Chapter 44: Feelings
However, Madam Ning has already set her sights on going to Liangzhou, while Ning Fu is busy with the Spring School Banquet.
The Spring Learning Banquet originated in the previous dynasty. It was originally a banquet held by women from official families to showcase their talents.
In the current dynasty, it gradually became a charity. Women from poor families rarely had the opportunity to study and learn skills, so the ladies of noble families discussed how to help. Finally, it was decided that the ladies would use their own poems, calligraphy, or handicrafts, and use the last bit of money from trading to provide opportunities for the women from poor families.
This is also a rare occasion, when merchants can be in the same room with a noble young man. Because it is a good deed, no one will put on airs at this time.
This year's Spring School Banquet happened to be hosted by the Ningguo Mansion. In previous years, all kinds of banquets in the mansion were organized by Ning Ran. Now that Ning Ran was married, this matter fell on Ning Fu's head.
Now it was my turn to take charge, and I realized how many twists and turns were involved. Even the invitations had to be checked several times, for fear that the lady of some mansion would be left out.
Fortunately, Wei Ziyi was familiar with the entire process and helped her share a lot of the burden.
As for the location, Ning Fu booked the Guanghe Tower from Fu Jiahui, which often appears in the poems of literati.
The saying "If you haven't climbed Guanghe Tower, you won't know how vast the river is and how boundless the city is" means that Guanghe Tower is located at the junction of Xiangshan River and Qinghu Lake, where the water flows rapidly and the river bank is extremely wide, and the water flows like a torrent at the confluence. Guanghe Tower is located in the southernmost part of Beijing. Looking north, the city wall is endless.
But not everyone is willing to spend such a large sum of money to hold a Spring School Banquet.
"Sister Ning is so generous." Cheng Shuang was the first one to arrive that day. As soon as she saw her, she pulled her enthusiastically.
"Sister Cheng, you're here really early. You can go upstairs and rest first." Ning Fu responded with a smile, but she was still a little wary in her heart. She was not sure whether she had deliberately targeted Xie Ruyi in the palace that day.
The topmost floor of Guanghe Tower is specially designed for people to enjoy the view, especially the night view. At that time, the night market is in full swing, lanterns are lined up everywhere, lights and shadows are fleeting, and people's figures are dim, and everything seems to be hidden in that amber light.
After a while, Xie Ruyi, Zong Ning and Rong Min also arrived.
"Thank you so much, sister, for giving me face." Ning Fu said. Now that Xie Ruyi has left the school, it is understandable that she doesn't come.
"I have not been to Guanghe Tower several times. I also wanted to come and enjoy the scenery. It is because of Sister Ning that I have benefited from it." Xie Ruyi said softly.
Ning Fu just felt that her interest seemed not very high, and Zong Ning seemed to be the same.
As usual, Rongmin disliked her and ignored her.
"The only one here now is Sister Cheng. Would you like to sit here for a while, or go upstairs to enjoy the view?" Ning Fu was afraid that they would feel embarrassed, so she specifically mentioned Cheng Shuang.
"Since it's a rare opportunity to see this scenery, why waste the opportunity? I'll go upstairs with Sister Ning and Sister Rong." Xie Ruyi said.
Ningfu felt relieved. She naturally hoped that there would be no conflicts between them, especially since she was the host today.
By the time of Si, all the female lords who were supposed to arrive had arrived, and there were even more female lords than she had imagined. Many of the legitimate daughters of the mansion also brought their concubines to join in the fun.
There were also quite a few young masters who came, including those Ning Fu knew, including two from the Wei family, the fifth young master from the Lin family, the eleventh young master from the Rong family, and some who looked familiar but whose names she couldn't remember. There were also many merchants who came.
After all, businessmen are the least short of money, and who wouldn’t want to take the opportunity to gain a good reputation?
Rong Zheng, the fifth son of the Rong family, is only thirteen years old now. He is too handsome and has never gotten along with Zong Ning since childhood. When Zong Ning saw him, she smiled with a fake smile and said, "How come Sister Rong Wu is free to come and play today?"
Rong Zheng's face turned red, but he just said: "Who, who is my sister."
Zong Ning said slowly: "If she is not my sister, how can she not be able to beat me? I remember when we were little..."
Rongzheng glared at her fiercely.
"Sister Ning, there are a lot of people here today, so please give him some face. Otherwise, he will cry again when he goes home." Rong Min joked.
Everyone laughed.
Ning Fu was a little emotional. Rong Zheng looked like a little queen at the moment, but after two years, he would be completely different. It could be said that a man changes a lot when he grows up, and his figure is not inferior to Zong Duo. He was also very good to Zong Ning and obeyed her in everything.
"Why are you so happy?" Meng Ze's voice suddenly interrupted.
Everyone looked in the direction of the voices and saw that it was the Sixth Prince Meng Ze, the Fourth Prince Meng Che, and Zong Si. Although the two in the palace had a very bad relationship, they were still able to save face.
The two princes were both wearing dark robes today, but Zong Si was wearing a stone-blue round-necked robe with dark patterns and engraved silk. The jade crown was also very simple in style, probably to avoid stealing the limelight from the other princes.
His eyes passed over Rong Zheng, showing no emotion and a little coldness.
Only Ning Fu knew that he probably knew what Rong Zheng was thinking and was worried that he was going to take advantage of his sister.
This man is so strange. He can hit on other people's girls, but he doesn't want his own girl to be looked at by others.
Everyone saluted.
"I heard that cousin Ning has reserved Guanghelou today. My fourth and third cousins and I happened to be passing by, so we came to join in the fun." Meng Ze is a handsome man, and he looks even more tender when he smiles, making many ladies blush. "I don't know if I have disturbed cousin Ning's plans."
"It is my honor that my cousin and the prince are willing to come to the banquet. How could they disturb my plans?" Ning Fu frowned and said politely, "I hope my cousin can show his support."
Today's purpose is to raise money for the poor, and Meng Ze and Meng Che will certainly contribute a lot of money for the sake of their reputation, not to mention that it is also a way to support her.
Meng Ze's smile became more obvious, and he said, "How could I not support my cousin Ning?"
This statement is reasonable as a cousin, but if you savor it carefully, you can also taste something different. Why is it that he is so supportive when it is her place? This is clearly a clever teasing.
Zong Si glanced at him and said nothing.
"Thank you, Sixth Cousin." Ning Fu said gratefully.
Meng Ze was not the kind of person who would take over the show. He, the Fourth Prince, and Zong Si just sat in a private room in the corner of the second floor.
When Ning He and Ning Fu pushed the door into the private room to deliver cakes, they couldn't help but blush and stood aside not daring to look any further.
"This was made by the pastry chef in my house and sent to my two cousins and the prince to try." Ning Fu said.
Meng Che and Ning Zhenyuan have a special relationship. Although she is still suspicious of his behavior regarding the matter of Lord Song, after all, she is one of her own, so she has to give her face and thank her politely.
Zong Si thanked him in a cold tone.
"I heard that my cousin is good at making tea. Can I ask my cousin Ning for a cup of tea?" Meng Ze said.
That would take a long time, and Ningfu was a little embarrassed.
Meng Che naturally didn't want to see Ning Fu getting close to her, so he frowned and said, "Sixth brother, why bother Cousin Ning."
Meng Ze just smiled at Ning Fu, waiting for her answer.
Ning Fu was a little hesitant. If she agreed to Meng Ze now, she would offend Meng Che, but she didn't want to offend either of them. Just as she was thinking of a countermeasure, she suddenly heard Zong Si speak.
"Miss Ning Si has a heavy workload today. There will be plenty of opportunities to have tea later."
He spoke slowly, without any ups and downs in his tone, and he didn't even look at her.
Ning Fu smiled and said, "If Sixth Cousin wants to drink tea, you can come to the Ningguo Mansion as a guest in the future. Right now, I have many things to take care of."
Meng Ze said no more.
When leaving, Ning He looked back, but saw Zong Si's eyes sweeping over her. She was startled and quickly looked away.
…
Before the auction started, many merchants came, but their purpose was not simple. They came to support the girls from various mansions and to build some connections. No matter how much money you have, it will be useless without a backer.
Therefore, no matter how good the works of the ladies are, there are always people willing to pay a thousand taels of silver.
When Xie Ruyi's embroidery "Looking Forward to Spring" appeared, it caused a small stir. This embroidery has good craftsmanship and profound meaning. It says that spring is not visible, but the ice is melting, the snow is disappearing, and a group of wild geese appear and disappear, as if flying from a distance, indicating that spring is coming.
Nymph couldn't help but admire what a beautiful scene it was in late winter.
"The withering of winter contrasts with the coming of spring. What a good angle." Meng Ze stroked his folding fan and said, "It's refreshing. You are worthy of being the Second Miss Xie. This embroidery is worth a thousand gold. Do you want to join?"
These words were spoken to Zong Si.
There are quite a few people who raise the price.
The scene was very lively, and attracted many people outside to gather around Guanghe Tower to watch.
The painting was eventually sold for two thousand taels of gold.
"Who do you think bought this painting?" Cheng Shuang asked softly.
Ning Fu glanced towards the private room in the corner of the second floor. Naturally, it was someone inside, but she didn't know whether it was Zong Si or Meng Che. Perhaps the two of them were secretly competing with each other.
The desire to win among men is sometimes difficult to understand.
Cheng Shuang's smile was somewhat forced.
The next moment, Ning Fu saw Zong Si coming down from upstairs. The person who came whispered something in his ear, and then he left.
Xie Ruyi watched him leave, not knowing what she was thinking.
Nymph retracted her gaze, and then she began to write her own poem, describing the vitality of spring with "The east wind has awakened the flowers several times, but the willow buds are still a little cold. The orioles try to speak, and the swallows hear them for the first time, and thousands of reds and purples are colorful." At the end, she urged people to cherish time with "I advise you not to waste the sunny tomorrow, every inch of time is a new leaf."
Although it is cliché to express emotions about spring, it is a subtle observation of the beauty of spring. The rhetoric of the descriptions is not bad, and the words are powerful and sharp, which makes it quite good.
"Two thousand taels of gold." Meng Ze said with a smile.
This opening statement, with such a large amount, caused quite a stir. Even Nymph herself frowned, thinking that her poems were certainly not worth such a price.
Ning Fu couldn't help but look at Meng Ze. She saw that although he was as dignified as usual, he was also lazy and had a sense of confidence.
I'm afraid that what she is confident about is not the calligraphy and painting, but herself.
Ningfu couldn't help but think of her previous life, when he forced her to get married, he was also so determined.
She thought of his sinister face and felt a little nauseous.
Naturally, this momentum cannot be taken away by him.
Ning Fu pondered for a moment and looked at Fu Jiahui. She couldn't steal her own poem, otherwise others would suspect what happened between her and Meng Ze. Now she had no choice but to ask Fu Jiahui for help. After all, she had a backer behind her, so she didn't have to worry about stealing Meng Ze's limelight.
"Two thousand five hundred taels." Fu Jiahui said after looking at her.
Meng Ze said calmly: "Three thousand taels."
Fu Jiahui smiled slightly: "Five thousand taels."
Meng Ze: "..." Businessmen don't treat money as money, right?
Nymph: "..."
Five thousand taels!
Ningfu felt very painful. How would she return the money to her later?
"Since Miss Fu likes this painting so much, I might as well help her." Meng Ze said with a smile. It's not that he can't afford the price, but everyone is staring at him. If the price is too high, he's afraid that someone will make a fuss about it.
Especially Meng Che.
He will definitely be reported for this matter, and my father is the most dissatisfied with extravagance and waste.
Fu Jiahui bowed respectfully and said, "Thank you Sixth Prince for giving up your love. I was born in spring, and I hate myself for not being diligent enough, so I was deeply moved by the poem written by the Fourth Miss. Even if it costs ten thousand gold, I still think it is worth it."
Meng Ze said a few polite words and understood clearly that this was what Ning Fu meant. But as I said, the more she refused to accept the challenge, the more interesting it was.
Meng Ze's mood for today was ruined, so he naturally had no intention of staying to watch the fun. He said to Meng Che, "I have something else to do. Fourth brother, are you going to stay or leave?"
Meng Che said: "Since you have something to do, let's go."
As soon as the two of them left, the excitement faded a lot.
Ning Fu invited Fu Jiahui to the private room and said, "Thank you very much, Sister Fu, for today. But I will have to give the money to Sister Fu later."
Fu Jiahui smiled and said, "Sister Ning, don't worry. We are now colleagues. I will help you out this time. If I have any difficulties in the future, you can help me."
In the future, she would inevitably need her help in Ning Zheng's affairs. Fu Jiahui smiled like a fox: If you accept this favor, you must recognize her as your sister-in-law in the future.
Ning Fu was silent for a moment, then said, "Thank you very much, Sister Fu."
"However, Sister Ning, it is better for her to stay away from the Sixth Prince. He has never been truly sincere towards women." Fu Jiahui said.
Looking down from Guanghe Tower, the water is rushing hundreds of meters away, but nearby, the river surface is extremely calm, with small boats floating on the water. At night, when the boats light lanterns, the scene becomes different, and many people will drink tea and write poetry in the boats.
Ning Fu suddenly saw Zong Si entering Xie Ruyi's boat.
I thought Zong Si had left, but unexpectedly he hadn't. Instead, he was waiting for Miss Xie.
Nymph withdrew her gaze and went to deal with the guests.
…
On the boat.
Xie Ruyi said: "You and I are not destined to be together, and I can't blame anyone. The prince and I are both too selfish."
Zong Si said nothing.
“So even if the prince has some feelings for Sister Ning, there is no way he can marry her.” Xie Ruyi said with a smile.
"There is nothing illegal between Fourth Miss Ning and me." Zong Si said calmly.
It was only because of their relationship in the previous life that he thought about protecting her and taking her as his concubine.
Since she didn't want to, he naturally didn't force her and it didn't matter much.
Although the words were spoken coldly, it was also because he didn't want Nymph to be involved.
Xie Ruyi said, "Your Highness must be very unhappy with the Sixth Prince's attitude towards her today, right?" But if he really wanted to compete, Meng Ze would not be able to defeat him. It was he who had no intention of fighting for Ning Fu.
Zong Si glanced at her but did not respond.
"If something happens to the fourth young lady, will the prince save her?" Xie Ruyi asked again.
"I won't take risks for her." He said calmly.
…
After Xie Ruyi went back, Cheng Shuang came to talk to her for a while.
"I didn't mean it that day in the palace. Sister Xie was cold to me today, but are you still holding a grudge against me?" Cheng Shuang bit her lip.
Xie Ruyi didn't say anything. After a moment, she sighed and said, "No matter how much you like her, you shouldn't plot against her."
Cheng Shuang insisted that she did not do it on purpose that day.
Xie Ruyi stared at her for a moment and said, "I have something to say to Sister Ning, can you call her over?"
Cheng Shuang glanced at the wine glass, a little nervous, and nodded.
When she saw Ning Fu, her expression softened a bit. Talking about what happened in the palace that day, she said meaningfully, "Sister Ning, you have to be careful of her."
Now that Nymph knows the truth, she will certainly be more careful.
After the two finished their conversation, the night darkened. Today, what they enjoyed at Guanghe Tower was the night view, and the ladies did not go back.
After saying goodbye to Xie Ruyi, Ning Fu went to the top floor. Guanghe Tower is the tallest building in Beijing. At a glance, it has a sense of "looking down on all the other buildings".
As the evening breeze blew, Nymph gradually felt a heat and her head began to dizzy.
I don’t know if I caught a cold.
Ning Fu asked Ning He to take her to rest, but when they reached the bedroom on the next floor, she gradually realized that something was wrong. The heat spread from her lower abdomen, making her feel itchy and unbearable.
Soon she became less conscious.
Ning He was startled and knew something had happened. She turned around and ran downstairs quickly. She had to find a doctor immediately, but she bumped into someone on the first floor.
Fu Jiahui helped her up, and seeing her anxiousness, she asked curiously, "What happened?"
Ning He naturally refused to say a word and turned to leave, but she saw Fu Jiahui walking upstairs. Her heart sank, and she hurriedly followed him, saying anxiously, "Sister Fu, something happened to our fourth sister."
Fu Jiahui glanced at the sleeping Nymph, whose face was flushed at this moment.
"Fourth Miss, this is Chinese medicine." Fu Jiahui frowned and said, it's an aphrodisiac.
"I'll go get the doctor." Ning He said.
"Fifth Miss, don't worry. Fourth Miss's matter cannot be made public. You stay here and guard her. I'll go call for help."
Fu Jiahui turned and went out.
When he told Zong Si about the matter, he clearly didn't want to get involved in this mess.
"Prince, just consider this as me asking you for help." Fu Jiahui couldn't help but beg. Ning Fu was Ning Zheng's sister, and she couldn't bear to see her get into trouble.
Zong Si hesitated for a long time. If he went now, he might get into trouble and it would not be worth it.
Just thinking of those dreams, she called him "Husband" charmingly with tenderness in her eyes, but finally got up.
Just consider it as a favor from our previous life.
…
Ning He's heart sank when she saw Zong Si.
"Prince, you can't go in." Ning He knelt down and cried when he stepped into the room.
Zong Si's expression was extremely dull, as cold as ever. "If this is not dealt with quickly, it will soon become known to everyone."
Ning He's face turned pale and she stopped trying to stop him.
Zong Si ordered, "Go and take care of the guests for your fourth sister."
Ning He wiped her tears and quickly stood up.
After entering the room, Zong Si closed the door.
"Prince, what the fourth young lady has here is an aphrodisiac," said Fu Jiahui.
"It's a dream." Zong Si responded indifferently.
"Fortunately, it was discovered in time, otherwise the fourth young lady would be unconscious and might not even know she was bullied by the bad guys. By the time the banquet was over and someone saw us, the consequences would be disastrous." Fu Jiahui said.
Zong Si remembered what Xie Ruyi had just said. She asked him if he was willing to save Ning Fu, and it was clear that she knew the current situation.
On the bed, Nymph's consciousness was blurred. Perhaps she heard a familiar voice, so she just called out softly and uncomfortably: "My dear, my dear."
Zong Si's eyes finally showed some fluctuations.
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