Jiang Lingyao did not answer Duan Nanqi. She seemed not to have heard his words clearly. She just said goodbye to Yao Yuan politely and then quickly walked out of the west room.
Only when they reached the main gate of Yuyong Prison did Jiang Lingyao slowly breathe a sigh of relief.
On the way home today, there was no sound of horse hooves behind me.
Shen Suning took her on a quest, and when they returned to the bedroom on the second floor of Xinghuang Garden, Jiang Lingyao said, "So it seems that the horse hooves following us the other day must have been Duan Nanqi, but he was not following me, but was going home."
Shen Suning had also been running around all night, and even a strong man would get tired. Now, sitting beside the imperial concubine couch, she felt a little sleepy.
Jiang Lingyao spoke, and when she saw that her eyes were about to close, she lowered her voice.
However, when Xingyunduanshui came in, the sound was a bit heavy, waking up Shen Suning who was in a light sleep.
She shook her head to shake off the sleepiness, and then said, "Senior Sister, I'm going back first. There should be no further follow-up to this case."
In other words, Jiang Lingyao and she can both relax for some time.
Jiang Lingyao smiled and said, "I asked Xingyun to prepare some snacks, and asked the chef at Xinghuang Garden to make eight-treasure oil tea and osmanthus lotus root powder. Go back and get some hot water to wash it down. It tastes great. Don't always skip meals."
She muttered to herself and prepared another bag of food, drinks and tea for Shen Suning before letting her go.
Shen Suning stood outside the window, her face still cold and indifferent, but there was a shy smile at the corners of her eyes and eyebrows: "Thank you, Senior Sister."
She couldn't utter anything eloquent, and the last word that came out of her tongue was just "thank you".
Jiang Lingyao waved her hand and told her to go back and rest quickly.
After everyone left, Jiang Lingyao changed out of her outer clothes and sat beside the imperial concubine's couch, soaking her feet in just her inner clothes.
There was jasmine scented water in the basin. The steaming mist surrounded her and made her feel sleepy.
Xingyun saw that she was not asleep yet, so he asked, "Miss, do you have anything to do tomorrow? Can you solve the case?"
Jiang Lingyao nodded, her eyes empty, as if she was just in a trance: "The case has been solved, maybe I can rest for a few days."
Xingyun heaved a sigh of relief: "Then I will inform Ji's mother tomorrow and ask the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Miss. Miss, just go to sleep and get up when you have enough sleep."
Jiang Lingyao blinked her eyes. She remembered Duan Nanqi's meaningful words just now and couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips.
She said, "There will definitely be some movement downstairs tomorrow. You should keep a close eye on it and report everything to me when I wake up."
"If he asks, just say we played leaf play last night, so we went to bed late."
Xingyun responded, and Jiang Lingyao washed and changed her clothes again, then lay down comfortably in the soft quilt. The moment before, she was still thinking about how to deal with Duan Nanqi's temptation tomorrow, and the next moment, tiredness swept over like a hurricane, taking away her mind in an instant.
At last, she thought: Whatever happens.
As long as she denies it, it will be useless no matter how much Duan Nanqiao talks.
Jiang Lingyao slept soundly. When she had recovered from all the tiredness of the night, she felt vaguely half asleep and half awake.
In this haze, she dreamed of a small courtyard.
It seemed to be early spring in March. There was a bamboo fence outside the courtyard, and the fence was covered with tender yellow forsythia.
She seemed to be sitting on the fence, crying, crying very sadly, with tears all over her face.
At this moment, a small figure holding a handful of pink and white roses came up to her step by step.
The rose stood in front of her, and Jiang Lingyao couldn't see the other person's face clearly. She only remembered the other person's childish voice, saying to her: "Don't cry."
Jiang Lingyao woke up from this dream in the clouds and mist.
As soon as she woke up, she vaguely heard some voices outside the window. Jiang Lingyao sat up, lifted the curtain and listened carefully.
That was Duan Nanxi's voice.
Duan Nanqi seemed to be practicing swordplay in the garden in the afternoon, and the person talking to him was Duan Jianing, the fifth daughter of the Duan family.
"Your sister-in-law hasn't woken up yet. If you insist on looking for her now, be careful that she might get angry when she wakes up."
"Your third sister-in-law is very scary. I've seen her before that day!"
Jiang Lingyao: “…”
This person will never say anything good to her!
Duan Jianing said, "Third brother, Third sister-in-law is not like that. Are you deliberately bullying her and not letting her play with us?"
Jiang Lingyao couldn't help laughing.
She called Xingyunlai, put her hair into a simple bun, picked out a peach-colored chiffon spring shirt, and went downstairs gracefully.
In front of Xinghuang Garden is a small garden planted with roses and crabapples, and in the backyard there is a tall paulownia tree. Before spring, the garden is full of colorful flowers.
The backyard was originally Duan Nanxi's martial arts field, so there were not many flowers and trees planted there. But now it has been converted into a back garden, and flower beds and rockery have been rebuilt, which is also full of spring atmosphere.
Jiang Lingyao walked out slowly from the door on the first floor. The emerald crabapple hairpin in her hair swayed gracefully, sparkling as she walked.
As soon as Duan Jianing saw her, his eyes immediately lit up.
Jiang Lingyao looked at her and smiled tenderly, then glanced at Duan Nanqi and said to Duan Jianing, "Our Jianing is smart. She knew that your third brother was fooling you. I went to the kitchen to check on today's lunch and just missed you."
Duan Jianing is only fourteen or fifteen years old. She is petite and cute, with a round face and round eyes. She looks very similar to other members of the Duan family. When she looks at people with her big eyes, she makes people feel very happy.
Upon hearing this, Duan Jianing immediately spoke to Duan Nanqi in a sarcastic tone: "Bad Third Brother."
Duan Nanqi ignored her. He put away the long sword in his hand, took the handkerchief handed to him by Wen Zhu, and gently wiped the sweat off his face.
The sun was blazing brightly overhead and the garden was full of flowers. He was only wearing a plain blue gown with narrow sleeves, but his whole body exuded an air of dignity.
The look he cast on Jiang Lingyao's face was as hot as the scorching sun.
There was no trace of inquiry in his eyes, as if he was unaware of the two similar faces in the day and night. He actually smiled and said softly, "My lady, you are so late, have you had breakfast?"
His face was so gentle and warm, but all the questions he asked were tests.
Jiang Lingyao smiled at him, her eyes bright and beautiful: "Thank you for your concern, husband. I feel a little plump recently. If I want to lose some weight and look better, I don't need to eat breakfast."
Duan Jianing's eyes widened as she looked at Jiang Lingyao's slender waist, then glanced at her own waist, and murmured, "Did I eat too much?"
Jiang Lingyao burst out laughing, walked forward, hugged her shoulders, and led her into the house: "Silly girl, I am a new wife. If I stay so unkempt all day, what will my husband do if he dislikes me?"
Jiang Lingyao turned the tables, but Duan Nanqi just smiled and said nothing.
The three of them entered the main room, and Jiang Lingyao led the fifth lady to the flower hall to sit down. Xingyun brought jasmine tea at the right time, and Jiang Lingyao began to make tea slowly.
"Now that Ningning is here, why don't you have dinner at Xinghuang Garden?" She continued with a loving look on her face, "The kitchen sent us some fresh sea bass today. We'll have two dishes for lunch: steamed sea bass with fermented black beans and fish slices in vinegar. I'm sure you'll love them."
Duan Jianing's saliva was dripping when he heard this.
Duan Nanqi heard Jiang Lingyao describe the lunch exactly and couldn't help but glance at her.
Jiang Lingyao was virtuous and gentle, and she whispered softly, "Since I'm married into the Duan family, no matter what kind of life I'll have in the future, I have to work hard to live a good life with my husband. I have to know what my husband likes to eat and what he doesn't like to eat."
"My husband likes steamed fish with fermented black beans the most, right?"
Jiang Lingyao openly and secretly ridiculed him for being "incompetent", but at the same time she looked aggrieved and virtuous. However, Duan Jianing was young and simple-minded, and he really couldn't understand the twists and turns between his third brother and his wife, so he was very moved after listening to Jiang Lingyao's words.
"My mother said before that she was worried that Third Brother and his wife wouldn't get along, but now it seems that you two are getting along quite well."
Jiang Lingyao and Duan Nanqi looked at each other and thought that this was not a harmonious relationship.
Duan Jianing started to talk a lot when she talked about her family affairs. Duan Nanqi saw that she was not going to leave after she started talking, so he couldn't help but ask, "Why did you come here?"
Duan Jianing patted his head and immediately went to snuggle up to Jiang Lingyao: "I came to find you, sister-in-law. Play mahjong with me and Yingying, okay, sister-in-law?"
But she didn't expect that Jiang Lingyao was not there when she came, and after chatting for a while, Duan Jianing forgot about playing mahjong.
Jiang Lingyao nodded and said, "Okay."
Anyway, there is nothing to do at home, so I can get familiar with Duan Nanxi's household affairs in advance.
Jiang Lingyao lowered her eyes and asked Duan Jianing, "Did you invite your sister-in-law?"
Duan Jianing immediately shook his head: "No, no, my sister-in-law is very strict. If she knew that I was fooling around with Yingying, she would definitely scold me. If my sister-in-law gets angry, my mother will definitely know about it, and then I will be finished."
Her lively personality was very likable. Jiang Lingyao couldn't help but touch her head and said, "Then take Yingying over after lunch and tell her that I'm treating you to tea. Isn't that the end of it?"
Duan Jianing looked up at her and smiled foolishly: "I knew that Third Sister-in-law would be willing to play with us."
Like the Duan and Jiang families, the eldest sons in the family are all outstanding and will inherit the family fortune in the future. Therefore, their wives have to learn to take care of the family as soon as they enter the family. Even if they have the leisure time to play, they probably don't have that much free time.
On the wedding day, Jiang Lingyao saw that the younger brothers and sisters were very afraid of the eldest young lady. Even Duan Nanqi was willing to listen to her. She knew that this eldest sister-in-law must be peaceful and fair. Even if she was strict, the younger brothers and sisters would not be annoyed by her. Instead, they all respected her.
Marquis Yongping and his wife had four sons in total. The eldest son is the Marquis Yongping's prince, and now he and his wife are in charge of the household affairs. The second son is Duan Nanqi's father, who passed away early. The third son is Duan Nanqi and Duan Jianing's father, and the family affairs and property are managed by the third wife.
The fourth son, Duan Jianhe, was originally a deputy minister of the Ministry of War, in charge of river conservancy. Three years ago, he fell seriously ill while on a flood control mission outside the capital and died in office. Now only the fourth aunt is left at home with her two children and a widow.
The Yingying that Duan Jianing was talking about is the youngest granddaughter in the family, Duan Jianhe’s youngest daughter Duan Jiaying.
The noble families of civil officials in the capital have been passed down for one hundred and ten years. During these one hundred and ten years, some families are as prosperous as yesterday, while others are withered like yellow flowers. All things in this world are subject to the rule of one person taking the stage after another.
After a century of ups and downs, there are very few families that can still stand in the position of nobility, and the Jiang family is one of them.
There are many rising stars, and the Duan family is the brightest one among them.
In this way, the two families became in-laws under the imperial decree.
After Jiang Lingyao finished coaxing her sister-in-law, she turned around and saw Duan Nanqi's deep eyes.
His peach blossom eyes are extremely beautiful, and when he smiles, he always looks romantic, cheerful and generous.
At this moment, there was only a pool of peach blossom water in his eyes.
It’s deep and cold, yet the cool fragrance fills your nose.
When Duan Nanqi saw Jiang Lingyao looking at him, he raised his eyebrows and a smile returned to his handsome face.
"My dear, you are willing to play with your sister. Thank you for your trouble."
Duan Nanqi sighed: "My wife is so nice."
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