Chapter 29 The Matchmaker

  "How did Zhen come? What is she doing here? And specifically asking to see me? Why? Is it because of the last time we met, my elegant and charming masculine charm has made her fall in love with me and can't help herself, so she came secretly today to confess to me?! Ah! Should I prepare a rose? Or should I also prepare a box of Durex or Ailishu?"

  With a belly full of evil thoughts, Tao Ying rushed into his own backyard, went straight to the small lake in the garden, and hastily looked into the pavilion. He saw that Mei Xiang was leading two maids, and she was indeed waiting in the pavilion. It happened to be July, and the lotus flowers in the pond were in full bloom. Mei Xiang stood beside the pavilion, admiring the flowers with nothing better to do. The flowers were red, the leaves were green, her face was more beautiful than the flowers, the flowers were beautiful, but she was even more beautiful, like a poem, and like a painting.

  At the sight of this dreamlike scene, Tao Ying couldn't help but stop in her tracks and stand by the pond to quietly appreciate this rare beauty. Unfortunately, the maid brought by Mei Zhen soon discovered Tao Ying's presence, leaned over to whisper two sentences into Mei Zhen's delicate ear, and Mei Zhen immediately lifted her head, smiled at Tao Ying with a captivating smile that eclipsed the beauty of all the lotus flowers in the pond.

  Tao, the deputy director who had long been tempered to be unmoved by praise or blame, was rarely seen with a red face. His heart was racing like that of a 17- or 18-year-old young man, pounding non-stop. He secretly laughed at himself for becoming more and more conservative as he grew older. After making an effort to calm down the turmoil in his chest, Tao walked up to the pavilion bridge with what he thought was his most elegant posture, took big strides to stand before Zou Chen, and bowed deeply to her, saying: "Tao Ying has met Miss Zou Chen, I've kept you waiting for a long time."

  "Sir." Mei Zhen's small face also slightly flushed as she gave Tao Ying a bow, saying nervously and shyly: "Mei Zhen has come uninvited to pay her respects, any disrespect is hoped to be forgiven by the sir."

  "What Miss Tao said is that it's only right if you go far to welcome her." Tao suddenly hated the tedious formalities of this era - if it were in the 21st century, Deputy Director Tao would have definitely been a roughneck with a foul mouth.

  Zou Xun's face turned even redder with a smile, her mood was more tense than Tao Ying's. For a moment, neither of them knew how to continue the conversation. Tao Ying, who had never been involved with a mistress in this era, didn't know how to flirt with a virtuous woman in the Three Kingdoms period. He was afraid of saying something wrong and wasting this rare opportunity, so he also didn't know how to continue. The two of them fell silent, and the atmosphere became awkward. It was Zou Xun's two maids who were secretly smiling and sizing up Tao Ying and Zou Xun's expressions, seemingly finding it very interesting.

  It was a stalemate for who knows how long, until finally, Zou Jing summoned up the courage to speak, turning to her two maidservants and blushing as she instructed: "Yingtao, Lanmei, you two withdraw for a moment, I have something to say to Master Tao alone." The two maidservants exchanged a glance, deliberately refusing to leave, their faces smiling even more, until Zou Jing raised her small fist in threat, and only then did the two maidservants giggle and run out of the pavilion, Zou Jing's delicate face also flushing all the way to the base of her neck.

  It wasn't easy to wait until the two maids disappeared into the depths of the flower bushes, and finally only Tao Ying and Mei Zhen were left by the pond. Mei Zhen also felt much more at ease, and plucked up her courage to ask: "Young Master Tao, won't you invite me to sit down?"

  "Ah!" Tao Ying finally came back to his senses, hastily gesturing to the seat in the center of the pavilion and awkwardly smiling: "Miss Zou please sit down, has the tea been served? I'll have someone re-brew a pot of tea?"

  "Thank you, young master." Zhi Xiang's face turned red as she nodded and then shook her head, saying: "No need for tea, I'm not thirsty."

  As she spoke, Mei Zhen lowered her head to avoid Tao Ying's persistent gaze, took small steps to sit down beside the seat, and Tao Ying also quickly sat up straight across from Mei Zhen. A pair of eyes that seemed enchanted refused to move away from Mei Zhen's face and chest. Mei Zhen was even more embarrassed by Tao Ying's gaze, and she quickly turned her face away, gazing at the lotus flowers in the pond while avoiding Tao Ying's piercing gaze. In a soft and polite tone, she said: "Young Master, I came to visit you today with some words to share with you. If there is anything improper, please do not blame me."

  "Miss, no need to be polite, please speak directly, I'll listen carefully." Tao Ying replied with a sly glance at Mei Zhen's bulging chest.

  "That little girl was too presumptuous." Mei Zhen nodded, opened her mouth to speak, but her tender face suddenly turned red all the way to the base of her neck. After hesitating for a long time, Mei Zhen asked in a mosquito-like humming voice, "May I ask, sir, did my brother Mei Zhu come to visit Master Tao at noon yesterday?"

  "It's true." Tao Ying nodded in acknowledgement.

  "Uh...that..." Zhen's face turned even redder, and after a long time of hesitation, she finally asked a complete sentence, "What does the young master think about that matter that the brother of that little girl mentioned to Master Tao?"

  "What did you say to my father about going home?" Tao Ying's head was full of fog.

  Mèi Zhēn was extremely surprised, but also even more shy, not daring to turn her head and face Táo Yìng's expression, only softly and shyly saying: "Young Master, Mèi Zhēn is a woman, that matter is really inconvenient to mention, Young Master, why must you pretend not to know and tease a young girl?"

  "I really......" Tao Yingben was about to say "I really don't know", but the words reached his lips, and suddenly he had a change of heart. After rotating his triangular eyes, Tao Ying tentatively asked: "Miss Cao, could it be that you want to ask about proposing marriage?"

  Manjing was thoroughly ashamed and didn't dare show her face, blushing for a long time before she mustered up the courage to nod slightly and say in a low voice: "When I first heard about this matter, Manjing also didn't dare believe it, thinking it was just... joking. But last night, my brother also mentioned this matter to me, and only then did I realize... it wasn't an empty rumor."

  "What do you mean by coming here to talk about this after your brother, the second son, rejected my father's proposal? Do you want to mock me for being a toad who wants to eat swan meat?" Tao Ying was confused, but he could see that Mei Zhen was not the kind of woman who didn't know her place. Not only had she refused his own marriage proposal, but she had also come to his doorstep to slap him in the face. So after some thought, Tao Ying asked tentatively: "May I ask, Miss, how did your brother bring up this matter with you?"

  Zou Jing really couldn't turn her neck anymore, so she simply turned her head back, on the one hand trying her best to lower her head and hide her blushing face in her arms, while on the other hand speaking softly: "My brother didn't say it clearly, only...only said that he wanted to marry our young daughter off to a heroic and chivalrous man from Xuzhou..." Before she could finish speaking, Zou Jing's hands had already turned bright red with shame.

  "Big Ears Bandit!" Tao Ying's heart skipped a beat, knowing that the thing he least wanted to happen was finally going to happen! In his anger, Tao Ying suddenly had another thought, "Mang Zhuer's second brother, wants to marry Mang's beautiful sister to Big Ears Bandit, why did Mang's sister come to tell me? Does Mang's sister have feelings for me, not Big Ears Bandit?"

  Thinking of this, Tao Ying hurriedly asked: "Miss Cao, what do you think? Are you willing?"

  "Master Tao!" Zhan Jing's face turned bright red as she abruptly turned her body around, her back to Tao Yingjiao, and scolded: "You're a renowned gentleman in Xuzhou, how can you ask me such a thing? Since ancient times, marriage has always been decided by one's parents and matchmakers. My parents passed away early, and I was raised by my older brother... How could he decide on his own? What right do I have to interfere?"

  Tao Ying was completely bewildered, thinking to herself: "What's wrong with this Meimei? Her words don't make any sense! What does she really mean? I'm a deputy director who has been through the ups and downs of officialdom and romance for many years, how can I not understand even a little bit?"

  After waiting for a long time without seeing Tao Hui's response, Mei Zhen continued to say that Tao Ying was also shy, and then asked in a low voice: "Young master, I'll ask again... Is it true that the young master of the Tao Mansion has agreed to my brother's proposal? Has he agreed to let you... welcome me?"

  The last few words of this sentence, although already very faint and almost impossible to hear clearly, were more startling than a thunderclap on a clear day when they reached Tao Ying's ears! In shock, Tao Ying blurted out: "Where did you hear that?"

  "Lin'er told me," said Zhen, plucking up her courage. "Yesterday evening, Lin'er came to our home to visit me and told me about this matter, congratulating me. At first, I thought Lin'er was just joking, but when I saw that Lin'er's expression wasn't right, and then brother mentioned my marriage again, I...I realized that Lin'er wasn't joking."

  "Ah!" Tao Ying almost didn't shout out loud, and basically figured out the ins and outs of the situation - it must be Cao Ling that Jurassic dinosaur who told Mi Zhen that Mi Zhu came to his house yesterday to propose to his old man Tao Qian, wanting to marry Mi Zhen to himself. Then Mi Zhu, in order to pave the way for marrying Mi Zhen to Liu Bei, told Mi Zhen that he wanted to marry her off to a great hero who stands tall and upright within the borders of Xuzhou, but didn't tell Mi Zhen the name of this hero. So, due to a misunderstanding, Mi Zhen thought Mi Zhu was going to marry her to himself.

  "Is there such a coincidence in the world?" Tao Ying wanted to burst out laughing, but Tao Ying still had two important questions that he didn't understand. One was how Cao Ling's mother Tyrannosaurus could say that Ruan Zhen was going to marry Ruan Zhen to himself? The second was why Ruan Zhen took the initiative to visit him after hearing this news? This point is quite inconsistent with the common logic of this era!

  "Miss Cao, may I ask you a few questions?" Tao Yingcai couldn't guess, so he asked directly: "Miss Cao, how did she find out about this matter?"

  "Ling'er's sister said she also heard it." Zou Jing continued to face away from Tao Ying, saying with extreme shyness: "It seems to be a girl surnamed Lin, but this Miss Lin, Zou Jing has never seen her."

  "Lin Qing?" Tao Ying immediately came to her senses, and almost burst out laughing. She thought to herself that this little Lin Qing had a quick mouth, and the joke she made in the afternoon was quickly passed on to Cao Ling's ears, and then to Mei's ears in the evening. It really did have a bit of a talent for spreading rumors. Ha, but I should also thank her, at least it can help me figure out what's on Mei's mind.

  "I see." Tao Ying smiled and nodded, then curiously asked: "Miss Zou, I'll be bold enough to ask you another question. Why did you condescend to visit me today?"

  Mei Zhen did not answer immediately, but slowly turned her body around, the blush on her tender face faded a lot, and she said very seriously: "Tao Gongzi, I came to your door today with a question for you, and I hope you can answer truthfully."

  "Miss, I'll definitely answer truthfully." Tao Ying hastily nodded seriously.

  Under Tao Ying's gaze, Zhen's small face flushed again, and she involuntarily lowered her head, looking at her legs and saying: "The little girl dares to ask the young master a question, is there a place for Cao Ling in the young master's heart?"

  "What's the point of asking this?" Tao Ying was confused again, thinking that this wasn't a pointless question? That Jurassic dinosaur, except for Lv Wenhou who didn't care about anything, probably no one else would dare to want it.

  "Gongzi, Cao Ling's sister has a crush on you." Zou Jing said in a soft voice: "Yesterday evening, when Cao Ling's sister told me about that matter, her eyes were red and swollen. I could see it, she cried for you and was heartbroken."

  "Spare me!" Tao wanted to cry out loud, thinking that the dinosaur had a crush on him, wasn't it trying to take his life? If she looked slightly normal and ordinary, I could consider a political marriage with her since her father is my father's number one henchman. But looking like that, how can I marry her?!

  "It's not just yesterday evening, I've noticed it before." Mei Zhen didn't notice Tao Ying's strange expression, she just lowered her head and said softly: "Before, when I was with her, every time she mentioned you, although she never had anything good to say, all of them were scolding and mocking you. But I knew, she hated that you weren't living up to your potential, and she had deep feelings for you. Yesterday evening, her expression made me worried, I'm afraid... she'll do something stupid."

  "Kill me then!" Tao Ying's heart was even more bitter.

  "Master Tao." Zou Jing said softly: "I came to visit you, just to ask Master, do you have that kind of intention towards Cao Ling? If so, I'm willing to step down and let the two of you be together."

  "How is that possible?" Tao Ying said, unable to bear it: "Miss Mei, you're worrying for nothing. I've only met her once and directly refused her father's proposal of marriage. How could we be together?"

  Mei Zhen finally lifted her head, gazing into Tao Ying's eyes, and asked softly: "Tao Gongzi, do you really think so? Cao Ling is a hundred times better than me in terms of character and appearance, and she has deep feelings for you. Can you really bear to be heartless towards her?"

  "Cao Ling is indeed a good girl." Tao Ying said, following the words of Mei Zhen, and then plucked up the courage to hold down Mei Zhen's pale small hand on the table, saying with deep feeling: "Among the three thousand weak waters, I only take one scoop to drink. Mei girl, to be honest, I have also had a deep affection for you long ago, apart from you, there is no place in my heart for any other woman."

  Meng Zhen's tender face flushed red again, but Meng Zhen didn't react as violently as Lin Qing. She didn't struggle free from Tao Ying's grasp, instead she looked down with a bashful expression and asked in a soft voice: "Young Master, is what you said true?"

  "A thousand truths! Tao Ying's heart is sincere, heaven and earth can testify, the sun and moon are witnesses!" Tao Ying grasped Su Zhen's small hand and asked: "Su maiden, I'll ask you one last question. What do you think about your brother proposing to me on your behalf?"

  Mò Zhēn's heart almost jumped out of her throat, feeling both shy and awkward, and not answering the question directly. "Mò Zhēn is just worried, worried about not being good enough for Cáo Líng sister, Mò Zhēn understands, Cáo Líng sister she has feelings for young master..."

  "Darling, please don't mention that weirdo Cao Ling in front of me again, it's nauseating." Tao sighed inwardly and grasped Zou Xiu's small hand, asking: "Miss Zou, you now understand my intentions. I only want to ask you one thing: what do you think about your brother proposing a marriage?"

  Zhen's voice was as low and faint as a mosquito's hum, and she said shyly: "The order of parents, the words of matchmakers, my parents unfortunately passed away early, it was two elder brothers who raised me up, their kindness is like that of parents, since they... I also..., also..., also..."

  Mei Zhen had tried several times, but she couldn't say a complete sentence. Just when Tao Ying was getting anxious, Mei Zhen mustered up her courage and said with extreme shyness, "Besides, I have long admired your heroic act of sacrificing yourself to save Xuzhou. To be able to...be with you is my good fortune."

  "Jiemei!" Tao Ying was overjoyed, got up and sat down beside Zhen Zhen, without saying a word, he wrapped his arms around her slender waist, opened his mouth and fiercely kissed her cherry lips. Zhen Zhen originally wanted to refuse, but thinking that her brother had already "promised" her to Tao Ying, she shyly closed her beautiful eyes, not dodging or avoiding, letting Tao Ying hug and kiss her wildly.

  "Haha, Cao Ling, it seems I really have to thank you for being such a great matchmaker. Wishing you find a good husband! Tao Ying couldn't help but laugh maniacally in her heart and thought of that mysterious Lin Qing little girl, silently saying: "And, I also need to thank you, vinegar-loving and rumor-spreading Lin Qing little girl! If you don't mind, I'll take the loss and be deceived - I can reserve a second wife position for you."