Chapter 214: Evening Breeze (4)
Ming Zhouhe did not stay in the Lin Mansion for long. He drank a few cups with Lin Ting and then went back.
The carriage stopped in front of the west gate of the Anguogong Mansion. Ming Zhouhe got out and saw Ming Zhouqing coming back from outside. He asked, "How did Second Brother get in from here?"
"I went to the Zheng Mansion to pay New Year's greetings. I thought I'd come find you later. It's on the way from here. Where have you been?"
"What a coincidence, just like you."
Ming Zhouqing put his arm around his shoulders and asked, "Let's go to your place for a drink?"
Ming Zhouhe refused: "No, I just came back from drinking. Go drink with the eldest brother and the fifth brother."
"It's okay if you don't want to drink, just have some tea. You can play a few games of chess with me. I haven't played for a long time, and my hands are itching to play." Ming Zhouqing followed him to the Lingyan Pavilion.
"Okay." Ming Zhouhe nodded.
On the first day of the first lunar month, they paid New Year's greetings to the elders and followed Ming Weishen to entertain the guests who came to visit. When they had some free time, Ming Zhou and Chao Xuanyuan waved to each other.
"Send the box on the table in my room to the Lin Mansion."
"Okay, sir." Xuanyuan understood.
Ming Zhouqing heard what he said and came over to ask, "Is this a New Year's gift for your fiancée?"
Ming Zhouhe asked in return: "You won't send it off?"
"I gave it to him when I went to buy New Year gifts. I gave him both Lunar New Year gifts and New Year gifts together."
Ming Zhouhe nodded, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Shi Jianli and Ming Zhao coming in together. He stared at Shi Jianli for a while.
After everyone had lunch together at noon, Shi Jianli got up and went back to the yard.
Ming Zhouhe followed behind her.
Shi Jianli leaned over and asked doubtfully, "Cousin, do you have something to tell me?"
"I heard from my mother that your birthday should be small this year, and she wants you to invite your friends over to play?"
Shi Jianli looked him over for a few seconds, then suddenly had an idea and deliberately asked, "Well, why did you suddenly ask this, cousin?"
"Are you pretending to be stupid?" Her expression was easy to understand, Ming Zhouhe could see through it at a glance.
Shi Jianli smiled: "Cousin, do you want me to invite Tingwan over?"
"Um."
"I was planning to invite her." After she was injured, Lin Tingwan came to the Anguo Mansion to see her twice, but Ming Zhou and Du were not at home.
"Are you all healed?"
"Almost. However, cousin, you changed the subject very abruptly."
"I care about you, but I'm teasing me on purpose." Ming Zhouhe turned a corner and said, "Let's go."
On January 11, Lin Tingwan came with a birthday gift and chatted with Shi Jianli along with Zheng Leyun, Yu Yiluo and others.
At the beginning of the last hour, Ming Zhou and others returned from the military camp.
Lin Tingwan and the others bowed to Ming Weisu and Ming Weishen, "Hello, Duke of the State, hello, Minister Ming."
After the greetings, she looked at Ming Zhou and his brothers and greeted them one by one.
Ming Zhouhe nodded to her and sat opposite her.
Ming Yuelin asked the girls to play a drinking game and said with a smile: "If you can't answer, then drink. This is in our house. It's okay for me to get drunk, but it's not good for you to get drunk."
She pointed at Ming Zhouhe and Ming Zhouqing and said, "Sister Zheng, Sister Lin, you should judge your own alcohol tolerance and drink a few glasses just for show. Let my second and third brothers drink the rest for you."
Lin Tingwan couldn't help but look at Ming Zhouhe after listening to it.
Ming Zhou and she exchanged glances, "Okay."
Ming Zhouqing also nodded.
Princess Kangning said, "What about us? We didn't bring our fiancés with us. Isn't that a bit of a disadvantage?"
Yu Yiluo frowned: "Princess, it's you, I don't have a fiancé."
Princess Kangning smiled and said, "Your eldest brother can drink quite well. It's no problem for him to drink for the two of us."
Yu Yiluo: ...
Poor her elder brother Sanxi.
Ming Yuelin continued, "Today is Sister Li's birthday. If you don't want to drink, please ask Sister Li to show her some talents so that she can let you go. Isn't that all right?"
"Good idea, Shi Yaoyao, you'd better speak up, right?" Princess Kangning winked at Shi Jianli.
Shi Jianli smiled and nodded. "I heard that the princess is very good at playing the zither. Perhaps I can enjoy her music today?"
"No problem."
After the first round, Lin Tingwan was unable to continue and drank a glass of wine by himself.
Ming Zhou and Lin Tingwan leaned back in their chairs and watched. After a few rounds, they had already drunk three cups.
She was really not good at making calls, and she couldn't keep up the fourth time. Ming Zhouhe stood up and sat next to her, took a new cup and poured it, "Let me drink."
Then he drank it all in one gulp.
Lin Tingwan turned to look at him, "Sorry."
Ignoring Ming Yuelin's gossipy gaze, Ming Zhou and Lao Shen sat calmly beside Lin Tingwan. After their conversation continued, he spoke, "Say sorry, it's too distant. Why are you being polite to your fiancé?"
Lin Tingwan shook his head.
Ming Zhouhe pointed at the hazelnuts in front of her and asked, "Do you like this?"
I saw her peeling a lot just now.
Lin Tingwan nodded.
"Well, take your order and I'll peel it for you." Ming Zhou and Chui Mou pulled the plate over and began to peel it skillfully. "How can you drink?"
"Two pots." Her gaze stopped at Ming Zhouhe's face, and she pointed to an exquisite wine pot beside her.
This kind of fruit wine is specially for girls to drink for fun. In fact, it won't make you drunk if you drink a little, and it won't make you drunk too much if you drink too much.
"In that case, just drink for fun. Drink half a pot and then ask me to do it for you." He put the peeled hazelnuts into the porcelain bowl in front of her.
"What are you whispering about? Sister Lin, it's your turn again." Mingyuelin reminded with a smile.
Lin Tingwan was just busy talking to Ming Zhouhe, and his mind was blank at the moment. He looked at Ming Yuelin in a daze, thought hard for a while, and then continued.
After several rounds, the one who drank the most was still Lin Tingwan, followed by Mingyuelin, and then Yu Yiluo.
Lin Tingwan's Ming Zhou and helped her drink it, and after a few rounds she just ate hazelnuts on the side.
Ming Zhouqing sat next to Zheng Leyun, feeling somewhat bored. He said to Zheng Leyun, "Ah Yun, give me a chance to show my abilities?"
Zheng Lejun frowned slightly, but remained gentle and asked, "Then I deliberately didn't answer it?"
"Forget it then."
As the sun set, Ming Zhouqing offered to see Zheng Leyun out, and then pulled Ming Zhouhe along: "Third brother, come along."
"Okay." Ming Zhouhe nodded and looked at Lin Tingwan, "Second Miss Lin, let's go."
Lin Tingwan stood up and followed him, "Thank you for the New Year gift, I like it very much."
Ming Zhouhe glanced at Ming Zhouqing and Zheng Lejun in front of him and slowed down his pace. "Walk slower."
Lin Tingwan was puzzled, but also adjusted his speed.
After Ming Zhou and Qing were a little further away, Ming Zhou asked, "Why didn't you give me a gift in return? I've waited since New Year's Day, and only just received this expression of appreciation from you. I thought my gift wasn't truly sincere."
Lin Tingwan was a little surprised, his eyes slightly lit up, and he couldn't help asking: "Have you been waiting for me to return the gift?"
"Um."
Lin Tingwan pursed her lips, pulling out the jade pendant she had kept tightly covered from her sleeve. "It's not even fifteen yet, so it's still considered old age. I want to give it to you personally."
Ming Zhouhe curled his lips, took the still warm jade pendant, looked at her and said in a slightly raised tone: "Thank you, Miss Lin Er."
Lin Tingwan lowered his eyelashes and looked away.
"Let's go, don't go back too late." Ming Zhou and Ti Bu.
She followed.
When they reached the carriage, Ming Zhouhe extended his hand to her and said, "Help you get on."
Lin Tingwan hesitated for a moment, put her hand in his palm and looked at him.
Ming Zhouhe, who wanted to hold her arm, smiled and said, "That's fine."
Hearing that he didn't mean to help her like this, and facing his somewhat mischievous gaze, Lin Tingwan blushed a little. But since she had already placed her hand in his palm, she simply used it to help her move up.
Ming Zhouhe stepped back and let her maid go up.
Before the carriage started moving, Lin Tingwan lifted the curtain and looked at him with a hesitant expression.
Ming Zhouhe stepped forward, put his hands on the shaft of the cart, and raised his eyes: "What do you want to say?"
Being stared at like this, and seeing her reflection in his eyes, Lin Tingwan blinked, then calmed herself down and asked, "I heard that Mr. Ming San has rejected many girls. Everyone says you are very picky. Why did you agree to be engaged to me?"
She had actually heard Ming Yuelin say that Madam Ming was very worried about his marriage, so he wanted to prevent Madam Ming from worrying about her, so when Madam Ming proposed to meet her, he agreed?
Even when the marriage was decided, she still felt that it was pie in the sky and that it was too easy for her wish to come true.
He is a very responsible man and considerate in every way, but she is a little dissatisfied with his tenderness. She wants to ask whether this consideration is because she has become his fiancée, and whether his consideration and tenderness towards her is because of responsibility.
Ming Zhou and Xiao Xiao: "I think Miss Lin Er is quite good, especially at playing cue. Her expression is bright and lively. The ball that flew towards me that day left a deep impression on me."
"Are you satisfied with this answer?"
The tone is indulgent, a bit teasing, with a slightly lazy accent, but it is also serious.
Lin Tingwan lowered the curtain and coughed lightly, "Satisfied, Third Young Master Ming, goodbye."
He was very glad that the ball was flying towards him, and he was also very glad that he did not dodge the ball but caught it.
Ming Zhouhe saw her shrink back, chuckled, and instructed the driver: "Go slowly on the road."
"Yes, Third Young Master."
Ming Zhouhe turned around and returned to the mansion. He put his fingertips into the string of the jade pendant on his hand, turned the jade pendant between his fingers, and a smile appeared on his brows.
In the next few days, Ming Zhou and others went to court as usual.
On January 13th, Ming Zhou and Ming Yuelin went to look for Ming Zhouqing after finishing their shift. On the way, they saw Ming Yuelin holding a letter and teased him, "Did Brother Ji write to you again?"
Last year, the two had a quarrel. Ming Yuelin refused to see anyone, and Ji Rangzhou wrote letters to coax her. Ming Zhouhe knew about it.
Because Ming Zhouqing had helped deliver two letters, he couldn't hide the gossip in front of Ming Zhouhe.
"That's right." Ming Yuelin put his hands behind his back, "The day after tomorrow is the Lantern Festival. Big brother and Sister Li will go out together, and second brother also wants to ask Sister Zheng out. Aren't you going to ask Sister Lin out?"
"You reminded me."
After Ming Zhouhe returned from Ming Zhouqing's place, he went to the study to write an invitation and gave it to Xuanyun: "Send it to the Lin Mansion tomorrow."
"Yes, sir, I will definitely not let you be alone during the Lantern Festival."
Ming Zhouhe kicked him and said, "Go, you've been spending too much time with Tian Yu. Be careful or I'll fine you half a month's worth of silver."
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