The Underdog Romance of the Scholar and the Beauty

The next day, Hong Niang rose early.

Instead of attending to Yingying as usual, she carried a food box and went straight to the west wing.

Zhang Sheng's door was tightly shut. Hong Niang didn't stand on ceremony and knocked loudly, "Bang, bang, bang!"

"Young Master Zhang! Open up! The sun is already high in the sky, stop playing dead in there!" Her voice was crisp and loud, breaking the silence of the west wing.

After quite a while, the door finally creaked open just a crack. Zhang Sheng poked his head out, his face haggard, eyes sunken, unshaven, looking as though he had aged ten years overnight.

"Miss Hong Niang?" he asked weakly, "Is something the matter?"

"Yes! Something extremely important!" Hong Niang rolled her eyes at him, pushed the door open, and walked right in, placing the food box heavily on the table.

The room reeked of alcohol and medicine, and the table still bore traces of last night's tears and ink.

Hong Niang frowned at the sight. She put her hands on her hips, assuming the stance of someone about to deliver a lecture: "Zhang Junrui! Look at yourself! Not eating or drinking, seeking death at every turn—are you trying to make my young miss a widow before she's even married to you?"

Zhang Sheng gave a bitter smile and slumped into a chair: "I... what face do I have left to see her?"

"You don't have the face to see her, but you have the face to torture yourself and her at the same time?" Hong Niang mercilessly exposed him, "Do you know that while you're playing your zither here until your heart breaks, my young miss is listening on the other side with tears streaming down her face! Are you two planning to perform 'The Butterfly Lovers' and then transform into butterflies together?"

These words hit Zhang Sheng like a hammer blow. He suddenly looked up, his eyes finally showing a glimmer of life.

"She... she's been worried about me?"

"Of course!" Hong Niang opened the food box and took out a steaming bowl of porridge and several delicate side dishes. "This porridge was made by the young miss herself, afraid you'd hurt your stomach. She says if you truly care, you should take care of yourself and think of another way. If you just sink into despair, then she will... she will give up hope too."

"Think of another way?" Zhang Sheng murmured, a flash of confusion crossing his eyes. "What other way is there? The old madam is determined to break the engagement. How can I, a poor scholar, contend with the power of the Minister's household?"

"You alone certainly can't," Hong Niang sat down and lowered her voice mysteriously, "but what if you add me to the equation?"

Zhang Sheng was startled: "You?"

"That's right, me." Hong Niang puffed out her chest, her face showing a confident smile. "The old madam is like an iron wall, impossible to break through directly. But while she can control the young miss's person, she can't control the young miss's heart. As long as you two remain true to each other, leave the rest to me!"

Looking at Hong Niang's eyes, sparkling with wisdom and cunning, Zhang Sheng felt a small flame reignite in his long-extinguished heart.

"Miss Hong Niang... you... you're willing to help me?"

"I'm not helping you, I'm helping my young miss," Hong Niang corrected. "I can't stand by and watch her marry that cousin Zheng Heng whom she's never even met, much less watch her waste away in misery. Young Master Zhang, I came today to ask you one question: do you still want to marry my young miss?"

"Yes!" Zhang Sheng answered without hesitation, his voice hoarse but resolute. "I dream of nothing else!"

"Good! That's all I needed to hear!" Hong Niang slapped the table like a commanding general. "From today on, you must take care of your health and lift your spirits! Leave the rest to me!"

She leaned close to Zhang Sheng's ear and outlined her plan in detail.

Zhang Sheng listened in amazement, looking at the young maid before him as if she were heaven-sent. Her strategy was bold, meticulous, and tinged with a young girl's mischievousness, leaving him in awe.

"Will... will this work?" he hesitated.

"We won't know until we try!" Hong Niang encouraged him. "Fortune favors the bold, and so does love! Tell me, are you brave enough?"

Zhang Sheng looked at the still-warm bowl of porridge on the table, thought of Yingying's tear-filled eyes, and felt a surge of courage.

"I am!" He grasped Hong Niang's hand solemnly and said, "Miss Hong Niang, if you can help me succeed in this, from now on, I, Zhang Junrui, will treat you as my own sister and honor you as my benefactor!"

"Alright, alright, enough with the empty talk." Hong Niang pulled her hand away and pointed at the bowl of porridge. "First, finish this 'ambush feast' porridge, and our alliance will be officially established!"

Zhang Sheng picked up the bowl and drank it all in one go.

A warm current flowed from his stomach straight to his heart.

He knew that the call to counterattack had sounded. And his most loyal and powerful ally was now in position.