Chapter 55
Liao Zheng's mind was in a daze as he listened to his cousin, who for the first time ever, talk about his own private matters.
Thinking he meant to forget his deceased parents, she retorted, "How could you forget your own parents?"
Even if they are no longer alive, you must always remember them.
Ning Shiyu was already somewhat regretful at this point for asking him that question.
He had heard Princess Qingyang say that Liao Zheng had taken a fancy to a merchant's daughter and insisted on marrying her despite his family's objections.
Later, his mother, having no other choice, threatened to go on a hunger strike and cut off all his money, and only then did Liao Zheng agree to his mother's demands.
He was engaged to the granddaughter of the Duke of Huguo.
I envy him a little; he's so good at letting go.
I wanted to learn from their experience, but we just didn't see eye to eye.
Ning Shiyu leaned back in his chair and rubbed his slightly throbbing temples. "I wasn't talking about my parents."
Seeing that Ning Shiyu had put down his wine cup and was unwilling to drink with him any longer, Liao Zheng laughed and said, "Is that an enemy?"
Ning Shiyu silently rubbed his forehead, no longer willing to answer him.
Liao Zheng could tell from his expression that he had guessed wrong. After drinking a couple of sips of tea, he finally sobered up a bit.
He suddenly realized and said, "Cousin, could you be talking about a woman?"
Before Ning Shiyu could express his opinion, Liao Zheng burst into tears, saying, "A woman who has captured my heart can never be forgotten."
"I haven't seen my Qi'er for two months."
"Saying that it's all the same when the lights are off is a lie."
None of Liao Zheng's entourage dared to mention this matter, except for Princess Qingyang, who thought her son had forgotten.
I mentioned this to Ning Shiyu before.
“My mother said I really like her, and that I will take her as a concubine after my wedding.”
"But Qi'er does not want to be a concubine."
"He also said he never wanted to see me again."
“Cousin, you don’t know she hates me. I went to her house, but she won’t open the door for me anymore.”
"And then you set your dogs on me."
Ning Shiyu's own wounds hadn't healed yet, so she really had no heart to comfort Liao Zheng.
With a dejected expression, he left Liao Zheng alone and slowly returned to his bedroom.
I haven't drunk like this in a long time; my head feels dizzy and slightly aching.
Just as he was about to ask Mu Li to prepare some hangover soup for him, a snow-white wrist was stretched out in front of Ning Shiyu.
Ning Shiyu followed his gaze upwards and saw a beautiful face appear before him.
She was wearing a drab gray ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress).
Even his almond-shaped eyes, half-hidden in shyness, seemed to merge with the image of the person in his heart.
Ning Shiyu's eyes, which had been veiled in mist, suddenly lit up, and he murmured softly, "Fu'er."
The young girl said shyly, "Young master, after you drink the hangover soup, I will help you rest."
Ning Shiyu felt only joy in his heart, and as if possessed, he took the soup from the woman's hand and drank it in one gulp.
Suddenly, a strong scent of perfume wafted over, instantly waking Ning Shiyu up.
Looking up again at the woman in front of him, he saw that she only bore a slight resemblance to Fu'er.
His expression changed instantly, and he said in a cold voice, "Take off this dress."
"Get out."
The woman was terrified, her face paled, and she knelt down to beg for mercy, tears streaming down her face.
Ning Shiyu left the bedroom without even glancing at it.
The next day, they moved into the west wing across the street.
At the same time, both Mu Li and Zhuang Xing will receive a punishment.
The fact that the woman was able to enter his bedroom and even wore clothes similar to Fu'er's must mean that Mu Li and Zhuang Xing knew about it.
There weren't many maids in the princess's residence, but Ning Shiyu recognized almost all of them.
They clearly weren't from his household.
These two men were his trusted confidants, and they dared to send people into her room without his permission.
How could he not be angry?
At this moment, Mu Li and Zhuang Xing were lying on the bench, waiting for Ning Shiyu to give the order.
Upon seeing Zhu Qing rush over, Ning Shiyu only said one sentence, "Zhu Qing, you personally give each of them thirty lashes."
Zhu Qing asked hesitantly, "Master?"
Ning Shiyu stood under the eaves, his face ashen and unmoved, his voice cold and devoid of any warmth, "If you say another word, you will be punished along with us."
Helpless, Zhu Qing raised her wooden cane and swung it down on Zhuang Xing's buttocks.
After being struck five times, Zhuang Xing couldn't take it anymore and started yelling.
Mu Li couldn't bear it any longer and finally spoke up, "Wait, Master, I have something to say."
Ning Shiyu stood with his hands behind his back, his back to the crowd, and said calmly, "Speak."
Zhu Qing then stopped using the wooden staff in her hand.
“Master, it is I who should be punished; Zhuang Xing is innocent.”
"Furthermore, what Miss Fu'er said about her feelings for the young master being fake was not sincere."
"If she only wanted your money, why would she refuse to come to Chang'an? And she wouldn't care that you married another woman as your principal wife."
Ning Shiyu slowly turned around. Mu Li's words were like a cold nail, unexpectedly driving into Ning Shiyu's mind.
A faint sadness slowly spread across her eyes.
The knot in my heart seemed to have found a way out.
After a moment of hesitation, he took a few steps into the study.
Mu Li, the taciturn and perpetually silent man, continued, "Young Master is so intelligent, how could you not understand?"
“I was very worried because I saw you were depressed all day and not eating properly, so I resorted to this desperate measure.”
"Zhuang Xing was unaware of this, please forgive him, young master."
Hearing no movement from the study for a while, Zhu Qing asked in confusion, "Are you still going to fight?"
Zhuang Xing, clutching his swollen buttocks, laughed and said, "There shouldn't be any punishment."
Then she complained to Mu Li, "Why didn't you say so earlier? I could have avoided getting hit by the cane."
Mu Li glanced at the study and sighed, "I just figured it out myself."
From that day on, Ning Shiyu seemed to have become a different person, and he began to eat properly.
There was no trace of dejection on his face anymore.
They also put even more effort into handling official business.
Ruyi Street.
The shop's business was getting better and better, and Yang also came to help out at Fu'er's shop.
She brought Yun-ge'er and Le-ge'er with her.
They can also prepare meals for the people working at the shop.
Anyway, there's a kitchen here.
She noticed that Fu'er was in a bad mood and was confined to her room.
Yang did not mention her marriage at all.
Fortunately, Zhu Ping came to see Fu'er every day, which put her at ease.
That day, the group had just finished their meal when Uncle Jiu arrived.
He specifically called Fu'er out alone.
"Uncle Jiu, what's the matter that's keeping you so secret? Just tell me."
Uncle Jiu said with a solemn expression, "Miss, do you know that the person behind your kidnapping that day was not the madam of Tianxiang Pavilion?"
Fu'er exclaimed in shock, "What? It's not just Mother Chen, there's someone else behind it all?"
Who is it?
"Young Master Wei."
Fu'er stared wide-eyed in disbelief, "Uncle Jiu, are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"No mistake, it's him."
So Uncle Jiu told Fu'er in detail about how he went to rescue Mother Chen.
After Ning Shiyu left, most of the spies also withdrew from Lingyang.
When You Luowan left, she told Uncle Jiu that the madam already knew her identity.
She intervened on numerous occasions and even saved You Luowan's life.
Helping You Luowan navigate this situation is also helping them gather intelligence, so Uncle Jiu will naturally save her.
Now that Ning Shiyu's identity has been revealed to the world, the madam had long guessed that Uncle Jiu was indeed a man.
Only then did he tell Uncle Jiu the truth.
"Miss, you should stay away from this Young Master Wei in the future."
"Do not associate with him too much."
Fu'er nodded and replied, "Thank you for reminding me, Uncle Jiu. I understand."
"The people from Songtao Garden have all left, so why are you still in Lingyang, Uncle Jiu?"
Uncle Jiu stayed behind, though it was to continue searching for the young master.
The most important thing is for Fu'er.
Half a month ago, their master sent a letter instructing Uncle Jiu to stay in Lingyang and cooperate with Uncle Hong.
He was in charge of intelligence, and had absolutely nothing to do with business.
Besides, he only needs to make arrangements for the people looking for the young master.
Staying in Lingyang would be a waste of manpower.
Finally, I understood Ning Shiyu's words: "Every piece of news from Dongyue must be relayed back to Chang'an without missing a single word."
He then understood the reason.
Uncle Jiu smiled meaningfully and said, "I still have a very important task to finish."
After seeing Uncle Jiu off, Fu'er felt troubled.
They were even more astonished by Young Master Wei, who appeared to be a virtuous gentleman on the surface, but was actually hypocritical and cunning.
She then walked along the street toward the pavilion at the head of the moat bridge.
Whenever she has something bothering her, she likes to go there and sit for a while.
Watching children play and frolic can brighten your mood considerably.
As soon as she stepped out of the alley, she heard someone calling her.
"Fu'er, where are you going?"
As soon as Fu'er looked up, she saw Old Madam Ouyang sitting in the carriage, lifting the curtain and sticking her head out to call to her.
Seeing the old lady's happy face, Fu'er walked quickly to the carriage.
"Madam, how is Fourth Master's health recovering today?"
Fu'er hadn't seen the old lady for quite some time. Last Mid-Autumn Festival, she specially brought her sister and Le'er to visit her.
Unexpectedly, the people in the manor said that the Fourth Master had found a highly skilled doctor in Chang'an City and would not be back for some time.
Seeing the old lady's happy face today, Fu'er guessed that Ouyang You's health should have recovered.
Madam Ouyang smiled and said, "My You'er's health has improved a lot. He said you like listening to his music."
"Shall I pick you up today?"
In the past, if Fu'er hadn't known, she would have thought that Ouyang You just wanted to find someone to listen to the music.
Later, Ning Shiyu told her that the piece Ouyang You played for her was no ordinary piece.
It is called 'Phoenix Seeking Its Mate'.
This piece of music is not just pleasant to listen to; it expresses the affection between a man and a woman.
Recalling the hesitant look on Ouyang You's face when he looked at Fu'er, even the naive Fu'er understood.
This is what the mother and son mean.
Fu'er didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble, nor did she want Ouyang You to have any hope for her.
He went straight to the point: "Madam, Fu'er is no longer a virgin. I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you and Fourth Master."
"Even without Fu'er, Fourth Master will still find that woman who is willing to listen to him play the zither."
The old lady's face paled, and she whispered, "What? You're no longer a virgin?"
Ouyang You received traditional Chinese medicine treatment at that doctor's house for half a year and his condition improved considerably.
The doctor meant that as long as he lived a simple and frugal life, he could live another thirty or forty years.
Of course, it's not that one can't have intimate relations with women.
It means having very little sexual activity.
What ordinary girl would want to live like this?
The old lady came to terms with it; since they couldn't get married, she would find a girl her son liked to keep him company.
It would be best if they could have an heir, but it wouldn't matter if they couldn't.
Ouyang You also agreed with her mother's idea and wanted Fu'er to be her concubine.
Unexpectedly, the old lady learned that Fu'er was no longer a virgin.
Her expression changed instantly; she felt that Fu'er was no longer worthy of her son.
He left with the remark, "Why are you so shameless?"
Then they left.
Fu'er has decided not to get married and doesn't care at all about what outsiders think of her.
Cutting through the mess quickly is the most effective remedy.
She turned around and saw that Zhu Ping was already standing behind her.
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