Su Rong’s exterior was indeed dazzlingly deceptive.
At first, even Zhou Gu was swept off, much less Ning Ze?
Fen Ling patted Ning Ze’s shoulder hard, "This is merely because you’re blind and lack judgment."
Exactly, if they weren’t so blind, how could they not have seen the true essence beneath the facade? His sister was like a rose bush, teeming with concealed thorns, pleasant to look at from a distance, but the moment one came close and tried to pluck, they would know how easily they could bleed rivers.
If the Crown Prince hadn’t underestimated his sister, would it have come to this?
Even Concubine Ning Yao of the Crown Prince was not a woman without intelligence, but she had only underestimated the intensity of his sister.
The only one who stood a chance to melt her heart was Zhou Gu, but even Zhou Gu... wasn’t he also affected miserably? It was nearly impossible for Lord Thursday to persevere with such determination while being pricked at every turn.
"It is my fault; I misjudged her strength," Ning Ze regretted and whispered, "But I am not entirely villainous. I know how to respect ordinary women and have never forced myself on one. Until now, I have no concubines in my courtyard..."
Fen Ling had already understood his point and looked at him oddly, "unusual for a man your age not to have a concubine. If you weren’t lustful, why did you have bad intentions towards my sister the moment you laid eyes on her?"
Ning Ze’s face blushed and saw Su Rong walking away, he sheepishly stared at Fen Ling and explained, "I had bad intentions because I wanted to marry her at the time. If I were to propose, naturally I would not be able to marry her, but if I..."
Fen Ling understood clearly, if his sister was an average woman and was ruined by him, then who else would she marry?
He hit Ning Ze’s head sharply with a cold voice, "Didn’t you have an engagement? You are not content with your present blessings, these wicked intentions of yours, you deserve to lose your fingers. If my sister was an ordinary woman, wouldn’t you have succeeded? You, scoundrel!"
Ning Ze was rebuked and had no recourse, he could only bear it with a bitter face. "I... I indeed am a worthless person. But...But I have acknowledged my mistake and will not dare to make the same error. As of now, towards Lady Su Qi, I genuinely have no interest at all. Really, I swear! Even if you were to chop off my fingers, as long as you escort my sister and me safely back to Nanping, I will bear no grudge against you."
Fen Ling noticed that even if he has a hundred times more courage, he wouldn’t dare set his eyes on Su Rong again. He hummed, "at least you know your place."
Ning Ze didn’t dare contradict him and feared getting him angry. He was afraid he might be so annoyed that he’d lose his temper and swiftly kill him.
When Su Rong returned with three skewers of candied hawberries, she noticed the two were whispering and handed them candied hawberries. "What are you two discussing?"
Fen Ling took Su Rong’s candied hawberries, and without batting an eye, he lied, "We were talking about Sun Shiying. His cousin is supposedly betrothed to him, but it seems that she is done with him. I reckon she must not think much of him now."
Ning Ze was surprised to receive the candied hawberries and nodded repeatedly, "Spot on, my cousin used to not be so cold towards me. Now, she must have disdain for me."
Su Rong nodded in understanding, Ning Ze used to be the second young master of Marquis Nanping Residence, the beloved son of Marquis Nanping, and the most favored by the Marquis’ wife. His biological sister was the concubine of the Crown Prince. Hence, it was quite possible that after Ning Chi, the title of Marquis Nanping could potentially fall on his head. Therefore, any family would have considered it a good match to marry their daughter to him. But now, with the Crown Prince’s fall from grace, it was evident to everyone even though the Ning siblings had spared their lives and returned to Nanping that the position of the Marquis had nothing to do with him in the future. On top of that, he had lost three fingers, leaving him crippled. Moreover, the fact that he had knelt and cried like a spineless man when he met Ning Chi upon returning to Nanping, the news had spread all around. Who would want their good daughter to marry him now? A man with no prospects, unless there was a woman who deeply loved and admired him, she absolutely would not jump into the fire pit. After these years, everyone knew how discordant he and Ning Chi were, and everyone assumed he was good for nothing.
She casually asked Ning Ze, "What do you plan on doing in the future?"
Ning Ze immediately turned his head, surprised that Su Rong would ask him this. Ever since they left the Capital City and returned to Nanping, she had seldom spoken to him. Over the last day, they hardly spoke a word. Although he never felt Su Rong held him in contempt, he clearly felt that she didn’t acknowledge him as someone worth her attention or concern. Now that she was asking him this, he felt somewhat stunned.
Fen Ling hit him on the head again, "My sister is asking you a question! What are you daydreaming about?"
Ning Ze rubbed his head, "I know Lady Su Qi is asking me something, I...", looking at Su Rong, he thought of his mother’s words, and hesitated to speak, "I... I’m considering going with you to Nanchu, maybe I can find a minor official position, but I don’t know... I don’t know if it’s possible?"
Fen Ling rolled his eyes. "Of course not! You’re such a waste, only capable of dragging others down, we certainly do not need you."
Ning Ze lowered his head, knowing that he had no merit.
But Su Rong stopped and looked at Ning Ze with a raised eyebrow, "You want to go with us to Nanchu?"
"Yes." Ning Ze’s voice was barely audible. Seeing Su Rong staring at him, he plucked up the courage and said, "I also feel that I’m completely useless, a coward, incompetent, and fearful of death. But...But my mother said, I can at least read and write... I have some use... "
Fen Ling nodded, "True, that is indeed your only merit: being able to rank without doing much studying, which shows some talent. But what use is a bookish person? What’s the use of being able to read?"
"Being able to read, I can pass the imperial examination and become a government official." Ning Ze tried to advocate for himself, "I...I’ve been immersed in this environment since childhood. I... I should be capable of holding an official position, right?"
Fen Ling was blunt, "You can only be a weak, spineless and fearful of death kind of official. The moment someone splashes a bit of silver in front of you, you’ll kneel and call them Dad."
Ning Ze: "..."
He’s not lacking in silver, would it really be so bad for him?
But being fearfully timid is indeed true.
"Stop dreaming, my sister would definitely not agree." Fen Ling pushed him forward and walked on, while munching on his candied hawberries, he asked Su Rong, "Sis, these candied hawberries are pretty sweet. They’re dipped in honey, aren’t they? This is my first time trying them."
Su Rong didn’t answer him. Half of the candied hawberries in her hand were already eaten, and she continued walking.
They stopped talking about Ning Ze and discussed what they were going to eat for lunch. Ning Ze couldn’t help but feel bitter. He was probably going to disappoint his mother yet again. From childhood till now, he had never lived up to her expectations. Sheesh.
Despite the way his mother avoided his brother, deep down, she probably wished that she had a son like him, or even that his sister was a boy. That way, there wouldn’t be a disappointment like him. He never did anything right.
He knew Su Rong would not agree, as he was a complete failure, something they had witnessed firsthand.
He felt somewhat dispirited.
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