Chapter 109 - County Magistrate Chai

Chapter 109: Chapter 103 County Magistrate ChaiZhao Hanzhang originally didn’t plan to meet the County Magistrate of Shangcai County any time soon. First, she was still in mourning, and second, she hadn’t yet established herself in Shangcai.

However, the County Magistrate specially sent an invitation to them—not to them, but to Fu Tinghan, so she had no choice but to go out and meet him.

Previously in the library, people only mentioned that Professor Fu from the mathematics department was very handsome, taught excellently, and was gentle and polite. But it wasn’t until she got here that she realized that "gentle and polite" could also mean distant and aloof.

This Professor Fu seemed indifferent to everything. If someone talked to him, he would respond politely; if no one talked to him, he could stay by himself all day and wouldn’t initiate conversations.

With such a personality, even if someone bullied him, he probably wouldn’t mind, so Zhao Hanzhang felt she couldn’t let Professor Fu go alone; she had to accompany him.

Moreover, this estate was hers, and the County Magistrate visiting at this time was likely because they had been aggressively recruiting lately.

Fu Tinghan sat in the carriage, eyes lowered in thought, his fingers drawing on his knee—one couldn’t tell what he was calculating.

Zhao Hanzhang watched him, supporting her chin with her hand, recalling the young man she’d seen at the city gate—his face had clear, defined features and an aura of cool detachment, but back then, there was a hint of panic on it.

Things she hadn’t thought of before, upon reflection now, seemed to have clues.

Fu Tinghan worked out the formula he wanted and, after memorizing it, looked up, meeting Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze.

He was startled, his ears turned slightly red, and just as he was about to look away, he thought better of it and stared back at her.

After a while, he waved a hand in front of her eyes and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Zhao Hanzhang snapped back to reality, stared at his face, and said, "I was thinking about what Professor Fu looked like as an adult."

Fu Tinghan was taken aback and then said, "Although I don’t quite remember myself, I should be able to sketch a rough outline of it."

Zhao Hanzhang widened her eyes, "You actually forgot what you look like? Is it because of your time travel?"

"...No," Fu Tinghan replied, "I rarely look in the mirror, and people generally find it hard to fully replicate their own appearance because they see themselves so infrequently, so they tend to overlook many details, didn’t you know?"

"I didn’t know," she thought she couldn’t remember her adult appearance because she was blind, "I remember quite clearly how I looked before I lost my sight."

"Really?" Fu Tinghan asked, "When you recall, is the image in your mind from a particular photo of yourself, or a moment when you looked in a mirror?"

Zhao Hanzhang opened her mouth but couldn’t speak for a long while because the clearest image of herself in her mind was from her middle school graduation photo, and what she recalled most was her reflection in the mirror, but the person in the mirror was blurry, and she couldn’t remember the details of her features.

Fu Tinghan looked away, glanced out the window, "Very few people remember what they look like, but they will definitely remember the appearance of the person they most frequently and longingly meet."

"Professor Fu can draw, can you draw an adult version of me?" Zhao Hanzhang said, "Speaking of which, I’ve really never seen what I look like grown up, and I don’t know if I look bad."

"No," Fu Tinghan said, "you look very beautiful."

Zhao Hanzhang looked at him with a smile.

Fu Tinghan’s face flushed slightly, but he forced himself to maintain eye contact and nodded to show he was not lying.

The carriage stopped, and Ting He lifted the curtain, "Third Lady, Mr. Fu, we have arrived."

Zhao Hanzhang withdrew her gaze, used Ting He’s hand for support as she got out of the carriage, and after standing steadily, extended her hand to the bowing Fu Tinghan as he exited.

Fu Tinghan hesitated briefly before placing his hand in her palm and stepped down using the stool.

Fu An, who was reaching out his hand on the side: ...

Somehow it felt odd, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly why.

Zhao Hanzhang looked up at the signboard—Chen’s Restaurant.

In these war-torn times, a restaurant bustling with people amid the desolate streets must have great food.

Moreover, it seems there are quite a few wealthy people in Shangcai County.

Zhao Hanzhang and Fu Tinghan said, "Let’s go."

The County Magistrate of Shangcai and his subordinates were already waiting in the restaurant. They were on the second floor, with screens between the tables, making the setting both elegant and airy, and the space was spacious too.

Hearing that the Zhao Family’s carriage had arrived, the County Magistrate got up to greet them, but as soon as he reached the stairs, he ran into the four heading upstairs.

Zhao Hanzhang walked in the front, with Fu Tinghan slightly behind, but perfectly matching her height.

The County Magistrate looked at Zhao Hanzhang with surprise, then at Fu Tinghan, and finally couldn’t help but glance at his subordinate.

The subordinate was also momentarily stunned, and when he snapped back to reality, he quickly nodded at the County Magistrate.

Before the County Magistrate could speak, Zhao Hanzhang already smiled and said, "Is this County Magistrate Chai?"

County Magistrate Chai blankly nodded.

Zhao Hanzhang raised her hands and saluted, "I am Third Sister Zhao, here to pay my respects to the County Lord."

With their assumptions confirmed, County Magistrate Chai opened his mouth and only after a while found his voice, stepping aside, "Lady, no need to be overly formal, please take a seat."

Zhao Hanzhang invited County Magistrate Chai to sit first, and after he did, she and Fu Tinghan sat cross-legged across from him.

County Magistrate Chai: ...

Zhao Hanzhang then turned her head and invited the bureaucratic aide to sit too, "Sir, please join us and talk."

Chang Ning looked at County Magistrate Chai.

County Magistrate Chai nodded slightly; he also felt he needed guidance from his aide.

The aide sat down cross-legged as well, sitting directly across from Fu Tinghan.

At the moment of sitting, Chang Ning seemed to grasp Zhao Hanzhang’s intention.

His eyes flicked between Fu Tinghan and Zhao Hanzhang. One couldn’t blame him for overthinking; Zhao Hanzhang was just too obvious about it.

Since entering the restaurant, Zhao Hanzhang seemed to have always taken the lead.

Chang Ning kept glancing at Fu Tinghan, seeing his calm demeanor, unable to discern anything, so he gave up and began to chat, "Third Sister Zhao, you returned to your hometown more than two months ago, right?"

"Yes," Zhao Hanzhang replied, glancing at County Magistrate Chai who seemed somewhat restless, and sighed gently, "Originally, I should have visited the County Lord, but our household is in mourning, so it was not appropriate to visit hastily. Thus, it was delayed, and I didn’t expect to trouble the County Lord to invite us personally."

County Magistrate Chai hurriedly replied, "It’s no trouble, no trouble at all. We aren’t busy and only heard that the young man from the Fu Family is studying here, so we sent an invitation merely to discuss the classics with Mr. Fu, with no other intentions."

Fu Tinghan looked up at Zhao Hanzhang, a bit surprised, and couldn’t help but use his eyes to ask her, did you threaten them earlier?

Zhao Hanzhang returned his look; was she that kind of person?

Since arriving in Shangcai County, she had been very honest and straightforward, right?

Seeing his forehead breaking out in a nervous sweat, Zhao Hanzhang didn’t want to get straight to the point, lest she scare the County Magistrate too much.

So she followed up on his topic, "Which book does the County Lord wish to discuss with Mr. Fu? I have also been reading recently; perhaps we might coincide."