The expression on the Third Prince's face gradually became subtle, and his brows furrowed.

Ninth brother told him not to think too much, but listening to the tone of his voice, although it was a bit too much to say that he admired the girl, but this tone... was more than just admiration, it was clearly admiration.

He also said that the girl treated him like a brother...

It was as if there was an inexplicable connection between the two of them, the kind that no one else could interfere with.

The more I think about it, the weirder it gets.

The third prince raised his head and glanced at Rong Ting.

Seeing the deep smile in his eyes, I felt as if I was in some serious trouble.

Wouldn't that make him think less?

The third prince said: "My mother just mentioned it and asked if I wanted to see her, but she didn't mean to say that I must see her..."

Rong Ting was considerate and said slowly, "The school has a heavy workload. Third brother is a man of great virtue and is devoted to his studies. He naturally has no time to see you."

"No matter today or tomorrow, Third Brother will always focus on his studies. Am I right?"

Rong Ting's eyes drooped slightly, and he smiled with narrowed eyes. But before the Third Prince spoke, he said first: "Third brother is indeed good at learning and diligent in study. It is admirable."

It was as if unless the Third Prince said "yes", that admirable statement would no longer be taken seriously.

The Third Prince only heard Rong Ting's praise subconsciously. He scratched the back of his head embarrassedly, but he agreed in his heart and nodded slightly.

But he paused for a moment before he realized

He just promised to always focus on his studies...

Doesn't this mean you won't meet Fourth Miss Jiang as well?

The third prince is now twenty-one years old. He already has a concubine and a daughter, but he is not in a hurry to get married.

He was just a little curious about Jiang Rao's appearance.

Mr. Jiang Si and Mrs. Jiang Qin were both famous for their good looks in Jinling back then. The man was handsome and the woman was beautiful, one in a million.

The Jiang family often produces beautiful women, so I think the appearance of the fourth Miss Jiang cannot be wrong.

Men are all lustful, and it is normal to have such curiosity.

However, this curiosity is nothing compared to his protection of his own reputation.

"Studying is naturally the most important thing. Only by calming down and concentrating can you achieve learning." He finished.

He raised his mysterious eyes and glanced at Rong Ting.

For some reason, when I see Rong Ting's face, I feel that he is kind and harmless, but when I think about it carefully, there is always something vaguely wrong.

The corners of Rong Ting's eyes curved even deeper.

He tilted his head slightly, a smile on his thin lips, "Third brother always keeps his word, doesn't he?"

The Third Prince: “…”

this

How can he refute? No one would directly say that their words are not trustworthy.

All I can say is: “Yes.”

While quietly moving away from Rong Ting.

After wanting to get closer to him, Benhuan wanted to find out what he had said to his father a few days ago that made his father so happy.

At this moment, there was only one thought in his mind: he might not be able to beat this younger brother who was several years younger than him.

Talking to Rong Ting and looking at his face was indeed like being bathed in spring breeze, but it was his words that always made him think more.

"Let's go back to the palace quickly." He said in a cold sweat.

After saying that, he hurried towards the palace gate.

"Third brother." Rong Ting called him.

The sun in the evening is not hot enough, but the sunlight is still bright. As summer approaches, the days become longer.

Rong Ting's face, with a faint smile, was immersed in the dusk light, and his lightly clenched fingers were tucked under his sleeves.

"Third brother, do you remember the marriage that Concubine Shu almost arranged for you when you were a child?"

"Child marriage? That's not true?"

The Third Prince frowned deeply and looked at the older eunuch beside him, "Do you remember?"

The eunuch said, "I have been with the Third Prince since he was born, and I have never heard of anyone getting engaged to the Third Prince."

"Did Ninth Brother hear something?" the Third Prince asked curiously.

Rong Ting's brows visibly relaxed.

His smile seemed to have let go of something, and his hostility completely disappeared. The smile on his lips became much gentler, "I remembered it wrongly."

…

Jiang Mansion.

When the old man heard that Liu's shop was investigated, his brows furrowed grimly.

Even though he didn't fly into a rage, there was already deep displeasure in his eyes.

Just a few days after Liu got married, he noticed her greedy nature.

He had just reminded his eldest son to keep an eye on his daughter-in-law and not let her lose the big picture for the small.

As for his daily food, clothing, and monthly allowance, he never left out Liu's money, just because he wanted to teach her to be more generous and decent.

Unexpectedly, she got into trouble just for a little profit.

The servant said, "Madam Liu said she wanted to find out who impeached her. Master, this matter..."

The old man slammed the table heavily. "She made a mistake and was impeached. How dare she ask who impeached her? Don't expect me to help her find out about this."

The old man's eyes darkened and he looked a little ruthless.

If you want to maintain the reputation of the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion, you have to sacrifice one person and take full responsibility for this matter.

This is the only way to satisfy Emperor Zhaowu, deal with the impeachment, and protect the reputation of the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion.

Since it was Liu who made the mistake, then... the person who bears full responsibility is her.

Even though the old uncle knew that his son was also wrong in this matter, whether out of selfishness or out of the need to protect the reputation of the entire Ning'an Earl's Mansion, he would only punish Liu and remove his son from it.

I just don’t know if Liu can understand his painstaking efforts.

If he had not realized this, he really did not want his eldest daughter-in-law to become the future wife of the head of the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion.

The old man said in a cold voice: "Don't wait for the punishment. First, take the initiative to hand over the rice in Liu's shop to the national treasury. The shop will be closed for the time being. When Liu comes back, let her and the eldest brother come to my room together."

The more the old man thought about it, the more dissatisfied he felt, and he couldn't help but compare them in his mind.

He turned around and asked the servant beside him, "What has the fourth brother been busy with recently?"

"The fourth master's shop has been closed down, and today he is opening the granary to provide relief to the victims."

The old man's brows relaxed a little, "He is a clear-headed person."

As luck would have it, the two things happening in the first and fourth rooms coincided with each other today, which made the old uncle even more dissatisfied with Liu.

This made him even more angry at his younger son's lack of ambition.

He frowned and snorted, "It's no use having a clear mind."

Leisurely and unfocused, not doing any serious work.

At first he tried every method he could think of, soft or hard, but the youngest son really had no intention of inheriting his family business and was only willing to help his eldest brother.

If this were not the case, he would not have suggested dividing the household responsibilities over to the eldest wife bit by bit.

If the eldest son did not have the help of the younger son, he would really not feel at ease.

They blamed him for neglecting them after their mother passed away, causing the feelings between them to overshadow their feelings for him.

The younger son obviously listens to his older brother more than to his father.

He is also willing to clip his wings and become his big brother's right-hand man.

The old uncle sighed, tapped his forehead, and suddenly thought of a solution. "Since Liu made a mistake, punish her to go to the temple to give alms for a month and come back after a month. During this month, let the fourth son's family take care of the household expenses. Let's inform the fourth son's family in advance."

He had to find a way to let his youngest son take charge of something.

It's impossible for him to be like he doesn't have this son now that he has returned to Jinling.

…

Mr. Jiang Si was not yet aware of what the old uncle had arranged for him.

he

He was in his study, anxiously waiting for the servant to be sent to the Qinhuai River to report back to him about the situation of the grain shop by the Qinhuai River.

After the shop opened, he sent several servants, one of whom would come back every hour to tell him about the situation at the grain shop.

Although he was the one who arranged this matter for Jiang Rao, he was also the one who worried the most.

He had planned to secretly arrange for a few people to pretend to be buyers of grain and rice on the first day of opening to bring her some business.

Otherwise the store wouldn’t sell anything all day and my daughter would feel sad.

But since Jiang Rao wanted to open the warehouse to provide disaster relief, he let her go, but the people who had been arranged earlier could go later.

A few hours later, he heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that there was no trouble at the shop and everything was in order.

When he heard from the people who came back that Jiang Rao opened the warehouse to provide disaster relief in his name, he felt warm in his heart.

It was his daughter who was concerned about his reputation.

On the one hand, he thought that his daughter was the best daughter in the world, but on the other hand, looking at the portraits piled on the table, his critical eyes became even stronger.

These days Fourth Master Jiang has been looking at the portraits of various young men in Jinling who are about the same age as his daughter. He wants to pick out someone he likes and then ask his daughter for her opinion and whether she wants to meet him.

Choose a few more so that your daughter won’t be dissatisfied with any of them.

But to this day, after looking at dozens of them, I still don’t find a single one that satisfies me.

No matter who I look at, I feel I am not worthy of him.

Fourth Master Jiang sat down again and continued to look at the portraits, listening to the servant beside him talking to him about the backgrounds, character, etc. of these young masters, and shaking his head continuously.

Not satisfied, not satisfied, not satisfied at all.

It’s not okay for someone to look good but appear to have a sinister mind.

Those who are ugly, or who seem to be both ugly and cunning, are even worse.

Fourth Master Jiang was a playboy when he was young, and precisely because of this, he looked down on everyone.

The servant beside him was already thirsty from reading.

After watching for so many days, I realized that no matter how good a young talent is, in the eyes of the master, he is no different from a low-class ruffian.

At this rate, she will never be able to choose the right one, and I'm afraid she will be alone for the rest of her life.

But when Fourth Master Jiang turned to a portrait, he suddenly stood up.

The servant beside him finally breathed a sigh of relief.

I thought the master had finally found a satisfactory son-in-law for the girl.

result

Fourth Master Jiang frowned deeply and looked down at the painting, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

There was a hint of anger in his eyes, and he asked, "Who mixed in this portrait of the Ninth Prince?"

Fourth Master Jiang remembered that what he asked someone to get was a portrait of a young master from an aristocratic family.

Don’t even think about those royal relatives.

But how could it be possible that Rong Ting’s portrait would appear among these portraits of young masters from aristocratic families?