Gasp! She's a Time Traveler Using Modern Tech to Improve Ancient Life-Chapter 552 - 551: Wishful Thinking

For this unique niece of the Village Lady Le’an, Lin Wanwan, Aunt Xiao was very fond.

After adding makeup for Xiao Xianghua, Aunt Xiao also took off a Mutton Fat Jade Bracelet from her own wrist and put it on Lin Wanwan’s wrist as a meeting gift.

The reasons for Xiao’s fondness for Lin Wanwan were quite complex, not easy to explain in detail, but definitely had countless connections with her twenty-four-year-old son who was still idle and couldn’t secure a proper wife.

Although Pang Baoyan was unmarried, he just hadn’t taken a wife, not that he didn’t have anyone in his quarters, though none were brought along on this trip.

At fourteen, when he first understood matters of the heart, he began fooling around with the maids. Because of his reckless behavior, he had two illegitimate sons early on, which led to heavy discrimination against him in the marriage market, making it difficult to find a suitable match.

However, he wasn’t completely without prospects; he once had an engagement, though it seemed fate had destined Pang Baoyan to be without a wife.

At nineteen, he finally had a fiancée, but before the traditional six ceremonies were completed, she fell severely ill and passed away, resulting in rumors of his misfortune towards wives, making engagements even less likely, leading to his drift to this day.

For five years, Pang Baoyan remained caught between high and low, staying "single" in this manner.

Now, as he sets out for Chang’an to seek a future, being single would surely be a disadvantage for a future civil official.

In the Great Tang or in modern times, the court generally believes that civil servants with stable marriages are more reliable, steady, and responsible.

Therefore, Xiao was quite anxious, whereas Pang Baoyan himself felt indifferent.

After all, in his twenty-four years of life, he was always living idly at home as a playboy, disregarding all matters.

As for marriage, naturally, it was the domain of parental orders and matchmakers; he needn’t worry about it himself.

Xiao’s original attention was on Xiao Xianghua, but who was Yuan? She was from one of the eight great families of Jiangnan, and she even meticulously selected matches for her illegitimate daughters; would she marry her legitimate daughter to a playboy?

Yuan was intent on her daughter marrying a promising young man from an old aristocratic family, a scholarly family! After much deliberation, she chose a young suitor from the scholarly Wang Family of Langya.

Families like the Pang Family, a newly wealthy household, were no different from common farmers in Yuan’s eyes, not to mention Pang Baoyan was idle and lazy, how could he dream of touching her precious daughter?

As an aside, the Lin Family of the past was also seen in the same light by Yuan. It was only now, with Lin Wanwan having the title of Village Lady Le’an, that they could be viewed with some esteem.

This time, Xiao came knowing Xiao Xianghua was no longer a possibility and considered Xiao Ronghua from the second family as a match instead, after all they were cousins, which seemed very fitting.

Yet this thought took a turn upon meeting Lin Wanwan.

Today, Yuan watched with a cold eye as Xiao showed warmth and laughter towards Lin Wanwan and secretly sneered. In Yuan’s view, her sister-in-law was a toad lusting after swan meat, indulging in fantasies.

Although Yuan had only spent a month with Lin Wanwan, from what she saw, Lin Wanwan was by no means an easily manipulated ordinary orphan, she had a strong mind of her own!

Last year’s interesting farce regarding concubinage allowed Yuan to witness Lin Wanwan’s assertiveness; she was someone who would overturn the table at the slightest disagreement, unrestrained by conventional etiquette, like an heir of a reclusive family!

Yuan believed that Lin Wanwan was much harder to manage than the average noblewoman of Great Tang.

Wealth comparable to a country and with a title, this little orphan thrived in Mao County, guarding vast wealth and leading a good life, with flirtations and interactions with that golden boy, the County Magistrate of the Xiao Family from the Qi and Liang family. That was not something any ordinary naive girl could achieve.

The Pang Family? Ha, let’s see what they can do.

In any case, Yuan was determined not to let their Xiao Family be dragged into this mess.

Xiao couldn’t dream of causing trouble on Yuan’s turf, if she had the ability to honestly secure Lin Wanwan herself, Yuan would concede to her prowess.

On the night after completing Xiao Xianghua’s makeup ceremony, sitting alone at the little window, she silently gazed at a portrait, tears silently falling.

After a long while, with a "pop," the lampwick exploded slightly, and Xiao Xianghua sighed deeply, lighting the portrait with the candle flame and throwing it into the washbasin to watch it slowly burn.

Once, she stayed up several nights to finish this painting, and now by burning it away she was saying goodbye to her past self.

Some things and some people cannot be spoken about. As the legitimate first daughter of the Xiao Family, she knew well what her future options were.

With such strict family prejudices today, how could she ever reach him!

Yet back then, she couldn’t help but feel drawn... an affection that started unknowingly and grew deeply.

Would he ever know her feelings?

Just pondering this, a maid suddenly came to report that Lin Wanwan had arrived.

Unable to sleep at night, as she was preparing a midnight snack, Lin Wanwan thought of her friend Xiao Xianghua, who had been feeling down these days, and brought some delicious hot chocolate to share with her.

When one feels down, having some sweet chocolate can lift one’s spirits.

This has scientific backing and isn’t just a marketing ploy.

But as she entered the room with a pot of hot chocolate, she caught a whiff of burning paper.

Turning to look at Xiao Xianghua, she saw two streams of tears running down her face.

Lin Wanwan was stunned for a moment before she turned to lower the curtain, walked over to the desk by the window with the hot chocolate, and softly said, "Xianghua, have some nice chocolate, and let’s chat while we drink?"

With sharp eyes, Lin Wanwan had already seen the half-burned portrait.

Even with only half remaining and just the upper part of the face left, the person was so distinctive, and the essence of the painting captured so well, that even with just one glance, Lin Wanwan recognized who it was.

Never would she have imagined that Xiao Xianghua’s beloved was him — Dugu Di, who often wore a headband!

When did she fall for Dugu Di? How did Lin Wanwan not notice at all!

Come to think of it, when it came to matters between men and women, Lin Wanwan was truly very oblivious.

Unless it was as blatantly obvious as Lu Ying’er to Xiao Chong, or Wang Anni to Lu Shouyue, she wouldn’t notice; slightly more subtle hidden affections were beyond her perception.

But from the result looking back, Lin Wanwan could now notice some clues.

When Dugu Di followed Xiao Chong to visit, Xiao Xianghua indeed appeared particularly shy, sometimes even blushing.

Aside from having significant issues with his retina, Dugu Di was exceptional in other aspects.

Moreover, even though he couldn’t see, because of his mastery in Martial Arts, he could compensate for his impaired vision with exceptional senses and hearing, moving freely in daily life, which was quite impressive.

It’s just that he belongs to the Dugu Family... an old aristocratic lineage that has produced many empresses, with kinship ties to Li Shimin, and wouldn’t be easy to climb.

The disparity in their status was similar to the gap between Lin Wanwan and Xiao Chong, an equal comparison of disadvantages.