No sooner had Zhang Fei stepped out than Fa Zheng teased Pang Tong, "Yide still favors Shizai. He put so much effort into winning Jiang Wei over back then—I thought he would nurture him properly. Yet after taking Tianshui, the Chancellor snatched him away instead."
"Deng Shizai came ready-made, while Jiang Boyue still needed nurturing. How could Yide's impatient temperament wait for that? Boyue spent some time in Mianyang; his love for the land cannot compare to Shizai's." Pang Tong explained with a smile.
Stroking his beard, Liu Bei nodded in approval. "Deng Shizai has labored for the state all these years. He is twenty-six this year and still unmarried. Ziyu's letter this time asks Us to grant him a marriage. Do either of you have any suitable match to recommend?"
Deng Ai had kept a low profile while reclaiming farmland after entering Shu, while Lan Tian had been vigorously establishing schools in Jiao Province. The scholars of Jing and Yi Provinces had held little affection for this master and disciple. But after Liu Bei's victory at Hanzhong and his proclamation as king, followed by the Four Heroes of Ziwu Ridge's surprise attack on Chang'an, those scholars who had once looked on coldly could not help but feel admiration for Lan Tian and his disciple. Many also began paying attention to Deng Ai, and some even approached him privately to propose matches, only for Deng Ai to defer them all on the grounds that his elders would decide.
Pang Tong and Fa Zheng were struck by the same inspiration and thought of their own candidates at once. Pang Tong, however, was quicker with his tongue. "The Minister of the Guards'—Chen Zhen's—youngest daughter has just come of age. She is young and beautiful, well brought up, and like Shizai, she is