Chapter 9 Emperor's Heart
The area was flat and open, with no place to hide.
Ning Fu could only watch Zong Si’s gaze fall on her.
She closed her eyes resignedly.
It can be seen that being too diligent and hardworking is not a good thing. You may run into bad luck. She just wanted to practice her riding skills well.
The cold wind was rustling, but it was not as cold as her heart.
After looking at his body, it depends on whether Zong Si will pursue the matter or not.
If they wanted to investigate, it would be simple for Prince Xuan's Palace. They could just carry her in through the side door and make her a concubine, and then place her in a remote courtyard so that they wouldn't have to see her and wouldn't have to worry about her.
It will not affect Zong Si's future marriage or career.
But Ningfu's life in this life is even worse than her previous life. As the legitimate daughter of the Duke's mansion, now serving as a concubine, my mother and father must be so ashamed.
What's more, by then she might be unable to do anything about her brother's affairs.
After sorting out the interests involved in her mind, Ning Fu remembered that Zong Si had already put on his clothes when the sound of horse hooves came out. There was nothing she could do except to insist that she had just arrived.
"I didn't expect to meet the prince as soon as I arrived. Is he up for morning exercise?" Ning Fu opened her eyes and saw Zong Si walking towards her. She calmed herself down and spoke first with a smile.
Zong Si naturally knew that Fourth Miss Ning was not a newcomer.
However, he had no intention of marrying her, nor did he want to ruin her, so he had no intention of clarifying what happened today. He just nodded distantly and got on the horse.
Seeing that he had no intention of pursuing the matter, Nymph heaved a sigh of relief, gave him a good look, and said with a smile: "It was frosty this morning, and the road is a bit slippery. Please be careful when riding, my prince."
If a beautiful woman wants to treat others tenderly, she can make others feel like spring breeze, but not everyone will be like that.
Zong Si glanced at her tightly clenched hands hanging by her side, then retracted his gaze and said calmly, "Many men came here in the morning. If the fourth lady doesn't want to cause trouble for the Duke's Mansion, she should take another route."
Ning Fu was about to thank him when she heard him say coldly, "If you need to convey important matters in the future, it would be better for the fourth lady to ask Miss Wei to find a maid who is more careful."
This was an allusion to her pretending to be a dancer, and I'm afraid he had already gotten the information out of her.
Nymph's expression changed slightly.
When they returned to the tent, Wei Ziyi saw that she hadn't said a word, so he asked, "You were so happy when you left, why are you so depressed when you come back?"
"Sister Wei, you've killed me." Ning Fu said with a wry smile.
After Wei Ziyi heard what happened, her expression changed and she said guiltily, "I must have been anxious at the time and accidentally let it slip in front of the maid. I will go find the prince to explain the situation."
Ning Fu stopped her and sighed helplessly: "Are you trying to give him another handle to prove that the Wei family is not doing a good job?" The Wei family and the Prince Xuan's Palace are not from the same faction.
Wei Ziyi was shocked and said in fear: "Look at my stupid brain."
"Sister Wei, I'm telling you this today not to ask you to make amends, but I hope you can be more careful when you encounter problems in the future." Ning Fu said, holding her hand.
After Wei Ziyi married Ning Yu, there were many dirty things happening between her and the concubine in the house. Ning Fu didn't want her to suffer like she did in her previous life, and the Duke's Mansion also needed a powerful mistress.
"But what are you going to do?" Wei Ziyi asked worriedly.
"The prince won't make things difficult for me right now, so I can only take it one step at a time." Ning Fu calmed herself down. From his look, it seemed that he had no intention of making a fuss about this matter.
When Zong Si goes to war next year, if she helps Zong Duo in his matter, it will be considered as a personal favor to Prince Xuan's Mansion. By then, she will surely persuade him to never mention the matter again.
Ning Fu did not go to the last hunting bout of autumn, but instead learned archery from Lu Xingzhi.
With the foundation from her previous life, it only took her a few days to go from only being able to practice on the target to gradually being able to hunt rabbits, and then to being able to catch birds.
However, only she herself knows how hard it is. Ningfu has to rub her wrists for an hour every night to relieve the pain.
"Why didn't Mr. Lu go hunting with them?" Ning Fu asked Lu Xingzhi when she stopped to rest. This was a good opportunity to show off in front of Emperor Jingwen.
Lu Xingzhi said calmly: "Didn't the fourth lady go too?"
Ning Fu wanted to go, just to avoid Zong Si: "Your archery skills are among the best, you will definitely shine if you go."
Lu Xingzhi was quiet for a while, then asked calmly, "During the riding practice a few days ago, you mostly avoided me. Did the fourth lady not want to stay with me?"
Nymph's ears felt hot. This complaining question sounded like a husband who had been neglected for a long time.
"I'm not unwilling to be with you." She really couldn't bear to hurt his feelings.
In the past few days, she did intentionally control the frequency of their meetings, but it was not that she was unwilling to see him. It was just that they should not meet too frequently for fear of causing gossip.
When Nymph looked up again, she saw a hint of smile in his eyes.
Lu Xingzhi looked very nice when he smiled, like cold yet warm jade. He didn't usually like to smile, so the rarer it was, the more attractive he was.
Ning Fu looked at him in a trance, almost bewitched by him. She complained in her heart that Lu Xingzhi seemed to be deliberately seducing her.
However, Lu Xingzhi should not be such a foxy person, nor does he look like someone who uses his beauty to please others. He looks like a gentleman.
"The fourth young lady's archery skills have improved a lot. She will do well in the archery test in a month." Lu Xingzhi said.
Ning Fu thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Lu and the prince have somewhat similar archery styles."
Lu Xingzhi was silent for a moment, then said, "We are from the same school, and both of us were taught archery by Master Guanyang."
She had naturally heard of Mr. Guanyang's name. Ning Fu said, "I have long heard of Mr. Guanyang's great name. If I have the chance, I would also like to pay him a visit."
"If there is a chance in the future, I will take you there." Lu Xingzhi looked at her and said.
These words were somewhat intimate, but Nymph couldn't respond directly at the moment.
She was willing to interact with him, but didn't want to leave any ambiguity.
At the moment, it seems that Lu Xingzhi has good character and she is satisfied with him in all aspects. However, if one wants to see through a man, it is definitely not enough to just have enough contact with him in the past few days.
Ning Fu didn't mind him because the Duke's Mansion took a fancy to her, but she had to be wary of him using the Duke's Mansion for personal gain.
"It's getting late. I have to go back." Nymph rubbed her aching arm and changed the subject.
"Okay." Lu Xingzhi turned around and packed the quiver for her.
She silently gave him another point for being so down-to-earth and lively.
The two did not return together.
Ning Fu had just walked back to the camp when the mighty team was returning from hunting. She happened to be in front of Emperor Jingwen, so she knelt down and saluted, "May Your Majesty be well and healthy."
Emperor Jingwen looked at the familiar lady before him and felt that she was as beautiful as a flower or willow, which made his eyes light up.
It wasn't just Emperor Jingwen who was delighted. The Sixth Prince Meng Ze also took notice of her.
"I am Ning Fu, the daughter of Ning Yuanzhen from the Ningguo Mansion." Ning Fu said respectfully with her head lowered.
"So she is the daughter of Lord Ning." Emperor Jingwen laughed heartily, "I have to call your grandmother Princess Kangyang aunt, so I can be considered your cousin."
"Uncle." Nymph called obediently.
In fact, it was somewhat forced for her to call Emperor Jingwen his cousin.
Ningfu's grandmother, Princess Kangyang, was the stepsister of the late emperor and had no blood relationship with Emperor Jingwen. She even did not stand on his side in the fight for the throne.
If given the chance, Emperor Jingwen would have wanted to kill his grandmother.
My grandmother, who had always been fame-seeking and strong-willed, asked to be exiled, mostly because she was afraid of being purged by the emperor and also anticipated that her luck was up.
Ning Fu thought again of Li Fang's mysterious death not long after. Her grandmother made a big mistake in this matter. It was the beginning of the princess's mansion's decline, and it was only able to survive after that.
Ning Fu couldn't help but ponder how she should go to her grandmother and resolve the crisis for her grandmother. After all, the Duke's Mansion didn't want her to get close to the Princess' Mansion in order to protect themselves.
"Why didn't you go hunting?" Emperor Jingwen asked kindly.
Ning Fu came back to her senses and said obediently, "My cousin, the archery test will be held in a month or so, so I stayed here to improve my archery skills, so I didn't go hunting."
Emperor Jingwen asked, "Who did you learn archery from?"
"My brother learned that Mr. Lu was a student of Mr. Guanyang, so he asked Mr. Lu to teach me on my behalf." She said carefully.
"Since Xingzhi studied under Mr. Guanyang, you should learn from him. I think you will be good at riding and archery. The princess has been clamoring for someone to compete with her. Aning injured her foot, and Ruyi accompanied her back to the capital first. The other ladies have declined, so why not you accompany the princess?" Emperor Jingwen smiled and twirled his beard.
Ning Yu's expression changed slightly, and even the Sixth Prince frowned.
Zong Si glanced at Ning Fu expressionlessly.
Ning Fu's wrist was in great pain. She was about to refuse, but when she looked up, she met Ning Yu's eyes with a heavy expression, and she suddenly felt a chill on her back.
Looking at Emperor Jingwen again, his smiling expression clearly showed impatience.
Ningfu carefully recalled what happened after the autumn hunt. The emperor was furious a few days later, and the Ministry of Rites soon issued a new order for women's examinations, placing more emphasis on archery and charioteering. Ningfu was weak in these two subjects at the time, and because of this new order, her archery and charioteering scores became even worse.
Why is there a sudden emphasis on horseback archery?
Nymph guessed that it might be related to the current situation.
Although the Northern Qi princess's competition was just for fun, the fact that no one dared to stand up and compete would inevitably make people think that the Great Yan Dynasty was cowardly, and it was no wonder that Emperor Jingwen was furious.
The reluctance of the queens to compete with Nymph was understandable. The Northern Qi princesses were too skilled in riding and shooting, while the women of Dayan were always elegant and decent. The queens were afraid of losing face in front of the young masters.
Emperor Jingwen seemed kind, so the female rulers dared to refuse, and perhaps they did not realize the seriousness of the matter.
But how could an emperor have a merciful heart? When the fight for the throne was going on, the palace was littered with corpses and blood flowed for thousands of miles, but that was only more than 20 years ago.
Emperor Jingwen was on the verge of exploding, and she absolutely could not refuse, otherwise the Duke's Mansion might be taken out on.
"Uncle, I heard that the princess is very good at riding and shooting. I was thinking of competing with her." Nymph said with a smile.
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