This private room is very large, and it seems that the partitions have been broken through, occupying nearly two-thirds of the entire floor.
As a restaurant famous for its quiet environment and the frequent visits of talented scholars, Ning Xihua thought that the fifth floor would probably be like the lobby below, with a simple and elegant style that is favored by literati and poets.
Who would have thought that as soon as she opened the door, a faint warm fragrance wafted in, and what came into view were exquisite and gorgeous decorations. The colors were warm and comfortable, and the furniture was even more exquisite. She felt as if she had entered the mansion of some noble family.
Su Bi sat quietly beside the small table by the window, with delicate features and a dignified temperament, looking like a picture of a gentleman who was spotless.
Seeing her come in, the gentleman in the painting turned his head, and the picture was then tinged with a touch of worldly air and instantly came alive.
Su Bi raised her hand to motion her to sit down, and started to make tea.
Hot pot, placing tea, warming cups, the whole set of movements is smooth and pleasing to the eyes.
The cushion under the seat is very soft, the temperature in the room is just right, the air is filled with warm fragrance mixed with the aroma of tea, and the beauty in front of me is gently brewing tea. Everything is refreshing.
Although he knew that the beauty had another cold and ruthless face and should not be underestimated, Ning Xihua, as a beauty lover, couldn't help but relax in such an environment and atmosphere.
Su Bi first poured her a cup of tea: "Princess, please have some."
Unlike the cold voice that I heard when I first met her, which was like an ice lake falling into the water, this time the beauty's voice was warmer and more mellow, which made me indulge in it. But if I listened carefully, the ending of her voice was as cold as ice chips, and this coldness and moisture formed a wonderful contrast.
Ning Xihua took the teacup calmly. She looked elegant but in fact she was shocked when she took a big gulp of the tea.
No, even though the big guy is scary, he seems to fit her taste and it’s a bit difficult for her to resist.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Su Bi continued, "I invited the princess here mainly to pay her tribute. I feel really sorry for hurting her unintentionally."
Su Bi apologized profusely, as if he was really sorry for what happened yesterday, but Ning Xihua saw that there was no sign of apology on his face.
She didn't believe a word this man said. He really wanted to kill her when he strangled her yesterday. Although he gave up the idea in the end for some reason, this guy showed no mercy!
Moreover, this man was very familiar with destroying corpses, so would he feel guilty for almost killing a princess? Forget it, at most he would worry about how to deal with the aftermath.
Ning Xihua complained madly in her heart, but she curled her lips and said, "I have already received the gift from His Highness."
"I don't know what the princess likes, so I can only give her some vulgar things to express my apology."
It is quite vulgar. One box of jewelry can buy an entire courtyard. However, she is just a vulgar person. Which vulgar person doesn't love gold, silver and jewelry?
"Your Highness is generous, and I really like that, but it would be disrespectful to reject it." It would be a waste to refuse it. After suffering such a serious crime, the medical expenses still need to be paid.
Ning Xihua smoothed the wrinkles on her sleeves. After the polite conversation, she was too lazy to continue beating around the bush with him: "Your Highness invited me here today, I'm afraid it's not just to give you a gift and apologize."
Su Bi chuckled, her voice was like broken jade, her complexion was like spring flowers. Ning Xihua was distracted by this laugh, as if she saw the ten miles of peach blossoms blooming in Wei Garden again.
"The princess is smart. I'm sure she had some doubts in her mind about what happened yesterday."
He took a sip of tea and said slowly, "I have a chronic disease. When it strikes, I become confused and have an unbearable headache. In serious cases, I can hurt others and myself."
His tone was flat, as if the sick person he was talking about was not himself.
Ning Xihua couldn't remain calm after hearing this.
…Should I just tell her this? She deliberately didn’t ask him why he went crazy. Why don’t we just pretend to be stupid to each other?
How could she know that the crown prince of the dynasty was suffering from a murderous disease? Help! She didn't want to get involved in such a mess!
Ning Xihua was devastated and held her forehead helplessly, "So?"
Seeing Ning Xihua's indescribable expression, Su Bi found it very interesting.
He smiled and said, "So I have something to ask of you."
He slowly poured out the tea from the teapot and elegantly brewed a new pot of tea.
While continuing, "Although I accidentally injured the princess yesterday, I found that the princess can calm me down when I am ill. Therefore, I came to ask the princess to treat me."
Ning Xihua had a puzzled look on her face: "??? Cure the disease?"
Su Bi raised her hand and poured Ning Xihua another cup of tea, saying, "You don't need to do anything, just come to Tingfeng Tower and stay for two hours every five days."
Ning Xihua finally came to her senses: "Stay with His Highness for two hours?"
Su Bi nodded, seemingly unaware that there was anything wrong with a pair of single men and women with sensitive identities often staying in the same room.
"Yes, having the princess around me helps me calm down and relieve my headache."
Can she still have this effect?
Ning Xihua thought it was a bit far-fetched, but thinking back to when Su Bi went crazy yesterday, it was indeed after she hugged his arm that his mood gradually calmed down.
Ning Xihua didn't know whether the prince's death in the original book was related to his illness, but she really hoped that Su Bi could sit firmly on the throne of prince for a long time.
If Su Bi didn't lie, then...
"Why should I help His Highness?"
Ning Xihua curled her lips and smiled, instantly taking the initiative. If she didn't kill him now, when would she kill him? Her little calculations were already crackling.
"I am not a kind person. Although it is not difficult for me to accompany His Highness for two hours every five days, I come from the Ning Palace. My father holds military power. If people know that I have a close relationship with His Highness, it will not be good for my Ning Palace."
Prince Ning is the only prince of a different surname in Dali. He is able to wield military power and guard the northern border, but has not been deprived of power by those in power. In addition to the strong foundation of Prince Ning's mansion, a big part of the reason is that Prince Ning has only one daughter and no other sons and daughters to inherit.
In this era that values succession, the lack of other offspring means that the possibility of Prince Ning establishing himself as king or rebelling is extremely small, because even if he sits on the throne, he will have no offspring to succeed him.
Prince Ning did not remarry after his wife's death. Besides being deeply in love with Princess Ning, Gu Yue, he probably also considered this issue. A tall tree attracts the wind. If the Ning Palace has a prince, the day of the Ning family's fall is not far away.
Therefore, she enjoyed fiefdom and title from birth and was treated the same as a princess.
Her marriage was closely watched by the emperor and various parties. After all, marrying her was equivalent to marrying the 300,000-strong army of Prince Ning's palace.
This is also why Su Xu hated his original body so much, and still accepted the emperor's marriage proposal after the original body's nonsense.
Therefore, if she helped the prince and had close contacts with him, it would be almost equivalent to that of the Ning Palace standing on the side of the prince in the eyes of outsiders, just like Su Xu did before.
Originally, for Prince Ning's Mansion, remaining neutral was the only way to survive, but...
Can neutrality change the ending of Prince Ning's Mansion in the original book?
Ning Xihua was silent.
Su Bi was not surprised that Ning Xihua put forward conditions, and just asked: "What does the princess want?"
Ning Xihua lowered her eyes. What did she want?
She wanted the Ning Palace to be stable and prosperous, and she wanted to live a happy and free life.
She is not her original self, so she has to marry Su Xu and repeat the same thing.
But both the original book and the dream she had told her that even if she stayed away from Su Xu and Lin Mengli, when Su Xu became the crown prince, she and the entire Ning Palace would not have a good ending.
And ask yourself, even if the Ning Palace managed to survive, would she be willing to live under the shadow of Su Xu and Lin Mengli for the rest of her life?
Their existence was like a sharp blade hanging over her head, making her always tremble in fear about when misfortune would strike.
She was originally a rootless person, but the Ning Palace gave her family affection, honor, and pride.
She was unwilling and unwilling to spend her whole life crawling at the feet of people like Su Xu and Lin Mengli.
Su Xu's engagement with her and Su Xu's becoming the crown prince are the two most important time nodes in the original book. One allowed Su Xu to gain the support of the Ning Palace, and the other caused the original body to die soon after.
If the male protagonist's aura was too strong, and she was still married to Su Xu, or waited for Su Xu to become the prince, would she also die like in the dream?
Ning Xihua didn't dare to deceive herself that she could avoid the tragedy by not marrying Su Xu. The best way to avoid tragedy is to make the original victorious protagonists lose their status as protagonists from now on.
As long as the arranged marriage fails and Su Xu cannot become the crown prince in the end, the Ning Palace will have a chance of survival.
Ning Xihua raised her eyes and looked at the gentle and calm man in front of her.
She was silent for a long while, and he did not urge her. He just tilted his head slightly, his eyes bright and clear, waiting for her answer very patiently, as if waiting for her to make a request was the most important thing for him at the moment.
In the original book, the prince died young due to frailty, which gave Su Xu the opportunity to ascend to the throne.
But Ning Xihua knew that Su Bi was definitely not the indifferent, weak and incompetent prince in the original book, and he certainly would not be the warm, gentle, dignified and polite person in front of him.
She had seen Su Bi's cruelty and indifference, and she thought that he must be asking too much for himself by putting on this face in front of outsiders.
She had a hunch that the olive branch thrown by Su Bi was an opportunity to break the original plot and possibly change the ending of the original book.
Looking at Su Bi's clear and cool eyes, she made up her mind.
"I want Your Highness to protect the Ning Palace and ensure its safety for the rest of its life."