 o’clock when Tao Sheng and Ji Yanming arrived at the academy. After talking for another hour, it was time for lunch. Dean Song arranged for Tao Sheng to eat with everyone. Tao Sheng thought Ji Yanming hadn’t returned yet, and it would be awkward for him to join. She suggested they just have a simple lunch when Ji Yanming came back.

The deans weren’t ones to force things, so they had a guest room ready for Tao Sheng to rest. Two girls, daughters of the vice president, were chosen to keep her company.

The two girls were curious about Tao Sheng, the only fourth-rank female official in the capital. They were close in age and quickly became friendly with her because she was humble and funny.

Naturally, they brought up Ji Yanming’s past. They spoke about how popular Ji Yanming had been at the academy when he was younger.

Miss Zhu remembered hearing from her mother that Ji Yanming was very popular. Many teachers wanted to marry their daughters to him.

Tao Sheng was surprised. “Wasn’t he only about fourteen or fifteen then?”

Miss Zhu explained, “He was already considered old at that time.”

Tao Sheng thought back to when she first met Ji Yanming, agreeing with Miss Zhu.

Miss Zhu continued, “The most infatuated one was the fifth daughter of the Mengfu Yin family. She always tried to see Ji Yanming, sending him meals and clothes. She even followed him on outings just to be close to him.”

Miss Zhu smiled, saying, “She had a teardrop mole by her eye, and even I thought she was beautiful. But Ji Yanming never paid her any attention.”

Miss Ning quickly warned her to stop, saying, “Don’t talk like that in front of Lord Luo.”

Miss Zhu turned to Tao Sheng, asking, “You’re Ji Yanming’s cousin, right?”

Tao Sheng nodded, “Yes.”

Miss Zhu turned to Miss Ning, silently saying, “See? I was right.”

Miss Ning sighed, weakly saying, “Didn’t aunt tell you that Lord Luo and Master Ji are married?”

Miss Zhu’s expression dropped. She leaned on Miss Ning, looking upset.

Tao Sheng gently patted Miss Zhu, saying it was okay and she was interested to hear about it.

After lunch, the two girls left to let Tao Sheng rest. Later, Tao Sheng went out for a walk to admire the academy’s layout and atmosphere.

She soon saw Ji Yanming standing under a plum tree with a woman who looked like Miss Meng. When Tao Sheng approached, Miss Meng wiped her tears and left, saying she never thought of waiting for Ji Yanming.

Ji Yanming walked over to Tao Sheng and playfully pinched her cheek, asking, “What are you staring at?”

Tao Sheng replied, “I think that was Miss Meng, the one you were close to back then. Are you two… okay?”

Ji Yanming explained, “Her mother is Dean Song’s sister. When I was here, the dean hoped I’d take over the academy. Miss Meng probably said that to express her disappointment in me.”

Tao Sheng wasn’t sure. “Really?”

Ji Yanming confirmed, “Of course. If she had confidence in me, she wouldn’t say she shouldn’t wait.”

Tao Sheng frowned, feeling there was something off.

At that moment, Ji Yanming took her hand and said, “Come on, I’ll show you where I used to live.”

Tao Sheng was interested and quickly agreed. “Okay, show me.”

Ji Yanming’s former dorm was now a museum of sorts. The academy had preserved it, even putting some of Ji Yanming’s old belongings in it. They believed the area had good feng shui, so they had converted it into faculty housing.

Even if Ji Yanming brought Tao Sheng there at night, it wouldn’t seem strange.

Ji Yanming looked at the room’s layout and nodded slightly. 

Looks like it has good soundproofing. 

As usual, Tao Sheng had dinner with several deans, teachers, and student representatives in the evening. After returning to the dormitory, Tao Sheng fell asleep hurriedly without waiting for Ji Yanming to check the sound insulation. 

In her dream, Tao Sheng went back two years. After completing her mission as an envoy to Ling State, she went to Luoyang City to find Ji Yanming and wanted to confess her feelings, but he told her that he was about to get married. 

And the bride-to-be was Miss Meng, whom Tao Sheng met today.

Tao Sheng woke up suddenly, filled with anger. 

Seeing Ji Yanming sitting at a desk reading with a lamp on, her anger grew. She put on her coat, stood up, and started talking to him.

Ji Yanming closed the document and held Tao Sheng on his lap: “You are right, it’s because I didn’t do well during the day that you had such thoughts in your dream.” 

It seems Tao Sheng isn’t tired enough from traveling all day and still has the energy to think about things.

To make sure they could sleep well in the second half of the night, Ji Yanming decided to solve the issue himself.

Tao Sheng was so dizzy from Ji Yanming’s kiss that she almost fell on the table. He whispered in her ear, “I asked Lian Chuan to add two more pots of charcoal fire in the room so you won’t get cold. The houses around here have been cleaned, so you don’t need to be so quiet now.” 

Tao Sheng clenched her teeth, swallowing tiny moans to avoid making any sound.

It was fine at home, but if someone heard anything here, she’d be embarrassed.

Ji Yanming used to live in a single room at the academy, where the bed was barely enough for two.

After finishing up, Ji Yanming carried Tao Sheng back to the couch, placed her there, and restrained her to continue.

After a shower, Ji Yanming got out of bed and turned off the lights. When he came back, he saw Tao Sheng almost buried in the quilt.

Ji Yanming shook his head helplessly.

Don’t you like seeing male and female students from the Imperial College breaking taboos together? Why become so shy now?

In winter, the weather becomes cold and damp at night, easily causing illness.

Ji Yanming lowered his head, wrapped Tao Sheng in the quilt, and kissed her forehead gently: “Go to sleep quickly.”

Have a sweet dream.

Perhaps because she slept too much the previous day, Tao Sheng woke up earlier than Ji Yanming the next morning. She went out excitedly to watch the students doing morning reading and exercises, and overheard some teachers and younger students talking. 

Before, Tao Sheng thought Ji Yanming was a man who only cared about studying, with a cold personality and no charm, so she thought his marriage would be hard. But now she learned that he married his cousin, who was not only gentle and virtuous, but also beautiful and the only female official of the fourth rank certified by the court. 

Ji Yanming was so lucky. If Lord Luo wasn’t his cousin, he never would have married such an outstanding woman. This is called “the one who is close to the water gets the moon first” ^[1]phrase used to describe those who benefit by being close to opportunities.. 

Tao Sheng smiled. 

As expected, boys and girls have different perspectives when talking about Ji Yanming, but they both see him as lucky.

_ 

The New Year of the 48th year of Youde was Tao Sheng’s first year after getting married.

Tao Sheng soon discovered that the New Year after marriage was no different from before. 

She was busy preparing for New Year celebrations in the palace, occasionally shopping for New Year’s goods with her aunt and Luo Xin before joining her cousin to celebrate. 

After finishing the New Year preparations, Tao Sheng took her husband to visit the relatives of Grand Tutor Luo.

During every New Year, Grand Tutor Luo’s home is always bustling. The Luo family is aristocratic, and Grand Master Luo and his sons have many students all over the world. From the first to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, there is a constant flow of visitors.

In such a place, it would be inappropriate to stay with her husband.

Tao Sheng followed her aunt to the women’s quarters, while Ji Yanming went to the study to visit his grandfather and uncles.

Ji Yanming initially thought today was just a regular New Year greeting, but he was surprised to see Tao Sheng so happy upon returning.

Ji Yanming asked, “What are you so happy about?”

“My third aunt has a relative named Fang, you know that?” Tao Sheng said, her cheeks flushed. She grabbed Ji Yanming’s hand and shook it gently. “That family seems to be related to Miss Shen from Wenyuanhou Mansion, and they’re very conservative. They’ve held a deep prejudice against me because of Miss Shen’s incident, and they didn’t wish me well.”

“At first, everyone in the Luo family was proud of my promotion to Grand Master of Music, but they poured cold water on me, saying girls need to get married, and that my position was useless. Madam Chu also disliked me for not being able to take care of the family, saying I wouldn’t find a better husband than Chu Xun.”

“But today, when I brought you here, they looked uncomfortable seeing me. Their expressions turned sour.”

In short, after hearing that she married Ji Yanming, the confidant of the future crown prince and youngest cabinet minister, their defenses were completely broken.

Ji Yanming grabbed Tao Sheng’s restless fingers: “I remember you didn’t care about these things before.”

Obviously, what made Tao Sheng happy wasn’t just about breaking their defenses.

“Yes,” Tao Sheng said. “But when they heard about me meeting the Chu family, the Murong family, and even the emperor’s nephew, they didn’t react like this. It was only when they heard that my husband was you that they felt uncomfortable.”

“This shows that no matter how stubborn they are, they have to admit that you are the best man in the world, and you like me, so I am happy.”

Ji Yanming’s mouth curled up: “What about you?”

“Me? Of course, I like you too.” Tao Sheng, after drinking, spoke more sincerely. “So, I’m happy to marry you.”

After saying this, Tao Sheng fell into Ji Yanming’s arms.

Hearing her say she loved him, Ji Yanming felt his heart soften even more.

When Ji Yanming read books with classmates in the past, he always thought the love stories were just literary effects. He didn’t believe such love existed in real life.

But now, he understood what it meant to “hold her in my arms and the whole world is mine.”