Chapter 45: Interweaving
"Go back and get the antidote." Zong Si said to Fu Jiahui.
Fu Jiahui nodded. The prince had paid a large sum of money to buy the antidote when he saved Yue Niang, and there was some left over that had not been used.
When Ning Fu lost consciousness, Zong Si's expression changed slightly. He walked quickly to her, and when he leaned over, she put her arms around his waist.
He paused for a moment, straightened her up, but did not push her hand away.
Nymph only felt that he was cool all over, which was extremely comfortable, and she rubbed him carefully.
But Fourth Miss Ning is no longer that little queen. With a figure like that, it is impossible for her to have no reaction at all unless she is made of wood.
Zong Si frowned and tried to push her away, but she hugged him even tighter.
"My dear." She whispered.
Zong Si watched her kiss him, but Miss Ning Si was an expert kisser, and seeing that he was indifferent, she used all her tricks to pry open his lips little by little, gently and tenderly, as if coaxing him while asking for it in a domineering manner.
Now she looks exactly the same as she did in my dream.
Zong Si was a little distracted and let her succeed. Although he was clearly sober, he was unable to reject her.
To Ningfu, it was nothing more than drinking poison to quench thirst, and she had no idea which was which.
Soon he kissed her again.
…
When Fu Jiahui rushed back, Ning Fu was sleeping on the bed, and Zong Si was standing at the head of the bed with a calm expression, only his ears were slightly red.
"Prince, the antidote is here." Fu Jiahui wisely did not say anything more.
Zong Si helped Ning Fu up and fed her the antidote.
"This medicine is very strong. Miss Four will probably need to rest for a while." Ning Fu is Ning Zheng's sister, so Fu Jiahui naturally feels a little pity for her.
Zong Si said nothing.
Ning He, who came over worriedly, turned pale when she saw Zong Si helping Fourth Sister drink medicine. If an ordinary man or woman behaved like this, they would be responsible. But she didn't dare to say anything at the moment. She just wiped away her tears silently and asked, "Will Fourth Sister be okay?"
Fu Jiahui helped her up and comforted her, "Don't worry, the prince has already given your fourth sister the antidote. She will wake up in an incense stick of time."
Ning He nodded.
"Don't tell anyone about what happened today, otherwise your fourth sister's reputation will be ruined." Fu Jiahui said, "If someone wants to harm your fourth sister, someone will definitely come to find her soon. Just say that your sister has been sleeping in the room and has never left."
Ning Fu woke up earlier than Fu Jiahui said. Her consciousness was a little confused before, and she couldn't be sure whether what happened with Zong Si was true or false.
Zong Si almost immediately noticed that she was awake and glanced at her.
Ning Fu was silent, and Zong Si was also silent.
But the more silent they were, the more it seemed like the two of them might have done something they shouldn't have done.
"Sister Ning, Sister Ning! How are you?" It was Cheng Shuang who spoke anxiously.
Fu Jiahui glanced at Ning He, and Ning He opened the door and went out to deal with it. Through the door, she could still hear her say, "Fourth sister is asleep, what do you want to talk to fourth sister about?"
"Let's go." Zong Si said lightly.
Ning Fu actually didn't want to be alone at this moment, but she couldn't open her mouth to ask for help. There was no way Zong Si would stay here, otherwise she would definitely not be able to escape the marriage.
She didn't want to wait alone in this vague unknown, not knowing what was waiting for her.
Zong Si looked back at her and saw that her eyes were red and she seemed to frown, but she still jumped out of the window and left with Fu Jiahui.
The next second, Cheng Shuang pushed the door open and walked in. She saw Ning Fu’s face flushed and she was hugging herself with her legs bent.
Nymph also looked at her, and there were many female lords following her.
Even though they didn't know what was going on, she was still a little embarrassed.
Just now Cheng Shuang thought she heard the prince's voice, but now seeing that it was only her, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Sister Ning, are you sick?" Cheng Shuang reached out to touch her forehead.
Nymph avoided it, her expression was dull, without the usual smiling enthusiasm.
In fact, she had guessed roughly why Cheng Shuang married to another place not long after in her previous life. Because she had framed Xie Ruyi, and it was Xie Ruyi who was tricked in her previous life. Something must have happened between her and the Fourth Prince that day, but it was suppressed.
How could the Duke of Qing's Mansion let Cheng Shuang go? Marrying her to another place would be tantamount to exiling her, which would be a punishment for her.
From then on, the Cheng family pretended that they didn't have this daughter. This was a way to protect themselves.
A woman who loses the protection of her mother's family has no future.
The one who wanted to harm Cheng Shuang was not herself, but Xie Ruyi.
But in this life, something went wrong, and she ended up being the one who got caught. Xie Ruyi might have noticed it, but she didn't remind her, probably because she wanted to use her to get rid of Cheng Shuang.
All of this was not Ning Fu's random guess, of course. She had not eaten anything today. She only drank some wine while talking with Xie Ruyi. Xie Ruyi would naturally not be so unfashionable. And she asked Cheng Shuang to call her, which was clearly telling her that she was with Cheng Shuang before.
This allowed Ningfu to quickly guess that it was Cheng Shuang who did it.
Xie Ruyi is a good person, but she is not without scheming. Ning Fu thought that if it were her, she would definitely remind the other party. But this is not Xie Ruyi's fault. She just doesn't want to be involved, and she is unwilling to let Cheng Shuang go. It is best not for her to punish Cheng Shuang.
Did she hate Cheng Shuang? Maybe she did. Why did she involve an innocent person like her in the matter between her and Xie Ruyi?
This was the first time she had witnessed evil among women of her own age, and it chilled her heart.
Before this, she thought that since they grew up together, no matter how much they argued or disagreed, they would not do such things.
Cheng Shuang's expression changed, and she forced a smile and said, "Sister Ning, what's wrong with you?"
"I want to rest." Nymph said, closing her eyes.
She didn't want to think about anything anymore.
Cheng Shuang hurriedly said: "Okay, then you have a good rest, I will take care of you." She was also afraid in her heart, she never wanted to harm Ning Fu.
She slept for a very long time, and her dream was full of strange things. After waking up, Madam Ning breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Finally I woke up."
"Mother." Nymph opened her dry lips, "I want to drink some water."
Madam Ning quickly fed her a small spoonful of the mountain spring water that she had prepared.
Nymph thought for a moment and asked, "That day..."
“Don’t be afraid. Not many people know about this, and it hasn’t caused a big disaster. Your fifth sister and Miss Fu have also handled it for you during the Chun Xueyan Banquet. Just pretend that it never happened. The Duke Qing’s Mansion has asked for my opinion. The Cheng family feels ashamed to have such a daughter, and she will be married off to another place soon.” Madam Ning sat at the head of the bed and let her rest her head on her.
Ning Fu was a little surprised. Xie Ruyi clearly wanted her to handle this matter, so why did she solve it in the end?
After thinking about it, it seems that Zong Si is the only one who should intervene in this matter.
"You've been through so much in the capital, do you want to stay with your grandmother for a while?" Madam Ning looked at her lovingly, "Your grandmother's place is close to your father's, so it's convenient for you to visit your father."
Both the fall into the water and this incident left a shadow on Madam Ning.
The capital may have conflicts with A-Fu this year, which may not bring good luck to her.
Nymph paused suddenly.
Counting the days, it seems that Li Fang died recently, and this incident caused my grandmother to be labeled a traitor.
She had been thinking about going to her grandmother's place, but was worried that she wouldn't be able to find a reason. Now it seemed like a good opportunity.
Later, after Ning Fu had finished her dinner, Dong Zhu ran in and said, "Madam, Miss Ning and the prince from Prince Xuan's mansion are here."
"Please invite them in quickly." Madam Ning said. This time, it was all thanks to Zong Si who gave her daughter the antidote, otherwise Cheng Shuang's problem would not have been easily solved.
He came here with Miss Ning, so the etiquette was acceptable as they were not a single man and a single woman in the same room.
When Ning Fu saw Zong Si again, she still felt somewhat grateful and said, "Thank you, my Lord."
With Zong Ning around, it’s not good to speak too bluntly.
But Zong Si was quite straightforward when he spoke. He said in a deep voice: "I had to leave that day. If others saw that there was a man in your room, it would be even harder to explain. They would turn white into black."
Zong Ning's expression suddenly changed, and he said, "Third brother, what do you mean?"
Nymph nodded. No matter whether this was what he thought or not, it didn’t matter now. As long as she was fine, nothing else mattered.
Zong Si hadn't made up his mind yet and didn't say anything for a while.
"What are you thinking?" He paused and asked her after a moment.
His meaning was obvious enough.
Logically speaking, since the two kissed, they should have gotten married no matter what the reason was, even if she took the initiative first.
Men in particular should take more responsibility.
It's really a mess, it's hard to sort out. It's clear that the two of them had talked frankly about the concubine issue not long ago and reached a consensus to keep their distance, but now the situation is becoming more and more awkward.
However, Nymph didn't really need him to be responsible. Kissing was nothing. She had done more intimate things in her previous life. If she got married like this, wouldn't her life be lived in vain?
Nymph said, "I want to rest."
Zong Si looked at her, pondered for a moment, and said, "When have you rested enough? If you have anything to discuss with me, you can go to Qingtian Pavilion."
Nymph smiled perfunctorily and said, "Okay."
On the way back, Zong Ning asked in confusion: "Brother, what do you mean by this today? How can you be so disregarding of the distinction between men and women in front of Sister Ning? And what do you mean by being in her room that day? You two were alone in the same room, a man and a woman?"
Zong Si ignored her.
"You disagreed with Sister Ning before, and now you have new ideas." It was hard for Zong Ning not to feel like complaining.
What is worrying Zong Si right now is how to handle his relationship with Ning Fu. If he wants to marry her, now is not a good time. If he doesn't want to, he did respond to her kiss when he was sober that day.
As for what kind of mentality...
Perhaps it was her repeated use of the word "my dear" that made him recall the relationship from their previous life.
…
In the main house, Wei was also curious and asked, "What wind did you say that brought Prince Xuan's palace here?"
The relationship between the two governments is not good.
Mu said softly, "Don't you think it's wrong for the prince, a stranger, to come to see Afu?"
"He came here with Miss Ning, what's wrong with that?" Wei said indifferently, "The prince wouldn't be so obsessed with Afu."
Because her daughter had also been rejected by Zong Si, Wei always liked to step on Ning Fu in this matter.
Old Madam Ning happened to hear all this clearly. She was so angry that she leaned on her cane and said, "The Prince Xuan's Mansion is good, but you, the mistress of a Duke's Mansion, are praising him. Aren't you going to be laughed at by outsiders? Besides, my granddaughter is not someone that the Prince Xuan's Mansion can choose!"
Old Madam Ning also found Wei Shi annoying for the first time. This first wife didn't behave like a first wife. The second wife would never say these things when something happened to the first wife. "But you can't even manage the household of the Ningguo Mansion properly. If you hadn't ruined the Mansion like this, the Mansion wouldn't have come to this point."
The housekeepers were the Wei family's dead setter, so how could they dare to speak up?
"As her aunt, you should take good care of her. If I were A-Fu, I would be heartbroken. I kept it a secret from her that A-Fu made up for your debts. If it were you, would you be able to do it?"
Do you really think that she is an old woman who knows nothing? She is just turning a blind eye for the sake of family harmony.
Wei's expression suddenly changed: "Afu told you?"
"That girl won't complain. I know it very well. I have always been partial to you, but you just pretended not to know." Old Madam Ning said angrily, saying that the eldest wife was really spoiled by her and was not as broad-minded as a child.
However, Wei couldn't see Ningfu whenever she wanted, as Ningfu had no interest in seeing anyone recently.
She was not sad or depressed, but was in the yard, studying her grandmother's affairs.
In her previous life, my grandmother was accused of countless crimes, and many of them had nothing to do with her, but were pinned on her.
In the end, both my uncle and cousin died, and my cousin's life or death was unknown after being imprisoned and toyed with by Meng Ze for a while. Almost everyone in the princess's mansion was killed.
In this life, she doesn't want her grandmother to end up in such a situation. It's her grandmother's fault, and she should take responsibility, but it wasn't her grandmother's fault, so it can't all be blamed on her.
A few days later, Meng Ze and Ning Yu returned to the Ningguo Mansion to see her, and Ning Fu naturally couldn't refuse.
Nymph was swinging on the swing at the time, and when she saw him, she called out sweetly, "Sixth cousin."
But no matter how Meng Ze listened, he felt that she seemed a little cold.
"Why not send a bird to keep you company?" Meng Ze said.
Ning Fu didn't like to raise these things. They were all living things. If she couldn't raise them well, she would feel bad. After thinking for a while, she said, "Sixth cousin, please pay attention to the Duke of Qing's Mansion."
At the moment, it seems that Xie Ruyi will probably still follow Meng Che, otherwise Zong Si would not have the idea of taking responsibility for herself.
Then they would give up the alliance with Prince Xuan's Palace and turn to support Meng Che.
He told Meng Ze because he would find out soon, so he might as well do him a favor.
Meng Ze narrowed his eyes.
"Sixth cousin, do you believe me?" She looked up at him.
Meng Ze's first reaction was that her eyes were so beautiful, like autumn water, so bright and beautiful. He was suspicious, but he said hypocritically, "Of course I believe you."
Ning Fu laughed in her heart, he was the best at lying, and said with a smile: "Sixth cousin, just wait. I care about you so sincerely, but you only doubt me."
"If cousin Ning were my own, I would trust her." Meng Ze said meaningfully.
However, when he learned about Ning Fu's Chinese medicine, he felt a little impatient and angry. If a man happened to enter that room, the consequences would be disastrous.
Meng Ze felt jealous that one of his own almost got into trouble.
Ning Fu naturally knew what he meant by "their own people", but she would not accept Meng Ze's trick.
If you follow him, you will either die or become paralyzed.
Ning Zhenyuan's letter was sent back half a month later. It contained three pages of worry and he agreed with Mrs. Ning's suggestion: since a woman in the capital had such a plan, it would be better to let A-Fu go to her grandmother's place for a while.
Ning Fu breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that her father would not agree. After all, the Ningguo Mansion had always kept its distance from the Kangyang Princess Mansion.
Ning Fu wrote a letter to her grandmother in person when she was free, and Princess Kangyang's reply was full of joy, saying: "Afu is thinking of me, and grandma is very happy. The princess's mansion has prepared a bedroom for you. You can come whenever you want. Grandma is waiting for you."
Ning Fu was able to leave the house this time because she had begged Madam Ning for a long time. Before going to her grandmother, she had to resolve her worries.
When they arrived at Qingtian Pavilion, Zong Si was talking to someone, so Ning Fu avoided him.
Zong Si glanced over, and soon the man left.
Soon after, someone came and lit the stove, and brought a hot water bottle.
"Have you had dinner?" Zong Si asked.
"My mother only allowed me to come out for a while." Nymph said, "I have to stay with my grandmother for a while, so I came to talk to the prince."
When Zong Si heard her mention her grandmother, he paused slightly.
As for the Ningguo Mansion and the Xuanwang Mansion, which were not considered before, the Kangyang Princess Mansion was even more of a problem. This was an eternal thorn in Emperor Jingwen's heart.
The eldest princess also created many obstacles for Prince Xuan's palace. Kang Yang and Prince Xuan were almost mortal enemies. It was no exaggeration to say that it was a life-and-death battle.
That's why he felt that now was not a good time to discuss marriage.
Zong Si glanced at her and said, "It would be good to go and rest for a while."
Ning Fu arranged her words and said, "I know that there are too many things going on between the prince and me, and there are many grievances between the two houses. Getting married will only create one more pair of resentful lovers, so why not just forget it."
She is a straightforward little lady who can treat such an inappropriate behavior as if nothing happened.
Just as she had never mentioned their relationship in their previous life, she no longer had any nostalgia for him. Except when she was not conscious, she never remembered that he was her husband.
The marital relationship that once existed was clearly treated as if it had never happened.
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