Huang Ningmeng did not reply to the ring. She walked to the steps of the pavilion, took two steps up, and smiled, "Scholar, you are indeed a man of your word, keeping your promise so well."

Upon hearing her voice, Jiang Sheng was startled, as if he had just realized she had arrived. He quickly turned around, cupped his hands, and said, "Miss has arrived. I am so sorry for not welcoming you sooner."

“Scholar, there’s no need for such formality. Please sit down.” Huang Ningmeng gestured for him to sit.

"Thank you, Miss." Jiang Sheng was slightly flustered. Even though he had prepared himself mentally, he still couldn't help but lose his composure when he was actually in front of Huang Ningmeng.

When Huang Ningmeng sat down, she saw his expression and laughed, "This isn't my home, and I'm not the owner here, so please feel free to do as you please."

"Yes, yes..." Jiang Sheng was slightly sweating and sat down, wiping the edge of the pavilion chair.

Seeing his dazed look, Hongyan, who had been standing silently to the side, couldn't help but laugh.

Huang Ningmeng glanced at her, startling Hongyan. She tactfully withdrew from the pavilion. Seeing that the scholar was dressed in poor, shabby clothes, Huang Ningmeng, having willingly fallen into depravity, was at ease being with such a person.

Huang Ning dreamt that he had left, and then said to the scholar, "Scholar, have you done what I asked you to do?"

“Poetry, that’s right, poetry.” Jiang Sheng hurriedly pulled something out of his sleeve, his movements slightly flustered.

Seeing his appearance, the ring looked at him with disgust, calling him a "coward."

"Little Jie, don't talk nonsense," Huang Ningmeng scolded the ring.

The ring replied reluctantly, "Oh, I understand, Master."

Jiang Sheng took out a piece of paper, which was neatly folded and had notes faintly visible on it.

He offered it with both hands, and Huang Linmeng took it. She unfolded the Xuan paper and saw that it contained a sentimental poem. It described the scenery of the temple, but without a trace of affection.

Now even Huang Ningmeng wanted to crack open his head to see what was inside. She had given him such a good opportunity, and he had actually given it up! Of all things to write about, why did he have to write about the scenery of the temple?

Although Huang Ningmeng was furious inside, her face remained extremely calm. Jiang Sheng couldn't tell whether she liked or disliked the poem, and he was extremely anxious.

Seeing that she remained silent, he mustered his courage and asked, "Miss, how is my writing?"

Huang Ningmeng handed the poem back to him, saying, "It's not bad."

After saying that, he got up and left.

"Sigh..." Jiang Sheng wanted to call her back, but it wasn't appropriate for a man and a woman to meet alone at night. If he called out to her again, wouldn't it damage her reputation?

Huang Ningmeng stopped as she walked out of the pavilion and said, "What you wrote in the book is that I am not satisfied. I give you three days to come up with a good gift to apologize to me."

“Yes, Miss!” Jiang Sheng was worried that the young lady was unhappy with the poem he wrote and that he would have no reason to approach her again. Hearing this, he quickly and happily agreed.

Huang Ningmeng walked away without looking back, her expression blank. Hongyan, however, glanced back at Jiang Sheng with a meaningful look in her eyes.

The night didn't last long. Huang Ningmeng wasn't one to hold a grudge for long, and Hongyan was relieved to see her sweetheart. Everyone slept quite comfortably.

When Huang Ningmeng woke up early, she noticed that Hongyan seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.

The ring couldn't help but start chattering in her mind again: "Master, look at her, she's definitely up to something bad."

"We all know the plot, so there's no need to be afraid. I've been waiting for the rebel general to arrive, as well as that Du Chenyan." Huang Ningmeng was still very curious about how Jiang Sheng managed to summon Du Chenyan.

"My master loves playing with fire."

Huang Ningmeng chuckled softly but remained silent.

After serving her breakfast, Hongyan left the courtyard.

"Master, where did he go?" the ring asked.

"Maybe she's going to play matchmaker for me," Huang Ningmeng said jokingly.

“Master…” The ring was almost speechless. “People care about you so much, but you act like nothing’s wrong.”

"What else can we do? Go and take a look?" Don't be ridiculous.

The ring certainly didn't expect her to follow, but her indifference made it seem as if it was the only one excited.

Huang Ningmeng took the Buddhist scriptures to the courtyard again and continued chanting them all day. Hongyan sneaked out of the courtyard and, as she had expected, went into the west wing.

Hongyan didn't know which room Jiang Sheng lived in, so she searched for him one by one and finally found him in a room in the far corner of the west wing.

At that moment, Jiang Sheng was drawing something on the table by the window when Hong Yan suddenly appeared, startling him.

Jiang Shan instinctively grabbed a book to cover the drawing. When he saw it was her, he quickly patted his chest and said, "So it's you, young lady. May I ask what brings you here? Does your mistress have any instructions?"

Hongyan, with her braids rolled up, leaned against the window and smiled, "I came here secretly, not because my young lady asked me to. By the way, my name is Hongyan."

"Miss Hongyan." Jiang Sheng bowed to her.

Hongyan covered her mouth and laughed, "You really are a bookworm."

"Miss Hongyan is right." Jiang Sheng was a little embarrassed. Last night, before meeting the young lady, he had made a million preparations in his mind, imagined countless scenarios of meeting her, and what he should say. But when he saw the young lady, everything was in chaos and did not go according to his plan at all.

"Hey, you bookworm, don't you have a single question for me?" Hongyan asked.

"What did you say?" Jiang Sheng didn't quite understand what she was saying.

"You!" Hongyan was a little annoyed, but after thinking about it, she didn't really get angry. "You're such a bookworm, so dull-witted."

"This... please enlighten me, young lady." Jiang Sheng was not angry at Hong Yan's words, as it was the first time he had met someone he liked. He usually read serious articles and was still quite naive about matters between men and women.

"Don't you even want to ask what our young lady likes? Don't you want to know what our young lady is doing right now? Don't you want to ask me any of these things?" Hongyan asked incessantly.

Jiang Sheng's ears turned red instantly. What Hongyan said was something he had been thinking about every moment ever since he met the young lady.

He was suddenly called out at this moment, and he was quite embarrassed.

"Did I hit the nail on the head? It seems you do indeed have feelings for our young lady," Hongyan said with a smile.

Jiang Sheng sighed, "Miss Huang is the daughter of the current Prime Minister. How could I possibly be worthy of her?"

“Who says you’re too good for me?” Hongyan looked him up and down and said, “You’re just a scholar. If you were to become the top scholar in the imperial examination, wouldn’t marrying our young lady be a piece of cake?”

Speaking of this, Jiang Sheng was even more worried. "Alas, how could you know, young lady? I have failed the exam three times in a row, and now, I can hardly say for sure that I can become the top scholar."