Ning Ze never dreamt that his mother would want him to go to Nanchu with Su Rong.
After being released from the dungeons of the Rui’an King Residence, he was forcibly dragged onto Fen Ling’s carriage by his sister. The road back to Nanping had been a constant ebb and flow of terror, panic, and exhaustion until he gradually grew numb to the assassins. All that occupied his thoughts was to plead with Ning Chi, begging for his life upon his return, promising not to compete with him anymore, life was all he asked for.
Yesterday, Ning Chi had agreed.
Truth be told, he was quite grateful.
After so many years, he had wronged Ning Chi in many ways, viewing him not as a brother but as a person who merely occupied a noble rank.
Whether it was due to the circumstance or the bond of being brothers, Ning Chi had agreed.
Seeing that Ning Ze had been speechless, stunned and overwhelmed, the Lady Marquis decided to give him time to process it before speaking again, "In truth, I’ve considered the delicate situation in Nanchu and I know it may be dangerous for you to accompany Lady Su Qi. Nevertheless, as it’s often said, ’Fortune takes risks.’
Ning Ze gaped, "Mother, are you expecting me to earn nobility and become a prominent official? Nanchu may be small, but they have extraordinary talents. Even Ye Guixue, the second son of Ye Xiang Residence, stands unrivaled there. I can’t surpass him. And honestly, I’m not capable enough."
The Lady Marquis shook her head, "I don’t expect you to earn an official title, I just can’t bear to see you fall from grace, living in fear and survival. Without status, official rank, expertise, nor a substantial inheritance, you won’t attract an excellent wife from a noble family. Do you really want to marry a merchant’s daughter or a commoner’s daughter?"
Ning Ze scratched his head, "But even if I want to go, Lady Su Qi might not want me to accompany her. All along the way back, I’ve been just a burden, losing all dignity. Fen Ling looks down on me."
The Lady Marquis replied, "It’s merely a thought. The decision lies ultimately with you. If you want to go, ask Su Qi. If she refuses, that’s the end of it. We can think of other alternatives."
Ning Ze scratched his head, "Alright."
After a few more words from the Lady Marquis, she saw that her son was tired and left him to rest, departing from his courtyard.
After the Lady Marquis left, Ning Ze didn’t immediately rest. Instead, he sat at the table scratching his head, tapping his forehead and sometimes picking up his tea cup only to put it down again. Exhausted after a long while, he finally went to bed.
In the Pear Blossom Garden, Su Rong asked Fen Ling, "Did you get down all those places today?"
"Yes."
"Focus on investigating them. Once we have leads, we’ll follow through on them. We need to move quickly, within a few days at most."
"Yes," Fen Ling nodded, "Don’t worry, we’re good at this."
Su Rong nodded.
Fen Ling continued, "By the way, there’s no news yet about Lord Thursday and Ning Ze’s trip to the Eighteen Villages."
"They left in a hurry, so confronting them head-on and suffering casualties wouldn’t be a good strategy. The best course of action would be to find a secret passage and launch a surprise attack on the Eighteen Villages. Mountain bandits might be fierce, but they aren’t as trained as regular armies. If they find an opening, they can easily be defeated. After all, there are not many people in this world who aren’t afraid of death. Those who aren’t afraid of death should be killed. The others probably don’t want to die, so they will have to surrender."
Fen Ling said, "So, we might not hear any news until tomorrow."
Su Rong simply responded with a hum.
Once more, Fen Ling asked, "Sister, are we going to continue strolling tomorrow? Today, we covered more than half of the area and found seven or eight suspicious places. We should have more findings in the remaining areas, too!"
Su Rong nodded.
They had to eliminate all the potential threats in Nanping to feel safe.
The next early morning, Fen Ling went to find Ning Ze again.
Ning Ze got up early before Fen Ling had to wake him up. By the time Fen Ling arrived, Ning Ze was already fully prepared.
Fen Ling praised him, saying, "Well done."
Ning Ze felt quite proud of his own progress. Being praised made him elated.
The three of them left the Marquis Nanping Residence. Just as they walked out a street, a carriage was driving towards them. The wind flipped open the curtain, revealing a beautiful woman. As the woman’s gaze met Ning Ze’s, she seemed surprised and ordered the coachman to stop the carriage.
The carriage stopped and the woman peeked out, calling to Ning Ze, "Cousin."
Ning Ze immediately responded, "My cousin."
"Who are these two?" Sun Shiying looked at Fen Ling and Su Rong standing beside Ning Ze.
Ning Ze immediately introduced them as, "Newly made friends."
Without introducing Fen Ling and Su Rong by name, he introduced Sun Shiying to Su Rong, "This lady is my cousin from my maternal uncle’s side, Sun Shiying. She is the third child in her family."
Su Rong nodded, "Nice to meet you, Miss Sun."
"Nice to meet you both," Sun Shiying asked, "Cousin, where are you heading?"
"Just taking a stroll around the streets."
Sun Shiying nodded and asked, "And what about my aunt? Is she at the residence?"
"Yes, she is."
Upon hearing this, Sun Shiying said, "Then I won’t bother you anymore, I’ll go find my aunt."
Ning Ze nodded in agreement.
Sun Shiying dropped the curtain and the carriage drove away towards the Marquis Nanping Residence.
After she left, Ning Ze proceeded down the street with Su Rong and Fen Ling.
Fen Ling rested his arm on Ning Ze’s shoulder and turned to him. Looking at the carriage disappearing in the distance, he said in a low voice, "That didn’t go well between you and your cousin." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
Ning Ze looked a bit uncomfortable. "When we were young, our mothers joked about a verbal marriage agreement. However, since we grew up and before I went to the capital for the examinations, neither family has mentioned it."
"Just now, she noticed your amputated finger. She looked at it for a moment, then quickly looked away. She wasn’t very enthusiastic about you and didn’t even get off the carriage. It seems as if she doesn’t like you that much." Fen Ling looked at him, "If I had known that you were just a paper tiger, I wouldn’t have cut off your finger so ruthlessly. Now it’s too late, I can’t reattach it for you."
Ning Ze narrowed his eyes, "Why are you bringing this up again?"
He sighed in frustration, "Are you always like this when you interrogate prisoners? No patience at all, chopping off people’s fingers on a whim?"
"Of course not." Fen Ling saw Su Rong walk ahead, seemingly engrossed in something. He moved closer to Ning Ze and whispered, "You only have yourself to blame. Remember the day my sister and I visited the Crown Prince’s Residence? That look you gave my sister, what kind of dirty thoughts were you harboring against her? I knew you were bad news from that moment on."
Ning Ze’s eyes widened, "You hold personal grudges?"
Fen Ling humphed and snapped, "Let me ask you then, did you have any malicious intentions back then?"
Ning Ze remained quiet for a moment, then whispered, "The truth is, it was all for my sister and the Crown Prince. They wanted to antagonize Su Xingze. Then, you and Su Qi arrived in the capital. Seeing that Lady Su Qi was beautiful and seemed soft and weak, I thought she would be easy to manipulate..."
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