Hongyan nodded, feeling more relieved after hearing his words. Her desire to bring the two of them together grew stronger, and she decided to help them.

Perhaps the young lady will feel grateful to her and let her go?

The more Hongyan thought about it, the more beautiful it seemed, and she couldn't help but laugh.

Jiang Sheng saw this and asked, "What is Miss Hongyan laughing at?"

"It's alright. What I wanted to say is that my young lady's literary talent surpasses that of many talented men. If you, young master, could win my young lady's favor and ask her for guidance, your writing might improve greatly, and you might become the top scholar in the imperial examination."

Jiang Sheng waved his hand, "Nonsense, how could a woman have such good literary talent?"

"You don't believe me?" Hongyan asked, raising her head.

Just as Jiang Sheng was about to say he didn't believe it, he suddenly remembered that the tune Huang Ningmeng played was extremely beautiful. He had never heard such beautiful flute music before. Perhaps she really was quick-witted and a rare talent.

“Speak up, speak up!” Hongyan pressed aggressively.

"I haven't known Miss Huang for very long, so I dare not presume to judge her," Jiang Sheng said, bowing.

"It's good that you know," Hongyan said.

"May I ask, Miss Hongyan, what does your young lady like?" Jiang Sheng asked.

"Finally getting it." Hongyan gave him an approving smile. "Our young lady loves spring outings. She doesn't like bright peonies, but she loves those patches of small wildflowers. She likes pale yellow dresses and the pastries from Cuiyu Zhai. By the way, yesterday our young lady asked you to write a poem for her. What did you write?"

Jiang Sheng was imagining the scene of going on a spring outing with the young lady when she suddenly heard the question. She quickly shook her head and said, "It's nothing."

"Since you won't tell me, then I won't help you." Hongyan turned and walked away.

Jiang Sheng quickly called out to her, "Miss Hongyan, don't go! I'll tell you."

Hongyan walked back, crossed her arms, and laughed, "That's settled then."

"Sigh." Jiang Sheng sighed and told her about the poem from yesterday.

Hongyan looked completely bewildered. "What is this poem about?"

Seeing that she didn't understand, Jiang Sheng recalled Miss Huang's reaction after watching it last night, and realized that Miss Huang must have real talent and learning.

"Speak."

"I'll explain right away," Jiang Sheng told Hong Yan the gist of the matter.

Hongyan finally understood, “No wonder my young lady is not satisfied. You wrote so much, but you didn’t praise her at all. You wasted the opportunity she gave you to fawn over her.”

"Is that really the case, Miss?" Jiang Sheng asked anxiously.

"Young Master, I saw you writing something with your pen just now. Was it for our young lady?" Hongyan didn't answer Jiang Sheng's question. Let alone Jiang Sheng, she herself wasn't quite sure what Huang Ningmeng was thinking. If she liked this bookworm, she didn't seem particularly interested; it seemed like she was just teasing him.

No, we absolutely cannot let her just tease us.

Jiang Sheng blushed. "No."

"If you want to give our young lady something, it can't be too shabby, nor can it be vulgar."

"May I ask, young lady, what should I present as a gift?"

Hongyan stroked her chin. "You definitely can't send any more poems. It's already made Miss throw a tantrum. Young master, besides writing poems, what else can you do?"

“I can draw!” Jiang Sheng said.

"Painting?" Hongyan glanced at him and shook her head. "No, no, you can't just paint our young lady directly. That would be too frivolous."

Jiang Sheng's expression instantly turned awkward, thankfully Hong Yan didn't see much of it.

Hongyan was thinking about what gift to give Huang Ningmeng. "Oh, right, scholar, our young lady likes hand gestures. Why don't you make her a wooden hairpin?"

"A wooden hairpin?" Jiang Sheng shook her head. "I don't know how to make one."

"If you don't know how, you can learn, you blockhead. I'll teach you."

...

"Master, I feel something's a little strange," the ring's voice echoed in Huang Ningmeng's mind.

"What's so strange?" Huang Ningmeng asked.

"Don't you think that nerd gives off a weird vibe?" the ring continued. It couldn't quite put its finger on what was wrong, but it just felt a bit off. Yes, off!

What exactly feels out of place?

The ring racked its brains, but couldn't come up with anything.

Huang Ningmeng frowned, thought carefully, and said, "There's nothing wrong with it."

Isn't Jiang Sheng just Ji Rufeng? He's even transformed into a woman, so what's so strange about him becoming a scholar? Besides, how could there be any problem with that connection between souls?

"Little Jie, you're overthinking it, aren't you?"

"Hmm." Hopefully, it's just overthinking it.

Hongyan was out for most of the day, and when she came back, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

Huang Ningmeng glanced at her, and Hongyan immediately fell silent, her smile vanishing and her face turning slightly pale.

"Hongyan, I haven't seen you all day. Where have you been?"

Huang Ningmeng asked in a calm voice, but Hongyan looked as if she were facing a formidable enemy. Her face turned even paler, and cold sweat poured out. "Miss, Miss."

"Ningmeng, what are you doing?" The Prime Minister's wife came out and helped Hongyan out of the predicament.

"This girl has been nowhere to be seen all day. I brought her here so she could serve me, not to give her a day off," Huang Ningmeng said calmly.

“I brought her into the manor, Miss, why don’t you release her for my sake?” The Prime Minister’s wife patted Hongyan’s back, gently comforting her.

Huang Ningmeng's lips curled slightly. "Are you saying that it's right for this girl to ignore my existence? She's just a maid, yet she acts more freely than I, as a young lady."

The fault originally lay with Hongyan; the Prime Minister's wife was in the wrong. After being confronted by Hongyan, she almost lost her temper and demanded, "Then what do you want to do?"

“We are in a temple now. I will not punish her for anything else. Just copy the Heart Sutra of Avalokiteshvara three times for me. Copy it devoutly and hand it to me tomorrow morning,” Huang Ningmeng said.

“Three times…” Hongyan pulled at the Prime Minister’s wife. She didn’t know how to read much, so how long was the Heart Sutra?

The Prime Minister's wife's face darkened. "Wasn't the punishment too harsh on Miss?"

“Is it heavy? The Heart Sutra of Guanyin is only 267 characters long. If it were me, I would have finished copying it this afternoon. I gave her an afternoon and an evening.” Huang Ningmeng looked at Hongyan with a slightly sharp look in her eyes. “Three times. If you can’t do it, I will have someone beat you with twenty lashes and kick you out of the mansion.”

Huang Ningmeng has already said so, and Hongyan is her maid; her power of disposal is greater than that of the Prime Minister's wife. To put it bluntly, in the Prime Minister's eyes, she, as the Prime Minister's wife, is probably no different from a wet nurse. In the end, his precious daughter is still the most important.

Hearing Huang Ningmeng say that, Hongyan thought it wasn't that difficult. She looked up at the lady and said, "Thank you, madam, for pleading for me. Miss has already let me off the hook. I am willing to do as you say."

"This..." The Prime Minister's wife had read the Heart Sutra and felt that it was not too difficult, so she nodded, "Alright then, go and receive your punishment."

"Yes!" Hongyan replied, looking at Huang Ningmeng fearfully.