Xie Linzhou hadn't been attending court lately because he was recovering from his injuries, so he stayed with her at the shop.
Zhou Ling'an had just returned when he entered the room and saw Xie Linzhou there. He was taken aback, bowed to Xie Linzhou, and looked at the two of them with a strange expression.
Xie Linzhou simply nodded at him and then continued talking to Song Ning.
"Er Ya, I've finished writing the plaque you mentioned last time," Zhou Ling'an said, handing the calligraphy to Song Ning.
"I trust you to handle things. I'll have someone make the signboard another day."
Xie Linzhou took the paper from her hand, glanced at it, and said with a half-smile, "Thank you for your hard work, Young Master Zhou. You can leave this kind of thing to me."
This week, Ling'an has been trying to curry favor with Song Ning, so he'd better be careful.
Song Ning glanced at him and smiled, "Aren't you busy? Wouldn't this be too much trouble for you?"
Xie Linzhou tapped Song Ning on the head, his eyes full of affection: "Why are you being so polite with me? If you're this polite next time, I'll get angry."
After saying that, he deliberately turned around and glanced at Zhou Ling'an.
Zhou Ling'an observed their interaction and a bad feeling arose in his heart.
In the afternoon, Xie Linzhou left early due to other matters. Song Ning and Zhou Ling'an went home together. On the way, Zhou Ling'an asked, "Er Ya, you and General Xie... are you...?"
Song Ning knew what he wanted to ask and smiled, "It's just what you think."
Zhou Ling'an's eyes flickered slightly, and his heart sank. He suddenly lowered his head, afraid that Song Ning would notice something was wrong.
The bitterness that welled up from the bottom of his heart made him unable to look Song Ning in the eye.
"Er Ya, do you have feelings for General Xie?"
Desired?
I wouldn't say I was particularly fond of him, it just so happened that Xie Linzhou was the one I liked.
If it were someone else who confessed their feelings to her, as long as they were a good person, she might say yes.
"It's alright. Xie Linzhou is a good person. Although he can be a bit childish at times, I'm generally quite satisfied with him."
Xie Linzhou is a nice person; he even agreed that the child would take her surname, and she didn't have any other requests.
Besides, Xie Linzhou is good-looking, has a good figure, and comes from a good family, so she's really lucky.
Moreover, the Xie family treated her well. Princess Jianing was kind, and Old Madam Xie was not the kind of person to be harsh on the younger generation. Although she had never met Xie Linzhou's two older sisters, judging from the other members of the Xie family, their personalities should not be too bad.
Besides, the two young ladies of the Xie family have long been married off, so they probably don't see each other very often.
Hearing Song Ning's answer, Zhou Ling'an felt even worse. If he had expressed his feelings earlier, would the outcome have been different?
He lowered his head and smiled bitterly. Sure enough, he was always a step behind others in everything.
He had already broken Song Ning's heart back in the village.
"Er Ya, I..."
Song Ning had a pretty good idea of Zhou Ling'an's feelings for her, but the one who liked him was the former Song Er Ya, not the current her.
Given how badly the two families had argued before, there was really no chance for them to be together.
Song Ning never considered Zhou Ling'an.
"Zhou Ling'an, study hard. Don't forget you still owe me a favor. We agreed that after you pass the imperial examination, you'll be my support."
Zhou Ling'an nodded slightly, forcing an extremely unpleasant smile.
Even if he does pass the high school entrance exam, she probably won't need this backer anymore.
Sure enough, Song Ning was right; he was indeed weak.
It's been so long, and I haven't even dared to express my feelings. Now that I want to, it's too late.
It's too late, it's all too late...
Song Ning wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
She didn't have many suitors in her past life, but it turns out they've all come in this one.
Look, people introduced her to potential partners before, then Xie Linzhou appeared, and now Zhou Ling'an has come along.
She's quite sought after; sigh, her charm is irresistible.
However, this kind of thing can only be a matter between two people.
With everything ready, the clothing shop was about to open for business. Early in the morning, Song Ning placed the flower baskets she had prepared in advance at the door. Inside the shop, some red silk ribbons were hung and some decorations were placed, making it look much better than before.
Normally, from the outside, it would seem that no girls would come into her shop, but Song Ning, Xiao Cui, and Yun Niang all changed into new clothes and stood at the door to greet customers.
Their clothes served as a signboard, and although the shop didn't look very impressive, many people came in out of curiosity.
The shop is called Jinxiufang. Although the shop doesn't seem to live up to the name right now, she is confident that it will grow bigger and stronger.
There weren't many customers that morning, but Song Ning was already quite satisfied.
However, this can't go on forever; we need to promote it.
So the next day, Song Ning took the clothes and went to the princess's residence.
Jiang Shuyue had only recently come out of the palace. Last time, she sent someone to call her, saying she was extremely bored and wanted her to come and keep her company.
She didn't send a visiting card in advance today, and the people at the princess's residence recognized her, so they let her in directly.
"The princess is in the back hall. I'll take you there, young lady."
"Thank you for your trouble."
As we walked to the back room, before we even went inside, we could hear voices coming from inside.
Song Ning asked, "Does Her Highness have guests today?"
The maidservant respectfully replied, "It is His Highness Prince Qi."
Tang Xinghuai?
"His Highness said that you can go straight in when you arrive, young lady."
As he spoke, he stepped forward and pushed the door open.
Inside, one person sat in the main seat, and the other sat at the lower end. Tang Xinghuai looked interested, while Jiang Shuyue looked angry.
Upon seeing her enter, Jiang Shuyue immediately put on a smile: "A-Ning, you're finally here! I've missed you so much!"
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