Chapter 20 Invitation from the Palace
Ning Fu was silent. If Zong Si asked Lu Xingzhi for Zhuo Yao, the latter would definitely not be able to afford to offend the prince of Xuanwang Mansion, so he would be in trouble.
After thinking it over carefully, she did not reveal that Zhuo Yao was now with Lu Xingzhi, and only said, "Zhuo Yao is my dowry. I'm sorry that I can't help the prince."
He had already rejected the marriage proposal, so he would definitely not ask any more questions.
As expected, Zong Si did not say much, but a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth, which disappeared in a flash.
"As long as I have time in the near future, I will come again to entertain the prince." Ning Fu said sincerely. He used his injury as an excuse to shut Meng Ze up, so naturally he would not leave this place of recuperation easily.
Of course, she wanted to find out what happened between him and Meng Ze, why Meng Ze was so angry that day, and whether it had anything to do with Lord Song.
Zong Si wanted to find out more about Miss Ning Si. There was something unbelievable about her, so he did not refuse her and she came to him several times.
Each of them had their own thoughts.
Since this attempt to sneak out was successful once, there will be a second time and a third time.
In the morning, there would occasionally be visitors to Hanxiang Mountain. Zongduo and Mengze had both been here, and Nymph mostly came in the afternoon.
Zong Si usually kept his attitude of "stay away from strangers" and tried to test her several times. Ning Fu even had the illusion that he was testing whether she had lived a lifetime.
Zong Si was naturally testing her because of those two dreams.
However, Fourth Miss Ning was extremely cautious about this matter, so he shouldn't be too aggressive.
However, as everyone interacts with each other, there are always times when they bump into each other.
Ning Fu went there again that day wearing men's clothes. Just as she took off her bamboo hat, she saw Zong Ning coming in angrily. Although she was resentful, she still placed the copied "Book of Songs" on the desk neatly.
She turned her back to Zong Ning, hurriedly put her hat back on, and looked at Zong Si, asking him if Zong Ning saw her running to see him in this outfit. She would never be able to clear herself even if she jumped into the Yellow River.
The man, however, seemed as if nothing had happened. He was not panicked at all, and his expression was still as stern as usual. It was likely that even if he really had a mistress outside, his wife might not be able to notice.
"I have done what Third Brother ordered." Zong Ning pursed his lips.
Zong Si flipped open the book. The handwriting inside was neat and elegant, without any laziness or perfunctory attitude. "Are you angry?"
Zong Ning said aggrievedly, "Besides, it's my fault. I can't control them ignoring Sister Ning, but I didn't invite Sister Ning to the snow viewing party because I had selfish motives. I didn't want Sister Ning to come here. I was afraid that if she ran into Third Brother, Sister Xie would be unhappy, so I deliberately didn't invite her."
But it was because of her own affairs, so Ning Fu was not surprised. She knew that he was not doing this for herself, but to educate Zong Ning and to make her better and better.
Zong Si glanced at Nymph, who was wearing men's clothes and a bamboo hat, and then turned back to look at Zong Ning, saying coldly, "Your mother has taught you since you were a child that you should not offend others intentionally. If I don't punish you, if this continues, people will say that the Lady of Prince Xuan's Mansion is bullying others by relying on her power."
This hat was too heavy. Zong Ning's eyes turned red. She was also afraid that it would damage the reputation of the palace. She didn't have such thoughts. She just secretly observed his emotions, and then she noticed the thin young gentleman standing beside him.
"Who is this?" The young gentleman wore a conical hat and a black round robe. He was short in stature. The only words that flashed through Zong Ning's mind were "fragile".
Nymph bowed to her, and pointed to her throat for fear of exposing her identity.
"Is he a mute?" Zong Ning felt a little sympathetic.
Nymph nodded.
Then she saw Zong Si, who was originally calm, frowned, but did not say a word to help her, and seemed to be watching the fun.
Ningfu couldn't help but feel a little resentful. He didn't need to worry. If he was discovered, all the fault would be hers.
"Are you the third brother's aide?" Zong Ning would not look down on others. Anyone who could appear next to the third brother would not be an ordinary person.
Ning Fu shook her head, knelt down in front of the desk, gently picked up the ink stick, and began to grind it gently. When the ink was fine and even, she held the pen and stroked her sleeves to write: "I am Shuyu, the son of Yixiang Tower."
After seeing this, Zong Si curled the corner of his mouth in a mocking manner.
"The young master of Yixiang Tower, isn't that..." Zong Ning couldn't say the word "young prostitute". He looked at Zong Si and stomped his feet in anger. How could his third brother be harmed by such a person?
"You bold whore! You actually set your sights on coming to Prince Xuan's Palace." Zong Ning said angrily.
Ning Fu took two steps back and hid behind Zong Si, her entire body hidden by his tall figure. She only held onto his arm, as if she was afraid, seeking his protection.
Zong Si did not stop him.
What a delicate and helpless "Da Ji" who brings disaster to decent people. Zong Si loves such a person, so he must be the ignorant and unjust person.
He wanted to watch his own show, how could Nymph be happy? Naturally, she had to drag him into it, and now he had to go find the miracle doctor, so he couldn't do anything to her.
Zong Si was not a man who was greedy for beauty, and he also disliked those who brought disaster upon himself. However, in that dream, he and Ning Fu were extremely beautiful and unrestrained. When he beat her wantonly, she moaned so pitifully, as if she was begging for his shelter, and as if she was willing to be protected by him. He couldn't help but feel a little hot in his lower abdomen.
Unconsciously, he had blocked her firmly behind him.
After he reacted, his expression changed a little, and upon closer inspection, it was clearly a little colder.
"Third brother, how could you protect such a prostitute?" Zong Ning said angrily, "I'm going to go back and tell mother!"
Not wanting to take another look, she slammed the door and walked out.
Ning Fu let go of Zong Si, straightened her robe, and said, "It was the prince who was unwilling to help me out at first. According to the current situation, you and I should help each other." In front of Meng Ze, she also said good things about him.
Zong Si rubbed his forehead, his tone became much colder, and said, "Go back."
Ning Fu paused, then nodded, but she was not worried. Zong Ning had his own way of explaining it clearly. Otherwise, she would not dare to go too far.
Zong Si added: "In the next few days, I will not be in Hanxiang Mountain, so you don't have to come here."
However, a woman's sixth sense sometimes comes inexplicably. Ning Fu had an idea in her mind that Zong Si's claim that he had something to do was fake, and perhaps his real purpose was just that he didn't want her to come again.
Is it because of what happened to Zong Ning today?
Ning Fu just felt that Zong Si couldn't afford to play with her. If he hadn't been unwilling to help her out and let her be questioned by Zong Ning, she would never have done so.
"If the prince told me not to come, of course I wouldn't come." Ning Fu smiled politely and was not angry. This was irrelevant to the business and it was not worth getting angry. Besides, she had a rough idea of why Meng Ze was angry.
Naturally, it was also because of the matter of Lord Song. It can be seen that Zong Si did not help Meng Ze wholeheartedly.
Anyway, after finding Doctor Mu and coming to Yu Furong, the two of them parted ways. Naturally, there is no need to care about each other's attitude.
A queen only has requirements for her future husband, not for her ex-husband.
Zong Si glanced at her. This Fourth Miss Ning was different from other female rulers. She was very good at keeping things to herself and was always smiling. She rarely got angry.
He doesn't seem to care much about these.
Zong Si collected his thoughts. He seldom had his emotions aroused by women, but today he felt a desire to protect Nymph, so he had to be on guard.
-
This time when they went down the mountain, no one knew where Zong Si had gone, and Ning Fu hadn't heard from him for more than a month.
For Ning Fu, meeting Zong Si was like doing her job, but no one likes to be busy with making a living. Instead, she felt relaxed and comfortable not to meet him.
As the year drew to a close, Ning Fu finally understood what the Sixth Prince Meng Ze meant by "next time I'll come to the palace". Emperor Jingwen was a person who feared being lonely, and on normal New Year's Eve in previous years, he would invite the ladies and princes who were close to the royal family to visit the palace.
Ning Fu naturally did not have this treatment in previous years, but this year she became the center of attention in front of Emperor Jingwen, and the emperor thought of her, and Meng Ze probably heard the news early on.
Nymph had been to the palace no more than two hands in her two lifetimes, so she was somewhat nervous.
Being favored by Emperor Jingwen was a great honor for the Duke's Mansion. Madam Ning and Ning Zhenyuan both took it very seriously and sent people to make new clothes for her early on.
“The palace is heavily guarded, and there are nobles everywhere. If you meet someone you don’t know, even if it’s a princess or a prince, you are not allowed to bump into them.” Madam Ning warned.
Ning Fu knew everyone in the palace, so she felt relieved. She said to Ning Zhenyuan, "Dad, why did the prince get injured in Langya? Why do you think that happened?"
She couldn't mention Elder Song directly, otherwise Dad would question how she knew. Dad was a smart man, and he could naturally guess the important clues.
Ning Zhenyuan heard about this matter from his daughter a few days ago, and he is still frightened today. Zong Si was injured in Langya, so he naturally investigated the matter of Lord Song. Fortunately, his daughter was in Prince Xuan's Mansion and smelled the blood on Zong Si. In addition, Lu Xingzhi also mentioned Langya to his daughter, so he connected the two things together.
He had even prepared a memorial to intercede for Lord Song, and was almost about to go to the palace to meet the emperor!
If I hadn't known about this in advance, I would probably have been implicated.
Ning Zhenyuan was extremely grateful. He was not afraid of anything happening, but he was afraid of implicating the Ningguo Mansion and his children.
"Just pretend you don't know about this and don't say too much." Ning Zhenyuan just warned.
Nymph just nodded obediently, "If my father doesn't allow me to say it, I won't say it."
Ning Zhenyuan has fine lines at the corners of his eyes, but his demeanor is still as good as before. God has been kind to him by giving birth to a daughter.
He looked at his wife again and felt fulfilled.
The day before entering the palace, Ningfu went to Nuanxiang Pavilion, which was Ningfu's own shop. The reputation of Xueji Pills had gradually spread over the past month, but it had not yet reached the palace. Ningfu's trip to the palace was just right to bring some to the ladies in the palace.
When he came out of the shop, he saw Lu Xingzhi coming with the guards.
After not seeing him for two months, he seemed to have lost some weight, as if he was going out of the capital on business.
When Ningfu saw him, her heart beat faster. She now had some feelings towards him.
As if Lu Xingzhi had a telepathic connection with her, he saw her and said softly, "Fourth Miss."
Ningfu's heart softened, as it happens when one has a crush on someone. Even if he just called her name, she couldn't help but blush.
"Are you leaving the capital again?" she asked in a low voice. She was worried that he would get hurt.
"Let's go to Liangzhou with Master Wei to deal with the bandits." he said.
"Mr. Lu is extremely talented and strategic, so he should have ambitions." Ning Fu guessed that he wanted to be promoted as quickly as possible. Since he had no background and was not a person who fawned on the powerful, he could only rely on his ability and achievements.
Lu Xingzhi looked at her and said, "If you want to protect the people you care about, this is the only way."
But Nymph didn't know what he wanted.
"After you are promoted to a higher position, it will be easier to talk about marriage." Lu Xingzhi said.
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