Chapter 52 Ningning, do you know you were wrong? ...
Chapter 52
After having lunch at Jishetang, Old Master Shen went back to take a nap.
Shen Heyang had other things to do, so he left He Hansheng and Shen Suining at Wenxiang Garden.
It's the season when osmanthus blossoms are in full bloom. The two sat in front of the osmanthus tree, their breath filled with a faint fragrance of flowers mixed with the scent of herbs—a refreshing and pleasant aroma.
Shen Suining sat beside He Hansheng, resting her chin on her hand as she watched him meticulously carve a begonia. Suddenly, she spoke up: "Grandfather really likes you. My father didn't receive this treatment when he married into the family. Shen Heyang said that it wasn't until my older brother and I could run around on our own that Grandfather started to treat my father well."
He Hansheng smiled and said, "He dotes on you the most, and because he loves you so much, he naturally treats me better as well."
Shen Suining scoffed, thinking that her maternal grandfather seemed to be in much better condition than before, and even when her maternal grandmother was mentioned, she did not show any particular abnormality.
She couldn't help but ask curiously, "Have you been spending these past few days with him? Has he been remembering you all along?"
“At first, he didn’t remember either. In fact, as soon as I finished telling him, he forgot who I was,” He Hansheng said with a faint smile, carefully carving the connecting part of the petals and gently blowing away the wood shavings. “I kept telling him that I was Ningning’s husband and his granddaughter’s husband. Gradually, he remembered.”
“At this age, he does need someone to comfort and accompany him,” Shen Suining sighed softly. “When I was still in Yangzhou, I often went to Baihu Mountain to see him. My grandfather’s condition was much better than it is now. Although he always felt that time was still when my grandmother was still alive, he never forgot me. Now, after not seeing him for several months, he doesn’t even recognize me.”
There wasn't much sadness in Shen Suining's tone; birth, aging, sickness, and death are the natural order of things, and she was open-minded about it.
He Hansheng suddenly grasped her hand, his fingertips slowly slipping between her fingers, the granular texture of wood rubbing against his palm, their fingers intertwined.
"Ningning," He Hansheng said softly, seemingly holding back his emotions, "during this time, let's spend more time together with him, okay?"
“Of course it’s good.” Shen Suining smiled, without pulling her hand away from his grasp.
The two stood facing each other under the tree for a moment when Ling Rui from Bifeng Hall rushed over, breaking their peaceful moment.
"Young Master." Ling Rui saw that He Hansheng was also there, but did not immediately explain the reason. She just looked at Shen Suining and gave her a wink.
Shen Suining knew what was going on and smiled as she said to He Hansheng, "This is Ling Rui from Bifeng Hall. She probably has something I need to take care of. You wait here for your grandfather to wake up and keep him company for a while."
She stood up, ready to leave, but then suddenly remembered something, turned back, and whispered in his ear, "If you don't come back to Yuquan Villa tonight, don't ever come back again."
He Hansheng lowered his eyes and chuckled softly, replying with a "Okay".
Shen Suining followed Ling Rui out of Jishetang, immediately seeing through her concerns, and asked, "Xing Li couldn't be stopped?"
“That fellow is incredibly difficult to deal with. He waited outside for three days and three nights, insisting on seeing you. He even cursed you in front of Xing Li, saying that you, young master, had betrayed your promise and let him down,” Ling Rui said angrily. “Back then, Madam had called all the hall masters and pavilion masters back to prepare for the banquet, but he turned around and ran down the mountain, causing you, young master, to lose face and leaving you to clean up the mess yourself. Now he even has the nerve to say that you, young master, have let him down.”
Those who heard this were infuriated, and Shen Suining was even more furious. She immediately ordered, "Take a few men and beat him up, then throw him down the mountain! If he still insists on bothering us, go to his door and beat him every time!"
"yes!"
"Wait a minute," Shen Suining grew angrier the more she thought about it, clenching her fist tightly. "I'm going to go and beat him up myself!"
...
Duan Keji waited in front of Shuyu Villa for three days and three nights.
The weather in the mountains is unpredictable and ever-changing. In the past three days, he experienced sunshine, rain, and wind. After being refused entry, he squatted outside for three days and was then beaten up by a group of people who rushed out.
Duan Keji was not without the power to fight back, but he remained motionless as his opponent punched and kicked him until he was carried down the mountain and thrown onto the moss-covered muddy ground.
He wasn't angry. After a moment, he stood up and walked up the mountain. When he was noticed, he was beaten to the ground.
The men who beat him all wore green bronze masks, obscuring their true faces. Duan Keji knew they were from the Bifeng Hall of Shuyu Manor, subordinates of their young master. He kept repeating the same sentence: "I want to see Young Master Shen."
Even after being beaten to the point of vomiting blood, he kept murmuring, "I want to see... Young Master Shen..."
An astonishing obsession.
But the girls of Bifeng Hall were not moved by this, and only rebuked: "Our young master already has a husband. If you are truly in love with the young master, you should not disturb him like this!"
Duan Keji didn't say anything else. Half of his face was pressed into the mud, blood mixed with dirt, and he kept repeating the same sentence: "I want to see your young master."
"They are truly stubborn and unrepentant!"
After another round of punches and kicks, Duan Keji was bruised and swollen, and his leg bones seemed to be broken. He had no strength left to stand up.
The girls from Bifengtang then stopped and headed up the mountain.
"Cough cough—"
Duan Keji coughed up blood, his eyes bloodshot as he watched the departing figures of the crowd. He reached out to grab one of them and shouted, "You came all here! Why won't you see me!"
Everyone immediately stopped in their tracks.
Shen Suining chuckled and turned around. "You recognized me?"
Duan Keji chuckled, "If it weren't for the young master himself, who else would wear such valuable gold bracelets on both hands?"
Shen Suining raised her hand to look at her wrist, where the pair of agate and gold bracelets that He Hansheng had given her were held dear.
Unexpectedly, this allowed Duan Keji to discover her identity. Shen Suining clicked her tongue, somewhat annoyed, "I'm used to wearing it, I forgot to take it off."
However, now that she had recognized him, Shen Suining didn't intend to hide it any longer. She walked up to Duan Keji and squatted down, noticing that there were already white strands in his messy hair.
Shen Suining was slightly taken aback, secretly calculating in her mind that this person was probably around the same age as her when she met him, and now he was only in his early twenties, yet he already had a full head of white hair.
"Are your mother and sister better now?"
“Thanks to the young master,” Duan Keji struggled to look up at her, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, “they all left two months ago.”
Shen Suining sighed softly, "He is indeed a person with a tragic fate. But in this world, life and death, coming and going are all normal, and you have to be more open-minded about it."
Duan Keji shook his head in anguish, two streams of hot tears welling up in his eyes and falling into the soil.
He deeply regretted that he had made a mistake in his decision not to go up the mountain with Shen Suining, which not only caused him to miss the opportunity to save his mother and sister, but also led him to become estranged from the person in front of him.
"Young Master Shen..."
Duan Keji stretched out his muddy hand, trying to grab Shen Suining's clothes. She took a step back, and he froze on the spot, then burst into self-deprecating laughter.
After a long pause, Duan Keji looked at her again, his expression inscrutable. "Young Master, you are newly married and have a wonderful husband by your side. Do you still sleep well at night?"
“I am very satisfied with this husband,” Shen Suining said with a faint smile. “Given my identity, I have seen too much of the dangers of the martial world and the coldness of human nature, and I have never been chosen so resolutely before. So, I am very happy.”
"And what about me!" Duan Keji suddenly broke down and roared, "You and he are a perfect couple, loving and devoted to each other, so what was I back then!"
"You were the one who said you wanted to marry into my family back then, and you were the one who went back on your word halfway through, making me lose face. And now you still have the nerve to ask me questions," Shen Suining stood up, looking down at him with a cold smile. "I've always been someone who doesn't have many romantic relationships. I've never asked for a man to be sincere with me. Things that can be easily lost have never been important to me."
Duan Keji clutched his chest and propped himself up. "I can explain. Back then, it was because—"
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Shen Suining turned around and let out a soft breath. “You can leave now. Considering how badly you were beaten, I won’t take your life.”
After saying that, Shen Suining went up the mountain without looking back.
...
As evening fell, thunder rumbled from the other side of the mountain, and dark clouds loomed overhead, threatening a downpour.
He Hansheng rushed back to Yuquan Villa before the rain started. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, a torrential downpour began, hitting the lotus leaves in the pond so hard they couldn't stand up straight.
Rainwater fell from the eaves, creating a curtain of rain over the long corridor. He Hansheng was now extremely familiar with the route, and after passing through the corridor, he returned to the backyard. The rainwater only slightly dampened the clothes on his shoulders.
Shen Suining was not there; the room was empty except for a bronze mask placed on the small table by the window.
He Hansheng frowned slightly and called Meng Chun over, asking, "Has Ningning not returned?"
Meng Chun replied, "The young master returned for a while, and had only been sitting down for a short time when Jing Yun summoned him to Biyun Residence."
He Hansheng suddenly realized that when he looked at the sudden downpour, he remembered chatting with Shen Heyang at the foot of the mountain about how Shen Suining had been running around the villa for the past two days and must be exhausted.
He asked Meng Chun to bring him an umbrella and said, "You can prepare the food later. I'll go upstairs to pick her up."
"Young Master!" Meng Chun hurriedly stopped He Hansheng, hesitated for a moment, "Young Master, you shouldn't waste your energy. Young Master... I'm afraid she won't be able to come back tonight."
And at this time, Biyue Yunju.
Shen Yan stood under the eaves with an umbrella, his eyes filled with anxiety, while Madam Shuyu stood beside him with a stern expression. Through the curtain of rain, the couple looked at Shen Suining, who was kneeling straight in the downpour.
Rainwater streamed down her hair, and her clothes were already soaked through, but her face remained as arrogant and haughty as ever, as if she didn't care at all, kneeling in the wind and rain, unmoved.
The rain was unusually heavy today, and the autumn rain felt particularly chilly on my clothes. If this continued, I would surely fall ill.
Shen Yan felt heartbroken and tried several times to step forward to hold an umbrella for Shen Suining, but was ruthlessly stopped by Madam Shuyu.
Looking at Shen Suining's frail figure in the wind and rain, it would be a lie to say she felt no pity. But she could only grit her teeth, restrain her emotions, and calmly ask, "Ningning, do you know you were wrong?"
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