Grinding Cultivation Toward Martial Saint-Chapter 154 - 68 Not the Ideal Husband!_2
Chapter 154: Chapter 68 Not the Ideal Husband!_2
“The moon has climbed up to the willow’s top, the appointment made after dusk.”
“You say what fun there could be, this late in the evening?”
As she spoke, Lin Qingyi left her seat.
With hands propped on the table’s surface, she leaned slightly forward as she looked at Jiang Ning,
her eyes seemingly rippling with autumnal waves.
“Uh…” Jiang Ning was momentarily stunned upon hearing her words.
...
For he saw, as Lin Qingyi leaned forward with her hands on the table, an inadvertent glimpse of pale and majestic peaks under her leaned body.
He was taken aback for a moment, then quickly realized what had happened and leaned back slightly.
“Sister Lin, don’t joke with me!” Jiang Ning said.
At that moment Lin Qingyi seemed to notice something too.
A blush flashed across her face, and she hurriedly sat back down in the chair behind her.
Then she adjusted her dress and slightly lifted the hem in front of her.
“All right, I’ll stop teasing you!” Lin Qingyi said earnestly.
Then she continued, “Do you remember what I mentioned to you before?”
“What matter?” Jiang Ning was puzzled.
“About finding you a warm wife.” Lin Qingyi said.
“Uh…” Hearing this, Jiang Ning was slightly taken aback again.
Seeing his reaction, Lin Qingyi smiled and said, “I’ve told you before that I would find a girl for you, and now I have, waiting just below. Do you want to meet her?”
“You’re not getting any younger either, and it’s time you got married.”
At these words, Jiang Ning couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.
The fear of matchmaking, it seemed, couldn’t be escaped in any world.
“If you don’t speak, I’ll take that as a yes!” Lin Qingyi declared, cutting off any chance for Jiang Ning to object.
The next moment,
she gestured to Little Lv, who was standing at the entrance to the pavilion, “Little Lv, come here!”
Dressed in a green skirt, Little Lv hurried over with quick, small steps.
“Mistress!” She curtseyed.
“Go and call Jiaer up,” Lin Qingyi instructed.
“Yes, Mistress!” After another curtsy, Little Lv quickly left.
Watching this scene, Jiang Ning closed his mouth which he had just opened.
Forget it!
He shook his head inwardly.
Meeting her first wouldn’t hurt anyway.
If it turned out to be a suitable match, getting married and having children wasn’t out of the question.
…
A few moments later.
Little Lv reappeared in front of them,
followed by a delicately featured young girl.
Her eyes were exceptionally intricate, her lips red as blood, and a dab of vermilion on her forehead—a sign of meticulous grooming.
To Jiang Ning, this girl’s appearance ranked within the top ten of all the women he had ever seen in his life.
Even compared to Lin Qingyi, she had about eighty percent of her beauty.
Yet even so, Jiang Ning felt no stirrings in his heart,
because this young girl did not match his aesthetic since she was entirely too plain-faced.
The kind where her front and back were indistinguishable even when her face was covered.
At the same time,
Lin Jiaer also caught sight of Jiang Ning.
She couldn’t help but smirk slightly, thinking to herself,
“He’s not bad looking!”
“His talent is decent too!”
“Pity his background is so lowly! How could he be worthy of my prestigious status as the Lin family’s legitimate daughter.”
After learning about Jiang Ning’s background and reading through the intelligence detailing his information, Lin Jiaer already had no interest in him,
her mind full of rejection.
In her eyes, she and Jiang Ning were from different worlds.
Her family hailed from Dongling City, and the Lin family there claimed to be the foremost family,
truly a noble lineage.
Moreover, she carried the direct bloodline of the Lin family, not a branch one.
With such status, how could she condescend to marry Jiang Ning, born a mere commoner?
Not to mention that he held no official position and was just an ordinary citizen.
Lin Jiaer admitted to herself that Jiang Ning indeed had some talent.
But she knew very well that in the current Great Xia Court, mere martial arts talent was not enough to shatter one’s predestined social trajectory.
Whether it was within the Martial Arts Sects or among the noble families that held sway over court positions, it took more than just martial arts talent to change one’s fate.
Sects with histories spanning hundreds or even thousands of years,
over such lengthy periods, with generations of propagation, were dominated internally by a few surnames.
Apart from the descendants of these few surnames, other disciples could hardly come into contact with the core lineage.
Even if their talent were superior.
And so was the case for various important positions in the court.
Families all over had, after tens or even dozens of generations of unrelenting effort, already secured their way to ascendancy.
Therefore, once Lin Jiaer became aware of Jiang Ning’s background, she discarded any thought of him.
The man she wished to marry was simple; he would be someone who could make her stand out among her sisters,
Someone whose presence would cause her sisters to look at her with envy and jealousy,
Rather than with pity.
Jiang Ning’s origins were too ordinary, even if his Martial Arts talent was decent.
This kind of decent, in her eyes, was alright for struggling among the lower classes.
But once one reached a certain level, it was much harder to climb higher.
Such an invisible cage was extremely difficult to break free from,
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At least not without having some achievements to one’s name.
However,
Lin Jiaer also knew that it was Lin Qingyi who had facilitated this meeting.
She was fully aware that if she wanted to leave a good impression on Lin Qingyi, she must not simply reject the offer.
Otherwise, should Lin Qingyi harbor any resentment towards her, all of her previous deliberate efforts to please would have been in vain.
“I’ve seen my aunt!” Lin Jiaer said to Lin Qingyi with a deep curtsey, the very picture of a lady from a reputable family.
Lin Qingyi nodded: “Jiaer, how is it? Your aunt’s judgment isn’t wrong, is it?”
Lin Jiaer showed a slight smile: “Aunt is correct, Young Master Jiang is indeed quite a talent, and his Martial Arts gift is quite extraordinary. Jiaer has long admired it.”
In the midst of speaking, Lin Jiaer’s gaze towards Jiang Ning was full of depth.
“I’ve seen Young Master Jiang!”
She then introduced herself: “My name is Lin Jiaer, from the Lin family of Dongling City. Young Master Jiang can call me Jiaer.”
Jiang Ning stood up and said, “Miss Jiaer, please have a seat first.”
“Thank you, Young Master Jiang!” Lin Jiaer curtsied again.
Lin Qingyi glanced at the two of them, then stood up: “You two chat, I have some matters to attend to.”
As soon as she finished speaking,
Lin Qingyi stood up and left, suddenly leaving Jiang Ning and Lin Jiaer alone on the entire tower.
The two were silent for a moment.
Lin Jiaer was the first to break the silence.
“Young Master Jiang, why don’t we go for a walk and chat casually?”
“Sure!” Jiang Ning replied.
…
A moment later,
The two were strolling down a brightly lit street.
They walked side by side, maintaining a distance of about two fists apart.
Lin Jiaer turned her head and caught a glimpse of Jiang Ning’s clear-cut profile, his features outlined charmingly in the glow of the streetlights.
“What a pity!” Lin Jiaer sighed inwardly.
At this moment, however, Jiang Ning’s attention was not on Lin Jiaer beside him but rather on Lin Qingyi behind them.
“Indeed, gossiping is in a woman’s nature.”
Jiang Ning silently criticized in his mind.
His extraordinary senses had long ago alerted him to Lin Qingyi following not too far behind them.
At this moment, Lin Qingyi was only about ten steps away from them.
This distance meant he could easily see Lin Qingyi’s figure if he simply turned back,
And for someone of Lin Qingyi’s calibre, eavesdropping on their conversation would be very easy.
Just then,
Lin Jiaer slowly began to speak: “Honestly, Young Master Jiang, you are not the ideal husband I have in mind.”
Then, she noticed Jiang Ning looking at her from the corner of his eye.
She continued: “The husband of my dreams should be able to provide me with tangible and emotional value, make me proud, and fill me with pride.”
“You and I are from different worlds. I come from the prominent Lin family of Dongling City! Your origins are too ordinary; I don’t want to marry beneath me.”
“I have lived a life of luxury and do not wish for my latter days to be spent on a plain and simple life.”
“The only reason I agreed to meet with you was that Aunt’s well-meaning proposal was hard to decline. I hope you understand this and would also hope that Young Master Jiang would help me save Aunt’s face later on, so as not to make her feel embarrassed.”
Hearing all this, Jiang Ning then spoke up.
“Miss Jiaer, you are quite forthright.”
Then Jiang Ning smiled: “Fortunately, Miss Jiaer, you are not my ideal partner either.”
On hearing this, Lin Jiaer subtly curled her lips.
She knew it was just Jiang Ning’s pride talking.
Men care about their pride, and being rejected by her to his face, Jiang Ning would naturally feel embarrassed, so she did not take his words to heart.
She had met plenty of men, all of whom had been eager to curry favor with her at first sight.
This was all because of her looks and charm.
She knew that she had inherited some of her aunt’s beauty and, among the younger generation of the Lin family, her appearance and charm were most remarkable.
Not to mention she had dressed up specially today, adding a touch of brilliance to her beauty.
What normal man could resist her?
