Chapter 169 Return to Beijing
"Thanks to you, I was able to get out of this predicament."
In the private room of the restaurant, Liu Ningyan said.
She knew exactly why Zhuang Wan had done that; it was to help her. Now that Liuli City was under government control, Zuishenglou was long gone. She had nowhere else to go in Luyang County, so to prevent such a thing from happening again, Zhuang Wan resorted to this method.
Zhuang Wan hadn't seen Liu Ningyan for a long time since leaving Liuli City. Later, she heard from Pei Xingju that Liu Ningyan had fallen into the hands of Liang Jinxian, and she was worried for a while. Later, she learned that Liang Jinxian had escaped, Liu Ningyan had been rescued, and the case of the Liu family in Yuzhuang had been vindicated. She thought Liu Ningyan had returned to Yuzhuang.
She asked, "Why are you still here?"
"If not here, where else can I go?" Liu Ningyan smiled bitterly. "The Liu family of Yuzhuang disappeared six years ago. Even if I go back, it's just a ruin. Shen Zongji is dead. I have no relatives left in this world. Apart from Luyang County, the world is so big, I don't know where to go."
Zhuang Wan: "Since you're in Luyang County, why don't you come look for me? Even if you go to Pei Xingju, it will be fine."
"Why would I go to see Master Pei?" Liu Ningyan shook her head. "I have no relationship with him, and he has already helped me so much. How could I bother him again?"
"As for Miss Zhuang..." she continued, "To be honest, before today, I didn't dare to hope to have any relationship with Miss Zhuang. But just now downstairs, you said..."
She seemed a little excited: "You said I was your friend, but did you really mean it?"
"Is this true?" Zhuang Wan laughed. "I didn't know you were still in Luyang County. I thought you had returned to Yuzhuang. If I had known, I would have come to see you. I have always considered you a friend. We fought side by side at Shen Zongji's house. Have you forgotten?"
"I haven't forgotten." Liu Ningyan also laughed: "But... I have stayed in Zuishenglou before."
"So what? Staying in a place like that wasn't your wish. You once said that no one is free to choose their own fate when they're away from home. You never accused me of lying, so I should thank you." Zhuang Wan said, "Besides, you've managed to stay untainted by worldly matters and maintain your ambitions in a place like that. I really admire you."
This was Zhuang Wan's true words. Whether it was when she read her in the previous life or when she met her in this life, she admired Liu Ningyan's talent and perseverance.
"As long as you don't despise me, how about we treat each other as friends from now on?"
Zhuang Wan felt a little guilty as she said this. She had just started dating Pei Xingju, but now she was actually saying they were just friends in front of his official partner. This made her seem... like a complete idiot.
Guilt, helplessness, uneasiness... In short, my mood is very complicated.
Liu Ningyan was shocked, but also a little touched. She had never thought that Zhuang Wan didn't despise her identity as a prostitute. You know, she had always despised her over the years, but Zhuang Wan said, "So what... You have no choice..."
Liu Ningyan was still able to control her emotions, but Lingshan beside her couldn't help crying.
"Miss Zhuang, it's so nice to see you. You don't know how our young lady...our young lady has been these days..."
"Lingshan!" Liu Ningyan stopped her.
Lingshan bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes.
Zhuang Wan looked at Lingshan, then at Liu Ningyan, and asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Liu Ningyan smiled faintly: "It's not a big deal. Sometimes I get confused and my thoughts wander, and I just cause myself trouble."
Seeing her pull her sleeves together, Zhuang Wan quickly pulled her hand away. When he lifted her sleeve, he saw several scratches on her wrist.
She asked in surprise, "What's going on?"
Liu Ningyan turned her face away, feeling very uncomfortable. After a moment, she pulled down her sleeves.
"I'm so ashamed," she said. "You just said you admired me, but I don't even have the courage to live."
"Why?"
"I don't know why, maybe... my wish for revenge is fulfilled, and there's no point in living anymore?"
Zhuang Wan felt as if her heart was being flooded by a dense tide, making her feel depressed and uncomfortable.
Sensing her emotions, Liu Ningyan smiled and said, "You don't have to grieve for me. I'm actually quite cowardly. I don't have the courage to live, nor the courage to die. I'm like the shell of a summer insect chrysalis, clinging precariously to a reed stalk, waiting for the day the wind will blow me off."
After saying this, she looked lonely.
Zhuang Wan exhaled, raised her eyes and asked her, "Miss Ningyan, what are your plans for the future?"
"What plans can I have?" Liu Ningyan shook her head: "I'll take it one step at a time. Maybe one day when I'm tired, I'll just let it go."
Zhuang Wan asked, "What if I have something to ask Miss Ningyan?"
"What's up?"
"Miss Ningyan, do you want to revive the Liu family?"
Liu Ningyan paused, then heard Zhuang Wan continue, "The Liu family's mansion in Yuzhuang is gone, but the people of Yuzhuang are still here. You are Liu Ningyan, and you are still here. How can you say that the Liu family of Yuzhuang is gone?"
"The house is gone, so we can just rebuild it," she said. "Now that your Liu family's injustice has been redressed, the vast estate that was swallowed up back then has been returned to you. Don't you want to protect these assets and revive the Liu family?"
Her words were so deafening that Liu Ningyan was stunned.
"Can I?" she asked. "Can I really?"
"You are from the Liu family, of course you can!"
Liu Ningyan's eyes suddenly became moist: "But apart from my useless talent in poetry and literature, what else can I do?"
"You can go into business with me." Zhuang Wan squeezed her hand and encouraged her, "Back then, the Liu family of Yuzhuang became famous through business. As the only heir to the Liu family, why can't you do the same?"
After hearing this, Liu Ningyan's dry and dark eyes gradually became bright.
.
Zhuang Wan had never imagined that she would be doing business with Liu Ningyan. Initially, she just wanted to give Liu Ningyan a goal to live for. Unexpectedly, it actually ignited her hope for life.
That day, Zhuang Wan talked a lot with Liu Ningyan. She discussed the Liu family in Yuzhuang and her seafood snack business, laying out a grand vision. At the end, Liu Ningyan held her hand, visibly moved.
After that day, Liu Ningyan and Lingshan also rented a house in Lihua Lane. When they moved, Zhuang Wan brought Erya and Tiedan to help. The neighboring women, including Aunt Qin, enthusiastically sent eggs and fruits and vegetables. Tiedan's mother even pulled a few flower seedlings from her own garden and planted them in the yard, saying to Liu Ningyan, "Sister Ningyan, just rest assured and stay here. This crabapple tree is growing fast, and it will take root and sprout next year."
That day, the snow stopped and Liu Ningyan stood in the yard crying and laughing.
"It's great that I have a home," she said.
The days that followed were still busy, but now that Zhuang Wan had a capable assistant, she felt very fulfilled. Unknowingly, more than half a month had passed, and she received a letter from Pei Xingju, delivered by express horse.
When Zhuang Wan received the thick letter, she was incredulous. She never expected that such a cold and aloof person would be so talkative.
In the letter, he described his arrival in the capital, what he had done, what he had eaten, and what books he had read. He also mentioned that he had been to Muxiang Courtyard and saw that the crape myrtle vines in the corner had grown so lush that they had covered most of the wall. At the end of the letter, he gently urged her to return quickly.
There was no mention of missing someone in the whole article, but Zhuang Wan saw three big words between the lines - "I miss you".
She felt sweet in her heart and folded the letter neatly and put it in her dressing table.
Lu Yang's business was not complicated, and Liu Ningyan was an extremely intelligent and capable person. Everything went smoothly, just like the snow in winter. After the snow, the sky cleared.
As the end of the year approached, Zhuang Wan packed his bags and set out on the journey back to Beijing.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
