Jiang Rao was covered by his shadow as he leaned over her. She raised her head and looked at him. He blocked the light. His gentle face was immersed in the shadow. He was wearing simple clothes, a cloth shirt and a wooden hairpin. Even so, he couldn't hide his nobleness. However, his eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of dust, and he looked depressed and begging for pity.
Jiang Rao looked into his eyes. There was a little girl swaying in his pupils. As if bewitched, she reached out her hand and wanted to touch his head.
His gray gaze triggered some instinct in her, making her feel that this was what she should do.
Especially when Rong Ting saw her raise her hand, he curled his lips and smiled, which was a kind of encouragement and teasing, causing her hand to be placed on him, and her fingertips were about to touch his black hair. The maid from the Zuo Mansion stepped into the guest house and said to them, "Miss Jiang, Master, the Madam is back and invites you two to have dinner in the front hall. Please follow me."
Jiang Rao saw the maid's smiling eyes as she looked at them, and she quickly retracted her hand, coughed to cover up her embarrassment, put her hands behind her back, and followed the maid to the front hall.
Rong Ting was behind her, looking at her small hands behind her back. She must have been very shy, as her fingertips were a little pink and her fingers were curled up as if she had nowhere to put them.
He smiled and followed with his hands behind his back.
The Zuo Mansion was not very spacious. Although the distance from the guest house to the front hall was not far, it still took several dozen steps. Jiang Rao took this opportunity to say to him, "I know what you looked like when you were a child."
She had dreamed of him once when he was a child.
During the festival, the child is small, lonely, and hides at the back of the crowd.
Although I haven't had any dreams that predict what will happen next in these days. But in the days before I could know what would happen in the future from dreams, every night’s dreams often foreshadowed something, except that one, which was not the case. I dreamed about things in the past.
Although she was not sure, she intuitively felt that the dream was about something that had happened.
Rong Ting frowned, "You know?"
The only time he and she had met was after the Lantern Festival that year, when they huddled together for warmth all night.
Jiang Rao nodded. She couldn't understand why he wanted to compare himself to a three-year-old child in cuteness, but since he wanted to be called cute, she just said it. She was the best at making people happy. She turned around and glanced at Rong Ting, "You were indeed cute at that time."
Rong Ting paused, his frown still on his face.
Snatching her candy beans, taking her hairpin, making her cry loudly, in her eyes... can this be considered cute and adorable?
Jiang Rao's words were not enough. She nodded, looking very sure. Finally, Rong Ting couldn't bear it any longer and asked suspiciously, "When have you seen me?"
Jiang Rao replied: "I heard about it from my parents."
Since there was a maid from the Zuo Mansion in front of her, she naturally would not tell others about the dreams she had had.
Rong Ting smiled faintly.
It turned out that he was the one who lost his composure.
He had no memory of ever meeting Jiang Xingzhou or Qin Qingshan.
They went to the front hall and met the magistrate's wife.
The residence of County Magistrate Zuo looked very clean and simple inside and out, and he was also honest in his style, but his wife was different from him. She was dressed gorgeously and elegantly, and the jewelry she wore was obviously very valuable.
During the banquet, the magistrate's wife was holding Zuo Jixuan. Zuo Jixuan was looking at Jiang Rao, and she was also looking at Jiang Rao. The mother and son looked alike, and their combined sights made it impossible for Jiang Rao to ignore them.
When leaving, Zuo Jixuan watched Jiang Rao leaving, and just as the maids said, he pursed his lips and wanted to cry.
Jiang Rao couldn't bear to see the child cry. Besides, the magistrate and his wife wanted to keep him, so in order to coax him, they stayed in Zuo Mansion for a while longer.
The magistrate's wife hugged Zuo Jixuan and looked at Jiang Rao, "I'm so sorry. I delayed your business just to make him happy."
Zuo Jixuan sat in her arms, looking at Jiang Rao, but he looked happy.
The county magistrate's wife covered Zuo Jixuan's ears and whispered to Jiang Rao, "He will feel sleepy after lunch. You can leave then, young lady."
Jiang Rao smiled and pulled Zuo Jixuan's hand, "I'm here, and I don't have anything else to do. I'm flattered that he is willing to pay attention to me."
The magistrate's wife smiled and lowered her head to tease her son in her arms. Zuo Jixuan was dissatisfied with his mother covering his ears just now, so he ran down and hugged Jiang Rao.
Jiang Rao smiled and picked him up. At noon, she asked Ming Shao to go out and buy a rattle for children. It came in handy at this moment. She stuffed it into Zuo Jixuan's hand. Zuo Jixuan was obsessed with the little toy in his hand and paid less attention to Jiang Rao. The county magistrate's wife tapped his head and instructed him, "Thank you Miss Jiang for changing it quickly."
Zuo Jixuan pursed his lips in pain, looked up at Jiang Rao, and thanked her in a serious tone, "Thank you, Miss Jiang."
Jiang Rao looked at Zuo Jixuan's soft little face again and couldn't help but think of Rong Ting's words that he was more delicate and lovely. If she could see him as a child, she might also want to hold him in her arms and not let go.
But she seemed younger then.
The Magistrate's wife refused to let Zuo Jixuan
Jiang Rao was tired after working for too long, so she quickly carried Zuo Jixuan back.
Jiang Rao's arms felt empty as she looked at the magistrate's wife, blinking her eyes and fluttering her eyelashes, as if she was about to speak.
The magistrate's wife noticed that she was looking at her and raised her eyes slightly. Jiang Rao met her gaze and smiled softly, "The magistrate is so kind to you, madam."
Although it was only a short lunch, she could already see that Mrs. Zuo had a cheerful and lively personality. County Magistrate Zuo was just a typical scholar, who looked old-fashioned and dull, and didn't talk much, but he loved his wife very much.
Her parents were also in love, but when she was in Jinling, she never took her marriage with Rong Ting seriously and never thought about managing it well. Now that she thought about it, her parents were not around. Besides, even if her parents were around, there were some things she would be too embarrassed to ask them. It would be better for her to open up to Madam Zuo, who was destined to be her only encounter a few times, when talking.
Madam Zuo smiled with her hands covering her lips when she heard Jiang Rao say this, feeling somewhat proud. "You only see how good he is to me, but have you seen how good I am to him? When we were having dinner just now, the dishes I picked up for him almost filled up his bowl."
"He has a dull and boring personality, and his heart is only focused on the books of saints and sages. He is always immersed in books and does not know anything else. But he is not an immortal, just a fool who is obsessed with books. He cannot avoid the trivial matters of life. I have known him since childhood and am familiar with his temperament. Don't look at me as if I don't know the difference between grains. I can cook and embroider well. I have always been the one to sew and mend his clothes. If he hadn't married me, who else in the world could take care of him so well?"
Zuo Jixuan in Madam Zuo's arms nodded vigorously and added, "Daddy, Wood."
Obviously he agreed with what Mrs. Zuo said.
Jiang Rao immediately understood the status of County Magistrate Zuo in the family, and she curled her eyes and smiled even more deeply.
Mrs. Zuo was the daughter of a merchant. Da Zhao respected both literature and martial arts, but merchants had a low status. If she had married a man who was bound by worldly views, she would certainly not have lived such a bright and comfortable life. Even though Mrs. Zuo said that the magistrate was a bookish idiot, she could tell that it was not true, but rather contained a bit of sweet anger.
But she felt a pain in her heart as if it had been scratched by a cat's claws.
Familiar with his temperament...
She pinched her fingers to think about how much she knew about Rong Ting, but the more she thought about it, the emptier her mind became.
Jiang Rao didn't know what Rong Ting liked, she only knew what he hated.
That doesn't seem right either.
She knew from her dream that he was tired of everything.
But he clearly has dreamed
It's different here.
At the end of the day, she still knew nothing about him.
Not to mention that she has no embroidery or cooking skills to show off...
Jiang Rao held her head with a headache. The sound of rattles around her gradually died down. Zuo Jixuan fell asleep peacefully in Madam Zuo's arms. Madam Zuo gently handed him to the arms of a maid beside her and asked the maid to take him away. Then she gently tapped the table.
After a while, a maid came up with a long jade box. Madam Zuo handed the box to Jiang Rao and said, "This jade ruyi is a treasure that I have kept for many years. I know that you are from Jinling and your family is rich. I am afraid that such a small thing will not be in your eyes, but Xuan'er and you get along well. I am sorry that you have troubled me to accompany him for a long time. If you accept this jade ruyi, it will be our apology."
Madam Zuo asked her, "When will you and that young man be married?"
Although the county magistrate knew that Rong Ting was the Ninth Prince who fell off a cliff and disappeared in the Huaizhou battle, she heard the county magistrate introduce Rong Ting to his wife at the meal just now, saying that his surname was "Qi" and that it was a pseudonym, and he did not tell Madam Zuo that she was a girl from the Ning'an Earl's Mansion. So she knew what to say and what not to say in front of Madam Zuo, and did not reveal too much about herself. She just made up a lie: "Got the winter day."
Madam Zuo nodded and said, "Then my jade ruyi is a small token of my appreciation, and will be a gift for your wedding in the future."
Jiang Rao lowered her eyes to look at the small box. The quality of the jade was good, but it was certainly not as good as those in her home, and it was not even as valuable as the pendant she was wearing at the moment.
But she smiled, with no disparagement or dissatisfaction in her eyes, and said, "Madam, you are so thoughtful," and asked Mingshao to put the box away.
Compared to Zuo Jixuan, Madam Zuo was the one she felt more compatible with. Madam Zuo's temperament was somewhat similar to that of her aunt, but her aunt was not as lucky as Madam Zuo. She married an emperor with three palaces and six courtyards, and could not be with him for the rest of his life.
Jiang Rao accepted the gift, and before Madam Zuo could speak, she took off the pendant on her earlobe and handed two small, jade-like pendants to Madam Zuo. "I saw Madam staring at the pendants on my ears, and I guessed you liked them. I'm wearing them for the first time today. If Madam doesn't mind, I'll give them to you as a return gift."
Madam Zuo looked down and was silent for a while. Suddenly she laughed out loud, "Young lady is really considerate."
She was born in a merchant family, and her family ran a jewelry business. She could tell at a glance what the quality of the two small pendants in Jiang Rao's hand was. They were worth more than six of her jade ruyi. Although she liked them, she knew they were too expensive, so she didn't even bother to ask which shop the pendants were from. She couldn't go to Jinling, but she didn't expect that Jiang Rao would see through her thoughts after she had secretly turned them over in her mind. She picked up the two earrings, touched them lovingly, and said half jokingly and half seriously, "I thought that since the young lady accepted my jade ruyi, I would trouble you to do me a favor. But you are so good that I am embarrassed to ask for such a valuable gift."
Jiang Rao said, "If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know, ma'am."
Madam Zuo said, "Young lady, you know my background. A maid from a merchant family has always been looked down upon. I can't change my outspoken personality, which has caused a lot of trouble for my master. He has been the magistrate for seven years, and his ability should not be so low. I am always worried that I have caused him to bear too much criticism and delayed his career. Your young master... Although I don't know his identity, judging from the master's attitude towards him, I think he is of good status and may be able to help the master."
Jiang Rao listened carefully, her eyes clear.
She found it tricky.
It's not that I don't want to help, it's just that it's difficult to help.
It was just a one-time encounter, so she couldn't tell whether Lord Zuo was really as capable as Madam Zuo said. She almost died in a fire in an inn under his jurisdiction.
Even though she felt that she got along well with Madam Zuo and Zuo Jixuan, she was still hesitant.
Because of this affinity, it wouldn't hurt to ask her to give me a gift more valuable than earrings. But official career and power are different from earrings whose value can be calculated.
Jiang Rao felt sad. Why did the person she felt she got along with say something that made her feel embarrassed?
Madam Zuo didn't finish her words, "Please don't take the Ruyi I gave you as a bribe. I asked you to help me not because I wanted to find a shortcut, but because I wanted to find out whether it was me who blocked my husband's career or something else."
Jiang Rao knew that she had misunderstood and lowered her head embarrassedly, but she seemed to be happy and her eyes were bright. She nodded, agreeing to Madam Zuo.
She just wants to find out some things. She can help with that.
Madam Zuo asked her, "How many days do you plan to stay here, Miss Jiang?"
Jiang Rao said: "Maybe I'll leave tomorrow."
Madam Zuo said with some regret, "It would be nice if you stayed here for a few more days. I would have someone to go shopping with me in the jewelry store. I can see from the way you dress that you must have good taste."
“
If you don't leave, I will find time to come and see you, madam. ”
Jiang Rao spoke seriously, and Madam Zuo did not take her words as a courtesy. She saw Jiang Rao's personality when her son pestered her and wouldn't let her leave. She was gentle and soft, and didn't want to hurt others.
She raised her eyes and looked at the hairpin Jiang Rao was wearing. Knowing Jiang Rao's personality, she spoke very frankly, "Just now, I stared at the girl's hairpin for a longer time. Why did the girl only give me the pendant?"
Jiang Rao raised her hand to protect her hairpin, and her eyes inadvertently widened.
She naturally knew that Madam Zuo had looked at her hairpin for a longer time, but this hairpin was made for her by Rong Ting.
"This hairpin was given to me by someone else."
Jiang Rao pressed the pear blossom head of the jade hairpin with her fingertips, looking a little stingy and her face flushed.
She was afraid that Madam Zuo would ask her for the hairpin, which would be much easier to refuse than the misunderstanding that Madam Zuo was asking her to help find a way to promote County Magistrate Zuo. She has never cared about material things, except this hairpin.
Madam Zuo looked at her like this, smiled faintly, and said to her: "It's a pity that my husband is such a blockhead that he doesn't even know how to make a hairpin for me."
Jiang Rao didn't know from which words or actions of hers Mrs. Zuo guessed who gave her the hairpin, since she clearly didn't mention Rong Ting's name.
She looked up and saw Madam Zuo's smiling eyes curved into crescents, looking behind her, just as she had looked at County Magistrate Zuo at lunch just now. She turned back as if she had sensed something, and saw Lord Zuo and Rong Ting standing under the moon gate.
Rong Ting looked at her with a smile, not knowing how long he had been looking at her.
Jiang Rao slowly put her hand down, somewhat stunned, wondering if he had seen her stingy look just now.
After saying goodbye to the county magistrate and his wife, Ming Shao arranged for a carriage to wait outside the mansion. Jiang Rao got on the carriage and just as the curtains were lowered, another person squeezed in. She looked at Rong Ting's tall figure squeezed in, wondering if he had seen her holding her head just now. She blushed terribly and pointed to the back, "Ming Shao has also prepared a carriage for you."
"In the eyes of others, we are a married couple. Riding in the same carriage will not reveal any flaws."
Rong Ting saw Jiang Rao looking at him in confusion and smiled, "We agreed before that we should just pretend to be married here."
"Niannian, have you forgotten?"
Jiang Rao certainly hadn't forgotten, she just didn't understand from the beginning why he had to pretend that they were married in front of others.
If you insist on explaining, is it not to conceal your identity?
In this way
Jiang Rao began to understand after thinking about it. Even in front of the county magistrate, who did not have to hide his identity, he did not hear him say that they were married.
She did not chase him away, and tacitly agreed to let Rong Ting ride in her carriage. Rong Ting smiled indifferently, got on the carriage, sat down beside her, and said, "Let me also tell you about the innkeeper."
Jiang Rao looked up curiously.
Rong Ting didn't say much, he just whispered two words into Jiang Rao's ear.
"The Queen."
Jiang Rao's eyes were filled with disgust. "Is the traitor in the government office really the cousin of the boss who drowned?"
Rong Ting shook his head, "It was other yamen runners."
Jiang Rao heard him say this, knowing that he had found out who the traitor was, and she felt relieved. She gritted her teeth and asked, "How did the Queen get her hands here?"
"Youzhou Governor."
Jiang Rao understood what he meant. It was not enough to exchange Xi Zimo, who held military power. It turned out that the Governor of Youzhou was also connected with the Xu family. The seventeenth prince was just a prince now, but the power of the father-in-law Xu was so terrifying. If the seventeenth prince really ascended the throne, what would the power of the father-in-law become?
She trembled a little just thinking about it, and her knees suddenly felt heavy. She lowered her eyes and saw that Rong Ting had rested his head on her knees without her knowing when. She tensed up a little, and he tilted his head, his profile reflected in her pupils, "I was exhausted last night, and I didn't get a good sleep."
Jiang Rao frowned slightly. She thought that it was because of her own mistake last night that he didn't sleep well. She didn't even have the heart to push him away. Besides, the fact that he was leaning against her like this made her feel particularly at ease.
She was sitting in the guest house of the Zuo Mansion just now. As soon as he appeared, many more maids came to the yard. Although she did not show any emotion, she felt a little uncomfortable in her heart.
She knew that if his leg injury healed, he would surely become a stunning beauty and attract a lot of attention. But I didn't expect that this would attract so much attention and actually draw the attention of other girls.
It really makes me angry when I think about it.
Jiang Rao lowered her eyes to hide her slight uneasiness. The weight on her knees made her curl her lips, and the uneasiness in her eyes suddenly dissipated a little.
Others may look at her, but she will be the only one he will marry in a formal ceremony.
She lowered her eyes to study his profile with his eyes closed. He was quiet and well-behaved. With such a good-looking face, even if she wasn't trying to coax anyone, she wanted to admit that he must have been cute and adorable when he was a child.
She lowered her eyes and saw the scars on the back of his neck where his black hair had fallen.
When he was a child...
Jiang Rao suddenly realized something.
Since the father-in-law and the queen have always regarded him as a thorn in their side, how did he survive...
She couldn't help but run her fingers over the scars. He was so handsome, those ugly centipede-like scars shouldn't appear on his body.
But if he was injured in childhood and it has been so long, even the scar removal medicine might have lost its effect.
Jiang Rao's fingertips just touched the scar that extended behind his ear. She rubbed along the lines of the scar, and her finger bones rubbed his ear. Her wrist suddenly felt cold.
Rong Ting held her hand and slowly stood up, his deep gaze locked on her. He slowly pressed his big hand down, pressing her small hand against the wall of the carriage.
Jiang Rao's eyes were clear, and she raised them to look at him.
She had seen his expression at this moment before, when she chased him out of Yecheng and hid in his carriage.
Her eyelashes fluttered and her breathing suddenly became irregular.
But she fluttered her eyelashes and bit her lips, not because she was unwilling. She closed her eyes, her fair little face slightly tilted up, her cherry-red lips moist, and she looked submissive and willing to be at his mercy.
But she didn't wait for what she thought would happen.
Instead, she heard his faint laughter. She wanted to open her eyes but he covered them. Jiang Rao's ears were tickled by his low laughter. She gradually realized what she had done wrong. Her cheeks turned red. She grabbed his hand and saw him half-kneeling in front of her and laughing, as if he was laughing at her stupid look of misunderstanding just now.
She was already very annoyed because she had misunderstood him, and opened her mouth to try to explain herself, but he lowered his head and kissed her whole explanation.
The sudden kiss startled Jiang Rao so much that she reached up and grabbed his collar. Her face immediately flushed and she let out a soft moan, which made Rong Ting raise his hands to pinch her waist and pin her to the wall. The force that was rolling on her lips increased a little.
After a long time, he kissed the tip of her nose, tilted his head and rested it on her shoulder, his voice became much deeper than before, with an ambiguous hoarseness.
"You like me so much." He protected her head with his hands, and asked in her ear with a smile in this unusually seductive voice, "A hairpin made of it?"
"Madam Zuo wants it but you won't give it to me?"
He kept smiling, and his cool fingers pinched Jiang Rao's pale red earlobe. His calloused fingertips rubbed her so hard that she trembled. "Do you want the pendant, Niannian?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
