Chapter 84 Trial and Exploration (2)

Nymph lowered her eyes and said nothing.

Zong Si looked at her quietly.

"Let's talk about it later." Nymph thought for a moment and said.

No one knew what Zong Si was thinking. After a long while, he just said "hmm" lightly and didn't say anything more.

The two were silent for a moment.

"It's windy outside. Since you have finished practicing sword, you should go into the house first." Because of practicing sword, even his hair was covered with a lot of snow.

"Okay." Zong Si said.

After entering the house, Ning Fu originally just wanted to sit in front of the couch and enjoy the snow, but Zong Si also came over and stood beside her.

"Your Highness has been here for a long time, and I thought I had seen enough snow scenery." And this year's snow was not heavy enough and was far less spectacular than last year.

"It's a different feeling to appreciate the snow with you." Zong Si said with mixed feelings.

Ningfu did not take this seriously. When a man has feelings for a woman, he will naturally find everything she does interesting. But once he gets tired of her, he will become impatient even if they just live under the same roof.

"It will be the mathematics and arts test soon." Nymph suddenly said.

"You have been practicing so hard these days, so you will definitely be able to do well." Zong Si said.

Ning Fu said: "How do you know that I work hard, my lord?"

"You have always worked very hard in your studies, and your serious attitude is one of the best among the female monarchs." Zong Si glanced at her.

He has always admired this quality.

Ningfu paused, as it was a rare occasion for her to hear him praise her.

"Some time ago, Madam Liu from Hua'an Mansion came to the Duke's Mansion to meet my mother." Ning Fu said hesitantly. Perhaps because she had reached the age of 15, she was much more sensitive in this regard.

Zong Si frowned and said, "The second son of Hua'an Mansion wants to see you."

Several young masters of Hua'an Mansion are of the right age, but Hua'an Mansion must be worried about Ning Zhenyuan being sent away, so the one who has feelings for Ning Fu will not be the eldest son of Hua'an Mansion.

"That's right, but I have no interest in him. Can you solve it for me?" Nymph said to him.

"Just let your father stay in Liangzhou for a few more days." Zong Si said with a slightly relaxed expression.

Ning Fu's expression changed suddenly.

Zong Si comforted him, "Of course there are other ways. But your father has his own plan. If he wants to use Liangzhou for his own benefit, he has to place his own forces there, which will take time. If Lord Ning takes the initiative to bring this up with His Majesty, His Majesty will certainly be suspicious. This matter must be brought up by an outsider."

Ning Fu tried to guess Zong Si's plan. It was true that the longer her father stayed in Liangzhou, the better it would be for her father. But it might also be beneficial to Prince Xuan's Mansion. The more powerful her father was in Liangzhou, the more the noble families there would need external forces. Naturally, it would be easier for Prince Xuan's Mansion to take advantage of the situation.

But it's a win-win situation.

She also knew that Zong Si naturally had other countermeasures to resolve the Liangzhou issue, and he did so naturally to give her some benefits, and he did not make any sacrifices.

But thinking about it the other way around, if one day, Zong Si were to harm his brother, it would probably be the same. He wouldn't have to sacrifice much, but he could make his brother suffer.

This made her a little distracted.

A few days later, a minister in the court mentioned the matter of Ning Zhenyuan. Under his governance, Liangzhou had already shown some results, so it would be better to keep him for some time.

Emperor Jingwen naturally adopted this suggestion, but he did not express any opinion on Ning Zhenyuan's official position.

If it is really believed that he has made contributions, rewards are inevitable. However, if the rewards are not clear, it will be a punishment. To outsiders, this means that Emperor Jingwen still intends to warn the Ningguo Mansion.

For a time, the attitudes of various mansions towards the Ningguo Mansion became more cautious. Originally, various mansions had been keeping a distance from Ning Zhenyuan's exile. Otherwise, a lady like Ning Fu, who was both talented and beautiful, would have been sought after by hundreds of families like Xie Ruyi.

This attitude of Emperor Wen made Ning Fu's marriage even more difficult.

In contrast, the entire Prince Xuan's Mansion is now unusually quiet.

Madam Ning had received Ning Zhenyuan's letter a long time ago and knew that this matter was not as difficult as people outside said. The last time Lu Xingzhi met the emperor, he mentioned Ning Zhenyuan and Emperor Jingwen had already defined him as a meritorious minister. If he changed his statement now, he would be slapping himself in the face.

How could the emperor be willing to be guessed at? His pretended attitude of suppressing Ning Zhenyuan was just to guard against people with ulterior motives.

Mrs. Ning took into consideration that Old Madam Ning was already old, so she did not hide the truth from her.

Therefore, the entire second house of the Ningguo Mansion did not look worried. For Madam Ning, the only impact of this matter was that the marriage of her two children would be delayed again. However, delaying it for a year was not too late.

Although Madam Ning was anxious, she had no other options.

"Don't worry, mother. It's great that I can stay with you for two more years." Nymph said.

Madam Ning sighed and said, "You can stay for two more years. Mother is naturally happy, but I don't know how the outside world will frame you."

"Even if it's a plot, so what? When my father returns to the capital and gets promoted, naturally no one will dare to plot against him." Ning Fu said, "Besides, this just helps me avoid those insincere gentlemen."

Madam Ning didn't like those young men at first. She had her favorite candidate in mind, and she looked down on no one except Lu Xingzhi.

But right now, outsiders are distancing themselves from the Duke's Mansion, and she doesn't want to influence Lu Xingzhi. Good things take time, and the same goes for marriage.

But the eldest wife did not dare to say it to her daughter's face. She only mentioned the matter when Wei met her daughter.

"I don't know if the second house will affect our first house." Wei was naturally resentful. Her son had just been promoted, and now he was afraid that he would be affected.

Ning Ran had no intention of listening to this and was only entertaining the child in her arms.

"I thought Afu's marriage with the Lu family would be settled, but now it seems that may not be the case. If she can marry into the Wei Mansion to help you, it would not be bad." Wei said, "I thought she would not be able to marry into a high-class family with her current beauty, but now it seems that she is not even as good as the girl from the Cheng family who was married off."

Seeing her like this, Wei couldn't help but advise her, "Why do you have to dwell on that concubine? The Wei family's finances are all in your hands now. What kind of trouble can that concubine cause? Every woman has gone through this. Your relationship with Xiao'er is getting worse and worse, and that slut is the one who benefits."

Ning Ran said, "I want to go back to the mansion and stay for a while."

Wei felt sorry for her daughter and did not try to persuade her any further.

"Second sister." Ning Fu came to greet her early after learning the news of her return.

Ning Ran couldn't help but think of the time before Ning Fu returned to the capital, when Zong Si was in the Wei Mansion, he heard several young masters mention the beautiful lady in the capital, and they joked with Zong Si: "What do you think of the fourth lady Ning?"

Zong Si just said calmly: "It's OK."

Ning Ran couldn't help but wonder, is the fourth sister really just okay in Zong Si's eyes?