Chapter 21
Unexpectedly, Yun You spoke up as if on purpose, "Young master, that is Miss Fu'er."
"Young Master Wei has not mistaken you for someone else."
As soon as she finished speaking, she was met with a fierce glare from Ning Shiyu.
Ning Shiyu was usually gentle and soft-spoken with her, and had never been so stern before.
Startled, Yun You turned pale and lowered her head, remaining silent.
Upon hearing this, Young Master Wei chuckled and said, "Brother Ning, you can't be a hypocrite who forgets his old love once he has a new one."
"Fu'er is a very likable girl. I was talking about her with a friend just a few days ago."
As soon as he said that, several people around him joined in the commotion.
Seeing Gu Ning Shiyu's cold expression, Young Master Wei became even more interested.
"Someone, go and invite Miss Fu'er up here."
The master has given the instructions, so the subordinates must do their best to carry them out.
Despite Fu'er's repeated explanations, no one listened to her.
They were still forced ashore by the servants.
Zhu Ping had no choice but to stop the small boat.
Fu'er was furious, but dared not vent it.
This Young Master Wei is not like their young master; he's not so easy to talk to. He's extremely domineering in Lingyang.
Fu'er was brought ashore alone, while Zhu Ping still had to row the boat to the shore.
When Fu'er entered the teahouse, everyone's eyes were drawn to her. Although she was dressed in rough clothes, it could not hide her increasingly beautiful appearance.
A layer of frost settled between Ning Shiyu's brows.
Despite her dissatisfaction with him, Fu'er lied to herself, saying that she was going back to the Ning residence to handle important matters.
In reality, it was to receive his concubine.
She resented him for being too harsh on her, for not letting her wear new clothes.
However, she allowed Yunyou to dress up in a glamorous manner.
However angry she was, she didn't dare to contradict her master in such a situation.
Seeing his ashen face, Fu'er didn't dare to meet his gaze. After curtsying, she immediately looked away.
Thinking to myself, it's not like she wanted to come on her own.
Many of the men in the teahouse were people Fu'er knew.
Young Master Wei is hosting a banquet today, featuring a winding stream and floating wine cups, which suits the atmosphere of the day.
Young Master Wei and Ning Shiyu were seated in the main seats.
The remaining young men sat on either side of the winding waterway.
Fu'er was no stranger to this trick: whoever had a wine cup in the water stop in front of them would take the cup and drink the wine, or compose a poem.
If you can't do it, you still have to drink a penalty shot.
Most of the gentlemen present were accompanied by maids and female relatives.
This place must be the most elegant spot in the garden.
"Someone, bring Fu'er a cushion and let her sit in the middle."
Fu'er knew in her heart that something was wrong. The wine cup was flowing over here, and she would be next.
She was completely unprepared.
He subconsciously looked up at Ning Shiyu.
Ning Shiyu glanced at Fu'er out of the corner of his eye, then slowly put down his teacup and said with a faint smile, "Brother Wei, she's just a maid, and she hasn't recited poetry in a long time."
"It is really unreasonable to let her sit in such a conspicuous position."
"Just leave her in a corner, give her a spot."
The tone was as if he were talking about the cats and dogs at home.
Fu'er felt a little disappointed when she heard him dislike her so much in front of others.
"Brother Ning, that's where you're wrong."
"Fu'er is my guest, how can I treat her so casually?"
"Let Fu'er sit in the middle."
Fu'er no longer harbored any illusions about Ning Shiyu, thinking to herself that since she was the one making a fool of herself, it would be Ning Shiyu who would lose face.
Unable to refuse, Fu'er sat in the seat arranged by the host.
As soon as she sat down, everyone resumed their enjoyment.
The person in front of Fu'er is Young Master Zhu, who just passed the imperial examination this year and whose family runs a business.
He has some talent and dresses quite well.
As soon as the wine cup stopped in front of him, he picked it up automatically.
Composing poems and essays is something he can do effortlessly.
But it was a hardship for Fu'er.
The last character of Zhu Xiucai's poem should be used as the first character of Fu'er's poem.
She hadn't looked at those books of poetry and prose for a long time, and had almost forgotten them all.
The scholar's last line was, "Let's try on spring clothes and sing a song."
The last character is '衫' (shān), and it also needs to be a neat and rhyming seven-character quatrain, which is indeed quite difficult.
Everyone present couldn't help but feel a chill for Fu'er.
In the past, Fu'er recited poems verbatim, all by rote memorization.
The common saying is "studying books to death".
Asking her to improvise is indeed not easy for her.
Yunyou and Caiwei, mistress and servant, looked at each other with gloating smiles.
At this point, some people spoke up for her, saying, "Fu'er is, after all, a young lady who deals with miscellaneous matters in the inner courtyard all day long. It's a bit too much for her to be asked to recite Zhu Xiucai's poems."
"How about we change it to another one? Let her recite one poem."
"No, everyone who sits in this seat must follow the rules."
"You agree, Brother Ning."
The crowd started discussing amongst themselves, and some people genuinely cared about Fu'er.
Some people wanted to see Ning Shiyu lose face.
Today's rules are more difficult than ever before, simply because they were proposed by Ning Shiyu.
Several of them, unable to maintain their composure, lost face in front of their female relatives and took their anger out on Fu'er.
Ning Shiyu squeezed the agate thumb ring in his hand, his dark gaze sweeping over the group of people who had started the trouble.
Just as he was about to speak up to help Fu'er out of the predicament.
Unexpectedly, after searching her mind, Fu'er recited aloud, "The color of the shirt is bluer than the spring grass, the tailoring must have been done by the Purple Maiden, wearing it makes one feel good, as if there is a path to the fairy realm."
After a moment of reflection, everyone cheered.
Ning Shiyu smiled slightly, his smile reaching his eyes.
Seeing this, Yun You, who was standing next to him, felt uneasy, and a flash of jealousy appeared in her eyes.
Young Master Wei exclaimed, "Excellent, excellent, perfectly matched!"
"The word 'spring' is fitting for the current season, and the word 'green' describes the color of most of our clothes today."
"Someone, please present Miss Fu'er with a piece of soft silk gauze and a piece of Shu brocade."
Two bolts of fabric, incomparably luxurious.
The Wei family was wealthy and powerful in Lingyang, and their eldest son was known for his extravagant spending, which made everyone envious.
Fu'er was secretly delighted, thinking that today's trip had not been in vain, as these two bolts of cloth could fetch a good amount of silver.
In the eyes of the eldest son of the Wei family, Fu'er is already Ning Shiyu's unwanted old love.
Without consulting Ning Shiyu, he ordered his attendants to move Fu'er's seat next to him.
He sat down with the women he had brought with him.
Unexpectedly, before Fu'er could even sit down, Mu Li took her out of the garden under the pretext of needing to see her.
Fu'er didn't mind, since she had gained a lot today anyway.
After leaving the garden, she found her cousin and Zhu Ping.
Mu Li then left.
Since it was still early, Fu'er accompanied You Cuicui for another round of play.
Back home, Ms. Wen prepared a large table full of delicious food.
Fearing that Zhu Ping was about to leave, they waited at the door to welcome the group.
The Ma family closed their shop early today, and the adults sat together.
Ms. Wen also brought out her homemade green fruit wine to entertain the guests.
Luo Linchun kept putting food on Zhu Ping's plate.
He also asked him to come often.
Even the usually carefree Fu'er now understood her parents' intentions.
It wasn't appropriate to say much at the dinner table; I planned to explain it to my parents later that evening.
He was happy that so many people came to Changge's birthday party.
He and his brother ate a few bites and then got off the table.
The two brothers each held a large chicken leg and circled the dining table.
On the table to the side were a pile of gifts that Brother Chang had received that day.
Yun-ge was filled with envy and reached out to take it, but his brother kept a close watch and didn't give him a chance at all.
He was unconvinced and shook Fu'er's hand, saying, "Auntie, my mother said you have money. This time you bought my brother a roly-poly toy."
"Could you buy me one for my birthday next time?"
Hearing that her sister-in-law was still eyeing her money, Fu'er immediately retorted, "Your aunt doesn't have as much money as your mother. If you want to buy a roly-poly toy, go ask your parents."
Mrs. Ma looked embarrassed; her son had revealed everything she had said in private.
Just as he was about to scold Yun Ge'er, he nimbly darted in front of Zhu Ping and said, "My grandmother said she wants to marry my aunt to you."
"Then I'll call you Uncle-in-law."
"Can you buy me one?"
Everyone at the table was stunned.
Zhu Ping blushed deeply and dared not look at Fu'er.
Fu'er could no longer bear it and jumped up.
"Mom, why are you teaching the child so haphazardly all day long?"
"Zhu Ping is still young, I only treat him as a younger brother."
Zhu Ping's eyes dimmed instantly, but he did not back down and took the initiative to say, "I am not your brother, nor do I want to be your brother."
Wen saw through Zhu Ping's attitude and was satisfied.
He no longer concealed his intentions, saying, "Don't try to fool me. I know Zhu Ping's background perfectly well."
"You two are only one year apart in age, what's wrong with that?"
“His home is in Tongluo Lane, not far away.”
When Ms. Wen said this, the whole family agreed wholeheartedly, and everyone chimed in with their own opinions.
Hearing this, Fu'er also lost her appetite and went back to her room.
Remembering the small box Zhu Ping had brought that morning, she opened it and found a jade hairpin inside.
Fu'er was quite surprised, as she knew that Zhu Ping's monthly allowance was less than hers.
The family only runs a small business.
A slight unease settled in his heart; where would he get so much money to buy hairpins?
Fu'er would certainly not accept it, and she wanted to make it clear to Zhu Ping that she had no feelings for him.
After the meal, Fu'er escorted Zhu Ping to the alley entrance.
She returned the small box to him, saying, "Zhu Ping, you called me 'sister' on your first day at the Ning residence. From now on, we should still..."
Zhu Ping not only took the small box, but also interrupted firmly, "I know what you're going to say?"
"That's just your opinion, but it can't stop my feelings for you."
“You used to tell me that you didn’t care what others said, as long as you knew what you wanted.”
"Don't rush to reject me. As long as you haven't married someone else, I still have a chance."
Fu'er was astonished to hear him say so much at once. Was this still the same Zhu Ping who was a quiet accountant who only knew how to bury himself in his work?
She felt as if she didn't recognize him anymore.
"I bought the hairpin, please keep it for me for now."
“I believe that one day you will be willing to put it on me.”
She didn't come to her senses until Zhu Ping's figure disappeared from Fu'er's sight.
They clearly said they would be siblings for life, so why did he suddenly change his mind?
Fu'er was feeling down and was about to turn around and go home.
Then she heard Mu Li calling from behind, "Miss Fu'er."
"Young Master requests that you return to the Ning residence tonight."
Fu'er wasn't surprised to see Mu Li there; what surprised her was that Ning Shiyu told her to go back to the Ning residence.
"Young master has granted me permission to stay at your home tonight."
Mu Li coughed lightly, "That was approved in the morning, it doesn't count in the evening."
“Young master, let me come and take you back to the Ning residence so you can pack his things to go back to Chang’an.”
Fu'er said with dissatisfaction, "Isn't it always Granny Yu who packs the young master's luggage every time he returns to Chang'an?"
"This is what the young master instructed, so please don't dawdle any longer, young lady."
Fu'er was extremely reluctant to return to the Ning residence with Mu Li.
Granny Yu and Xiang'er already knew she was in Songtao Garden, so they didn't ask her any questions when she returned.
When they arrived at Ning Shiyuwenxuan Pavilion's bedroom, he looked unwell and was holding a book in his hand, which he hadn't turned a single page of.
He sat beside the Arhat's couch.
Several bundles, already prepared, were placed on the couch.
At this point, Fu'er realized that he hadn't asked her to come back and pack her bags at all.
It looked more like they were going to punish her.
Fu'er argued logically, "Young master, you promised me that I don't need to go back to the manor tonight."
Ning Shiyu slammed the book in his hand down hard.
A chill ran through his eyes. "Why should I agree to someone who's a liar?"
Fu'er exclaimed in surprise, "This servant has never lied to the young master."
"Really? Then tell me, why did you come home?"
"Could the nephew you're talking about be Zhu Ping, the clerk in the accounting office?"
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